Ramblings and photos from the misunderstood

I just want to share what I am thinking, seeing, capturing and, as I have been told is not right, writing. Reposting from main blog www.sportsrev.blogspot.co.uk

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England's biggest challenge is believing in themselves

England face one of their biggest challenges in recent years on Saturday, and I'm not talking about a certain football match in Manaus. No, I'm talking about England coming against the sheer might of New Zealand in Dunedin. With the series riding on the outcome of the match, England coach Stuart Lancaster has opted to move Manu Tuilagi out onto the wing, and bring both Luther Burrell and Billy Twelvetrees in as the centre partnership. While this might seem as a counterintuitive move, the simple fact is that England need Tuilagi on the pitch for his sheer power and line breaking ability so Jonny May had to be sacrificed for the good of the team with Marland Yarde switching wings. And that is not to forget that Tuilagi has history with playing on the wing having played most of his age-grade rugby for England on the wing but only time whether Lancaster has good this move right. The other talking point for England has to be around the pack, with Lancaster choosing to stick with the majority of the players who dominated the New Zealand scrum in the first test. With Tom Wood returning at flanker in place of James Haskill, it shows that England are close to knowing their best starting line-up. This combined with the firepower of Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Billy Vunipola to come off the bench, they have to be quietly confident at a repeat performance. England will know that if the Care and Farrell partnership clicks as it has done in the past, they have a great chance to inflict some serious damage to the All Blacks, but it all depends on one thing - which England turn up. The one we expect or the one that disappoints, and as we know from the other England team playing on Saturday, it is more often than not the latter. The biggest challenge for England will be believing in themselves that they can overcome the might of the All Blacks. However, if they can raise their game by even another 10 or 20%, they will be on the cusp of a historic victory in New Zealand's backyard. The ultimate irony of this tour is that it will only throw up more questions about who will make the cut next year for the World Cup squad when it is announced instead of making it clear who will miss out, but I'm sure Lancaster doesn't mind.

England: Mike Brown, Manu Tuilagi, Luther Burrell, Billy Twelvetrees, Marland Yarde, Owen Farrell, Danny Care; Ben Morgan, Chris Robshaw, Tom Wood, Geoff Parling, Joe Launchbury, David Wilson, Rob Webber, Joe Marler.

Replacements: Dylan Hartley, Matt Mullan, Kieran Brookes, Courtney Lawes, Billy Vunipola, Ben Youngs, Freddie Burns, Chris Ashton.

New Zealand: Ben Smith, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Cory Jane, Julian Savea, Aaron Cruden, Aaron Smith; Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (captain), Liam Messam, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Tony Woodcock.

Replacements: Keven Mealamu, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Victor Vito, TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett, Malakai Fekitoa.

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England have to fight fire with fire in Dunedin

England's first test defeat against New Zealand highlighted how far Stuart Lancaster's men have come since he took over but also the huge amount of  work still left to be done.

With the second test coming up in Dunedin at the weekend, Lancaster will be buoyed by the return of many of his starting line-up, who were unable to take part in the first test due to scheduling issues around the end of the Premiership season.

However, even with the return of the likes of Owen Farrell, Billy Twelvetrees, Tom Wood, Billy Vunipola and Danny Care, England are going to come up against an even stronger New Zealand side and that has to be a major concern to Lancaster. 

The first test was a stark reminder of New Zealand's strengths and killer instinct, something that England have a very short time to develop themselves - once a team is on the ropes, go for the kill.

When Marland Yarde was sin binned for not releasing after Brodie Retallick made a break through the centre, England's defence showed that it could keep New Zealand at bay, and could have snatched an unlikely draw.

However, come the second test on Saturday, England will have to kick their game up a notch and attack, not sit back and absorb New Zealand's pressure. 

England will need to exploit their ability to break the game line at pace as proven by a scintillating break by Kyle Eastmond in the centre in the first test, and with Twelvetrees likely to return, he will have to show the same kind of direct running to force New Zealand onto the back foot. 

If the returning Care can provide quick ball to Tuilagi, who looks as if he is going to start at inside centre, he can provide a focal point for attacks to be built around. The one issue seems to be around whether Jonny May can use his pace to great effect - if England can suck the New Zealand defence in and open up space on the wing, May will take advantage of it - but it is a big if.

In an experimental pack, England forced New Zealand into several errors and with Vunipola, Wood and Lawes likely to be added to give even more bulk and experience, it should be an area that England look to not only dominate but build attacks from.

