Rugby’s eligible bachelors

THE TUG-OF-WAR between Scotland and Wales for Steve Shingler has highlighted serious flaws in rugby’s eligibility regulations. As it stands Shingler cannot play for Scotland in the Six Nations despite being selected in Andy Robinson’s squad because he represented Wales at U20 level against France last season. As both U20 teams were deemed their country’s second team it meant Shingler had aligned himself solely to Wales at Test level.

The WRU say Shingler was aware of this, but he was obviously confused about the issue or he wouldn’t have said yes to Scotland’s advances. In fact, London Irish signed him believing he was eligible for Wales, Scotland and England! Now Scotland have taken the case to the IRB’s regulations committee but if they rule in Wales’ favour Shingler’s Test career could be over before it’s started. He won’t be able to play for the Scots while he’s probably surplus to Wales’ requirements right now. If he ever does represent Wales at senior level he’ll also have to win over the fans after this controversy.

London Irish director of rugby Toby Booth is hoping common sense will prevail and that Shingler will play for Scotland, saying that the fly-half/centre simply wants to play international rugby. It’s not a great situation for the 20-year-old to find himself in – though his decision to take part in an advert for Wales last year looks rather ill-advised at the moment – and the IRB should step in to ensure it doesn’t happen to others.

So what’s the solution? I’d suggest making a country’s U20 team the same as a sevens or A team across the board so anyone who plays at that level is eligible only for that nation in the future. This makes the situation far clearer because any game at that level would qualify you for that one country.

If a player is eligible for several countries, like Shingler, and wants to keep his options open, then he can always turn down the opportunity to play age-group rugby.  A lot of players still play Test rugby without having played any representative rugby and, besides, more experience of senior club rugby could actually be more beneficial.

While we’re at it, I’d also extend the residency qualification from three years to five. That way players have to show a real commitment to their chosen country and it will stop older southern hemisphere players heading North in their late twenties when they’ve failed to make a Tri-Nations squad and thinking they’ll find it easier to be selected for a home nation. The northern hemisphere should back its own talent anyway and not put a player on a pedestal simply because he’s from New Zealand or South Africa.

Playing international rugby is an honour that players should appreciate – switching allegiances willy-nilly tarnishes that idea. Yes, rugby’s a professional sport, but we should cherish the traditional values of pride and passion, especially at Test level.

Garden of Eden no paradise for Wales

It’s the morning after the night before and I’m still feeling pretty sad. Wales have been the stars of this World Cup, playing some brilliant rugby and doing so with a smile on their faces. Their young players have been a breath of fresh air and they’ve become the darlings of the tournament. So it’s disappointing that a referee’s decision has ultimately cost them a place in the World Cup final.

Yes, Sam Warburton’s tackle on Vincent Clerc was dangerous – he took the player off his feet – but their was no malice involved, he didn’t intend to hurt him. If anything he was too strong for his own good when it came to tackling someone of smaller stature. There’s no question it was a penalty to France and a yellow card for Warburton, but Alain Rolland pulled red from his pocket and Wales’ captain had to watch the next 60 minutes of the game from the bench.

I think the decision would have been easier to take had Rolland consulted with his assistant referees, especially as it looks like his view of the incident was blocked by Lionel Nallet. Instead, he made a snap decision and pulled out the red card – ending the involvement of one of the standout players of the tournament and putting Wales at a huge disadvantage.

I know referees’ chief Paddy O’Brien told referees to start at red and work backwards for tip tackles, but common sense should be applied in situations like this. There was no intent and once Warburton realised he’d tipped Clerc he pulled out of the tackle, trying to minimise the effect of his hit. It’s a shame that one decision can have such an impact on the entire tournament.

What makes it even tougher for Wales is that even when down to 14 men they were the better team. France were desperately limited, content to sit back and defend a narrow lead, while Wales played far more rugby and scored a great try through Mike Phillips. Had their goalkicking been better – James Hook missed two penalties, Leigh Halfpenny’s long-range penalty fell just short and a Stephen Jones conversion hit the post – they would have won this game because the French seemed clueless as to how to get points on the board themselves.

