Norman Ralph

I watched the Calcutta Cup (the annual rugby union test match between England and Scotland) and was once again embarrassed to be English. The performance put in by the lads was horrendous and offended me on more levels than I care to admit. There was no passion, no desire and most disappointingly they didn’t seem to have a clue what they were doing. I am fairly sure that my school’s First XV would have been able to put up a greater fight and probably performed better too. Scotland were outstanding, they played with heart and passion and deserved their win, more than that though, they earned their win. Having witnessed England’s performance against France the other week and having watched them grind out their victory I was astonished by the team that turned up on Saturday!

There was much discussion before the game about Danny Cipriani’s removal from the squad (Brian Ashton – the coach – dropped him after he was discovered in a nightclub late on Thursday night) but that doesn’t even begin to explain the bad performance. Wilkinson, although accurate with the boot from penalty kicks, looked like he hadn’t played No. 10 ever before! His kicking from hand was atrocious. It was a bad day weather wise, so it was no surprise that it was a scrappy game, but England had no idea what they were doing. Vainikolo carried well, but he needed the ball on the wing, not in midfield. Wigglesworth played well at the base of the ruck but was too often shoved out the way by the ‘senior’ forwards. he needs to demand more respect from the pack. He was also too often isolated by the Jonny wandering off and switching off. I have never seen Jonny play so badly. He doesn’t deserve the jersey against Ireland next week. In fact, if I had my way the entire team should be dropped with perhaps the exceptions of Wigglesworth – who played well – Paul Sackey and Lesley Vainikolo. My ratings for the players are below.

1 Andrew Sheridan 5
– scrummaged well but gave away too many penalties in open play
2 Lee Mears 4
– too often caught in open play, looked like he didn’t want to be on the field
3 Phil Vickery 7
– too quiet as Captain but played well otherwise
4 Simon Shaw 6
– usually a strong ball carrier but seemed to have left his hands at home, jumped well at lineout
5 Steve Borthwick 5
– good in the lineout and scrum, but didn’t carry the ball enough in the loose
6 Tom Croft 3
– not a good start, he is not a blindside flanker
7 Michael Lipman 7
– good in the loose, got to breakdowns quickly, one of the only decent performances from the pack
8 Nick Easter 6
– quiet game for the big number 8, still not convinced he shouldn’t be playing at blind side

9 Richard Wigglesworth 7
– a good game, needs to take charge of his pack to be at his best
10 Jonny Wilkinson 3
– an awful game, his kicking from hand was atrocious, he should be dropped
11 Lesley Vainikolo 6
– rarely touched the ball, needs to sort out his handling to keep his place
12 Toby Flood 6
– not a bad game, but doesn’t seem to have any spark or flair
13 Jamie Noon 5
– defensively strong, but offered nothing in attack
14 Paul Sackey 8
– a strong performance in both attack and defence, looks like the only sure bet for Ireland
15 Iain Balshaw 7
– turned up, which is a start, took the high balls well and did enough, will probably play against Ireland

Once again the England football team has thrown away a lead and commanding performance in the space of a few minutes. This week it was against the Russians in Moscow. 1-0 up at half time after a Waybe Rooney screamer I thought we would be ok, our qualification to the next European Championships to be held next year in Austria and Switzerland. I was wrong. A leopard cannot change his spots. They sat back and thought that one goal was enough. It happens every time they score – as if they are so shocked about scoring that they don’t know what to do with it. In the end Russia put two goals past a hapless Paul Robinson in the England goal.

Awful!

The England football team have just completed back to back victoires in the Euro 2008 qualifying stage. They put three goals past a rather hopeless Israel at Wembley then the same team (first time over two years that an England coach has named an unchanged starting XI in consecutive fixtures) have just beaten a good looking Russian side by the same scoreline.

Overall England definitely deserved the six points and played really well considering that many pundits claim that the majority of players in the two ames wouldn’t normally make the England team. Two players stood out for me over the 180 minutes, namely Emile Heskey and Steven Gerrard. Stevie Gerrard is arguably the single most talented footballer in the world. He has, however, never really reached his full potential. This is mainly die to the fact he can play anywhere on the park and rarely plays his best position – that of an attacking central midfielder – and due to the fact that his usual partner in midfield, Frank Lampard, is too similar in style so they tend to cancel each other out. The last two games (whilst playing with a broken toe) we have seen him at his very best. We saw his energy and commitment alongside his leadership and passion for the beautiful game. Emile Heskey, much maligned over recent years, is the perfect foil for Michael Owen who is getting back to his very best for England and Newcastle.

I am really looking forward to the selection for the next qualifier against Estonia and the return leg to Russia in October. it is not foten I get to say this but..

GO ENGLAND!