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

BROWN: QUINS CAN STAY IN PLAY-OFF BERTH

Harlequins moved up to fourth in the Guinness Premiership with a bonus-point victory over play-off rivals Sale Sharks on Sunday at the Stoop. Dean Richards’s side bounced back from defeat by Newcastle Falcons the previous weekend to win 38-20 thanks, in particular, to an outstanding second-half performance.

With home fly half Chris Malone, in for the injured Nick Evans, and Sale stand off Charlie Hodgson trading penalties in a error-strewn first half, the score reached 12-12 at the interval. But Quins shifted gears after the break and began to play expansive, attractive rugby, and reaped the rewards for some bold decisions – notably kicking for the corner rather than punting for three points.

South African hooker Gary Botha barged over for the first try of Quins’ tries soon after half-time, and when the ball was shipped through numerous backs’ hands a score from 19-year-old winger Seb Stegmann soon followed.

With England trio Nick Easter, Danny Care and Ugo Monye part of the 11,592 watching on, No8 Tom Guest broke from a scrum and crashed over to put the result beyond doubt. And centre De Wet Barry’s interception and 50 metre dash sealed the bonus-point. Though Hodgson scored a breakaway try and another penalty, Quins, with four games remaining, are confident of remaining in the top four.

“The boys did really well,” said full back Mike Brown. “In the first-half I think the teams were feeling each other out and there were a lot of penalties given. But in the second-half it opened up which was good for us because we could play the game we want to play.

“We improved our discipline in the second-half and that killed them. We go to Sale in a couple of weeks and this win will set the tone for that match. We have got to stay up in the top four now – it is so tight between one and six but we are definitely confident we can do it and make the play-offs.”

Labels: Guinness Premiership, London Harlequins, Mike Brown, Sale Sharks

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 6:01 pm | Permalink | Comments

BOTHA HOPING FOR A MOTHER OF A GAME

Harlequins welcome Sale Sharks to the Stoop on Sunday and Springboks hooker Gary Botha believes his side can put last weekend’s disappointment in Newcastle behind them and defeat their play-off rivals in what promises to be a mother of a game. Botha’s young family will be watching on from the stands and he hopes he can show his wife and children something special on Mothering Sunday.

The 27-year-old, who moved from the Blue Bulls in 2007, has won 12 Springbok caps – but he is very happy to be part of the Quins revolution in the capital; more so if the sun deigns to show itself.

“I’m really enjoying London, especially when the sun is out, and am pleased to have gotten over the spell of injuries I had,” says Botha, whose side are fifth in the Guinness Premiership on 47 points, equal with sixth-placed Sale with five games in the normal season to play.

“My little girl is turning three in May and my little boy is turning one in May – we have a busy household and my wife has to put up with me, because I am a big baby too! They all always come along to watch and hopefully Quins will get a win against Sale on Sunday and our mummy will be happy!”

On the rugby front he continues: “There has been a shift in attitude since I have arrived – we are all going forward now. We have a bunch of young guys who are doing awesomely well now and we have great self-confidence. We see that anything is possible if we put the hard work in.

“That self-belief happens because of the hard work and training. People are understanding – both inside and outside the camp – and coming to terms with the fact that we are a good team, because of the work we do. We are going to get more pressure on us every game now – we are not just another team in the Guinness Premiership anymore. That is great for the Quins players and brings a spark to the squad, which I really like.”

However, at Kingston Park last Sunday, Newcastle Falcons halted Quins’ five-game winning streak. And Botha is positive his “wounded” team can soon get back on track by notching a W against Kingsley Jones’s side, who they play at Edgeley Park on April 17 and were thumped 38-3 by Northampton Saints last weekend.

“There was a bit of frustration,” the hooker says of the 24-16 loss in the north-east. “We did not get as much of the ball as we would have liked. We are a side that likes to have a bit of a crack at the try-line a lot of the time. The most disappointing thing was going up there and not getting any points at all, especially when Sale lost. But it is not that we are looking at the table – we have to concentrate on what we are doing now.

