50 secs in horrific 'tackle'
[ame="http://youtu.be/xTBq2UR9fHk"]Wasps vs Gloucester - Aviva Premiership 2015/16 - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://youtu.be/xTBq2UR9fHk"]Wasps vs Gloucester - Aviva Premiership 2015/16 - YouTube[/ame]
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Bodes well for the 6 nations.
Mike Brown: I have lost all trust in my England team-mates after Rugby World Cup leaks
Exclusive: England full-back express his fury at revelations surrounding doomed World Cup campaign
Mike Brown says he no longer has any trust in the England squad in the wake of the stories that have emerged from sources within the camp about the ill-fated World Cup campaign.
Brown says he has been frustrated by England players who have made criticisms of Stuart Lancaster’s tenure under the cloak of anonymity and said the subsequent fall-out following their World Cup exit had “completely shot” his trust in the squad.
The Harlequins full-back, in an exclusive interview with Telegraph Sport, insisted that he did not think “anyone was good enough in an England shirt” to make criticisms following the side’s pool stage exit, following defeats by Wales and Australia.
The 30 year-old, who was one of England players who enhanced their reputation during the tournament with stand-out performances, admitted the side’s pool stage exit had been “massively disappointing”.
But he said the subsequent stories that have emerged had been difficult to take, such as revelation in The Sun on Sunday that the team’s kit manager, Dave Tennison, was under investigation by the Rugby Football Union after allegations he had encouraged players before the tournament to invest in shares in an energy company only for the share price to collapse.
“There has been a story at the weekend which is absolutely ridiculous so the trust has gone now as far as I am concerned,” Brown insisted. “I worked so hard to play in a World Cup and I am passionate about playing for England.
“It is just difficult because we have not left it in a good place and it doesn’t help with all these people deciding to pipe up in the squad that probably shouldn’t be, probably anonymously.
“I don’t think anyone was good enough in an England shirt to be piping up saying: ‘This was wrong, that was wrong’ and that sort of thing.
“If they are going to say something, I think they should put their name to it. That is going to make it even more difficult when we (the England squad) do meet up because I think the trust has been, as you can imagine, completely shot now.
“But it will come out who it was at the end of the day so it will be interesting when it does because I will be one of the first people to speak to them."
Brown claimed the squad would now require a clear-the-air meeting when it reassembles in January ahead of the Six Nations Championship if it is to move on from their failed campaign.
“It is going to be hard for me to call anyone team-mates until we meet up,” Brown added. “Yes, it is going to be tough. Everything good is built on trust. Everything good at Harlequins is built on trust.
“There is no trust (with England) now, as far as I am concerned. But it will all get sorted out with whoever is in charge or whoever is there. It will get sorted out, to move the team forwards, it always does in team environments.
“It is disappointing. It will come quick for all of us but we have to focus on our clubs now and doing the best job we can.”
Brown will first turn his focus to his club’s opening fixture in the European Challenge Cup against Montpellier at The Stoop on Thursday, a game to be shown live on Sky Sports. He has also set himself new targets with England, and insists that the squad does not require a major overhaul going into the Six Nations.
“In terms of the group of players we don’t need to rebuild,” Brown added. “If you look at that squad, you keep the majority of that together – obviously there will be people who play well and put their hands up that can force their way in – but you could end up with a squad with the same cap number of the New Zealand team that has just gone.
“There are some quality young players coming through, (Anthony) Watson, (Jack) Nowell, (Henry) Slade, (George) Ford and Faz (Owen Farrell) and there are other players who did not get picked who can push their way in as well.
“So if you keep the majority of those players together and you don’t need to rebuild in that sense but I think in terms of trust, given everything that has happened after the World Cup, that definitely needs rebuilding in my eyes.”Comment
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Calcutta Cup up here next isn't it?Modifying post.Comment
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Yep 6th Feb in ScotlandComment
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I'm not going to read too much into the demise of England, realistically the team was one crazy spell against the Welsh from qualifying, fair enough England were not great against the Aussies, but the team still has ability.Modifying post.Comment
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Lancaster gone.
Hopefully it'll prompt others to think about failure at International tournaments and see that total failure is not acceptable anymore. No names, Roy.*Except Michael, who died.Comment
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Ultimately not a huge surprise.
