Inside the Minds of Marco Wentzel and Hendre Fourie...



Leeds flanker Hendre Fourie, and yes that's me, looking like a ghost...

Last week, I met Leeds Carnegie duo Marco Wentzel and Hendre Fourie at an ESPN event.

The night, hosted by commentator Nick Mullins, turned out to be quite a cosy affair.  Due to a marketing mixup, meaning the event was only promoted the day before, only four Leeds Carnegie fans turned up to meet Leeds skipper Wentzel and the wonderful Mr Fourie.  Yes, you read that right - just four people.  As a fan, the support shown on the night was pretty embarrassing and I dread to think what the two players thought, but in a way it was great as the formal Q&A session turned into a casual chat in a pub.

(Before I go on, I'll wait whilst you make a joke about the four of us making up Leeds' entire fan base...)

Done?

Then I'll continue.  I'd been working in a sleepy town in Surrey for the week and had hot-footed it up the M1 in order to make it.  I'm glad that I did, as it was a great chance to grill two of my favourite players for more than an hour.

Due to the limited audience, I had to resist the urge to whip out my dictaphone or take down a shorthand note in my trusty reporters pad.  It wasn't really the time or place, but it was nice to hear the players speak so candidly without head coach Neil Back breathing down their necks and forcing them to toe the party line.

So what did we talk about?  Plenty of things, from Leeds' woeful start to refereeing interpretations and even which players they would love to bring to the club.

It's no secret that Leeds' start to the season has been poor.  Winless in the league, rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table with only two losing bonus points to show from the first six rounds.  However, Wentzel refused to accept the poor performances can be blamed on the age old argument that Leeds are perennially slow starters.  His analysis?  They haven't been playing well enough, the backline is really struggling to fire and the injury crisis hasn't helped.  Therefore, it came as no surprise that both Fourie and Wentzel agreed fly-half is the position they would target if they could make a dream signing for the club.  Interestingly, they had different ideas on who they would pick and why.  Wentzel opted for Leicester and England stand-off Toby Flood - a dynamic player with a great kicking game who he believes would breathe fire into the backline.  Fourie chose a fit Derick Hougaard, the Saracens 10 who was kicking everything in sight and totally running the show with his tactical nous before he ruptured an Achilles tendon.

So what does that say to me?  I think it's a glaring admission the players are as concerned as the fans that Leeds are missing a fly-half who can take charge of a game and be the crucial lynchpin.  It was pretty telling, especially when Fourie revealed that Sale and England number 10, Charlie Hodgson, would have been odds on to pull on a Leeds shirt if Sale had been relegated last season.  Fourie said he spoke to Hodgson during an England training camp and the Sale stand-off said Leeds would be his favourite option if Sale made the drop as he didn't want to move down south.  Of course, it's all water under the bridge, but how different a season might Leeds be having now with the consistency of Hodgson at 10?


Marco Wentzel, doing a great job of towering over me.

Interestingly, Wentzel claimed the departure of second row partner, Erik "The Viking" Lund, wasn't a huge loss.  That surprised me somewhat, as Lund and Wentzel formed arguably the best line-out partnership in the Premiership last season.  Check out the Opta stats if you don't believe me.  According to the Leeds skipper, Tom Denton has made the step up so well, Lund, in all his bearded glory, is hardly missed.  In fact, Fourie went on to say he believes the only area to suffer from Lund's switch to Biarritz is a bit of extra power in the scrum - but Denton is getting there, so Fourie claimed.
Wentzel, who featured in last year's Opta team of the year with the most line-out steals, also admitted to being a total stats junkie.  He revealed he studies opposition line-outs constantly in the week running up to a match, even on the morning of a game.  Fortunately for the 6ft 5" South African lock, his wife doesn't mind - as long as she can watch America's Next Top Model...

In between being quizzed, Fourie and Wentzel had a rather amusing mini-tiff about he flanker's latest sinbinning.  Talk about a difference of opinion, but Fourie wouldn't let it go, and it was all very amusing to watch the pair step into the captain and player relationship right before our eyes.  I couldn't tell you who won of course, but thankfully it didn't get too heated and the pair didn't start arguing in Afrikaans as apparently they have in the past during minor "disagreements".

