Oh Ye Of Little Faith!

Kickoff - I feel slightly sick!

Berwick Barnes's long kick in the 3rd minute just wouldn't go over the deadball line, and England took a dodgy 22m dropout, with Australia turning over deep in the England 22. The Aussies won a penalty but Stirling Mortlock missed the chance at 3 points. Seconds later, he had another go with a longer range kick, but less of an angle. No mistake this time, 3-0 to Australia.

The restart was much more promising, with the forwards chasing and wrapping it up. Mike Catt [left] kicked to the corner for Paul Sackey but he was taken into touch. The Australians took the lineout but England continued to pressure.

The first scrum was an Australian putin, but after two collapses, there was a bit of argey-bargey. It went down again at the reset, and again. The penalty went against England, despite looking like the gold shirt being the first one to buckle. Mortlock had a go at the posts from the helfway line, but it went very wide - perhaps justice was served.

George Gregan, making his record 139th appearance for Australia, snuck through a half-hole off a lineout, England defended and turned over in the Aussie's half. Keeping the ball alive, Twinkle Toes Robinson made a massive break up the middle. It went both ways across the field, England keeping possession. A couple of minutes of furious defence for the Australians, eventually they turned over. A good passage of play from England.

Australian lineout on the half way came back to them, but the loose ball was turned over and England pressed upfield again. The Aussie hooker made a shocking clearance putting them offside, and England won a penalty. Jonny did the honours to take them level after the first quarter. England looked sharper and the more dangerous of the two teams.

23 minutes in, Australia had another scrum. The same old story - collapsing all round. Finally, England won the penalty in the Aussie half. Wilkinson lined up the kick, and over it sailed - taking him to the highest points scorer in the history of the World Cup, surpassing Gavin Hastings' record and boosting morale for the Men in White - 6-3 up.

The restart was won by Australia but Mike Catt and Paul Sackey tackled furiously and the forwards turned over the ball. Daniel Vickerman was pinged for infringing in the ruck. Wilkinson lined up for the posts again: he couldn't quite make it through the sticks.

The 22m dropout was kicked over the English try line by Barnes. England looked much more lively at their own restart. Australia's lineout was solid in 30th minute, with Chris Latham making strides through the midfield. England had to drop back into defensive mode, with Loti Tuqiri breaking the line too. Then the Australian forwards had a go at inching up. Then through more hands and rucks, back to Tuqiri and the big winger went over for his first try of the tournament. Mortlock's conversion banana'd between the posts and Australia were 6-10 up.

Then at 35 minutes, Paul Sackey was taken out in the air, catching a high kick, and Adam Ashley-Cooper was penalised. Wilko kicked a huge ball downfield for a lineout and the England forwards rumbled on. The maul was brought down, but Wilkinson pulled the kick from out wide. Half time came soon after.

Mike Catt got himself a bloody nose just as the second half got under way, and then England won a penalty at the scrum. The next lineout was deep into Aus territory, but England were turned over. Then back again, and Wilkinson knocked on.

At 45 minutes, England disrupted the Australian lineout in their own half, and although the Aussies had the scrum putin, England disrupted well - almost winning against the head. England turned over, Mike Catt was unable to pickup without knocking on - but they were right under the posts.

The scrum was reset - 5m closer to the Aussies tryline. Andrew Sheridan was making mincemeat of the Aussie front row. They won the scrum - scrambled - but the clearance kick was a shocker, so England had a 5m lineout. The forwards went inching up the field, sniffing the line. Eventually it was flung wide, then back again. The Australians got themselves offside. Jonny Wilkinson had taken a battering during the play, so there was a short delay before he took the kick, and he scored the crucial three points to take them just one point behind, 9-10.

The restart saw Australia going into attack, but Nick Easter [right] fed off the scraps and turned over. The England clearance gave Australia a lineout, but that was immediately turned over. A bit of ping-pong later, Chris Latham tried for a long-range drop goal, but it went very wide.

Australia had a go at attack at 55 minutes, but England kept up their defensive discipline. England turned over and kicked back upfield for territory. The lineout was exactly on half way - it went loose and Matthew Tait kicked ahead to take England right up to the Australian line but they knocked on. England got the putin at 5m: a vital position to score.

Wheel on the replacements! The forwards drove towards the line and Australia infringed - 3 points were better than nothing, so Wilkinson lined up the kicking tee - England were ahead 12-10 and the Wallabies were beginning to creak, particularly at the scrum.

