The Rolling Maul: English clubs falling short in Europe

English clubs struggling to shine in Europe

Approaching the final week of a superb group phase of the Heineken Cup, the omens for England are grim. At present, it is impossible to predict an English victory in the final in Paris at the end of May, as the most competitive and compelling league in any code of rugby in any country has struggled this season to produce an outstanding club contender.

Leicester, Northampton and London Irish have the best chances, but consider how frail their hopes really are. Leicester have to beat the Ospreys on Saturday by scoring four tries for the bonus point.

Let’s be honest, Leicester have many mighty qualities but they are categorically not an attacking machine and against an Ospreys team that have their own pretensions, it is difficult to see the Tigers scoring a feast of tries.

If London Irish are to qualify as pool winners, they need a bonus-point victory at Twickenham against Leinster, the champions. And what do Northampton have to do to proceed as of right? Only to go to Thomond Park on Friday and beat Munster.

Yet those three have the best chances. Northampton, Sale, London Irish and Leicester could still qualify as one of the two best runners-up. But almost certainly the teams who get through by that route will find themselves playing away against sides such as Leinster, Munster or Toulouse in the quarter-finals.

The Guinness Premiership has not been vintage this season, although the intensity and the attendances remain astonishing. Forces are mitigating against the development of an English European champion.

Rucking debate delivers unanimous verdict

Last week, I touched a chord with my 24th consecutive weekly assault on the ghastly aberration that passes for a real ruck, that horrible moment where the ball trickles ponderously to the back of a ruck, so that the scrum half can “accidentally” kick it back in while he laboriously arranges two or three forwards on the fringes, just so that the team in possession can continue to play with another boring non-ruck.

Your responses were unanimous. Something must be done. I am sorry that we have not the time to run all of your ideas, but it is clear that people have had enough of slow ball and of being bored witless.

For me, rugby has to take radical steps. As soon as the ball emerges at the back of a ruck, even if only one end of it is visible, the referee should scream “ball out” so a defender can pick it up. Even more radically, I feel that the referee should be allowed to turn the ball over if the ball has been stationary for three seconds or more. That would force the team in possession to act quicker, would force them to be more dynamic and direct in making quick ball out of slow ball.

Furthermore, the idea that the first defender on the scene should be allowed to keep his hands on the ball must be banished. Far too often, those defenders taking advantage of this new dispensation are simply not on their feet, and in any case, the attackers have to commit two or three forwards to knock them away.

And finally, the game must now abandon the idea that isolated players must play the ball quicker than instantaneously. The sight of the referee indicating that an attacker is holding on - signalled by the ref crossing his arms across his chest - is killing the game. Because attackers are terrified of being isolated, there is no dynamism in their ball-carrying, and only feeble, short-ranged driving around the corners of rucks.

Granted, a return to real rucking may leave the odd stud mark across the odd back, but so what? The marks disappear. At the moment, rugby is disappearing.

>>>>>List of the week<<<<<

The 10 gloomiest but most atmospheric rugby arenas

1. Ferrocarril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires

A haunting concrete jungle, dark and brooding, tucked away in the nether regions of Buenos Aires, sometimes used for rugby. From outside at night, when they have locked it all up, you can hear strange groans and creaks and shuffling from its black corridors, underground changing rooms and clanging lifts. Frightening, and wonderful.

2. Rogerstone Welfare Cricket Club

Surrounded by the Alcan aluminium works on one side, by the old power station on another and also by the tracks leading to the old shunting yards, the old Welfare was never prepossessing. But we loved it, spent endless summers cricketing on the outfield. Walshy is still the scorer, Slonky is still doing the pitch, and all is well in the world.

3. Athletic Park, Wellington

God knows how they never had a disaster there. It was crumbling the day they opened it, I swear. It was perched precariously at the top of a valley along which the winds howled like banshees.