Referees were another hot topic, both the standard of refereeing in the Aviva Premiership and referee's perceptions of Leeds as a team.  Wentzel admitted Leeds are in a vicious circle and need to get into the winning habit to stop referees seeing them at the bottom of the league making them more likely to penalise Leeds for perceived errors.

But which referees do they rate the most?  For Wentzel, (and for me), Wayne Barnes is the top referee in the world, as he is cool, calm and more often than not gets most things right.  Fourie opted for Chris White because he is one of the referees he can have a chat with on the pitch.  It's funny, but before I met him, I didn't have Hendre Fourie down as a chatty type, but let me tell you, he really, really is - and he's pretty funny too.

Listening to Fourie talk of his parents' pride at him being picked for the England squad and anecdotes of the reactions he's had in South Africa was great.  He is a man who is definitely passionate to play for his adopted country and came with none of the trappings of a man who has been bigged up by pundits and the media for his immense performances week after week.

Unfortunately, Fourie was taken off at half-time against Sale last Friday after suffering a rib injury, putting his involvement in next month's international fixtures in doubt.  The latest news is that he could be fit and in contention for the first game against New Zealand on 6 November - the small matter of ousting England skipper Lewis Moody in order to get his hands on the number seven shirt.

Fourie's injury is somewhat ironic.  The flanker revealed he only felt that he reached full match fitness against London Irish at the beginning of October after missing all of pre-season with injury.  I hope he is back in action sooner rather than later, for Leeds and hopefully for England.  Fourie is a class act on and off the pitch, and along with Wentzel he came across as being a lovely, down to earth bloke.

The only downside to the evening?  It doesn't look likely that either Wentzel or Fourie will be making an appearance on Twitter any time soon.  Despite my best efforts, Fourie admitted he spends way too much time on his Playstation to get into the whole tweeting thing, and Wentzel isn't even on Facebook.  Looks like it's down to Leeds fullback Leigh Hinton to continue Twitter duties for the entire team.

That aside it was a fantastic evening.  I just hope any future events will be publicised better by all concerned to at least get the attendance into double figures...

Flying the Flag: Weekend Predictions

There's a small tournament starting in South Africa this Friday.  Something to do with a round ball and Wayne Rooney...

David "Call me Dave" Cameron, the botox-faced British Prime Minister, is flying the St George's cross above 10 Downing Street for a few weeks.  Apparently it's something to do with the sporting shenanigans in the Rainbow Nation, but don't believe that for a second.  Johnno and the boys: it's all for you.

This does however, suck if you are Welsh or Scottish.  Apparently, Dave doesn't care what happens in New Zealand and Argentina this month.

Anyway, as we all know, the summer rugby tours are where it's at, and as usual I'm going to have a go at predicting the results.

I'm off on holiday tomorrow, so sadly I won't be able to watch any of the games.  This also means that I've not had much time to write this post, so apologies as it's only a quickie.

However, I do have time to say that I am thrilled Phil Dowson, Northampton Saints' back-row forward, has been promoted to the senior England squad.  Sadly this was due to an injury to Hendre Fourie, as the Leeds Carnegie flanker picked up a calf strain in the 28-28 draw against the Australian Barbarians yesterday.

Speaking of the Baa-Baas game, from all reports it sounded like England's second string side were lucky to grab a draw.  I'm not sure how much we can take from this result, as the teams that run out on Saturday will be vastly different.

Well, maybe with the exception of Australia's 19-year old points scoring machine, James O'Connor.  An individual points haul of three tries, two penalties and two conversions isn't too shabby - especially when Berrick Barnes was the only other person to get on the scoreboard for Australia with one successful penalty.

The South Africa v France games looks set to be a clash of the titans.  France are the best team in the northern hemisphere right now, and they will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing a Springboks side who nearly came up short against Wales.