The green and gold came fighting back after the restart, they looked dangerous for a couple of phases and then knocked on. They got another opportunity, but Daniel Vickerman was seen to take out Andy Gomarsall [elft] well after he'd passed the ball, giving England the chance of a penalty, to kick deep into the Wallabies half.

At 63 minutes, Mike Catt was subbed for Toby Flood, a chance to see what the Newcastle boy could do. England took the catch right at the back of the lineout. Simon Shaw [right] powered up the pitch, with plenty of support for him. Josh Lewsey knocked on from a pass from Jason Robinson, but it was another avarage scrum for the Wallabies. England turned over, but had to kick to clear - the Aussie lineout was shakey, turned over from the back. Jonny Wilkinson attempted a drop goal but it went wide.

At 67 minutes, Australia were back on the attack, but Nathan Sharpe knocked on in England's half. Lawrence Dallaglio [left] was brought on in time for the scrum. Then Australia got another putin at 69 minutes - George Gregan was having trouble getting the ball in the tunnel with a collapse, and England won a free kick. They chose to take another scrum - it was a good call, given the dominance of the England forwards. It collapsed again.

After a bit of ping-pong with poor kicks, eventually Australia kicked long and it went dead over England's try line. Australia won the dropout and were on the attack again - Gregan knocked on and they gave away a penalty - time for Jonny to stand up for the kick right on the half way line. The most important kick of his career since THAT drop goal. It went just wide to the left.

Five minutes to go, and it was another kicking ping-pong scenario. The Wallabies won their lineout at the half way line. They kept pushing, England kept defending. Worsley gave away a penalty. Stirling Mortlock went to take the kick - but it didn't have the accuracy.

Countdown - two minutes to go, two points in it. Australia won the restart, then England tackled and knocked on. The scrum was on, Gregan feeding, but Autralia couldn't clear it far enough. England had the lineout throw, with twenty seconds to go.

George Chuter got the ball to English hands, but Australia turned it over somehow. The clock ticked over the 80 minutes, Australia knocked on, and the whistle blew!

So England have pulled off what many thought was highly unlikely - the Aussies go home and the Sweet Chariot can rumble on towards the semis in Paris next weekend.

It was a remarkable turnround from the 36-0 pumelling England got against South Africa just three weeks ago. They looked like a completely different side - competing at the breakdown, scavanging ball wherever they could and certainly getting the upper hand in the scrum. They tackled as if their lives depended on it, and that sort of defence can only stand them in good stead for the next game. Andrew Sheridan [left] was named Man of the Match, an indictment of the forwards' contribution to the win. But Australian supporters will spare a thought for George Gregan, retiring after the match with a mammoth 139 caps. I'm sure he'll be missed.

England Disappoint

What a contrast with last night's opening game. England fans who travelled to Lens for the game were disappointed with a lacklustre performance from the team. It was a slow start, and after the first quarter, it was England 3 USA 3. The Eagles had defended well and had the only chance of a try, before Phil Vickery kicked out and tripped centre Paul Emerick. Vicks has since been cited for the offence and banned for two games.

Olly Barkley was one positive - he had a good game and fully deserved his Man of the Match award. He distributed well, and went over for a try. Despite the spear tackle from Paul Emerick [right] late on, he got up and finished the game. Emerick's World Cup is over after being banned for 5 weeks for the dangerous tackle.

Mike Catt had the chance of a try around the half hour mark, but USA defended well and cleared their lines. USA's Esikia was sent to the bin around the same time, and Olly managed to kick the points. Soon after, Josh Lewsey made a good break, which ended when he tripped over his own feet! However, he managed to offload to Tom Rees, then across to Jason Robinson who crossed the line for England's 100th World Cup try. Barkley's conversion attempt floated wide.

Just before half time, Mike Hercus attempted a drop goal, which was collected by Mark Cueto, then passed off to Olly Barkley who crossed over for a morale-boosting try.

[Olly Barkley clears the ball close to his own lines]

In the second half, Tom Rees [left] darted over the line for a score with Barkley kicking the extras. However, the rest of the England team were sloppy and kept making silly mistakes. They were never really dominant in the scrum, and Mark Regan's throwing wasn't terribly accurate. George Chuter didn't do much better when he came on. Perhaps Lee Mears would have been a better bet?

The Eagles' Blake Burdette nearly got a try, but Mark Cueto saved the day. Lawrence Dallaglio was sent off at 73 minutes, for lying on the ball. He hadn't played well anyway, looking sluggish and out of form. [right, one of Dallaglio's few high points in the game]

Replacement prop Matekitonga Moeakiola made it over the line for a well-deserved score just after, with Hercus hitting the conversion. Andy Farrell made a decent break during the dying moments of the game - he looked reasonably sharp when he came on as a replacement with some of the other heavy brigade.

