Forward display powers Saxons past Irish Wolfhounds
By John Evely
Debut tries for Ben Spencer and Thomas Waldrom saw England Saxons beat the Irish Wolfhounds 23-17 at Exeter’s Sandy Park.
Gloucester fly half Freddie Burns kicked the other 13 points for the home side. The game was competitive for 80 minutes thanks to tries for Ireland from David Kearney, Thomas O’Leary and Simon Zebo but England, on the back of their powerful scrum were the better side throughout.
With the England senior coaches looking on from the stands a number of players put their hands up for promotion, including try-scorer Waldrom and second row pairing Matt Garvey and Man of the Match George Robson while Spencer showed he has the game to progress to greater honours in the not to distant future.
England opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a penalty from distance for Freddie Burns. The opportunity to go for the sticks was born out of great defensive work from Ugo Monye and the Saxons who were alert to Ireland attacking from deep, turning them over through the Harlequins winger.
England had the early advantage in the scrum and after winning a penalty through the eight man set piece opted to kick for the corner. The decision proved to be a great one with Ben Spencer crossing from the resulting line out. The Saxons executed the line out well, catching and patiently driving before Paul Doran Jones burst off the white shirted pack to get within feet of the line. Spencer then fooled everyone with a show and go to create a gap and burst over for a try on his debut.
Munster’s Simon Zebo, one of the fastest men in European rugby, looked favourite to score after he had accelerated down the wing but great cover and then a thundering tackle from Matt Banahan smashed him into touch.
The Saxons were aggressive in their defence, driving the Wolfhounds back, but Ireland reacted well to going behind and crossed for their opening try in the 21st minute when winger David Kearney came into the line to take an inside pass and burst over for the score. Ian Keatley missed with the conversion.
Burns should have given England some breathing room with a kick a minute from the break, but the Gloucester fly-half shanked his effort horribly wide.
The game opened up in the second half with each side attacking with vigour but it took until the 53rd minute for the next score to come in the shape of a try for Leicester’s number eight Waldrom who reacted quickest to a ricocheting ball, after a grubber through from Burns, to pluck it up and touch down under the posts.
O’Leary, on as a replacement, caught the Saxons defence napping and burst through the English line from the edge of ruck to reach out and score a try which kept his side in the contest. Another replacement Ian Madigan added the extra to make it 17-12.
The vastly dominant Saxons scrum again win Burns another opportunity to extend the lead with a penalty from all of 40 metres but his kicking radar was off the mark once again. However the young man had to wait only moments to made amends, dissecting the posts with an angled effort, to take England out to a 20-12 lead. He effectively killed the game off with four minutes to go after Nevin Spence was caught hanging onto the ball in his own 22 after attempting an adventurous length-of-the-field break.
Zebo scored a try in the last seconds to make the score more respectable and give his debut a fine finish. Madigan was unable to convert the try making the final score 23-17.
Man of the Match: George Robson
England Saxons: 15 Delon Armitage (London Irish) 14 Ugo Monye (Harlequins) 13 Matt Hopper (Harlequins) 12 Billy Twelvetrees (Leicester Tigers) 11 Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby) 10 Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby) 9 Ben Spencer (Saracens) 1 Matt Mullan (Worcester Warriors) 2 Joe Gray (Harlequins) 3 Paul Doran-Jones (Northampton Saints) 4 Matt Garvey (London Irish) 5 George Robson (Harlequins) 6 James Gaskell (Sale Sharks, captain) 7 Andy Saull (Saracens) 8 Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers)
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker (Harlequins), 17 Rupert Harden (Gloucester), 18 Kearnan Myall (Sale Sharks), 19 Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), 20 Paul Hodgson (London Irish), 21 Ryan Lamb (Northampton Saints), 22 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)
Irish Wolfhounds: 15 – Gavin Duffy (Connacht), 14 David Kearney (Leinster), 13 Eoin O’Malley (Leinster), 12 Nevin Spence (Ulster), 11 Simon Zebo (Munster), 10 Ian Keatley (Munster), 9 Isaac Boss (Leinster); 1 Brett Wilkinson (Connacht), 2 Damien Varley, (Munster), 3 Stephen Archer (Munster) , 4 Dan Tuohy (Ulster), 5 Mike McCarthy (Connacht), 6 John Muldoon (Connacht), 7 Chris Henry (Ulster) (C), 8 Rhys Ruddock (Leinster).