“We will take the loss on the chin and regroup. We had a good run and we have to learn from this. We would like to get a win and get back some of the momentum we had, and build on it once again. Both Sale and Quins will be like wounded animals. Sale will have been very disappointed but they have been up at the top of the table for a reason. They have not been in the leading pack at the end of the last few seasons by accident – they are a top side.

“At this stage of the season all the teams are in a predicament – you have to run your own race now. You can’t expect other teams to help you out and do a job on others. You have to focus on your own race. The game has so many way of throwing in curveballs and that is what makes it so interesting and exciting.”

And Botha believes that the Stoop, where Quins have lost only twice all season – both times to London Irish – will play a major part on Sunday. He adds: “Playing at the Stoop is a big factor for us. It is easier to motivate ourselves to work harder in front of such a great crowd. The most promising thing is that the younger guys in the group are realising how awesome it is playing at the Stoop – they know they have the backing of the crowd. But if you don’t do the hard yards, nothing is easy.”

Labels: Gary Botha, Guinness Premiership, London Harlequins, Sale Sharks

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 4:28 pm | Permalink | Comments

QUINS EARN BONUS-POINT WIN OVER SALE

Harlequins moved up to fourth in the Guinness Premiership with a bonus-point victory over play-off rivals Sale Sharks on Sunday at the Stoop. Dean Richards’s side bounced back from defeat by Newcastle Falcons the previous weekend to win 38-20 thanks, in particular, to an outstanding second-half performance.

With home fly half Chris Malone, in for the injured Nick Evans, and Sale stand off Charlie Hodgson trading penalties in a error-strewn first half, the score reached 12-12 at the interval. But Quins shifted gears after the break and began to play expansive, attractive rugby, and reaped the rewards for some bold decisions – notably kicking for the corner rather than punting for three points.

South African hooker Gary Botha barged over for the first try of Quins’ tries soon after half-time, and when the ball was shipped through numerous backs’ hands a score from 19-year-old winger Seb Stegmann soon followed.

With England trio Nick Easter, Danny Care and Ugo Monye part of the 11,592 watching on, No8 Tom Guest broke from a scrum and crashed over to put the result beyond doubt. And centre De Wet Barry’s interception and 50 metre dash sealed the bonus-point. Though Hodgson scored a breakaway try and another penalty, Quins, with four games remaining, are confident of remaining in the top four.

“The boys did really well,” said full back Mike Brown. “In the first-half I think the teams were feeling each other out and there were a lot of penalties given. But in the second-half it opened up which was good for us because we could play the game we want to play.

“We improved our discipline in the second-half and that killed them. We go to Sale in a couple of weeks and this win will set the tone for that match. We have got to stay up in the top four now – it is so tight between one and six but we are definitely confident we can do it and make the play-offs.”

Labels: Guinness Premiership, London Harlequins, Sale Sharks

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 2:47 pm | Permalink | Comments

HODGSON STARS AS SHARKS GO SECOND

Sale Sharks ascended to second in the Guinness Premiership and all but ended London Wasps’ hopes of retaining their title with a bonus-point victory in Stockport. In the only game on Boxing Day, at a full-house Edgeley Park, home fly-half Charlie Hodgson and full-back Mark Cueto, the forgotten men of English rugby, gave Martin Johnson a timely reminder of what they can do as their side cruised to a 31-3 win.

Against a weakened Wasps side, who were forced to drop nine of their international players due to the Elite Performance Squad rulings, Hodgson scored 16 points, while Cueto ran in his team’s second try and looked a threat all afternoon.

After a poor start to their league campaign Wasps had begun to build up a head of steam, having won their previous four games in all competitions. But Ian McGeechan’s side were out-muscled and out-spirited by a Sale Sharks team determined to give their departing coach Philippe Saint-André a Christmas bonus.

