Superstition Ain't The Way...

I hate you Stevie Wonder

Happy New Year!


I know, I know, it’s five days late. Well, it’s taken me that long to recover. No, not from stuffing my face like a fat kid over Christmas or overindulging in one too many shots of sambuca on New Year’s Eve (ouch my head). The reason why I’ve not posted sooner is because I have simultaneously been singing from the roof tops but then stopping to shake my head and think about what I have done. You see, on 1 January, Leeds Carnegie achieved something they’ve been as desperate for as Sam Allardyce waiting for a call from Italy. Neil Back’s men banished the winter blues by sealing their first Aviva Premiership win of the season by beating Gloucester 15-13. Great eh? For me, as a huge Leeds fan, it was brilliant. The best start to the year I could have hoped for. Carnegie were fresh from back-to-back wins in the Amlin Cup after their Boxing Day clash with relegation rivals Newcastle was called off and boy did it show. 

Except I wasn’t at Headingley to witness by beloved team notch up their first league win of the season. Instead I was sitting in the back of a Volkswagen Touran speeding along the M62. Not exactly how I saw that one going in my head if I'm honest. You see, I was on my way home from celebrating New Year’s Eve in Preston with my friends. I know, Preston. Hardly glamour central of the world and a bit of a random choice, but we went to a comedy club and it was all fine until that journey home. Why? I wasn’t hungover, none of use were. There was no chundering out of the window or grimacing about the previous night's antics as we had all been very well behaved.  It’s because I was missing the game. Following the score and updates on Twitter just isn’t the same, especially when it’s accompanied by the sound of your friends singing ‘Crazy for You’ by Let Loose at the top of their voices.

As we sped past Huddersfield I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  I’d picked Leeds to win by three points  but it was more in hope than with belief. Gloucester were enjoying a run of good form in the league and in Europe so surely it couldn’t be? Well, Twitter was telling me it might, as the score poised on a tantalising 10-10 at half-time.

Now not one to throw a tantrum about missing the game I quietly sat in the back of the car. After some speedy driving my friend dropped me off home at 2pm. Kick-off had been at one so I knew if I rushed I might just make it to catch the end of the match. I jumped in the car knowing I faced a race against time. So why did I bother? I could have just watched the highlights with smiley-faced rugby-novice Craig Doyle on ITV4 later on that night. Not an option. You see, it’s one of my superstitions of supporting a team. Call me weird if you like, but I have two big match-day superstitions.  I can’t go to a game wearing something I’ve bought after the start of the season as it brings bad luck. I did it once to a Leeds Rhinos game and they lost. I accidentally did it again the following week and they lost again. Facing the wrath of my then boyfriend and the mounting coincidence it quickly became a superstition I hold to this day. The Rhinos won every other live game I watched that season.

The only other superstition I have is if my team has been on a run of bad form but win when I’ve not been watching them I can’t go to another game until they lose. That is why I’ve been totally over the moon that Leeds claimed their first league win but totally bummed out at the same time. Being a good fan, I want my team to win all of their remaining games and climb to mid-table mediocrity. Being a season ticket holder, this is annoying. However, this is Leeds I’m talking about and the next home game in the league is Leicester Tigers. Chances of them winning that game? Low. Chances of them winning if I don’t go….?

Damn you superstition.

Magic Weekend

Rugby, rugby, rugby.

That's the only thing on my agenda this bank holiday weekend.

I'm off up to Edinburgh for rugby league's Magic Weekend: Two days of back to back Super League matches and free-flowing drinks, swiftly followed by a crippling hangover and a spot of sightseeing.

But there's also plenty of rugby union action over the May day holiday too.

The much anticipated Heineken Cup semi-finals roll into town this weekend.  Toulouse take on reigning champions Leinster, while Munster travel to Spain to take on Biarritz.

If everything goes according to plan (and my Sky+ doesn't throw a hissy fit) then I'll settle down to watch these when I get back from the land of deep fried Mars bars and Iron Bru.


They really are two potentially cracking games: Ireland v France x 2.

The Heineken Cup road to the final in Paris has been spectacular this season, with almost every game straight out of the top drawer.

But will we see an all Ireland final or an all French affair?  The closer we get to the final the more difficult it is to predict the winner - such is the quality in this competition.

That's not going to stop me from giving it a go, of course.

