Summer Sevens

Bored of the off season?  Longing for some rugby action?

Well dust off your replica shirts, it's Premiership Rugby Sevens time.

The first J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Sevens series kicks off at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday 16 July at 7:30pm.  All 12 Aviva Premiership teams will be in action over four consecutive Friday nights with Harlequins, London Wasps, London Irish and Saracens battling it out in Friday's opener to try and win Group A and book their place in the final on 6 August.

Fellow premiership rivals Leicester Tigers, Leeds Carnegie, Newcastle Falcons and Sale Sharks will face off at Welford Road on Friday 23rd, before Northampton Saints host Exeter, Gloucester and Bath on the 30th July.

How much?  £10 for adults, £5 for children plus a booking fee.  Not bad.

But is this just a cash cow to milk the rugby loving public?

Maybe not.  Today the RFU broke new ground by awarding ten Sevens players central contracts in a bid to help with preparation for the Commonwealth games.  Maybe they are starting to take Sevens rugby more seriously?

Either way, it's a chance to catch a bit of rugby before the Premiership return at the start of September.  It's just a shame the games aren't being held on Saturdays as more people might have been able to make it....  like me, for example.

If you go, please let me know if it was any good, ta.

For more details you can visit http://www.premiershiprugby.com/

Gavin Henson: Hardly Electrifying

When you were young did you ever try to create a giant battery using an orange and a couple of electrodes hooked up to a lightbulb? Well last night, TV channel Bravo tried to do exactly that - with 750,000 volts of electricity and everyone's favourite satsuma-skinned rugby player, Gavin Henson.

Gavin Henson: Human Guinea Pig - a show which seemingly had the ultimate aim to let its host, ex-BBC news presenter Dermot Murnaghan, electrocute the Wales and Ospreys centre.

How? By convincing the sometime rugby player, or to quote Murnaghan, "superstar", to take a direct hit of 750,000 volts of electricity to his head from a Tesla Coil - a specially designed mega-generator.

First, to build the anticipation, we watched a tent burst into flames after a direct hit from the Tesla lightening bolt. Then we saw Gav start to sweat as he witnessed a shed explode after the electrifying treatment.

In an effort to convince our Gav that taking almost a million volts to the head was an excellent idea, scientist Greg Foot jumped into a telephone box and survived a lightening strike. I mean, surely Gav's hair gel alone would protect his, erm, intelligence?

'Daredevil' physicist Foot constantly dumbed down his science speak to the increasingly vacant Henson, who had less charisma than the now smouldering wooden shed.

Only when Gavin uttered the fateful words "I don't want to mark this face" did it seem that the reality of his quest for fame had finally hit home.

However, Foot persuaded the father of two to jump into a clapped out Rover Metro and be struck by a bolt from the Tesla. Gav nervously awaited the 750,000 volts and in an effort to protect himself he put on his seatbelt.  Bless.

The question on everyone's lips was: "Would he sit in the hot seat and take a direct hit?"

Of course he would.  Our Gav wasn't going to chicken out of the potentially lethal experiment now, was he?

After a few more minutes of Murnaghan annoyingly trying to build the tension, it was finally time for the pièce de résistance.

Henson, clad in a ridiculous 16th century chain mail outfit and sweating under the studio lights, sat on a solitary chair and waited for almost a million volts to land on his orange little head.

The studio audience lined up like witnesses to a US style death row execution.

The Tesla machine fired up.

Henson practically sharted himself.  Murnaghan rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation.

The blue bolt of electricity crackled towards Henson's head and landed on his bonce.

As if by magic, the electricity was dispersed by his natty metal outfit, and shock horror, he was fine.

So was it an anticlimax?

A bit, although it was obvious that nothing too dramatic was going to happen. Not even a singed eyebrow.

However, it does beg the question - what on earth is Gavin Henson doing?  With this and his recent exploits in the Arctic Circle for ITV, he's certainly not playing rugby.
 
Please Gavin, get back to the game that made your name and stop titting about.

Fancy a Flutter?

If there is any proof needed that you can bet on anything then this is it.  Place your bets for the wedding of Ireland international Brian O'Driscoll and Amy Huberman.

O'Driscoll will tie the knot with his actress girlfriend in Leitrim today and if you fancy a flutter there is a whole host of big day betting specials.

Bookies Paddy Power are offering odds of 4/7 that the Ireland skipper will start blubbing during his speech and a controversial 10-1 that his old flame, model Glenda Gilson, will turn up at the wedding.