4. August 23 Stadium, Bucharest

A sparse concrete bowl of brutal functionality, a trap on roasting days without shade, this ground typified Romanian rugby when it was strong and creature comforts were non-existent. No wonder it has been demolished to make room for a new venue.

5. Stores Field, Risca

The embodiment of boots-and-saddles rugby, the marvellous old place still has its bumpy playing arena, still has the river running by with the contraption to fish out the ball, and still makes up in fervour what it lacks in comfort - which is practically everything.

6. Gosforth Greyhound Stadium

Long gone now, but it used to stage the occasional match up in the North East, and indeed, it was the stadium where I first saw play the young Will Carling.

7. Knowsley Road

Home of one of the bigger rugby league clubs, only when you actually get inside here do you get the full sense of dilapidation, and the full wonder as to how St Helens make a profit with this place as a headquarters. Again, dilapidated and gloomy yet oddly appealing.

8. Newlands, Cape Town

Don’t be offended, South Africans, but you only have to scratch a little below the surface to find that all is not well. Granted, the mountainous backdrop is sensational, but the stadium is becoming seedy, dark and tired.

9. Carisbrook, Dunedin

A delapidated, impossibly gloomy and piecemeal arena, although at least they are not planning any big matches there in the future - apart from knockout games in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, that is!

10. Westpac Stadium, Wellington

In our parade of the non-gleaming arenas, here we have one that is almost brand new, the successor to the demolished Athletic Park and commonly known as The Cake Tin. It makes you wonder. If they were going to build a new stadium, why on earth did they produce one that is already dark and brooding and uncomfortable.

>>>>>Hero of the week<<<<<

Bryan Redpath (Gloucester head coach)

Gloucester are not out of the woods yet, and it could even be that their splendid win the Heineken Cup against Biarritz last week will turn out to be a one-off. However, I think not. Redpath was an absolutely magnificent scrum half for Scotland, and it was a shame that Lions tours went badly for him, so that he lacked the ultimate fame.

But I always suspected that he would turn Gloucester around once he had established himself. There was power, skill and clarity about Gloucester at Kingsholm on Saturday. More power to him.

The Stephen Jones debate

“You make a good point about the farce of ruck ball but it’s a bit disappointing to hear Nigel Owens’ comments. The way to speed up that phase of play is to keep the defence onside. What’s happened to the offside line - the back foot? Look at any ruck these days and the fringe defence is a stride ahead of the back foot.

“The players ignore the ref calling it in the heat of play so penalize that and you’ll slow the defence, giving the attack an opportunity to do something useful with the ball. While we are at it, has Nigel and his ilk forgotten it’s illegal to handle in the ruck? Includes scrum halves reaching in and holding the ball! Stop it!” Steve Findley

SJ: How true about the offside line, and wasn’t there a plan that the touch-judges would signal offside? You are so right. The offside line now seems to be half-way up the rucks. Why don’t they referee the big laws any more?

“Interesting comments from Owens. What annoys me is when the scrum half kicks the ball back into the ruck to further delay the game, many times hitting one of his own players. Surely this is a penalty to the defending team? And how about making the ball ‘live’ when the scrum half stands there with his foot on it, directing traffic. If he has hands or foot on the ball let the defence go at him!” Chris in the US

SJ: Totally, totally agree. I’d like there to be a rule that forbids static ball so as soon as it emerges you have to play it. Also, the scrum half should not be allowed to hoof it back in, and no-one should be allowed to elongate a leg so that the released ball returns mysteriously into ruck. The whole phase at the moment is horrible. It is the worst thing in sport.

“In failing to confirm Steve Borthwick as captain for the Six Nations, dare we hope that the non-catching, non-carrying second row is no longer untouchable and that more exciting combinations of Shaw and Lawes/Croft could be considered for the tournament?” Henry Crane, North Ferriby

SJ: Henry, we can only hope. Shaw/Lawes? Is that tasty, or what? I spoke to that nice Mr Lawes last week. He has something about him. Mr Johnson. Please. No more. Steve’s not good enough.

