England vs Wales RBS 6 Nations Match Preview 2006

By Rob Richmond 31/1/06
January 31 2006

England vs Wales 4th February, 2006 RBS Six Nations Match Preview as seen by a true fan! Told in his own jaunty style Rob Richmond holds no punches here.

England vs Wales a tale of the haves and the have nots.

  

Saturday afternoon sees the opening games of another 6 nations tournament, or should it be sick nations?

The drop in standards of the quality in international rugby in the northern hemisphere has been clear for all to see. You need only look back to last summers lions tour to remind yourselves of lumbering slow witted forward play, uninventive backs moves which are designed to keep the ball and not attack the opposition. Yes, the guilty parties such as England and Ireland spent a lot of last seasons 6 nations looking for a win at any cost as they battled to get results whilst short on luck and short on any sort of ambition, other than to get the job done!

Meanwhile, Wales went from strength to strength and grew as a team and found a more adventurous brand of rugby. And, as England and Wales come together this weekend we see before a tale of the haves facing the have nots. But, which are which?

Over the autumn internationals we saw a Welsh national team who were still determined to show all and sundry their own brand of attacking flair rugby, a sort of super 12's hybrid with better kicking out of hand. They were, however, hamstrung by the injuries that some of their more important players, no, not the waxed one, guys who are the real star performers such as Tom Shanklin, Gethin Jenkins and Dwayne Peel. All three of these guys would waltz into the England 1st XV. (Sorry Sale fans, Gethin is light years ahead of Sheridan) whilst looking to the future seems to have been the primary key to the Welsh revival the have not formula has hit them hard as they simply haven’t the strength in depth of England or France.

Its rather strange that England seem have chosen not to use this 6 nations tournament to experiment with further explorations of backline combinations. Do the management see these games as less important the autumn internationals? Are you having a Turkish? Fact of the matter is the Rugby World Cup is next year,     NEXT YEAR!!    I know, I know, the reign is nearly over and we’ve got to hand Bill over the IRB soon. But, thanks to dithering and loyalties to world cup winners and lions tours and the press making 4 page pull out mountains out of molehills such as world cup winners losing form, pulling their calf muscles or having to retire because they’ve given large parts of their Swede in the cause of the country, Robbo finds himself short on time and short of options with plenty of experience under their belts. A  have not of the worst kind....

This is not a problem to our Welsh friends mind, former management of a kiwi disposition decreed from day one that absolutely everyone called Jones who has ever played the game at the highest level be given a cap, or 6.   But as we’ve seen the problem with this is that whilst you unearth a gem here and there like Ryan Jones, Chris Horsman or Jonathan Thomas its pretty difficult to cut the wheat from the chaff, especially when the coach turns to his assistants and says,

 

"I like the look of that Jones boy"

 

Ok, a poor joke and things aren’t all that bad for Wales as they still have some of their most tiptop performers  available like Alfie Thomas, who went to Toulouse a very talented player and returns frequently as  one of the best backs in world rugby.   Colin Charvis, who has been hard at work most of this season playing alongside Owen Finnegan up in Geordieland and between them fighting off relegation with little or no help from the Budgies pack.   And of course, Michael Owen the legendry forward, whose scoring record is beyond reproach and has formed a wonderful partnership the wonder boy Wayne Rooney. (Wrong one Richmond you muppet!-Ed)     Of course, last years player of the tournament is there too, Martyn Williams will be indispensable this weekend. He offers the Principality so much as he's become the premier link man playing in the British isles.

For me, the one man that Wales will miss the most is the one man who is as English as I am, Chris Horsman, one of the most destructive scrummagers in the European game and a man who owes a great dept to his adopted nation.   While Duncan Jones, a hefty fella so he is, though looking rather like Keith from Eastenders after a week on the pernod, is an able replacement and is certainly a much better player than the "props" (read as chubby ozzies found at the hotel bar the night before the game) of Australia.    Sheridan may of faced a greater challenge this weekend than he perhaps will.     Big Dunc is the only specialist tight head in the welsh squad so it possible that Gethin Jenkins may face his former Lions colleague up should struggle to contain the beast. I noticed earlier in the week whilst reading an interview with big Andy that he's not especially fond of the occasional flatulence foh-pah from the front row fraternity.      Now to me this gives Big Dunc something opportunity not to get the better of him perhaps but certainly survive. The answer is simple, a plate of sprouts and cabbage before the game, not only will they be powerfully loud, but also most pungent. Take it where you can get it, that’s what I say... 

But the ace in the hole for Wales are their half backs par excellence. Stephen Jones and Dwayne Peel are quite simply world class performers who have often shone on the big stage and were the rock on which everything for the Welsh national team has been built. Peel, who absolutely petrified the Kiwis on the Lions tour, quite simply walks into any international team on the planet.    He has got it all, in spades, a stinging pass, the bottle and balls to stand up to rampaging back rowers in defence, a keen and quick kicking game, more vision the best set of binoculars on the market, and truly wicked sidestep  that would make Dr Evil weep from his lazy eye.  When Peel is around and on top form you can expect some eye catching pyrotechnics.

