Tag Archives: Wembley

Wallabies, Kiwis, Sarries and IRFU

O’Driscoll’s last World Cup?

A look at what is going on in the world of rugby:

Australia 39 – 20 South Africa
Australia have bounced back from their surprise defeat against Samoa last weekend to inflict a fairly heavy defeat on world champions, South Africa in the opening round of this year’s shortened, Tri-Nations. The Wallabies’ Quade Cooper was is scintillating form and contributed enormously to Australia’s five tries. Two late tries from the Springboks front rowers, Chilliboy Ralepelle and captain John Smit made the score line appear more flattering for the visitors. The Australians are looking like a very exciting team to watch. Scrum half, Will Genia was quick to recognize the quality of his forwards’ set piece play, “I’m very lucky as a nine that the pack was going forward,” he said. The Wallabies have not included Matt Giteau or Matt Dunning in their Tri-Nations squad.

 

New Zealand 60 – 14 Fiji
Rarely is scoring 7 tries to your opponents 2 tries considered “stuttering” but that is how the All Blacks’ victory over Fiji has been described. Top performances are demanded of the New Zealand public every time the Kiwis take the pitch and anything less is usually met with criticism. New Zealand rested their key player, Dan Carter to hand Otago Highlanders out half, Colin Slade a test debut. Slade has had the misfortune of suffering two broken jaws this year but has still managed to make his All Blacks debut and score 19 points in the process, including a try. It is also worth noting the centres Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu have played 27 test matches together, just one less than the famous partnership of Frank Bunce and Walter Little. The pressure is on this year’s hosts to win the famous Webb Ellis trophy. The All Blacks will go into the World Cup as favorites and anything less than winning the tournament will be seen as a failure.
 

Saracens Home & Away

Aviva Premiership Champions, Saracens have applied to the ERC (European Rugby Cup), the RFU (Rugby Football Union) and the South Africa Rugby Union to play one of their home Heineken Cup matches in Cape Town, South Africa. The game in question is their round 5 match against French side, Biarritz. It would appear as if the French rugby union are behind the idea. The biggest issue here is for the Saracens supporters. Each team only has 3 home games in the pool stages of the Heineken Cup and to take one of these games away from the loyal Sarries fans would not go down well at all.

However, this could be a great step in promoting the Heineken Cup in the southern hemisphere. I have made the point that if this fixture goes ahead in South Africa, it may well be a prelude to the highly anticipated fixture of the Super XV Champions V Heineken Cup Champions. Why not? The fans would love to see this game and I am very sure that the players would be happy to play this one too. We have already seen Wasps take on Harlequins in the LV Cup in Dubai earlier this year. Saracens have moved their Heineken Cup match against the Ospreys to Wembley stadium, a venue that has seen regular season NFL games in recent seasons. This kind of expansion is good for the game. Perhaps we should have a Tri-Nations fixture moved to the United States and grow the game here too?

 

Declan Kidney signs new contract

Ireland hand coach Declan Kidney new contract before the World Cup. This is proving to be a thorny issue. I started the conversation about this on twitter (@lineoutcoach) and also on my Facebook page (Gavin Hickie). This issue certainly seems to have people talking one way or another. Back in 2007 before Ireland’s poor world cup displays, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) decided to offer Ireland coach, Eddie O’Sullivan a new 4 year contract before the world cup. Ireland were poor by any standards at the world cup. As a result, the IRFU came under heavy criticism and in March 2008 O’Sullivan resigned as national coach. Now the IRFU has done something very similar and awarded Ireland coach, Declan Kidney with a new 2 year deal before the world cup. This seems incredibly reminiscent of past mistakes. For the record, I will be cheering for Ireland at the world cup and sincerely hope they can win the tournament. However, one cannot understand how any performance related contract can be handed out before a massive test like the world cup.

This is Kidney’s first world cup in charge of Ireland. This year’s tournament is the reason why he was installed as coach. So, if this world cup is the big test, how can you grant someone a new contract before the test? Without doubt Kidney has led the Irish team very well and won a fabulous 6 Nations Grand Slam in 2009, the first for Ireland in 61 years. His achievements as a coach should not be undervalued. We are quick to forget. As Ireland coach, O’Sullivan won 3 Triple Crowns with Ireland in 2004, ’06 and ’07.