“I am sure I’ve been asleep for a couple of months and just woken up in the middle of a bad dream. Shontayne who? Did he set the Premiership alight while I was in the land of nod? I can see the sense of many of the selections, but this one smacks of desperation. We tried Erinle as a secret weapon at second receiver and it didn’t quite come off.

“Has it anything to do with that Scotland and Wales have managed to successfully convert from RL at centre, whereas England’s track record is patchy (I’m being kind)?” John Adsett, Rochford, Essex

SJ: Good on the lad, John, but I am afraid that Hape is totally non-breathtaking, he would be swept away by a Test match unless he doubles his work rate, and there is something very unsatisfying about his selection. And as I said last week, when will rugby union realise the first unwritten law (well, I’ve written it now) about rugby league players? They’re rubbish.

Last week I read an article about rugby league imports who had been good and others who had failed. One of the successes given was Iestyn Harris. My god in heaven. Slow, leaden, and when in doubt, bunged a long and hopeless ball out wide and therefore failed to draw the defence. If Harris was a success then I would hate to watch a failure.

“Your comments about messrs Paul and Vainikolo are apt and timely. Paul had stated that he would return to NZ if the money was right. The NZRFU said it would only consider Paul and any other Kiwi for AB selection if they played NPC and Super rugby. The position English rugby finds itself in (lack of depth in key spots) is a legacy of the myopic policy of buying in talent from the SH, and then wringing their hands when the national side fails to fire.” David Griffin, Rochford, Essex

SJ: Every nation now devalues the jersey by choosing foreign players. There is an opportunistic smell lingering over the whole thing.

“It’s good to see that Dupuy only received a token adjustment to his ban for gouging. This blight on the sport needs something more than just bans though. How about making it that a gouging offence is treated as a summary dismissal for a player? If all the clubs signed up to that, the direct effect of losing income, not just playing time, would see the end of it in a shot. That, and a mandatory minimum 12 or 18-month ban would work.” Karl, London

SJ: Karl, you wrote just before the news broke that David Attoub has been banned for 70 weeks, in line with your recommendations, and quite right too. The mentality of gougers is unfathomable. The only sour taste is that Schalk Burger got off almost scot-free and stayed on the field in the Second Test in Pretoria.

“You shouldn’t be worrying about Kiwis. What on earth are England thinking about at loose head? Sheridan is not fit. Payne is, to put it politely, a total liability and Adam Jones awaits! Do Rowntree and Wells really know what is going on?” John Edwards

SJ: Payne is really struggling and god knows why no Flatman. Maybe it is a personal thing, John. But my choice could be Perry Freshwater, a hero in Perpignan, still playing superbly After being drafted once too often without playing, he told them where they could stuff their England caps. Maybe someone should un-stuff them.

“If Chris Ashton can replace Phil Vickery, why do we need an extra replacement to prevent uncontested scrums?” Christopher Croft

SJ: Well either Ashton or Danny Care, I feel, could do the job - especially against Ireland.

“Please don’t lower yourself by knocking rugby league, it does you no favours and you’re better than that. It depends on how you utilise the skills and abilities of the player. Farrell and Paul were great players who the coaching staff had no clarity on best using, and the perception was of rushing players into squads and positions as a quick fix.

“Play them ‘out of position’ with an inadequate game plan and let’s blame the RL converts for the mess! Ashton has a talent (top try-scorer at present) and should be mentored into one of the outstanding talents of English rugby. It may well be the Saxons provide a more suitable grounding, but be in no doubt these players have talent.” Matt Spiers

SJ: They may have had talent when they played in the tiny goldfish bowl of rugby league, where all they had to do was trundle along through a domestic rugby season. Once they arrived in harsher leagues in union, once they had to play in rarefied European rugby and once they had to try, till found out, to play true Test rugby, they sank without trace. For the most part, the only people who ever chose rugby league players were those who shelled out a lot of cash and had to pretend that it was not a complete and utter waste, which it was.