Martin Johnson has warned Manu Tuilagi and Delon Armitage they will have to keep their tempers in check if they are to be picked in the final 30-man squad for the World Cup.
45-man training squad
Both players have been included in Johnson's 45-man training squad despite serving suspensions for high-profile incidents of violent conduct last season. Tuilagi received a five-week ban for landing a three-punch combination on Northampton and England wing Chris Ashton in the Aviva Premiership semi-final. The Leicester centre missed the final and the Churchill Cup, but Johnson and his England staff were already convinced he was a live World Cup contender.
Armitage was banned twice last season, once for clashing with a doping control officer and once for punching the Northampton fly-half Stephen Myler. Johnson is confident both have the temperament to cope with a World Cup but he has issued a strong warning about the need to behave.
"We can't have guys getting suspended down there for events on or off the field," said Johnson. "We are in New Zealand. We all know what that is like, it is a goldfish bowl. And you are at the World Cup so you are in a goldfish bowl within a goldfish bowl. We need guys who are available to play. We don't need silly suspensions because it puts us all under pressure."
The squad joined up in camp on Sunday and Johnson reported that the fall-out from John Steele's departure from the Rugby Football Union had not affected his players or staff. The RFU's decision to oust Steele nine months into his tenure means they are now in the market for both a chief executive and a performance director. Steele's failure to appoint a performance director - or even hold any interviews for the post - contributed greatly to his downfall.
Johnson expects to be consulted as the RFU move forward on that appointment and it is understood he believes the performance director has to remain hands-off the senior England team. "I said to Martyn (Thomas, the RFU chairman) 'you guys have to make the right decision for the future of England rugby'. It is not about personalities. It is about the best structure," Johnson said.
"You're always going to report to someone. We know what is going on but everyone is excited to be back in camp and it can seem there is nothing outside these walls at times. I don't see it having any effect at all on what we are doing. If you ask the players, they want to know about training, about dinner and whether they are going to New Zealand. When you have the World Cup ahead of you it has a way of focusing your mind."
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Monday, 20 June 2011
Gollings bows out of international stage
England 7s legend Ben Gollings has been forced to call time on his representative career after failing to win a new contract from the Rugby Football Union.
The 31-year-old, the all-time leading points scorer in the IRB Sevens Series, brings the curtain down on a 12-year career that has also included three Commonwealth Games. His remarkable tally of 2,652 points in 70 Series events is more than twice as many as his nearest rival, Fiji's Waisale Serevi, and only Argentina's Santiago Gomez Cora has scored more tries than Gollings' tally of 220.
"It is a shame I won't be able to fulfil my ambition of cracking the 3,000 points barrier or becoming all-time top try scorer, but I've been fortunate to enjoy as much as I have," said Gollings, who made his international debut as a 19-year-old.
"It was a bit of a shock not to be given a new contract and it will take a few months to get my head around no longer being part of the England Sevens squad, but I understand their decision to look to younger players to take them forward and I wish the team and the boys the best of luck and have every faith in them that they can win the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup in Moscow."
England 7s coach Ben Ryan paid tribute to Gollings and admitted it was not an easy decision to deny him a new deal. "The decision not to renew a contract is never taken lightly and while we understand Ben will be disappointed we felt that it was one that needed to be made to move the squad and our game forward over the coming seasons," said Ryan.
"It doesn't detract in any way from the terrific service Ben has given England over more than a decade at the highest level. His professionalism has set the standard for all those who have trained and played alongside him.
"Ben was there from Day One in 1999 when the World Sevens Series began and, although he had spells with Newcastle and Quins and overseas, he kept on returning because of his love of the sevens game and the game has a lot of affection for him too.
"He's got a remarkable points scoring record and that will probably stand for a decade or more as a tribute to him. His name is synonymous with sevens and I'm sure he will go on and enjoy an equally successful post-sevens career."
Gollings's tournament highlights include being an integral part of the side that won four consecutive Hong Kong titles, the last in 2006 secured by his final-play try and conversion; winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne; clinching tournament wins in Wellington and London in 2009; and securing England's victory in Dubai in December 2010.