France will need to up the game significantly to avoid being blown away in the final while I hope Wales can motivate themselves enough to play their best rugby in the third-place play-off as they deserve to finish the World Cup on a high.

BEST AND WORST SIGHTS OF THE SEMI-FINAL

1. Seeing Ryan Jones smiling during the anthems was brilliant – you could sense how much he was enjoying the occasion and soaking up the atmosphere. A rare sight in Test rugby but a welcome one.

2. French players chest pumping at the final whistle. Yes, they’ve made it to the final but they shouldn’t be celebrating like that after such a woeful performance.

3. The dignity with which Sam Warburton dealt with his red card. Not only did he walk calmly from the field rather than remonstrate with Alain Rolland, but he coped with a camera being put right in his face, joined his team-mates in applauding the fans at the end and fronted up to the media post-match. I can think of few people in a similar situation who would do that.

4. A return to the kick-fest of the 2007 World Cup. At one point I thought I’d been transported back four years to France given the amount of up-and-unders on view – a tactic that neither team employed to great effect.

Whales, wins and wet Wellington

Ever since I arrived in New Zealand I’ve had a distinct lack of sleep – but it’s been worth it. As well as seeing three cracking games over the weekend I’ve also been out whale watching! I may have developed something of a green pallor halfway through the four-hour trip – the sea was pretty choppy – but the sight of a whale with a blowhole as big as my head and scores of dolphins gliding gracefully through the water by the boat more than made up for that.

First on my RWC 2011 agenda was South Africa-Samoa and boy did the Samoans give the reigning world champions a fright. Samoa’s World Cup was really hampered by the schedule; if they’d had more than a four-day turnaround before the Wales game they could well have beaten them, and the same applies with the South Africa match.

This is Samoa’s best back-line for a long time, creative and powerful, but they were outplayed by the Boks at the breakdown. Still, the Boks looked limited and offered little in attack, so Australia may well have the edge in their quarter-final.

Twenty four hours later, it was England’s tussle with Scotland. It was hardly a classic encounter but it was certainly tense. England were dismal in the first half and Scotland played some great rugby, but it was the men in white who provided the clinical and ultimately winning finish.

Wales v Fiji was a far more one-sided encounter but it was a great display by Warren Gatland’s side. They were ruthless in attack, have brought more variety to their game and proved solid in defence – it’s the first time they’ve nilled a team in a World Cup and they’ll certainly go into their quarter-final against Ireland with confidence.

And if there was plenty of drama on the field, it was matched off it. Dan Carter’s been ruled out of the World Cup, which is a bitter blow for the All Blacks. They have been far and away the best team at this tournament, but can they win the Webb Ellis Cup with Colin Slade or Aaron Cruden in the No 10 shirt? Their biggest challenge will be mentally; Carter is their talisman, the leader of their attack and if the players see his loss with the same desperation as the New Zealand public they could be in trouble. The question marks over Richie McCaw’s fitness don’t help matters and the All Blacks could well pay the ultimate price for their over-reliance on those two men.

England have been misbehaving again, too, getting caught in another two tabloid scandals – Mike Tindall lying and another trio upsetting a hotel worker. If I’m honest I think both stories have been blown way out of proportion, particularly the incident involving Haskell, Ashton and Hartley. I was in fits of laughter when reading the story because it’s been so over-dramatised; it was just some typical blokey banter and the girl couldn’t take the joke. If she was so embarrassed, why does she feel the need to tell millions of people about it?

Hopefully we’ll be able to focus purely on the rugby this week. I’m down in Wellington for Ireland v Wales and Australia v South Africa. The rain has been lashing down ever since I arrived but the prospect of those two quarter-finals is ensuring my spirit isn’t dampened!