New Zealand are most likely going to be able to call upon world player of the year Kieran Read again to boost their pack, and when combined with the effervescent McCaw, Woodcock, Franks, Coles etc. it is going to be a whole different test for the reshuffled England pack.

With Hansen and McCaw both admitting that New Zealand were suffering from 'rustiness', England will need to make sure that they up their game for the second test to prevent the series being done and dusted before they head back to the North Island for the third test in Hamilton on 21 June.

Likely England team for second test:

Brown; Ashton, Tuilagi, Twelvetrees, May; Farrell, Care, Marler, Hartley, Wilson, Launchbury, Lawes, Wood, Robshaw, Vunipola 

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Cautious Lancaster cost England

England coach Stuart Lancaster will know that his side missed a golden opportunity to take a 1-0 lead  in the three match series against New Zealand. A late Conrad Smith try denied a makeshift England side what would have been a memorable draw, but it was the cautious nature of Lancaster that should draw some criticism too. When Marland Yarde got sin binned for preventing New Zealand scoring after Brodie Retallick's break, it came from a mistake by Ben Youngs at scrum-half. In any other match, Youngs would have been coming on to replace Danny Care, but Care's shoulder injury sustained in training wrecked Lancaster's game plan. However, with Dickson on the bench and having trained, Lancaster should have turned to him at the 60 minute mark to give the game a fresh impetus, and more importantly, take Youngs out of the firing line. It is not to say that Youngs had a bad match, but he didn't have the explosiveness that Care possesses, and bringing on Dickson could have mixed things up in a similar fashion that Cipriani did when he came on.

There were other areas were it seemed that Lancaster was hesitant to go for the kill with Pennell coming on in the dying moments for his debut. He should have been on with 10 or 15 minutes to go where he could have made an impact. When going for victory it is sometimes the case you have to risk it all for the greatest rewards. It is this series in which Lancaster should really push the boundaries of what his time can do, and he should be willing to take a risk or two, if he had been bolder tonight the result could have been very different. That is not to say that Lancaster didn't get things right with the choice of Freddie Burns a huge call, which almost paid off handsomely as he scored four penalties on the back of a very indifferent season with Gloucester. Credit has to go to Kyle Eastmond as well as he proved that he is no shrinking violet when it comes to international rugby at the highest level with a stunning break after great work by Ben Morgan at the back of the scrum. One thing that will be of huge concern to Lancaster is the poor handling skills of his players with the ball countlessly being turned over from knock ons, although it has to be said that Nigel Owens clearly called two knock ons incorrectly. England will feel as if they have let slip a golden opportunity, and even with the returning Saracens and Northampton players, they will know that New Zealand will only get better when it comes to the second test in Dunedin.

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England face almost certain defeat against New Zealand

England face New Zealand in Saturday's first test in the knowledge that they are almost certainly staring down the barrel of defeat following a series of scheduling and injury setbacks.

England's preparation has been severely hampered by domestic scheduling issues preventing coach Stuart Lancaster calling on 13 players who featured in Northampton's dramatic extra-time victory over Saracens.

Lancaster has been dealt a further blow with scrum-half Danny Care being ruled out with a shoulder injury meaning that Ben Youngs stepping up to form a untested half-back combination with his new Leicester team-mate Freddie Burns.

The injury has meant that Lee Dickson has been drafted in as the replacement scrum-half on the bench having only arrived in New Zealand on Wednesday. 

One of the bright spots for Lancaster will be being able to test out different combinations in the both the forwards and backs, with Burns partnering Kyle Eastmond in the midfield and James Haskill, Rob Webber and Geoff Parling in the pack.

Lancaster can also call upon uncapped pair full-back Chris Pennell and Harlequins hooker Joe Gray while Sale fly-half Danny Cipriani, who returns to the England fold after six years away, all on the bench. 

While England will be back to full strength for the second test in Dunedin on 14 June, Lancaster will be concerned that his side could be firmly on the back foot before they reach the South Island.

During the week, Brodie Retallick was asked whether he could name any England players, to which he answered, 'Michael Lawes' - supposedly in reference to Courtney Lawes - seen as New Zealand possibly underestimating their opposition but New Zealand coach Steve Hansen refuses to do so.

"There's been a lot of talk in the media about this being a poor England side, but they've all played internationals in the last 12 months," Hansen said. 

Recent form is on Hansen's side having only lost once since he took over from Graham Henry after guiding New Zealand to World Cup glory, although that loss came at the hands on England in 2012.

New Zealand have recalled Jerome Kaino in place of Kieran Read, who has been suffering with concussion, while Aaron Cruden has been kept at fly-half. 