In the 15-a-side game, Gollings represented England at Under 16, Under 18, Students and A team levels as well as appearing the England side that beat the New Zealand Barbarians at Twickenham in December 2003. His club career included spells in the Aviva Premiership with Harlequins, Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Warriors, as well as at Bournemouth and Doncaster Knights, and overseas with Sunnybank, Tasman, Gold Coast Breakers and Toyota Shokki.
View the original article here
The 31-year-old, the all-time leading points scorer in the IRB Sevens Series, brings the curtain down on a 12-year career that has also included three Commonwealth Games. His remarkable tally of 2,652 points in 70 Series events is more than twice as many as his nearest rival, Fiji's Waisale Serevi, and only Argentina's Santiago Gomez Cora has scored more tries than Gollings' tally of 220.
"It is a shame I won't be able to fulfil my ambition of cracking the 3,000 points barrier or becoming all-time top try scorer, but I've been fortunate to enjoy as much as I have," said Gollings, who made his international debut as a 19-year-old.
"It was a bit of a shock not to be given a new contract and it will take a few months to get my head around no longer being part of the England Sevens squad, but I understand their decision to look to younger players to take them forward and I wish the team and the boys the best of luck and have every faith in them that they can win the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup in Moscow."
England 7s coach Ben Ryan paid tribute to Gollings and admitted it was not an easy decision to deny him a new deal. "The decision not to renew a contract is never taken lightly and while we understand Ben will be disappointed we felt that it was one that needed to be made to move the squad and our game forward over the coming seasons," said Ryan.
"It doesn't detract in any way from the terrific service Ben has given England over more than a decade at the highest level. His professionalism has set the standard for all those who have trained and played alongside him.
"Ben was there from Day One in 1999 when the World Sevens Series began and, although he had spells with Newcastle and Quins and overseas, he kept on returning because of his love of the sevens game and the game has a lot of affection for him too.
"He's got a remarkable points scoring record and that will probably stand for a decade or more as a tribute to him. His name is synonymous with sevens and I'm sure he will go on and enjoy an equally successful post-sevens career."
Gollings's tournament highlights include being an integral part of the side that won four consecutive Hong Kong titles, the last in 2006 secured by his final-play try and conversion; winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne; clinching tournament wins in Wellington and London in 2009; and securing England's victory in Dubai in December 2010.
In the 15-a-side game, Gollings represented England at Under 16, Under 18, Students and A team levels as well as appearing the England side that beat the New Zealand Barbarians at Twickenham in December 2003. His club career included spells in the Aviva Premiership with Harlequins, Newcastle Falcons and Worcester Warriors, as well as at Bournemouth and Doncaster Knights, and overseas with Sunnybank, Tasman, Gold Coast Breakers and Toyota Shokki.
View the original article here
Shaw eyes World Cup glory
Veteran England lock Simon Shaw has set his sights on winning this year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The soon-to-be 38-year-old, included in Martin Johnson's 45-man training squad for this year's tournament, is closing in on his third World Cup having been an unused replacement during England's run to the title in 2003 and a key figure in their 2007 defence. That campaign ended in defeat and the grizzled second row is determined to go one better this time around.
"The squad's goal will be to get to the final and win it," Shaw told ESPNscrum. "If your goal is to get to the semi-final or come second then often that will happen. No-one really wants to get to the semi-finals and bow out. The goal is to win it and nothing else is quite up to scratch."
Shaw, who is out of contract with Wasps but keen to play on next season, found a new lease of life on the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa and insists he remains hungry for international honours - a full 15 years since making his Test match bow.
"I thought after the last World Cup that I wouldn't see another but suddenly here we are just a few months out from another one and I'm really gunning for it," Shaw said. "I am just grateful to have had a career as long as I have. I would have been happy to have played for ten years but I have been playing in the top flight for 20 years now so to go to another World Cup would be fantastic. As long as I am fit and able to carry on at the top level then I will continue to plug away.
England face three warm-up games before the World Cup, twice against Wales and a return to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin where Ireland wrecked their Six Nations Grand Slam dream a few short months ago - a re-match that Shaw is relishing.
"There is always pressure to perform but we've got to come together as a team and playing against Wales home and away is going to be tough as is going to Ireland where we didn't perform so well last time and all before the World Cup," Shaw said. "There's a lot of pressure but that's what pre-World Cup camps should be about. It's about seeing how guys perform under pressure.
