England World Cup Chances - The Biggest Threat.

As the Autumn Internationals approach Englands final push, preparations for the World Cup are under serious threat from the ever increasing list of injured players. England have great strength in depth, however not in all positions and equally as yet the side is not settled. With a large number of these England contenders out with injury the chance to play a settled team during the AI's and the 6 Nations is becoming less likely.

So why are we seeing this increase ? I believe it is a very complex picture. Certainly the increasing physicality of the game is taking its toil, but I would argue a bigger influence is the refereeing of the game which is becoming of great concern. To date with the Premiership season I would estimate a strong arguements could be made that every week 2 or 3 players could easily have been red carded for foul, dangerous or reckless play and that's only from the games I have seen. Are the referees becoming weak ? I think this is too simplistic an answer.

I would highlight a very subtle, not orchestrated, undermining of the authority of the referee which has led to referees turning to the yellow card as opposed to red. Main culprits for me are the whinging and moaning Directors of Rugby and TV pundits/commentators. Referees decisions are being constantly challenged despite one of the fundamental principles of such a physical game as rugby is the referee is the sole judge of fact. Without acceptance of this simple statement the game would fall apart. It cannot be challenged if we and future generations of players/people want to gain the benefits of this special and great game.

There seems to be an attitude amongst DOR's and TV pundits that challenging the referee publically is fair game. It is not. The game at the top is Professional and hence under pressure to entertain. A sending off can end the contest and be contrary to the business principles required by the clubs. However the Professional Clubs do not own the game. To a degree a can understand DOR's reactions to decisions as livlelihoods are constantly under threat, however that does excuse this behaviour. There can be no excuse for TV pundits. Basically often their comments are simply totally irresponsible.

Equally there seems to be a misguided attitude that sending off a player for illegal and dangerous play is in some way making the game soft - "In my day the we took it and got on with it and had a beer afterwards" " handbags" "don't be a big girl" etc etc. Well the game is going soft but not in that way. The increasing tendency NOT to send off players, tolerating dangerous and reckless play, this is soft. Whining, moaning and continually challenging the referees authority is weak, pathetic, soft and most importantly damaging the game at grass roots level and now also at England International level.

It is time to take a stance against those attacking the fundamental core values of the game and stop defending foul, dangerous play. The time has come to encourage and support the referees to take tough action. If England suffer in the coming months leading into the World Cup due to an excessive injury toll a great deal of the responsibility will sit squarely with DOR's and TV pundits due to their unrelenting assault on the referees over several years. Referees have and will always make mistakes. Do what generations have always done before, accept it as a peculiar and centrally important part of the game - live with it. 

Rugbys core values provide an effective preparation for the challenges life present. Learning to deal with events and outcomes as they happen and developing coping strategies makes a person stronger, better. Rugby is just a game, but it is a special game which provides an exceptional basis to ALL that play to lead their lives in a positive and productive manner. I repeat the Professional Clubs do not own the game, it is game owned by all.

Wasps v Quins Away 20th Sept - Verdict

Can't really make any comments as yet I have not seen the game, only a few highlights. However from reports made to date for the over riding season target of improving consistency and accuracy we seemingly have made little progress.

We are scoring tries which is a good sign but very much as per previous seasons - that is apart from driving lineouts very little is coming from concerted pressure or organised attack. Mostly interceptions, Individual snipes, turnovers or kick chases. Now these should not be dismissed, however I guess what I'm trying to say is it would be encouraging to see some signs of affective coaching, tactical nous and development as opposed to simply a team that has appears to have trained well.

Still 6pts on the board is a good return from the fixtures to date. Although the teams played so far finished in the top four last season as yet it's not clear if these teams are performing at the same levels as last season - that would be with the exception of N'pton.

My call for the Quins game was a 17 to 26 win for Wasps. Going into the game the interest for me was to see if we could adopt the right mind set as it was pretty clear Quins would react from the heavy defeat the previous week that after our N'pton result expectation with players, coaches and supporters alike had been raised. From all accounts Quins did come out all guns blazing and with a little more composure we could well have secured the victory albeit not that pretty. This was never going to be pretty.