So without further ado, here are my predictions:

Argentina v Scotland - Scotland to win by 6
Australia v England - Australia by 12
New Zealand v Ireland - New Zealand by 9
South Africa v France - South Africa by 6

What do you think?

England Squad for Trip Down Under: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Martin Johnson had a few tricks up his sleeve today when he named his England squad to tour Australia this summer.

Along with nine uncapped players, the England coach made some, erm, interesting recalls.

Skipper Steve Borthwick misses the tour because of a knee injury meaning Lewis Moody looks set to retain the captaincy.

But which other selections were inspired, which were dodgy, and which will make England rugby fans hold their heads in their hands and sob uncontrollably?


The Good:

Hendre Fourie: I'm thrilled the Leeds flanker has been called up after a fantastic season at a so-called "unfashionable club".  I wonder if the words of Johnno's ex-Leicester chum, Neil Back, had anything to do with his inclusion?

Olly Barkley:  Since returning from a broken leg, Barkley has helped inspire a resurgent Bath to a Guinness Premiership semi-final spot.  He is in the form of his life at the moment.  A worthy recall.

Dominic Waldouck:  Nice to see Johnno giving the talented Wasps centre a chance. 

No Louis Deacon:  Hang on, the terrible Leicester second row has been dropped?  A miracle.


The Bad:

James Haskell:  Did he even play in the Six Nations?  I'm not sure, as he had about as much an impact on me as the tedious film "The Men Who Stare At Goats".  Hours of my life, wasted.

No Jon Clarke: I don't really understand why one of England's most dangerous centres will be left at home this summer.


The Ugly:

Charlie Hodgson.  One word: WHY?!

And come to think of it, why is Stephen Myler only in the Saxons squad instead of choker Charlie who will travel to Oz?

No Phil Dowson.  What does the versatile Northampton back row forward have to do to be included in the  England tour down under?  Solve the Greek financial crisis and broker World peace?  Or does he simply have to plait sawdust and knit fog?  It is a travesty that he hasn't been handed a plane ticket and will only be given the chance to star for the Saxons.



The Full England squad, who will venture to the land where women glow and men plunder:

Backs: D Armitage (London Irish), C Ashton (Northampton), M Banahan (Bath), O Barkley (Bath), D Care (Harlequins), M Cueto (Sale Sharks), T Flood (Leicester), B Foden (Northampton), S Geraghty (Northampton), S Hape (Bath), C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), U Monye (Harlequins), J Simpson (Wasps), D Strettle (Harlequins), M Tait (Sale Sharks), M Tindall (Gloucester), D Waldouck (Wasps), R Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks), J Wilkinson (Toulon), B Youngs (Leicester).


Forwards: S Armitage (London Irish), D Attwood (Gloucester), D Cole (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), P Doran-Jones (Gloucester), N Easter (Harlequins), D Flatman (Bath), H Fourie (Leeds Carnegie), J Golding (Newcastle), D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Stade Francais), C Lawes (Northampton), L Mears (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), T Palmer (Stade Francais), G Parling (Leicester), T Payne (Wasps), C Robshaw (Harlequins), S Shaw (Wasps), S Thompson (Brive), D Ward-Smith (Wasps), R Webber (Wasps), D Wilson (Bath), J Worsley (Wasps).

 
England Saxons squad for the Churchill Cup:
 
Backs: N Abendanon (Bath), A Allen (Leicester), B Barritt (Saracens), J Clarke (Northampton), A Goode (Saracens), P Hodgson (London Irish), S Myler (Northampton), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), O Smith (Montpellier), T Varndell (Wasps), M Young (Newcastle).


Forwards: D Bell (Bath), N Catt (Bath), A Corbisiero (London Irish), P Dowson (Northampton), G Kitchener (Worcester), S Hooper (Bath), T Lindsay (Wasps), L Narraway (Gloucester), D Paice (London Irish), T Rees (Wasps), A Saull (Saracens), G Skivington (Wasps), R Vickers (Newcastle), N Wood (Gloucester), T Wood (Worcester).

