The Summer Tours: What are England, Wales and Ireland Looking to Gain?

International summer rugby is almost upon us, 3 enthralling test series’ that promise rugby of the highest quality – I for one, am excited.

As I thought of the upcoming tours I tried to throw myself into the shoes of Gatland, Kidney and Lancaster and imagine what all 3 teams will be hoping to get out of their respective tours.

England – Building Process

After a promising 6 Nations Championship, during which they proved a lot of doubters (including yours truly) wrong the England squad and their newly appointed head coach will be on high. This buzz will have only been enhanced by the way they dismantled the Barbarians 2 weeks ago to win 57 – 26 at rugby HQ. During the record-breaking victory there were tries from youngsters Christian Wade and Jonathon Joseph which will please the England coaching staff as well as Chris Ashton regaining form to score a hat-trick of tries.

Lancaster’s first tour as national head coach takes him to South Africa, arguably the toughest place to win in world rugby. England will be looking to use the momentum from the win against Ireland and the rout against the Barbarians and throw themselves into the lion’s den with no fears. I think this is a stage in the rebuilding process since a calamitous world cup. Lancaster has named 13 un-capped players in the squad, and I believe he is trying to give a younger generation a feel for what it’s like in the ‘deep end’ of international rugby, he’s looking to the future.

Lancaster will tell the press that England want to win every game etc. and as an international coach that is how it should be. However, I think England fans should be satisfied with victory in any of the three tests which I’m confident England can achieve, however it isn’t likely; I believe winning the series is out of the question.

I think an acceptable outcome from this tour is the team performs well, doesn’t get embarrassed, shows signs that they can take on SA physically and young players in key positions handle the pressure well, such as Owen Farrell because if he can do it in SA then he’ll have proved himself in my eyes. If England can achieve that, then steps are being taken in the right direction.

Forwards: Botha (Saracens), Cole (Leicester), Corbisiero (London Irish), Doran-Jones (Northampton Saints), Dowson (Northampton), Fearns (Bath), Gray (Harlequins), Hartley (Northampton), Haskell (Otago Highlanders), Johnson (Exeter), Kitchener (Leicester), Launchbury (London Wasps), Marler (Harlequins), Mears (Bath), Morgan (Scarlets), Mullan (Worcester), Palmer (Stade Français), Parling (Leicester), Robshaw (capt, Harlequins), Robson (Harlequins), Stevens (Saracens), Waldrom (Leicester), Youngs (Leicester).

Backs Allen (Leicester), Ashton (Northampton), Barritt (Saracens), Brown (Harlequins), Care (Harlequins), Dickson (Northampton), Farrell (Saracens), Flood (Leicester), Foden (Northampton), Goode (Saracens), Hodgson (Saracens), Joseph (London Irish), Lowe (Harlequins), Monye (Harlequins), Strettle (Saracens), M Tuilagi (Leicester), Turner-Hall (Harlequins), Wade (London Wasps), Youngs (Leicester Tigers).

Ireland – Any Win Will Do

After Ireland got through their group well in the RWC I predicted the winner of the quarter final between themselves and Wales would become serious contenders, however it wasn’t to be and they were outplayed on the day. This disappointment became inspiration to exact revenge on their Celtic counterparts at the start of the 2012 6 Nations, but a nation was left disappointed again. This set the tone for an eventually disappointing tournament, climaxing in an embarrassing defeat to the English. Ireland went down 29 – 28 to the Barbarians at Kingsholm during the week however much like Wales had already sent the majority of their squad to their summer destination. So I don’t expect them to be too disheartened by this result.

Kidney takes his team to the home of the world champions, New Zealand. I think the Irish fans may be getting slightly cagey in light of their lack of recent international success, especially considering that Leinster are European Champions and domestic play-off finalists. This cageyness may turn ugly should the All Blacks brush Ireland aside. This is why any win will do for Kidney and his men, whether it be pretty, ugly, by 1 point or 50 points they just need to get a win on this tour. Failure to do so will increase the pressure on Declan Kidney and I think he could be made a scapegoat for Ireland’s poor displays, as is the fickle nature of sport at the top level.

As well as a win, Ireland may be looking for younger players to find their feet by including 7 newcomers to international rugby in their squad. In the centre Gordon D’arcy and Brian O’Driscoll have been stalwarts for many years but they are coming to the end of their careers; so now is the time for the likes of Ulsterman Darren Cave to step up and show that he is the real deal.

The Irish should expect no less than at least a win against New Zealand. With some experienced heads in their team and class throughout the backline they have the firepower to contend with the AB’s. A series whitewash could leave Kidney’s future in doubt.

Forwards: R Best (Ulster), S Cronin (Leinster), S Ferris (Ulster), D Fitzpatrick (Ulster), C Healy (Leinster), J Heaslip (Leinster), S O'Brien (Leinster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Mahony (Munster), M Ross (Leinster), D Ryan (Munster), M Sherry (Munster), D Tuohy (Ulster).

