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.