VOTE NOW! Guinness Premiership Player of the Season

The Guinness Premiership season has all but finished, and with only the title deciding playoff games to go it's time to see which players have made the biggest impact.

Leicester host Bath and Saracens travel to Northampton in the semi-finals after a thrilling final round.

And it's no coincidence that these teams feature some of the most outstanding players to grace the league this campaign.

But who is your player of the season?

Here is the cream of the crop.  Well, in my opinion anyway...

Schalk Brits (Saracens)

Everything the Sarries hooker touched turned to gold this season.  Pacey, powerful and with a step that would make Yannick Jauzion jealous: Brits has it all.  OK, so his line out throwing has been a little hit and miss, but when he starts running with ball in hand he rips defences apart.  This has been his first season in the Guinness Premiership and arguably Brits has made the biggest impact of any player.  With only three South Africa caps to his name it is unbelievable to think he won't add to this tally in next year's World Cup.  Second only behind full back Alex Goode in the number of metres he has made at Sarries, 28-year old Brits is also in the club's top three for carries and tackles. 

Brendan Venter, Saracens coach, said: "Brits is a special player, who does things that can't be coached. He's so talented with the ball in hand - but then you look at his stats and see how many tackles he makes. He has to go to the World Cup."



Olly Barkley (Bath)

Centre Barkley returned to Bath after a brief sojourn at rivals Gloucester, only to miss Bath's difficult first half of the season with a broken leg.  Steve Meehan's team were battling the fallout from the drug scandal that rocked the club, and at the half way point in the season they had plummeted to the foot of the table.  But the return of Barkley and fly-half Butch James inspired Bath to an amazing run of 11 wins from 12 to secure a semi-final spot.  In this time, 28-year old Barkley has been sublime.  His passing, breaks, kicking game and points from the boot has been at the heart of Bath's success.  Surely he must be very close to grabbing a ticket to Australia for England's summer tour?

Steve Meehan, Bath coach, said: "He would be a certainty for the tour if I was on England's selection committee.  I think the 12 months he had away from here has done him a hell of a lot of good. He feels that he has nothing to prove to anybody, and his rugby is showing that."



Phil Dowson (Northampton)

Flanker and Saints vice-captain Dowson is undoubtedly one of the first names Northampton coach Jim Mallinder writes on his team sheet.  The Franklins Gardens' favourite has been a force to be reckoned with this season.  A powerful player with an incredible work rate, Dowson does so much excellent work that often goes unnoticed.  Well, not when he is thundering over the try-line as he often has this season.  The 28-year old's leadership qualities along with his excellent rugby skills must be making Lewis Moody sweat for his England starting place.  Martin Johnson has to pick Dowson to go to Australia next month.

The ever modest Dowson said: "It's probably not suitable to target the England tour but rather make sure that I'm playing well and I'm sorting out the roles that I'm doing with the coaches,"

"If [Saxons coach] Stuart Lancaster or [England forwards coach] John Wells gave me a call I'd be keen as mustard to go along. At the moment I'm concentrating on getting the best out of myself for the Saints."

And that is why everyone at Franklins Gardens loves him.



Chris Ashton (Northampton)

Rugby league convert Chris Ashton has enjoyed unbelievable success this season.  The 23-year old wing from Wigan, Lancashire, has crossed the whitewash 16 times in the league and is the top try scorer.  Electric pace combined with the strength and power of a back-row forward has seen Ashton destroy defences and link up with Saints full-back Ben Foden to devastating effect.  A well deserved call up to England for the final Six Nations game against France saw Ashton kick "that chip" - a move which squandered a try scoring chance the talented winger would have snapped up without second thought for his club.  That one blemish aside, Ashton is the future of England speedsters, and a strong contender for player of the season.

Jim Mallinder, Northampton Saints coach said: "His try-scoring has been remarkable, but it’s his general play and understanding of where to turn up that has really improved.

