Rugby Diary - 18th April

Got up early again today to watch yet another episode of sodding Soccer AM. I’ve been watching this Saturday morning football programme for over a month now in the small hope that I might catch a glimpse of our Wasps lads as they take part in the Skill Skool segment. It was back at the beginning of March that the film was shot, yet still no sign. Was it on today? Nope!

Midday – wondering what I should do with my day now that I have got my football fix out of the way. No rugby on TV as Sky are televising tomorrow’s game against Bath and Newcastle. Hang on, wait! It’s the EDF Cup Final today and that’s on the BBC!! It’s funny how you forget these things are on when you’re not in them…

Oh dear! Gloucester were well and truly stuffed by Cardiff. 12 points to 50. Oops! What is it with Gloucester that they can’t seem to pull a win out of the bag when it really matters? Their fans continue to suffer and they are once again calling for the sacking of their underperforming coaching team.

There was also a Premiership game played today. Northampton v London Irish. We really needed Irish to win so that we can have as realistic a chance as possible of getting into 7th position for that glimmer of hope for Heineken Cup rugby next season. Did Irish do it? Did they help us out? Bloody Not Nots. Lost to Northampton 21-17. Great! That means that the Saints are now in 7th place with our game still to play tomorrow. If we win with a bonus point then we will be level on points with them, but not sure who will be ahead in the table.

All this talk of getting into 7th however might be quite irrelevant come the close of the season. We’re chasing this hope that getting into 7th will help us qualify, however for that to happen it means that Bourgoin must win the ECC. The other three teams left in that competition are all English and all outside of the top 6 in the Premiership. A winner’s medal from them would get them in the Heineken next year and take away the final place that we are chasing.

So that is all the rugby out of the way for today. I am trying to pick my Lions squad at the moment, and I am currently struggling to pick my front row players. Fingers crossed I get this finished before the actual team is announced on Tuesday.

Outside Centres of Attention

Is Jamie Noon really the right man to lead England forward in the outside centre position? Here I short-list my alternatives for taking the England 13 jersey in the new year.

(in no particular order)

James Simpson-Daniel

Club: Gloucester Rugby

Position: Centre/Wing

DOB: 30 May 1982

Height: 6' 0" Weight: 14st 6lb

England Caps: 10

I would prefer to use JSD on the left wing, however depending on the availability of other wing options, he would easily slot into the outside centre position. James is a powerful runner whose strength and leg drive could see him match up against the best in the world. The most obvious difference between the England and New Zealand teams during the 2008 Autumn series was the All Blacks ability to make metres whilst being tackled and their skill of the offload. This is something that JSD can offer. He also has a deadly step which could be quite useful too. His proneness to picking up an injury just before the international periods is becoming all too frequent however, and this may continue to affect his International selection.

Mathew Tait
Club: Sale Sharks
Position: Centre/Wing/Fullback
DOB: 6 February 1986
Height: 6' 0" Weight: 14st 3lb
England Caps: 24

Currently being touted as a fullback, I think Tait has all the qualities to make an excellent 13 for England. He has pace and is a 'slippery' player. His defence improves season on season and if you imagine a midfield of Cipriani, Flutey and Tait then you will be looking at a major attacking threat. Playing centre, wing and fullback may make Tait a bit of a Josh Lewsey or Austin Healey in that he can't cement down a starting place because his versatility makes him a great bench option.

Delon Armitage

Club: London Irish

Position: Centre/Wing/Fullback

DOB: 15 December 1983
Height: 6' 1" Weight: 13st 5lb
England Caps: 4

Performed extremely well as England's fullback for all four games of the 2008 Autumn Internationals so it may be wise to keep him at 15. There is a lot of competition coming through in this position though, and when all players are fully fit, Armitage will find himself fighting with Nick Abendanon, Olly Morgan and Mike Brown to be England's 15. At 13, Delon would be in a prime position to use not only his pace, but also his strength and his kicking options. Armitage has a great rugby brain, but still needs to develop his all-round game.

