History will be kind to me because I intend to write it

MAPLETOFT STRIVING FOR FUTURE ENGLAND GLORY

Doom-mongers may insist the dye is already cast for Martin Johnson’s new-look England following heavy defeats to the three Southern Hemisphere super powers, but Mark Mapletoft, the former Gloucester fly-half and now England Under-20 head coach, believes that it is only a matter of time before the senior team ripen and conquer – and he should know.

The 36-year-old, who would have earned more than the solitary cap gained against Argentina in 1997 for England had it not been for injury, assisted Nigel Redman’s near all-conquering U-20s last season and has taken on the top job this campaign, with former Bath and England lock Martin Haag acting as his deputy.

It is their job to nurture and develop the Danny Ciprianis and Tom Reeses of the future. And, after last season’s U-20s won nine out of their 10 games – a run that saw them crowned grand slam Six Nations victors and reach England’s first ever world age group final in the World Junior Championship, swatting aside the Boks and the Wallabies on the way – there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about the future of English rugby.

“I know I have some big shoes to fill and I learned a lot from working with Nigel over the last two years – he was a fantastic mentor to me,” Mapletoft says of Redman, the newly-appointed Rugby Football Union’s Elite Coach Development Manager.

“We are just about to take the 32 U-20 Elite Squad players to a camp in the Algarve for a week. When we did it for the first time last year, we found it immensely helpful. The climate is good and we will be outside pretty much all day. You just can’t get that over in England at this time of the year!”

There will be another training camp in England after Christmas, before their Six Nations defence begins at home, which this season is Worcester’s Sixways, on February 6 against Italy. Then in June the U-20s will fly out to Tokyo, Japan, to try and improve on last year’s Junior World Championship in Wales, when they were defeated 38-3 by the All Blacks in the final. “I’ve never been to Japan in my life, never mind played rugby there,” grins Mapletoft,” so I am really looking forward to the World Cup. It should be a very interesting and exciting season.

“As coaches of the U-20s we are developing England players of the future, playing a certain type of game and providing important experience, because ultimately that is what we are about.

“In attack we try to be a very dynamic ball-handling side, playing off the floor, looking for the offloads and to score tries. We allay that with a very aggressive defence who try to stop other teams play and to get the ball back so we can attack more!”

When asked whether the greatest satisfaction is unearthing England’s next generation of wunderkinds, Mapletoft is modest, and says: “For me there is no ego – I’m not saying: ‘I’ve played a massive part in Danny Care or Danny Cipriani’s development.’

“It is more about adding something to their development as players. The best players will always come through, with or without the National Academy. We aspire to improve those players, to help create that little bit of difference between being a great player and a world-class player.

“The Under-20 programme provides that competition aspect to their development and hopefully the players enjoy playing for England and it gives them an idea of what competing against the Southern Hemisphere sides is all about. We are breaking down these barriers.”

Mapletoft praises Johnson’s perseverance with England’s seniors and has called for patience, noting that the New Zealand side they lost to in the autumn series finale had on average 25 more caps per player (44 to England’s 19). The success at age group level will eventually work its way upwards, he suggests, adding: “Time is the answer.

“We are only just starting to see players like Toby [Flood], Delon [Armitage] and Tom Croft come through. Pretty much all of the backs from last year’s U-20s have progressed into their Premierships sides so hopefully they will begin to make their name within a season or two and then they will get the opportunity to force their way into Martin’s plans.

“They will take with them the experience of beating the Southern Hemisphere sides and not be overawed to compete with these guys on a regular basis when they play against them for the senior team.”

PLAYERS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

Rory Clegg, Newcastle Falcons, 18, fly-half

Born in Germany, the tall (6’ 3”) No10 has been impressing in the Guinness Premiership in the absence of Jonny Wilkinson.

MM: “He has been playing week in, week out at Newcastle Falcons and he has been doing well although the results have not been kind to them. He played an integral part in the Under-18 team last year.”

Calum Clark, Leeds Carnegie, 19, backrow

Darlington-born Clark impressed last season in the Guinness Premiership as Leeds were relegated. Was a team-mate at school, Barnards Castle, with Clegg.

MM: “He had the double disappointment of going down with Leeds and losing in the final of the World Cup against New Zealand. I am looking to see how he bounces back from that disappointment and taking on a big leadership role in the side this year.”

Carl Fearns, Sale Sharks, 19, No8

The former Sedbergh schoolboy (Will Carling’s alma mater) captained England U-18s in the 2007 tour to Australia.

MM: “I’m looking forward to seeing how Carl plays. He has been playing for Sale while the autumn internationals have been going on. We will be expecting a lot of him in the future.”

Labels: England, England Under-20s, Mark Mapletoft, Martin Johnson, rugby, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 11:12 pm | Permalink | Comments

ARMITAGE: ENGLAND AIM FOR SIX NATIONS SUCCESS

Delon Armitage has set his sights on winning next sping’s Six Nations tournament despite Martin Johnson’s reign as England manager beginning with three defeats from four autumn internationals. The London Irish full-back, who made his debut in the 39-13 win over Pacific Islanders last month, believes that England “will come back firing” and that it is only a matter of time before the team click.

Johnson’s first series in charge concluded on Saturday with a 32-6 defeat to New Zealand, who became the first team to win a grand slam of the home nations without conceding a try, thanks to Dan Carter’s 17 kicked points, Mils Muliaina’s two tries and man-of-the-match Ma’a Nonu’s late score.

England managed just one try in their last three matches – the All Black reverse followed heavy defeats to Australia [28-14] and South Africa [42-6, a record home loss] – and Armitage thinks that the players need to study the defeats to the Southern Hemisphere teams to help sharpen their finishing.

“We are very disappointed to lose three games in the series, but there are plenty of positives that we can work on for the Six Nations,” the 24-year-old said.