Mind set is everything and so again this week v Falcons we will need to be at our best. They have played 2 of the top 4 from last season and although only returned one losing bonus point have scored 6 tries and conceded 10 - not as good as our return on both counts however not much in it. Equally they had a 14pts turn around which went against them v Leicester via an intercept try on the Leicester line which could have presented a whole different picture. A further 4pts on our League tally would be very welcome and should go some way to improving our composure and confidence. 

We are very much on target for that top six finish and although performance seems to be erratic at this stage most teams bar Bath and N'pton seem to be playing with a lack of consistency.

Wasps v N'pton at Home 14th Sept 2014 - Verdict

Well, what a fantastic result. Confidence restored big time. 5pts on the board. In my pre season review the need I identified was for 12pts from the first six games....we are well on target. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, consistency has been the issue with us, highlighted by supporters, coaches, players, pundits etc so we need to back it up over the next few weeks. However lets enjoy the moment, we have just beaten the reigning Champions with a controlled, patient, composed, quality performance - YES.

So why the improvement ? Going into the game most had N'pton as favourites. I did anyway, looking at a 19 - 31 predicted score line. N'pton will have to carry this tag for the whole season as reigning Champions but that's their problem. Mind set wise we will have known anything short of our best could have led to a defeat and possibly a heavy defeat - this tends to focus the mind. Technically we were a different beast defensively and although we had few chances, in attack too. We showed composure and purpose - individually we have never had a problem, it is collectively we very seldom perform as one with clear focus.

For the majority of the game we had our backs to the wall. We never relented in purpose and organisation until just about their final attack. We did not over commit at the rucks before this last attack and made accurate decisions to attack the ball or drop back in line and keep our shape. We were only broken by the same movement as against Sarries where we over committed to a simple post or circle ball off 10. That is 9 running round 10, although in this instance 10 was tackled but still managed to off load.

In attack I can only think the presence of Leiua within the squad is focusing the mind of the whole back line, particularly the centres. Bell stuck to doing what he does well in attack and defence and Daly stayed straight and showed he can distribute accurately and effectively off his right hand. Dai Young has a big decisions to make, lucky him. Every player now must perform to the highest level or risk losing their place. This, hopefully will bring the consistency we are after. For future games the mind set will be a more difficult challenge as we will not be underdogs and more importantly we will need to take the initiative in attack. That is we can't start thinking we have beaten the Champions so all we need to do is turn up.

For this game, Goode showed his experience and kept the team moving forward with excellent game management and some good distribution. However it was not until Jackson entered the fray that we really threatened in attack, playing much higher and keeping the back line straight, creating space out wide. It is attacking the space between the attack and defensive lines that is the difference between top quality 10's and most other 10's with ball in hand. Much higher risk but the only way to threaten the defence effectively. The best 10's play flat and can distribute in the face of the defence. We now have options and again huge choices for Dai Young to make. Questions are if Jackson would have started would we have controlled the game as well and kept N'pton at bay.....I doubt it. However against other teams where we need to take the initiative Jackson or Lozowski could be better starting options particularly if the back line maintains the effective running lines. We simply must use all the resource we have across the field, but at the right time to suit the suitation.

Nathan Hughes gave us the good go forward last week but was mostly stifled this week. Haskell and Bell provided most of the go forward this week but mostly it was Goode who turned the N'pton defence with intelligent kicking supported by good chasers. Ashley Johnson was Ashley Johnson, simply a pain in the neck around the breakdown and in loose play. The front five provide superb cover and compensated for the lack of some of the requirements produced by our back row. Mostly our back row are ball carries first, tacklers and jacklers second and support players last if at all. However, the front five, Launchbury and Gaskell particularly, provide great support, high work rate and high tackle counts. Equally we have replacements available in Lindsay, Cooper Wooley, Myall, Cannon, Davies and Swainston who offer dynamic, high work rate options. Launchbury and Gaskell could quite easily and have played in the back row.

