Fly-half Flood left the field just after half-time in the Tigers’ 35-19 Guinness Premiership victory over London Irish at Welford Road, but Cockerill insists the move was just a precaution after the player suffered a bang to the head.

Toby Flood

Cockerill said: “He was a little dazed but nothing serious. He had it early in the game and we looked at him at half-time, he was a bit hazy in his vision so we decided to bring him off early in the second half. He will be fine (for Murrayfield). It was a physical game in lots of ways, it’s a precaution and we are looking after him.”

Leicester dominated the game in the opening half and tries from Alesana Tuilagi, Scott Hamilton and the outstanding Martin Castrogiovanni – plus 10 points from the boot of Flood – put them 25-10 up.

Steffon Armitage crossed for Irish with Tom Homer kicking five points.

Ryan Lamb added three penalties after the break for the visitors while replacement Jeremy Staunton kicked one of his own for the hosts, before George Chuter went over for the Tigers’ fourth try.

And Cockerill could not hide his delight at the way his side had put the Exiles to the sword.

“The performance in the first half was fantastic,” he said. “The second half was a bit scrappy and a bit disjointed but obviously losing Toby didn’t help that.

“But I am delighted with the performance, we scored four tries against a good side so you can’t ask for anything more than that.

“The players had a tough week on the training field after last week (a 19-3 defeat at Northampton) and mentally it’s been hard for everyone. It was good to bounce back and five points was just what we needed.”

Leicester dominated all facets of the game in the opening half and tries from Alesana Tuilagi, Scott Hamilton and the outstanding Martin Castrogiovanni, plus 10 points from the boot of Toby Flood , put them 25-10 up. Steffon Armitage crossed for Irish with Tom Homer kicking five points.

Lote Tuqiri

Ryan Lamb added three penalties after the break for the visitors while replacement Jeremy Staunton kicked one of his own for the hosts, before George Chuter went over for the Tigers’ fourth try.

Stand-in fly-half Rory Clegg sank Worcester deeper into the relegation scrap, scoring all Harlequins’ points in a 14-11 win at the Twickenham Stoop.

Just when Harlequins thought they had turned a corner in the Guinness Premiership, recent defeats threatened to draw them into the relegation scrap that has enveloped their guests.

And the loss of former New Zealand fly-half Nick Evans, who failed a fitness test hours before kick-off, was a major setback given how much they rely on his experience and guile as their main play-maker but Clegg deputised and ensured Evans was not missed.

England’s Mattew Tait scores the England try

‘The guys are happy to win but they knew they could have done better,’ said Johnson.

‘Italy here are never easy. Scotland have lost here, Wales have lost here. I am happy to win but it was the tough, physical game which we thought it would be.

‘The frustrating thing is we opened them up but we didn’t take those chances.

‘We missed try-scoring opportunities that would have changed the nature of the game but you can lose games like that if you lose your discipline.’

Mathew Tait ’s clinical try, just after half-time, ultimately made the difference in a dour match at Stadio Flaminio.

But it left few convinced Martin Johnson’s men – who beat Wales 30-17 in their opener – have any real chance of securing a prized Grand Slam this season.

Jonny Wilkinson , who had not missed a penalty in any game he had started for England since 2003, had an off-day with the boot.

But he still landed three penalties, including one which sent the teams into the break level at 6-6 after Mirco Bergamasco had earlier booted the Azzurri in front.

The visitors finally released the shackles five minutes after the restart, however.

Nick Easter set Ugo Monye free and the Harlequins wing skipped out of a tackle on the halfway line, shovelled the ball inside to Delon Armitage, who found Tait to race clear and score the opening try.

The conversion was missed but when prop Martin Castrogiovanni was sent to the sin bin for diving over in a ruck, Wilkinson made amends when he fired over the resultant penalty to stretch England’s lead to 14-6.

Despite being a man down, Italy refused to roll over and Bergamasco struck back swiftly with another penalty after England were again caught offside.

Lewis Moody escaped a yellow card for taking Luke McLean out in the air but England were under the cosh and conceded another penalty which allowed Bergamasco to bring Italy within two points.

But England then moved downfield with Steve Thompson creating a platform for Wilkinson to slot a drop-goal and his side gratefully held on for the final whistle.

Cole, 22, will make his full Test debut at the Stadio Flaminio on Sunday after just 14 Guinness Premiership starts for Leicester, and only a year after being sent out on loan to First Division Nottingham.