Whilst Jones has grown into his role at Claument Auvergne to become the most fly half playing in France. recently voted the best fly half playing in France, which is high praise indeed considering his  opponents for the role.    Jones gives off an aura of calm, he’s laid back yes, but has a sharp mind and can spot a gap which many other fly halves wouldn’t even dream of trying to exploit, and from there he has hands that put some NBA basketballers to shame, when Jones puts you through a gap, you’re in big time, unless you’re a big hefty front rower 80 meters from the line, then you might be struggling.    ( In my experience its best to nip off to the sideline run down the tunnel with the ball under your arm, pull out your wallet from your jock strap and carbo-load on pasties, then reappear from the tunnel and waddle your way down the line humming the theme tune of chariots of fire, don’t worry, no one will catch you especially if your playing the jocks!)

Meanwhile, the England management had a conundrum of their own, with too many options in the middle of the park who was it that could not live without? The answer came in the form of  Jamie Noon, who is high on the list of the most consistent players who operate in the premiership, and Mike Tindall, who has been one of England’s most consistent players over the last five years, when fit, he’s been one the first names on the team sheet. They are however, to all intents a purposes exactly the same style of player.

But as England stuttered to try and carve out holes in the backlines of South Africa and Australia many worried that England have not got a clue how to unlock defences once the ball left the hands of Hodgson.

Jones will be facing a gentleman who was without a shadow of a doubt the most maligned rugby player in the northern hemisphere this time last season, Charlie Hodgson. When Charlie missed 4 penalties and a last minute drop goal against France, he was England’s fall guy. As the ghost of Jonny whistled around the Twickenham stands it was difficult to see anyway back for Hodgson.    But, England, having the most forgiving and most loyal set of  coaches anywhere in world rugby, stood by their man. ( Or perhaps had a good look at Andy Goode on the Churchill cup tournament and wept) Now Hodgson has transformed himself into the form fly half in the premiership and thanks to a Lions tour when he was criminally under-utilized has gained the respect of his peers and the critics who called him a choke artist.    (Hands up, I said it. I'm now delighted to take it back) With the return of his self belief and a vast improvement in some of his more lacking technical areas, a lot now rest on the shoulders of Sales most talented son.

With the 6 nations coming upon the England management it became clear that a subtler option was required, the answer appeared to come in the form of Olly Barkley, who in last seasons 6 nations came to the fore as one of England most potent options and also offered Charlie more options and share the load from kicking out of hand. Sadly, England have not got this option in the forthcoming weeks thanks to Olly's broken thumb. They will miss him. With the injury to Olly Barkley and the expected inclusion of Robinsons favourite son and the equally hard nosed Noon, its up to Charlie to try and play flat, draw in Welsh defenders and put his Centers through gaps and expose some the Principality’s heavy breathing forwards caught out wide. Whilst I don’t doubt Hudson’s terrific natural talent, I do worry that England are asking a lot of one man.

 

At 2 PM on Tuesday Andy Robinson named the following team....

 

England team to play Wales at Twickenham on Saturday:
J Lewsey (Wasps); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), J Noon (Newcastle), M Tindall (Gloucester), B Cohen (Northampton); C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), H Ellis (Leicester); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), S Thompson (Northampton), M Stevens (Bath); S Borthwick (Bath), D Grewcock (Bath); J Worsley (Wasps), L Moody (Leicester), M Corry (Capt, Leicester).
Replacements: L Mears (Bath), J White (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), L Dallaglio (Wasps), M Dawson (Wasps), A Goode (Leicester), T Voyce (Wasps).

 

Now, I’m not going to moan or even offer any opinions on the selections, I will leave that you guys. But I will mention this,  There’s an awful lot of experience selected there, so whilst many England supporters may not take the weakened Wales team too seriously, Robinson certainly does and has acted accordingly...

 

This evening Mike Ruddock announced this Wales team...

 

Wales team to face England at Twickenham on Saturday:  

G Thomas (capt, Toulouse); M Jones (Scarlets), H Luscombe (Dragons), M Watkins (Scarlets), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (ASM Clermont Auvergne), D Peel (Scarlets); D Jones (Ospreys), R Thomas (Blues), A Jones (Ospreys), I Gough (Dragons), R Sidoli (Blues), C Charvis (Newcastle), M Williams (Blues), M Owen (Dragons).
Replacements: M Davies (Gloucester), G Jenkins (Blues), G Delve (Bath), A Popham (Scarlets), G Cooper (Dragons), C Sweeney (Dragons), L Byrne (Scarlets).

 

The main surprise of this announcement is that of Gethin Jenkins is on the bench, perhaps a late decision considering the omission of Juilan White from the England starting line up. (Or perhaps further proof of a lions hangover from a man who run himself silly over the summer.) Whilst skipper Alfie Thomas does appear to fit enough to grace the Twickenham turf despite  fears of a broken jaw and his niggling knee problem giving him jip. The return of Mark Jones may not frighten the life out of England fans but it should do if he is able to reproduce the sort of performance that he put in against England in the world cup, a performance so impressive and scary to me that a teeny tiny bit of poo came squirting form my buttocks until Mike Catt came on and  steadied the ship.

 

This weekends forthcoming games look potentially as though they should go to form but its not completely out of the realms of likelihood that upsets could or even should happen. Looking closely at this opening game you really have to wonder which team will show up. Will we see the welsh team who had such a shocker against Fiji? Probably not, were more likely to see typical welsh passion and fire, bread of heaven and leeks wherever you look. We saw that against Australia and it was enough to get Eddie Jones the boot.

Whereas which England team will we see? The one which struggled to open up the Ozzies? Or the one that gave the Kiwis the fright of their lives? One thing is certain whether the best of these two nations do show or not, we should be in for one hell of a passionate, aggressive and abrasive game.

 

England to sneak it in the final 20,  ten or twelve points in the end.