Crazy about rugby

I’ve been in Auckland for less than 48 hours but I only needed 48 minutes to see how caught up the country is with the Rugby World Cup. Every other car on the road has, if not an All Blacks flag stuck to its window the colours of another competing nation. Samoa is one of the more popular ones I’ve seen, not only on vehicles but proudly adorning verandas.

Then there are the shop fronts. Even window displays that feature items far removed from the rugby field – glasses, wellington boots  and fresh fish to name just three – have got in on the act with banners and posters declaring their support of the All Blacks.

One of the most popular posters in town covers much of a side of a building near the Sky Tower. The model on the poster? One Dan Carter, clad only in his skintight boxers. Black, of course. Though I haven’t witnessed this myself, people have reportedly been stopping their cars to take a shot of the All Blacks’ most prized possession.

At yesterday’s England press conference it was another aesthetically gifted fly-half who was the centre of attention. Everyone wanted to talk to Jonny Wilkinson, eight years after that famous drop-goal still the biggest name in English rugby. So surrounded was he by press that his team-mate Mike Tindall couldn’t even see him and wondered what all the fuss was about!

It was the news that emerged later, however, that stole the day. England coaches Dave Alred and Paul Stridgeon banned for tomorrow’s final pool game with Scotland after interfering with the balls during the Romania match. They gave Wilkinson a different ball for two conversions when the law states that the ball kicked should be the one that the try was scored with.

It was a clear breach of the laws – though you see that in every game and no one gets banned, if they did there’d be no scrum-halves left because they’d all be banned for crooked feeds! Fortunately for England the IRB seem to be happy with the coaches rather than Wilkinson spending time under hotel arrest. And no doubt the TV cameras will be keeping a vigilant eye on events at Eden Park tomorrow night to ensure the sly tactics aren’t repeated.

Let’s hope that this ball drama doesn’t detract from what should be a compelling game between England and Scotland, with the qualifiers of Pool B still in the balance.

My first live game of this World Cup certainly didn’t disappoint. South Africa’s narrow win over Samoa was a brutal encounter with fearsome hits, legal and not so. The handling from Samoa was sublime, really outstanding, and they really deserved more than the solitary try they scored. They’re going home and the World Cup will be poorer without their skill and their passion.

To end, here’s a list of random things I’ve seen today:

1. A couple dancing the tango on the side of Queen Street.

2. A journalist wearing sunglasses in the evening – and inside. Come on, you’re not Jay-Z!

How far should the TMO go?

The role of the television match official (TMO) in rugby matches has been called into question this season. As it stands the TMO can only be called on to adjudicate on decisions relating to events in-goal, the actual scoring of a try or the success of a kick at goal – but many are calling on the video ref to have more of a say.

The debate has grown stronger since Wales’ win over Ireland during the Six Nations. Mike Phillips’s controversial try came from an illegal quick lineout, Matthew Rees using a different ball to throw in to his scrum-half than the one that was kicked out. The Irish players called onto the referee to go upstairs but that wouldn’t have been in the TMO’s remit so Jonathan Kaplan had to rely on the verdict of his touchjudge Peter Allan, who insisted the same ball had been used. Doh!! The try stood and Wales won by six points. No wonder Ireland were aggrieved.

Another recent TMO incident came in the Scarlets-Ulster Magners League game, the video ref took it upon himself to mention a knock-on in the build-up to a Scarlets try thus ruling out the score – and going outside his jurisdiction.

So should the role of the TMO be expanded? Should they be allowed to rule on things in the build-up to a try – a knock-on, an illegal lineout, a forward pass etc? I’d say no – for a number of reasons.

1. Where would you draw the line on the TMO’s influence? Do you go back one, two, ten phases? The sequence of play in rugby would make it too complicated to make one law that would rule out the chance of any mistake going unnoticed.

2. It would take too much time. An 80-minute game could turn into a 200-minute game as every little incident heads upstairs for review. During the Ospreys-Munster game the referee referred four incidents to the TMO – and the crowd grew somewhat impatient at the delay, especially when the success of a penalty kick was determined upstairs. Fans will not put up with lots of TMO decisions and the game will become a boring spectacle.