Dominic Waldouck
Club: London Wasps

Position: Inside Centre/Outside Centre

DOB: 26 September 1987

Height: 5' 11" Weight: 13st 10lb

England Caps: uncapped

His step, softness of pass, and his already established midfield partnership with Danny Cipriani and Riki Flutey give Dom Waldouck a great base with which to begin his England career. He doesn't appear to be as big physically as the other candidates, however, don't let that fool you. Waldouck is strong and has outstanding defensive capabilities. He has experience of slotting into the defensive 10 position, switching positions with Cipriani at club level, and so this may be useful for England too. Wasps' outside centre legend Fraser Waters had this to say about Waldouck: "I'd liken him to Tim Horan and though I guess Dom's not quite as big as Horan he is pretty solid, a strong boy who's got great feet. He has the potential to go all the way, and I don't feel like I'm overestimating him in saying that. Some guys rate themselves very early on, and it's easy to do that when you have the odd big game. Dom takes it all his stride and he works hard every game. I think if he was picked for England, he wouldn't change." At only 21 and with no England caps yet, Waldouck already owns Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership winners medals.

Dan Hipkiss

Club: Leicester Tigers
Position: Centre
DOB: 4 June 1982
Height: 5' 10" Weight: 14st 7lb
England Caps: 6

There is ony major thing you need to know about Danny Hipkiss. His leg strength. When he gets tackled, this man will just not go down. This is something that was evidently lacking in England's 2008 Autumn International campaign. This is also something which needs to be developed and brought into the team's game in order to compete with the likes of New Zealand and South Africa. Hipkiss went to the 2007 Rugby World Cup but did not play a major part in the journey to the final. I worry that he may become the next Ollie Smith of English Rugby: Talented Leicester centre who wins a few caps for England, but then just disapears off the radar. Rumour has it that Wasps are interested in signing Hipkiss for the 2009/10 season, although, where that would leave Dominic Waldouck, I am not sure.

Let me know who you think could be England's 13 in the 2009 Six Nations by leaving a comment below.

Next time we'll look at Inside Centre options including Riki Flutey, Toby Flood, Anthony Allen, Olly Barkley and Jordan Turner-Hall.

Lessons Learnt

Today saw England play their last game of the Autumn International series and as the players return back to their clubs ready for the next round of European games, much will have been learnt from their time away in the England setup.

The players themselves, many who are young and inexperienced, will have learnt exactly what it takes to cut it on the big stage, to play with the big boys. They have experienced the ferocity of the southern hemisphere teams, the atmosphere of 80,000 plus crowds, the attention from the media. The learning curve has been great, and although 3 out of 4 results went the wrong way, the players will be able to return to their clubs stronger for the experience.

The England forwards have received a lot of criticism over the Autumn series and today's game against New Zealand hasn't helped them much with 3 yellow cards being dished out to members of the pack. I've not yet seen the replay to tell if the actions of Mears, Haskell and Rees merited their yellow cards. When the Sunday papers are published in the morning they will no doubt be full of reports on the multiple sin-binnings, but I hope this doesn't detract the rugby journalists from the bigger picture.

James Haskell and Tom Rees for example, first broke into the England squad during the 2007 6 Nations and since then have become Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership champions. Their solid performances last season won them starting places on the summer tour to New Zealand and they were among the few players to return home with their credibility still intact.

Tom Rees has been one of England's best players of this Autumn series and as a result has a good chance of starting on the openside during the 2009 6 Nations. His form this season has also been good for Wasps despite the team's overall poor performances. A player of Rees' skill and temperament is already receiving calls to be made captain for both his club and country. He has all the characteristics that a good captain should have: skillful, in-form, temperament, power, and he commands respect from his peers. I will say that Rees will be favourite to take over the Wasps captaincy for the 09/10 season (assuming he re-signs).

Rees' club colleague Danny Cipriani has come in for a lot of attention over the past month following his remarkable recovery from the career-threatening injury he sustained during last season's Premiership semi-final against Bath. His form over the series has been questionable, but how anyone can expect anymore from him at this stage is even more questionable. Danny is an outrageously talented player who has a huge passion and desire to reach his full potential. He has only played 7 games since returning and in these games he has shown glimpses of why people were getting so excited about his prospect. Forget all of the off-field hype and photos of him with his celebrity girlfriend, Danny is 100% focused on his rugby and will be itching to get back to Wasps to start rebuilding himself to where he was back in May. His main focus will be in helping his club progress in the Heineken Cup and to pull themselves further away from the relegation threat in the Premiership. Putting in consistent performances in these games should see Danny ready to show the England Rugby fans why he should be their new 'darling' again.

Keep faith in this group of players. Between the Elite Players Squad and the England Saxons, we are faced with the prospect of the most exciting and free-flowing rugby we have ever seen from an England side. Imagine what danger the breaks from Cipriani, attacks from Abendanon, steps from Simpson-Daniel and turnovers from Rees can cause in the future when the team have settled and gelled.

I for one will be sticking with this group of players through thick and thin. Change takes time, and I'm prepared to wait.