Sale skipper Juan Fernandez Lobbe opened the scoring after 10 minutes when Hodgson found Nial Briggs on the right. The flank forward, standing in for Luke Abrahams after the club suspended him for a headbutt in last weekend’s defeat to Bath, shipped on to Argentine Lobbe, who gleefully dived over in the corner. Hodgson, 28, kicked the extra two points and was asked to do the same only three minutes later.

Cueto, in an attempt to clear his lines, booted from just outside his 22-yard-line, and the ball bounced inside the touch line and back in to play, wrong-footing Wasps winger Chris Bishay. His on-rushing opposite man, Daniel Doherty, collected and slipped to the supporting Cueto, who raced under the uprights.

Though Wasps’ fly-half, Dave Walder, pulled back a penalty after 19 minutes, there was only one No10 shining on Friday – and Hodgson, capped 31 times for England, put the score beyond the visitors after converting his own try on 24 minutes.

When visiting flanker Joe Worsley trotted back from an offside position and found himself in the way of No9 Richard Wigglesworth’s pass, Hodgson was the quickest to react and pounced on the loose ball to take Sale to 21-3 at the interval.

Hodgson ensured his perfect kicking game with a penalty in the 50th minute, and, with three minutes remaining, he converted Lobbe’s second try of the game, a bullocking run from close range that forced a defeated and weary Wasps defence to cave in.

Labels: Charlie Hodgson, Guinness Premiership, London Wasps, Sale Sharks

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 4:47 pm | Permalink | Comments

JONES AIMING TO OVERACHIVE AT SALE

Sale Sharks will have a new Director of Rugby in the summer, but in Kingsley Jones, the ex-Wales captain and current Head Coach, they have a man who can provide a strong-willed direction and an excellent contacts book. The 39-year-old, who made his name as a dynamic flank forward, insists that he will stay true to the north-west club’s core beliefs and build on the successful foundations that the departing Philippe Saint-André has laid down.

Last week the Frenchman, who took the Sharks to their second European Challenge Cup in 2005 and their first Guinness Premiership title a year later, announced his decision to return to his homeland at the conclusion of the season after four years in charge at Edgeley Park.

The veteran of 68 Test caps for Les Bleus earmarked Jones for success some time ago, initially making him Gloucester skipper a decade ago before taking him to Stockport to be his number two in 2004. “I’d say Kingsley is a future international coach and I could see him one day coaching Wales,” said Saint- André two years ago.

However, when the 41-year-old explained his decision to the Sale board, Jones had not been yet given the nod from chairman Brian Kennedy, and worried about the impact it would have not only on the team’s season but also his own career.

“When Phillipe announced that he was leaving it meant that I could possibly be out of a job,” exclaims Jones. “My first thought was that I hope we don’t mess up the rest of this year because we are in a great position to achieve. I was disappointed at that point – mostly for the team.”

But Kennedy agreed with Saint- André’s appraisal of the man from Nantyglo, a village near the top of the valley that runs down to Newport in South Wales, and offered Jones the top job until the end of the 2010-11 season.

“I think the club have handled it fantastically – you might think that I am going to say that – but it is the right thing to do, to keep the continuity,” continues Jones, who had a brief stint as player-coach at Doncaster Knights before being snapped up by Sale. “Brian has been aware of my potential ability for a while, he has seen how hard I have worked and he has rewarded me with a fantastic opportunity which I am grateful to have been given.

“I think the time is right for me now and I know it is going to be a lot of hard work. It is like anything you want to achieve: getting there is a battle but making it good while you are there is the biggest battle. My focus is on the next two-and-a-half years and taking the club to the next step and making sure we fulfil our potential.”

After a period in the twilight of his playing career in which he moved house six times in five years Jones is finally settled in the north-west – “I love Manchester, though if I could change anything it would be the traffic” – and believes that his leadership skills coupled with his knowledge of the club will go a long way to ensuring a smooth transition when Saint-André hands him the reins.

“Hopefully I bring strong leadership and have the ability to get the best out of people around me – my staff and the players,” he continues. “During my career I was captain wherever I played, all apart from for the Barbarians. And I certainly know the game very well – it is my passion.