He seems a good fella, but perhaps a but meek for management. I'll be interested to see who his replacement is.Modifying post.Comment
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olympic stadium? i went down to london specially. shame it was such a poor game and the stadium is in the middle of no where! i'll stick to stay up north to watch league in futureOriginally posted by Chazza View PostI'm off to the league game between England and NZ today.
Absolutely smashing it down
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Brilliant. Seeing the haka performed always brings me out in goosebumpsOriginally posted by MrsB View Post
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There's something very homoerotic about it alrightOriginally posted by Assassin View PostBrilliant. Seeing the haka performed always brings me out in goosebumps 
Felching ≠ GerbillingComment
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Michael Cheika follows Gatland in ruling himself out of contention for the England job. Was difficult to see how England could prize an Aussie coach away from what must be his dream job.Modifying post.Comment
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Eddie Jones' odds to be next England coach slashed by bookmakers
Australian sees odds fall from 9-1 to as short as 1-3 on after flurry of bets that Japan coach will take over from Lancaster
On the day that Michael Cheika, the Australia head coach, categorically ruled himself out of the running for the vacant England job, bookmakers slashed the odds on the former Wallaby and Japan coach Eddie Jones succeeding Stuart Lancaster in the Twickenham post. Several significant wagers led to the odds on Jones being cut from 9-1 with some outlets to 1-3 on, an enormous switch and so often the precursor to the books being closed.
Jones, 55, has legitimate claim to be the highest-achieving coach at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in that he guided the outsiders Japan to a landmark victory against South *Africa and finished with three wins in the group, one more than England managed in their pool. He took over at Western Stormers last Thursday, the morning after Lancaster was *relieved of his position. Jones stressed then that he enjoyed the Cape Town surroundings but has also always said that he would listen to serious overtures from anybody.
That chimes, too, with one of his former colleagues, the 2007 Springbok World Cup-winning coach Jake White, who brought Jones on board prior to that tournament in France. White has been linked with the job himself even though he is employed by the Top 14 side Montpellier. *Reports in France indicated that there was communication last Friday between White and the Rugby Football Union following Montpellier’s European Challenge Cup match against Harlequins at the Stoop the previous night.
The third favourite with the book*makers, Nick Mallett, has distanced himself from any involvement, wary of being drawn into any Twickenham process after he was passed over for the job that was *given to Lancaster in 2012. Mallett is now a media expert in South *Africa. Vern Cotter, Scotland’s head coach, remains a contender.
In terms of credentials, Cheika would have made an attractive proposition in that he is the only coach to have won top-end silverware in both hemispheres, with Leinster and the New South Wales Waratahs. However, his commitment to Australia is deep-rooted.
“No one from England has contacted me and they know that they can’t contact me because I’m committed to Australia and that’s where I want to be coaching,” said Cheika, who is in London to coach the Barbarians against Gloucester on Tuesday night Argentina on Saturday. “I’m an Australian coaching Australia, it’s like the dream. There’s nothing that would make me change my mind. I never thought I’d be coaching Australia. I’m enjoying it and I want to do the best I can in this role for as long as I can.”
Cheika does not believe that the RFU necessarily needs to look to a foreign coach to head up the operation. “There are lots of good English coaches who could be coaching England for sure,” he said. “If you look like a guy like Dorian West at Northampton, he’s done such a good job with the scrum and forwards. Jim Mallinder, Rob Baxter, Dean Richards – I just think there are a lot of those guys who are typical of the English game and could do a lot for the team.
“I just think you have got to build something from within. You have an idea of what you want and you grow that. I am into that style. We want to try to breed the next crop of Australia coaches. It is not a prerequisite to be of the same nationality because you see how much the Welsh love Warren Gatland and the Irish Joe Schmidt. There is no rule of thumb. It is how the person feels and the people running the game in that country. It is not about money.
“I don’t think it [the situation in England] is as bleak as you are *making out. A slightly different *result in one game and things could have been completely different.”Comment
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Sad news.
40 ffs.
[ame]https://twitter.com/7NewsSydney/status/666770565370216448[/ame]Comment
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