Dan Cole

Rowntree, who has worked with Cole since his days in the Leicester academy, said: “We understand that at his age he is still a work in progress. It doesn’t get much tougher for a first start but we wouldn’t put him in there if we didn’t have confidence in him to handle it.”

He added: “His temperament is his strength; he is tough but he doesn’t go around banging his chest.

“That sort of bravado is not in him but he’s tough. He did a great job coming on against Wales last week and I have every confidence in him.”

Cole has been on Rowntree’s radar for some time but he publicly announced his extraordinary potential with two seismic performances either side of Christmas.

In Leicester’s Heineken Cup victory over Clermont Auvergne on December 21, Cole dismantled France international loose-head Lionel Faure. Less than a month later he repeated the trick, this time against his new England team-mate Tim Payne as Leicester’s pack destroyed Wasps.

England forwards coach John Wells – a former Leicester player like Rowntree and England boss Martin Johnson – believes the ultra-competitive Welford Road environment is doing Cole the world of good.

“He has the core attributes you look for in a prop – excellent scrummaging, a good empathy with the lineout and the area that has greatly impressed us this season has been his mobility and his fitness,” said Wells.

“He is working in a great environment at Leicester. He has acted as back-up to Castro (Martin Castrogiovanni) and Julian White and probably put such a marker down that when it comes to selection decisions at the club he will be in a strong position.”

Dan the man: England new boy Cole in training with Toby Flood yesterday

But the 22-year-old has made such an impact in his breakthrough season for Leicester he has been named in England’s starting XV for Sunday’s RBS Six Nations clash in Rome.

Cole, who appeared off the bench as a second-half replacement in last weekend’s 30-17 win against Wales at Twickenham, makes his full debut in place of Bath’s David Wilson .

It completes a remarkable rise for Cole, who has made only 22 senior starts for the Tigers and was sent out on loan to first division club Nottingham this time last year.

Cole’s ambitions were limited to being a genuine rival to Leicester tighthead veterans Julian White and Martin Castrogiovanni.

But a series of destructive performances – particularly against Clermont Auvergne in the Heineken Cup and Wasps in the Premiership – thrust him into England contention.

He admitted: ‘It’s a big surprise because at the start of the year I wouldn’t have expected it.

‘You are not going to play for England unless you are playing for your club and so that was my aim at the beginning of the season.’

Cole announced his potential against Clermont Auvergne before Christmas, when he dismantled France loose-head Lionel Faure.

Less than a month later he repeated the trick, against new England team-mate Tim Payne, as Leicester’s pack destroyed Wasps at Welford Road.

‘The Wasps game got all the attention but it wasn’t a one-off,’ Cole insisted. ‘We had been playing well before then. The Clermont game was a big step forward.

‘It was a big pressure game against one of the best scrummaging teams in Europe. It was about proving to everyone you can deal with those situations. We did all right and we won the game.’

But the 22-year-old has made such an impact in his breakthrough season at Welford Road he was on Wednesday named in England’s starting XV for Sunday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with Italy. Cole, who appeared off the bench as a second-half replacement in England’s 30-17 victory over Wales last weekend, makes his full debut in place of Bath’s David Wilson .

Dan Cole

“This is a big surprise because at the start of the year I wouldn’t have expected it,” Cole said.

England manager Martin Johnson has made one other change for the Valentine’s Day trip to Rome, with Riki Flutey restored at inside centre following his recovery from a dead leg.

Selection for England completes a remarkable rise for Cole, who has made only 22 senior starts for Leicester. This time last year he was sent out on loan to first division club Nottingham.

Cole’s ambitions at the start of the campaign were limited to establishing himself at Leicester as a genuine rival to the Tigers’ tighthead veterans Julian White and Martin Castrogiovanni.

But a series of destructive performances – particularly against Clermont Auvergne in the Heineken Cup and Wasps in the Guinness Premiership – thrust him straight into England contention.

“At the start of the season my goal would have been to establish myself in the Leicester side and become a reliable player that Cockers (Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill) trusts,” he added.

“You are not going to play for England unless you are playing for your club and so that was my aim at the beginning of the season.”

England call-up: Dan Cole

The 22-year-old has been promoted into the starting XV to replace Bath’s David Wilson , who has been struggling with a shoulder injury since last weekend’s 30-17 victory over Wales.

