Focus on: Englands Summer Tour Part 2
It’s just under two weeks till the first test in Englands tour to New Zealand, and with the Heineken Cup done and dusted, and the Premiership finalists now known, we have a rough idea of how the first test team will line up, and well, it’s reasonably strong. Yes, England will be missing a couple of key players, Owen Farrell and Tom Woods for example, but in most positions they’ll be bringing in international...
The Anatomy of a Try: Lamerat ASM Clermont Auvergne vs Castres Olympique May 2014
For the second year in a row Castres Olympique upset the apple cart by beating the colossal ASM Clermont in the Top 14 play offs. To be fair to Castres, they are defending champions but having finished 6th in the regular season, no one gave them much of a chance against Clermont and their winning streak at home. The thing is, Rugby in France is all about the playoffs, and teams that may have cruised a little in the regular season...
Shooting Stars – Saracens Defensive System
Last week as part of our article on the quarter final between Saracens and Clermont I mentioned the amount of plaudits the Saracens defence had received and i wanted to come back and have a quick look at why it’s been getting so much attention. Lots of focus has been placed on the ferociousness of individual hits and the “Wolfpack” mentality they have made a key component in their defence system. In the Clermont game...
The Anatomy of a Try: Israel Folau Waratahs vs Reds March 2014
Below is a short analysis of the first Israel Folau try for the New South Wales Waratahs against the Queensland Reds in this years Super XV. On face value it’s a simple try, but it’s interesting for a number of reason. The first is that it’s clearly a pre-planned strike move from set piece ball – the holy grail. The second is that while it’s Beale who makes the line break and Folau who takes the plaudits...
Focus on: Englands Summer Tour
In July England head to the dark wet depths of New Zealand for a four game, three test, summer tour. Players running out in the Aviva final the week before means the first test will see a very different England team to the one that finished the Six Nations in quite some pomp. Never the less. England will head south with a large, confident and talented squad, but whilst they will talk of a belief that they can beat the worlds number...
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