So, England won 28-10, but it was far from pretty. They'll have to do a lot better next Friday if they're going to get another win against South Africa. Pull your socks up, lads!

Merde! Les Rosbifs Ont Gagné!

Six Nations Game 12 - England vs France (26-18)

England made a slow start, and France took the opportunity of 3 points after three minutes. Then England looked like they were making a break, only to be turned over. They were let off when France knocked on.

Just before seven minutes, David Skrela took an awkward fall after a tackle by Tom Rees [left]. Toby Flood took the penalty to square things up at 3-3.

England put toghether a decent passage of play but then France turned over, and nearly made it across the line - but Les Bleus knocked on to give a 5m scrum just short of the England line. Then it got messy, and France got another penalty - 3-6 up.

The first twenty minutes was rather odd - flashes of brilliance from both sides, but often little mess-ups later. Then another French penalty gave them a 3-9 lead. Then England put some pressure on France, they infringed and Flood's kick at goal went wide. His next attempt in front of the posts was good, to give England 6-9.

France pushed the English defence again, and Chuter was done for coming in from the side - Dmitri Yachvili [right] took the three points, having taken over the kicking dutes, to make it, 6-12.

From the restart, taken by Sebastien Chabal, Mike Tindall made a huge hit and Chabal was penalised for holding on. The penalty made it 9-12. Shortly after a French lineout, they were again pinged for holding on, at the half way line. Flood stepped up at 51m and it just came up short.

The second half was a bit slow to get going, but the England forwards got to within 2m of the line. They were driven back briefly, then it went out to the backs. Captain Mike Catt [left] made a great break, passed out to Flood who went over for a try. He converted his own score to give England their first leat at 16-12.

Chabal was subbed about ten minutes into the second half, he had not been doing much. England gave away another penalty, and Yachvili put over the penalty, to bring them back to 16-15.

Soon after, England gave away another penalty, an Les Bleus took the lead again, 16-18. Then England went on the break again, nearly made it over the line, and forced France to give a penalty away. Shane Geraghty [right], on for Toby Flood, who had a dead leg, and took the points in front of the posts - England 19-18.

Straight after the restart, France gave away another penalty, Geraghty kicked for the corner, the lineout was solid and they went driving for a bit up the pitch. But then Martin Corry was isolated.

They played ping pong several times, then Geraghty got the ball and scythed up the field, the French missed at least two tackles, and he went almost all the way to the line before offloading to Mike Tindall [left]. Shane converted to put England ahead 26-18 with six minutes left. What a memorable bit of play for the young Fly Half on his first cap.

The clock ticked down, and every agonising minute went buy. Finally the ref blew for full time, and Twickenham erupted.

France looked decidedly ordinary. They never really competed. Where were their forwards? Our forwards had a great game, really getting into the French faces. And there was a good mix of experience and raw talent.

So, the tournament is wide open now, all to play for next weekend. Bring on Super Saturday!

Or, read my ten word review.

Looking Back & Looking Forward

I've had a stupidly busy few days, so haven't been able to write much until now. Saracens beat Sale Sharks on Sunday at Watford, in the pouring rain.

Thanks to some nightmare traffic, I only arrived in time for the second half, which annoyed me somewhat. But I had a new lens to try out at the game, and was keen to give it a spin despite the rain:

[Mates in Mud, Mark Cueto and Glen Jackson pick themselves up after a roll on the turf]

The second half saw no tries (Adam Powell having scored the only one during the first half), but Jackson kicked several panalties over. The rain let up a bit, but of course, the pitch was sodden and the players soon ended up filthy - it was quite easy to play "Spot The Subsitute" when they came on from the bench:

[Spot The Subs, Sale bring on fresh legs and fresh shirts in the front row]

Sarries took the game 22-9 in the end, leaving them fifth in the table, one point behind Wasps, with a game in hand. Another home win, which must be good for team spirit. Next up is Newcastle away, then Bristol at home on 18th. You can also see more photos from the Sarries/Sale game.

And talking of Bristol, they were nilled at Wasps on Sunday too - final score 28-0. Bit worrying to see Phil Vickery suffering concussion thanks to a wayward haymaker swung by Jason Hobson - who's already been suspended by Bristol for two weeks and faces an RFU disciplinary panel next week.

So where does that leave the current England Captain for the game against France? On the sidelines. The team will be lead by Mike Catt on Sunday, which is pretty much a crunch game for England. France have a few old faces back in their team, including The Seabass.