For Lancaster, this series is meant to be the perfect preparation in the build up to next year's World Cup but with New Zealand are unbeaten at Eden Park since 1994 and with almost three times as many caps as England with 968 compared to 367, England will face a truly uphill battle.

England: Mike Brown (Harlequins); Marland Yarde (Harlequins), Manu Tuilagi, (Leicester Tigers), Kyle Eastmond (Bath), Jonny May (Gloucester); Freddie Burns (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Rob Webber (Bath), David Wilson (Bath); Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers); James Haskell (Wasps), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), Ben Morgan (Gloucester).

Replacements: Joe Gray (Harlequins), Matt Mullan (London Wasps), Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks), Dave Attwood (Bath), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Lee Dickson (Northampton), Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks), Chris Pennell (Worcester).

New Zealand: Israel Dagg; Ben Smith, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Cory Jane, Aaron Cruden, Aaron Smith; Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (captain), Liam Messam, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Tony Woodcock.

Replacements: Keven Mealamu, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Patrick Tuipulotu, Victor Vito, TJ Perenara, Beauden Barrett, Malakai Fekitoa.

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Aviva Premiership Final photos

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HITZ youngsters set for Twickenham bow

Saturday's Aviva Premiership final between Northampton Saints and Saracens at Twickenham will see more than 60 youngsters flying the flag for the HITZ programme.

The programme, aimed at tackling some of the greatest challenges facing young people today such as unemployment, crime and disillusionment, will see the youngsters share the spotlight with their idols as HITZ Young Ambassadors.

Northampton Saints, who are in their second successive final, will be hoping to for a better result this year to match the successes of their youngsters in the programme.

"We are taking about six or seven youngsters down to Twickenham and they are really going to enjoy it,” said Matt Goode, Northampton Saints HITZ officer.

"They have worked hard through the programme, their attendance has been great and this is a fantastic award to finish things off with.

"We took a handful down last year and although the result was disappointing as the Saints lost, they all enjoyed the experience and still left with a smile on their faces."

With the programme incorporating all 12 Aviva Premiership Clubs and over 600 players, it has already improved the lives of 9,000 young people aged between 11 and 19, and project manager Helen Clayton believes the future is positive.

"It is kids who have been through the programme or are going through the programme who we think are going to make a good ambassador,” she said.

"We want to show the fact that they can get more out of the programme – it doesn't just stop at the educational side.

"We have got Lewis Moody coming to do a motivational talk around keeping going and keeping persevering,” she added. "It's all around the idea that if you keep working hard you will get to where you need to be.

"It is the same as Jason Robinson, who we have had in the past – the fact that you keep going.

"Most normal people with the amount of injuries he had would have given up ages before Lewis did. He just kept going and he kept working to try and find his spot in that England team.”

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Goodbye Wilko

Come the final of whistle of the French Top 14 final, Jonny Wilkinson will leave the pitch for one last time having left an ever enduring mark on English Rugby and the country as a whole.

Not many men can claim to have borne the weight of a country's expectations on their shoulders such as Wilkinson has and yet, he has managed remain humble and close to the hearts of sports fans up and down the nation.

Wilkinson's career reads like a whose who of trophies and accolades with four six nations, one Heineken cup (possibly two if Toulon beat Saracens in Cardiff), the Premiership title with Newcastle Falcons as well as other trophies, and hard to forget the World Cup in 2003.

When Wilkinson left the Falcons for Toulon, Newcastle never truly recovered from the loss of such an iconic player and, it could be argued that they may never produce another player quite like Wilkinson again.  

Injuries ravaged Wilkinson's career but he was always willing to get stuck in with a vital tackle even if it might do further harm to his, at times, fragile body, yet he still managed to pull on the white jersey for England 91 times to score 1,179 points. 

Wilkinson defined his tenure as England's fly-half with the unforgettable extra-time drop goal against Australia in their own back yard. For many this was their first real introduction to rugby, and possibly the spark that will build a life long affinity with the game.

Figures released by Premiership Rugby show that attendances have risen once again this year, and the strength of the English game is possibly at greatest since that moment in 2003, with many of the current crop of players only have taken up the game because of England winning the World Cup.

There was a moment in the 2013 season's Heineken cup when Wilkinson went for the drop goal against Saracens and Owen Farrell came charging at him to block the kick. 

That moment symbolised Wilkinson in a nutshell, the precision of the kick, the poise of the player, the strength to take the hit and the grace to get up and leave Farrell knowing that he was up against a true champion of the game.

