On the move...

Mathew Tait's proposed move to Leicester Tigers, having last week been released  from his contract with immediate effect by Sale Sharks, is probably the best thing that can happen to him.

A real talent who, during the 2007 World Cup looked as if he was only a step or two away from breaking through on the world stage, the last few years for Tait have been rather disappointing.

Selectorial foibles, fluctuating form, injuries and being in a (mostly) poor Sale team have all contributed to his lack of progress. The thing is, looking back, I don't recall Tait ever really having had a stinker for England. Even on his debut in 2005 (where he was smashed twice in tackles by a certain tangerine-skinned Welsh opponent), he didn't play that badly. He has, however, failed to convince completely in an England shirt and is currently well down the pecking order, especially given the current preference for behemoths in the centres.

The move to the Tigers, therefore, can only be a good thing. Being around top players, top coaches and, most importantly, a winning culture, can only improve his prospects. Just look at Toby Flood.

Too late for this year's World Cup? Probably, but at 25 Tait's still young enough to be around in 2015 and much can change in 4 years. I do feel that it will be England's loss if they do not find a way to make the most of his talents.

Pitbull Muzzled

According to that purveyor of all things true and wise (aka the Daily Mail), former England hooker and current BBC rugby pundit Brian Moore has decided to close his Twitter account following criticism after the publication of a couple of less than tasteful jokes.

Last month Moore apparently re-tweeted a post saying: "Apparently Gary Glitter is the new Aston Villa manager. He heard the strikers are Young, Bent and possibly Keane, boom boom."

Tasteful? No.
Funny? Yes, very, at least according to my admittedly puerile sense of humour.

More recently, following England’s win over Wales in Cardiff, a (possibly Welsh) tweeter named Sam Downes sent a public tweet to Moore accusing him of being "literally the worst, most biased commentator in the history of rugby, sport and the universe," to which one Moore’s followers responded, questioning whether Downes’surname had anything to do with his medical condition, a remark which Moore apparently (and possibly ill-advisedly) re-tweeted.

Tasteful? No.
Funny? Not really, but so what?

The real point here is that the nature of a medium like Twitter is that remarks are often made that are intended largely for private consumption (or at least for consumption by followers who presumably have signed up because they know what sort of views they are likely to get) but which are, in fact, consumed by a much wider public. Tasteless jokes and remarks are part of life and therefore part of Twitter. Sometimes they're very funny, sometimes they're wide of the mark. Moore's not the first well-known figure to be caught out by Twitter (and, remember, he didn't even make the original comment) and certainly won't be the last, but for anyone to genuinely take offence at some throwaway line on a social media site strikes me as being more than a little ridiculous. I suspect that those who have jumped on the bandwagon of condemnation are motivated more by a general dislike for Moore's persona than by any real offence caused.

The fact that Moore, whose views are generally always entertaining (whether or not you agree with them), has felt compelled to close his Twitter account is a shame but, as with many so-called scandals these days, the matter does appear to have been blown out of all proportion.

To swallow or not to swallow...

At the risk that the title of this post might attract one or two unintended visitors, I thought I'd add my tuppence ha'penny's worth to the current debate raging around the "Ash Splash" - Chris Ashton's swallow-diving try celebration.

I know that it has captured the imagination of the public at large and the words "exuberence" and "entertainment" are being liberally sprinkled around but, being a tad old school (which I know will come as a great surprise to many of you), I am afraid I have to admit that I just don't like it, mainly for the following reasons:

1. It smacks of the one thing of which English rugby is often (and mostly unfairly) accused - arrogance. I'm sure it's not intended, but the inference is that this try-scoring lark is so easy we can afford to arse about before we touch down. Not good. Far more effective, methinks, would be to underplay the celebrations - simply dot the ball down and trot back, the sub-text being that this is no big deal, we do it all the time.

2. Seriously, it's only a matter of time until Ashton drops the ball, with the inevitable fallout. So far he's only indulged when clear of defenders but the one-handed wrist-grip on the ball as he leaps into the air is stupidly high risk and I'd hate to be in his shoes if his antics were to cost England victory in a tight game.

3. Ashton's physique is not exactly whippet-like, which means that there's a more than reasonable chance that crashing to the turf from such a height could do some serious damage to his ribcage. To me it looked as if he'd winded himself after his fourth try against Italy - he's lucky not to have done more damage and it looks very much like an accident waiting to happen.

4. It's not even a decent swallow dive. Ashton's technique is severely deficient - way too vertical for a start - and if he's going to persist he needs serious work on what is currently no more than a turkey flop. Must do better.

All that said, Ashton is a superb rugby player and has transformed the way the England team play. Bottom line is that, as long as he keeps scoring, he can pretty much celebrate as he pleases.

Observations in the cold light of day

OK, with a bit of time to digest the weekend's Six Nations action, here are some very brief observations:

ENGLAND - good, at times very good, but I wonder in hindsight whether we'll all be thinking "well, it was only Wales."

WALES - rubbish, with one or two exceptions (Bradley Davies, Jonathan Davies). Thing is, they've been consistently poor for some time now and yet no one appears to be seriously questioning Gatland's position.

