It was back to rugby for me last Saturday, as I saw a hugely important game between Bedford and Cornish Pirates. Both teams are in the same play-off group as Bristol - the favourites to gain promotion to the Guinness Premiership. Both teams went into this game on nine points after the Pirates defeated Bedford 22-18 the previous week, meaning the winner of this would have qualification for the semi-finals in their own hands.
Everyone was expecting a tight game, but in the end the Blues ran out handsome winners by 42-18. This was the worst possible outcome for the Pirates because Bedford scored five tries in the process, meaning they claimed the maximum five points and left the Pirates empty-handed. Their High Performance Manager (ridiculous title I know, what's wrong with just 'director of rugby?') Chris Stirling admitted to me afterward they've now made things extremely hard for themselves. Fair play to him, not all coaches are so willing to talk after their team gets stuffed like that!
For anyone who's spending a quiet night-in on Friday, I strongly suggest you to watch the Pirates next outing, away at Plymouth Albion, which is live in front of the Sky cameras. The boys on the Rugby Club may not plug it quite as much as their live Premiership game or even the sodding Super 14, but with any luck these two teams will prove what I've said before. That the Championship is great value for money and almost comes with an entertainment guarantee. The proper TV contract for it starts next season (about time!). There is life below the Premiership, despite what its current clubs would have you believe, and it is flourishing.
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Monday, 5 April 2010
Journo's log - Date 5th April
I'm back!!
Apologies for the lack of posts for the last few weeks etc, anyway where were we? Ah yes. Last Saturday I was reporting on a football game for the first time in just over two months. My travels took me to the Ricoh Arena for Coventry City's clash with Derby County, meaning I missed United's first-half capitulation to Chelsea though I did see probably the most inept decision a linesman has made this season! But enough of that.
As bland as the stands may look at the Ricoh Arena, it is a most impressive venue with excellent facilities. The only issue with their press room is that it's underground. This means that if their wireless network is playing up (as was the case this time), you're pretty much knackered when it comes to connecting to the web. That said, it is one of the best I've been in so far, even though it would be nicer if it was a bit nearer to the press box.
The game itself wasn't brilliant, with Derby claiming a 1-0 win that pretty much secures their survival in the Championship. In the end, it came down to two decisions from the linesman, who I can only wish had been at Old Trafford! The first came when he correctly judged that Shaun Barker's effort had crossed the line for Derby's winning goal. The other came in the third minute of stoppage when Coventry left back Chris Hussey's low cross beat everybody and went in. The Cov fans were going berserk with joy for a few seconds before realising the lino had his flag up, as Clinton Morrison was offside, and the goal had been ruled out. He hadn't touched the ball but he had stretched in desperation to get it. By the way, the referee was Andy D'Urso - the man who Roy Keane once chased half-way across the pitch when he dared to give a penalty against his team.
Needless to say, Coventry were furious at the final whistle. However, the prevailing mood in the press box was, given the dull nature of most of the game, "Great, we have something to write about!" The one thing we were now looking forward to was what Chris Coleman would have to say about it. This meant that the post-match press conference with Nigel Clough was mainly us going through the motions with only the journos from Derby really caring about what he said.
Then came Coleman and obviously the main talking point was the perceived injustice against his team. Now if this had been Neil Warnock, the quotes would have still been good but it would have been mostly ranting nonsense. Coleman, whilst seething, was very considered in expressing his views, pointing out how his side had had a similar goal against them given earlier in the season. Whatever happened to a bloke simply being offside if he's behind the last man. Technically, the linesman was right as Morrison certainly was involved in the passage of play.
So a successful day in the end, even if I nearly did get locked in the stand whilst filing my copy then get soaked when walking back to my car!
Apologies for the lack of posts for the last few weeks etc, anyway where were we? Ah yes. Last Saturday I was reporting on a football game for the first time in just over two months. My travels took me to the Ricoh Arena for Coventry City's clash with Derby County, meaning I missed United's first-half capitulation to Chelsea though I did see probably the most inept decision a linesman has made this season! But enough of that.
As bland as the stands may look at the Ricoh Arena, it is a most impressive venue with excellent facilities. The only issue with their press room is that it's underground. This means that if their wireless network is playing up (as was the case this time), you're pretty much knackered when it comes to connecting to the web. That said, it is one of the best I've been in so far, even though it would be nicer if it was a bit nearer to the press box.