Last year’s 6 Nations tournament was a completely different matter with a great performance against our old enemy, England, masking over some poor results. Kidney is right to have signed a contract extension offered to him. It is the IRFU who should be questioned on matter. One way or another, the public are going to scrutinize the coach after a tournament like the world cup. If he wins the competition,  Kidney will warrant a massive contract and deservedly so. But if things go badly at the world cup, Ireland have the same coach for the next 2 years. Surely new contracts should be offered after a world cup. One thing is for sure, this world cup will sadly see some coaches lose their jobs, and as a result there will be some world class coaches looking for a new team come November. For better or worse, Ireland will not be in the market for a new coach. If they are, the IRFU have made a big mistake.

Munster: We Are The Champions…

Munster win the Magners in a thrilling weekend of sport.

Munster Magners League Champions

Barcelona v Manchester United

The dust has settled on a thrilling weekend of sports. Although none of the teams I was up for won, all the eventual winners were well and truly deserved. Barcelona showed Manchester United how football should be played. I have heard numerous comments from sport pundits stating that it was great to see a classy team win the Champions League.

There is truth in this. Barcelona play a very stylish, fluid passing game. They are fantastic to watch and extremely hard to beat as United will testify. They appear to be a very tight squad of players led by the Barca legend, Pep Guardiola. Guardiola is a gentleman. He is a stylish man in how he dresses and in how he conducts himself and his team. It was wonderful to see Barcelona captain, Carlos Puyol pass the captain’s armband to his team mate Eric Abidal to give him the honour of lifting the Champions League trophy. Abidal has battled back from surgery on a liver tumour he underwent on March 17th. It is a great testament to the man that was back to lift the much sought after European trophy and a great testament to his teammates that they should recognize his very personal battle. Barcelona are deserved Champions of Europe.

 

Saracens v Leicester Tigers

Saracens are the Aviva Premiership Champions. Sarries overcame former champions Leicester Tigers in a thrilling match in Twickenham yesterday. Referee, Wayne Barnes saw fit to play 9 minutes of extra time in which Tigers had over 30 phases of play in their attempt to score a winning try. Saracens held Leicester Tigers at bay and celebrated only their second trophy in their history. With the squad of players coaches Venter and McCall have at their disposal, one guesses there may be more trophies heading to Vicarage road over the next few seasons. Saracens hooker Schalk Brits continued his great run of form yesterday. He was very impressive in his lineout throwing, his scrummaging and particularly his loose play, setting up a try for winger, Short.

No matter how good a hooker is in the loose, he needs to score a very high percentage in the accuracy of his throwing. Hookers are almost expected to have the dynamism of back row players these days but they must get their basic jobs of throwing and hooking done effectively. Brits did that yesterday and that may have been the difference between the two sides. Leicester Tigers struggled to get their usually dominant lineout functioning properly, largely thanks to the defensive work of Sarries captain, Steve Borthwick. For large parts of the game yesterday, Saracens also had the upper hand on Tigers in the scrums. If you can disrupt a team’s set piece, i.e. scrums and lineouts, you can effectively starve the opposition back line of decent ball from which to attack. This is one themes of yesterday’s final and a very influential one at that. Saracens are deserved Champions of England.

 

Munster v Leinster

Munster beat Leinster yesterday and in doing so became the Magner League Champions 2011. With all the focus on Leinster’s successes in recent times it is good to see Munster still possess the fiery will and determination which has made them one of Europe’s top rugby sides. There is a never say die attitude within the province and is was on display yesterday. Munster are undefeated at home this season. One could argue that last week’s epic Heineken Cup Final took it’s toll on Leinster who did seem fatigued, but that is taking nothing away from the men in red.

Munster had not scored a try against their provincial neighbours in over 400 minutes of rugby before yesterday. Tries from Howlett and Earls plus their warranted penalty try ensured that record would not continue. Munster did not have it all their own way and played the game a man down for 10 minutes while O’Callaghan was in the sin bin. The flash of the yellow card can be the making or breaking of teams. Being a man short in the forwards can increase the awareness and work rate of the 7 remaining players and it did just that for Munster yesterday who courageously defended their own try line. Mentally, this can be a massive boost for a team and cause the attacking team to question themselves.

Munster hooker, Varley will feel disappointed with the way the lineouts went as will Leo Cullen of Leinster. It is peculiar to see the touch judge move away from the lineout before the ball is thrown as was the case on numerous occasions yesterday. The touch judge is meant to keep an eye out for crooked throws by standing right behind the hooker as he throws the ball into the lineout. For some reason yesterday the touch judges seemed more keen to give the hooker his mark before scrambling off for a good view of the ensuing play. This may have saved the Munster hooker from a number of crooked throws being called against him.