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry (Munster), 17 Ronan Loughney (Connacht), 18 Devin Toner (Leinster), 19 Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster), 20 Tomas O’Leary (Munster), 21 Ian Madigan (Leinster) 22 Denis Hurley (Munster).
Tigers’ young boys beat Harlequins
Harrison showed he is ready to fill the void left by Youngs and Young
A young Leicester Tigers side proved the club has a bright future ahead of them with an impressive 19-9 victory over league leaders Harlequins in the LV= Cup.
Leicester crossed the line three times, firstly through Andy Forsyth in the open minutes before Alex Lewington and Ben Pienaar touched down after the break.
With Leicester missing eight players to England training or the Saxons, director of rugby Richard Cockerill was forced to dig deep into his squad but his young wards performed well to take Leicester to the top of their pool with London Irish due to play the Scarlets later today.
Andy Forsyth made an early impact on the game in his return to the first team after getting injured against Ulster in the Heineken Cup before Christmas, bursting through the Harlequins defence twice in the move to touch down under the post for the opening try of the match in just the fourth minute. Ford added the extras.
However good work from winger Seb Stegmann got Harlequins into the Leicester’s 22 and they probably should have scored a try after having numbers on the overlap, but the home side had to be content with a penalty from Clegg.
Clegg added a second penalty soon after the break when a collapsed scrum earned him a shot at the sticks which he completed with ease.
Ford missed a chance to extend Leicester’s leader when he pushed a penalty attempt wide however a mistake from the Quins was pounced upon by the Tigers, who used quick ball from Sam Harrison, Ford and Forsyth to give Alex Lewington room to show his speed and the flying winger took off to score in the corner. Ford’s conversion effort was wayward.
But Clegg brought the scores back to within touching distance from the following restart, knocking over a penalty from 30 metres, to make the score 12-9.
Ben Pienaar effectively wrapped up the game with a try in the 69th minute which Ford converted to suddenly give Leicester a ten point gap over Harlequins.
Harlequins should have snatched a losing bonus point with the last play of the game after George Ford was shown yellow but Clegg pulled is kick wide.
Further good news for Leicester is Man of the Match Sam Harrison, who put in a deeply impressive performance for 62 minutes, has just signed a contract extension at the club this week.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Niall Morris, 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Dante Mama, 12 Andy Forsyth, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 George Ford, 9 Sam Harrison; 1 Boris Stankovich, 2 Jimmy Stevens, 3 Logoviii Mulipola, 4 Calum Green, 5 Graham Kitchener, 6 Ben Woods c, 7 Tom Armes, 8 Ben Pienaar
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Jonny Harris, 19 Joe Cain, 20 James Doyle, 21 James Grindal, 22 Jeremy Staunton, 23 Matt Smith.
Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Ben Urdapilleta, 12 Tom Casson, 11 Tom Williams, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Richard Bolt; 1 Mark Lambert, 2 Rob Buchanan, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 4 Pete Browne, 5 Charlie Matthews, 6 Luke Wallace, 7 Will Skinner (C), 8 Tom Guest.
Replacements: 16 Nic Mayhew, 17 Daryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tom Vallejos, 20 Chris York, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Charlie Walker, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
Transfer rumours – Tovey to swap Dragons for Blues
Tovey could be on his way to Blues
Newport Gwent Dragons are reportedly on the verge of losing a second fly-half within a week with rumours Jason Tovey will join Pro 12 rivals the Cardiff Blues coming just days after Wales international Matthew Jones was released to join Bristol.
Tovey, 22, who was out of contract with the Dragons at the end of the season, is an up-and-coming talent in Welsh rugby, training with the national squad ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
The fly-half is in demand by new Cardiff coaches Gareth Baber and Justin Burnell who are looking to play a more attractive brand of rugby next season.