3. There’s always going to be the odd missed knock-on etc unless you let the video ref rule on every single thing – that’s the nature of the game – and that isn’t feasible. Sport is a game, referees and officials are human, and mistakes happen – accept it.

Obviously no one wants to see a repeat of such a gross error as the awarding of that Phillips try, however, so what is the solution? Well, the best idea I’ve heard is to give each team one appeal during a match, so if they want an incident reviewed by the TMO they could request that.

It would be similar to what happens in tennis and cricket, except in rugby there would only be one chance to challenge a call and even if you’re successful you wouldn’t automatically get another appeal. Ireland, for example, would have been allowed to have the Wales try reviewed on video. At the 2007 World Cup, New Zealand could have sent the France try that resulted from a forward pass upstairs.

This is certainly the most sensible and enforceable suggestion I’ve heard as it would help eliminate major mistakes – but no doubt it’ll take the IRB a good few years to even consider such an idea!

Injuries blighting the game

Another week has gone by and another player has been forced to retire because of injury. This time it was Ben Lewis, one of the most promising talents in Welsh rugby. His age – just 24.

I remember going to interview Ben down in Swansea a few years ago when he was being talked about as Martyn Williams’s successor in the Wales No 7 shirt and was a player firmly on Warren Gatland’s radar. He was a very unassuming guy; there was no hint of arrogance and he was just focused on what he wanted to achieve in the game.

Injuries have blighted his career in the past couple of years, however, and the latest one to his neck has forced him to retire having never got the chance to justify the hype surrounding his ability. His life had been mapped out for the next decade or so but now, at 24 and with his sporting dreams in tatters, he now has to reassess, decide what to do next and figure out how he’s going to earn a living.

Will he need new qualifications? What job does he want to do? How do you cope with life in the real world? Ben must now ask himself the questions we have been dealing with since our late teens and have subsequently resolved. By our mid-20s, most of us will have started plotting our own career path and life goals. He’s starting from scatch and is at a distinct disadvantage to many others of a similar age as he tries to adapt to his new circumstances.

I wish Ben all the best for whatever he opts to do in the future, but his case is one of too many in rugby right now. Injuries are always going to be a part of contact sport – there’s no getting around that – but it’s the severity of the injuries these days that concerns me, the number of players, especially young ones, whose careers are ended before they’ve really got going. And as they cope with the huge void in their life, they must also concentrate on paying the bills.

As a professional sport and with the improvements made in strength and conditioning, sports science and so on, players have become bigger and more powerful. But have they become too big and too powerful? Have skills been lost in favour of brawn? Are the hits in today’s game too much for the body to take? After all, it can only cope with so much.

The game would not exist without players and the number of injuries in the headlines is sure to worry parents. Will they still be keen to take little Jimmy down to minis training on a Sunday morning when they see pictures of Olly Barkley being carried off on a stretcher with a double leg break? It’s easy to see why they wouldn’t, but if those images do put parents off where will the next generation of players come from?

It’s an issue that the IRB are addressing with national team doctors like James Robson (Scotland) and Simon Kemp (England) on a new panel looking into player welfare. They are far better equipped to come up with solutions than I – be that less games, more rest, better research into injury prevention – I just sincerely hope they do.

Drinks, disputes and drama

It’s been a busy weekend for me – and all in the name of rugby. Arrived in Cardiff on Friday night and guided some of the Irish journos around a few drinking establishments in town, but sadly they guided me to too many bottles of beer and I ended up paying for it the following morning! Note to self: don’t match Irishmen drink for drink – it can only end in a severe hangover.

As for the games on Saturday, I was delighted to see Italy beat France. They deserved a victory for the performances they’ve put in so far in this Six Nations. They should have beaten Ireland and if they had a consistent goalkicker they would have beaten Wales  – not that I can fault Mirco Bergamasco’s efforts with the boot yesterday.

