Según la "International Rugby Players' Association" el mejor ensayo del año ha sido este de Chris Ashton con Inglaterra ante Australiana, no estoy muy de acuerdo, pero para gustos colores.
dilluns, 31 de gener del 2011
6 Naciones 2011, Escocia
XV tipo: Jacobsen, Ford, Murray, Hamilton (McLeod), Kellock, Brown, Barclay, Beattie; Lawson, Parks; Lamont, Dainielli, Ansbro, Walker; Southwell.
Australia, Suráfrica, Irlanda, Argentina y Samoa figuran en la lista de víctimas recientes de la nueva Escocia de Andy Robinson. El ex técnico de Bath está trabajando duro para solventar el gran déficit de los del cardo, la consecución de ensayos y generar rugby ofensivo. Muchos señalan al joven Ruaridh Jackson como la llave para solventarlo, aunque su aparición, que no parece inminente, no cambiará el libreto de juego: apertura de larguísimo pateo táctico (especialmente defensivo), powerhouse demoledor (sobre todo en el tigh five) y defensa pegajosa que se cobra los errores del rival en forma de golpes.
Revisando la convocatoria de Robinson encontramos un par de regresos notables. John Beattie y Simon Dainielli. Hombre por hombre, Escocia vuelve a presentar una delantera potente, con una primera de hierro forjado (Jacobsen-Ford-Murray) y la tercera más dinámica de los últimos tiempos: Brown-Barclay- Beattie. Parece que en los medios el maridaje Lawson-Parks ha convencido y el 9 está gobernando bien al paquete en el juego cerrado, además de sacar pelotas limpias y cómodas para rentabilizar el cañón que exhibe en su pierna el apertura. Su talón de Aquiles es la línea de tres cuartos, experimentada pero de cohesión dispersa pese a llevar años jugando juntos: De Luca, Soutwell, Nikki Walter, Morrison (que será baja por lesión), Sean Lamont... Si se centran, tienen un equipo más que decente. Se dice que los partidos los gana la delantera y los tres cuartos deciden por cuanto. En este caso, los partidos los gana la delantera y los tres cuartos los ayudan a perder. La falta de talento creativo, un game player, es un escollo para los prosaicos tres cuartos hibernios. Si Robinson encuentra acomodo a Ruaridh, la solución podría empezar por ahí. Pero no se engañen, Escocia nunca será Nueva Zelanda. Ni falta que les hace. La capitanía ha pasado de un medio melé (Blair, Cusiter y Lawson) al segunda Al Kellock, el guerrero de Glasgow, lo que ha operado una inesperada sinergia emotiva en el grupo, según confiesan sus compañeros. A Kellock le cambió la vida el día que se cruzó en Edimburgo con el mítico Todd Blackadder, ex capitán All Black, quien le dijo: "Oiga si a sus 27 años usted piensa seguir ahí sentado esperando, no llegará a ninguna parte en el rugby. Salga a partirse la cara". Y sabe Dios que lo hizo...
Australia, Suráfrica, Irlanda, Argentina y Samoa figuran en la lista de víctimas recientes de la nueva Escocia de Andy Robinson. El ex técnico de Bath está trabajando duro para solventar el gran déficit de los del cardo, la consecución de ensayos y generar rugby ofensivo. Muchos señalan al joven Ruaridh Jackson como la llave para solventarlo, aunque su aparición, que no parece inminente, no cambiará el libreto de juego: apertura de larguísimo pateo táctico (especialmente defensivo), powerhouse demoledor (sobre todo en el tigh five) y defensa pegajosa que se cobra los errores del rival en forma de golpes.
Revisando la convocatoria de Robinson encontramos un par de regresos notables. John Beattie y Simon Dainielli. Hombre por hombre, Escocia vuelve a presentar una delantera potente, con una primera de hierro forjado (Jacobsen-Ford-Murray) y la tercera más dinámica de los últimos tiempos: Brown-Barclay- Beattie. Parece que en los medios el maridaje Lawson-Parks ha convencido y el 9 está gobernando bien al paquete en el juego cerrado, además de sacar pelotas limpias y cómodas para rentabilizar el cañón que exhibe en su pierna el apertura. Su talón de Aquiles es la línea de tres cuartos, experimentada pero de cohesión dispersa pese a llevar años jugando juntos: De Luca, Soutwell, Nikki Walter, Morrison (que será baja por lesión), Sean Lamont... Si se centran, tienen un equipo más que decente. Se dice que los partidos los gana la delantera y los tres cuartos deciden por cuanto. En este caso, los partidos los gana la delantera y los tres cuartos los ayudan a perder. La falta de talento creativo, un game player, es un escollo para los prosaicos tres cuartos hibernios. Si Robinson encuentra acomodo a Ruaridh, la solución podría empezar por ahí. Pero no se engañen, Escocia nunca será Nueva Zelanda. Ni falta que les hace. La capitanía ha pasado de un medio melé (Blair, Cusiter y Lawson) al segunda Al Kellock, el guerrero de Glasgow, lo que ha operado una inesperada sinergia emotiva en el grupo, según confiesan sus compañeros. A Kellock le cambió la vida el día que se cruzó en Edimburgo con el mítico Todd Blackadder, ex capitán All Black, quien le dijo: "Oiga si a sus 27 años usted piensa seguir ahí sentado esperando, no llegará a ninguna parte en el rugby. Salga a partirse la cara". Y sabe Dios que lo hizo...
divendres, 28 de gener del 2011
James Hook se va a Perpignan, pero continuará jugando con Gales
JAMES HOOK has underlined his “huge aspirations” to continue playing for Wales after securing a reputed £1m deal with French club Perpignan.
Hook is set to make his Perpignan debut after the World Cup in New Zealand later this year, having agreed terms until 2014.
