Cozza's Blog #2

Welcome back to my second blog. What a weekend! As an Englishman and a Leicester Tiger, it’s fair to say there have been better. Added to that, I was persuaded to lace the boots once more for a charity match on Friday at the Stoop to play for the England Legends against the Irish. Not only did that match make it a hat-trick of defeats for me, but also I haven’t been able to stand upright since!

The Guinness Premiership is hotting up beautifully now. With Leeds winning twice on the bounce all sides in the league are fighting for something. What will be worrying for sides looking down is that Leeds are not just winning now they are starting to score some points. As they have been in a dogfight all year they have developed a visible team ethic and they show every time they score a try how much it means to them and how up for a fight they are. Quins, Newcastle, Worcester and Sale will all be feeling the heat now. Of those, Newcastle and their inability to score and turn the pressure their forwards generate into points must feel particularly uneasy. They need to find a way to create more opportunities and not be totally reliant on Jimmy Gopperth’s boot. At the top of the table, Saracens have hit a stumbling block losing 4 of their last 5. They now have to move away from their ‘territory at all costs’ approach. It was working well for them but sides have become more aware of the way they play and now make sure they don’t get caught behind the forwards and look to keep hold of the ball against them. London Irish were hit hard by the suspension of their No. 8, Hala’ufia, who provides Irish with their ‘go forward, close in’. Now he’s back their game has gone back to winning ways. The two sides who may have left their charge late are Bath and Gloucester. Bath have won 5 on the bounce which has coincided with their playmakers James and Barkley returning (although they look destined not to play together). Their real success however has stemmed from their forwards dominating the set piece and close quarter battles. Gloucester have found their power game with Vainikolo leading the charge.

Leicester lost the battle of the top two and the local gloating rights, but their aim will be to consolidate their position until the internationals and injured players return. Leicester have been in this position many times before and have learnt to rest players throughout the season so they have a fully fit and fresh squad come the play-offs. Northampton, who have been very consistent throughout the season, have developed a steely forward edge to go with their attacking flair but have used a small pool of players - as they are still in contention in 3 trophies the strain will take it’s toll unless it is carefully managed.

The 6 Nations threw up some great entertainment yet again. France have shown for another game that without doubt they are the best side in the tournament and with what should be a relatively routine game against Italy they will be hosting England for what will be their Grand Slam game. France will be very grateful of the gifts Wales gave them in the match at the Millennium Stadium. When you play against world class opposition the first thing you must do is to be difficult to score against. Wales shot themselves in the foot with those 2 interception tries. It looks great when a fast open attacking game plan comes off but when it doesn’t it leaves you with a mountain to climb. Whilst Scotland were generous with their last kick-off of the game which allowed Wales possession to score, France weren’t going to do the same. As the pressure mounts, so the questions will start. France have the players but have they got the mental toughness - especially within their young decision makers at 9 and 10 - to become a Grand Slam winning side? Scotland failed to take their chances and lost their composure and, in doing so, allowed Italy to show that doing just enough to stay in contention and waiting for the opposition to make mistakes can pay dividends. I felt England’s game against Ireland was won and lost at the breakdown. England started the game attacking from deep and managed to get into a good attacking position only to get turned over at the breakdown. Again they started to attack from deep but Ireland powered through a weak ruck, turned the ball over and went on to score with their first real bit of possession. Jonny Wilkinson is taking a lot of pressure at the moment for being deep but if he gets slow ball, with all his forwards in the breakdown, then he has to stand deeper, especially as the Irish defence is set and organised. For England to progress I believe it’s best to resist the call for wholesale changes. England need to improve and grow as a group - constant changing of personnel results in having to start over again.

Now a trip down memory lane to the second of my Premiership Finals in 2006: Leicester Tigers against Sale Sharks. Sale had, without doubt, been the best team in the Premiership that year but as no side who had finished top had gone on to win the play-off, we fancied our chances. Sale dominated from the start with Jason White and co punching holes and Richard Wigglesworth sniping round the fringes, while a great marshalling and kicking game from Charlie Hodgson meant we struggled to get into the game. With Sale taking their chances we were always behind and chasing the game. When you are on the field, no matter how far behind you are, you always feel there is a chance. A couple of line breaks is all it takes and you’re back in the game. Sadly Sale’s defence had answers to our attack and we fell well short.

To continue my Guinness Premiership Final All Star team selection: as Tigers have been in the last 5 finals, in each of my blogs I will pick my best Tigers team against my Guinness Premiership Final All Star team from the last 5 years. This week, I have selected my centres and half-back pairings to complement the back 3 that I selected last time out:

Leicester Tigers
15 Geordan Murphy
14 Alesana Tuilagi
11 Tom Varndell
13 Leon Lloyd
12 Daryl Gibson
10 Austin Healey
9 Harry Ellis


All Star
15 Jason Robinson (Sale Sharks)
14 Sailosi Tagicakibau (London Irish)
11 Paul Sackey (London Wasps)
13 Josh Lewsey (London Wasps)
12 Mike Catt (London Irish)
10 Charlie Hodgson (Sale Sharks)
9 Matt Dawson (London Wasps)

Cozza's Blog #1

Welcome to the first of my new series of Blogs, building up to the Guinness Premiership Final on 29th May.