Cole made his Test debut off the bench at Twickenham after forcing his way into the senior England squad with a series of destructive performances in the Leicester front row.

In the only other change to the England side that took the field against Wales, Riki Flutey has been restored at inside centre after recovering from a dead leg.

The Brive centre had originally been named in the team last week but he was forced to withdraw two days before the game after being injured in training.

England manager Martin Johnson has delayed the announcement of his replacement bench as he waits on a number of injury issues.

England captain Steve Borthwick has missed training for the last two days and has been isolated from the rest of the squad after being laid low with an illness.

Wilson and Lewis Moody were both in non-contact jerseys at training today while Simon Shaw also sat out the session.

Johnson has kept Harlequins flanker Chris Robshaw, Northampton lock Courtney Lawes and Worcester prop Matt Mullan with the squad.

Johnson confirmed he will name the bench on Friday afternoon.

Borthwick has recovered from the worst of his bug and although Shaw was ill overnight, Johnson is confident both men will be fit to start in Rome on Sunday.

There are no major concerns over Moody either – indeed Johnson quipped that he was in a non-contact bib for everyone else’s safety.

Johnson has no qualms in promoting Cole into the starting XV after watching him thrive at Leicester in the injury-enforced absence of veteran tightheads Julian White and Martin Castrogiovanni.

‘Dave Wilson took a bit of a knock last week so he has been limited in training and it is the perfect opportunity to bring Dan Cole in,’ said Johnson.

‘We are very pleased to do that. I thought he was impressive when he played last week and the way he has handled this week. He can do a good job for us.

‘We knew there was potential in him and getting the opportunity at Leicester to play games, his development has been rapid over the last few months.’

England

D Armitage (London Irish); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), M Tait (Sale Sharks), R Flutey (Brive), U Monye (Harlequins); J Wilkinson (Toulon), D Care (Harlequins); T Payne (Wasps), D Hartley (Northampton), D Cole (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), J Haskell (Stade Francais), L Moody (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins).

Replacements:TBC.

God of Centres?

There is news this morning that Brian O’Driscoll has been honoured with yet another award to go with his burgeoning collection. The (succinctly named) English Rugby Union Writers Club Pat Marshall Memorial Award will be awarded to him tonight although BOD won’t be present due to his preparations for Leinster’s Heineken Cup game against Brive this weekend. This is to go with the Rugby World Magazine accolade announced last week, in which BOD was named player of the decade.

BOD has been one of the true stars of the decade and this award is thoroughly deserved. If BOD was the best 13 of the decade who was the best 12 or 9 or 4 for that matter? In an attempt to answer these questions please have a look at the team selected below and see if you agree! (13 days in to the new decade is a bit late for this so please forgive us!)

15. Mils Muliaina (NZ)
14. Jason Robinson (Eng)
13. Brian O’Driscoll (Ire)
12. Tana Umaga (NZ)
11. Doug Howlett (NZ)
10. Jonny Wilkinson (Eng)
9.  Justin Marshall (NZ)
8. Lawrence Dallaghio (Eng)
7. Richie McCaw (NZ)
6. Richard Hill (Eng)
5. Victor Matfield (SA)
4. Martin Johnson (Capt) (Eng)
3. Carl Hayman (NZ)
2. Keith Wood (IRE)
1. Martin Castrogiovanni (Ita)

Honourable mentions to: Dan Carter, Bakkies Botha, Fourie Du Preez, Bryan Habana, Augustin Pichot, Serge Betsen, Damien Traille.

This selection was very difficult and was full of tricky decisions across the board. Carter and Wilkinson are virtually inseparable, scrum half was difficult with few stand out performers (our first choice of Van de Westhuizen didn’t play enough in the 2000′s to be considered), and there are many brilliant wings to choose from.

Do you disagree with any of the selections? Leave comments below.

Originally uploaded by Giorgia [off to mum+dad for the w/e + bank holiday

Goodies great, Bill Oddie ]]> http://metro.co.uk/2009/05/16/vesty-wants-exiles-kept-out-123151/ Sat, 16 May 2009 08:25:43 +0000 metrowebukmetro http://metro.co.uk/2009/05/16/vesty-wants-exiles-kept-out-123151/ Sam Vesty has demanded his Leicester team-mates use their defence as an attacking weapon against London Irish in today’s Guinness Premiership final.

