Thursday, November 02, 2006

A Roundup Of News

Lots of news regarding the impending England vs New Zealand game on Sunday:

Impossible job? Mike Ford, England's defence coach, has one of the toughest jobs in rugby right now. Let's hope he's been doing his homework!

Two guys that we will miss on the pitch, and won't be able to renew their sparring from last year (see above) are Mark Cueto and Dan Carter. Cueto failed to recover from injury sustained in a Heineken Cup game against the Ospreys. Carter, meanwhile, is rested by Graham Henry ahead of the All Blacks' games against France and Wales. Nick Evans gets the nod at No. 10.

England 'had to gamble on youth' - Shaun Perry (left) and Anthony Allen win their first caps against the All Blacks - what a baptism of fire! And Paul Sackey is primed for his England chance to impress. He certainly flies for Wasps on the Wing.

Old boy Iain Balshaw is shocked by his England chance at Fullback. I'm sure he'll make the most of it. And talking of renaissances, lock Ben Kay has recently found his form again. All in all, Graham Henry expects England to come out on the attack when they take the field in front of a record 82,000 fans on Sunday.

Comback Kings?
Jonny Wilkinson is set for his latest comeback - how many is that now?
Hilly scored a try during his first match for Saracens in their Guinness A League defeat of Northampton, 43-12.And Dallaglio thinks if he doesn't get picked for the Six Nations squad next year, he's probably blown his chance at another pop at the World Cup.

One final thought:
The underdogs can triumph on the day - as Australia found out to their cost when they were beaten by the Ospreys last night! Well done, guys!

1 comment:

Stuey said...

Balsh didn't do enough for me. The new boys did pretty well considering. There is still a huge gulf to be breached in order to challenge the likes of the ABs though.