His three-year contract, which officially starts in July, includes release for all pre-World Cup training with Wales, plus tournament warm-up Tests during August against England (twice) and Argentina.
The 25-year-old will also be available for all matches covered by the International Rugby Board Test windows, although anything outside of that would require Perpignan’s approval.
Hook’s agent, former Wales lock Derwyn Jones, said: “There aren’t clauses in the contracts where you have, say, that extra game (Test match) in the autumn. It is down to the goodwill of the club, down to the relationship of the club and the player.
“We have had assurances that James will be available for all international matches. He will join up with Perpignan after the World Cup.
“There are no certainties. It is the same for James Hook, Jonny Wilkinson and every player playing in France.
“When you are making a move like this, you can’t base a decision on that you will be playing for Wales in two or three years’ time or the availability for one (extra) international a season.”
Hook, a high-class operator at fly-half, centre or full-back, is poised to win his 48th cap in next week’s Six Nations opener against England.
And he revealed he had spoken with Wales coach Warren Gatland and national team backs coach Rob Howley about his desire to play in France.
“I still have huge aspirations to play for Wales, and I want to be involved in as many games as I can,” said Hook, who announced his Perpignan move at a press conference in the picturesque village of Portmeirion in Gwynedd.
“I have spoken to Warren and expressed my desire to go over there, and in fairness he has been great and said he is not going to hold me back.
“Ultimately, it was my decision, but Warren and Rob have been great, and the Ospreys coaches have also given me support after I announced my decision to leave.
“The last few months I have known in my head I was going. It is a huge decision. It is not just me involved, it is my fiancee Kim and my little boy Harrison. Obviously, it is a rugby decision as well, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.”
Perpignan, Heineken Cup quarter-finalists this term, are set to make Hook possibly the highest-paid player in Welsh rugby history, with his deal expected to exceed £1m over three years when he moves from the Ospreys.
Jones added that Hook, a member of the 2009 British and Irish Lions squad in South Africa, had been considering his options for the past 12 months.
He said: “Perpignan approached the Ospreys last season and offered to buy him out of his contract. The Ospreys quite sensibly said they wanted to keep it.
“We have spent time going to France to see clubs. Perpignan is a wonderful location – the weather is great, the rugby is fantastic, they have great support.
“And you look at the track record of players like Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas (ex-Toulouse) who have gone to France and done exceptionally well and possibly come back better players.
“I am not saying there is going to be an exodus of players to France, but certainly now and again it can benefit a player’s career, and hopefully it will be a great experience for James.
“He is young, he has a young family and if there is a time to do it, it is probably now.”
As for which position Hook might fill at Stade Aime Giral, the player added: “I am just going to go out there, try to express myself and see what the coach thinks.
“Everyone knows 10 is my preferred position – I have really enjoyed having game-time there in the last couple of weeks for the Ospreys.”
Hook is set to make his Perpignan debut after the World Cup in New Zealand later this year, having agreed terms until 2014.
His three-year contract, which officially starts in July, includes release for all pre-World Cup training with Wales, plus tournament warm-up Tests during August against England (twice) and Argentina.
The 25-year-old will also be available for all matches covered by the International Rugby Board Test windows, although anything outside of that would require Perpignan’s approval.
Hook’s agent, former Wales lock Derwyn Jones, said: “There aren’t clauses in the contracts where you have, say, that extra game (Test match) in the autumn. It is down to the goodwill of the club, down to the relationship of the club and the player.
“We have had assurances that James will be available for all international matches. He will join up with Perpignan after the World Cup.
“There are no certainties. It is the same for James Hook, Jonny Wilkinson and every player playing in France.
“When you are making a move like this, you can’t base a decision on that you will be playing for Wales in two or three years’ time or the availability for one (extra) international a season.”
Hook, a high-class operator at fly-half, centre or full-back, is poised to win his 48th cap in next week’s Six Nations opener against England.
And he revealed he had spoken with Wales coach Warren Gatland and national team backs coach Rob Howley about his desire to play in France.
“I still have huge aspirations to play for Wales, and I want to be involved in as many games as I can,” said Hook, who announced his Perpignan move at a press conference in the picturesque village of Portmeirion in Gwynedd.
“I have spoken to Warren and expressed my desire to go over there, and in fairness he has been great and said he is not going to hold me back.
“Ultimately, it was my decision, but Warren and Rob have been great, and the Ospreys coaches have also given me support after I announced my decision to leave.
“The last few months I have known in my head I was going. It is a huge decision. It is not just me involved, it is my fiancee Kim and my little boy Harrison. Obviously, it is a rugby decision as well, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.”
Perpignan, Heineken Cup quarter-finalists this term, are set to make Hook possibly the highest-paid player in Welsh rugby history, with his deal expected to exceed £1m over three years when he moves from the Ospreys.
Jones added that Hook, a member of the 2009 British and Irish Lions squad in South Africa, had been considering his options for the past 12 months.
He said: “Perpignan approached the Ospreys last season and offered to buy him out of his contract. The Ospreys quite sensibly said they wanted to keep it.
“We have spent time going to France to see clubs. Perpignan is a wonderful location – the weather is great, the rugby is fantastic, they have great support.
“And you look at the track record of players like Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas (ex-Toulouse) who have gone to France and done exceptionally well and possibly come back better players.
“I am not saying there is going to be an exodus of players to France, but certainly now and again it can benefit a player’s career, and hopefully it will be a great experience for James.
“He is young, he has a young family and if there is a time to do it, it is probably now.”
As for which position Hook might fill at Stade Aime Giral, the player added: “I am just going to go out there, try to express myself and see what the coach thinks.
