Al's Blog from the Bog

I don’t imagine anyone believed that England would beat New Zealand, it was more a question of how much they would lose by and would they show any real potential beginning to develop.

New Zealand, on the other hand, would not only have been expecting to win, but would have been hoping to get back to the sort of slick performance that has eluded them this year.

In terms of real world expectations, then, one could argue that it was a narrow victory for the men in white.

The Kiwis were frequently knocked back, Carter had a poor day by his standards and the win, while comfortable, was far from a try-fest.

England were way better than in their previous two games. Part of this was due to better selection – especially Cueto at fullback -  but there also seemed to be more energy and desire in the performance. Certainly, England were a lot sharper than they have been recently.

Unfortunately, this is as positive a spin as any England PR could put on events. An holistic analysis clearly shows that there was only ever going to be one winner.

Only one team looked capable of crossing the try line. Only one defence was constantly being tested. The stats said it all: England had to make nearly twice as many tackles as the All Blacks.

Despite the massive improvements in just about every part of their game, England still lack a cutting edge in the backs. There were some positive signs: running the ball from their own territory; the odd switch move; faster delivery from rucks and mauls. A breakthrough never looked likely but I guess credit should be given for some kind of positive intent.

Facing the New Zealand backline – who themselves are nowhere near their best form – highlighted the plodding naivety of the English attack. Where the Kiwis were flat, quick to form up and adept at switching plays to outflank the opposition, England were deep and predictable.

I’d be happy to put the English pack up against any other in the world – they’re not the best, but they are pretty good and provide a platform from which England should be able to win games. The backs, however, are just not up to scratch, ranking well below the Tri Nations, France, Ireland and Wales.

South African referee Jonathan Kaplan had a good game. I particularly appreciated the way he pounced at the first signs of nastiness, nipping it in the bud. I do think that Tim Payne, the English prop, deserved a yellow card for his punches, but that aside Kaplan is to be congratulated.

rugby international, rugby, sport

England squeeked home against Argentina yesterday for their first win of the season but there was little for them to be proud of.

Argentina are a force to be reckoned with these days. Their recent record against England is very good but away from home and with a number of first choice players injured it was reasonable to expect an England win.

On the day the teams were very evenly matched and were only separated on the scoreboard by one event – England’s first try of the season. It was a game dominated by the forwards, as one would expect from these two nations, neither having much proficiency in the backlines. Of the two, it was Argentina who looked as though they could provide excitement behind the pack; their efforts were a little naive, but at least they tried.

In comparison to last week England, however, have taken a big step backwards. Discipline was shocking in the first half and basic errors were legion. The gameplan, such as it was, appeared to be a cross between 10-man rugby and tennis. Of strategic back play there was, once again, no sign.

Fans should be concerned that England may be operating in a reality distortion field. After the game Matt Banahan, England’s try scorer, appeared to be pleased with his team’s performance and felt that they were getting better with each game. Steve Borthwick, the captain, seemed equally upbeat. This is deeply troubling; England are deluding themselves. Thankfully, England manager Martin Johnson admitted afterwards that the performance was unacceptable so at least someone was watching the what was happening on the pitch.

England were severely depleted due to injury, even more so than last week, so miracles were not expected. What we hoped to see, but did not, was any attempt to play fast, adventurous, attacking rugby. Johnson’s unwillingness to keep the ball in hand in England’s half of the pitch is clear, and a mistake. It made the backs look stupid and, as a result of the ensuing aerial ping-pong, exposed a major weakness at fullback.

This strategy was further exposed by Wilkinson’s lack of form when kicking from hand – Argentina comfortably ‘won’ the punting battle – though, as last week, Jonny had a good game overall.

I’d love to know what kind of plan Johnson has asked Brian Smith, the backs coach, to implement. We’ve seen the kicking and we’ve seen plenty of miss passes, but where are the effective dummy runners? Wings coming in from the blind side? Fullback crash balls? Switches? Passes out of the tackle to a runner on the shoulder? Again, as last week, we just had backs crashing into their opposite numbers with little support. No creativity, no imagination.

Actually, we did see some attempts at creativity in open play. Aside from individual runs from Cueto, Monye and Wilkinson, it was England’s forwards who showed glimmers of imaginative passing. Indeed, it was flanker Lewis Moody who created the space for Banahan to score his try, after some great work from No. 8 Haskell.

