In today’s Six Shooter, speculation mounts over Rob Kearney’s fitness, Jim Telfer’s comments struck quite a few nerves and an England debut awaits the man with the greatest name in rugby.
Kearney a doubt for Saturday?
With the likes of O’Connell, Ferris and Bowe already sidelined, the last thing we need ahead of the Six Nations opener on Saturday is another of our big guns to cry off injured.
We started to get a little worried then, when we heard a few murmurs this afternoon that Rob Kearney had picked up a knock and is touch and go to face the Welsh, especially considering Kearney’s seamless return from injury in Leinster blue in recent weeks.
There’s no official line on Kearney’s injury, so we took to Twitter to see if there was any more information knocking about.
Apart from something about Ross O’Carroll Kelly’s ‘Keep Rob Kearney at Leinster fund’, a post from one of Rob’s female admirers saying, and we quote, ‘sport is disgusting apart from rugby ’cause Rob Kearney mm’ and the cracking picture from Irish Country Living below, information about said injury was pretty thin on the ground.
Pic via Twitter/Irish Country Living
Let’s hope it stays that way before Saturday.
Potential England debut for the man with the best name in all of rugby
Rodney Ah You, Chiliboy Ralepelle and rugby league star Francis Meli (say it a few times and you’ll get it) may beg to differ, but as far we’re concerned, there is no better-named player in the world of rugby right now than Leicester Tigers centre Billy Twelvetrees.
So far, only Heineken Cup and Aviva Premiership commentators have had the pleasure of saying his name in a live broadcast but that may be about to change this weekend as it is being reported that the 24-year old could start alongside Brad Barritt against Scotland on Saturday.
With his favourite player Tommy Bowe absent through injury, we can only imagine that Ryle Nugent is relishing the chance to utter his name when England visit the Aviva on Sunday week, no doubt with some reference to the fact that, with a name like that, he is always going to be difficult to chop down.
So Jim Telfer’s comments touched a nerve then
You may have read Scottish legend Jim Telfer’s perfectly timed rant about both the English and Welsh teams in these pages yesterday and although players and coaches will go out of their way to deny that such talk has any effect on their preparations whatsoever, Telfer’s comments were sufficiently provocative to earn a response from four separate parties in both camps.
Telfer’s claims that England were “too arrogant, too pretentious and too condescending” met with the following response from prop Dan Cole…
“Yes we’re confident in ourselves, yes we back ourselves and what we do, and we’re confident going onto the field we can win games, but I wouldn’t say we cross the line of arrogance. We understand where we are and how we’re perceived. Our motivation comes from how we want to progress as a side.”
… and this from coach Andy Farrell…
“I definitely don’t recognise anything he has said. People say this every year about the English anyway. It has stuck now. That is why we take it tongue-in-cheek. We know exactly what we are about.”
His assertion that the Welsh were ‘lazy’, meanwhile, was given short shrift by Wales attack coach Mark Jones, who said this…
“There’s absolutely nothing lazy about the work ethic of the coaches or certainly the playing staff. Three Grand Slams in the last few years suggests being lazy isn’t something that goes on here.”
… and winger Alex Cuthbert, who said this:
“I’ve worked my a*** off since coming into professional rugby. From where I started and being in this environment my game has really progressed. I’m still developing and have a lot more to learn, but each game I will get more experienced.
“It’s in our blood that we work our a**** off for each other. We’re really good mates as well so laziness never comes into it.”
We guess Telfer’s comments had the desired effect then.
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