Backs: D Cave (Ulster), G D'Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster), R Kearney (Leinster), F McFadden (Leinster), C Murray (Munster), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, captain), R O'Gara (Munster), E Reddan (Leinster), J Sexton (Leinster), A Trimble (Ulster), S Zebo (Munster).

Wales – It’s Time To Prove It

What an outstanding year it has been for the Welsh team. After crashing out of the RWC in 2007 to Fiji in the quarter finals the nation has become one of the major forces in world rugby. On their way to winning the 2012 6 Nations, Triple Crown and Grand Slam the Wales team proved they could win ugly and dog out victories when they needed to. This was a sign that the 2011 RWC wasn’t just a one off; they had evolved into the complete team. Wales eased past the Barbarians last weekend with a 30 – 21 victory at the Millenium Stadium fielding a very much second choice team. They’ll be looking to use this momentum and go in to the series with Australia looking to make history as the tourists have not taken a major southern hemisphere scalp since the 1987 RWC when they beat Australia.

Wales are being talked up by a lot of people as one of the best teams in the world and now it’s time to prove it. You can’t be considered a great team until you prove yourself in the southern hemisphere, even though they are the form team in the northern hemisphere it counts for nothing until you can win a test series in the backyard of ‘the big three’.

The coaching staff and players have made their intentions on this tour very clear and failure is not an option. In a recent interview full back Leigh Halfpenny claimed that if Wales did not win the series then the tour would be a failure, and that is the view of the Welsh public.

For too long the Welsh have continually underperformed when they have taken the field against the tri nations and have failed to close out leads against all three in recent years; the supporters are tired of being good losers or the nearly men.

If Wales don’t win the series against the Wallabies then it isn’t quite a disaster but it would be extremely disappointing for the fans, players and everyone involved with Wales.

This is Wales’ best chance in my lifetime to get the ‘W’ and I firmly believe they have a better squad than their opponents this summer, many of which will still be angry with the way their ‘nearly’ RWC cup finished, losing to Australia. The potential is there, a nation expects, It’s now time for Wales to finally deliver.

Backs: A Beck (Ospreys), A Bishop (Ospreys), A Brew (Newport Gwent Dragons), A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), J Davies (Scarlets), L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), J Hook (Perpignan), G North (Scarlets), M Phillips (Bayonne), R Priestland (Scarlets), H Robinson (Cardiff Blues), R Webb (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues), S Williams (Scarlets), Liam Williams (Scarlets).

Forwards: L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), B Davies (Cardiff Blues), I Evans (Ospreys), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), R Gill (Saracens), R Hibbard (Ospreys), P James (Ospreys), G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), A Jones (Ospreys), A-W Jones (Ospreys), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Ryan Jones (Ospreys), D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), K Owens (Scarlets), M Rees (Scarlets), A Shingler (Scarlets), J Tipuric (Ospreys), J Turnbull (Scarlets), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt)



If you subscribe to Sky Sports, make sure you check out The Rugby Club at 7pm on Sky Sports 2. They'll be previewing the summer tours with Jamie Roberts and Shane Horgan, should be a good watch.

Also, keep an eye out on twitter for the ever-growing rugby community #rugbyunited and meet rugby fans from all over the globe.

6 Nations Match Report: England v Wales

Wales continued on their march to the Grand Slam and claimed the Triple Crown with a less than convincing 12 – 19 victory over England at Twickenham on Saturday.

A Scott Williams try in the last 10 minutes sealed the game but in the dying moments England’s David Strettle was disallowed a try that would have brought the English within 2 points pending the conversion, but it wasn’t to be.

It was a game in which defense ruled and as expected it wasn’t a very high scoring encounter but nonetheless it had drama until the very end. In the early stages George North was bearing down on Ben Foden and looked like he was going to give Wales the perfect start but for an excellent tap tackle from David Strettle. Then at the other end Sam Warburton epitomized Wales’ attitude with a desperate tackle on Manu Tuilagi just inches from the Welsh try line. The pendulum swung to and fro and this game was impossible to call right until the very end.

Watching the game live I felt in England were the team who saw more of the ball but after looking at the stats, possession was virtually 50/50. What made the difference on the day was that Wales knew how to win. After going through 4 or 5 phases England didn’t seem to know where to go next which resulted in Farrell kicking possession away. On the subject of kicking, Wales kicked very poorly, hitting touch just once from open play, this must have been tactical from the Welsh management but I don’t see the logic playing against the counter attacking ability of Ben Foden and Strettle.

The penalty count favoured Wales by 13 penalties to 12, but Wales gave away silly penalties and England seemed to make better use of their penalties than Wales did, especially when the Rhys Priestland is missing touch. The set piece was also relatively even with England slightly edging it losing one less lineout than Wales, but I still think Ken Owens did very well in such a high profile match.

One of the differences was that Wales made 3 clean line breaks whereas England made just the one, which highlights the fact that Wales simply have the more exciting backs. Wales didn’t really play the expansive game that we associate with them, however, England picked centre’s Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi to nullify the Welsh midfield, which they did very well.