“We are creating chances and we have good players getting over the gain-line. We have learned a good lesson from New Zealand, and the other teams, that if you finish your chances, you will win games.

“You want to play against the best and see where you are in terms of progress and what you need to improve on. It is only going to do us good.”

He added: “Hopefully, with the good, young team we have got, we will gel sooner or later.

“We will definitely have to improve for the Six Nations. We want to win the Six Nations – we are not there to make up the numbers. We will come back firing.”

Labels: All Blacks, Australia, Delon Armitage, England, Martin Johnson, Rugby Football Union, South Africa

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 1:25 am | Permalink | Comments

ALL BLACKS SEAL WHITEWASH WITH WIN OVER ENGLAND

The All Blacks became the first team to win a grand slam of the home nations without conceding a try, and the Hillary Shield, after their 32-6 win over England at a full-house Twickenham. Martin Johnson’s team, who were humbled 42-6 – a record at home – by South Africa last week, had wanted, in the words of James Haskell, to “regain some respect”. And they did, holding the tourists to 12-6 with only 20 minutes remaining, despite having lost three men to the sin-bin in that time.

Then, alas for Johnson, the proverbial floodgates opened, with full-back Mils Muliaina crossing twice and centre Ma’a Nonu, named man-of-the-match, capping the win with a 60 yard dash and score. And this on a day when New Zealand’s star fly-half, Dan Carter, scored only 17 points, having misfired five kicks at goal. It was the visitors, however, who were handed the new Sir Edmund Hillary Shield, with Johnson left to lick his wounds – after four games as manager of England, his record stands at won one, lost three.

As they did in the 28-14 defeat to Australia a fortnight ago, England conceded a raft of penalties to the All Blacks in the first half. Carter, the world’s best No10, needed no second invitation to punish Johnson’s team for their ‘indiscretions’, as referee Alain Rolland called them. Coupled with the 11 penalties handed to the tourists before the break, hooker Lee Mears and blind-side flanker Haskell were sin-binned by the Irish official for peccadilloes at the breakdown.

In the week England captain Steve Borthwick had urged his team to shake off their naivety and “get more streetwise” against the All Blacks, who are masters of rugby’s dark arts. They put theory in to practice, but were over-keen for Rolland’s liking in the tackle area, and aside from the penalties conceded England lost many attacking positions.

Scrum-half Danny Care could have been ejected after Mears’s yellow card on 23 minutes. And when Haskell was shown the same card 10 minutes later, Rolland warned Borthwick, the Saracens’ lock, “if I have to put another four players in the bin, I will. This has to be the end of your indiscretions”. It was for the half, but Carter had been kind and missed two of the six shots he took at the posts to take the score to 12-3 at the break.

Toby Flood, the Leicester Tigers’ fly-half preferred to Wasps’ misfiring No10 Danny Cipriani, kicked a penalty in reply, and was feeling his way into the game when, just a minute into the second half, was dismissed for a high tackle on New Zealand No9 Jimmy Cowans. This, again, undid impressive England work. No8 Nick Easter had rampaged forward and the hosts were camped in front of the All Black try line, but another rush of blood to the head and England were down to 13 men once again.

It was to Johnson’s team’s credit, and a show of their bristling character, that they did not concede another point until 23-year-old Flood had returned to the action. In fact Delon Armitage had pulled the score back to 12-6 with a penalty kick just inside the New Zealand half while Carter had inexplicably missed another attempt at the sticks.

The All Blacks, who in September won their sixth Tri-Nations title in the last seven years, looked like a team who had played 15 Tests this year. They were sluggish but effective when they needed to be, soaking up England’s pressure. Rarely did they sparkle, or rather have chance to. It took until the hour mark when they had their first sniff at the England whitewash. They managed to turn an England scrum and Cowan’s out-of-the-back pass was shipped through the hands of Nonu and winger Joe Rokocoko before finding Muliaina on the loop. The Waikato man crossed for his 23rd try for his country and put an end to England’s valiant hopes for registering an unlikely win.

Muliaina went over again as a tired England struggled to now cope with New Zealand’s backline, which was starting to fire. Nonu’s line break and converted score, with nine minutes left were the last points of the game. It could have been closer, but with four players yellow carded – substitute flanker Tom Rees was ejected in the second half – England were always going to struggle against the unofficial world champions, who won their third grand slam in as many years. Johnson has much to ponder before the Six Nations begin next spring.

England
Tries: None
Conversions: None
Penalties: Flood 1 (2), Armitage 1 (1)

New Zealand
Tries: Muliaina (2), Nonu
Conversion: Carter 1 (3)
Penalties: Carter 5 (8)

England: D Armitage; P Sackey, J Noon, R Flutey; U Monye; T Flood, D Care; T Payne, L Mears, P Vickery, S Borthwick (capt), N Kennedy, J Haskell, M Lipman, N Easter.
Replacements: D Hartley, M Stevens, T Croft, T Rees, H Ellis, D Cipriani, D Hipkiss.

New Zealand: M Muliaina; J Rokocoko, C Smith, M Nonu, S Sivivatu; D Carter, J Cowan; T Woodcock, K Mealamu, N Tialata, B Thorn, A Williams, J Kaino, R McCaw (capt), R So'oialo.
Replacements: H Elliott, J Afoa, A Boric, K Read, P Weepu, S Donald, I Toeava.

Labels: All Blacks, England, Martin Johnson, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 9:24 pm | Permalink | Comments

LIPMAN LEADING FIGHT AGAINST McCAW’S ALL BLACKS

Michael Lipman has waited patiently for a proper chance in Martin Johnson’s back-row – the openside flanker was given the nod over Wasps’ Tom Rees for the final game of the autumn series against New Zealand. But then again, he has had to bide his time for most of his England career. Indeed his run out against the All Blacks will be only his tenth cap since his international bow four years ago, and is his first start for the national side since mid-March.

