Sendoff In The Park

It's been couple of years since I last went to the O₂ Scrum In The Park, and it was good to see another event advertised this year, so the public could meet the squad and give them a good sendoff to the Rugby World Cup.

There were all sorts of events going on during the afternoon, such as Meet the Players to get autographs, training sessions for kids with the team, face painting, competitions etc. It's great to be interested in a sport where the players are so accessible - I can't see it happening with the England football team any time soon! I did feel a bit sorry for Jonny Wilkinson [left], who was inevitably the centre of attention - he needed about 5 minders to keep the groupies away! He seemed to be bearing it with remarkable good grace, however.

Other players who I saw pottering about included the midfielders Jamie Noon, Matthew Tait, and Andy Farrell (who also seemed popular with the autograph hunters).

Prop Matt Stevens and second row Steve Borthwick [right] were putting the kids through their paces at rucking practice. A tad unfair since they could probably both have lifted up the kids with one hand, and were trying to get them to lever 110Kg of Forward off the ball!

Entertainment was provided by a marching band, looking splendid in their Dress Reds and enormous Busbies. I wasn't entirely convinced by the Gospel Choir, mind you. Although they were much better than the crowd at singing Swing Low!

At least the Sign For England bus was a success - a double-decker where you could sign your message of support to the boys, all over the outside:

[my contribution on the side of the Sign For England bus]

The finale was a little bit of a letdown - the team were paraded onto the pitch and stood under the posts whilst Austin Healey quizzed Brian Ashton and Phil Vickery. Then they sang Swing Low and fired a load of streamers at the team:

[the England boys attempt to unravel themselves from the red and white streamers]

Would have been nice if they'd let them have a final lap round the pitch to wave to the spectators, but they were ushered off again quite quickly. Oh, well - I'll see them on Saturday in Lens! Can't believe my RWC trip has come round so quickly. You can see the rest of my photos from this year's Scrum In The Park.

The Emperor's New Clothes

For some time, I've been meaning to give my rugby photography site a bit of a fresh coat of paint. Plus, the way the site was put together was a little archaic, so I've taken the opportunity to do it the right way, adhering to Web Standards, which should make it faster to load, easier to use and generally more accessible to a wider range of readers. It should also work nicely on your mobile phone, if you have internets on it!

So, out with the old:

[outdated look and feel]

And in with the new!

[nice shiny new clothes]

On other notes, I see Danny Grewcock has lost his appeal against the six week ban he received for punching during the ECC Final. This rules him out of all the England RWC warmup games, and the first few fixtures of the tournament. Brian Ashton has said he can't name a banned player in his 30-man squad, so Grewcock really has let another moment of madness ruin his chances at a last World Cup place for him.

I'm also pleased with the new format for the Anglo-Welsh Cup. To be honest, I was getting a bit sick of Saracens always having to play Wasps and London Irish in their group, seeing as we meet them regularly in the Premiership. So it will make a great change to be able to see Leeds, Bristol and Llanelli Scarlets this time round.

Eggheads And Arguments

I was minding my own business waiting for a train this morning, when what should I spy on the opposite platform but this poster for the Daily Telegraph:

["We've got Rugby's finest minds"]

I wondered if he'd got the enourmous egg from constantly battering opposition front rows? :-)

The club vs country row rumbles on like an old sore which has had the scab picked off yet again. WHEN are the RFU and PRL Ltd going to sort it out?! It's getting very tedious! They are all looking like bigger eggheads than Keith Wood! And the poor old players just end up as piggies in the middle.

With a Six Nations rest weekend coming up, Brian Ashton named his team to play Ireland on 24th earlier in the week, in the hope that his chosen players would be rested by their clubs, a large number of which have important games scheduled over the weekend.

Wilkinson sits out Newcastle's game against Bristol, but team mates Tate and Flood are in the starting XV. Some of the Leicester boys might come off the bench for their Worcester game. But Saracens are fielding Andy Farrell at 12 for their match against Gloucester. I'm disappointed to be missing that one, especially as a win could mean they move into the top 4! But I'll be watching closely for the result!

It's not just the English who have been inconvenienced - several Premiership clubs refused to let their Scottish internationals attend a training day this week.

Jonny's Back - With A Vengence

Six Nations Game 2 - England vs Scotland (42-20)

What can you say? For someone who has not played international rugby for 3+ years, and has barely played more than a handful of club matches in that time too, you just have to admire Jonny's skill and determination to then come on at Twickenham and play a blinder of a game.

Whether or not you agree with the try that was awarded to Jonny in the second half, you can't deny he made a huge impact in the game.

Harry Ellis [right] was held up over the line after a few minutes, then two teams traded a couple of early penalties, then Jonny punted over another before Simon Taylor's try from a crap England lineout. Paterson converted and all of a sudden, England were down 6-10.

To be fair, most of England's lineouts were solid, and Scotland didn't seem to compete much in the air, which was a surprise.

I thought Ellis played a blinder of a game too, as did Brian Ashton who thought it was his best game in an England shirt.

A few more penalties later (to England), and all of a sudden, Billy Whizz [left], another player recently out of the Interanational wilderness, strikes for his first try of two during the game. And England went in to the break leading 17-10.

Thankfully for the English fans, there was more of the same in the second half, with Martin Corry stealing a lineout, followed by a huge shove from the forwards, a tackling error from Sean Lamont, and Jason Robinson was over the line for his second.

So, two gambles in selection from Brian Ashton paid off - and so did the third, that of Centre Andy Farrell [right]. He was passing and distributing well, made some good breaks and generally looked like a far more experienced Union player than he actually is. He worked well with Mike Tindall, too, which is great news for the midfield.

A few more points for Jonny, plus a late consolation try for Scotsman Dewey, and the final score was 42-20. Other notable points from the game - Danny Grewcock was winning his 67th cap, which made him the most experienced England man on the field. He made some great lineout jumps and generally behaved himself discipline-wise. And Jonny's 27 points beat Rob Andrew's record of 24 for a Calcutta Cup match.

Jonny and the rest of us were hugely relieved the only injury he picked up was a fat lip, and he said the rest of the game went like a dream.

So, a great start for England. Bring on Italy next week!

Or read my Ten Word Review

Normal Service Resumed

After a break for Christmas and the New Year, I shall resume normal service for 2007, blogging and blethering to myself. If anyone's listening, that's great. And talking of Christmas, if you're now suffering from the excesses of the Festive Season, you might raise a chuckle at the Halfbakery's suggestion of a Trolley For Dieters.

Now, on to the rugby... what's been happening since I last posted?

• Brian Ashton got the job as England Head Coach (I'm sure you know that already). He's now picked his squad for the Six Nations and beyond, naming Phil Vickery as Captain [see right].
• Some surprises in the squad - Billy Whizz is back from International retirement. Lawrence Dallaglio doesn't even make it into the England Saxons squad. Jonny Wilkinson gets the nod as one of three No. 10's, but is still not fully fit from his last injury and isn't likely to be playable for the first game against Scotland.

Meanwhile, Sarries have been doing OK over the break. They beat Quins away on 22nd, and Northampton at home on 27th December, but lost away at Leicester on New Year's Day. As of now they sit at 5th in the Premiership table. Heady heights indeed - let's hope they can keep it up in the second half of the season!

My next visit will be for their home game against Narbonne (European Challenge Cup match) on 14th January - so I'll post some photos after that.