The game itself wasn't brilliant, with Derby claiming a 1-0 win that pretty much secures their survival in the Championship. In the end, it came down to two decisions from the linesman, who I can only wish had been at Old Trafford! The first came when he correctly judged that Shaun Barker's effort had crossed the line for Derby's winning goal. The other came in the third minute of stoppage when Coventry left back Chris Hussey's low cross beat everybody and went in. The Cov fans were going berserk with joy for a few seconds before realising the lino had his flag up, as Clinton Morrison was offside, and the goal had been ruled out. He hadn't touched the ball but he had stretched in desperation to get it. By the way, the referee was Andy D'Urso - the man who Roy Keane once chased half-way across the pitch when he dared to give a penalty against his team.
Needless to say, Coventry were furious at the final whistle. However, the prevailing mood in the press box was, given the dull nature of most of the game, "Great, we have something to write about!" The one thing we were now looking forward to was what Chris Coleman would have to say about it. This meant that the post-match press conference with Nigel Clough was mainly us going through the motions with only the journos from Derby really caring about what he said.
Then came Coleman and obviously the main talking point was the perceived injustice against his team. Now if this had been Neil Warnock, the quotes would have still been good but it would have been mostly ranting nonsense. Coleman, whilst seething, was very considered in expressing his views, pointing out how his side had had a similar goal against them given earlier in the season. Whatever happened to a bloke simply being offside if he's behind the last man. Technically, the linesman was right as Morrison certainly was involved in the passage of play.
So a successful day in the end, even if I nearly did get locked in the stand whilst filing my copy then get soaked when walking back to my car!
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
The perfect antidote for the Six Nations
For anyone who suffered the 80 minutes of tedium that was Scotland v England on Saturday I have a solution - go and watch the nearest Championship club. Whilst this season's Premiership is suffering from dull games and its lowest-ever try count the league below it, for all its organisational flaws, is producing same cracking contests.
The game I reported on - Bedford v Rotherham - finished 33-26 to the home side, featured seven tries and was the perfect antidote for much of the dross we've been force-fed at the top end of the game. Rotherham put absolutely everything into getting the result they desperately needed and only a vastly-improved second-half showing from Bedford was to deny them.
As good as that game was, it now brings to the farce that is the Championship play-offs. Most of the problems with it we've already discussed but some more have come to light. This time it again shows how the Premiership clubs are only looking out for themselves rather than the good of the game.
I previously stated how only Bristol, Exeter and Nottingham were eligible to go up because they are the only three clubs whose grounds meet the entry criteria for the Premiership. Fair enough, as most of the others don't even come close. It turns out, however, that this was only true for the first two clubs mentioned because Nottingham merely rent Meadow Lane off Notts County and don't have 'primacy' of their ground. What's interesting is that several Premiership clubs such as London Irish, Saracens and Wasps have the same arrangement at their grounds yet are not barred from entry because they have apparently been given 'special dispensation.' One rule for one and...
The game I reported on - Bedford v Rotherham - finished 33-26 to the home side, featured seven tries and was the perfect antidote for much of the dross we've been force-fed at the top end of the game. Rotherham put absolutely everything into getting the result they desperately needed and only a vastly-improved second-half showing from Bedford was to deny them.
As good as that game was, it now brings to the farce that is the Championship play-offs. Most of the problems with it we've already discussed but some more have come to light. This time it again shows how the Premiership clubs are only looking out for themselves rather than the good of the game.
I previously stated how only Bristol, Exeter and Nottingham were eligible to go up because they are the only three clubs whose grounds meet the entry criteria for the Premiership. Fair enough, as most of the others don't even come close. It turns out, however, that this was only true for the first two clubs mentioned because Nottingham merely rent Meadow Lane off Notts County and don't have 'primacy' of their ground. What's interesting is that several Premiership clubs such as London Irish, Saracens and Wasps have the same arrangement at their grounds yet are not barred from entry because they have apparently been given 'special dispensation.' One rule for one and...