The Bath captain, who played in four Six Nations matches earlier this year following injuries to Lewis Moody and Rees in the Wales game, is rated by many as the best out-and-out No7 in the Guinness Premiership. He is relishing the prospect of facing All Black skipper Richie McCaw – an opponent Lipman first pitted his wits against almost a decade ago and currently ranked the best exponent of back-row’s darks arts on the planet.

“I’m looking forward to playing against Richie,” he says. “It is definitely a challenge I need to rise to. I have only played against him once before – for the Australia Under-19s team when he was playing for the New Zealand Under-19s. I don’t think I have played against anyone quite like him before.

“He definitely gets away with everything – all the stuff on the ground! But that is who he is - it is a reputation he has built up over the years and he deserves that respect from referees, so we will have to deal with him. But he is not alone – he has 14 other mates behind him causing chaos.”

Following the 28-14 loss to Australia - the country that London-born Lipman moved to aged five and left when he was 21 for Bristol - and the 42-6 drubbing last week to South Africa, the 28-year-old believes that his leadership skills are precisely what Johnson’s young team require.

“It is a very good feeling to get the No7 shirt back - I have been given an opportunity and I’m happy about that; I will take it with both hands,” says Lipman, who also played for Australia Under-21s but found good friend George Smith an immovable object when it came to the full Wallabies team. Brought up in Sydney, Lipman began his career at Manly and joined Bob Dwyer’s Waratahs in New South Wales – though he never played in the Super 12 – before flourishing at The Memorial Stadium and then, after moving in 2003, on the turf of Bath’s Recreational Ground.

“I was very disappointed to not get a run out when we were on tour in New Zealand in the summer,” he continues. “Especially after a fairly successful Six Nations when I played four out of the five games. It has been frustrating not to start in the past three autumn games too, but I am very, very happy to be starting against the All Blacks at Twickenham.”

Many viewed Rees as England’s solitary performer against the Boks, but Lipman insists that he has other pluses to his game that make him better equipped to face the All Blacks. And, whatever happens against New Zealand, he is looking to a brighter future for England’s rugby team – namely success in the All Black’s back yard at the World Cup in 2011.

“Tom and I have a mutual respect and I think he has been playing very well,” Lipman says. “But I think I have different facets to my game compared to Tom. I am good with the ball in my hands, and a good carrier. I am big on my defensive game too.

“I think I bring a bit of leadership to the team. I will be able to help Steve [Borthwick, a former Bath team-mate] out a lot. I have the ability to read situations and work out what is going wrong and how we can make it better; what we need to change. That is something I am very capable of doing. I am going to help Steve as much as I can.

“It is very important for England to get a result in this final match of the autumn series. We have to put English rugby back on the map. We lost a lot of respect after the defeat to the Springboks, because it was a big loss – there’s no getting away from that. It is hard for any team to come back from that.

“But in three years time the World Cup comes around and if this is a massive learning curve that gets us to that World Cup Final and wins us that trophy, then it will be happy days and this will be forgotten.”

Labels: All Blacks, England, Martin Johnson, Michael Lipman, Richie McCaw, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 11:25 am | Permalink | Comments

NONU: ENGLAND WILL FACE WAR IF THEY DON'T RESPECT HAKA

Ma'a Nonu the All Black centre, has warned England they must respect the Haka on Saturday at Twickenham – or face war!

Last Saturday Wales faced the traditional war dance at Cardiff and New Zealand were forced, by the referee, to retreat and ready themselves for the start of the match.

The Maori 26-year-old old said: “What the Welsh did wound us up. They were probably told by [Wales coach and New Zealander Warren] Gatland to stand there and wait until we leave.

“But it was really hard - the Haka is a war dance. If you're going to stand there like that then people before now would charge, but it's a rugby match and you can't do that.

“People back home will have been hurt by what they decided to do. Standing in the way they did is like asking for a fight. My blood pressure was pretty high but then I regained my composure. I was a bit upset about it.

“If I was facing the Haka I'd respect it. The Haka is the Haka, after that it's game time. If England want to do that they can - but they'll probably get the same response.”

All Black coach Graham Henry added: “The Welsh thought that was the best way to respond, I just wanted to know when the game was going to start. It took someone with common sense, the All Blacks captain, to get things going.

“We don't need that every week. I hope a copy cat situation doesn't occur. We've been there, it was interesting at the time but it's time to move on and be more sensible.”

Labels: All Blacks, England, Ma'a Nonu, New Zealand, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 11:19 am | Permalink | Comments

MONYE’S RESURRECTION

Ugo Monye's rugby career has undertaken a miraculous resurrection following a full recovery from an injury that rendered him immobile while watching England’s efforts in the World Cup 14 months ago. The Harlequins winger, who earned representative honours for England Under-19s and U-21s, and also starred for England Sevens and the Saxons, vowed while supine, suffering from a bulging disc, to work harder than ever before to break into the full England team. In a remarkable turnaround, Monye will line up for his third international against South Africa alongside good friends Paul Sackey and Delon Armitage at Twickenham.

“I felt like a baby,” admits the 25-year-old paceman, who was only promoted by manager Martin Johnson to the elite squad after the injury to Gloucester’s James Simpson-Daniel, of his week in bed last year. “But I really pushed myself as I wanted to prove that I was good enough to win a full cap.

“It was great to meet up with the squad three weeks ago, and training has been going very well. The Pacific Islanders [a 39-13 win on his debut] was a great game for us and spirits are high, even though we lost against Australia [28-14]. I've thoroughly enjoyed my start with England.”

Islington-born Monye’s sporting life could have taken a very different course almost a decade ago, after he ran the 100 metres in 10.6 seconds aged 16. He whittled that time down to 10.46 seconds and appeared in the English Athletics Association Championship, making it to the national trials where he ran alongside now-Olympians Mark Lewis-Francis and Tyrone Edgar.