“Everyone knows 10 is my preferred position – I have really enjoyed having game-time there in the last couple of weeks for the Ospreys.”
dijous, 27 de gener del 2011
Análisis del 6 Naciones 2011. Inglaterra
XV tipo: Sheridan, Hartley (Thompson), Cole, Lawes (Shaw), Palmer, Croft (Haskell), Moody (Worsley), Easter; Youngs, Flood; Cueto, Hape, Tindall, Ashton; Fodden.
Inglaterra parece haber encontrado el camino. Su victoria ante Australia demostró dos cosas: una, le tienen tomada la medida a los wallabies; dos, por primera vez en mucho tiempo tienen una línea de tres cuartos con el suficiente talento como para desequilibrar un partido con Ashton, Cueto y un zaguero que, a su dominio táctico, suma una notable producción ofensiva. Flojea en los centros, donde Tindall es demasiado mayor para la intensidad que impomen los Tri Nations; y a Shontayne Hape se le sigue esperando. Ahora, por fín, pueden jugar con los balones recuperados y los rivales se pensarán dejar dentro los balones. El comodín es Banahann, que más allá de su estrambótico físico, a mí no me parece jugador para el XV de la Rosa.
Personalmente creo que si Inglaterra tiene un problema es en los medios. Por calidad y por cohesión. Flood es un buen jugador, pero no un first class. Tampoco lo es ninguno de sus compañeros en la bisgara, ni Youngs, ni Hodgson, ni Care. Y eso es lo que les pesa en los partidos. Wilkinson era un metrónomo, su lectura de los partidos y de las defensas eran inmejorables. Inglaterra ahora no tiene esa capacidad de análisis. Flood, pateador notable, no tiene esa capacidad táctica y sus medios melés no ayudan mucho. Hace años que no tienen un 9 de renombre mundial. Y a mi juicio, eso puede hipotecar sus opciones en este VI Nations y en el Mundial.
Delante, las piezas comenzaban a encajar hasta que las lesiones han echado por tierra todo. La aparición de Courtney Lawes ha sido una de las grandes noticias de los últimos meses. No había ningún segunda de sus características en Inglaterra. Dominante arriba, agresivo en el breakdown y cubre mucho campo. La pareja perfecta para Palmer o Shaw, más parecidos en su juego, que ahora formarán pareja. La primera línea es de garantías con la fiabilidad de Sheridan, el incansable trabajo de Hartley, un talonador de manos rápidas, y los aportes de Cole y Wilson. El set-piece, por tanto, parece competitivo. Pero en la tercera también hay malas noticias, Moody está renqueante. Y eso es un gran problema, porque era el referente físico de un back row en el que Easter sigue ofreciendo un interesante rendimiento y Croft palía su lentitud con iniciativa ofensiva y un buen trabajo a la hora de ganar la línea de ventaja. Es una tercera experimentada, pero que difícilmente podrá aguantar el nivel físico que imponen los búfalos del Tri Nations. Y eso tcreo que ya lo he dicho antes. Si Haskell se centrara, tendría que ser no sólo titular, sino el referente. Pero... Dependerá mucho de las sensaciones que transmita en el partido inaugural en el Millenium. El mejor retrato del estado de Inglaterra lo hace su nuevo director ejecutivo del rugby inglés, John Steele, quien ha manifestado que "el objetivo es acabar entre los dos primeros". En otro tiempo habría sido el Grand Slam o el Grand Slam.
Inglaterra parece haber encontrado el camino. Su victoria ante Australia demostró dos cosas: una, le tienen tomada la medida a los wallabies; dos, por primera vez en mucho tiempo tienen una línea de tres cuartos con el suficiente talento como para desequilibrar un partido con Ashton, Cueto y un zaguero que, a su dominio táctico, suma una notable producción ofensiva. Flojea en los centros, donde Tindall es demasiado mayor para la intensidad que impomen los Tri Nations; y a Shontayne Hape se le sigue esperando. Ahora, por fín, pueden jugar con los balones recuperados y los rivales se pensarán dejar dentro los balones. El comodín es Banahann, que más allá de su estrambótico físico, a mí no me parece jugador para el XV de la Rosa.
Personalmente creo que si Inglaterra tiene un problema es en los medios. Por calidad y por cohesión. Flood es un buen jugador, pero no un first class. Tampoco lo es ninguno de sus compañeros en la bisgara, ni Youngs, ni Hodgson, ni Care. Y eso es lo que les pesa en los partidos. Wilkinson era un metrónomo, su lectura de los partidos y de las defensas eran inmejorables. Inglaterra ahora no tiene esa capacidad de análisis. Flood, pateador notable, no tiene esa capacidad táctica y sus medios melés no ayudan mucho. Hace años que no tienen un 9 de renombre mundial. Y a mi juicio, eso puede hipotecar sus opciones en este VI Nations y en el Mundial.
Delante, las piezas comenzaban a encajar hasta que las lesiones han echado por tierra todo. La aparición de Courtney Lawes ha sido una de las grandes noticias de los últimos meses. No había ningún segunda de sus características en Inglaterra. Dominante arriba, agresivo en el breakdown y cubre mucho campo. La pareja perfecta para Palmer o Shaw, más parecidos en su juego, que ahora formarán pareja. La primera línea es de garantías con la fiabilidad de Sheridan, el incansable trabajo de Hartley, un talonador de manos rápidas, y los aportes de Cole y Wilson. El set-piece, por tanto, parece competitivo. Pero en la tercera también hay malas noticias, Moody está renqueante. Y eso es un gran problema, porque era el referente físico de un back row en el que Easter sigue ofreciendo un interesante rendimiento y Croft palía su lentitud con iniciativa ofensiva y un buen trabajo a la hora de ganar la línea de ventaja. Es una tercera experimentada, pero que difícilmente podrá aguantar el nivel físico que imponen los búfalos del Tri Nations. Y eso tcreo que ya lo he dicho antes. Si Haskell se centrara, tendría que ser no sólo titular, sino el referente. Pero... Dependerá mucho de las sensaciones que transmita en el partido inaugural en el Millenium. El mejor retrato del estado de Inglaterra lo hace su nuevo director ejecutivo del rugby inglés, John Steele, quien ha manifestado que "el objetivo es acabar entre los dos primeros". En otro tiempo habría sido el Grand Slam o el Grand Slam.