This performance whether resulting in a win or loss was very encouraging. N'pton choose to not take kickable pens and will be rueing those decisions today. They may have been believing their own press after their performance last week. However we must not fall into the same trap. We must play our game appropriate for the situation, all games will provide different challenges but we clearly have the fire power to beat any team if we play with this composure and accuracy. The rustiness of last week had disappeared and we looked sharper in mind and deed. We should also remember the Ashley Johnson intercept was a try the other end if missed. For me what was a delight was the Tom Varndell try. On the front foot, ball taken flat by Jackson, line straighten by Daly with accurate right to left passing putting TV in space. We know TV and Wadey can finish but a great decision and execution of the chip, gathered and scored. We should also highlight two excellent difficult conversions, with pressure, from Jackson.

Next up is Quins. We need to forget they are in turmoil and focus on the requirements. Narrow pitch makes space out wide a premium. So keep our defensive shape and play territory. Take the points when offered. Use the pack, midfield, counter attack and grubber kicks to provide the tries. Quins will come out all guns blazing and we need more of the N'pton composure and to turn the screw in the attacking zone. Keep lifting the aggression in defence line speed in attack and defence. COYW - back to back wins please.

Wasps v Saracens at HQ - 6th Sept - Verdict

First games are always a bit of a lottery and not a true indication of what may develop further into the season. My feelings were I guess much the same of many of the Wasps supporters, great expectation due to the strong finish to the previous season gaining ECC top level inclusion.

Realistically playing Saracens I was not expecting a win, however as the week progressed and understanding Saracens were several key players short, Britz, Joubert, Bosch, Burger, Mako Vunipola, De Kock and possibly Farrell and Hamilton, a win was not out of the question. Indeed with Borthwick also having retired the Saracens players, many who have played 1st XV during the previous season would have to front up without the leaders on the field, this a significantly different task. Wasps fundamentally were only one significant player missing, Leiua, even though he is totally unproven I, like many others, believe he will make a huge impact, we will see. Most/many of our other new recruits are high level players but not significantly better - simply provide good depth. Hence my Prediction League assessment changed several times, I finally settled for a 29 - 26 win to Sarries, based mostly on our rollercoster form last season.

Having now seen the game it was really one that got away. Saracens were a shadow of the team they were last season and very much for the taking. We need to improve significantly from this performance if we are to challenge for a top six place. Defensively we were a shambles throughout the game. During phase play we conceded the gain line too easily, too often drawn in by the dummy runner, had little or no composure during scrabbled defence situations and were too easily undone by simple post or circle balls. Equally we took a belt and braces approach to defend the short side off scrums supposedly due to the threat of Billy Vunipola, this approach left us exposed on the openside and led directly to the second Strettle try.

In attack Nathan Hughes gave us some excellent momentum crossing the gain line regularly. Haskell was more hit and miss but generally carried well. Most of the pack carried well, Launchbury was simply outstanding with work rate and support play and Gaskell showed at last we have a player that can pass a ball effectively. Mullen and Festuccia worked hard and effectively in the loose as well as contributing to a good set piece work from the pack. Like most of the previous 3 seasons our attacking play relies on individual brilliance as opposed to any structured approach. Joe Simspon carved a big hole, Launchbury unbelievably was first up to maintain the attack, Goode hit a fantastic cross field kick, Wade finished brilliantly and Ashley Johnson showed his versatility to create a score. Pretty sure this will continue to happen throughout the season, but we must do more, we must work purposefully and collectively.

Our back row is terribly unbalanced and provides little support in attack, little cover or defence in the wide channels. Our distribution around 10 and 12 is slow, predictable, inaccurate and often we are taking too much space from the players out wide with our distribution and running lines. Generally off slow ruck ball our runners are taking the ball standing still and provide no threat and mostly fail to get across the gain line. Also of concern is our perceived fitness levels. We did not look sharp. This could be early season cobwebs. However it needs to be better.

Next up is Northampton who were simply outstanding against Gloucester. Should imagine (hope) they cannot perform to that level again back to back. Hopefully the Saracens game was just a case of nervousness, over excitement and we will see a more structured and controlled performance to go with the undoubted individual brilliance within the squad.