Ireland prepared for the last World Cup by sitting in the freezing cold in the Polish countryside, eating (8,000 calories per day!) and playing contentious friendlies – witness the anthem debate before the Italian game in Ravenhill and the Battle of Bayonne. Continue reading
Traditionally, England’s biggest problem is a media driven, merry-go-round approach to selection. Until Geoff Cooke became manager in 1987, Fleet Street delighted in throwing up names for selection and shooting them down once the new blood failed to gel. Cooke introduced a cleft chinned Will Carling as his captain and built a team around a bunch of big coppers. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 