English Rugby Union

Martin Johnson, the England Rugby Union team manager, is said to be denying that our team has been handed a fairly kind draw for the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup in New Zealand. Argentina could be a threat and the encounter with Scotland will be ‘hell of a game’, he says. Nice to see you expressing such confidence, Martin. Rugby Union betting fans take note – even if England ends up top of their group, they face New Zealand in their quarter-final where they will doubtless be used for floor cleaning purposes.

Boys would Rather Play with Round Balls

Is it surprising that we have a second rate team, in comparison with the three major, southern-hemisphere teams? After all, until 2003, when we won the World Cup, nobody gave a toss about rugby – union or league. Plus it’s largely a middle class sport with most of its players coming from public schools. It’s only in the last ten years that state schools have provided Rugby Union with players of any stature. On top of this, we are principally a football and cricket playing nation. When did New Zealand, Australia or South Africa last win a football match? OK, we have a larger population, but the cream of our ball playing sporting talent goes first, and almost last, to football with cricket mopping up the rest. There are ninety two clubs in the English Football League alone, with as many others bubbling under it. Every single one of those players wants to play in the Premiership and never gave rugby a second thought when at school.

The same thing happened in the West Indies when rap music began to turn the heads of their youth towards America. Suddenly they wanted to play baseball and not cricket. Net result? – a huge decline in the quality of their international cricket team. Sports betting enthusiasts realise that we have only a limited amount of sporting aptitude in this country and it is both foolish and arrogant to presume that we can excel at every sport we engage with. There just isn’t the talent to go around.