A new broadcasting deal is firmly in place, one that gives the un-digitalised, un-cabled, dish-less majority a chance to keep up with developments for the price of a licence fee. There is a fixture list, too: a proper one, with real dates and kick-off times. Club rugby has not had one of those for years – not at the start of a season, at least.Most importantly, the Premiership itself is in a position to take full advantage of this new and beneficial set of conditions. Sixteen points, including bonuses, separated fourth-placed Northampton from 10th-placed Sale at the end of the last campaign, and that margin is likely to drop significantly this time around. Why? Because the league programme kicking off at The Stoop and Kingsholm on Saturday afternoon is comfortably the most competitive since Wasps won the first title of the professional era in 1997.According to Dean Ryan, once the Big Bad Wolf of the union game and now the ferociously combative coach of Bristol, this season’s rugby will be “harder, better and very definitely not pretty” Which is the way Ryan likes it, of course. “The Premiership is a tough environment in which to develop a team, and it gets tougher by the year,” he explained.
“The standards go up season on season, and that can only be good for the game at England level. It may not be attractive, in the Barbarians sense of the word, but there is no more competitive club league than the Zurich Premiership.”In other words, the English clubs are playing what might be called “real rugby”, as opposed to the pat-a-cake candyfloss purveyed by the southern hemisphere during the early years of Super 12. The Premiership has been the engine behind an England team that now has world supremacy in its sights, the crucial element in forcing the Tri-Nations powers – Australia, South Africa and New Zealand – to re-sanction a legitimate contest for the ball in all phases. It has also forced the French to revamp their own domestic championship, where top-flight numbers have been reduced from 21 to 16.Ryan expects to see “real rugby” in all its blood-and-guts glory over the next nine months; certainly, he believes the pack chasing Leicester, English champions for the last three seasons and now European champions as well, to be far larger and more threatening than was the case last season He can expect to be proved right, too. If the old Leicester-Bath rivalry remains as bitterly unforgiving as ever, there are a dozen other rivalries to savour: indeed, who would declare with the remotest confidence that Newcastle will finish third and Northampton eighth, when there are perfectly good reasons to suggest the reverse?Leicester seldom look anything other than potential winners, and with Josh Kronfeld trading the sand and surf of New Zealand’s South Island for the sleet and sludge of the East Midlands – is the man mad? – the Tigers can prowl forth with confidence.
Frankly, there is no greater likelihood of their losing a first Premiership game at Welford Road since December 1997 than of Austin Healey throwing in his lot with the local monastery and abiding by the vow of silence. But they may find away-days more testing now that the likes of Newcastle and Quins are developing a fortress mentality.Expect the Premiership argument to continue deep into the spring, an English club to reach the final of the Heineken Cup for the fifth time in as many attempts and England to complete a Grand Slam by smashing Ireland all over Lansdowne Road in October before claiming another Six Nations title in the new year. Indeed, expect everything to run smoothly until 2003, when the World Cup takes place in Australia That will be beyond the English World Cups always are.. The Newport owner, Tony Brown, will be hoping Joost van der Westhuizen did not pick up this black-and-amber horror show on the eve of his meeting with South African rugby officials. The Newport owner, Tony Brown, will be hoping Joost van der Westhuizen did not pick up this black-and-amber horror show on the eve of his meeting with South African rugby officials.
If he did then he is unlikely to be convinced that Rodney Parade is the place for him to further his rugby career over the next two years. Quite simply his prospective new team-mates were shocking.Against a Cardiff side ravaged by injury, missing at least 11 regulars and patched up with a handful of youngsters, they were outfought and out-thought by a spirited home effort in complete contrast to the one which opened the season.On opening night in the Celtic League, Cardiff slumped to an improbable 6-3 home defeat to the Irish whipping boys Connacht.
After that, the Arms Park club’s new South African coach, Rudy Joubert, must have felt like packing his bags and going home.That defeat was followed by another one at Neath, but after this turnaround in both performance and fortune Joubert was the Springbok wearing a smile. By contrast, the former South African coach Ian McIntosh was dismayed by his Newport side’s abject performance.Having missed the opening weekend, Newport finally got their Celtic League and Welsh/Scottish League season in to full swing with a comfortable win over Caerphilly last weekend. That should have put them in the mood to avenge a double defeat by Cardiff last season.But with the home side supposedly there for the taking, Newport’s experienced and highly priced side just could not deliver the goods.Worse still, this Newport side must travel to Toulouse and Leinster in the Heineken Cup this season. On this showing neither game will be pretty.As for Cardiff, their season has finally got off the mark and there will no doubt be relief all round that their credibility is once again intact. For that they should thank their dog-eared forwards, the former Wales prop Peter Rogers in particular.Despite being sent to the sin-bin for some illegal use of the boot, Rogers was responsible for putting the Newport pack under tremendous pressure at the scrums. He also foraged well in the loose and obviously relished the opportunity of starting a big game in front of the Wales coach, Graham Henry.More of the same from Rogers could lead to a long awaited renaissance from the loose head prop, although there is still a long way for him to go before he can recapture his former glories.Rogers departed for his 10-minute touchline sojourn shortly after teenage home outside half Nick Robinson had kicked the first of his two penalties his second came at the end of the half after opposing centres Andy Marinos and Matt Allen had swapped tries.That gave Cardiff a 13-7 interval lead which Robinson extended after 54 minutes with a super solo try of his own which he also converted.
Newport hit back with a Matt Pini try eight minutes from time, which the replacement Jason Strange converted, but it was much too little too late.Cardiff: R Williams; C Hudson (P Jones, 57), M Allen, P Muller, A Henry; N Robinson, R Powell; P Rogers (S John, 71), G Woods (A Lewis, 61), K Fouries, J Tait (capt), C Quinnell, J Brownrigg (S John, 18-24), R Appleyard, G Kacala.Newport: M Pini; M Mostyn, M Watkins (J Pritchard, 68), A Marinos, M Breeze; S Howarth (J Strange, 68), D Burn; R Snow, P Young (J Richards, 68), A Garvey (C Anthony, 73), S Raiwalui (capt), M Voyle (G Taylor, 68), P Buxton, A Popham (J Powell, 60), J Forster.Referee: Steve Lander (RFU).. Barry Cowan will have to Walkman alone from now on. Britain’s Davis Cup player will not be able to listen to his personal cassette player on court any more as a new ruling has pressed the stop button on his major inspiration
Barry Cowan will have to Walkman alone from now on. Britain’s Davis Cup player will not be able to listen to his personal cassette player on court any more as a new ruling has pressed the stop button on his major inspiration.
Officials have outlawed the headphones which blared out “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as Cowan entered the hearts of a nation as a gallant loser in a five-set thriller with Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in June.Cowan – named alongside Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Martin Lee in the squad for the Davis Cup match with Equador in a former bullring in Guayaquil – put his performance against Sampras down to the Anfield anthem. He tuned in regularly to his CD player during the end changes.The Liverpool fan is understandably upset to be losing his unusual form of game improvement which was suggested to him by a sports psychologist.