Then of course there is the traditional bet on the the length of the best man's speech.  Just how long will Damien O’Donoghue talk about Ireland's favourite son?  More than 10 minutes pays out at 9/4.

Another bet that could grab your imagination is who will catch Amy's bouquet. Rob Kearney, Brian's Leinster and Ireland teammate, might be sweating as current squeeze Susie Amy is looking likely with odds of 8-1.  Kearney's ex-girlfriend, Ruth O'Neill, will also be jostling for position at 12-1. Then again if you fancy an outside bet you could plump for Ms Gilson at 100-1 - if she turns up that is.

Finally, if you're feeling fruity, why not have a punt on when the happy couple will have their first baby?  With odds of 6/5 that we will hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet sometime next year it seems the bookies think it's almost a certainty.

All this is very romantic I'm sure you'll agree.  Still, the newlyweds could be laughing all the way to the betting shop in a few years' time as the bookies have given them two free €100 bets - the first will pay €100,000 if their first daughter wins an Oscar while the second will pay €10,000 if their first son follows in his dad’s footsteps and plays rugby for Ireland.


Betting aside, I would like to wish Brian and Amy a lovely day and a long and happy marriage.  Aw.

Man of the Month: July

Following today's sad news, Thom Evans is my Man of the Month for July.

The 25-year old Scotland and Glasgow wing has been forced to retire from rugby after medical advice following a spinal injury he suffered during the Wales v Scotland clash in this year's Six Nations.

Evans had to be stretchered from the field after colliding with Wales full-back Lee Byrne in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in February.  Team doctor James Robson later revealed that Evans' vertebra was so badly knocked out of alignment that if it had been moved by just one more millimetre he could have been paralysed or even died.

Now, according to The Scotsman, Evans has taken on board medical advice that he would not be able to return to the mobility required to play at the highest level, and has told friends and family he will hang up his boots.


It's a sad day for such a young and talented player and I for one wish Thom all the best in whichever career he chooses next.

Ready to Perform?

The fixtures are out, pre-season training has started and clubs are snapping up the finishing touches to their squads.

Yes, that's right - the new Guinness Premiership season is approaching fast.

In one of the biggest stories of the off-season, today it was revealed that Sir Ian McGeechan will be joining Bath Rugby as a "Performance Director".  No, he's not going to be treading the boards and auditioning the squad for a burly version of "Romeo and Juliet".  Or is he?  After all, what does a performance director actually do?

According to Bath coach Steve Meehan, apparently Geech's job is to cover all the support systems behind the first team and academy and look at all the things needed to recognise talent, develop it, and then use it at the very highest level.

OK then.  So that's clear.  But will there not be an overlap between Meehan's coaching and McGeechan's performance directing jazz-hands?

Meehan also stressed there would be no clashes between himself and McGeechan as they share the same philosophy.  Now, is it just me or does that immediately make you suspect there will be the odd 'disagreement' at the Rec?
And isn't a head coach/performance director pretty much the same thing?  It will be interesting to see how this off-pitch relationship develops and if Geech's aim of taking Bath back to the success of their 1980s glory days will materialise.  It will be great if it does.  I respect Lions legend Sir Ian more than any other coach and I would love to see him succeed in whatever he does.

Roll on the 4 September and the start of the new season.  And who are Bath playing first up?  Why, my boys, Leeds Carnegie. 

With their new performance director hoping for some all singing and all dancing performances, I'm sure Bath will break a leg.  Not literally, mind...

All Quiet on the Blogging Front...

First of all I would like to apologise.  I've been pretty quiet on this blog for couple of weeks and haven't been giving the summer rugby tours the attention they deserve.

Why?

Well, I'm spending most of my free time trying to organise a big rugby event for charity.  There is so much to do and as a consequence my blogging has given way.  I will let you know the details of the fundraiser as soon as I can...

However, I would like to say a big, belated congratulations to England for beating Australia, in Australia, for the first time since the 2003 World Cup final.  Brilliant game boys and a very well deserved win.

Here are my predictions for this weekend's games:

Australia v Ireland

Australia will be looking to lick their wounds after failing to put England to the sword in last weekend's 21-20 defeat.  Wallabies skipper Rocky Elsom looked like he'd been presented with a kangaroo poo last Saturday, and rightly so.  Meanwhile, Ireland will be looking to bounce back after being hammered 66-28 by the All Blacks before suffering narrow 31-28 loss to New Zealand Maoris last Friday.

