As the global football and rugby union triumphs of 1966 and 2003, and now Lord’s last year show, time is not always kindOutside, it is cinereous and damp; February creeps in without an ode to anything, least of all joy. But somewhere, surely, the Cricket World Cup final is being replayed. On Tuesday England men’s cricket team play their first ODI since that magical Sunday last July when the bubbles flowed and the sun cranked up and the burnt-orange bricks of the Lord’s pavilion shouted “England” – though in a carefully non-xenophobic way.When a tied champagne super over gave England victory by dint of more boundaries, when administrators and broadcasters saw sense by showing the game on terrestrial television and...
England may be the pre-tournament favourites, but France in Paris is a tricky first hurdle for Eddie Jones’s sideEngland’s World Cup seemed to be judged on the no-show in the final against South Africa, the manner in which they overwhelmed Australia and New Zealand in the previous rounds largely forgotten. They had one of the youngest teams in the tournament with Eddie Jones changing direction a year out from Japan and jettisoning some of his more seasoned players. The result was that they played with greater pace, if not invention, and at last had a complementary back row. Related: Andy Farrell at home with Ireland and prepares to lean on career mentors Related: Gregor Townsend says ‘door is open’ for...
Youth will be added for the Six Nations to a core group distracted by impending relegation at their clubEddie Jones names his England squad for the Six Nations on Monday and at least he does not have to fret about some of his Saracens contingent being torn between playing for their country and helping their club avoid relegation. It was a concern of his when the club’s 35-point deduction for breaching the Premiership’s salary cap regulations was activated two months ago but he now faces something equally unsettling. Related: Saracens to accept second 35-point deduction and effective relegation Related: Latest twist in Saracens salary cap scandal threatens a descent into pure farce | Robert Kitson Continue reading...
Rugby has much to build on after a thrilling year but clarity on calendars and wages is needed plus more attacking gameplans1. At the very top of my agenda for the new year is a commitment to everyone involved in the game in this country to build on the excellent work done by England at the World Cup. We saw a spike in terms of welcoming more people into the game after 2003 but what I really want to see is a greater diversity of people coming into rugby. I’ve said it plenty of times before because it is something I’m really passionate about but a third of the England squad in Japan were from BAME backgrounds. On the back...
Led by a kid from the townships, South Africa’s triumphant side simply had more to play for than EnglandIf there has been a theme of the World Cup, a lesson for us all to take from these long seven weeks, it is this: the game sometimes runs on strange and powerful currents. It is not necessarily the sharpest, smartest, fittest, fastest or strongest team that wins, but the one who wants it most. Listening to South Africa’s captain, Siya Kolisi, and coach, Rassie Erasmus, talk about what this victory meant in the minutes after they had won it, you began to understand exactly what England were up against and the way the Springboks were thinking about it, England had lost...