The Welsh back row proved once again to be worth their weight in gold on Saturday. Dan Lydiate does an unbelievable amount of work in defence which can never be underestimated. Then you have Sam Warburton who seems to be everywhere on the field and carried well. And finally to compliment those two nicely you have Toby Faletau who did what he does every week and that is cross the gainline. I feel like i'm repeating myself every time I talk about this three but they are consistently fantastic every single week.

England rebel Tuilagi has to be applauded for his return to the international stage. He looked like England’s most dangerous back, he was clearly targeting Priestland – whom he bumped over a number of times. But the two midfields cancelled each other out for the game and it was a very bruising encounter in that area throughout. Jamie Roberts had very little impact and was outshone by his replacement Scott Williams.

Owen Farrell won the battle of the fly half’s hands down. Many people (including myself) questioned his ability to command a game on such a big stage but he excelled in his role. When it was the Welsh who were expected to play all the rugby it was in fact Farrell who looked the more likely to get his backline firing - he even managed to brush off a thunderous tackle from George North.

His opposite number on the other hand looks to be out of form. After a fantastic World Cup I had very high hopes for Rhys Priestland but as of yet he hasn’t performed well at all in this 6 Nations. His poor kicking display against Ireland followed by the massive media hype that ensued seems to have knocked his confidence and as I’ve mentioned before he is a confidence player. Stephen Jones was stripped and ready to enter the fray after Priestland had missed touch and given away a penalty after getting caught under the high ball, But Farrell’s penalty drifted wide and Jones put the tracksuit back on. Yesterday Wales attack coach Rob Howley praised the way the young Scarlet made it through: “I thought to keep him on was the right decision because he's got to learn from the experience.

“He came through it and, during the final 10 minutes, Rhys was better.”

Clearly Howley is worried about the damage to Priestland’s confidence should he be dropped after playing so poorly, but I’m keeping the faith in him and should he be picked to face Italy I’m backing him to have a big game.

Both teams need to be applauded for what was an excellent spectacle and a good advert for rugby in the northern hemisphere, England for the way they came at Wales and tried to play some rugby and Wales for an excellent defensive performance and closing out a game in which they didn’t play particularly well.

England definitely have a chance to upset the French when they play next week and I expect Wales to see off Italy with relative ease either way we’ve got some good rugby ahead of us.

6 Nations Match Preview: England v Wales

Wales travel to rugby HQ this weekend to face their old rivals England in the 3^rd round of the 6 Nations. Both teams head in to the game with a perfect record, however both Wales established stars and England’s young pretenders are yet to fire on all cylinders.

The Welsh will go in to the tie as slight favourites, they have more international experience in the forward pack and have a more potent attacking backline, and by that I mean a set of backs that want to try and play rugby.

For England to win this game the need to win boring, if they let Wales play an expansive, open game then they will not be able to compete the Welsh have too much class and power out wide with the likes of Jamie Roberts and the mountain that is George North – who is fit following his recent injury scare. England need to stop Wales at source by gaining parity at the set piece England can frustrate their counterparts and that’s when they need to pounce.  If England gives Mike Phillips a platform to set the Welsh backline firing it will be all over at halftime.

I feel like Wales are going to have enough to brush off any English resistance. Under Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards they have found a strong mentality and are a much more resilient team than years gone by, so when England do put the pressure on Wales will be able to cope.

As in most games of rugby the game will be defined by two battles – the battle in the back row and the battle in midfield. Wales will have too much in the back row for England, captain Sam Warburton, Toby Faletau and Dan Lydiate compliment each other perfectly and provide a perfect balance. In the England back row Ben Morgan and Chris Robshaw have had even less experience than the young Welsh back row, and whilst Robshaw has undeniable quality, he hasn’t been there and done it.

In midfield I think Wales might be becoming too predictable and against Scotland Jamie Roberts wasn’t very influential at all, however with George North coming in off his wing on a regular basis it’s difficult for England to know where to look. In the England midfield Brad Barritt is a proven defensive player and rarely misses a tackle and with Manu Tuilagi you know exactly what you’re going to get. In my opinion the two midfields will neutralize each other but Wales have more creativity and the Welsh have wingers such as Alex Cuthbert and North who can pop up in that area and pose the opposition all sorts of problems. With Charlie Hodgson out injured England no longer have an outside half who is defensively weak, young Owen Farrell has proved to be a steely character in the midfield who is not likely to miss many tackles, however a few early charges from the back row and Roberts may just put the youngster off his game. He is however an undeniable talent and this week Wales coach Neil Jenkins has likened Farrell to a young Jonny Wilkinson, this is a very big compliment so Wales obviously respect the youngsters ability.

Wales are going to run out victors in this one by less than 10 points. Even though England are returning to Twickenham I still think that the Welsh will have too much and will over-power England. That said when it comes to Wales v England the form guide counts for nothing and all bets are off, it’s going to be exciting.