2011 - Review of the Year

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2011 has provided the rugby community with so many wonderful highs but also some bitter lows. The highs certainly came for the Rugby World Cup hosts, New Zealand, and of course Wales who stunned the world with their RWC campaign.

However, the bitter lows would have come for England fans and the Irish and South African rugby supporters who would have expected far more from their star studded sides, who, before the tournament had been tipped as potential winners, if not, semi-finalists for certain.

But those sides failed to perform and whilst Ireland and South Africa were unlucky, fundamental problems inside the RFU were blamed for England’s World Cup meltdown.

Salary Cap - Is it keeping the League competitive?

By Vince Morgan 
Follow @vinnymac31

The Aviva Premiership Salary cap was introduced in the late 1990's to keep the league competitive and ensure all clubs had a fair chance at winning rugby’s biggest prize inside of England. I would argue all its done is hamstrung the leagues big boys in European competition. Since the game went pro only 5 clubs have won the league with Wasps and Leicester being the only multiple winners. This suggests to me the big clubs will always rise to the top domestically; the best players always want to play for the clubs with the most revered histories.

The New England Starting 15?

Stuart Lancaster will announce his squad for the Six Nations on January 11th. After the appointment of Graham Rowntree, Andy Farrell and Stuart Lancaster as England interim coaches it seems that this will be the time for the youngsters to prove themselves.

Andy Farrell is currently coaching with Saracens so he will certainly have knowledge about the vast array of youngsters that are on offer to England in the Saracens camp. Stuart Lancaster was the England Saxons coach prior to his interim appointment meaning he knows about the young talent that England have already produced with the Saxons and Graham Rowntree was of course a coach during Martin Johnson's era so knows about the current batch of players. Put together, these three men have more knowledge about current English players than any other.

The #RugbyUnited Community

Just one week ago, #rugbyunited was launched. Many of you reading this will already be involved with the project or, if not, you will probably have heard of it.

The aim is to connect all rugby fans on Twitter through a simple hashtag, #rugbyunited. 70+ people are currently involved and Scrum Five is supporting the idea. If you have just joined Twitter and have maybe 10 followers or simply want a few more followers, send a Tweet that includes the club you support, a "please RT" message and of course the hashtag #rugbyunited!

Post-match reaction: Harlequins 11-19 Saracens

After Saracens' victory over the previously unbeaten Harlequins, Talking Rugby's Russell Hargreaves caught up with Alex Goode and Andy Saull of Saracens, Harlequins centre Matt Hopper, Conor O'Shea and Mark McCall.

The game was a sell-out and saw just two tries, one from Saracens' David Strettle and one from Harlequins' Joe Marler, but provided a great day out for the Twickenham crowd who were entertained my X Factor contestants in the build-up to kick-off and at half time.

Aviva Premiership: Harlequins 11-19 Saracens

In front of a sell-out Twickenham crowd, it was a top-of-the-table London derby at the home of English rugby as reigning Aviva Premiership champions, Saracens, took down the previously unbeaten, Harlequins.

David Strettle, who was forced off the field with injury during the game, scored what was, in the end, the crucial try. After four penalties from England hopeful, Owen Farrell, Saracens made 19 points in the first half whilst Harlequins produced just six.

Joe Marler reignited the exhausted Quins side with a second half try but along with a Nick Evans penalty, it wasn’t enough to overthrow Saracens.

Aviva Premiership: Worcester 13-32 Leicester

Leicester Tigers powered past the Worcester Warriors at Sixways with a four try victory putting them into 5th place in the Aviva Premiership table.

It took the 9 time English champions just 22 minutes to gain a lead of 17 points that under normal circumstances would have been hard to come by for the entirety of the first half, if not the match. However, this wasn’t normal circumstances; this was a Leicester side featuring the likes of Toby Flood, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Youngs along with a whole host of up-and-coming players.

Newly promoted Worcester Warriors faced a tough challenge at the break when they trailed byan almost unsurpassable 20-3.

Post-match reaction: Gloucester 39-10 London Wasps

Nick Heath was at Kingsholm and caught up with Bryan Redpath, Dai Young and Henry Trinder after the game. Gloucester thrashed London Wasps with a demolition of the Londoners who remain near the bottom of the Aviva Premiership table. Gloucester moved up to fifth in the table in a victory that sees the Cherry-and-Whites replenish their play-off hopes.

Aviva Premiership: Gloucester 39-10 London Wasps

Gloucester thrilled a sell-out Kingsholm crowd with a six try destruction of visiting side, London Wasps.

The last time these sides met was back in February when Gloucester won 10-9 at Adams Park. Gloucester had won just two from their last six games and Wasps had lost all of their last four matches apart from last weekend’s victory over Bayonne.