But it was UK Athletics sprint coach Tim Richards who helped shape young Monye’s career, when he contacted Harlequins U-19s coach, Colin Osbourne, who offered him an academy contract.

The 6’ 2” flyer had played rugby since the age of 13 and represented Hampshire U-17s and U-20s, after starring for Lord Wandsworth College. In the Hampshire countryside young Monye’s decision was further influenced by two of the school’s alumni a few years above – a certain Jonny Wilkinson and Pete Richards.

After making his Harlequins bow in 2002 and underlining his potential with a brace against Wasps at the end of the season Monye suffered double disappointment with relegation and a string of niggling injuries causing him to be overlooked for the national team.

The strict Christian, a group leader at Holy Trinity Church in Brompton, West London, used the emotional hurt of his disappointments to channel his energies – and his faith and determination has paid off. He is now thriving in Johnson’s new-look England team.

“It's been good fun,” continues Monye, “and Martin has given me his faith. I've played the last two games and I'm selected to play this one [against the Boks]. All I know is that if I keep playing well then I want to make it difficult to lose my spot, though it would be great to score my first international try soon.

“We're a new squad, we've only been together for three weeks and each week we are making improvements. Although we lost to Australia we feel as if we have made another step in our work in progress.

“Our discipline probably was our biggest problem against Australia but there were other reasons why we didn't win that game. Our execution at times was a bit poor – we missed a lot of opportunities, so there are certainly a few things to work on.

“But we're very positive within the camp this week, we're working hard and we know the size of the task we have ahead of us against South Africa and then the All Blacks. More than anything there's huge excitement and a willingness to get back on the pitch to put things right.”

Monye makes up one third of Johnson’s preferred back three. London Irish’s full-back Delon Armitage made his debut alongside Monye against the Pacific Islanders and was named man-of-the-match. On the opposite wing to the Quins player is Wasps Paul Sackey – a relative veteran of international rugby in comparison who will win his 18th cap against South Africa. The three know each other well, and affectionately call themselves the ‘black three’.

“It is fairly apparent and fairly obvious the reasons why we call ourselves the ‘black three’,” adds Monye, “it's all tongue-in-cheek. We're getting on very well.

“Socially we've known each other for five or six years and it helps when you're standing on the pitch. Delon lives down the road from me and I've known Paul for years. We're a new unit as a back three and we play a similar brand of rugby - it's an absolute pleasure to play alongside them.”

Labels: England, Martin Johnson, Rugby Football Union, South Africa, Ugo Monye

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 12:40 pm | Permalink | Comments

RUGBY EXPO: A LANDMARK SUCCESS

Under the gaze of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, a landmark moment happened on Monday and Tuesday this last week. At the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre the first Rugby Expo, “the global convention for the business world of rugby”, took place, 13 years after rugby union went professional. Coinciding with the Carnegie Review of Rugby, the convention gave both codes of rugby much reason to be positive about the future, as the rough edges of the pre-professional era continue to be smoothed and polished.

“It is the meeting place for the rugby industry,” stated the brochure blurb, “bringing together the top decision makers in both union and league with key contacts, sponsors and suppliers to network, do business and learn from industry leaders in a comprehensive conference programme.”

Though the timing was unfortunate, with the ripples of the credit crunch continuing to be felt, former Test greats – ambassadors like Martin Bayfield, Raphael Ibanez, Kenny Logan and Alessandro Moscardi – coaches, CEOs and administrators (mostly from union, it has to be noted) turned out in force, to beef up Rugby Expo’s aims of developing grass roots rugby and disseminating the games to the emerging nations while boosting commercial power.

The International Rugby Board were also in attendance, and Chairman Bernard Lapasset had given his blessing, saying: “The appeal of rugby stretches far and wide – it is more than simply a sport … I wish this inaugural event every success.”

Over 1,200 delegates attended, wandered about the 45 exhibition stalls – which ranged from charities providing equipment to African children, to the Professional Rugby Players' Association, to rugby clubs and, of course, to breweries – and networked in between 13 seminars spread over the two days.

The 45-minute conferences, each packed with a four-strong panel of experts and moderated by familiar faces such as Sky Sports’ Alex Payne and Andy Steggall, and the BBC’s Ian Robinson and Mary Rhodes, included topics such as: ‘Rugby as a growing global business’; ‘Migration of players – good or bad?’; ‘Player welfare – life during and after rugby’; ‘Developing the emerging nations’; and ‘What does rugby need to do to become an Olympic sport?’

Former Bath and America No8 Dan Lyle, who now is tournament director of the 7s in his home country, hailed the convention as a success, saying: “It is very important that world rugby collects together now and finds a way to communicate, particularly commercially, while being true to the values of the game at the same time. It is about time something like this happened.”

Dan Jones, head of the sports business group at Deloitte, agreed, but conceded that football is some way ahead in terms of market share. There are over 32,000 football clubs in the UK and only 2,500 rugby union and league clubs, and only 0.7 per cent of Britons play either code.

“Rugby is a relatively young professional sport, so football is the big gorilla, the sport that everyone is trying to chase,” says Jones. “If you look at union from when it went professional [in 1995] to where it is today, global incomes in the sport have about quadrupled – for any sector to go through a period of growth in that period is phenomenal.

“We can learn from how football and other sports have expanded. The Rugby World Cup was fantastic – it was the third biggest sporting event in the world – but I think for rugby to go truly global it needs to be played at the Olympics.”

Managing director of Rugby Expo, Alec Shepherd, was delighted with how the event had been received and welcomed feedback on improvements for the future. “Our ethos is to do business and learn about what is going on in the game and where rugby can go,” said the former City commercial litigation lawyer.