"We have to acknowledge that Ireland played very well, but at the same time we have to realise that we weren't up to it, but I don't see that happening again. We have a young side and are learning all the time and we took a lot of confidence out of the other games and ultimately we won the Championship and we would have taken that at the start."
Shaw was named in the latest England squad alongside fellow Wasp Riki Flutey who missed the 2011 Six Nations after struggling to find his best form due to a season blighted by injury. If named in the final 30-man squad for the World Cup, it will offer the Wellington-born centre the chance to go into battle on home soil in an England shirt for the first time.
"I've had lots of phone calls and text messages from family and friends who are hoping that I make the squad and if I do it will be absolutely amazing to go back to New Zealand and play on home soil with a red rose," Flutey said. "The time I have been in the England camp, from day one, I have felt part of the team and I'm sure it has been the same for the other guys in the squad."
"I enjoy the game of rugby and never see it as a job. I am all about getting out there and doing what I can for the team, whether that's by showing my skills, side-stepping, using my footwork, communication skills; I do what I can for the team. I put enough pressure on myself as it is to get 100% fit and perform for my team, whether it is Wasps or England. If I do get the opportunity then that is what I will be doing."
We spoke to Simon Shaw and Riki Flutey at the launch of O2 Touch, an RFU initiative aiming to ger England playing touch rugby. To get involved and to be in with a chance of playing touch at Twickenham visit www.rfu.com/O2touch
View the original article here
The soon-to-be 38-year-old, included in Martin Johnson's 45-man training squad for this year's tournament, is closing in on his third World Cup having been an unused replacement during England's run to the title in 2003 and a key figure in their 2007 defence. That campaign ended in defeat and the grizzled second row is determined to go one better this time around.
"The squad's goal will be to get to the final and win it," Shaw told ESPNscrum. "If your goal is to get to the semi-final or come second then often that will happen. No-one really wants to get to the semi-finals and bow out. The goal is to win it and nothing else is quite up to scratch."
Shaw, who is out of contract with Wasps but keen to play on next season, found a new lease of life on the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa and insists he remains hungry for international honours - a full 15 years since making his Test match bow.
"I thought after the last World Cup that I wouldn't see another but suddenly here we are just a few months out from another one and I'm really gunning for it," Shaw said. "I am just grateful to have had a career as long as I have. I would have been happy to have played for ten years but I have been playing in the top flight for 20 years now so to go to another World Cup would be fantastic. As long as I am fit and able to carry on at the top level then I will continue to plug away.
England face three warm-up games before the World Cup, twice against Wales and a return to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin where Ireland wrecked their Six Nations Grand Slam dream a few short months ago - a re-match that Shaw is relishing.
"There is always pressure to perform but we've got to come together as a team and playing against Wales home and away is going to be tough as is going to Ireland where we didn't perform so well last time and all before the World Cup," Shaw said. "There's a lot of pressure but that's what pre-World Cup camps should be about. It's about seeing how guys perform under pressure.
"We have to acknowledge that Ireland played very well, but at the same time we have to realise that we weren't up to it, but I don't see that happening again. We have a young side and are learning all the time and we took a lot of confidence out of the other games and ultimately we won the Championship and we would have taken that at the start."
Shaw was named in the latest England squad alongside fellow Wasp Riki Flutey who missed the 2011 Six Nations after struggling to find his best form due to a season blighted by injury. If named in the final 30-man squad for the World Cup, it will offer the Wellington-born centre the chance to go into battle on home soil in an England shirt for the first time.
"I've had lots of phone calls and text messages from family and friends who are hoping that I make the squad and if I do it will be absolutely amazing to go back to New Zealand and play on home soil with a red rose," Flutey said. "The time I have been in the England camp, from day one, I have felt part of the team and I'm sure it has been the same for the other guys in the squad."
"I enjoy the game of rugby and never see it as a job. I am all about getting out there and doing what I can for the team, whether that's by showing my skills, side-stepping, using my footwork, communication skills; I do what I can for the team. I put enough pressure on myself as it is to get 100% fit and perform for my team, whether it is Wasps or England. If I do get the opportunity then that is what I will be doing."
We spoke to Simon Shaw and Riki Flutey at the launch of O2 Touch, an RFU initiative aiming to ger England playing touch rugby. To get involved and to be in with a chance of playing touch at Twickenham visit www.rfu.com/O2touch
View the original article here
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