England v Australia Legends at Twickenham Stoop on Thursday October 31st

 

I don’t normally do this, but it’s for a good cause, and there are going to be some of the legends of the game on show. Let me just lapse into PR Speak for a bit:

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of 2003 Rugby World Cup Final, Sportingclass and Harvey Thorneycroft Ltd are delighted to present the England v Australia Legends at Twickenham Stoop on Thursday October 31st, kick off is at 7.45pm. The match is in aid of the chatirities Restart www.restartrugby.org.uk, and the  Injured Player’s Foundation and is sponsored by Heathrow Express

Jason Leonard, Martin Corry, Jason Robinson, Phil Vickery, Josh Lewsey and many other members of the victorious England 2003 squad will take on a formidable Australian team, that includes Stirling Mortlock,  Al Baxter, Chris Whitaker and Richard Harry – and with a combined total of over 1,450 Test caps, there is going to be a lot of quality on show.

When I say legends, I mean players like Jason Robinson, who could just about weave his way through a brick wall. And Stirling Mortlock, who was a big strong player with all the skills to go with. I can remember him as captain being called over by the ref to reprimand the current Australian captain, James Horwill in one of his first tests for getting involved in a dust up, and failing spectacularly to control his grin at the state of Horwill’s face. Leinster supporters will be pleased to see Chris Whitaker putting his skills on display again.

Get on down there and support this, our game is based on respect, for the ref, for the fans, for the players, respect for the skills of players from another time, and  respect for the players who’ve come out the wrong side of a hugely physical game

And the English team is here: 
http://www.quins.co.uk/news/7961.php#.UnEUemwgHCQ

Ireland 4, Europe 0!

 (picture http://bit.ly/1b4nQyf)

I didn’t catch the Connacht match but they got a great win away at Zebre.

Leinster was next up for Ireland, who played some good rugby, some average rugby, then watched with interest as Castre imploded, and took full advantage. Julien Tomas gets the muppet of the month award for his yellow card for three crooked feeds. In fact, he can keep the award, someone is going to have to outdo themselves to win it off him. Leinster’s scrum is improved beyond recognition, we have 4 props now, 5 even, which is a pretty amazing turnaround. Our lineout was pretty average though, and the running rugby is still stuttering. But a good win at home nonetheless.

Ulster, meanwhile, were getting  a great away result at Montpellier. I didn’t see it, but that’s a massive result for them, from the form Irish province – they must have the best chance of bagging an HC for Ireland.

Finally, it was Munster’s turn to have a go at a strange looking Gloucester side. They put them away well in the end, but they, like Leinster, are missing a few gears. Great match for Peter O’Mahoney, but I’m, still not convinced with how Munster are trying to play. DOC, for instance, is not, and never will be a wing.
I also caught bits of the Toulouse Saracens match, where the English Galacticos slipped up when they surely had that one in the bag.

And huge  credit for Cardiff for sticking it to Toulon – maybe some of their stars are starting to show their age a bit, and Cardiff ran them into the ground eventually.

Quins battled hard with no return again, and Glasgow got their show on the road.

Finally, the all conquering All Blacks wrapped up their season with another good win, but Australia did themselves proud too.  Of concern will be that they’ve shipped 60 points in the last two matches.

Heineken Cup
Saracens  16 - 17  Toulouse    
Leicester  34 - 3  Benetton Treviso 
Cardiff Blues 19 - 15 Toulon 
Zebre 6 - 33 Connacht 
Leinster 19 - 7 Castres 
Munster 26 - 10 Gloucester 
Scarlets 26 - 26 Racing Metro 92 
Montpellier 8 - 25 Ulster 
Northampton 27 - 16 Ospreys 
Perpignan 31 - 14 Edinburgh 
Clermont Auvergne 23 - 13 Harlequins 
Glasgow 20 - 16 Exeter