Los 5 mejores del 2010 en el mundo del Rugby
To coincide with our countdown of Rugby's Most Influential People, we thought we would offer up some additional rankings in the form of a series of 'Top 5s'.
Next up is our pick of rugby's most valuable talents - not necessarily the best players in the world. With the Rugby World Cup looming we think these guys are pivotal to their side's chances. They may not all be potential World Cup winners but must perform if their teams are to reach their potential.
1. Richie McCaw (New Zealand) - The talismanic All Blacks captain is so often the driving force behind his side and is key to their hopes of reclaiming the sport's biggest prize on home soil. His superb all round game is complimented by his record-breaking leadership prowess. Without him the All Blacks are just not the same.
2. Dan Carter (New Zealand) - Arguably equally as valuable to the All Blacks as his skipper, Carter appears to be playing a different game to the rest of the world at times such is his ability to find time and space when others struggle for composure. His playmaking ability is the key to unleashing New Zealand's formidable back division.
3. James Hook (Wales) - The hugely-talented Hook is a potent game-breaking threat for Wales and will be central to their Six Nations and World Cup hopes. An undoubted world-class talent, the 25-year-old's versatility has worked against him at times but such is his ability to conjure a piece of magic you can rest assured he will play a central role no matter his position.
4. David Pocock (Australia) - Pocock's star continues to rise with 2011 set to provide yet further evidence that the Wallabies' flanker is destined for greatness. His ability to dominate all comers at the breakdown - including even McCaw - makes him an inspirational presence for Australia.
5. Jamie Heaslip (Ireland) - The strong-running No.8 is another world-class talent and an inspirational figure for province and country. A rock in defence, it is perhaps his industry and hunger for the ball in attack that makes him an extra special talent. His team-mate Brian O'Driscoll may have the magic touch but Heaslip will happily lead the line in defence and attack.
Do you agree with our selection? Be sure to let us know...
dilluns, 10 de maig del 2010
Humano, demasiado Humano
Jonny Wilkinson: 'I had to be perfect in everyone's eyes. It was so tiring'
It's surprisingly difficult to interview someone who has a black eye and gashes on his nose and neck, especially when you're sitting two feet away from him on a sofa. Jonny Wilkinson, England rugby legend, hasn't been in a fight on the way to the Rosslyn Park rugby ground (we meet in a messy backroom full of balls he has to sign for some unspecified promotional purpose). He got knocked about the night before playing for his new French club Toulon against Connacht, has flown from Ireland to London to spend a day coaching competition winners for his sponsor Volvic, and is heading back to Nice this evening.
We are not going to get long together, which is frustrating because Wilkinson – England's starriest rugby player in the past decade, but also one of its most injury-prone – is just about the most cerebral, intense, self-questioning sportsman I've ever met; as complex as the choreography of his famous place-kicking routine. He looks like a Californian surfer, and there are times when he talks like one too, trying to explain his philosophy of sport and life.
I had intended a softish opening – "You must be knackered after last night's match" – but immediately, in his gentle, earnest, slightly nasal voice, he is telling me why he could never be a rugby commentator in a sporting afterlife that is now not far away. "I'd be the commentator that TV stations would want rid of straightaway – I would be so non-committal with regard to players' performances."
When I ask him to explain why, the Californian surfer-thinker (he dabbles in Buddhism and reads lots of pop philosophy) starts to emerge. "My view of perfection, which was once totally outcome-based, got me into so much trouble," he says. "I spent so much time trying to influence things that couldn't be changed. But now I've retracted it one step into intention, and that's given me the peace of mind to know I'm doing all I can do. And I am comfortable with that view of what it means to be a perfectionist."
We have, rather earlier in the game than I had intended, reached the key to Wilkinson's character. The obsessive who had achieved everything – including scoring the last-minute drop-goal that won England the 2003 World Cup – by the age of 24, yet found it hard to enjoy the success. His reaction to kicking that goal against Australia was more relief than rapture, because he had failed with several other attempts earlier in the final. Rather than celebrating the success, he found himself dwelling on the failure.
This destabilising pursuit of perfection seems to have started young. "When I was growing up, I had a deep fear of things not going right," Wilkinson says, blaming an "overactive mind". That fear of failure and desire to impress others carried over into his career. "There was a time when I needed to be perfect in everyone else's eyes. I needed people to write the right things in the papers. If I was in the cinema and thought people recognised me, I'd try to behave in a way that would make them think I was the best thing in their mind. It was just so tiring."
The interview is beginning to feel like a therapy session. Mr Wilkinson, tell me about your background; where does this desire for perfection come from? Pushy parents? He insists not, describing his upbringing in suburban Surrey as "well supported, normal, happy". His father was a financial adviser, his mother a secretary in his father's company; one elder brother; went to sporty public school nearby; was "blessed in terms of the opportunities I had". Sounds great. What was the problem?
"I just attached so much importance to everything, because in my head I felt that if I didn't get it right, there was an incredible doom looming behind it. It was a case of succeeding at everything, and I guess that came into the rugby."
Whatever the root cause, Wilkinson's unusually fraught fear of failure drove him to become rugby's leading international points scorer of all time. Now, though, he claims he has overcome his obsessionalism, a liberation he attributes to the string of injuries that have dogged him since the 2003 triumph.