I have been involved in the last five Premiership Finals so I'm well placed to give an 'insiders' view of how teams are shaping up in the Race to Twickenham, as well as to give insights into how I prepared for the match as a player and what it’s like to become English Champions in front of a capacity crowd at Twickenham.

I will be looking back at the last five finals in turn, sharing how it feels to prepare for and win the biggest match in English rugby. And yes Sale and Wasps fans, I will also be sharing how it feels to lose a Final as well!

This is my first year of not being part of the Guinness Premiership. As a player the duration and intensity of the competition played against your fiercest competitors makes it the ultimate test, and the must-win environment leading up to the play-offs creates an excitement that every player and fan wants to be a part of. The fervour of the semi and final will rival any other competition domestically or internationally and the build up to the play-offs starts in earnest now. Bravado means you want to finish top, first or second is the goal and top four is a must. You do not want to be an observer on 15th May, although a top 6 finish will at least mean Heineken Cup qualification.

Bearing in mind I have played in this competition for just one club I will try and give you an unbiased opinion of how the competing teams are shaping up. Most teams have 9 matches left to play so now is the time to consolidate or make the move. Last weekends Guinness Premiership games were played without international players and the aim for the top sides was to win without caring too much about style. Leicester, Saracens and Northampton achieved this while London Irish slipped up to a very impressive Bath. Irish must now be looking over their shoulder to the habitual fast finishers, Wasps, who kept the pressure on the top four by beating Sale. Gloucester put in the best performance of the weekend with a thumping win against Quins. A couple of good results will put anyone in position for European rugby.

Of the games this weekend the big questions are whether Wasps can break into the top four by beating a faltering Sarries, a weakened Tigers can hold off a revived Gloucester and whether Leeds can reverse a run of narrow losses to prevent a gap forming? Of the other games, Bath, who have started to play well since the return of Butch James, host a defensive Worcester, who are playing like a team under pressure; Newcastle will fancy their chances over Irish, who were woeful against Bath last week, and Quins play Saints who need to show they can handle the pressure as the title push hots up.

The archives provide enough encouragement for sides who are leaving their push late. This time last year Leicester were languishing in 6th place and yet went on to win the title, and whilst it looks highly unlikely that Gloucester, who are in the same position this year, can make up that ground a victory this weekend could put them in contention.

England are also building up to a make or break game against Ireland. Whilst they have won both of their games the style has been somewhat unconvincing. The victory over the Welsh was vital as it allows the players to look forward to the rest of the tournament with a little less pressure and they would have taken a win at all costs. To run in some tries as well puts a bit of gloss on the performance. The performance against Italy was poor but there were some signs of the impact Ricky Flutey can make to the back line. They will all be well aware that a performance anything close to this will be well below the level required to beat Ireland. Can they raise the standard? I believe they can.

To finish, a painful trip down memory lane. My first Guinness Premiership Final in 2005 ended with a 39-14 defeat by Wasps. In Martin Johnson, Neil Back and John Wells’ last game for the club we as players were determined to send them out with a smile. The worst thing, in hindsight, happened the 2 weeks before. We beat Wasps 45-10 in our last game of the season at Welford Road and Henry Tuilagi, who put in one of the best performances from a No 8 I have seen, got injured. We started the final full of emotion but lost the early exchanges and made some basic mistakes, resulting in Wasps gaining a 13-0 lead. With Joe Worsley and Josh Lewsey leading a superb defensive display we couldn’t get back into the game and, as so often with Wasps in big games, if you give them a lead they become a very difficult side to beat. As we tried to force an opening, inaccuracy and ill-discipline gave Wasps even more scoring opportunities which they gladly took. We fought to the end but Johno, Backy and Wellsy were to leave the club after so much success on a rare sour note.

As Tigers have been in the last 5 finals, in each of my blogs l will pick my best Tigers team against my Guinness Premiership Final All Star team from the last 5 years - you decide the winner. This week, the back 3:

Leicester Tigers
15 Geordan Murphy
14 Alesana Tuilagi
11 Tom Varndell

All Star
15 Jason Robinson (Sale Sharks)
14 Sailosi Tagicakibau (London Irish)
11 Paul Sackey (London Wasps)

Premiership Rugby blogs

Welcome to the new Premiership Rugby blog spot, where we will be publishing news and views from inside Guinness Premiership rugby. We will be introducing some guest bloggers over the coming weeks and months, who will be able to provide a unique 'insiders' view of latest happenings. First up will be ex-Leicester Tigers, England and British Lions legend Martin Corry who will be giving a run-down on which teams are shaping up to reach the Guinness Premiership Final.