The Wales game was, of course, dominated by the try that shouldn’t have been. Yes, the ball Mike Phillips scored with wasn’t the one that had been kicked into touch but if the officials can’t spot that it’s hard to blame the players for chancing their arm. Touchjudge Peter Allan should never had told Jonathan Kaplan it was the same ball when he clearly didn’t know, but we’ll never know what the referee would have done if Allan had been honest.

Kaplan couldn’t have gone to the TMO because he can only rule on events ‘in the act of scoring’ and people will surely now be calling for the TMO to be allowed to adjudicate on events in the lead-up. I fear that this would lead to too many long delays in the game, however, as referees consult the video on events several phases back. And then that creates the problem of how to then restart the game if their was an error or offence. We want the game to flow and I think constant stoppages for TMO decisions around the field would damage the game.

This was an error by the touchjudge. Brian O’Driscoll wanted the referee to “cover all his bases” but in effect he did that. He asked his assistant, his assistant said it was the same ball and so he awarded the try – that’s all he is able to do. As for Allan, he’s unlikely to be seen in action at an International match for some time, if ever.

My weekend finished with a rather scrappy England-Scotland game at Twickenham (thanks to Stephen Jones for the lift from Cardiff). Yes, England one and are still on course for a Grand Slam thanks to Tom Croft’s try, but they hardly swept the Scots aside as expected. I thought it would be tighter than predicted and so it proved. Scotland have pride and defensively they were excellent, shutting down England when they looked dangerous. James Haskell impressed and, as much as it pains me to say it as I’ve never been a huge fan, so did Shontayne Hape.

If Mike Tindall is ruled out of next week’s game with Ireland because of injury, it will be interesting to see how Matt Banahan and Hape fare in midfield. Banahan looked good when he came on – he has power and pace and surprisingly deft hands too so he could cause Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy problems.

While the game was error-strewn and the sight of Kelly Brown – one of Scotland’s best players – being carried off on a stretcher is something no one likes to see, there were a few comical moments at Twickenham. First, a friendly fox made his way onto the pitch before kick-off and kept the crowd entertained as he managed to outfox (if you’ll forgive the pun) several officials trying to get him out of the ground.

Then midway through the second half a sudden cry of ‘Aah’ was heard over RefLink and referee Romain Poite was hobbling around for a couple of minutes before he stopped play because of his injury. Scotland coach Andy Robinson was fuming when he blew the whistle as Scotland had been in possession, but Poite simply couldn’t keep up with the play and had to go off.

After all the drama of this weekend, it’s hard to know how next week will top it – but with a Grand Slam up for grabs there’s sure to be plenty to keep us all entertained!

French exchange

I’ve had the pleasure of spending the last two days in Toulon doing a couple of pieces for the magazine and being out there really makes you realise just how many rugby stars they have at the club. And this is when Jonny Wilkinson – who is a god there on the evidence of the products on offer in the club shop – is back in Bagshot with England.

South African Joe van Niekerk is all smiles as he walks by, then you spot former All Black prop Carl Hayman and Australian Test centurion George Smith. There’s Felipe Contepomi, Paul Sackey, Gavin Henson, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe – the list is endless. There’s Tom May, a genuinely nice bloke who gives us a bit of a tour of the club and the town.

As well as the big names, the other thing that strikes me is the number of locals who simply turn up to watch training. There’s a bunch of about 30 out there first thing in the morning just to watch the team run through a few moves on the pitch – something I’ve never seen at an English club’s training session. It’s a clear indication of the passion for the sport in the South of France.

Those spectators would have noticed, as did I, that the players take a lot of control in training too. They seemed to take it upon themselves to organise the session and run moves while the likes of Philippe Saint-Andre take more of a back seat. It’s great to see players taking control and thinking for themselves in a time when many point to the robot-like nature of players.

All in all, it was a very intriguing trip (thank you Multipower) and it was brilliant to see how relaxed and friendly some of the game’s biggest names are. I can’t imagine those at, say, Real Madrid being so open and welcoming.