"The trick was learning, through all those injuries, to see that everything is impermanent, so if you get used to that now, you'll get more fulfilment out of what you're doing. But it took me a long time to get the point. During those injury periods, I tried to hang on for several years to where I was during the World Cup. I would picture myself with a video of the World Cup final in my pocket, so anyone I spoke to I could say: 'Hey, do you want to come and watch this video?' I wanted to hang on to what people thought of me."
Injury prevented Wilkinson from playing for England for more than three years, an agonising period that, inevitably, led this introverted soul to put more pressure on himself when he returned.
"I'd go into games trying not to make mistakes, and it made life hell. There was no enjoyment in anything. If it went well it was a relief; if it went badly it was crisis time. Now, though, I don't try to live up to those expectations." These days, Wilkinson says, only he is the judge of how he is playing and what he wants out of his career, not other people. The therapy is paying off.
"I'm working out what I really want, both as a player and a person," he says. "I still haven't got quite what I'm searching for, but I know roughly what it is. When I was younger, all I wanted to do was drop the goal that won the World Cup. At the age of eight, I wrote down that that was what I wanted to do. But I came to realise it wasn't enough, so my life's become more about internal fulfilment than an external tick in a box, or a cup to hold up, or a player of the year award. I came to understand my real self and then use rugby as a way to express that, rather than using rugby as a method of trying to succeed in life."
Wilkinson is now a veteran and has appeared in two World Cup finals – he shook off injury long enough to play in the 2007 World Cup in France – yet is only 31 this month. He first played for England at the age of 18 – an early elevation which led him to turn down a place at Durham University – and has won 78 caps, plus six for the British Lions. But he might have close to double that number, had it not been for all those injuries. "I've been around for ever," he says, "but not necessarily on the field."
His career has had a bizarre shape. Fame and glory in the first five years (in 2003, Wilkinson was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year; he and David Beckham appeared together in an advert for Adidas, with Jonny the hero and Beckham as stooge; and rugby briefly appeared to be challenging football for popularity); mostly pain and frustration since. But naturally, Jonny the philosopher offers a more positive – if slightly convoluted – spin on his rugby career.
"It seems chaotic, but when you look at it, it falls into place. Having that rise to 2003, then to be hit by an immediate injury in the game afterwards, and then to have a string of five or six years' worth of injuries, some of them so far-fetched that you realised it was too random to be random . . . That made me realise there was a point, which was to get a better balance in life. The injuries forced me to deal with the identity-loss of not playing rugby, and to ask myself: 'Who are you if you're not playing rugby?' Everything you've built is about how people see you, but that's not who you are."
Last year, Wilkinson left his long-time club Newcastle Falcons (he had joined their academy as a teenager) for wealthy and ambitious Toulon. The deal was reported to be worth €700,000 a year, but he insists the move wasn't about money.
"I'd played about 25 games [for Newcastle] in six seasons, and it seemed as if there was a negative cycle there that I had to break free from. Maybe it was self-fulfilling, in terms of deep down what I might have been feeling. I couldn't get on the field; I didn't feel I was paying anything back to Newcastle any more; I felt I was hindering them. So I decided to give it a go in France. I was attracted by the beauty of so many new experiences – new team, new language, new region, living like that. I'd been in a comfort zone at Newcastle – it was all I'd ever known – and I realised it was the time in my life to push myself."
I suggest he probably finds French easier to understand than Geordie. "I really struggled with the Newcastle dialect when I went up there," he admits with a laugh. "I felt terrible because I kept asking people to repeat themselves. In France, at least I have an excuse for it."
His girlfriend, Shelley Jenkins, has moved to France with him, they're committed to learning the language, and he says they're loving French life. The rugby's going well, too. Despite the black eye and the gashes, he's in good shape, tanned and with the bulging muscularity that underlines his reputation as a fierce tackler. Traditionally, players who occupy his position – fly-half, the playmaker, the hinge of the team, akin to the quarterback in American football – are the artists, feeding off the hard slog of the artisans in the forwards, but Wilkinson has always relished the physical confrontation. It is one reason why his career has been so injury-plagued.
This season has, though, been less satisfactory internationally; he was dropped by England after a series of ineffectual performances. "It's been a turbulent time," Wilkinson admits. "There were so many things going through my head."
He says he couldn't understand why he was missing simple kicks, and was having trouble dealing with that in the course of the game. "When everything's flowing, you don't have to apply any real thought to it. But it's a very different thing when something's not quite there when you expect it to be. It's hard to make corrections under pressure."
This does not sound like a man who has entirely shaken free the demons of self-doubt. How, then, did it feel to be dropped from the England side he had formerly inspired to such heights?
"It's happened to me before. I'd given everything I could and you can't cheat in that kind of environment." So he deserved the chop? "I always think that in my next game, at my best, I can do anything, but I wouldn't say it was a huge surprise. I accepted that it was time for someone else to have a go."
What did his manager, the World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, say – take a rest? "Yeah," he responds quickly, "take a long, long rest." He stresses each of those "longs", and laughs, to emphasise this is not quite how the conversation went.
Then he surprises me. You would think getting back into the England team – especially with the next World Cup taking place in 2011 – would be crucial to him. Wilkinson says not. "My priority is not necessarily to say: 'I've got to win my place back.' There's a bigger plan to all this, which is to get the best from myself. That's more important than anything, and if I feel like I'm achieving that, and England never appears again for me, I'd rather go out that way." Wilkinson wants control of the judging process – not Johnson, the pundits, the fans, nor the people who spot him at the cinema.
Finally, the inevitable question for a sportsman on the wrong side of 30, in the most physically demanding of sports: when will he pack it in?
"There's going to come a point where you think: 'I've had enough,'" he says. "I'll feel that when, one, I don't feel I have any more to give; or two, I feel like I've given enough and don't want to give any more. I'm never going to be happy to close the book on rugby, but I need to know that when I do, I won't be one of those guys that says: 'I could have done that.' I'm waiting for the eureka moment that hits me, and makes me understand I've had enough."