The Old Trafford crowd v Fulham
I was at the Manchester United v Fulham game on Sunday, as a fan, and while I had no cause for complaint about the football, which was a joy to watch, there are several things about some of the people that go to Old Trafford that really irk me.
It was suggested on Match of the Day 2 that the game was played against a 'Mother's Day atmosphere' and it's true the place was quiet. This was by no means United's biggest game of the season so we weren't going to get a repeat of the explosion of noise that we heard during the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City back in January. But apart from the two ends behind the goal, there seems to be too few people that are prepared to make an effort.
The people to my left barely said a word for the whole game and one bloke behind us told us to sit down at a time when it looked like United were about to score. And I never heard him sing at any point either. I sung, so did my mates and a smattering of people around us with everyone else just looking round at the noisy minority like there was something wrong with them. What do people like this get out of going to football games?
Symbol of defiance or just a fashion accessory?
It was suggested on Match of the Day 2 that the game was played against a 'Mother's Day atmosphere' and it's true the place was quiet. This was by no means United's biggest game of the season so we weren't going to get a repeat of the explosion of noise that we heard during the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City back in January. But apart from the two ends behind the goal, there seems to be too few people that are prepared to make an effort.
The people to my left barely said a word for the whole game and one bloke behind us told us to sit down at a time when it looked like United were about to score. And I never heard him sing at any point either. I sung, so did my mates and a smattering of people around us with everyone else just looking round at the noisy minority like there was something wrong with them. What do people like this get out of going to football games?
Symbol of defiance or just a fashion accessory?
It's not just that they don't sing but it's their impatience that really grinds. Dimitar Berbatov and Nani have been hugely frustrating (in Nani's case just awful) at times in their Old Trafford careers but they were two of the better players on show on Sunday. Yet whenever either of them made the slightest mistake the amount of groans heard was off the scale. In fact the only time the bloke to my left said anything was when he grunted 'Get him off' when Nani for once didn't put in a threatening ball. Maybe we have been spoiled in the last few years but the amount of people around us that didn't appreciate what was in front them was staggering. I suggest sending these people to Grimsby to remind them just how good they've got it.
Finally, it's on to the green and gold scarves. The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) have undoubtedly come up with a brilliant marketing scheme that has done wonders for their publicity but some who have bought them have clearly missed the point. They're supposed to be a symbol of defiance against the hated Glazer family that have dragged the club into seemingly insurmountable debt. They represent the colours of United's predecessors, Newton Heath and have become the primary colour inside the ground these days rather than red.
I'm not sure the foreign visitors to Old Trafford have any clue what they represent so they're probably just going with the flow there. More annoying are the fans who wear them over their red replica shirts which defeats the point in wearing them. But the real idiots are the ones that chant 'Love United Hate Glazer' while whirling their scarves above their heads but then charge down to the concourse a few minutes before half time and line the parasites' pockets further by buying overpriced pies, coffees and 'beer' (Budweiser, ugh!). Worse still are the hundreds of people I saw after the game either in or queuing up for the Megastore whilst wearing them, thus helping a regime they're supposed to be against. They've become the must-have item now and like other fashion statements (e.g. Che Guevara T-shirts) they're unfortunately often worn by people who have no idea what's it really about.
Finally, it's on to the green and gold scarves. The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) have undoubtedly come up with a brilliant marketing scheme that has done wonders for their publicity but some who have bought them have clearly missed the point. They're supposed to be a symbol of defiance against the hated Glazer family that have dragged the club into seemingly insurmountable debt. They represent the colours of United's predecessors, Newton Heath and have become the primary colour inside the ground these days rather than red.
I'm not sure the foreign visitors to Old Trafford have any clue what they represent so they're probably just going with the flow there. More annoying are the fans who wear them over their red replica shirts which defeats the point in wearing them. But the real idiots are the ones that chant 'Love United Hate Glazer' while whirling their scarves above their heads but then charge down to the concourse a few minutes before half time and line the parasites' pockets further by buying overpriced pies, coffees and 'beer' (Budweiser, ugh!). Worse still are the hundreds of people I saw after the game either in or queuing up for the Megastore whilst wearing them, thus helping a regime they're supposed to be against. They've become the must-have item now and like other fashion statements (e.g. Che Guevara T-shirts) they're unfortunately often worn by people who have no idea what's it really about.