“He understands the game and where the weak points of defences are.  He is a natural try-scorer”



Soane Tonga'uiha (Northampton)

Prop Tonga'uiha spent a few weeks of the season entangled in a Saints v Saracens tug of war after confusing contract negotiations.  However that was all agreed amicably, with Saints securing the 28-year old Tongan's services for next season.  The battle for his signature is understandable: "Tiny" has been a huge force in Northampton's front row and is the form loosehead in the league.  The sight of the massive forward steaming up the field has become a recurring sight - Tonga'uiha is tenth in the list of top carriers.  Not bad for a front row, who also picked up man of the match awards in the LV= Cup semi-final and final.

But what do the fans say about the man?

"He has just been unstoppable"

"Who can forget the break through & dash in the LV= final?"
"Has been outstanding this season, especially in the LV= Cup Final."
"An amazing player, a truly nice guy and a fans favourite."
"Man mountain demolishes almost everything in his path."
"His displays in the semi final and final were awesome."
"Fabulous performance after fabulous performance."

Hendre Fourie (Leeds Carnegie)

Last but by no means least is Leeds flanker Hendre Fourie.  Fourie has been the stand out player for relegation battlers Carnegie, and despite playing for a so-called "unfashionable" club, the 30-year old back row forward forced his way into the England squad for the Six Nations.  The Leeds number seven qualifies for England due to residency, and has been tipped to play for England by his coach, Neil Back.  Always snapping around the fringes of the breakdown, Fourie is a fierce tackler - topping the Opta stats for his club - as well as being a powerful ball carrier.  "Shrek" is a firm favourite of the Headingley Carnegie faithful and will always be the first name on the team sheet if he is fit.

Neil Back, Leeds head coach, said: "I believe Hendre will go with the full England squad to Australia,"

"He is now maximising his potential and on the back of that he is now, for me, the outstanding number seven in the Premiership.

"Because of that he has now played for the Saxons and been involved in full England training. I believe he will now go on the summer tour and go on from there with England."


So who is your Guinness Premiership player of the season?

Vote now in the poll, which you can find on the sidebar.  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Not So Cocky: Leicester Tigers vs Leeds Carnegie Preview

When Leeds Carnegie roll into Welford Road this Saturday for their next installment of the Guinness Premiership, they will have to strain their ears in order to hear the distant crowing of the suspended Richard Cockerill.  With his place firmly reserved on the naughty step, it's nice of Cockers to step aside and herald the return of the Leicester old guard and watch Neil Back and Andy Key lead the much improved Leeds Carnegie side onto the turf of the Champions.

His lips are sealed

Of course it's not just Back and Key who used to haunt the locker room at Welford Road.  This Saturday's game is a trip down memory lane for three members of the Leeds squad, at least two of which are likely to start against their old club.  Leeds captain Marco Wentzl completed a recce of the new look Welford Road a couple of weeks ago when he moonlighted as a pundit and watched Leicester topple a lacklustre South Africa, and I'm sure the returning Wentzl, Rabeni and Moreno will all raise their game if they are selected to run out in front of the impressive new Caterpillar Stand.

Whisperings on the Leicester Tigers message board have hinted that this weekend's game might well see the return of hulking man mountain Alesana Tuilagi.  If that's the case then I fully expect to see a powerful running game from the Tigers with Seru Rabeni doing his best to neutralise the epic Samoan.  The return of Tuilagi really is something Leeds could do without.  Add Leicester's returning England stars into the mix along with a fit Toby Flood and it seems that the Tigers lying in wait to maul Leeds this weekend are a much more formidable challenge than the team of cubs that Leeds tamed at Headingley in the LV= Cup second round.

Gulp

However don't write Leeds Carnegie off just yet.  Historically Leeds have always been a bit of a bogey team for Leicester, and with a bit of the old Leicester magic, drive and belief instilled by Neil Back, Leeds might well have a few surprises up their sleeve.  OK so Leeds started the season slowly, but their recent form in the Guinness Premiership speaks for itself.  Last weekend they should have beaten Sale after playing some incisive rugby, but Leeds faded after half time and allowed Charlie Hodgson to get a grip on the game.  (I'm sure that's something Backy will have stamped out this week).  Had it not been for an incorrectly disallowed try Leeds would have beaten Saracens at Vicarage Road, however they took the momentum from that close encounter down to Adams Park where they ground out a well deserved victory against Wasps.  Welford Road might be an intimidating place to go, but as Marco Wentzl said: "We will go there with confidence."