It's surprisingly difficult to interview someone who has a black eye and gashes on his nose and neck, especially when you're sitting two feet away from him on a sofa. Jonny Wilkinson, England rugby legend, hasn't been in a fight on the way to the Rosslyn Park rugby ground (we meet in a messy backroom full of balls he has to sign for some unspecified promotional purpose). He got knocked about the night before playing for his new French club Toulon against Connacht, has flown from Ireland to London to spend a day coaching competition winners for his sponsor Volvic, and is heading back to Nice this evening.
We are not going to get long together, which is frustrating because Wilkinson – England's starriest rugby player in the past decade, but also one of its most injury-prone – is just about the most cerebral, intense, self-questioning sportsman I've ever met; as complex as the choreography of his famous place-kicking routine. He looks like a Californian surfer, and there are times when he talks like one too, trying to explain his philosophy of sport and life.
I had intended a softish opening – "You must be knackered after last night's match" – but immediately, in his gentle, earnest, slightly nasal voice, he is telling me why he could never be a rugby commentator in a sporting afterlife that is now not far away. "I'd be the commentator that TV stations would want rid of straightaway – I would be so non-committal with regard to players' performances."
When I ask him to explain why, the Californian surfer-thinker (he dabbles in Buddhism and reads lots of pop philosophy) starts to emerge. "My view of perfection, which was once totally outcome-based, got me into so much trouble," he says. "I spent so much time trying to influence things that couldn't be changed. But now I've retracted it one step into intention, and that's given me the peace of mind to know I'm doing all I can do. And I am comfortable with that view of what it means to be a perfectionist."
We have, rather earlier in the game than I had intended, reached the key to Wilkinson's character. The obsessive who had achieved everything – including scoring the last-minute drop-goal that won England the 2003 World Cup – by the age of 24, yet found it hard to enjoy the success. His reaction to kicking that goal against Australia was more relief than rapture, because he had failed with several other attempts earlier in the final. Rather than celebrating the success, he found himself dwelling on the failure.
This destabilising pursuit of perfection seems to have started young. "When I was growing up, I had a deep fear of things not going right," Wilkinson says, blaming an "overactive mind". That fear of failure and desire to impress others carried over into his career. "There was a time when I needed to be perfect in everyone else's eyes. I needed people to write the right things in the papers. If I was in the cinema and thought people recognised me, I'd try to behave in a way that would make them think I was the best thing in their mind. It was just so tiring."
The interview is beginning to feel like a therapy session. Mr Wilkinson, tell me about your background; where does this desire for perfection come from? Pushy parents? He insists not, describing his upbringing in suburban Surrey as "well supported, normal, happy". His father was a financial adviser, his mother a secretary in his father's company; one elder brother; went to sporty public school nearby; was "blessed in terms of the opportunities I had". Sounds great. What was the problem?
"I just attached so much importance to everything, because in my head I felt that if I didn't get it right, there was an incredible doom looming behind it. It was a case of succeeding at everything, and I guess that came into the rugby."
Whatever the root cause, Wilkinson's unusually fraught fear of failure drove him to become rugby's leading international points scorer of all time. Now, though, he claims he has overcome his obsessionalism, a liberation he attributes to the string of injuries that have dogged him since the 2003 triumph.
"The trick was learning, through all those injuries, to see that everything is impermanent, so if you get used to that now, you'll get more fulfilment out of what you're doing. But it took me a long time to get the point. During those injury periods, I tried to hang on for several years to where I was during the World Cup. I would picture myself with a video of the World Cup final in my pocket, so anyone I spoke to I could say: 'Hey, do you want to come and watch this video?' I wanted to hang on to what people thought of me."
Injury prevented Wilkinson from playing for England for more than three years, an agonising period that, inevitably, led this introverted soul to put more pressure on himself when he returned.
"I'd go into games trying not to make mistakes, and it made life hell. There was no enjoyment in anything. If it went well it was a relief; if it went badly it was crisis time. Now, though, I don't try to live up to those expectations." These days, Wilkinson says, only he is the judge of how he is playing and what he wants out of his career, not other people. The therapy is paying off.
"I'm working out what I really want, both as a player and a person," he says. "I still haven't got quite what I'm searching for, but I know roughly what it is. When I was younger, all I wanted to do was drop the goal that won the World Cup. At the age of eight, I wrote down that that was what I wanted to do. But I came to realise it wasn't enough, so my life's become more about internal fulfilment than an external tick in a box, or a cup to hold up, or a player of the year award. I came to understand my real self and then use rugby as a way to express that, rather than using rugby as a method of trying to succeed in life."
Wilkinson is now a veteran and has appeared in two World Cup finals – he shook off injury long enough to play in the 2007 World Cup in France – yet is only 31 this month. He first played for England at the age of 18 – an early elevation which led him to turn down a place at Durham University – and has won 78 caps, plus six for the British Lions. But he might have close to double that number, had it not been for all those injuries. "I've been around for ever," he says, "but not necessarily on the field."
His career has had a bizarre shape. Fame and glory in the first five years (in 2003, Wilkinson was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year; he and David Beckham appeared together in an advert for Adidas, with Jonny the hero and Beckham as stooge; and rugby briefly appeared to be challenging football for popularity); mostly pain and frustration since. But naturally, Jonny the philosopher offers a more positive – if slightly convoluted – spin on his rugby career.
"It seems chaotic, but when you look at it, it falls into place. Having that rise to 2003, then to be hit by an immediate injury in the game afterwards, and then to have a string of five or six years' worth of injuries, some of them so far-fetched that you realised it was too random to be random . . . That made me realise there was a point, which was to get a better balance in life. The injuries forced me to deal with the identity-loss of not playing rugby, and to ask myself: 'Who are you if you're not playing rugby?' Everything you've built is about how people see you, but that's not who you are."
