Tag Archives: eddie jones
Why not?
63 minutes and 47 seconds on the clock; Marcus Smith beats the floor with his fist. He has knocked the ball on attempting to keep a move alive. A move that had swept towards the All Blacks’ try line like … Continue reading
Just desserts
Do England and the RFU have the coach they deserve? Having pardoned mediocrity before, can they really be surprised it has turned up at their door again? In Eddie Jones they have someone who is wonderfully evasive and difficult to … Continue reading
The spectral sceptre
Please click this link to read this piece on RugbyPass It was telling that two individual moments of brilliance were all that England could proffer in Paris. Against a defence fatigued by work already done, England’s Jonny May jinked forth … Continue reading
The heartbreakingly simple truth
Read my words on the heartbreaking Rugby World Cup final for RugbyPass
From Twickenham, with love
So, there we go. The World Cup is on. England are a very good team and they can go to Japan full of hope and expectation. God help them. These things are always better when they sneak up on you. … Continue reading
Alacritous England end Ireland’s reign
“If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly…” Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII. Alacrity is a lovely word. And few better sum up the way England set about Ireland in the opening round of … Continue reading
Anatomy of a feint No.3
Sam Underhill’s running style is distinct. Indeed, it isn’t really a run, it’s a scamper. His shoulders are hunched, his body compact, perhaps from all of those lung puncturing tackles he makes. As he gallops, his head is pushed slightly … Continue reading
Old Eddie and the Sea
It was a test match of which Ernest Hemingway would have approved. A trial of colossal strength, of titanic willpower. The American loved his bloodsports, loved to see men arm-wrestle for hours on end, and Saturday afternoon had two heavyweights … Continue reading
It’s a mad world…
It’s a mad world my masters. Now, more than ever. And to prove it so, European Rugby was comprehensive in its lunacy. The sublime and the ridiculous; the mundane and the daft. If you had any reason to doubt how … Continue reading
Confessions of a No.7
My interview with Luke Wallace of Harlequins on RugbyPass
Double Dummy Scissors 