Normally Varley’s throwing is dependable. There is nothing more frustrating for a hooker than to throw below par. One presumes he will get a chance to redeem himself, should he be part of Ireland’s preparations for the upcoming world cup. Leinster’s lineout did not function as well as they did the previous week. O’Connell would have studied countless hours of video containing clips of Leinster’s lineouts over the past few weeks. As a result, Munster’s defensive lineout was very effective. As a hooker, it can be terrifying throwing against a defensive lineout that consistently gets a man up in the air. It puts a lot of pressure of the hooker to ensure that his throws are very accurate. Psychologically it can be draining and damaging. Neither teams seemed to trust their lineout yesterday.

The men in red finished at the top of the league before the semi finals. A sure sign that Munster are deserved Magners League Champions 2011.

 

Gavin Hickie LineoutCoach USA Rugby Technical CoachGavin Hickie, USA Rugby U20s Forwards Coach, is a former Ireland, Leinster and Leicester rugby player now based in California and taking rugby to the USA. He writes for RugbyMag.com and other publications when not coaching for Belmont Shore and blogging on lineoutcoach.com #busy

 

Leinster v Northampton Heineken Cup Final 2011

Heineken Cup logo 1

Heineken Cup Final Review

  • Leinster v Northampton
  • Millennium Stadium 
  • 21st May 2011
  • Attendance: 72,456

At half time in the Heineken Cup in Cardiff last Saturday Leinster looked to be in big trouble. They were trailing Northampton by 6-22 in the northern hemisphere’s biggest club rugby match. The Dublin team were getting badly beaten up in the pack, particularly evident in the number of penalties they conceded from scrums. Leinster looked nervous and shaken while Northampton looked in complete control. Looks can be very deceiving. The Heineken Cup half time whistle saw the end of Northampton’s physical dominance over Leinster. The English team did not score any points in the second half. This may all have been part of Leinster coach, Joe Schmidt’s tactical plan.

 

Schmidt would have known that Northampton would start the match with all guns blazing. He knew that they would start the match at a frantic pace and try to establish early dominance. Northampton have a huge and powerful pack who look to build a solid platform from their set pieces for their backs to launch attacks. Leinster would not have wished to be 16 points adrift of their opposition at half time but they were keeping cool and believed in the coach’s tactics.

 

Leinster worked hard to ensure Northampton’s pack could not build a platform for their backs from lineouts. Northampton only had 2 lineouts in the first half. When Leinster kicked the ball to clear their lines, the ball was kept in play. They did not want to give Northampton a lineout from which the English team could build an attack. Instead Leinster wanted to keep the ball in play and move the Northampton pack around the pitch tiring out their big forwards. This was a clever tactic, designated by Schmidt and executed by Sexton and teammates. The Leinster coaching staff would have watched countless Northampton games in the build up to this match and would have seen how effective and dangerous a weapon their lineout has been. Coach Schmidt’s tactics effectively negated Northampton’s back line the ability to run their array of attacking plays from their lineouts while also making sure their forwards did a lot of running.

 

Heineken Cup TrophyThe scrums were a damage limitation exercise for the first half of the game. The Leinster pack knew that their opposition were physically bigger and collectively stronger than them up front. The scrum was never going to be easy going for the Leinster front row. Tonga’uiha, Hartley and Mujati are a fierce front row. Schmidt would have told his forwards to absorb the pressure from the Northampton pack. To soak it up to the best of their ability. It would have been almost impossible for Northampton to sustain the constant pressure on the Leinster scrum. Leinster gave Northampton all 22 points through scrums. Their 3 tries came from scrums and outhalf, Myler kicked a penalty awarded to his team from a scrum.

 

Leinster did not want to take on the Northampton pack in the first 40 minutes. They moved each one of their 4 lineouts immediately out their back line. This forced the big Northampton pack to cover a lot more ground and resulted in fatigue setting in at half time. No doubt Leinster were a fitter team than Northampton and relied heavily upon this. Fitness, patience and ability to stay calm under pressure won Leinster their second Heineken Cup. Johnny Sexton’s half time talk which referenced Liverpool’s famous Champions League Final comeback against A.C. Milan in 2005, was undoubtedly inspirational. Having played many times with Johnny, I can say he has always been a leader on the pitch.