Toulouse v Leinster

Current champions Leinster squeaked past Clermont Auvergne in the quarter-finals, thanks to a classy kicking display from fly-half Jonny Sexton. 

But that's only half the story of their 29-28 win at the RDS.  Brock James, Sexton's opposite number, handed Leinster the win after his epically dire kicking performance beat even Tim Henman in the choking stakes.  James has been banging over kicks from all over the pitch this season, but his boot/bottle left him and he missed five penalties, one conversion and two easy drop goals.  By my calculations, that's 23 points that went begging.

Leinster did look classy in attack, with powerful Jamie Heaslip thundering over for two tries.  But Michael Cheika's men will have to up the ante if they are to beat Toulouse on their home turf, and a raft of injuries to key players won't help.

Wunderkind Jonny Sexton is a major doubt as he recovers from a fractured jaw which he suffered in the win over Clermont.  Full back Rob Kearney looks likely to miss the game with a dodgy ankle, and prop CJ van der Linde is also a doubt.  Naturally, decrepit old Brian O'Driscoll is nursing a couple of niggles, but when has a pesky injury stopped him from putting in a top class performance?

But these are problems Leinster could do without.  The Dubliners need to field all their star players to snatch a win in the south of France.  Toulouse's annihilation of Stade Francais in the second half of their quarter final was spectacular to watch.  Yannick Jauzion weaved his irrepressible magic and his team waltzed into the next round. 

And Jauzion isn't the only match winner in the Toulouse side.  Cedric Heymans, Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde, David Skrela, Vincent Clerc, Clermont Poitreneaud and not forgetting France captain Thierry Dusautoir are all in the squad.  Not bad, not bad at all.

If this game was being played at the RDS and if Leinster had their first choice team all fit, then I would be inclined to lean towards a Leinster win.

But with key Leinster players only likely to feature when the cameras pick them out in the stands, and with Toulouse on home turf, I think the French will triumph.  Sorry Leinster.

My prediction:  Toulouse to win by 12.

Biarritz v Munster

The second semi-final Gallic/Celtic clash sees the Thomond Park faithful travel en masse to San Sebastian to see the men in red mount their next assault on the road to Paris.

In the quarter finals, Munster brushed aside pretenders to the crown Northampton, while Biarritz saw off the visiting Ospreys in a blistering match.  This game promises to be another epic battle.

When these two sides met at the Millennium Stadium in the 2005/6 final, a Peter Stringer try clinched the 23-19 win for the men from the emerald isle.  That day also saw a 100% kicking performance from Ronan O'Gara to steer his team to their first Heineken Cup win.

Skipper Paul O'Connell misses this match as he struggles with the groin injury that has ruled him out since the Six Nations clash with Scotland.  Biarritz will be without France star Damian Traille who has a shoulder injury.  But fear not, Munster fans, for Ronan and Strings are in the squad and will no doubt be pumped up to repeat the victory in Cardiff from four years ago.

As for my prediction?

It's tough.  With Munster's pedigree and history in this competition it's hard to bet against them, even away from Thomond Park.  They travelled to Perpignan in the pool stages and ran riot, so games on the road in France (or in this case, Spain) hold no fear.

My prediction:  Munster to win by 6.

But what do you think?

Whatever the results, let's hope it's a Magic Weekend in both codes.

Rugby League Magic

That's a bit of an odd title for a post on a rugby union blog you might think.

Well, Chris Ashton (ex-Wigan Warriors, now Northampton Saints wing) and Shontayne Hape (ex-Bradford Bulls, former New Zealand rugby league international, now Bath centre) are league to union converts who have both been named in Martin Johnson's Elite Player Squad this week. With their inclusion for the forthcoming Six Nations (and potentially the World Cup next year) I can't help but wonder if their background in the league version of the game has given them any sort of advantage over the purely union born and bred backs? It certainly seems that way, as Ashton's try scoring form this season has been nothing short of prolific and he is currently the top try scorer in the Guinness Premiership, and Hape has been turning heads at Bath with his strong and often scintillating displays at centre.

Ashton (top) and Hape: The new stars of England rugby?