My prediction:  Australia to win by 15

Argentina v France

Argentina are getting better, but two home defeats by Scotland does not bode well ahead of their clash with Grand Slam champions France.  However, there is still the chance that Marc Lievremont's men will flounce off on strike in homage to their footballing counterparts.  Probably not though.

My prediction:  France to win by 9

New Zealand v Wales

New Zealand will be buoyant after demolishing Warren Gatland's Wales last weekend and humiliating Ireland the week before.  Dan Carter showed the world's media why they should stop focusing on a certain Mr Wilkinson with a sublime performance at 10 last Saturday.  Wales, on the other hand, will want to forget all about the 42-9 drubbing in Dunedin.  Apparently therapy helps, boys.

My prediction:  New Zealand to win by 30

South Africa v Italy

Finally, South Africa will be wanting a much tighter rematch against Italy, who they beat 29-13 last Saturday.  I expect more of the same from the Springboks who chalk up yet another win.

My prediction: South Africa to win by 18

But what do you think?

The Axis of Power: Weekend Predictions

Will Genia, Quade Cooper, Matt Giteau.

Is this the new axis of power in international rugby?

Australia scrum-half Genia is back to face England in Saturday's clash at Sydney's ANZ Stadium after recovering from a knee ligament strain.  He will link up with club mate Quade Cooper to form a Queensland Reds half-back pairing with Matt Giteau returning at inside centre in place of Berrick Barnes.

It's not a bad 9, 10, 12 combination is it?

Genia burst onto the international scene last year with some sniping performances and has already been hailed as world class.  Cooper is a constant threat with the ball in hand, and Giteau is the running fly-half/centre that England fans could only dream Danny Cipriani would be.

Genia's opposite number is Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs who makes his first start for England.  No pressure then, Ben.

It's great that Youngs has been given the chance to shine and show off his undoubted talent against the top scrum-half in world rugby.

Courtney Lawes also makes the XV, pushing veteran second-row Simon Shaw to the bench.

Other than that, England have made no changes to the side which crashed to a 27-17 defeat by the Wallabies in the first Test in Perth last week.

The positive from that game was England's domination at the scrum which reaped two penalty tries.  However, England's backline failed to fire and looked limp in attack against the green and gold wall.  I wonder how coach Martin Johnson has tried to remedy this in training this week?

My prediction:  More of the same.  Australia to win by 12.

Elsewhere, Wales take on New Zealand in Dunedin in their tour opener.

Wales have not beaten the All Blacks since 1953 and have never won on New Zealand soil - something Warren Gatland, Wales' Kiwi coach, wants to fix.

The men in red's last victory over one of the Tri-Nations superpowers in the southern hemisphere was in New Zealand, when they beat Australia 22-21 in Rotorua in the third-place play-off for the 1987 World Cup.

The last match between Wales and the All Blacks in New Zealand was in Hamilton in 2003, when the home side won by a record 55-3 score, one of 22 Test victories for the Kiwis in 25 matches between the sides.

History does not give Wales reasons to be cheerful then - especially as the All Blacks demolished Ireland 66-28 last weekend.

Ospreys lock Alun Wun Jones is back to face off with Brad Thorn at line-out time and the performance of Wales' tight five will go a long way to determining the result of this match.  Wales' line-out has been an area of weakness which was again exposed by Victor Matfield in the 34-31 defeat by a second string South Africa earlier this month.  Add to that a sub-par back row, and Wales will have their work cut out for them as they face off against the All Blacks.

My prediction:  New Zealand by 26.

Meanwhile, Scotland have made one change for their second and final Test against Argentina following their 24-26 win last weekend.

Wing Simon Danielli replaces Nick de Luca in a move that sees Max Evans switch from wing to centre for Saturday's game in Mar del Plata.

The inclusion of Danielli is an obvious bid by coach Andy Robinson to get some tries on the board.  The Scotland boss hopes Danielli's try-scoring form will break down Argentina's defence after all Scotland's points in the first Test came from the boot of in-form fly-half Dan Parks.

My prediction:  Scotland to win by 6.

Finally, the other game to be played tomorrow sees South Africa take on the ever improving Italy.  Despite the Azzurris' stronger performances in this year's Six Nations, I can't see the result of this game being anything other than a cricket score in the Springboks' favour.

My prediction:  South Africa to win by at least 50.

News just in:  Ireland lost 31-28 to the New Zealand Maoris at Rotorua.