Fly-half reveals much in his new book, not least the preference for pragmatists over visionaries that still holds England backDanny Cipriani’s new autobiography Who Am I? has been causing a bit of a stir, even in a busy week for rugby. Suffice to say, if the former England fly-half had represented his country as successfully and frequently as he says he chatted up the nation’s women, his caps record would never be beaten.The line that really hit the spot, however, had nothing to do with his – how to put this best – lively personal life. Forget the “squad” rotation details serialised in The Times and focus instead on Cipriani’s thoughts about why England were so reluctant to pick him....
If I am looking for positives from poor preparation, side has stuck to a plan that the coaches believe will win matchesWhen it comes to formulating a gameplan the first fundamental question is, are you going into matches looking to be hard to beat or are you approaching them trying to win? During my time with England in the Six Nations, the approach was always to be hard to beat and, from what I’ve seen this summer, the coaches have doubled down on that for the World Cup.Whether you think that’s the right mindset or not, that’s your opinion but they’ll be banking on the fact they can stay in games and manufacture enough opportunities they can take advantage of...
Fiji and Georgia have already shown they can beat top countries but look out for Chile and Portugal to make wavesThe 2023 Rugby World Cup is set to be the most competitive tournament in the sport’s history. The gap between the top 10 and some of the old “Tier 2” nations is closing significantly, as England have already been reminded by Fiji at Twickenham. From personal experience, I sense there are several potentially awkward underdogs out there, weighed down with few expectations and eager to upset the odds in France.I was fortunate enough to play for the USA Eagles at the 2019 World Cup in Japan. When we played France in Fukuoka, we had Les Bleus on the precipice and...
I’m thrilled by the unpredictability that stalks this tournament – the top scorers will end up as world championsAt the end of the Six Nations this year I attended a World Rugby summit meeting with every coach and chief executive from all the leading nations around the globe. Among the key topics of discussion were the direction of travel for the game as we head towards the World Cup. If I could sum it up in one word it would be this: speed.Speed, flow and ball in play time. We all want to see a quick game, we want fans to get more out of every game they watch. In the Premier League this season we’re seeing added time of...
Serious strength and physicality will be fundamental for success but rolling mauls will not win over neutralsTwo hundred years ago no one thought Charles Darwin would amount to much. “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat-catching and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family,” his father told his 16-year-old son, who went on to achieve global fame for his contribution to evolutionary biology. Which just goes to show how wrong even the most up-close predictions can be.Maybe we should remember that as we assess the next stage in the evolution of rugby union. Because the temptation over the weekend was to gaze down from the press box at Twickenham and conclude that rugby is...