There is a line from Shakespeare's Twelth Night that sums up Wilkinson, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them" - I would argue that he is all three.

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Match Preview: Saracens vs Harlequins

Saracens will aim to end a run of Premiership semi-final heartbreak when they face Harlequins on Saturday.

Sarries, who finished top of the Premiership table, have not made it to the final since 2011, although have made it to the last four for the last six seasons. 

The home side have rung the changes after their 31-27 loss to Leicester Tigers in the last round, with lock Steve Borthwick leading the side in his final home appearance before retiring at the end of the season.

Mouritz Botha partners Borthwick in the second row, while prop Matt Stevens returns to the front row, and will be joined by Schalk Brits and Mako Vunipola. 

The pack is completed with Jacques Burger at openside, Scotland captain Kelly Brown on the blindside and Billy Vunipola at no.8.

In the backs, Neil De Kock gets the nod over Richard Wigglesworth at scrum-half and will partner Owen Farrell. The midfield sees Brad Barritt partner Marcelo Bosch, while David Strettle and Chris Ashton are on the wings and Alex Goode at full-back.

Harlequins come into the match on the back of five wins straight victories, with their narrow 19-16 win over Bath securing them fourth spot.

Quins have reached three successive semi-finals but have only made it through once in 2012, the year they won the competition after beating Leicester Tigers 30-23 in the final.

Director of Rugby Conor O’Shea has made only one change from last time out with Luke Wallace returning from injury to replace Maurie Fa’asavalu at blindside flanker. 

The away side will look to former England international Nick Easter for inspiration, who is playing in a record 233rd game for Harlequins, as they look to overturn a poor recent record against Saracens. 

Sarries have won nine of the last 10 meetings, with the only defeat a tight 24-19 loss at Wembley Stadium in March 2012. 

Saracens: Goode; Ashton, Bosch, Barritt, Strettle; Farrell, de Kock; Vunipola, Brits, Stevens, Borthwick, Botha, Brown, Burger, Vunipola.

Replacements: George, Barrington, Johnston, Hargreaves, Wray, Wigglesworth, Hodgson, Wyles.

Harlequins: Brown; Williams, Molenaar, Turner-Hall, Monye; Evans, Care; Marler, Ward, Sinckler, Matthews, Robson, Wallace, Robshaw, Easter.

Replacements: Buchanan, Lambert, Collier, Kennedy, Guest, Dickson, Botica, Smith.

Referee: Wayne Barnes.

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Exeter Chiefs - The sleeping giant of the South West?

In football, there a cliché term when teams are going through a rebuilding phase called ‘transition’. Probably one of the most annoying terms in recent memory, on top of many other annoying traits football has, but it is an apt one for the Exeter Chiefs.

The Chiefs recently wrapped up their fourth season in the top flight with a resounding 23-13 win over Newcastle Falcons with tries from Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ben White and Fetu’u Vainikolo.

While the table may show an 8th place finish, the signs suggest that Chiefs are readying themselves for a shot at the big time next season with the main reason for this being head coach Rob Baxter, and his philosophy of ‘if you are good enough, you’re old enough’. 

Any team that tries to blood ten current players in one season is naturally going to fall at the last hurdle on some occasions, and to bring any footballing pun into the equation, Alan Hansen once said, ‘You can’t win anything with kids’, and we all know how that turned out – hint, he was wrong!

Exeter's triumph over Northampton Saints in the LV Cup proves just that, it is possible to win with youth but it has to be a stepping stone rather to bigger things than the end goal in itself. 

The thumping loss to Sale showed that while the team is moving in the right direction with their youth policies, it can come apart at the seams spectacularly and would have probably caused some soul searching over how to prevent it happening again. 

However, the last two matches of the season restored some West Country pride to the team with a narrow loss to Harlequins and the win against the Falcons.

What is going to be important for the Chiefs is how they go about their transfer business in the off-season. It has been known for a while that forwards Hoani Tui and James Phillips would be leaving, along with Craig Mitchell, Romana Graham and Jason Shoemark, so finding replacements will be vital to any charge next season.

The signing of former Waratah hooker Elvis Taione and Leicester Tigers Tomas Waldrom, as well as Mitch Lees and Tomas Francis from London Welsh and London Scottish respectively shows that Exeter are looking to not only replace, but add fresh blood to their youthful squad.

Another key factor will be keeping captain Dean Mumm fit. It was no surprise that Mumm’s return for the visit of Harlequins to Sandy Park almost brought a hard fought victory. 

Every team needs leaders on the field, and with the project that Exeter are embarking on, Mumm’s presence will make a huge difference to the development of young players. 