With Scotland international Dan Parks rumoured to be on his way out of the Welsh region and Ceri Sweeney reportedly heading to Pontypridd, there is definitely a hole in Cardiff’s roster next season.
Jones has joined the Championship leaders Bristol for the rest of the season.
Bristol head coach Liam Middleton said: “I’m pleased to have signed Matthew, he has top level experience and the way he plays the game will add value to the type of rugby that Bristol will become known for.
“His personality and playing ability are suited for our environment and he will provide further options for us at fly-half.”
Teams – Harlequins v Leicester Tigers
Ford gets the first of his chances to shine during Six Nations period
Leicester, who are currently second in their group behind London Irish, need to top the pool if they want to progress to the semi-finals.
Preview to follow…
Leicester Tigers: 15 Niall Morris, 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Dante Mama, 12 Andy Forsyth, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 George Ford, 9 Sam Harrison; 1 Boris Stankovich, 2 Jimmy Stevens, 3 Logoviii Mulipola, 4 Calum Green, 5 Graham Kitchener, 6 Ben Woods c, 7 Tom Armes, 8 Ben Pienaar
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Jonny Harris, 19 Joe Cain, 20 James Doyle, 21 James Grindal, 22 Jeremy Staunton, 23 Matt Smith.
Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Ben Urdapilleta, 12 Tom Casson, 11 Tom Williams, 10 Rory Clegg, 9 Richard Bolt; 1 Mark Lambert, 2 Rob Buchanan, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 4 Pete Browne, 5 Charlie Matthews, 6 Luke Wallace, 7 Will Skinner (C), 8 Tom Guest.
Replacements: 16 Nic Mayhew, 17 Daryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tom Vallejos, 20 Chris York, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Charlie Walker, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
Zebo starts on Wolfhounds wing
Zebo gets Ireland Wolfhounds chance after graduating from the Sevens circuit.
Munster’s Simon Zebo will get his first taste of international rugby on Saturday when he starts against the England Saxons after a sensational season which climaxed with a Man of the Match hat-trick scoring performance in the Heineken Cup last weekend.
The Wolfhounds will be led by openside flanker Ulster’s Chris Henry.
Wolfhounds coach Eric Elwood said: “The games against the Saxons are always highly competitive affairs as you would expect and results have tended to go with the home side, but I think we have a good mix in our side and the key message is that we have to match them on all fronts, especially in the physical stakes, to come away with a win.
“Eoin (O’Malley) and Nevin have done well over the last couple of days as a pairing and I am looking forward to see how both Simon (Zebo) and David Kearney travel on the wings after a good couple of weeks for them with their provinces.
“We have a touch more experience in our pack, which I think will be important for this game and good spine through it with Dan (Tuohy) and Mike (McCarthy) giving us some really good ability across the set piece and in the carrying stakes to compliment a back row that I think can make a good impression.
“I would expect a really good atmosphere for the game and I know the players are looking forward to it.”
The game is being played at the Exeter Chiefs’ Sandy Park and kicks off at 17:00. It will be shown live on Sky Sports 1.
Irish Wolfhounds: 15 – Gavin Duffy (Connacht), 14 David Kearney (Leinster), 13 Eoin O’Malley (Leinster), 12 Nevin Spence (Ulster), 11 Simon Zebo (Munster), 10 Ian Keatley (Munster), 9 Isaac Boss (Leinster); 1 Brett Wilkinson (Connacht), 2 Damien Varley, (Munster), 3 Stephen Archer (Munster) , 4 Dan Tuohy (Ulster), 5 Mike McCarthy (Connacht), 6 John Muldoon (Connacht), 7 Chris Henry (Ulster) (C), 8 Rhys Ruddock (Leinster).
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry (Munster), 17 Ronan Loughney (Connacht), 18 Devin Toner (Leinster), 19 Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster), 20 Tomas O’Leary (Munster), 21 Ian Madigan (Leinster) 22 Denis Hurley (Munster).