Friday, 12 March 2010
Journo's Log - Date 12th March
As warned in the 'About Me' section, I'm often sent to cover the home matches of Bedford Rugby Club. This is the case this weekend where I'll be reporting on the Blues' match against Rotherham at Goldington Road.
This weekend sees the last set of fixtures of the regular campaign in the inaugural season of the RFU Championship. What happens after this makes the SPL split look perfectly reasonable. Basically, the top eight teams will be playing off for promotion to the Premiership. They'll be split into two groups and the top two in each will progress to the semi-finals with the winners facing each other in a two-legged promotion final to played at each other's grounds. It'll be live on Sky if anyone's interested!
The snag is that only three of the sides currently in the top eight play in grounds that are good enough for the Premiership. Two of those share their stadiums with football clubs - Bristol share the Memorial Stadium with Bristol Rovers and Nottingham rent Meadow Lane from Notts County. The other side, Exeter, play their rugby in an impressive if slightly soulless ground in the middle of nowhere at Sandy Park.
If you think that's a bit stupid, the bottom four will be put in a group of their own, where they'll play each other home and away. The bottom side at the end of all this will be relegated. What really is ridiculous is that two of the teams - Birmingham & Solihull and Coventry - have both narrowly avoided liquidation this season yet they will not take any king of points penalty into this stage.
Bedford are placed 4th in the Championship so their place in the promotion play-offs is secure. Rotherham are 10th but are just a few points behind Plymouth Albion in 8th so still have a lot to play for. With Plymouth facing Exeter and Moseley, the other contenders, facing Bristol the Yorkshire side have every chance of sneaking into the top eight. They'll be looking upon their former Ireland centre Kevin Maggs (70 caps) and promising scrum-half Jonny West for inspiration against a Bedford side who must be drooling at the prospect of playing in dryer conditions, where their attacking game has proved lethal in recent years. These two teams have produced some crackers in the past and this could be another in the making.
This weekend sees the last set of fixtures of the regular campaign in the inaugural season of the RFU Championship. What happens after this makes the SPL split look perfectly reasonable. Basically, the top eight teams will be playing off for promotion to the Premiership. They'll be split into two groups and the top two in each will progress to the semi-finals with the winners facing each other in a two-legged promotion final to played at each other's grounds. It'll be live on Sky if anyone's interested!
The snag is that only three of the sides currently in the top eight play in grounds that are good enough for the Premiership. Two of those share their stadiums with football clubs - Bristol share the Memorial Stadium with Bristol Rovers and Nottingham rent Meadow Lane from Notts County. The other side, Exeter, play their rugby in an impressive if slightly soulless ground in the middle of nowhere at Sandy Park.
If you think that's a bit stupid, the bottom four will be put in a group of their own, where they'll play each other home and away. The bottom side at the end of all this will be relegated. What really is ridiculous is that two of the teams - Birmingham & Solihull and Coventry - have both narrowly avoided liquidation this season yet they will not take any king of points penalty into this stage.
Bedford are placed 4th in the Championship so their place in the promotion play-offs is secure. Rotherham are 10th but are just a few points behind Plymouth Albion in 8th so still have a lot to play for. With Plymouth facing Exeter and Moseley, the other contenders, facing Bristol the Yorkshire side have every chance of sneaking into the top eight. They'll be looking upon their former Ireland centre Kevin Maggs (70 caps) and promising scrum-half Jonny West for inspiration against a Bedford side who must be drooling at the prospect of playing in dryer conditions, where their attacking game has proved lethal in recent years. These two teams have produced some crackers in the past and this could be another in the making.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
The FA Cup of rugby
Being a southerner, I was always going to pick rugby union over the two-man-lite code that is rugby league. However, there is one thing about it that I envy and that's the Challenge Cup.
It's a straight knock-out competition that sees the elite of the Super League take on the minnows of the National Leagues. Union used to have something like this until the RFU and WRU in all their wisdom decided on creating the half-arsed Anglo-Welsh Cup which comprises of the 12 Premiership clubs and the four Welsh regions.
The final used to provide an opportunity of playing at Twickenham, which led to big crowds including over 55,000 attending last year's contest between Gloucester and Cardiff Blues. However, the two organisations have now well and truly buried this by announcing that this year's final will take place at Sixways in Worcester - capacity 12,000.