In an interview for the Chiefs website, Mumm admitted that the team slipped up at points but there was a lot of promise for the future.

“There is a lot to learn, but I think we have got a wonderful squad going forward. We have got some quality young players who are going to get better as the years go by. Luke Cowan-Dickie today was an example of that, so was Sam Hill and Henry Slade. Those guys will be even better next year and I am very excited about it,” he said. 

The emergence of Jack Nowell as an England winger is credit to the system that has been built at Exeter, and their belief in local players coming through the academy with the clear sight of breaking into the first team.

The fact that Exeter are nailing down key players such as Cowan-Dickie to long term deals shows their belief that they can break into the top four, and while this season may not have gone entirely to plan for the Chiefs, if they get it right next term they will be fighting for Europe and maybe more. 

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Lancaster’s selection headache

With the World Cup just over a year away, Stuart Lancaster goes into the upcoming tour of New Zealand knowing that there are no second chances – his team have to perform against the World Champions.

In an ideal world, England will be hoping that they can come away with a series victory, although this might be a step too far for Lancaster’s men when faced with a New Zealand team packed with the likes of McCaw, Ma’a Nonu, and Conrad Smith. 

Injuries and finals are going to play a massive role in Lancaster’s selection for the tour with players club commitments going to come before their international duties.

It has already been announced that Leicester’s Hooker Tom Youngs will not tour, as well as teammate Tom Croft, Northampton prop Alex Corbisiero, Wasps winger Christian Wade and Exeter Chiefs winger Jack Nowell, while Billy Twelvetrees faces an uphill struggle to be fit to take his place on the plane following an ankle injury.

With Saracens, Northampton, Leicester and Harlequins all making the play-offs, Bath facing Northampton in the Amlin Cup final and Sarries in the Heineken Cup final, the team that Lancaster puts out for the first test on June 7th is going to both be exciting but untested, and that is without factoring in Wasps’ end of season play-off for European rugby next season.  

However, there is no better opportunity for Lancaster to blood some of the Aviva Premiership’s best young players, and to give others a hard earned second chance to face the All Blacks.

Lancaster is almost certainly going to need a squad of 40 players to take with him to New Zealand, and it seems that one of the only certainties at the moment is the revitalised Danny Cipriani, who has regained the form that saw him win his last England cap over five years ago.

Other players such as Worcester Warriors’ Matt Kvesic, Exeter Chiefs’ Tom Johnson, Gloucester’s Jonny May and Ben Morgan, Sale’s Henry Thomas and London Irish winger Marland Yarde all seem destined to have a place as well, but this still leaves Lancaster severely short of players. 

While players from Bath and Wasps such as George Ford and Wasps’ trio Matt Mullan, James Haskell and Joe Simpson should make the squad, Lancaster needs to be looking to take players Worcester’s Chris Pennell, Newcastle’s Noah Cato or Exeter’s Luke Cowan-Dickie to give them experience in case they are called upon when it truly counts next year. After that it is a matter of time to see who will fill feature in the line-up for the first test, with the squad likely to be announced only after the semi-finals have taken place. 

However, the first test should be looked on as a great opportunity rather than a problem for Lancaster, and he will be safe in the knowledge that come the 2nd test in Dunedin on the 14th of June, his side will be in a much better place than it seems to be right now. 

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Match Preview: Harlequins vs Bath

Nick Easter will make a club-record equalling 232rd appearance for Harlequins as they face Bath in a winner takes all match at the Stoop on Saturday afternoon.

The 2012 champions know that to secure the last play-off position they will need a bonus point win, or a regular win, assuming that Bath do not secure two bonus points.

Quins, who came back from behind to win at Exeter last weekend, welcome back Mike Brown to their starting line-up after his late withdrawal following a failed fitness test while Maurie Fa'asavalu starts at blindside flanker in place of the injured Luke Wallace. 

Ugo Monye keeps his place in the starting line-up having scored his first try of the season on his return from injury against the Chiefs with Monye believing that Quins have the advantage after their recent glories.

"It's massive - effectively a quarter-final and winner-takes-all for us. It's big but I think this team and the culture within this club thrives on those big games," he said

However, the head-to-head record narrowly favours Bath, who have won 18 of their 36 encounters compared to Quins 17 with one draw between the sides.

The reverse fixture earlier in the season saw the West Country club come away with the points after a 14-3 win at the Rec, and will be looking for the same result again.