Transfer news – Wasps bring in Prydie and Robinson for support
Robinson will get a chance to reignite his career with a move to London Wasps
London Wasps have responded to their injury crisis by recruiting four players in a week, bringing in wingers Tom Prydie and Lee Robinson and Russian forward duo Vladislav Korshunov and Victor Gresev
Robinson joins Wasps from the Leicester Tigers where he only ever played a bit part role in the senior side, making just six first team appearances in his time at the club. However the powerful winger could find himself going straight into the starting line up for the LV= Cup match this weekend against Exeter
Prydie, 19, who has won four caps for Wales joins on loan from the Ospreys, where despite his international stature, becoming Wales’ youngest ever test player, he has struggled to get game time ahead of the likes of Welsh legend Shane Williams and Ireland try machine Tommy Bowe.
The wing duo have been drafted in after the club suffered lengthy injuries to Christian Wade and Tom Varndell.
To cover the forwards Wasps director of rugby Dai Young has turned to the Russian national team for solutions drafting in their 57 capped skipper Korshunov to cover hooker particularly while Rob Webber is involved with England in the Six Nations.
Back-row Gresev will provide Young with more options at the back of the scrum while Joe Launchbury and the perennially injured skipper Tom Rees.
Young said: “These are two players who impressed at the World Cup and they will add strength in depth to the squad for the rest of the season giving us options in key areas.”
Gaskell to lead strong Saxons side against Wolfhounds
Gaskell will captain the Saxons having played in every game during the 2011 Churchill Cup
Sale Sharks’ Jame Gaskell will skipper the England Saxons when they face the Irish Wolfhounds on Saturday at Exeter’s Sandy Park.
Gaskell, 21, led the his club the Sharks last season and has been praised for his natural leadership.
Saxons coach Jon Callard said: “He’s a smart player, a real calming influence and he demonstrates his authority by his actions on the pitch.”
“He’s the leader of a group of leaders and we want to promote individual responsibility. For example Paul Doran-Jones runs the scrum, George Robson the lineout, Freddie Burns and Ben Spencer will control the tempo, and Delon Armitage brings his vision and authority at full back.”
A young side, which includes centre Matt Hopper, half backs Freddie Burns and Ben Spencer, and No. 8 Thomas Waldrom for the first time, has an average age of just 24 years and four months, once again showing England’s investment in youth ahead of holding the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Callard added: “It is a new era for us, there’s a lot of youth and energy in this squad and we’ll go into the game with a ‘no fear’ attitude.
“We want to see the players express themselves and at the same time develop the streak of pragmatism you need to win big games. We’ve seen in Europe the strength of Irish rugby at the moment but the challenge motivates and excites us.”
However the squad has a sprinkling of full internationals in its numbers with Delon Armitage, Matt Banahan, Ugo Monye, Matt Mullan and Paul Doran-Jones all earning spots in the starting line-up.
England Saxons: 15 Delon Armitage (London Irish) 14 Ugo Monye (Harlequins) 13 Matt Hopper (Harlequins) 12 Billy Twelvetrees (Leicester Tigers) 11 Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby) 10 Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby) 9 Ben Spencer (Saracens) 1 Matt Mullan (Worcester Warriors) 2 Joe Gray (Harlequins) 3 Paul Doran-Jones (Northampton Saints) 4 Matt Garvey (London Irish) 5 George Robson (Harlequins) 6 James Gaskell (Sale Sharks, captain) 7 Andy Saull (Saracens) 8 Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers)
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker (Harlequins), 17 Rupert Harden (Gloucester), 18 Kearnan Myall (Sale Sharks), 19 Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), 20 Paul Hodgson (London Irish), 21 Ryan Lamb (Northampton Saints), 22 Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)
Missing England stars a chance for youth to step up
Croft believes Leicester is in safe hands during the Six Nations with the youth
England flanker Tom Croft claims Leicester’s loss of internationals during the Six Nations will prove a plus for the club in the long run, and helped make him a world-class player.
Croft, a graduate from the Leicester academy, got a chance at experiencing top-flight running in the absence of players like Lewis Moody and Martin Corry and believes it is one of the reason the club continues to produce a prodigious amount of world-class talent.
Leicester, who only won one game during the period they were missing their international stars because of the World Cup, once again face a six match run without some of their biggest names.