In a post-match interview Bryan Redpath said “The players should be proud of themselves. They’ve had a lot of stick over the last couple of months, some of it is justifiable and some of it not.” He added “I think the win was a combination of many things.”

Interviews: England Interim Coaching Team

The new England interim coaches chatted to Talking Rugby earlier in the month and it's time to see what they said in the interviews.

Former England Saxons and Leeds Carnegie coach, Stuart Lancaster, Graham Rowntree, a member of the previous England coaching team and Andy Farrell, father of Owen Farrell and a coach at Saracens, make up the interim coaching team and they will announce their squad for the Six Nations in early 2012.

Aviva Premiership: Northampton 22-13 Bath

The Franklin’s Gardens crowd ceased to cheer for large parts of the game but when they did there was certainly good reason to do so as a high quality Northampton performance in the first half consisted of three beautifully crafted tries that put the Saints in a 22-3 lead half time.

The Northampton win was slightly spoilt in the second half as Bath gallantly fought for a comeback against a Saints side that lost physicality after the break. Saints captain, Dylan Hartley said “We've got to be more clinical and close these games out and get that bonus point.”

Charlie Hodgson looks ahead to the Big Game 4

Saracens' fly-half Charlie Hodgson talking to the RFU podcast's Simon Ward ahead of the Big Game 4 on December 27th at Twickenham - Aviva Premiership leaders Harlequins taking on champions Saracens. You can also check out our preview of the Big Game 4 which includes an interview with Mike Brown and George Robson of Harlequins by clicking here.

Up Close: Richmond Rugby

In 1861, a student at a west London military academy named Edwin Ash decided to gather his friends together for a regular game of football on Richmond Green. Since these modest beginnings, Ash’s club, Richmond FC, has continued to break new ground and to achieve great things both on and off the field. And on 12^th November 2011, over 350 members and friends as well as players past and present, gathered at 8 Northumberland Avenue for a gala dinner, one of two highlights of a year of celebrations marking Richmond’s 150^th Anniversary, the second being the fantastic game against The Barbarian FC played on 12^th April 2011 and preceded by a pre match supper for 600.

Rugby News Round-up No.5

This edition of the rugby news round-up features a story about Welsh Rugby's salary cap, Anthony Allen's possible move back to Kingsholm, Ian Gough's citing and Northampton's new signings.

Preview: The Big Game 4 - Harlequins v Saracens

The fourth Big Game is upon us and this year it will see Aviva Premiership table toppers and London rivals, Harlequins and Saracens, go head-to-head. 

Once again, X Factor finalists will sing at the Big Game which will take place on Tuesday 27^th December at Twickenham. Over 70,000 tickets have already been sold and the game is set to be a cracker.

Heineken Cup Week 4 Round-up

Round 4 of the Heineken Cup saw return fixtures offering plenty of surprises. Leicester held off Clermont, Gloucester narrowly beat Connacht at Kingsholm whilst Leinster thrashed Bath in a seven try thriller.

One of the biggest shocks of the weekend was Northampton's 45-0 thrashing of Castres, a side they lost to the previous week and Harlequins managed to beat four-time Heineken Cup champions, Toulouse, a side they had also lost to the previous week.

Post-match reaction: Leicester 23-19 Clermont

Tries from Manu Tuilagi and Salvi sent Leicester to victory in the return fixture against a side who they had lost to the previous week. Clermont's single try from Sivivatu along with a host a penalties and two drop goals were not enough to overthrow the Aviva Premiership giants.

Russell Hargreaves from the RFU.com podcast was at Welford Road and spoke to Richard Cockerill, Tom Croft and Thomas Waldrom after the match. Waldrom and Croft also looked ahead to 2012 and Christmas.

Player Focus: Matt Hopper

At the age of 26, Matt Hopper has played just five times for Harlequins. But despite few appearances, the former Cornish Pirate has made an impact already with his incredible skill and speed showcased at the highest level for Quins.

He joined the Londoners in the summer from Championship club Cornish Pirates and had previously represented Plymouth. Hopper spent a year perfecting his rugby in Australia playing in the Sydney Premiership with Manley.

Interview with Harlequins' Mike Brown

In a recent interview with Nick Heath, Harlequins' and England Saxons full-back Mike Brown spoke about player awards, England, Toulouse and of course, Christmas. At the age of just 26, Brown has been playing at the Twickenham Stoop with Harlequins since 2006. In that time he has made over 100 appearances for his club and has gained 3 England caps.