Bath, who controversially drew with Northampton 19-19 at home last time out, bring in Eusebio Guinazu in place of injured hooker Rob Webber, while Tom Dunn replaces Ross Batty on the bench, and wing Semesa Rokuduguni returns to the bench. Teams

Harlequins: Brown; Williams, Molenaar, Turner-Hall, Monye; Evans, Care; Marler, Ward, Sinckler; Matthews, Robson; Fa'asavalu, Robshaw (capt), Easter

Replacements: Buchanan, Lambert, Collier, Kennedy, Guest, Dickson, Botica, Smith

Bath: Abendanon; Watson, Joseph, Devoto, Banahan; Ford, Young; James; Guinazu, Wilson; Hooper (capt), Attwood; Fearns, Mercer, Houston

Replacements: Dunn, Perenise, Orlandi, Day, Fa'osiliva, Stringer, Henson, Rokoduguni

(Twickenham Stoop, 3.15pm) Referee: Wayne Barnes  Assistant Referees: Paul Dix & Nigel Carrick. 

TMO: David Grashoff.

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Exeter Chiefs 29 - 30 Harlequins

Nick Evans orchestrated a vital win for Harlequins as they kept their hopes of a play-off place alive until the final weekend of the season. In a free flowing match, Exeter took the lead through a Gareth Steenson penalty and a Dave Lewis try but Quins pegged them back through Ugo Monye before Steenson added two penalties to give the Chiefs a 16-5 half time lead. Matt Jess extended Exeter's lead early in the second half before Evans went over to bring Quins back into the match, before he and Steenson exchanged penalties. Two late tries for Danny Care and Tom Guest ensured Quins headed back to the Stoop with a bonus point and their play-off hopes well and truly alive. Harlequins suffered a double blow before kick-off with Mike Brown and Sam Smith being replaced by Ollie Lindsay-Hague and Monye. This was Monye's first match since returning after injuring himself against Saracens in March while Exeter looked to bounce back from defeat against Leicester in the last round. With the home crowd behind them, the Chiefs took an early lead from Steenson's boot after Harlequins gave away a cheap penalty. They extended their lead through scrum-half Lewis after he broke from the back of a maul and cleverly dummied the Harlequins defence to touch down. Steenson converted to give Exeter a well deserved 10-0 lead. Quins got back into the match thanks to Monye, as he darted down the touchline to go over in the corner, although Nick Easter and David Ward deserve credit for great build up work. While Harlequins looked to capatilse on some poor Exeter tackling, with Care and Monye making strong breaks, it was Exeter who scored next thanks to Steenson converting two penalties to give the home side a 16-5 lead at half time. Exeter picked up where they left off in the second half, and scored again with Matt Jess going over under the posts after a counter-attacking move, and the dead-eye Steenson knocked over the extras. Harlequins replied immediately through fly-half Evans as he waltzed through a broken Exeter defence to score, and in the process become take the record overseas point scorer. Two penalties from Evans cut the gap to five points, before Steenson added another penalty to give the Chiefs breathing space. However, with the match heading into its final 15 minutes, Quins narrowed the gap to a solitary point after Care broke through to go over under the posts with Evans adding the vital extras. It seemed as if Exeter had wrapped the match up after Steenson added another penalty, but Quins refused to give up and secured the victory after Tom Guest went over in the corner as Harlequins saw out the match to win by a point.

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Nick Easter: The Quins Giant

It is hard for fans of every rugby team in the country not to be impressed by Nick Easter. After a difficult season down at the Stoop with Quins suffering countless injuries, they are on the cusp of securing an unlikely play-off place courtesy of Bath's 19-19 draw against Northampton in Round 21, and their late victory over the Exeter Chiefs. It is Easter who has been a huge reason behind Harlequins push for the play-offs having been the ever present at in the back row having played 1660 minutes out of a possibly 1680. While Easter might have only bagged two tries this season against Leicester and Gloucester, the fact that he is still being muted to make a return to the England set-up shows how highly he is thought of by Harlequins and England alike. Age, however, is likely to be the only reason that is holding him back with England coach Stuart Lancaster plumping for youth with the likes of Billy Vunipola getting the nod in this years Six Nations leaving Easter stuck on 47 caps. But England's loss has been Harlequins gain as the 35-year-old has shown that there is still plenty of life in his legs, and he will be looking to go past Ceri Jones' 232 Harlequins appearance record and become Quins' most capped player against Bath. Whether he can do it this season in the play-offs, or will have to wait until next year, we shall have to wait and see, but there is no doubting the fact that Easter will be giving his all to see Quins succeed.