Last year, Wilkinson left his long-time club Newcastle Falcons (he had joined their academy as a teenager) for wealthy and ambitious Toulon. The deal was reported to be worth €700,000 a year, but he insists the move wasn't about money.
"I'd played about 25 games [for Newcastle] in six seasons, and it seemed as if there was a negative cycle there that I had to break free from. Maybe it was self-fulfilling, in terms of deep down what I might have been feeling. I couldn't get on the field; I didn't feel I was paying anything back to Newcastle any more; I felt I was hindering them. So I decided to give it a go in France. I was attracted by the beauty of so many new experiences – new team, new language, new region, living like that. I'd been in a comfort zone at Newcastle – it was all I'd ever known – and I realised it was the time in my life to push myself."
I suggest he probably finds French easier to understand than Geordie. "I really struggled with the Newcastle dialect when I went up there," he admits with a laugh. "I felt terrible because I kept asking people to repeat themselves. In France, at least I have an excuse for it."
His girlfriend, Shelley Jenkins, has moved to France with him, they're committed to learning the language, and he says they're loving French life. The rugby's going well, too. Despite the black eye and the gashes, he's in good shape, tanned and with the bulging muscularity that underlines his reputation as a fierce tackler. Traditionally, players who occupy his position – fly-half, the playmaker, the hinge of the team, akin to the quarterback in American football – are the artists, feeding off the hard slog of the artisans in the forwards, but Wilkinson has always relished the physical confrontation. It is one reason why his career has been so injury-plagued.
This season has, though, been less satisfactory internationally; he was dropped by England after a series of ineffectual performances. "It's been a turbulent time," Wilkinson admits. "There were so many things going through my head."
He says he couldn't understand why he was missing simple kicks, and was having trouble dealing with that in the course of the game. "When everything's flowing, you don't have to apply any real thought to it. But it's a very different thing when something's not quite there when you expect it to be. It's hard to make corrections under pressure."
This does not sound like a man who has entirely shaken free the demons of self-doubt. How, then, did it feel to be dropped from the England side he had formerly inspired to such heights?
"It's happened to me before. I'd given everything I could and you can't cheat in that kind of environment." So he deserved the chop? "I always think that in my next game, at my best, I can do anything, but I wouldn't say it was a huge surprise. I accepted that it was time for someone else to have a go."
What did his manager, the World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, say – take a rest? "Yeah," he responds quickly, "take a long, long rest." He stresses each of those "longs", and laughs, to emphasise this is not quite how the conversation went.
Then he surprises me. You would think getting back into the England team – especially with the next World Cup taking place in 2011 – would be crucial to him. Wilkinson says not. "My priority is not necessarily to say: 'I've got to win my place back.' There's a bigger plan to all this, which is to get the best from myself. That's more important than anything, and if I feel like I'm achieving that, and England never appears again for me, I'd rather go out that way." Wilkinson wants control of the judging process – not Johnson, the pundits, the fans, nor the people who spot him at the cinema.
Finally, the inevitable question for a sportsman on the wrong side of 30, in the most physically demanding of sports: when will he pack it in?
"There's going to come a point where you think: 'I've had enough,'" he says. "I'll feel that when, one, I don't feel I have any more to give; or two, I feel like I've given enough and don't want to give any more. I'm never going to be happy to close the book on rugby, but I need to know that when I do, I won't be one of those guys that says: 'I could have done that.' I'm waiting for the eureka moment that hits me, and makes me understand I've had enough."
dijous, 6 de maig del 2010
Lucha por la cuarta plaza de la Magners.
Munster, Cardiff Blues y Edinbugh luchan por la cuarta plaza de la Magners League, las otras tres ya están decididas, Leinster, Ospreys y Warriors. Una última jornada apasionante, con el duelo en tierras galesas de los Blues ante Munster.
Who's in the race for Magners League glory?
With just one round of action left before the inaugural Magners League Play Offs, we thought we'd try and explain all the possible semi-final scenarios prior to this weekend's games.It can appear pretty complicated but we've tried our best to give you every possible scenario and to make things as simple as we can.
Here's the score…
Four teams will qualify for the Magners League semi-finals.
The top team teams will each receive a home semi-final.
First will play fourth and second will play third.
Positions are decided on league points. If two or more teams finish on equal league points, then the number of wins becomes the deciding factor. If they are still equal, points difference comes into play.
As things stand, three teams have already qualified for the Play-Offs. They are Leinster, Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors.
No team is yet guaranteed a home semi-final.
There are three teams still in with a shout of the last remaining Play-Off place. They are Munster, Cardiff Blues and Edinburgh.
Leinster will secure top spot if they avoid defeat to Edinburgh at the RDS on Sunday night. The lowest Leinster can finish is third if both the Ospreys and Glasgow pick up bonus-point wins and Leinster slip to defeat by more than seven points.
The Ospreys will be guaranteed a home semi-final if they gain a maximum-point win over the Dragons at the Liberty Stadium on Friday. If they fail to do this, they could be overtaken by Glasgow. The lowest the Ospreys can finish is fourth, with Glasgow and Munster both able to overtake them.
Two match points at the Scarlets would secure third place for Glasgow. A bonus-point win would be enough to claim a home semi if the Ospreys fail to pick up maximum points. A straight win would also be enough if the Ospreys lose or draw with the Dragons.
This is where it gets complicated…
Munster know that anything other than defeat at the Blues would secure a top-four finish, as would a losing bonus point and a try scoring bonus point. A single losing bonus-point would also be enough for fourth spot if the Blues fail to score four tries and Edinburgh don't pick up a bonus-point win at Leinster and overturn a current points deficit of 35. Munster's points difference is currently plus 38, while Edinburgh's is just plus three.