So what are the key battles this weekend?  Personally I hope for an epic encounter between the two openside flankers, provided that Lewis Moody and Hendre Fourie both start.  Moody is considered by many as the one shining beacon of hope for England in a dismal series of November tests, whilst the highly rated Fourie is arguably Leeds's best player and was named Player of the Year last season.  The battle of the tens will also be one to watch, with Leeds's Ceiron Thomas growing into a solid number ten who isn't afraid to throw himself around the park.  It will be interesting to see how he matches up against the flair of Toby Flood.

Who will win the battle of the openside?

I'm not going to venture a prediction as I'd much prefer to perch uncomfortably on the fence and pull the splinters out of my arse.  However, I don't think Leeds are going to be the walkover that everyone might have expected at the start of the season.

A Broken Duck - or should that be Wasp?

London Wasps 9 - 15 Leeds Carnegie

Wow.  I mean, wow.  I can't believe what I've just seen, let alone had time for it to sink in yet. 

Leeds Carnegie have not only won their first Guinness Premiership game of the season, they've also won their first Premiership away game since November 2005 and beaten London Wasps for the very first time.  Not a bad afternoon for my beloved team of "Premiership Whipping boys" and guaranteed yo-yo relegation fodder.  It's also three very good reasons to help explain why I'm sitting typing this in a state of mild shock and am contemplating taking a couple of headache tablets and having a little lie down.

It's true that today's game down in High Wycombe wasn't the prettiest game of rugby that you will ever see.  There were no tries, no twinkle-toed side steps or freeflowing champagne rugby on display.  Instead there was plenty of grit, determination and a solid performance of all the basics by the Leeds side, although Wasps minus the might of Phil Vickery seemed to fly around rather aimlessly, much like a bunch of dozy wasps intent on repeatedly smacking their faces against a window.

Wasps failed to get a solid platform from the scrum and this stopped them from successfully feeding the ball to their mouthwatering selection of backs.  Sackey, Lemi and Van Gisbergen barely saw the ball all day and instead spent most of the afternoon in B&Q, trying to find some elbow grease to help lubricate the creaking Wasps' scrum. Nippy half-back Joe Simpson made a couple of rapid breaks, but time and again any minor threat was dampened by Leeds who had invested in a job lot of insect repellent.

Danger: High Voltage

In contrast, the Leeds forwards all had an excellent day in the scrum and they completely owned the line-out.  Amusingly, the camera kept panning to an increasingly irritated looking Wasps coach Shaun Edwards on the bench, who seemed ready to implode as Leeds stole ball after ball.  Oh how it made me laugh. 

However, it was at the breakdown where Leeds won this game.  Hendre Fourie aka Shrek had yet another excellent game, although I hope the powers that be down at Twickenham HQ aren't tempted to look any closer at the South African who now qualifies for England due to residency, as he is a key element in the Leeds pack.

The evergreen Andy Gommersall also had an exceptional game, and he used the difficult swirling wind to his advantage in the first half, by peppering spaces in the Wasps half with well placed box kicks.  And to think, I really didn't like him when he was at Gloucester.  Well Andy, I take it all back, I think you're alright.

Leeds went in at half time with a 12-6 lead, all thanks to the boot of Ceiron Thomas.  Paul Walder kicked all of Wasps points in a rather scrappy performance for the London outfit, whose only plus point of the game was the emergence from the bench of man mountain Simon Shaw who has been out with a long term foot injury.  Thomas kept his cool and traded penalties with Walder to end the game 9-15 and prompt all the Leeds squad to leap with joy and start a good few minutes of well deserved back-slapping.

Woo!  Milky Bars are on me!