Last year's Challenge Cup winners Warrington Wolves
It's a straight knock-out competition that sees the elite of the Super League take on the minnows of the National Leagues. Union used to have something like this until the RFU and WRU in all their wisdom decided on creating the half-arsed Anglo-Welsh Cup which comprises of the 12 Premiership clubs and the four Welsh regions.
The final used to provide an opportunity of playing at Twickenham, which led to big crowds including over 55,000 attending last year's contest between Gloucester and Cardiff Blues. However, the two organisations have now well and truly buried this by announcing that this year's final will take place at Sixways in Worcester - capacity 12,000.
Last year's Challenge Cup winners Warrington Wolves
All this now means that the Challenge Cup is now the undisputed FA Cup of rugby. The obvious similarity with the World's oldest cup competition is that the final is played at Wembley and it's still a big deal. Last year the cup was won by Warrington Wolves - a nice change from St Helens or Leeds Rhinos gobbling up the silverware. It's the equivalent of Villa or Spurs winning the FA Cup this year (fingers crossed).
Next month comes a personal favourite of the competition - when the big boys enter it giving us David and Goliath clashes like Dewsbury v Bradford Bulls, Sheffield Eagles v Wigan Warriors and St Helens v Toulouse (yes French teams are in it as well). This year will also see a big name drop out early as Leeds travel to the KC Stadium to take on Hull. It may only get any real attention up north in this country, but rugby league truly has something that fans of the more-illustrious rugby union can only wish to have in their code.
Next month comes a personal favourite of the competition - when the big boys enter it giving us David and Goliath clashes like Dewsbury v Bradford Bulls, Sheffield Eagles v Wigan Warriors and St Helens v Toulouse (yes French teams are in it as well). This year will also see a big name drop out early as Leeds travel to the KC Stadium to take on Hull. It may only get any real attention up north in this country, but rugby league truly has something that fans of the more-illustrious rugby union can only wish to have in their code.
Monday, 8 March 2010
What else could Lloyd do?
British tennis sunk to a new low on Sunday when Great Britain fell to an humiliating Davis Cup defeat by Lithuania - a country no-one here knew had any professional tennis players before last Friday and one whose budget is minute compared to that of the Lawn Tennis Association. But yet again, we were shown that beyond Andy Murray, who with good reason decided there were more important matches to prepare for and gave the tie a miss, the standard of men's tennis in this country is laughable - and make no mistake, other countries are pointing and giggling at us for this.
Nonetheless, our collection of never-have-beens and never-will-bes were expected to see off Lithuania's spirited teenagers. Day one gave us few surprises as James Ward easily saw off Laurynas Grigelis, ranked 523 in the world. Then Dan Evans, a young man who as yet has shown not enough application nor discipline to suggest he has what it takes, went down in five sets. In fairness the man he was facing, Ricardas Berankis, has shown promise in the last 12 months and has risen up the rankings.
Day two brought an expected win in the doubles for Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski - Britain's only success story in men's tennis in the last year apart from Murray. But yesterday it all came crashing down as first Ward then Evans bottled it when it mattered. Now they face a play off against Turkey in July to avoid relegation to the Euro/African Zone Group III - the lowest tier of the competition.
Broken man: GB captain John Lloyd
Team captain John Lloyd is understandably considering his future - after all he has just become the first GB captain to lose five straight ties. But whilst his tenure has been a disaster, this humiliation has been coming and he should not shoulder all of the blame. The LTA have in recent years developed an excellent facility at Roehampton, but they seem to have forgotten to produce any players worthy of note.
Having Murray in the team creates a false impression of where British tennis is at. Murray is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world but he is not an LTA product. His mother Judy saw how inept they were and took her son to train in Spain in an effort to make the most of his obvious talents. This is opposed to, say, Alex Bogdanovic who has had money thrown at him by the LTA only for him to get knocked out at the first round of Wimbledon eight years running.
Lloyd can only work with what's being produced and right now what is coming through just isn't good enough. Ward is one of those players we only see on the opening days of Wimbledon and Evans is a volatile 19-year-old who looks odd-on into becoming merely the same. It's time for heads to roll and I mean those above Lloyd's.
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