“We are trying to create an environment where people can sit down and discuss how to take both forms of rugby forward. The global climate has not helped, but you just have to look at the turn out here to see how successful it is.

“We have another date booked here in London – it’ll be in November again next year, to coincide with the autumn internationals, so there will be Australians, South Africans and New Zealanders over. We are also taking the Rugby Expo to San Diego for the 7s tournament [to be held in mid-February] and South Africa next year too.

“We are only just starting but the long-term plan is to go to Singapore, Dubai and other places. Inevitably this year has been UK focused, but the idea is to make this a global event so that each year we can build on what has gone before.”

Labels: International Rugby Board, Rugby Expo, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 9:48 am | Permalink | Comments

VICKERY: JOHNNO MUST STICK WITH YOUNGSTERS

England manager Martin Johnson should persevere with his new-look team in spite of Saturday’s “unacceptable” 28-14 defeat to Australia, says Phil Vickery. But the recalled former captain has warned his young team-mates they must “smarten up” ahead of Saturday’s Test against world champions South Africa, who defeated Scotland 14-10 at Murrayfield.

Fly-half Matt Giteau’s six penalties – five of which were conceded within kicking-range before the interval thanks to England’s over-eagerness at the breakdown – and Adam Ashley-Cooper's converted try allowed the Wallabies to exact some revenge for their World Cup quarter-final loss in Marseille 13 months ago.

Though No8 Nick Easter barged over for a try and Danny Cipriani slotted three penalties, Johnson’s troops proved to be hot-headed in attack and defence at crucial moments. “We have been beaten by Australia at Twickenham by 14 points and that is unacceptable,” said Wasps prop Vickery.

“We were taught a good lesson by a team who knew how to win a game and we have to regroup and prepare properly because we know that there is not a more physical challenge in world rugby than playing the Springboks.”

Five of Johnson’s seven backs have only 15 caps between them, but Vickery believes that discarding them would be counter-productive for the development of the team. The 32-year-old continued: “I hope that Johnno sticks with those guys because we have got an exciting group and they deserve that faith. Everyone is trying their hardest but we just need to be a bit smarter and make sure we learn from this.

“If we have ambitions to become one of the best teams in world rugby then our guys can’t afford to go into their shells. You have to put yourself out there and in difficult and awkward positions. Unfortunately along the way they are going to get some bumps but they have got to back themselves.”

Labels: Australia, England, Martin Johnson, Phil Vickery, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 12:58 am | Permalink | Comments

AUSTRALIA HAND JOHNSON'S ENGLAND A LESSON IN DISCIPLINE

Martin Johnson tasted defeat for the first time as England manager while old adversaries Australia dished out a lesson on how to play disciplined rugby to his new-look team under the gaze of a 82,000 capacity Twickenham. Australian fly-half Matt Giteau knocked over six penalties and full-back Adam Ashley-Cooper scored a second-half converted try to seal the 28-14 win.

Johnson, the 38-year-old former lock, had lifted the World Cup five years ago in Sydney against the Australians, when England - and Jonny Wilkinson - provided a composed and clinical display. He will have not have been impressed by the young England team's error-strewn display on Saturday.

England’s indiscipline at the breakdown handed the Australians five penalties before the interval, and 26-year-old Giteau took advantage, missing only one. Home captain Steve Borthwick was the culprit twice and other misdemeanours by Tom Rees, Phil Vickery and Paul Sackey cost the home team.

The green and gold No10 took his team to 6-0 up after only five minutes before his opposite number, Daniel Cipriani, had his first attempt on 13 minutes after flanker George Smith had been deemed to bring the ruck down. From half-way the Wasps youngster fluffed his kick on an afternoon he will want to forget. The Australians had targeted the 21-year-old who was making only his third start in an England shirt. Never before had he been tested by a team of this calibre, and the jury will still be out on whether the starlet has what it takes to be the very best in the world.

There were glimpses of his magic, and twice he dashed through the 10 / 12 gap with galloping glee. Cipriani’s first such gallop, after 21 minutes, almost gleaned his side a try. But in the second faze, 10 metres out from the Australian line, No8 Nick Easter would have wished to have had someone quicker than hooker Lee Mears outside him, and could only grimace as the Bath No2 was bundled into touch.

It was full-back Delon Armitage, last weekend’s man-of-the-match in the flattering 39-13 win over the Pacific Islanders, who opened the scoring a minute later with an ugly but effective drop-goal. Giteau then served up two more penalties before England made the most of their vastly superior possession and scored five minutes before the break.

Easter, the Harlequins back-rower, barged over from close range on the right, but Cipriani again missed with the conversion. On the stroke of half-time the England No10 did make amends, slotting a penalty to take the score to a knife-edge 11-12.

Cipriani nudged the home side in front 11 minutes after the break with another penalty but that was to be Johnson’s team’s last points of the afternoon. Giteau stroked over another one four minutes later and the Australians did not look back. The Western Force fly-half, the highest paid player in the Southern Hemisphere, proved his worth again kicking two more penalties, conceded for English indiscipline once more.

With 10 minutes remaining, and the score at 21-14, Australian quick hands outdid a fatigued England defensive line. Ashley-Cooper dived over in the right-hand corner to score his seventh international try. Giteau, of course, added the extra two points with chalk on his boots to take his game tally to 20.

Johnson will have much to chew over, and his side will need to improve their discipline in the coming weeks as they take on the supposedly better Southern Hemisphere teams of South Africa, the world champions, and finally New Zealand.