“I have clear vision of what I would like to do over the next two or three years. We are aiming to overachieve, and if we do that, with the quality that we have at Sale, we will certainly win things. The Academy is a big part of that. Some clubs block the pathway to youngsters and I want to provide our lads with the avenues to succeed.”

In addition to nurturing young talent, Jones – who names rugby luminaries such as Scott Johnson, Dick Muir, Murray Mexted, Phil Keith-Roach and Ieuan Evans among his good friends – will utilise his contacts to add established world-class quality, if required.

“I constantly speak to people in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa,” says the man behind the club’s capture of All Black Luke McAllister, the centre viewed by many as the most exciting player ever to turn out for Sale.

“But we still have guys like Andrew Sheridan, Charlie Hodgson, Mark Cueto, Chris Jones, Sean Cox, Mathew Tait, Richard Wigglesworth, Lee Thomas, Dwayne Peel, Dean Schofield and Luke Abrahams under contract until at least 2010. These guys are all top drawer players.

“The spine of the team is there and is very, very strong. We need to bring a few through the Academy but we are not in the position where we have to totally rebuild. It’s an exciting opportunity and one that I am going to give my all to.”

Labels: Edgeley Park, Guinness Premiership, Kingsley Jones, Philippe Saint-André, Sale Sharks

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 6:22 pm | Permalink | Comments

WASPS VICTORY MARRED BY VICKERY INJURY

London Wasps continued their march up the Guinness Premiership after defeating title rivals Sale Sharks 29-19 at Adams Park. Their seventh straight league win moved them above Sale to fourth – Wasps' highest position this season – but there are concerns over prop and England captain Phil Vickery, who was forced to limp off in the first half with an injury.

The 32-year-old’s right knee buckled under a challenge and, despite bravely attempting to scrummage, he could not continue. Wasps director of rugby, Ian McGeechan, was adamant that Vickery’s injury was not anterior cruciate ligament damage, however.

He said: “Phil got his leg twisted and nobody knows, until he gets it scanned, what damage has been done. It is definitely not acl, we have been told.”

Regardless of Vickery’s setback, McGeechan was pleased with the way in which his team performed on the way to their twelfth consecutive win at home. “The players have worked really hard – credit to them,” he continued. “I am really proud of them.”

Ben Foden scored a try for the Cheshire visitors, while Charlie Hodgson laced 14 points. But home tries from wingers Tom Voyce and Paul Sackey were complimented by 19 kicked points by 20-year-old England fly half Danny Cipriani.

Shaun Edwards, Wasps head coach, praised Cipriani’s performance in particular. “There were some real pressure kicks, but he kicked them," said Edwards. "And it just shows what he is like under pressure.

“I think the more pressure put upon Danny, the better he performs. That is why he is hopefully going to be an international for many, many years.”

Labels: Guinness Premiership, Phil Vickey, Sale Sharks, Wasps

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 1:16 am | Permalink | Comments

WASPS DEFEAT SHARKS BUT VICKERY STUNG

London Wasps continued their charge up the Guinness Premiership and moved to fourth - their highest position of the season - after their 29-19 home win over fellow title challengers Sale Sharks. However their victory celebrations were muted by the injury to prop and England captain Phil Vickery, who limped from the action five minutes before the interval.

He had bravely, if not unwisely, attempted two scrums after his right knee had buckled under the impact of a challenge. His haunting bellow and eventual assisted-exit, and the way in which he unnaturally rocked his knee side to side, suggested that his cruciate ligament had snapped. The 32-year-old's chances of being on the plane for England's June trip to New Zealand now look slim.

Wasps, the form team of the Premiership, will miss Vickery's presence in the imminent business end of the season. But they are making Adams Park something of a fortress - this was their twelfth consecutive win at home, and their seventh straight Premiership victory; the best run in the league by any team this season.

The visiting Cheshire team, who began the game in third, did not make it easy for their hosts, and they were always within touching distance.

