TACKLEMAN BLOG: END OF YEAR REVIEW

Festive greetings everyone, Tackleman here. This could be a very slow type; fingers not yet defrosted from securing an excessive amount of xmas lights to Chez T-Man. House now glowing alarmingly, electric meter humming at worrying decibels. Hey ho, that’s Christmas.

Wow, a good deal has happened in the world of rugby since we last spoke. European rugby has really kicked off. Martin Castrogiovani went into meltdown at Leicester. His Toulon teammate, Delon Armitage, got himself banned for three months for abusing fans, but more importantly, after 4 rounds the pools are delicately balanced.

For the international players, the European competitions provided absolutely no relief from the battering of the October and November internationals. Every single player would have felt the aches and pains following a pretty intense series of games.

Southern Supremacy

Once again the Southern Hemisphere headed home in a slightly happier frame of mind than their Northern counterparts, and not just because they were off on their holidays.

The All Blacks were superior in every way. England got close on the scoreboard but in reality the Kiwis were comfortably the better team. Steve Hansen fielded a weaker team against the Scots; same result. And on the occasion of his 100thTest as captain, Richie McCaw led the AB’s to yet another win, this time over Wales. On the subject of McCaw, we need to take a moment and just savour the fact that we might be witnessing the closing stages on the career of one of the greatest players ever to have played the game; if not the greatest.

Plus points for the hosts? Well, Ireland will be delighted. Undefeated, victories over the Boks and Australia and no apparent ill effect to the retirement of Brian O’Driscoll. In Joe Schmidt, the Irish have one of the master tacticians and can now present him with world class players to coach.

Paul O’Connell is simply astonishing and has stepped up to the plate, and beyond, in the absence of BOD. World Cup contenders? Why not? They certainly look the pick of the bunch from north.

England seem to be becalmed in a sea of mediocrity. The Aussie victory was essential and a timely boost but Lancaster needs to inject some excitable but focused energy into his troops; they looked confused at times.

Scotland will be quietly happy with progress. Vern Cotter has quickly established his new charges as a tough, committed bunch, and in Alex Dunbar and Jonny Gray he has two budding young superstars.

And what of Wales? Gatland’s men continue to frustrate; but this is not all their own doing. The game in Wales is still in turmoil but, with that win over South Africa the national side has shown that it still has the power to impress.

So, we head towards the new year with players battered and bruised and ready for a few brief days respite, whilst the boys from down under relax and recuperate. One man who’ll be getting a wee bit excited is Dan Carter. A big pay day and move to Racing Metro after Rugby World Cup 2015 sees the Parisian big spenders luring the Kiwi King to the French capital hoping he can do for them what Wilkinson did for Toulon. It signals the end of Carter’s All Black career but after 100 plus tests, it’s time he cashed in on his fame; the poor bloke’s probably only just hanging on in there.

But back to the matter in hand and 2015 is sure to serve up a rugby feast of epic proportion. Another enthralling edition of Super Rugby, a passion filled Six Nations, the conclusion to the European season and an electrifying Rugby Championship before the main event, Rugby World Cup 2015. With so many sides showing ability and inconsistency in equal measure it really is tough to pick a winner. I’ll be bold enough to make some predictions nearer the time but until then, let’s sit back and enjoy what is set to be a great year of rugby.

Until next time,
Tackleman

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