England
Tries: Easter
Conversions: Cipriani 0 (1)
Penalties: Cipriani 3 (4)

Australia
Tries: Ashley-Cooper
Conversions: Giteau 1 (1)
Penalties: Giteau 6 (7)

England: D Armitage (London Irish); P Sackey (Wasps), J Noon (Newcastle), R Flutey (Wasps), U Monye (Harlequins); D Cipriani (Wasps), D Care (Harlequins); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), L Mears (Bath), P Vickery (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), T Palmer (Wasps), T Croft (Leicester), T Rees (Wasps), N Easter (Harlequins).
Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), M Stevens (Bath), S Shaw (Wasps), J Haskell (Wasps), M Lipman (Bath), H Ellis (Leicester), T Flood (Leicester).

Australia: A Ashley-Cooper (ACT Brumbies); P Hynes (Queensland Reds), R Cross (Western Force), S Mortlock (ACT Brumbies, capt), D Mitchell (Western Force); M Giteau (Western Force), L Burgess (NSW Waratahs); B Robinson (NSW Waratahs), S Moore (Queensland Reds), A Baxter (NSW Waratahs), M Chisholm (ACT Brumbies), N Sharpe (Western Force), H McMeniman (Queensland Reds), G Smith (ACT Brumbies), R Brown (Western Force).
Replacements: T Polota-Nau (NSW Waratahs), M Dunning (NSW Waratahs), D Mumm (NSW Waratahs), W Palu (NSW Waratahs), S Cordingley (Queensland Reds), Q Cooper (Queensland Reds), D Ioane (Queensland Reds).

Labels: Australia, England, Martin Johnson, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 1:56 pm | Permalink | Comments

BORTHWICK: FORGET WORLD CUP QUARTER-FINAL

Steve Borthwick won his first game as England captain last weekend against the Pacific Islanders, but he knows that Saturday's Test against Australia will be a tougher challenge for Martin Johnson’s new-look team.

Five new caps were handed out in the 39-13 win but the Saracens lock warned supporters not to compare Robbie Deans’s Australia team to the one defeated 12-10 by England in the World Cup quarter-final in southern France.

“What happened in Marseille is irrelevant and history,” said the 28-year-old, who was part of the pack who scrummaged the gold and greens off the park last October. “Australia have improved immeasurably. In winning away against South Africa and beating New Zealand they have shown that they will be a very tough pack for us to play against.

“They have had a good amount of time to develop which is something at this point that we haven’t had. It will be a big challenge and it is one that everyone is looking forward to. Australia are one of the best teams in the world and we are going have to play at our best if we are going to win.

“Last week was a very good start for us but we want to progress. We are going to go out there and give it absolutely everything we have got.”

Labels: Australia, England, Martin Johnson, Rugby Football Union, Steve Borthwick

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 7:36 pm | Permalink | Comments

FORD: CIP WILL HAVE TO FRONT UP IN BIGGEST CHALLENGE V AUSSIES

Danny Cipriani will face his toughest international challenge so far when England host Australia at Twickenham on Saturday, and defence coach Mike Ford has challenged the young fly-half to prove he is one of the best players on the planet by putting in a big tackling performance.

Earlier in the week Berrick Barnes, the green and golds’ No10 who will miss out playing Martin Johnson’s team because of a knee injury, warned Cipriani that he will be targeted by his team.

“One of his hardest things is that he has a lot of pressure on him,” said Barnes, 22. “Everyone is looking to him as the next big thing. He carries himself pretty confidently. It will be interesting to see him go up against Gits [Matt Giteau] this weekend.

“He will come up against some really good 10s in the next couple of weeks - Gits and [New Zealand's] Dan Carter. They will give him an indication, and everyone else, where he is.

“He is obviously a talent. He is a young guy with a lot of weight on his shoulders but he has an opportunity now to set himself up for the next 10 years.”

Ford believes that the Wasps starlet will shine against Australia, having impressed in defence in last weekend’s 39-13 win over the Pacific Islanders – he was only two tackles shy of prop Andrew Sheridan’s count of 15.

“Danny wants to be one of the best players in the world and he realises that one of the responsibilities of a No10 who wants to be No1 is defending,” said Ford of the 21-year-old. “The Australians are smart – they try and test you. But we expect every team we play against to come and attack that 10 / 12 channel and we are ready for that.

“We have not thought about (moving him out to the centres). If we move him to No13 teams will get him there; same as if we move him to the wing.

“He might as well front it up early in his career and get that right both physically and mentally. And he is doing his best to do that – 13 tackles from a fly-half is pretty good.

“Danny has trained very well this week so we are expecting a good game from him against Australia.”

Labels: Australia, Daniel Cipriani, England, Martin Johnson, Mike Ford, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 5:33 pm | Permalink | Comments

ARMITAGE VOWS TO MAKE No15 SHIRT HIS OWN

Delon Armitage has vowed to make the England full-back shirt his own following his man-of-the-match display on his debut against the Pacific Islanders. Before Saturday's 39-13 win, Martin Johnson's first game in charge, the London Irish speedster had had his nerves eased thanks to an "out-of-the-blue" text message from Jason Robinson, the retired World Cup winning No15 and former team-mate of Johnson’s who backed Armitage to cement his place in the team.

The 24-year-old, the country's ninth full-back in 18 months, was assured under the high ball, in defence and showed his electric pace in attack at Twickenham as England ran in five tries thanks to two from winger Paul Sackey and one each for Danny Cipriani, Lee Mears and lock Nick Kennedy, Armitage's club colleague, also making his international bow.

"I don"t think my debut could have gone any better," said the Trinidad-born No15, who previously played for France Under-16s. "When I woke up in the morning I was just panicking - I had so many butterflies that I couldn't have breakfast.

"I got a text from Jason Robinson before the game - it was a big booster for me. He told me to go out there and enjoy it because I deserve it. He said: 'You have worked really hard for it and this is where you should be.' When such great player tells you that, it really lifts you and give you the confidence to think that you can play at this level.