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Saracens savouring the return of the 'AshSplash'

Whenever Chris Ashton steps onto a rugby pitch at the moment, it seems as if he can do no wrong.

He is on the five-man shortlist for the European Rugby Cup European Player of the Season, has helped Saracens secure their first ever place in the Heineken cup final against Toulon and is tipped for a recall for England's upcoming tour of New Zealand.

It therefore makes it all the harder to believe that it was only in January that Ashton had been cast aside by England coach Stuart Lancaster in favour for Exeter Chiefs' Jack Nowell. 

While possibly one of the bigger surprises of Lancaster's reign to drop the free-scoring Ashton, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to him and Saracens.

The 27-year-old has always divided opinions between fans who see him as more of a showman than a match winner, with his 'swallow dive', or now retitled 'AshSplash' a particular cause of consternation.

It seemed that for Ashton, who had stormed onto the international scene with 15 tries in his first 17 matches, being overlooked for the victorious 2013 Lions tour of Australia had severely dented his confidence after being criticised for his defensive abilities.

The brunt of the defensive criticism followed England's 2013 Six Nations match against France, when he allowed French winger Wesley Fofana to race past him to score.

Following the match, he said, "I thought there was a lot of heat for one tackle, although I am trying to get better at that all the time.

"I'm not afraid to tackle - I want to tackle. I want to hurt people.

"This [criticism] is new for me. I don't know where all this defence stuff has come from."

In a recent interview with Ian Chadband for the Telegraph, the former Northampton winger admitted that he wasn't prepared to be an England international.

“I think there was a time when I probably didn’t belong in the England squad. I would accept that, even though at the time you don’t want to admit it,” he said. 

“I look back now and I’d agree some things I did weren’t up to the standard they should have been and a lot of that is because you’re trying too hard to get back to the place you were. The only answer for that is for a shock to happen, for you to be pushed out and to realise that you can actually relax a little."

But, as any Saracens fan will tell you, England's loss has definitely been their gain, with Ashton now back on form, with the 'AshSplash' on show for the 18th time this season against Worcester Warriors in the Premiership on Saturday.

The stats back this argument up further with the winger having appeared in 15 matches this season in all competition and setting a new Heineken Cup record of 11 tries in the process.

Saracens' record 46-6 victory over Clermont Auvergne in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup, in which Ashton himself scored twice, showed that there is growing evidence that England will welcome him back with open arms, having missed his ability to open up opposition defences seemingly at will. 

It is somewhat ironic that Ashton's recall to the England set-up would be as a result of Jack Nowell, the player who replaced him in the England team, injuring his knee and having to miss the tour of New Zealand in June. 

The biggest question facing Ashton is whether he can sustain his impressive form through to the end of the season and gain a seat on the plane to New Zealand?

With the 2015 World Cup just over a year away, it seems that Ashton is well placed to make a charge for a spot in Lancaster's squad, and hopefully England fans will once again see the promise and exciting ability that Ashton showed before.

[justin-feck]

Match Preview: Exeter Chiefs vs Harlequins

#458814779 / gettyimages.com

Exeter Chiefs welcome back captain Dean Mumm to their starting line-up for the visit of play-off chasing Harlequins.

 After their heavy 55-12 defeat at the hands of Sale last time out, head coach Rob Baxter will be hoping that the Chiefs will bounce back and regain some pride in their penultimate fixture of the season.

"It's about focusing back on ourselves, not getting distracted and realising that the week's preparation and everything we do is towards a big performance on Sunday," he said.

While the main news is of Mumm’s return to the pack, he is joined by props Carl Rimmer and Hoani Tui, and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie in a new look front row.

While the Chiefs know that only victory will do to keep them in the running for a European play-off spot, Quins need a win to keep their hopes of a play-off position alive until the final round.

However, Quins will be hoping for both Bath and Leicester to slip up against Northampton and Sale respectively to give their slim hopes of the play-offs a massive boost ahead of kick-off on Sunday afternoon.

Harlequins have made three changes to the side that faced Northampton Saints last week in the Amlin Challenge cup semi-final.

Both Tom Williams and Nick Evans return from injury with Ben Botica moving to the replacements, with Williams replacing Charlie Walker, who is likely to miss the rest of the season following an ankle injury last week.

Nick Kennedy comes in to the second row to partner Charlie Matthews after George Robson picked up a knock against Northampton.

Quins fans will be pleased to see the return of Ugo Monye on the bench, who has been out since March after picking up an injury against Saracens.

The Londoners are in a rich vein of form at the moment having won their last three Premiership matches since their 13-39 defeat to Saracens at Wembley in round 17.