If Saracens can top the league by playing 'boring' gritty rugby, then I don't see why this won't do the trick in helping Leeds peel themselves off the bottom.  The gap to next placed Bath has been cut to two points with these two teams set to face each other in their first match of the new year at Headingley Carnegie on Saturday 2nd January.  Unfortunately I'm going to miss this game as I'll be dragging my decrepit body back from a New Year's Eve blowout in Brussels.  Mmm, chocolate.

Anyway, as the season progresses, Leeds will need to find the ability to turn periods of pressure into points and score tries rather than relying on the boot of their number ten to kick them to victory.  However if they can keep on getting the basics right like they did in the game today then they will definitely build a platform that will hopefully help them to avoid the pain of relegation.  Fingers crossed.

Blogger's Curse

OK, so I appear to have picked up the blogger's equivalent of commentator's curse. No sooner had I hailed buff Berrick Barnes and foxy Felipe Contepomi as players to watch during the Autumn Internationals they have both been ruled out through injury.

Barnes picked up an ankle ligament injury in a training session before the Wallabies Bledisloe Cup match against New Zealand tomorrow, and Contepomi is out as he failed to recover from the knee ligament damage that forced him out of action for Leinster back in May. Balls. It's like I've got some sort of inadvertant injury hex going on: as soon as I decide I like the look of a player he hobbles off the pitch with a wonky limb/broken bone/weird tropical disease. Maybe that's why Jonny Wilkinson racked up so many injuries over the past few years as I really, really liked him...

You know, I think might be onto something here. Jonny seemed to shake off all those pesky 'stingers' and 1001 other random afflictions when I turned my attention to Rob Kearney last season.... who then promptly fell really ill with the mumps.

Oh.

Let's just hope Messrs Wilkinson and Carter remain unscathed this time as I don't fancy either of them now, honest.

Anyway, also in the news, referee David Rose apologised to Leeds Carnegie this week after wrongly disallowing resident Shrek lookalike Hendre Fourie's first half try in last weekend's game against Saracens. The try was incorrectly disallowed when the match was evenly poised on 6-6 just ahead of half time.

Shrek in action

Leeds Director of Rugby Andy Key said:
"Credit to Rosey he has phoned us and admitted his mistake. That try would have put a different complexion on the game and it's very frustrating for us."

It certainly is very frustrating. If the try had stood and had been converted then it could have changed the course of the game and helped Leeds to their first win of the season instead of the 21-15 scoreline which gave the win to Saracens. I was not amused when I read about this on the BBC website and have made a mental note to start some form of mild hate campaign against David Rose, possibly involving muttering some naughty words under my breath and secretly flicking him the V's whenever I see him refereeing a game.

Boooo: Not exactly smelling of roses on this occasion

In his interview with BBC Radio Leeds this week, Key also alluded to the fact that certain pundits and referees almost expect Leeds to make certain errors meaning that they look out for these mistakes and penalise Leeds when they actually did nothing wrong. I can see his point, and hopefully after this refereeing mistake and close run game against the league leaders, Leeds will get some of the credit that they deserve.


Anyway, it's predictions time again. Here are my winners and losers this week (winners highlighted in bold):

Guinness Premiership

Sale v Gloucester
Bath v Saracens
Harlequins v London Irish
Leicester v Northampton
Newcastle v Worcester
Wasps v Leeds Carnegie

The Magners League

Connacht v Scarlets
Ospreys v Glasgow
Leinster v Cardiff Blues
Munster v Ulster
Edinburgh v Newport-Gwent D'gons

Hopefully I can improve on last week's 63% of correct predictions.

Don't forget, Leeds Carnegie are on Sky Sports this Sunday afternoon as their game against Wasps is being televised. Apparently Simon Shaw and Joe Worsley are back for Wasps, wheras Leeds have recalled Jonny "Baby Face" Hepworth after his twinkle-toed hat trick try scoring performance for the A-Team on Monday. Unfortunately Hannibal, BA and Howling Mad Murdoch are unavailable for selection.