It was Sale who opened the scoring thanks to fly half Charlie Hodgson's fourth minute penalty. Tom Voyce replied only three minutes later - the winger intercepted Sale full back Ben Foden's floated pass for a simple score.

England No10 Danny Cipriani added the extra two, as well as a penalty to take the score to 10-3 at the break. Wing Paul Sackey crossed the line following good back hands soon after, to give Wasps 17-3 advantage. And Cipriani's boot did the rest of the scoring.

He amassed 19 points in all to Hodgson, his opposite number's 14. Though Sale, to their great credit, took the game to the wire. Foden made amends for his early mistake by wriggling over, and Hodgson's boot had taken the game to 23-19.

But Wasps held on for a hard-fought victory, though, as Vickery hobbled to the changing room with a heavily strapped right leg, only the club's physio will be able to tell at what cost.

Labels: Charlie Hodgson, Daniel Cipriani, Guinness Premiership, Sale Sharks, Wasps

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 10:19 pm | Permalink | Comments

SHARKS EDGE OUT TIGERS

An expectant and convivial Edgeley Park greeted Leicester, and on a fresh but icy afternoon in Stockport, their hosts – Sale Sharks – grafted well to eek out their first defeat of the Tigers since their play-off final at Twickenham back in May 2006.

The score on that occasion was 45-20 but the Tigers had beaten the Sharks in their next four meetings. Sale came close in the same fixture last season but a last-minute Sam Vesty try took Leicester to 26-25 up.

Much of the pre-match hype, of the televised game that had been sold out weeks before, had been about the head-to-head between All Black centres Luke McAlister – who had made his try-scoring home debut for the Sharks the week previous against Bayonne – and Leicester’s Aaron Mauger.

In truth, the contributions of the men inside them – fly-halves Charlie Hodgson and Andy Goode respectively – proved more significant. With all the excitement about Wasps’ 20-year-old stand-off Danny Cipriani, these two England internationals quietly proved their worth, with assured, no-frills performances from hand and boot. Hodgson, however, won the battle, as Goode missed four out of seven crucial penalties.

Only 25 days before had the Tigers thrashed Sale 32-8 in the EDF Energy Cup at Welfare Road, but Sale on home turf are a different beast. Coach Philippe Saint Andre had called for the ‘16th man’ to make himself be known, and his wish was granted.

A full complement of 10,872 cheered and jeered in equal measure in this scrappy match – Sale’s last at home in 2007. It caught fire minutes before the interval and only rekindled in the 65th minute when Goode knocked over another penalty to tie the scores at 14.

Sale should have been tucking into their half-time oranges 14-3 up after Rory Lamont had belly-flopped over in the left corner after some quick shipping of the ball. French giant Sebastian Chabal, who in mid-week committed to a new two-year deal, had bludgeoned the Leicester pack on the right. Scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth flashed to Hodgson, he to McAllister and then onto the Scottish winger via full-back Julien Laharrague.

As it was, the Tigers hit back immediately with a backs move which halted Lamont in his tracks on the right wing, and allowed his opposite man – Johne Murphy – to sidestep Laharrague and go over for a the only other try of the game.

Hodgson’s three first-half penalties had been answered by only one from Goode, and the second-half began 14-8. But the Leicester man applied the pressure again with a 45th minute penalty. As soon as he pulled his team level 20 minutes later, Hodgson knocked one over himself. McAlister cemented the result with only five minutes to go with a penalty from the half-way line.

With Leicester all but out of the Heineken Cup thanks to their 22-11 loss to Toulouse the week previous, and with Sale leap-frogging them in the mid-table of the Premiership (Tigers slip to sixth while the Sharks move up to fourth), new Argentinean coach Marcelo Loffreda’s start has been tough. Top of his New Year’s resolutions must be to find more of the grit and determination that the Tigers showed under erstwhile coach Pat Howard.

