The News Review:
- Nick Townsend: Robinson’s grand design laid low by Frank endeavour
- Ireland 31 – 5 Wales
- Gough searches for killer instinct
- Irish rugby round-up: Profitable away trips send Cork and St Mary’s…
- Long wait pays for impatient Flannery
Nick Townsend: Robinson’s grand design laid low by Frank endeavour
Independent – Feb 26, 2006
The portents had been there of course. ne had suspected since that triumph over France that Scotland would be this combative. Lewsey one of the few to earn credit points was a member of the Wasps team who had suffered a surprise defeat against Edinburgh in this season’s Heineken Cup. He admitted: “A few [Wasps] players were not right mentally. ” But he had added: “It is not in the character of English players to make the same mistake. ” How wrong he was. After the interval too many of Robinson’s men looked as though they would prefer to be back over the border as the support from the home crowd reached a crescendo.
Ireland 31 – 5 Wales
guardian.co.uk – Feb 27, 2006
Ruddock coached wen at Newport Gwent Dragons adhering to his wishes to be thought of as a No8 rather than a second row and they were regarded as close but in the coach’s final days he was left isolated. It was the Wales players who found themselves isolated yesterday as Ireland after a slow uncertain start gradually imposed themselves at forward and won with considerable comfort despite themselves looking unconvincing particularly behind the scrum. Wales’s four regions have failed to qualify for the knock-out stage of the Heineken Cup for the past two seasons and their injury problems have left the national side light on the bench. When Jones who had set up Wales’s try after eight minutes departed he was replaced by Gavin Henson a centre whose only 80 minutes of rugby in the previous 10 weeks had been at full-back and whose only appearance at outside-half at international level had been for the first 20 minutes of the 2001 victory over Romania. Henson was coated in rust at two levels and his first two contributions saw the momentum swing to Ireland. First he sent a chip into the Ireland 22 too far leaving Matthew Watkins with no chance of challenging Peter Stringer for the catch and he then missed a regulation tackle on Andrew Trimble. Before Jones went off the closest Ireland had come to the Wales line was when Ronan ‘Gara kicked a 45-metre penalty on 17 minutes but the visitors barely threatened in his absence.
Gough searches for killer instinct
Times nline – Feb 26, 2006
” Incredibly no spoken register of the hurt or humiliation of a crushing defeat. Paul Turner Gough’s coach at the Dragons believes the main reason he has not fulfilled his promise is his failure to regularly bring a truly uncompromising edge to his game. “The other day I watched a video of Goughie playing for Newport in a 28-17 Heineken Cup victory over Bath in 2000 and he was outstanding” said Turner. “He smashed into rucks gave us real go-forward in the loose and made a series of great hits to turn over ball. These days he looks to play like a back offloading before contact. ” Turner argues that if Gough now 29 is to become a true heir to the jersey of great Welsh locks such as Rhys Williams Delme Thomas and Geoff Wheel then it requires a return to his early approach. “I want him saying ‘I’m coming and somebody’s going to get hurt if they try to stop me’.
Irish rugby round-up: Profitable away trips send Cork and St Mary’s…
Times nline – Feb 26, 2006
He declined to comment on the arrangements the branch are putting in place while Thomond is being rebuilt. “We’re at a sensitive juncture and we just want to get it over the line now” he said. It seems likely however that Munster’s home matches in the Heineken Cup next season will be moved to Musgrave Park in Cork. Meanwhile there is still no resolution to the stand-off between Wanderers and the IRFU over the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road despite further negotiations yesterday. The union has offered the club a compensation package worth in excess of €3m for the demolition of their pavilion but the Wanderers delegation led by billionaire businessman Denis ’Brien is playing hard-ball on the issue of tickets looking for an increased allocation for all events at the new stadium including soccer internationals and concerts. The longer the impasse continues the greater the groundswell of anti-Wanderers feeling among other clubs whose allocation of tickets is set to be reduced anyway. It is understood that officers of the Leinster Branch have threatened to boycott the club dinner next Tuesday which ironically is due to be held in rooms under the west stand at Lansdowne Road.
Long wait pays for impatient Flannery
Independent – Feb 26, 2006
“What “just happened” was that Munster’s first-choice hooker Frankie Sheahan pranged some neck ligaments in his neck last ctober and Flannery who had played two seasons at Connacht between 2001 and 2003 to get some games went from shining pine to seizing his chance. “If I’m realistic I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am now if Frankie hadn’t got injured” he said. But that does not diminish a series of rollocking personal and team performances – culminating in the famous Heineken Cup win over Sale in his home town of Limerick – which edged him ahead of Ulster’s Rory Best and the more experienced Shane Byrne of Saracens as Ireland’s number one No 2 as he is today agaist Wales at Lansdowne Road. Forget the waiting game. Flannery – who was capped against Romania as a substitute in the autumn – is now a central plank of the Irish game plan. He has strong thoughts on it too but then so does every one from Eddie ‘Sullivan the coach to the most teary-eyed stout drinker after the switchback defeat in France a fortnight ago. The Irish conceded six tries and trailed 43-3 then scored 28 unanswered points and almost snatched the craziest of victories.