The News Review:
- Gatland savours his Dublin return
- Edwards savours victory over England
- London Irish survive late drama
- Tait: We can rule Euro roost
Gatland savours his Dublin return
Guardian Unlimited – Mar 2, 2008
In the World Cup, Ronan O’Gara was one of the leading lights of Ireland, who fell to pieces. For years he had been engaged in a personal duel, with David Humphreys, for the starting shirt, and now that it was finally his, his rugby world seemed to be falling apart. But O’Gara, too, has rebuilt himself, first with his province on another Heineken Cup trail, and now with Ireland. Given that the Six Nations has reached the stage akin to the rounds of the World Cup where Ireland and Wales never went, where tackling and, above all, kicking from hand are all important, O’Gara might be the best placed of the three contenders. The game in general nowadays needs more generals than just the outside-half. Spice by the fistful in the centre If the outside-half duel provides the test of strategic thinking, the head-to-head just outside promises to be red of claw and mist: Brian O’Driscoll against Gavin Henson, another tale of players who have touched mighty heights and some recent lows.
Edwards savours victory over England
Ireland Online – Mar 2, 2008
?A winning mentality is a huge part of it and that has come from Shaun and Warren. We are the same players but we showed a lot of maturity in closing the game out,? said flanker Martyn Williams. The Gatland and Edwards coaching team are turning Twickenham into a fortress of their own, breaking Wales? 20-year hoodoo at the same ground that Wasps clinched three league titles and the 2004 Heineken Cup. ?You have got to do it in the big occasions,? said Edwards. ?Fortunately the players I have coached have proven so far that the more the pressure, the more they like it. ?We will be critical of our first-half performance. How can you improve if you are not critical in a constructive manner??We showed we do have some steel in the team.
London Irish survive late drama
Times Online – Mar 2, 2008
Paul Gustard did the same, and Brent Russell’s quick hands putFijian wing Kameli Ratuvou over in the corner, earning Saracens a bonuspoint. html”–>However, for all the thrills and spills, there was a distinct lack ofcomposure by both sides, and as the Premiership’s representatives in thequarter-finals of the Heineken Cup, they are going to have to raise theirgames significantly if they want to progress any further. After the match Toby Booth, the Irish forwards coach, offered this explanationfor the lack of shape to his side’s game: “Our last game against Worcesterwas stop-start, so today we stressed that we wanted to play with high tempo,and sometimes it’s a fine line between high tempo and suicide. ”The first half-hour was taken up by a penalty duel between Hewat and Jackson,with the Irish kicker putting his side 12-6 ahead due to rampantindiscipline on the part of Saracens, who played with a fine disregard forthe offside line. They also had Kris Chesney yellow-carded for hisdeliberate collapse of a maul when the Irish threatened their line from afive-metre lineout. The Exiles may have made most of the first-half running, but it was Saracenswho stole a march by scoring the first try two minutes from the interval.
Tait: We can rule Euro roost
ic Newcastle.co.uk – Mar 2, 2008
“We need a couple of wins to get back into the top-six picture, but I’m sure we will do just that. ”Tait said Fletcher made his choice as easy as he made it hard, leaving the door wide open for the former Barnard Castle schoolboy to step through if he wanted. Tait said: “Fletch sometimes is too nice for his own good, in that he tells all the boys to go and see what is out there and what they can get elsewhere. “He truly wants us to make the best decisions for ourselves, not for the whole benefit of the club.