During his Quins career, Mike Brown has scored a total of 189 points, consisting of 37 tries. In the interview he discusses the growing amount of talented English full-backs and understands it will be hard to get into the England squad with the likes of the more experienced Delon Armitage and Ben Foden. Click 'more' to watch the interview.

Conor O'Shea: "He won't make that mistake again"

After Danny Care was arrested following Harlequins' Round 3 loss to Toulouse, he was fined by the club and was punished by Stuart Lancaster on the phone. In an interview with Nick Heath, O'Shea assured that Care "won't make that mistake again." Click play on the video below to see what Conor O'Shea had to say:



Credit: Rugby Media/Nick Heath

Rugby News Round-up No.4

This edition of Scrum Five's rugby news round-up includes some stories about the RFU, including the appointment of a new CEO and the retirement of an English Rugby legend. We also have another story about Danny Care included in this edition...

Interview: Richard Hill pays tribute to Wilkinson

England legend, Richard Hill, was one of the players who won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 with Jonny Wilkinson. Hill, now 38, appeared 71 times for England between 1997 and 2005. The former England flanker paid tribute to Wilkinson after the announcement of his International rugby retirement earlier in the week.

Farewell Jonny Wilkinson

Yesterday evening, a statement was released announcing Jonny Wilkinson's retirement from international rugby. Currently playing in Toulon, Wilkinson has remained under the radar and out of the English spotlight but his name will be remembered in English rugby history after kicking the drop goal that won England the 2003 Rugby World Cup (video below).

Wilkinson has had an illustrious career consisting of many great moments despite large parts of it being dogged by injury. At the age of 32, Wilkinson has made over 90 appearances for England and 6 for the British and Irish Lions.

Rugby News Round-up No.3

With Heineken Cup Round 3 nearly over and more rugby news stories emerging its time for another rugby news round-up. In this edition we have an interesting story about Worcester's Miles Benjamin and some news about Chris Ashton. Click 'more' to read the stories...

Heineken Cup Round 3 Live

This weekends games include Ulster v Aironi, Cardiff v Edinburgh, Harlequins v Toulouse, Connacht v Gloucester, Treviso v Biarritz, Castres v Northampton, Scarlets v Munster, Racing Metro v London Irish, Saracens v Ospreys, Bath v Leinster, Glasgow v Montpellier and Clermont v Leicester. Below is a live feed from Round 3 of the Heineken Cup including live commentary and scores!

Interview with player of the month Chris Robshaw

Chris Robshaw is becoming one of the most promising talents for English rugby and many believe he will be named as England captain ahead of the Six Nations 2012. However, Robshaw faces competition from Northampton's Tom Wood and the more experienced Tom Croft of Leicester.

But nobody is in any doubt that Robshaw will go on to represent England at a high level and with Stuart Lancaster selected as a new interim coach he could bring in some of the youngsters who can prove their potential on the international stage. He has been named as Aviva Premiership player of the month for November so click 'more' to listen to the interview.

Interview with Wasps' Dom Waldouck

One month after returning from an Achilles injury, Dom Waldouck has spoken to Nick Heath about London Wasps, Christmas and the Amlin Challenge Cup. Click play on the video play to watch Dom's interview.


Credit: Rugby Media/Nick Heath

Rugby News Round-up No.2

Another few days have passed and it's time to take a look at the latest rugby headlines from around the world. In this edition of Rugby news Round-up we have an interesting story about Sonny Bill-Williams and some useful Amlin Cup information...

Who will be the next England captain?

Following some of the worst ever weeks for English Rugby and the RFU, the organization will have to make changes to ensure that the reputation of English Rugby is not damaged too severely.

Traditionally, captains always seem to be back-rowers. But that rule is not compulsory as we have had the likes of front-row prop, Phil Vickery, and lock, Martin Johnson both being captain of England, with Martin Johnson lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in 2003. Even so, I have come to the conclusion that whoever the new England captain is, he will have to be a strong player, capable of leading a national side and he needs to have an edge that will keep skill, communication and playing ability at a high level...

Aviva Premiership Round 10 Reaction

Following a weekend of big clashes between the top clubs in the Aviva Premiership, round 10 provided us with some action-packed matches and big results. Talking Rugby were on hand at Leicester vs Northampton and Saracens vs London Irish to see what the coaches and players said post-match. Click 'more' for an overview of round 10 of the competition and to listen to the post-match interviews.

Rugby News Round-up

After Steve Thompson being forced into retirement, England retaining the Dubai Sevens trophy and Shane Williams' final game for Wales, the week has provided an exciting selection of rugby events for us to see. Click 'more' for a round-up of the last few days of rugby news and find out which scrum-half Saracens are about to sign.