 

Heineken Cup Timeline with Key Points:

  • Heineken Cup 6:00mins TRY – Northampton pack dominate the Leinster forwards in a scrum close to the Northampton try line. Following a quick ruck, Phil Dowson touches down for the Saints. Northampton’s No.8, Roger Wilson set up this try. Wilson, cleared the ruck very quickly to allow Dowson to score. Not only did Wilson clear Leinster’s Shane Horgan out of the ruck but he also held onto him to make sure he couldn’t get up to make a tackle on Dowson. The referee must not have seen Horgan’s enthusiastic use of the boot to try to free himself of Wilson’s grasp! Conversion kicked. Leinster 0 – 7 Northampton.

 

  • Heineken Cup 16:00mins Leinster lineout – Leo Cullen calls Leinster’s lineouts and ensured that the calls he used involved movement. Leinster confused the Northampton lineout defense by switching the positions of some of their forwards before the balls is thrown in. A moments hesitation in the Northampton defense is all Leinster needed to guarantee possession of the ball from their lineouts. This lineout was over thrown but Leinster retain possession and kicked the ball away.

 

  • Heineken Cup 17:00mins Leinster lineout – On their own 22m line. Leinster call a 5 man lineout with movement. The ball is thrown to the back pod and caught cleanly. The ensuing ruck lead to a knock on.

 

  • Heineken Cup 19:00mins Penalty – Northampton scrum forces the Leinster front row to concede a penalty. Myler kicks. 3 points. 0-10.

 

  • Heineken Cup 22:28mins Leinster lineout – On the half way line. Leinster call another 5 man lineout with movement. The ball is thrown to the back pod and immediately given off the top to the scrum half. The play very nearly ended in a try for Brian O’Driscoll but for a knock on right on the Northampton 5m line.

 

  • Heineken Cup 24:00mins Penalty – Northampton win another penalty at the scrum.

 

  • Heineken Cup 25:30mins Penalty – Leinster win a penalty following Mujati’s foul on Cian Healy. Mujati is yellow carded and sent to the sin bin. Sexton kicks the 3 points. Leinster 3 – Northampton 7.

 

  • Heineken Cup 26:30mins Leinster lineout – On the Northampton 10m line. Cullen demonstrates great awareness here. Although Leinster’s preference is calling shortened lineouts against the Saints, Cullen calls a full man lineout. He knows that Northampton have a prop in the sin bin and by calling a full 7 man lineout, the Saints are short a player in their defense. Leinster win the ball at the tail of the lineout and pass the ball off the top to the scrum half. The result is a knock on and scrum to Northampton.

 

  • Heineken Cup 27:15mins Northampton’s substitute prop, Mercey replaces flanker, Clarke due to the sin binning of Mujati. The Saints continue their dominance over Leinster in the scrum and win another penalty with only 7 forwards.

 

  • Heineken Cup 28:40mins Northampton lineout – Inside Leinster’s 22m line. Saints call a 5 man lineout and win possession. Leinster chose not to compete with Northampton’s lineouts because they were aware of the potential dangers of allowing the Saints to set up mauls and providing attacking options for their backs. Instead of competing for the ball during Northampton’s lineouts, the Leinster pack stayed on the ground ready to instantly pull down any Northampton maul. The result is a knock on within 5m of the Leinster try line

 

  • Heineken Cup 29:55mins TRY – Leinster scrum. Inside their own 22m line. Northampton continue their domination of Leinster in the scrums even with 7 players. The Saints win the scrum against the head. Following a few quick rucks, Ben Foden scores a try. Psychologically for Leinster this was a very rough period. Their 8 members of the pack were getting taken apart by the 7 remaining members of Northampton’s pack. Leinster had to continue to believe in their tactics and in their fitness. The Saints were down a man which meant the other 7 forwards had to increase their work rate for the duration of the sin binning. This possibly contributed to the apparent fatigue that hit the Northampton players. This is an important point in the analysis of the game.  Conversion kicked. 3 – 17.

 

  • Heineken Cup 35:00mins Penalty to Leinster – Sexton kicks the 3 points. 6 – 17.

 

  • Heineken Cup 37:00mins TRY – Northampton’s pack is back to full compliment following Mujati’s yellow card. The Saints are awarded another penalty from a scrum on Leinster’s 22m line but advantage is played. Northampton’s pack pours into 5 rucks before hooker, Dylan Hartley scores in right corner. Conversion missed. Leinster 6 – Northampton 22.

