What Next for Spikey Mikey?

Welsh Rugby seems to come hand in hand with controversy sometimes; in recent years we've have Gavin Henson show us his immense talent just to go and waste it, Andy Powell and his golf cart, and the recurring incident, Mike Phillips. Two of the above are recurring cases. Henson was the most talented player Wales had seen in a long time, making everything he did look effortless, but he found stardom and rugby took second place. I do not for a second believe that this is why Mike Phillips has been involved so many times, I think he takes his rugby very seriously. However, there are comparisons to be made, but I'm not a psychologist and would rather talk about the on field implications of Phillips' latest stunt.

El Clasico on the Horizon

The first El Clasico of the 2013/14 season is on the horizon and it is one of the most anticipated for a long time. Both clubs have new star signings, both clubs have some of the best players in the world, but both have stuttered at the start of this season. Real Madrid have scraped wins against weaker opposition, lost to the city rivals Atletico Madrid, and drawn with Villarreal. Not the performances you expect from a team the size of Real Madrid. They lie in 3rd place in La Liga, with a chance to go level on points with Barcelona by winning at the Camp Nou. Although the Catalans occupy the top spot in the table, they haven't played brilliantly either. In their last two fixtures they have only managed draws against Osasuna and AC Milan. They seem to lost the cutting edge that has made them the dominant force in Europe over the last few years.

Le Tour de France Route Annonuced

Le Tour starts about as far as it ever has from France next year. It will start in Leeds on July 5, and the full route has been announced today. Few races in the world demand as much attention to an announcement as seemingly mundane as where the race will be going, but this is no ordinary race. Already from looking at the route, I can tell you that it is going to be very exciting, and at times very risky.

Wales Autumn International Squad Announced

A few shocks, a few injuries and some new caps. Does it tell us anything leading into the games next month, well Gatland is looking to blood fresh talent against international opposition. This fresh talent will most likely be the second string side which plays against Tonga in the Friday night game which is exactly a month away.

Is George North An International Player?

Don't be confused by the title of this post, I'm not questioning North's ability. However, I have seen many comments from rugby fans on different websites saying that North is just an international player. Is there anyway this could possibly be true, after all you get picked on performances at club level. However, at one time in his international career he had played more times for Wales than he had for the Scarlets, something that just feels wrong. He only ever scored fourteen tries for the Scarlets in his 45 appearances, not the scoring record of an international sensation. Yet, his scoring record for Wales is far better an closer to one in every two games. On arguably the highest international stage, the Lions tour, in the tests he has a scoring record of two from three games. Now at the Northampton Saints he has played seven and scored just one.

Time To Take A Chance On Isles

The fastest man in world rugby, the hot property of sevens. Kiwi, Aussie, Springbok? American. Somehow doesn't seem right but Carlin Isles has been setting the world of sevens alight with his performances. An ex-sprinter, who reportedly had a personal best of 10.13 seconds over 100 metres. Only half a second shy of Bolt's current record. He burst onto the scene when this video went viral, at the time of the video he had only been playing rugby a matter of weeks. His knowledge of the game was not complete never mind his skill set, but his raw speed showed him the way to the line on several occasions. The reason he is playing sevens is because he wants to compete in the Olympic games in Brazil after not making the grade as an Olympic level sprinter. Still only half a second behind Bolt, but those are the margins that sport is fought at, he is the 35th fastest American. However, not one of the 34 ahead of him have picked up a rugby ball.

Rugby Champions Cup Needs The Celtic Nations

Although day by day there are more and more reports that the Rugby Champions Cup is picking up pace as its own competition. For example, Friday French sources were suggesting that Guinness were to be the major sponsors of the new European event. You might believe this, or you might think Guinness' ties with Irish Rugby are to strong for this breakaway. Could it possibly be a way to drag the Irish clubs in to the new tournament, and with them the rest of the Pro12? Just a thought because if one Pro12 nation goes, realistically they all have to go, or they will be losing out to their closest rivals.

The Greatest Rugby Game Of All Time?

Last weekends game between the All Blacks and the Springboks has already been dubbed as one of the greatest of all time. I am inclined to agree the skill level, the intensity, the drama, what the game meant in terms of the Rugby Championship. That game had everything. It had so much that Nigel Owens pulled a calf muscle trying to keep up with it.

Time To Consider An International Break In Rugby?

Rugby's past as an amateur game right up to 1995 is one of the endearing qualities of the game. However, there are many issues that crop up because of the amateur past of the game. One in particular being the absence of an international break as they do in football. In football it has developed to be this way as clubs have paid players for far longer than in Rugby, and want them available for every game they play in. This seems fair enough, if you have a contract you are legally bound to honour it, so the international break was created to accommodate a more professional game. As rugby becomes more professional is it time that we looked at putting an international break in place ourselves.

Could Qatar Possibly Be A Success?

It's popular opinion amongst the media to say that the Qatar world cup will unequivocally be a disaster. No one is looking at the other side of the argument, which it probably deserves as an event. I know that it is a completely different event, but remember amount of people who said that London 2012 would be an abject failure. It was actually one of the greatest Olympics in living memory, it is the popular option in this country to say something will not work. Qatar is a far different case of course but it once again seems to be the popular whinge, in the pub, on the radio, even interviews with club managers now. Although moving the World Cup would effect club managers, what interest have they got in talking about it. Does anyone seriously think that Sepp Blatter is going to listen to what David Moyes has to say?

Time to Look Outside the Top Teams?

There has always been a bias in the English national team for players that play in the traditional top four, this has now perhaps opened up to a top six in the last few seasons. The point still remains that the vast majority of players, come from Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool or Tottenham. To an extent there is good reason for this, as you would expect, the best clubs have the premium English talent. But do they really? You would not say that the core of any of those teams is essentially English, barring possibly Manchester United. It is also an important factor that the English players in these teams simply haven't performed, even if we say that United do have an 'English core' it isn't one that you would particularly like to pick from. Young has been very poor this season, Ferdinand looks like he has lost far more than a yard of pace, Welbeck is still struggling for goals when given easy opportunities.

Is the Premier League Really the Best League in the World?

The organsisers of the Premier League in England have for years forced down our necks that the they have the 'best league' in the World. The question is how do you judge a league overall compared to the other leagues in the World? To save some time I have focused solely on Europe and the major European leagues, how do we decide which is the best league, do we use Champions League wins? If so Spain edges this contest over the last five years, although haven't won it since 2011. They have two wins while England, Germany and Italy have one each in the last five years.