Munster could yet secure a home semi-final depending on results involving the Ospreys and Glasgow. To overtake Glasgow, Munster must win and hope that the Warriors lose. If Glasgow draw with the Scarlets and fail to score four tries, then Munster will need a bonus-point win or they will need to overturn a points deficit of 26. Glasgow's points difference is currently 64.
Munster can overtake the Ospreys if they gain a maximum point win over the Blues and the Ospreys take just a point from their clash with the Dragons. If the Ospreys pick up two match points, Munster can still move ahead of them if they secure a maximum-point win and overturn a points deficit of 16. The Ospreys' points difference is currently plus 54.
A win will be enough for Munster if the Ospreys fail to pick up any points, while they would need to overturn that points deficit if they were to win and the Ospreys were to pick up a single point as both teams would be level on league points and number of wins.
The highest Munster can finish is second. The lowest they can end up is seventh.
Phew. Now on to the Blues.
Cardiff Blues need a bonus-point win over Munster to guarantee a Play-Off Place. A win of any sorts would be enough if they prevent Munster from picking up a match point and if Edinburgh fail to win with a bonus point at Leinster.
The highest the Blues can finish is fourth. They have no chance of a home semi-final. The lowest they can finish is seventh.
Edinburgh must beat Leinster in Dublin with a bonus-point to have any chance of progressing. They must then hope that the Blues beat Munster without a bonus point. If that is the case, then Edinburgh would qualify for the Play-Offs providing Munster don't pick up any match points. If Munster pick up a single losing bonus point, then Edinburgh must overturn a points deficit of 35.
Like the Blues, the highest Edinburgh can finish is fourth. They cannot gain a home semi. The lowest they can finish is seventh.
Told you it was complicated!
Fortunately, things will get a lot simpler after this weekend.
For a look at the Magners League table as it stand, click here
To read the Magners League rules on how teams are ranked, click here
Who's in the race for Magners League glory?
With just one round of action left before the inaugural Magners League Play Offs, we thought we'd try and explain all the possible semi-final scenarios prior to this weekend's games.It can appear pretty complicated but we've tried our best to give you every possible scenario and to make things as simple as we can.
Here's the score…
Four teams will qualify for the Magners League semi-finals.
The top team teams will each receive a home semi-final.
First will play fourth and second will play third.
Positions are decided on league points. If two or more teams finish on equal league points, then the number of wins becomes the deciding factor. If they are still equal, points difference comes into play.
As things stand, three teams have already qualified for the Play-Offs. They are Leinster, Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors.
No team is yet guaranteed a home semi-final.
There are three teams still in with a shout of the last remaining Play-Off place. They are Munster, Cardiff Blues and Edinburgh.
Leinster will secure top spot if they avoid defeat to Edinburgh at the RDS on Sunday night. The lowest Leinster can finish is third if both the Ospreys and Glasgow pick up bonus-point wins and Leinster slip to defeat by more than seven points.
The Ospreys will be guaranteed a home semi-final if they gain a maximum-point win over the Dragons at the Liberty Stadium on Friday. If they fail to do this, they could be overtaken by Glasgow. The lowest the Ospreys can finish is fourth, with Glasgow and Munster both able to overtake them.
Two match points at the Scarlets would secure third place for Glasgow. A bonus-point win would be enough to claim a home semi if the Ospreys fail to pick up maximum points. A straight win would also be enough if the Ospreys lose or draw with the Dragons.
This is where it gets complicated…
Munster know that anything other than defeat at the Blues would secure a top-four finish, as would a losing bonus point and a try scoring bonus point. A single losing bonus-point would also be enough for fourth spot if the Blues fail to score four tries and Edinburgh don't pick up a bonus-point win at Leinster and overturn a current points deficit of 35. Munster's points difference is currently plus 38, while Edinburgh's is just plus three.
Munster could yet secure a home semi-final depending on results involving the Ospreys and Glasgow. To overtake Glasgow, Munster must win and hope that the Warriors lose. If Glasgow draw with the Scarlets and fail to score four tries, then Munster will need a bonus-point win or they will need to overturn a points deficit of 26. Glasgow's points difference is currently 64.
Munster can overtake the Ospreys if they gain a maximum point win over the Blues and the Ospreys take just a point from their clash with the Dragons. If the Ospreys pick up two match points, Munster can still move ahead of them if they secure a maximum-point win and overturn a points deficit of 16. The Ospreys' points difference is currently plus 54.
A win will be enough for Munster if the Ospreys fail to pick up any points, while they would need to overturn that points deficit if they were to win and the Ospreys were to pick up a single point as both teams would be level on league points and number of wins.
The highest Munster can finish is second. The lowest they can end up is seventh.
Phew. Now on to the Blues.
Cardiff Blues need a bonus-point win over Munster to guarantee a Play-Off Place. A win of any sorts would be enough if they prevent Munster from picking up a match point and if Edinburgh fail to win with a bonus point at Leinster.
The highest the Blues can finish is fourth. They have no chance of a home semi-final. The lowest they can finish is seventh.
Edinburgh must beat Leinster in Dublin with a bonus-point to have any chance of progressing. They must then hope that the Blues beat Munster without a bonus point. If that is the case, then Edinburgh would qualify for the Play-Offs providing Munster don't pick up any match points. If Munster pick up a single losing bonus point, then Edinburgh must overturn a points deficit of 35.
Like the Blues, the highest Edinburgh can finish is fourth. They cannot gain a home semi. The lowest they can finish is seventh.
Told you it was complicated!
Fortunately, things will get a lot simpler after this weekend.
For a look at the Magners League table as it stand, click here
To read the Magners League rules on how teams are ranked, click here
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