ENGLAND STILL NOT READY - SCOTLAND SHOW PROMISE

 

 

It was that time of year again. Once again the giants of the southern hemisphere head to this side of the equator to see what they can do to the cream of European rugby. And for Martin Johnson's England the clock was ticking. In less than two years the men in white will be heading to New Zealand for another go at the rugby World Cup and so far our record against those from Down Under in the Johnson era has been iffy. Matters weren't helped this time round by injuries complete with claims that the way Premiership rugby is played makes it too easy for players to get hurt. Daniel Hipkiss was meant to be the name to watch out for, Johnny Wilkinson was meant to be returning to form once again.

The first visitors to Twickenham were Australia. Johnny immediately grabbed a drop goal and followed that up with a penalty. The Aussies weren't to be counted out though as Will Genia grabbed a try only for Wilkinson to kick over another pen and so far England were looking like the better team. Matt Giteau kicked over an Aussie penalty early on in the second half though and other such pen gave the Aussies the lead. Giteau then went on to convert an Adam Ashley Cooper try and that was it, game over, the Aussies won 18-9. England certainly didn't disgrace themselves but ultimately ran out of fuel in the second half. In theory it was something to build on though.

The next visitors to Twickenham were Argentina. Again Johnny opened the scoring with a drop goal but Argies then levelled with a penalty from Martin Rodriguez. Johnny replied with a pen of his own as the game turned into an ugly kicking contest which the Argies were able to turn around with two Rodriguez penalties. Wilkinson levelled with another pen before half time but it didn't look good. The second half pretty much descended into a dirge before new guy Matthew Banahan drove over for our first try of this series. Wilkinson converted and despite a last minute Argie charge we got away with a 16-9 win. Well it was a result but it was a seriously ugly one.

Finally the All Blacks came to Twickers and everyone knew that the men in white needed to put on a show. They certainly came out swinging and Wilkinson again opened the scoring with a penalty only for Dan Carter to reply before Johnny grabbed a second, then a seemingly off-form Carter found his range again. So far so good though. However the Kiwis took ovver in the second half with Carter giving them the lead with another pen before Jimmy Cowan finally found a way through a stubborn England defence to score a try that Carter converted before adding another pen. NZ won 19-6 and Johnno still has one heck of a lot of work to do with his guys.

North of the border and Scotland had a new coach - Andy Robinson. Yes the same Andy Robinson who proved to be completely useless as England manager. Why the SRFU thought hiring him was a good idea I don't know. It had certainly been a while since Scotland had made much noise against the Tri-Nations team and since the relative glory days of the 90s they have been dodging the Six Nations wooden spoon on multiple occasions. Still Robinson had managed to find one or two new faces, namely the 22 year old Alex Grove and uncapped 24 year old Moray Low. Overall they had an easier test than England but still nothing they could take for granted.

The first visitors to Murrayfield were Fiji. Phil Godman opened the scoring for the Scots with a penalty before converting a Johnnie Beatie try to really take control of the game. Godman grabbed two more pens before halftime only for Fiji to get on the scoreboard just before the whistle when Nicky Little converted a Vereniki Goneva try. The Scots finished the game off in the second half when Godman converted a Graeme Morrison penalty. Fiji had the last word with a Little penalty but Scotland still came away 23-10 winners. An impressive performance from the Scots though they'd face tougher challenges before the series was done.

The next visitors to Murrayfield were Australia - surely one of the toughest challenges possible. Sure enough it was the Aussies opening the scoring with a Matt Giteau pen only for Godman to level before half time. Somehow the Aussies were unable to take the lead in either the first half or early stages of the second half. In the meantime Godman grabbed a pen and a drop goal. At the last minute the Aussies looked to finally take the lead after a Ryan Cross try but when the conversion was blown a beserk Murrayfield cheered a 9-8 win. It was scrappy but it was the Scots' first win over the Aussies since 1982 - maybe Robinson's not so useless afterall!

The final visitors to Murrayfield were Argentina and three wins out of three was certainly on the cards. Again Godman opened the scoring with a penalty and landed a second kick just before half time. So far so good. The Scots finally broke in the second half though with Martin Rodriguez kicked a penalty for the Argies. More Argie pressure brought a second Rodriguez penalty then a drop goal from the Argie kicker. The Scots had a last minute opportunity for a try but blew it, losing 9-6! A gutting result given the pre-match optimism but overall, Scottish fans have little to complain about and maybe, just maybe they'll be more competitive in the next Six Nations.

Wales were also in action with a string of matches at the Millenium Stadium. First up, they were beaten 19-12 by a dminant New Zealand side. Then they managed to get a win on the board to the tune of 17-13 against Samoa. They followed that up with a 33-16 win over Argentina, showing the English and Scots how it should be done by outclassing and outsmarting the Pumas and grabbing three tries as a result of their ambitious play. Their series ended in dissapointment though as they found themselves caned 33-12 by a hungry Australia side with a Wallabies managing to wrap up the game in just 25 minutes, Wales not helped by injury trouble.

Ireland also had a string of challenges at Croke Park to face. First up came Australia with whom they drew 20-20, the Aussies having led at half time. Then the Six Nations champions turned on the class against Fiji with a dominant 41-6 win. Finally it came down to a rumble against South Africa and the Springboks capitulated to the tune of 15-10 with a lot of the credit for Ireland's win going to their defence who do seem to have the number of the reigning world champions. Overall the men in green certainly can't complain about those results - they finished the series as the only British Isles side left unbeaten by southern hemisphere visitors.

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