My boyfriend is a massive Leeds Rhinos fan (although don't hold that against him) and he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things rugby league.  If he doesn't know a fact about rugby league, it's probably because it's hasn't happened yet.  Therefore with Ashton and Hape making waves in the game, I decided to quiz him to try and find out what positive attributes ex-league players bring to the game of rugby union.  This is what he said:

Fitness, Strength and Speed
Rugby league is played at a much quicker pace than union.  The forwards are fitter, leaner and quicker and the backs are quicker still, with footwork that would make Brian O'Driscoll cry with envy.

Handling
League players are more adept at passing the ball into gaps and running into gaps rather than into the man and taking the ball into contact.  With their extra speed and quick hands comes a quicker and more free flowing game.

Support Play
It's no coincidence that Chris Ashton always seems to pop up on the shoulder of his team mates when they sprint up field.  If you watch any game of Super League you will see this all game long, and this attribute of his game is a something that has been drilled into him during his time at Wigan.

Defence
The physical conditioning of rugby league players (especially forwards) means often they tackle harder, and are then quicker to get back into the defensive line.  I can't imagine many Guinness Premiership forwards making a tackle, running back ten metres, making another tackle then running back ten (x another 4) over the course of eighty minutes without gasping for an oxygen mask.

It might work very well when a league star joins the back line of a union side, but what about the forwards?
I can't imagine that many rugby league forwards would successfully make the transition into a rugby union pack (Andy Farrell, anyone?).  After all, scrums in rugby league are just a group of blokes leaning on each other for five seconds and having a bit of a breather. 

Success Stories

The forwards aside, where the backline is concerned I think that rugby league players have the ability to inject a certain x-factor into the game.  Look at World Cup winner Jason Robinson for example.  He was excellent in both codes, playing rugby league for Wigan and Great Britain before changing to union when he joined Sale in 2000.  Robinson immediately made an impact and he played his first game for England in 2001 in the Six Nations game against Italy.  A try scoring performance in two of the Lions tests in the tour of hell to Australia later in that year, and that memorable try in the final of 2003's World Cup made Robinson the best cross code rugby player of all time.  Well, in my opinion anyway.

And here are a couple of others:
Lote Tuqiri - Tuqiri found success with the Brisbane Broncos and won recognition with Queensland in their victorious State of Origin campaign in 2001, along with international honours for the Wallabies before switching to the fifteen man game.  He won 67 test caps for Australia's rugby union side and found his way onto the scoresheet in 2003's rugby World Cup Final.  Tuqiri is now peddling his wares on the wing for Leicester Tigers and bagged a couple of tries against their arch rivals Wasps last weekend.

Jonathan Davies - No, not the young bloke who's playing for Wales at the moment.  I mean the other Jonathan Davies, the one who now plies his trade as a partisan commentator for the BBC.  Davies started off playing rugby union in 1982 for Neath before moving to Llanelli in 1988, in a year where he helped Wales scoop the then Five Nations Triple Crown before going on to captain his country on their tour to New Zealand.  Controversially, Davies then switched codes and moved to Widnes, and during his foray into rugby league he also played for Warrington and Australian sides Canterbury and Queensland.  Davies returned to the fifteen man game in 1995 where he picked up another hatful of Wales caps, and has been touted as the most talented rugby player of his generation.

Other successful cross-code players include Scott Gibbs, Brad Thorn, John Bentley, Alan Bateman, Alan Tait, Scott Quinell, Wendell Sailor, Dai Young and Sonny Bill Williams.

Tried but Failed

So it is possible to switch between codes and do it effectively, but these handful of players (along with a few others who I have no doubt forgotten) have to be contrasted with players who didn't make anywhere near as big an impact: Henry Paul (now at Leeds Carnegie) won only six caps for England; Lesley Vainikolo only got eight caps, as did rugby league hero Andy Farrell, whose massive move to Saracens didn't quite go according to plan.  Chev Walker and Karl Pryce both made the switch to union before skulking off back to the thirteen man game less than a year later.

Still, with ex-Leeds Rhinos and England international league star Lee Smith swelling the ranks with his move from the Rhinos to Wasps this season and with Worcester signing former Australia rugby league international Luke Rooney, are we seeing the start of another trend of league to union code switches, with players attracted by the higher earning potential that the union game can offer?  I don't really care if this is the case, as long at it benefits the game of rugby as a whole.

With all that said, I wonder how long it will be until we see more ex-league stars trotting out at Twickenham?  It's probably only a matter of time...  For now, let's keep our fingers crossed that Chris Ashton and Shontayne Hape will add themselves to the list of league to union success stories.