However Tom Croft believes that it is a vital opportunity for young players on the fringes to step up and prove they can make it on the big stage,
“When those boys came off the bench against Aironi they stood up.
“The club is in a good place in the Aviva Premiership to push on there and we’ve got the LV=Cup in the next couple of weeks, which is a massive challenge for us.
“Regardless of who goes away on international duty we have the players here to keep going strong.”
England have called up: Manu Tuilagi, Toby Flood, Ben Youngs, Louis Deacon (injured), Geoff Parling, Dan Cole and Croft with Italy taking Martin Castrogiovanni.
A further four players will miss this coming weekend with their commitments to the Saxons, who have called upon the services of: Thomas Waldrom, Micky Young, Billy Twelvetrees and Anthony Allan.
Some of the men who will have to fill their shoes will be fly-half George Ford, lock Graham Kitchener and hooker Jimmy Stevens who all made their Heineken Cup debut on the weekend in Leicester’s 33-6 win over Aironi.
This period could be a particularly key time for 18-year-old Ford who is eager to kick on at the senior level and prove worthy of his billing as ‘the most exciting prospect in English rugby’ after winning the IRB Junior World Player of the Year award last season.
His and Leicester’s first challenge comes away in LV=Cup at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday where they will face Harlequins who themselves are missing a host of players to international call ups after their stupendous start to the season.
Henson could play at ten in Six Nations
Henson back in the frame at fly-half role for Wales
Injury to Rhys Priestland means that Gavin Henson has a shot at playing at fly-half for Wales during the 2012 Six Nations.
Henson has been included in the Welsh training squad who are currently in Poland despite playing relatively little rugby since his move to Cardiff Blues in the autumn.
A knee injury to the Scarlets’ Preistland, who is expected to miss a minimum of Wales’ opening game against Ireland in Dublin, has shaken the plans of the Welsh camp.
Manager Warren Gatland said: “Rhys will be struggling for the first game. We’re assessing him day by day.”
Expressing that Wales had a number of viable options to fill the vacant position Gatland said: “We may look at Gavin Henson in that position too.”
“Rhys was probably the find, if not the best, fly-half at the World Cup. He really does fit the type of game we want to play.
“His kicking game and vision are excellent. He stretches opposition defences as well because he’s not afraid to run.
“There’s a very good balance to his game. You can’t underestimate the space he created for our midfield at the World Cup.
“He was one of the reasons we saw some really big performances from Jamie Roberts, Jon Davies and Scott Williams. He will be a big loss for us. But there’s experience to come in with James Hook.”
Gatland disclosed that Leigh Halfpenny will likely take over the kicking duties in Priestland’s absence.
Young gets cited for alleged eye gouge
Young will have to wait to put the England shirt on again after getting cited
Leicester Tigers’ Mickey Young has had a good week ruined by the news that he has been cited for an alleged eye gouging incident during his side’s 33-6 Heineken Cup victory over Aironi.
The 23-year-old scrum half, having just earned his first start in seven months at Leicester, was due to meet up with the England Saxons squad ahead of their game against the Irish Wolfhounds on Saturday and was favourite to start that match as well but he will now be replaced by Saracens’ Ben Spencer.
Young was cited after the match, by citing commissioner John Kirk, for allegedly making contact with the eyes or eye of Aironi wing Giulio Toniolatti during the match at Welford Road.
His hearing will take place on Friday. RFU regulation 19.5.2 does not permit a cited player “to play in an international or any other match governed by IRB regulation 17 until the final determination of the case”.
England Saxons coach Jon Callard said: “We’ve discussed the matter with both Leicester and Saracens and felt we needed to act decisively by bringing in an extra scrum-half as a precaution until the outcome of the case is known.”
If found guilty, even of a low end offence, Young will face a minimum of a 12 week ban, leaving Leicester very short of scrum-halves with Ben Youngs away with England for the Six Nations.
Spencer's rapid rise continues with call up into Saxons
His lively style and accurate kicking game has marked him out as an outstanding talent for the future and perhaps even now, with Saracens the only English club to have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup this year.
