Cracking the Code

When the East Great Falls High School, class of '99 wanted a host for their prom party, they selected one Steve Stiffler to organise the most prestigious of soirées. At this stage, for the sake of my tenuous analogy, I ask you not to focus on the police involvement at the aforementioned shindig. Instead, think of the good times, the laughter. Putting on Blink 182 at this point is optional. In selecting France to host the 2023, The World Rugby Council, simultaneously shunned the offer of Rugby's party protagonist. South Africa, this is not you. Ireland - my comparison of you lot with the Stiffmeister is not meant in a derogatory manner - endearing if anything. Bear with me. Before continuing, I will mitigate the hate from those supporting either of the opposing bids. I'm sure that France will host and South Africa would've hosted phenomenal sporting events. I have fond memories of both the 2007 Rugby World Cup and 2009 Lions tour. When it comes to pre/post m...

October 31 2015, Rugby World Cup Final, New Zealand (1/3 - FAV) v Australia (9/4) , Twickenham. October 22 2016, Bledisloe Cup (dead rubber), New Zealand (1/25 - FAV) v Australia (9/1), Eden Park. Cold hard facts that paint a tale of exponential growth in All Black dominance, not just over their cross Tasman rivals but also the rest of World Rugby. Patience, England, we know you fancy a pop. To think there were concerns that post the Autumnal glory at HQ, the All Black ship would find itself in choppy seas without good ol Captain McCaw and First Mate Carter to guide it home. Transition period? Not here.    The All Blacks are the World's premier rugby team. News to nobody. However, the manner in which they have extended their preeminence over Rugby Championship rivals this season, is news. Six games, six victories, six bonus points and a score differential of 178 – an average winning margin of nearly 30 points. Australia, South Africa and Argentina all finished t...

If there is a competition that highlights time and again that the divide between success and failure in sport can be beyond negligible, it is Australia’s premier rugby league competition the NRL . With time up in this year’s grand final the Cowboys of North Queensland trailed the Brisbane Broncos by 4 points, for the Broncos it was a case of one more tackle and they would be premiers. However, the Cowboys bundled up all the clichés as they threw caution to the wind, rolled the dice and held nothing back to produce the impossible to score in the corner. With the board locked at 16 each, Jonathan Thurston stepped up to win the game for his beloved Cowboys. As the kick homed in on the posts and drew back in classic Thurston fashion , the North Queensland talisman raised his arm in the air believing his kick was about to creep inside the sticks only to see it collide with the near upright. As it materialised, JT would get another opportunity, and this time he was on the money as he nudge...

Back in 2006 whilst on my pre university jaunt, known more commonly as the ‘gap ya’, I stopped by in Melbourne to take in the Commonwealth Games. My foremost memory of the event, other than the devastated reaction of local fans as an Aussie boxing man was KO’d 3 seconds before the end of a bout he had in the bag, was Wales winning some form of kitchenware (bowl or plate) in the Rugby sevens. With Google seemingly unable to assist, I’m going to have to back my memory and say that the winning try scorer in the final was a young James Hook. What I can say with certainty was that Hook, Wales’ playmaker, was the stand out player. The time Hook had on the ball and his ability to beat a defender convinced me that I was watching a guy who would not only go on to represent Wales in the XV man format but would be world class in doing so. Fast forward some nine years and Hook was removed from the Millenium Stadium pitch midway through the second half of Wales’ World Cup warm up match...

As Australia and England took centre stage, at Sydney's Olympic stadium to contest the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, there was a tangible difference between the two outfits. The like of which, we would never see again at a World Cup. A difference that perhaps symbolises the final stages of the transition of elite rugby from an amateur to a professional game. If the use of the word 'outfits' hasn't already given it away, I am of course referencing the disparity between the playing jerseys of the two adversaries. In the green and gold corner, you had a Wallaby outfit in a traditional Canterbury of New Zealand cotton rugby shirt, complete with white collar. At the other end of the spectrum, were Clive Woodward's men in their light, tight fitting, sweat removing, Nike jerseys.  This new high spec number, unveiled just before the tournament, blew away one of the game's age old traditions. Rugby shirts until that point were as a rule, cotton, loose fitting with ...

Since Leinster's Rob Kearney won the 2012 award, the three subsequent recipients of the crown of Europe's premier club rugby player, have been English ex pats plying their trade with French clubs. Jonny Wilkinson receiving the award in 2013, was but another accolade for the by then internationally retired great. However, the recent crowning of Abendanon, as it did with Armitage a year ago, has lit the touch paper in the ever simmering debate on selection of overseas players to wear the red rose.  Those that vindicate the inclusion of the overseas based players do so because they believe that for England to have an optimum opportunity for success, the selection process should result in the best XV players taking the field, regardless of whether a player is domiciled in Toulon or the Toon. The decision of Aussie selectors to renegade on their own long standing home not away policy, is evidence that they feel they can field additional quality by drawing on their overseas bas...

Finance and its impact on the motivation of young sportsmen has been a prominent topic this week, what with Raheem Sterling's questionable decision to go public on his ongoing contract negotiations with Liverpool. Meanwhile in rugby circles, the news that one of New Zealand's hottest properties Charles Piutau , 23 has signed a big money deal to ply his trade with Ulster shocked the rugby fraternity in both hemispheres. Some on Twitter even querying whether it was an April fool. Admittedly a pretty niche joke, hardly Alan Partridge to be new presenter of top gear. In his interview for the BBC , Sterling was quick to assert that the fact he had turned down the comprehensive financial offer from Liverpool didn't make him a "money grabbing 20 year old", claiming that his primary motivations were to win silverware and be perceived as a "kid that loves to play football and do the best for the team". Although a move away from the Reds may indeed enhance S...

As I sit to write this, the 2015 Rugby World Cup countdown reads 315 days 22 hours and 33 minutes. This weekend, sees the return to our shores of the SANZAR superpowers on their end of year tours. Traditionally the Autumn Internationals provide an opportunity for the tourists to drip feed some new talent into the test environment whilst trying to exert dominance over their Northern Hemisphere opponents. For the hosts it is the start of the international season, a chance for the respective coaches to observe if their group can not only compete but defeat world class opposition. Given the proximity and location of next year's Rugby World Cup, does this year's series bare greater significance than previous? In June 1997 the English football team visited France to compete in Le Tournoi a four team round robin tournament featuring France, Italy and Brazil. The Tournament was played out as a prelude for France 98 the following year. England left as victors having defeated both F...