Wasps Get Stung

Richard Hill scored on his first Saracens game back from injury, in last night's EDF Cup match against Wasps. It was apparently very wet, but Saracens won 26-15. And althought neither team could progress out of their group, it was still quite a good game, by all accounts. Thomas Castaignede was at Fly Half and got 16 poinst with the boot.

I didn't attend that match, but here's a photo [left] from the equivalent fixture last season, at Adams Park. On that occasion, Wasps ran out winners with 42-8. Now Saracens have to keep up their momentum for the next European Cup match, against GRAN Parma, on 10th December. I shall be attending that one, so will post some photos when I can.

Meanwhile, the debate over Robbo and his successor still rages. Johnno says he's not keen on coaching right now. Mike Catt suggests Dean Richards would be a great choice. Calls have come for RFU Chief Exec Francis Baron's head, but he's having none of it. And the dirty laundry is beginning to be aired - former England defence coach Phil Larder tells us what he thinks of Andy Robinson's decicion making.

Finally, tomorrow sees the last game of the Sprinboks' autumn tour, against a World XV at Welford Road. Saracens provide four international players for the World XV - Cobus Visagie (South Africa), Fabio Ongaro (Italy), Thomas Castaignede (France) and Andy Farrell (Great Britain RL). Their captain is Lawrence Dallaglio. Let's see how Faz performs in such esteemed company!

Day Of The Devil?

I've just noticed it's 06/06/06 today, but thankfully so far nothing untoward has happened!

Not a lot to report in the rugby press of late, either online or in the papers. Shame England Saxons (aka England A) lost to Scotland A in the first round of the Churchill Cup, during a deadly damp game in Toronto. If Canada beat Scotland we're still in with a chance of going through to the knockout stages.

Meanwhile, Down Under, England Cap'n Pat Sanderson is singing the praises of Mr Catt (I read in today's Metro sport section). Robbo picks his team tomrrow, and Catt is tipped to pair up with Matthew Tait in the Centre for Saturday's game against the Wallabies. It's two years since Catty played for England, but everyone reckons he's had a cracking season and is at his best yet.

The other tidbit I read on the same page is England Saxons' head coach Jon Callard, raving about Dave Seymour. He says he's a natural No 7 and could be the replacement to Neil Back we've all been waiting for. Certainly, the golden-locked one has usually made a strong impression during his outings for Sarries, so here's hoping he can make the transition up to senior grade rugby swiftly - wouldn't it be great if he got his chance at next year's World Cup? You read it here first!

Here's a picture of Davy Boy eyeing up the opposition during a scrum against Bristol

Catt's Got The Cream

I mentioned Mike Catt was having a good season the other day. Well he's just scooped the Premiership Player of the Season award. Not bad for an "old boy" of 34! And coming on top of his recall to the England squad for their tour to Australia in June, he really seems to be enjoying somewhat of a renaissance.

The picture shows him with team mate Riki Flutey, when London Irish visited Saracens for their Powergen Cup match in October 2005.

Guinness Semis

Great to see Sale achieving a place in the Guinness Premiership finals, with a win over Wasps at the weekend. They deserve to go all the way as they have clearly been doing very well this season, and finished 6 points ahead at the top of the table. Wasps will have to lick their wounds and regroup for next season.

And poor old London Irish got a drubbing at Welford Road, being beaten by the Tigers 40-8, Irish's only points coming from Olivier Magne's try and Mike Catt's penalty.

And talking of Catty, he makes the trip down under as part of the Enlgand squad to tour Australia in June. Glad to see there's life in the old dog yet (or Catt, in this case). Here's a gratuitous picture of him to fill up the blog a bit.

If You Can't Beat 'Em...

... get them to join you!

I read with interest that Saracens have signed three London Irish players for the new season - this after they beat us in the last round of the Premiership! The new boys are Paul Gustard (flanker), Rodd Penney (centre) and Ross Laidlaw (fly half). Hopefully it will bode well for the 2006/07 campaign. Plus Saracens' head coach Mike Ford is in talks with the RFU about a possible role coaching England - will have to wait and see what comes of that. Meanwhile, retired back-rower Alex Sanderson is heading down-under to work with Eddie Jones at Queensland Reds for a year, before returning to Saracens at Vicarage Road.

Not a lot of other news to comment on, apart from the imminent recall of good old Catty for the England tour to Australia in June. He has the distinction of being the last player to handle the ball in the 2003 RWC final - kicking it to touch in the 100th minute so that thousands of England fans could go nuts over the win. He's been playing well for London Irish, so its great news that Robbo has decided to give him another shot at international duty.