Viva Las Vegas!

It’s taken me a week to recover from my trip to Las Vegas to actually post a blog about it! I was there for four days for the USA leg of the IRB Sevens – and what an action-packed few days it was.

My Vegas abode!

Before I get to the rugby, let’s talk about the city. I was staying at The Cosmopolitan, the newest hotel on The Strip and I was given the nicest room I’ve ever stayed in. It was massive, with a sofa, fitted wardrobes, a bath with a view of The Strip and a balcony (and most importantly free WiFi – usually the best hotels charge for that sort of access!).

I was a little wary of heading to Vegas – I thought it would be too tacky and overwhelming for me but I actually really liked it and would love to go back if I ever get the chance. I’m not a gambler so only partook in the slot machine at the airport, but there’s so much more to do. I saw two Cirque du Soleil shows and some of the restaurants are amazing.

I was lucky enough to dine at Sage and while foie gras is not something I’d usually order we did a tasting menu and their foie gras creme brulee was incredible. And Yellowtail at the Bellagio has some really appetising Japanese food – the popping spicy crab roll actually has popping candy in it and I loved it while the big-eye tuna pizza is a must.

As for the rugby, they know how to put on a show in the USA – there were cheerleaders and everything! The crowd was great with huge numbers supporting Kenya and the Pacific Island teams. England’s own mistakes cost them against South Africa in the semi-finals and the speed and agility of Cecil Afrika helped his team to beat Fiji in the final.

They sure no how to throw a party in Vegas, although I must say I felt a little overdressed at the tournament’s wrap party – it seems ‘less is more’ is the fashion mantra there. If I get to go again next year I’ll make sure I keep that in mind!

11 wishes for 2011

This is a big year in the rugby world with the World Cup in New Zealand the climax. Here are the 11 things I would like to see happen in 2011…

1. No three-figure scores at the World Cup
Let this be the most competitive World Cup ever, with no runaway scores and a few surprises too.

2. Dwayne Peel to be picked in the Wales squad
With Richie Rees banned for the Six Nations, Wales should call Peel into the squad. Yes, he’s not as a physical as Mike Phillips but he’s got a superb pass and a sniping break – and would be a great asset on the bench.

3. An end to the scrum problems
Games this season have been fractured by the endless resetting of scrums. It’s boring to watch and the IRB need to step in now to sort out the problem.

4. A reduction in the number of players retiring from injury
Every week emails drop announcing the retirement of yet another player from injury, many of whom are under the age of 30 and are forced to start a new career. Player welfare is crucial and the powers that be need to ensure that all steps are taken to cut injuries.

5. Focus on the effects of concussion
The long-term effects of concussion need to be properly investigated because it is all too often ignored.

6. Danny Cipriani to excel in Super Rugby
He’s one of the most talented players of his generation so let’s hope Cipriani makes headlines with the Melbourne Rebels for what he does best than what he’s doing off the pitch.

7. Australia find a decent front row
The Wallabies have a back-line to trouble any side but until they get some good scrummaging props they can’t make the most of them. If they do, they could pose a serious threat to New Zealand’s World Cup bid.

8. The women’s game to continue to grow
After the success of last year’s World Cup, I want women’s rugby to continue to get media coverage and for the sport as a whole to grow worldwide. Girl power!

9. Referee uniformity
The range of interpretations of referees in the north and south, or even from different countries, is frustrating for players, coaches and supporters. It makes it hard for new fans, or even old ones, to understand the game and there needs to be uniformity across the globe.

10. Say what you think
Brendan Venter’s gone back to South Africa, but let’s hope there are still players and coaches who are happy to say what they really think rather than be tight-lipped and toe the party line. Honesty is appreciated by fans (and can make good headlines!) – more than such random replies as this!

11. Growing crowds
Rugby is growing in popularity for TV audiences, especially with the Magners League on free-to-air channels, but the sport needs more people through the turnstiles and enjoying it in the stadiums.