 

  • HEINEKEN CUP HALF TIME.

 

  • Heineken Cup 42:49mins TRY – Leinster lineout – at Northampton 10m line. Hooker, Strauss continues to throw well and picks out the back pod in Leinster’s 6 man lineout. The ball is passed off the top to scrum half Reddan. Leinster want to move the Saints pack around the pitch and continue to keep the high tempo of the game. Following a number of phases, Johnny Sexton receives the ball on the blind side of a ruck and with tiring prop Tonga’uiha marking him, Sexton easily glided over for his first try of the game. Leinster’s efficient and effective lineout play resulted in a well worked try. 13 – 22.

 

  • Heineken Cup 48:10mins Leinster lineout – On Northampton’s 22m line. Cullen employs movement in the lineout and the ball is thrown to the back pod. Leinster hooker Strauss got away with a crooked throw. After 11 phases of play, demonstrating fantastic ball retention, Gordon D’arcy looks to have scored another try for Leinster from a lineout. However, after consulting the video match official, the referee ruled that D’arcy was held up.

 

  • Heineken Cup 52:20mins TRY – Leinster scrum awarded after D’arcy was ruled to be held up. This is a massive turning point in the game. The Northampton pack no longer have the energy to dominate their Irish counterparts. Leo Cullen and his fellow teammates sense this and apply pressure on the Saints pack. From the impressive Leinster scrum, Sexton bundles his way over for his second try. He converts his own try. Leinster 20 – Northampton 22.

 

  • Heineken Cup 56:20mins Penalty – Leinster win a penalty from a scrum. The physical and mental turnaround is complete. The once dominant Saints pack concede a penalty from a Leinster scrum. Fatigue has set in for the Northampton pack and they are struggling to compete with the tempo of Leinster’s game. Psychologically , Northampton are really struggling. They have not been able to match Leinster at all in the second half. Their scrum is creaking badly and they have just lost their 16 point lead. Sexton penalty kick. Leinster 23 – 22 Northampton.

 

  • Heineken Cup 57:30mins Lineout – Northampton call a full lineout inside their own 10m line. The Saints are desperately trying to re assert their dominance over Leinster by calling a full man lineout, throwing to the front jumper and setting up a maul. Leinster do not compete in the air for the ball but instead stay on the ground and pull the maul down immediately. Great Leinster defense. Northampton are running out of ideas.

 

  • Heineken Cup 59:20mins Penalty – Saints flanker Phil Dowson enters the ruck from the side, gives away a penalty and is yellow carded. Northampton down to 14 men again for the next 10 mins. Sexton kick the penalty. 3 points. 26 – 22.

 

  • Heineken Cup 63:08mins TRY – Leinster have a scrum on the half way line. It is now the Dublin team putting pressure on the Saints in the scrums. Leinster are awarded a penalty but advantage is played. Following quick rucking and some good decision making, Scotland international, Nathan Hines scores a try for Leinster. Sexton converts. Leinster 33 – 22 Northampton.

 

  • Heineken Cup 66:15mins Substitution – Northampton’s two props have run out of steam and are substituted. They gave it everything. (17) Waller on for (1) Tonga’uhia and  (18) Mercey on for (3) Mujati.

 

  • Heineken Cup 70:10mins Lineout – Northampton call a full lineout on the half way line. The ball is caught at the front and is passed off the top and out to the back. Leinster again do not compete in the lineout.

 

  • Heineken Cup 71:30mins Lineout – Captain, Leo Cullen displays great leadership and awareness here. Leinster know that they have become the dominant pack now. They want to wind down the clock and close the game out. Cullen calls a full lineout and the ball is thrown to the front. The Leinster pack set up a maul and use up valuable minutes.

 

  • Heineken Cup 76:00mins Lineout – The Saints call a full man lineout on their own 10m line. Replacement hooker Sharman loses focuses and throws a crooked throw, missing his intended target and straight into the arms of Shane Jennings. As a hooker, it is vital that you can maintain concentration and focus at these crucial times.

 

  • Heineken Cup 80:00mins GAME OVER – Leinster are crowned the Heineken Cup Champions 2011.

Gavin Hickie LineoutCoach USA Rugby Technical CoachGavin Hickie, USA Rugby U20s Forwards Coach, is a former Ireland, Leinster and Leicester rugby player now based in California and taking rugby to the USA. He writes for RugbyMag.com and other publications when not coaching for Belmont Shore and blogging on lineoutcoach.com #busy