IRELAND - phew, just got away with it. Outmuscled upfront and mostly contained behind - Ferris and Heaslip can't come back quickly enough.

ITALY - did what they always do at home and made life bloody difficult for the opposition. Almost a famous victory and it would have been fully deserved.

FRANCE - mesmerising at their best, but it's being conveniently forgotten that they conceded 3 tries and looked shaky in defence against a team hardly known for its try-scoring prowess.

SCOTLAND - can take heart from certain aspects of their performance and in Richie Gray they appear to have unearthed a monster. Euan Murray, however, might now want to also consider opting out of playing on a Saturday.

Rebel Rebel

Having slotted 5 conversions in Melbourne Rebels' 54-0 demolition of Tonga it would be nice to think that Danny Cipriani is finally just letting his rugby do the talking.

His recent revelations, however, that he has undergone counselling for depression suggest otherwise. On the one hand you might think that such a high profile figure admitting such frailty is laudable. On the other hand it again appears evident that Cipriani still feels the need to lead his life under the public gaze which is somewhat ironic given that, almost in the same breath, Cipriani insists he is in Australia to play rugby and lead a quiet life.

Rebels coach Rod MacQueen blames a media obsession with the former Wasps no 10, complaining that "it’s very difficult when we're building a new team and we're always hearing about Danny. It's disappointing for him but that's one of the reasons he's come over here, to get a fresh start."

Whilst the paparazzi aren't exactly blameless, Cipriani hardly helps himself, recently escorting former Neighbours star Stephanie McIntosh to a club function whilst having also been linked with Australian X Factor contestant Tamara Jaber since moving down under. Far be it for me to suggest, but the last time I looked it wasn't compulsory for rugby players to date celebrities (no matter how minor).

The shame of it all is that if he does focus on his rugby there is a huge opportunity in Melbourne for him to develop into a seriously world class player. He has natural talent in abundance and the Super 14 (or 15 or whatever it is these days) may just be the making of him.

Sadly, however, I fear it may all end in tears.

Excuses, excuses

It is with some surprise that I realise that it’s some 14 months since I last took to the rugby field in anger. Until a few weeks ago that was still more recently than a certain Welsh tangerine-man but now I’m very much out on my own in my rugby isolation. I do, however, have several well rehearsed excuses, including (without limitation):

1. Lack of Fitness - any gains made during last summer’s touch rugby have slowly but surely ebbed away during the autumn and winter. I have all the strength of a malnourished gnat, all the stamina of an asthmatic mayfly and all the muscle definition of strawberry jelly. Frankly I wouldn't last 5 minutes on a rugby pitch at the moment.

2. Illness - November in particular was a disaster health-wise. Head cold, sinus problems, labarynthitis, vomiting bug, back spasms. Not good. December was marginally better but the festive season wasn't exactly illness-free either. Bah humbug.

3. Weekend distractions - my 8 year old boy's footballing commitments mean that Saturday and Sunday mornings are largely both taken up driving him to various parts of Watford and Hemel and giving vociferous non-expert "advice" from the touchline, leaving precious little time for much else.

4. No Vets - my club hasn't been putting out a Vets team this season so the incentive to get myself fit and make myself available just hasn't been there. Running around with a bunch of teens in the 3rd XV doesn't have the same appeal somehow. Feeble excuse I know but I'm grasping at straws now.

5. Reality - much like my orange-skinned role model from the Valleys, I really do need to keep my weekends free for offers to take part in reality telly programmes such as Strictly Celebrity Big Brother Get Me Out of Here On Ice.

6. Laziness - the painful truth of it all is that, deep down, I'm a lazy bar steward.

All is not, however, lost. I do have a plan of sorts:

• Lose weight - yes, that old chestnut. Fact is, however, that I shed more than a few pounds between August and December last year simply by cutting down on alcohol and not eating crap like crisps, cakes and biscuits. It wasn't that difficult and I keep telling myself that the fact that I spent most of November feeling dreadful was purely coincidental. So, here it is, as from today I'm off the booze until further notice. Blimey, did I really just say that?
• Get Fit - the plan is to get down to the gym and out on the road for the next couple of months and recover a semblance of fitness so that I can approach the Touch Rugby "season" again in May with a degree of confidence. Who knows, it may even lead to a bit of proper pre-season training over the summer.
• Make myself available for World Cup selection, a plan that is only marginally more ludicrous than that of a certain uber-tanned former ballroom dancer from Bridgend.

Maggie May

Wake up Maggie I think I've got something to say to you...

HUGE congratulations to England Women's flanker Maggie Alphonsi who earlier this week was announced as the winner of the the prestigious Pat Marshall Award at the Rugby Writers’ Dinner, beating off the challenge of the likes of Richie McCaw and Victor Matfield.

The award was given in recognition of her immense efforts during the Women's Rugby Cup at the beginning of the season as well as for her years of dedicated service to the sport.

Alphonsi (who also snapped up the 2010 Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year gong), joins luminaries such as Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Jean-Pierre Rives, David Campese and Jonah Lomu as recipients of the award.

Quite remarkable and thoroughly deserved.