"I want to keep this shirt - I want to make the No15 shirt mine. Hopefully I can keep working hard and Johnno will pick me again. There is quite a lot of work still to be done. Australia are a very tough team and we are going to have to step it up another level and work really hard this week."

Labels: Delon Armitage, England, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 12:11 pm | Permalink | Comments

JOHNSON'S ENGLAND REIGN OFF TO A GOOD START OVER PACIFIC ISLANDERS

Martin Johnson’s reign as England team manager started with a 39-13 victory over the Pacific Islanders at a 40 per cent empty Twickenham on Saturday, though the former lock will be the first to admit that there is still plenty to work on ahead of the bigger challenges of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in the coming weeks.

Johnson, who lifted the World Cup for England in 2003, handed debuts to five players in a new-look team. Man-of-the-match Delon Armitage, the London Irish’s full-back, had an untroubled defensive game, while his team-mate Nick Kennedy marked his international bow with a try. The second-row scored England’s penultimate try only four minutes into the second half – he has only cross the whitewash once for his club.

Ugo Monye, the Harlequins winger, did not score on his debut but his mazy run assisted Danny Cipriani’s try late in the first half, while Riki Flutey, the Wasps centre who qualified for British citizenship in the summer, was solid in defence and showed glimpses of why he was voted players’ player of last season. The Maori-born 28-year-old’s pass was key to England’s first try, scored on 15 minutes following fly-half Cipriani’s penalty six minutes earlier. Flutey’s fizzed miss-pass found Armitage who lobbed inside to winger Paul Sackey, who ran in his ninth try for his country. He would later score his tenth.

The Pacific Islanders, made up of the cream of Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, had never before played against England but hit back almost immediately. Cipriani’s clearance kick in his own 22 was charged down by outside centre Seru Rabeni, who followed up to score.

Despite that conceded try blotting his copy book, Cipriani linked well scrum-half Danny Care and the 21-year olds, who only had five caps between them before kick-off, will be crucial for England’s evolution.

Cipriani make amends for his sloppy mistake by supporting Monye’s run and, after taking the pass, scored three minutes before the interval. Monye, 25, had dashed impressively from his own 22 and shipped to the Wasps No10 when he was eventually caught. Cipriani converted his own try, two of 19 points in a near-perfect kicking game – he missed one conversion from the touchline. Pierre Hola’s penalty on the stroke of half-time took the score to 20-10.

Four minutes after the break Kennedy caught a line out, dropped it to Care, who raced through the gap, and collected the return to gleefully belly-flop over the try line. The Pacific Islanders scored a penalty through substitute Seremaia Martens with 25 minutes remaining, but that was to be their last score of the afternoon.

With 13 minutes left Lee Mears, the Bath hooker, made the most of the visitors’ fatigue and bundled over for a converted score in between the posts. He was later replaced for another debutant, Dylan Hartley, 22, of Northampton Saints. Sackey added another try with five minutes to go to take the score to a flattering 39-13.

ENGLAND

Tries: Sackey (2), Cipriani, Kennedy an Mears
Conversions: Cipriani 4 (5)
Penalties: Cipriani 2 (2)

PACIFIC ISLANDERS

Tries: Rabeni
Conversions: Hola 1 (1)
Penalties: Hola 1 (2), Bai 1 (1)

England: Armitage, Sackey, Noon, Flutey, Monye, Cipriani, Care, Sheridan, Mears, Stevens, Borthwick, Kennedy, Croft, Rees, Easter.
Replacements: Hartley, Vickery, Palmer, Haskell, Lipman, Ellis, Flood.

Pacific Islanders: Ratuvou, Tagicakibau, Rabeni, Mapusua, Delasau, Hola, Rauluni, Va'a, Lutui, Johnston, Levi, Leawere, Naevo, Latu, Maka.
Replacements: Koto Vuli, Pulu, T-Pole, Stowers, Martens, Bai, Taione.

Labels: England, Martin Johnson, Pacific Islanders, Rugby Football Union

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 9:00 pm | Permalink | Comments

BORTHWICK EXCITEMENT AT NEW ENGLAND ERA BEGINS

Steve Borthwick is “excited” at leading England for the first time at Twickenham, though the 29-year-old believes that there are plenty of team-mates ready to shoulder the burden of responsibility against the Pacific Islanders on Saturday. The Saracens lock suggested that half-backs Danny Care and Danny Cipriani, who have five caps between them, are born leaders.

And Borthwick, who was named permanent captain by new team manager, Martin Johnson, believes that their opponents – the cream of Tonga, Samoa and Fiji – will prove tougher opponents than many critics believe. This will be the first time that England have faced them, though Borthwick is looking for a winning start to a new epoch in the national team’s history.

On marching his side out at the home of rugby, Borthwick said: “It’s hard to put into words. It is a great privilege to play for England, and then the opportunity to lead out England at Twickenham, our home ground, is almost beyond belief. It is absolutely fantastic and I am excited about the opportunity.

“I will lead the team out but what is important is that we have great players and leaders. We have that in this team; we have those guys who have the leadership skills required. Some players might be young but they are leading their teams. Danny Care, Danny Cipriani and Nick Easter – that axis of eight, nine and ten is hugely important.

“It’s not a concern at all that the half-backs have limited experience at international level. They are the best players in their position now. The way they have trained, the way they have helped organised the England game, and the way they have played when they have had the opportunity to play, they have done exceptionally well. We have to have people willing to step up for the team and they can – we have outstanding leaders.”

The second row, who moved from Bath to his London employers in the summer, continued: “This is a huge challenge for us and it will be an exciting game – they are a formidable side. We are back here at Twickenham, where we have not played for the last few months.

“The main aspect for me is that this is a new England team. There are new faces and we have a new team manager in place and a new attack coach (Brian Smith, the former London Irish coach). It is a very exciting time for us in English rugby.”