Labels: Guinness Premiership, Leicester Tigers, rugby union, Sale Sharks

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 12:48 pm | Permalink | Comments

CHABAL - THE MAN OF MEN

Sébastien Chabal has become the pin-up for the French World Cup campaign, not so much for his on field attendance, but for his natural, hulking looks, and his warrior-like ferocity and physicality when he does enter the fray. His popularity has disseminated globally. Even 15 Facebook groups (at least) have been formed in his honour - ranging from Sébastian 'the caveman' Chabal to end the war in Iraq to Chabal: possibly the sexiest man on earth.

Yet as his wife admits, behind his unkempt mane of hair and tousled beard - left to cultivate in a fashion that earns him nicknames such as Attila the Hun, l'homme des grottes (the caveman) and Sea bass - there is a modest, generous and thoughtful family man.

Chabal, capped 35 times by Les Bleus, has been championed by French women for his looks - the antithesis to the metrosexual - and by the men for his sheer power. His hit on All Black No8 Chris Masoe - dubbed the ‘tackle of the century’ - and full-tilted bosh on Ali Williams is enough to make most men weep. His direct style, whether playing at No8 or, as French coach Bernard Laporte prefers, in the second row, is eye-catching and inspiring.

John Carter, who plays with Chabal at Sale Sharks, flinches at the thought of the Sea Bass in full flow. “He is naturally one of the most powerful people you will find,” Carter, who at 6ft 3ins and 16st is no wimp, says.

“He doesn’t actually need to train particularly hard to compete with most people. He can walk into the gym and keep up with (England’s prop) Andy Sheridan on the weights bench, which is quite amazing. He is a game-changer. The things he does in a game will determine whether or not his team will win or lose the game.”

Carter concedes that England are perhaps getting off lightly, as throughout France’s World Cup, Chabal has been utilised as a lock, and a replacement one at that. “At No8 he immediately has the ball in his hands and that’s where he is most effective. For us at No8 he is outstanding. For most countries he would be outstanding at No8, but Laporte wants him in the second-row.”

With only 7.5 per cent body fat, Chabal is mostly rippling muscle, and when he strips off at the Stade de France on Saturday, many an Englishman will be trembling. Yet few would imagine that this colossal 29-year-old is a relaxed and modest man, dedicated to his family and his friends.

“When I think that people imagine that Séb deliberately set out to look like Attila the Hun, it makes me smile,” Annick, his wife, said in a recent French publication (Paris-Match). “No one is more sensitive and withdrawn than him. The beard is, in fact, a way of hiding behind a screen.”

Chabal began to grow his beard when his daughter Lily Rose, now two-and-a-half-years-old, was conceived. He had planned to shear it when Lily Rose was born, but Annick liked it so much that he kept it for her. And, though the merchandising men continue to have a field day, producing T-shirts, banners and other Chabal paraphernalia, here is a man who drives a small Smart car - “you have never seen anything like it,” admits Carter - and who has confessed to being “afraid of ghosts and spiders”.

When unable to attend the family dinner due to rugby commitments he will, according to Annick, “connect up his webcam so that he is with us at the family table.”

Aside from being a devoted family man, Chabal is a great friend to his team-mates. “He is a very down-to-earth guy who mucks in with the lads - he’s very chilled out,” continues Carter. Chabal is known within the club for his generosity, advice and gentle humour.

Though not the ring-leader, he has been known for his practical jokes; his distinctive laugh booming through the corridors at Edgley Park. He is also renowned for his cooking skills - he regularly lays on team barbeques - and his kindness.

“You are friends with all your team-mates but there are some people who are more generous, and Chabal is one of them,” offers Carter.

Far from the Neanderthal image the media like to portray, Chabal would sooner be found sipping an espresso and talking politics than in a cave. “He will happily drink coffee all day,” suggests Carter.

There will be nothing so civilised about Chabal’s performance against England. Direct and punishing running will bludgeon the Red Rose’s defence. Whatever the outcome, one thing is for sure: after the semi-final he will log on to his computer and wish his little girl bonne nuit.

Labels: France, John Carter, rugby union, Rugby World Cup, Sale Sharks, Sebastian Chabal

Posted by Oliver Pickup at 11:59 pm | Permalink | Comments