Loose Pass
This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with World Cup sub-plots, doping, drop goals, rugby literature and shenanigans…
This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with World Cup sub-plots, doping, drop goals, rugby literature, the weekend review and shenanigans…
The race for the title is on! The very best in the world will soon go toe-to-toe and already the preliminary battle is simmering nicely, with little to choose between the front-runners.
World Cup favourites? No – we know New Zealand are going to nab that one. No, this is about the race to be the highest Test match points scorer of all time between Jonny Wilkinson and Dan Carter.
Came early June, Wilkinson was ahead by a point – his 1195 to Carter's 1188. Carter's off-day against Fiji prolonged Jonny's lead by a week but cut the deficit to one, a deficit Carter overturned a fortnight later with his ten-point haul against the Boks. Then on Saturday Carter stretched that lead by two – now 1219 to 1208 – on the day when he was flawless against the Wallabies and Wilkinson was likewise against the Welsh.
Carter has potentially three more matches before the World Cup starts, Wilkinson only two, although it is probably more realistic to expect that to be two and one respectively in the light of likely squad rotation, so we'd imagine Carter will be ahead going into the global showpiece on September 7.
But then who knows? It will depend on the teams' performances of course, not to mention the duration of their participation in RWC '11. And looking further ahead, Carter has a couple of years more to play than Wilkinson.
But as sub-plots go, it's a fun one. Arguably the two finest fly-halves/goal-kickers of the professional era matching each other kick for kick for a title that the winner is likely to hold for a long, long time when it's done. Keep your eyes on it.
Yoann Huget's case is an odd one, is it not? Huget was expelled from the French World Cup squad earlier this week for contravention of doping regulations: not failing a test as such, merely being unable to take one because his of inability to inform the testers where he would be when they wanted to make such a test.
There's been sympathy for Huget from some quarters, including the French players' union – he's not been proven to be using anything illegal etc etc, but there's little from this column.
The only high-profile comparable case we can think of is that of soccer player Rio Ferdinand's plethora of excuses as to why he missed a doping test a few years ago, as lame an attempt at dodging the test as could be.
Huget has not – to public knowledge – come up with as pathetic a set of excuses as Ferdinand (a shopping spree with the wife just as his phone ran out of juice, so to speak), but to miss, or be unavailable for not one but three tests really does not look good.
Innocent or not, rules are there for a reason. That reason here is to make sure that players cannot pick and choose when they do or do not take dope tests so they cannot take banned substances and conceal results.
A lot of opinions have stated that Huget ought to be innocent until proven guilty, but to our mind, once you've missed that many tests you start to look guilty until proven innocent, however elaborate the smokescreen of excuses
Meanwhile, in South Africa, the annual schoolboy Craven Week festival was tarnished by no fewer than four proven cases of substance abuse. By schoolboys. If ever there was a reminder that there is plenty of fire behind some smokescreens, it is right there. Just brushing aside non-compliance on the basis of innocent until proven guilty is not the way forward.
A new series of rugby books has hit the shelves in Australia. Entitled 'Bootsie', written by the father of 12-year-old Connor James who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2007, the books chronicle the journey of a young lad through a variety of youth teams and on-field positions as well as the variety of challenges rugby presents during his formative years – team bonding, overcoming inhibitions and shyness to name but two.
They're a hoot, and compelling reading for any rugby-inclined nippers by all accounts (so say the adults, so it's a cinch they enjoy the books too).
Have a look here and you can buy them all from the same source.
Shaun Edwards hasn't been in the media spotlight for some time now, but he was vocal enough on Saturday after two Jonny Wilkinson drop goals proved the difference between England and Wales in a game where Wales outscored the victors by three tries to two. His suggestion is to devalue the drop goal.
The aftermath of a World Cup is where the IRB normally examines such issues, so now is the time to speak out. And for what it's worth, we're behind Edwards.
Drop goals have become a bit of a scourge at times, particularly in France, where last year's Top 14 was pock-marked with a rash of drop attempts, more unsuccessful than successful.
For us, it's a cheap three points, at times something to do when teams seem almost not to be bothered to try and break down defences or a cheap way of smashing the ball dead without working to create a more intelligent kick.
Once upon a time they were hard to achieve: balls were harder to pass and flew less true. But these days you can have a dip from 50m and slot one over.
In rugby league they are worth a point – a means of deciding a tied match in the final moments. They are a last resort, not a first, as they are becoming in union. It'd be good to see that happen in union too.
Weekend review:
England: clinical and with potential for a lot more
Wales: Better than they've looked for ages. Creative, pacy, and exceptionally fit. Rhys Priestland particularly was excellent – is it not about time to acknowledge Stephen Jones might be better at closing games out than winning them straight off the bat?
Ireland: The second string looked very rusty. A couple of injuries will derail them at RWC.
Scotland: Still scrapping hard, and they will cause England some problems at RWC just on the basis of that.
New Zealand: Formidable in every facet – and still you see they are not on full song yet.
Australia: Subdued – and Quade Cooper dearly missed Matt Giteau to take the pressure off him.
Finally, Quade Cooper was quiet wasn't he? Well, a New Zealand radio station claims to have unearthed an answer: Have a listen here…
Real? Hmmm – we're calling shenanigans…
Loose Pass compiled by Richard Anderson