The double-chasing Tigers will be appearing in their fifth successive Premiership final – they won only in 2007 – and start as heavy favourites against Irish.

Sam Vesty

In-form fly-half Vesty admires the Exiles’ swashbuckling style but said: “Our defence has been pretty good apart from the odd lapse in concentration. It’s usually all-consuming and if we can defend like we’re capable of it’s a very powerful weapon.”

He added: “Irish have some very good, dynamic players who can score tries from anywhere. Sometimes they don’t play so well but when they’re on song they look like a team of world beaters.

“A lot of that is down to the team they’re playing so if we’re in their face and don’t let them get into their stride we’ve got a chance.

Prop Martin Castrogiovanni has been ruled out through injury so his place in the front row goes to Julian White. White’s promotion to the starting line-up represents Leicester’s solitary change following their victory over play-off rivals Bath last Saturday.

There is no place in Tigers’ match-day 22 for Martin Corry, who will retire at the end of this season, with full-back Geordan Murphy retaining captaincy duties.

The Leicester bench, meanwhile, features four England internationals – wing Tom Varndell, scrum-half Harry Ellis, lock Louis Deacon and flanker Lewis Moody.

Irish lock Nick Kennedy faces a fitness test after suffering a knee injury during the 17-0 victory over play-off opponents Harlequins last weekend.

The Italy international has been ruled out through injury, with his place in the front row against London Irish going to Julian White.

Martin Castrogiovanni

White’s promotion to the starting line-up represents Leicester’s solitary change following their victory over play-off rivals Bath last Saturday.

There is no place in Tigers’ match-day 22 for Martin Corry, who will retire at the end of this season, with full-back Geordan Murphy retaining captaincy duties.

The Leicester bench, meanwhile, features four England internationals – wing Tom Varndell, scrum-half Harry Ellis, lock Louis Deacon and flanker Lewis Moody.

Leicester head coach Richard Cockerill said: “The guys have come through some intense games in very good shape, and we have kept changes to a minimum.

“We started very well against Bath last Saturday – probably as well as we have started any game this season – and we deserved to win in the end.

“You have to keep improving week to week, but Irish are a good side and now we are into a final we know we have to show our best form.”

Os jogadores de rúbgi Sèbastien Chabal, da França, e Martín Castrogiovanni, da Itália, brigaram no último sábado, em uma discoteca de Roma, por causa da noiva do último, a esquiadora Giulia Candiago. Assediada pelo francês, 1,92m e que pesa 115kg, ela viu seu companheiro, 1,88m e 120kg, partir para cima do rival.

O curioso é que Chabal e Castrogiovanni brigaram logo após a vitória da França sobre a Itália, no último sábado, por 50 a 8, pelo Torneio Seis Nações de rúgbi. Quem conquistou a competição foi a Irlanda, que derrotou o País de Gales por 17 a 15, fora de casa.

Segundo a imprensa italiana, Chabal estava em um estado de embriaguez “extremamente crítico” após a partida e, já na discoteca, ele começou a assediar Candiago, noiva de Castrogiovanni. O clima ficou tenso no local e os jogadores da seleção francesa tentaram acalmar Chabal, mas sem sucesso.

No meio de um empurra-empurra, Chabal acertou um soco em Castrogiovanni e em seguida foi retirado da briga por seus colegas, que o enviaram de volta ao hotel da seleção francesa.

getty images

Ahhh o terceiro tempo…..

With Pablo Canavosio having failed to recover from a problematic knee and Simone Piccone and Pietro Travagli out for the entire tournament through injury, Mallett revealed he had little choice but to shift the Stade Francais flanker to the number nine role.

The Azzurri welcome back Leicester Tigers prop Martin Castrogiovanni, who returns to the squad after a one-year absence.

Mallett has included uncapped Venezia player Jean-Francois Montauriol in the squad.

England international Varndell joins the likes of Martin Corry, Martin Castrogiovanni and George Chuter, who have also agreed fresh deals with the Tigers this season.

Tom Varndell

Varndell said: “I am very happy to be staying at the club. It is still regarded as one of the best clubs in the country, if not Europe.”

He added: “With the fan base and the following that we have, it is an amazing club to be a part of and I am very happy to be extending my contract.”

Tigers head coach Marcelo Loffreda added: “We are really happy that Tom Varndell has signed.

“He is a very accomplished player, he is a skilful player and he has been working very hard on his game. He is potentially one of the best players in his position in the country.”