Borthwick was named temporary captain for the two-Test series against the All Blacks in the summer, but he insists that England, who were whitewashed in New Zealand, are a new proposition now.

He added: “I believe we have improved as a side and new players have come in. What happened in New Zealand feels like a long time ago. That was the past and what I am concentrating on is the now. We feel as though we have moved on.

“But the onus is always on the players to perform. We all absolutely love playing for our country. I want to make sure that the guys who are playing in their very first game a great day and we start this season in a really positive manner.”

Labels: England, Pacific Islanders, Rugby Football Union, Steve Borthwick

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 7:53 pm | Permalink | Comments

START OF A GOLDEN AGE FOR ENGLISH RUGBY

Rugby chiefs have finally agreed on a deal that will put an end to the club versus country debate, and pave the way for a new “golden era” where English rugby will flourish both on and off the field.

Representatives of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) were relieved to announce the new eight-year deal – which will commence from July 1 next year – at Twickenham yesterday.

The PRL had been at odds with the RFU for over a decade after losing important players due to international duties at key stages in the season without any financial compensation.

Despite this squabbling, England have reached the last two world cup finals, and Premiership teams have won six of the last 11 Heineken Cups and six of the last seven Challenge Cups. With both clubs and country pulling in the same direction, England fans can expect even more success.

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with PRL,” opened Martyn Thomas, Chairman of the RFU Management Board. “It has taken a long time to put together. We believe that we have got an agreement that is positive it will work if both parties of the agreement pull together.

“It will take England through two rugby world cups, and we hope that the stability and certainty that the agreement will provide will be vital to the development of the game, both at club and country level.”

RFU Chief Executive Francis Baron said: “Our objective is simply to make England number one and our club competitions number one. The RFU will be providing around £110m to the Guinness Premiership clubs over the course of the agreement.

“The key to implementing the agreement will be the establishment of the Professional Game Board, who will be responsible for overseeing the professional game.”

The exhaustive 150 page document – “Nobody has ever produced such a detailed document in professional rugby; we have tried to deal with every issue and deal with it comprehensively,” continued Baron – sets out plans for seasons to be played in series of ‘blocks’.

The idea is to allow players to represent their club and country as much as possible. The block system is structured to include commitments to the Premiership, European competitions as well as International games.

Though, for fear of ‘burnout’, players will only be able to play a maximum of 33 games in any one season (including a maximum of 11 for England).

Three elite player squads (EPS) – Senior, Saxons and Under-20, each of 32 players – will allow players to prepare better for upcoming internationals. Clubs will also be financially encouraged to nurture English talent, and special coaching schemes are to be introduced to develop English coaching talent.

“It is very exciting,” added Elite Rugby Director Rob Andrew. “It is an English solution for the English game – that’s the most important thing. For once and for all I hope we have put the club versus country debate behind us, and we can now really seriously talk about club and country.”

Labels: Francis Baron, Heineken Cup, Rob Andrew, Rugby Football Union, rugby union, Rugby World Cup

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 11:00 pm | Permalink | Comments

ASHTON: GIVE ME THE ENGLAND JOB FOR 2011

England's jubilant coach Brian Ashton, touched back down to England with one message for Rob Andrew, head of the RFU – hand me the reins for the England team and let me take them to world cup glory at New Zealand 2011.

The former Bath coach, who replaced Andy Robinson only ten months ago, inherited a team who had lost eight out of their last nine games. Against all odds, and with hardly any preparation Ashton managed to take England to the world cup final.

Yet even this fantastic achievement has not ensured he will keep his job for longer than the originally agreed period of a year – his contract is due to terminate in December.

However Ashton believes that with the correct preparation and with his superb knowledge of England’s youngsters coming through, the national side can go one better than second place in four years time.

Andrew, head of the RFU, has remained diplomatic about the subject of renewing Ashton’s contract. Ashton, by contrast, wants to shout the fact that he wants to keep his job from the rooftops.

“I love this job,” he beamed. “It’s a difficult job, but it is also one of the most rewarding jobs I think in British sport, probably in world sport as well. I thoroughly enjoy coaching England.”

He believes that the work he did at the National Academy from 2002-2005 will help his case. Ashton helped to launch the Academy and has been able to keep a keen eye on up-and-coming young players as a result. His knowledge of their skills will mean that he can get the most out of their talents.

Youngsters Danny Hipkiss, Matt Stephens, Mathew (sic) Tait and Toby Flood all gained important experience by playing for England in the world cup final, and there are scores of more plying their trade in the Guinness Premiership.

“There are a load of young players coming through the game and that I know exceptionally well from my time as National Academy manager,” Ashton continued. “To be given an opportunity to work with them again would be fantastic.

“Potentially they are some of the best rugby players England have ever had. These players need managing the right way, and hopefully some of them will get the opportunity to play another 40 international games for England before they hit another world cup tournament.

“That obviously will make a massive difference in terms of experience that they will have to bring in 2011. They will be the senior players as opposed to being the junior players as they are now.”

The Lancashire-born coach admits that the preparation for this last world cup was far from perfect, and that it is import for the RFU to have a period to reflect on where things may we improved for next time.

“I took over England nine months ago – a team that had lost eight out of their last nine games,” he mused. “A lot of players who played in the world cup weren’t available in the Six Nations for me, so we effectively started out campaign four months ago. We got to the final, and were very, very close at some stages to winning that final.

“We need to go through a review process – not from when I took over but a review of what has happened since 2003, just to make absolutely certain that we give ourselves the best opportunity to prepare over four years for that 2011 tournament.

“We have to make sure that we don’t go into the 2011 tournament in January 2011 with the same sort of situation that faced me when I took over here.”

Labels: Andy Robinson, Brian Ashton, RFU, Rob Andrew, Rugby Football Union, rugby union, Rugby World Cup

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 8:29 pm | Permalink | Comments