However, Exeter boost a strong head-to-head record with two wins out of the last three meetings whilst Quins last win at Sandy Park was an 11-9 win on New Year’s Eve 2011.

The teams:

Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 Ben White, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (capt), 3 Hoani Tui, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Carl Rimmer.


Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Craig Mitchell, 18 Alex Brown, 19 James Phillips, 20 James Scaysbrook, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Tom James.

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Tim Molenaar, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Luke Wallace, 5 Nick Kennedy, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler.


Replacements:16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Tom Guest, 20 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 21 Ben Botica, 23 Ugo Monye.

Date: Sunday, May 4


Kick-off: 14:00 BST


Venue: Sandy Park


Referee: Andrew Small


Assistant referees: Stuart Terheege, Peter Huckle


Television match official: Greg Garner

[justin-feck]

Twickenham - showpiece event or mid-season fixture?

I can’t imagine what it is like to run out at the home of rugby in front of 80,000 people – the closest I got to that experience was standing in the tunnel just before ‘The Stinger’ a few weekends ago – but it did raise the question, should club matches be held at Twickenham, or should it be reserved for just the final?

Admittedly ‘The Stinger’ was in aid of charity, with the proceeds going to a great cause in Sport Relief, and the fans from both Wasps and Gloucester were in fine fettle, but it struck me that there was a lack of atmosphere at points. You know things are a little desperate when the Mexican wave starts up, even if it took a few attempts to really get going.

Neither side were ever likely to fill up the ground, the distance between Gloucester and Twickenham is not an inconsiderable one, and the match really didn’t have too much riding on it. Wasps do still have a chance to qualify for Europe as a result of winning but there was no edge that a ground like Twickenham deserves.

When I think back to the times I have watched matches being broadcast from Twickenham, they have been thunderous clashes between England and New Zealand, or Six Nations ties where neither side gave an inch. It just felt as if ‘The Stinger’ didn’t do justice to the stadium.

Before I alienate both Gloucester and Wasps fans, they did an amazing job in an impossible situation, and hearing that West Country twang of ‘GLOUCESTER’ coming out from the crowd was something to behold.

I just feel that maybe it was the wrong stadium for the fixture, and that it might have been better off held at a smaller ground where the atmosphere was more intense.

Then again, Saracens played Harlequins at Wembley in front of over 83,000 spectators and it was a roaring success. I should know, I’m friends with a die-hard Sarries season ticket holder and she was ecstatic when they won.

Twickenham does host the London double header which draws a decent crowd and Saracens beat Clermont Auvergne in the semi-final of the Heineken cup there, but the worst thing that I think could happen is to follow football’s route of playing too many games at the national stadium. 

People say the FA cup has lost some of its magic with semi-finals being played at Wembley and caution needs to be taken that Rugby does not go down the same slippery slope with Twickenham.

Maybe I’m wrong, and people think more matches should be held at Twickenham, I don’t know but I’d be fascinated to hear their opinions.

[justin-feck]

London Wasps 38-30 Gloucester

Two James Haskill tries helped Wasps to victory over Gloucester and keep their hopes of securing European rugby alive.

Haskill and Jonny Mays traded tries before Tom Varndell and Elliot Daly handed Wasps the initiative.

Billy Twelvetrees kept Gloucester in touch from the boot as the Wasps went in 24-16 up at the break.

Ashley Johnson extended Wasps lead further before Huia Edmonds and Freddie Burns gave Gloucester hope, before Haskill scored his second to provide the final sting in the tail and secure Wasps victory.

Billed as ‘The Stinger’ at Twickenham, Wasps and Gloucester went into the match knowing that only a win would keep any hopes of European rugby alive for next season.

Wasps took the lead through Haskill after a powerful break by Nathan Hughes, however Gloucester responded almost immediately through Jonny Mays, who sprinted onto Rob Cook’s kick through to touch down.

Three minutes later, Wasps regained their lead from an Andy Goode penalty, and extended it after Varndell intercepted a Burns pass and raced over unchallenged.

Twelvetrees kept the Cherry and Whites in touch from the boot before Daly broke through the Gloucester defence to give Wasps a 24-16 half-time lead.

In front of over 38,000 fans, Wasps scored the first try of the second half when Johnson stretched over to take Wasps past 30 points.

Gloucester replied with Edmonds who broke free from a ruck to touch down, but in a match that neither side took control of Wasps edged further ahead with Haskill’s second.

Two quick yellow cards reduced Wasps to 13 players as Burns darted over to set up a nervy finish but Wasps held on for victory.