Reading between the lines, it seems that Johnson is upset and frustrated with the lack of progress. So he should be. But let’s not forget that the buck now stops with him. He proved that, on the pitch, he can lift a team and lead them to greatness, but does he have the ability to do it from the sidelines? English rugby needs a period of managerial stability so there is no question that Johnson must continue for at least the next few years, but I’d like to think that some of the older and more experienced heads in the RFU will be offering guidance and support – privately, not through the media – to help him become a great manager. Otherwise we may be doomed to a long period of mediocrity.

rugby international, rugby, sport

England fell at the first hurdle of their 2009 international season, against Australia at Twickenham today.

Australia had a poor Tri-Nations series this year, losing five out of six games, leading many to speculate that the game was England’s before it even started. The mistake here is a failure to factor in the abilities of the English side.

The team in gold today may have been a shadow of the Australian teams of previous years but, even with a lot of new faces, they were still far more proficient than the men in white.

As an England supporter I have suffered through six years, since the 2003 World Cup, of largely aimless performances. All sides suffer their poor periods so losses can be forgiven but it is necessary to see a trend of improvements in performance, technique, tactics and philosophy. England have failed, repeatedly, to achieve any of this.

After the game, co-commentator Stuart Barnes immediately started talking about the changes he would make in the pack. Obviously, Stuart was a back. England’s forwards won plenty of good possession, particularly in the first half, but the team could manage only nine points, from a dropped goal and two penalty goals. No, the problem was not in the forwards, Stuart, it was the backs who failed.

The English have never been known for exciting, incisive back play. That’s what the Welsh, French, Southern Hemisphere and, latterly, the Irish teams are good at. England do big, strong, fearsome forwards. There is plenty of desire – evidenced by the unexpected run in the 2007 World Cup – but that’s not enough any more. Long gone are the days when passionate 10-man rugby could dominate.

England can play a good 15-man game. Sir Clive Woodward struggled for years to change the culture of forward dominated thinking, eventually succeeding (to some extent at least) and winning the World Cup. He and his team were far from perfect but were light years ahead of what we’ve seen since.

Today echoed so many England performances of recent years. Possession was slow and the backs were able to do little more than charge at their opposite numbers. Mental agility was completely lacking, a try never seemed likely and a slightly sharper Australian team would have easily run in two or three more tries.

It wasn’t all bad. Wilkinson played well on his return to the fold – it’s ironic that he was fit when so many in the squad were not – and Moody stood out. Discipline was excellent, and for a short spell in the second half England managed to pick up the pace to an acceptable level for test rugby.

I have to wonder, however, if there is something wrong with the DNA of English rugby? Why is it so resistant to clever, creative back play? I don’t know the answer, and on the evidence of today (and the last year), neither does Martin Johnson.

rugby Australia, England, international, rugby, sport

Jenson Button takes 3rd place in Abu Dhabi. Photo © BBC

The 2009 F1 season has now ended, so how will we survive the 19 weeks until the start of the 2010 season? Thank goodness there will be plenty of rugby to keep me going over the winter!

Congratulations to Brawn GP and Jenson Button on their championships, to Rubens Barrichello, Lewis Hamilton and to the Red Bull team for their heroic efforts to keep the season spicy until the end.

Most of all, congratulations to the BBC for an excellent return to F1 broadcasting. To paraphrase Sebastian Vettel, there were some mistakes but overall it was a great season.

The finale in Abu Dhabi was quite a spectacle: a fabulous looking circuit, lots of glamour and the thrill of day turning into night as the race progressed.

One minor quibble about the BBC coverage: a noticeable feature of the season has been the huge amount of fawning (I was going to say a*se-l*cking, but that would be rude), particularly from Eddie Jordan. EJ seems to have two things to say: either HE was responsible for the success of driver X or team Y, or we must prostrate ourselves in worship before person Z  because of what they have brought to the sport.

It’s been a great season and I have enjoyed BBC’s role. It has been infinitely better than previous seasons, with no ad breaks and the red button, but I do hope that Auntie will, like the teams, strive to be even better next year. Jonathan Legard has been a weak commentator but, as long as Martin Brundle is alongside him, I can live with that. Eddie, however, must be consigned to the bin of failed experiments.

F1 BBC, F1, sport, tv

14 February 1938 – 14 October 2009

miscellaneous family, life, people