Questions to be answered ....

Tuesday November 02 2004
What will November bring us

Plenty of action this November with all the major countries involved in a pre-Christmas rugby fest. However, aside from the all-important scores on the doors, what other issues need to be resolved? We look at those critical questions that will be on many people's minds.

Will Andy Robinson's England be any good?

Has good ship England reached their Abyssal Plain or are they going to sink further to hit crush depth? Under the guidance of new chief Andy Robinson it is going to be a fascinating few weeks for England as they start to re-build after 12 months of post-RWC hysteria and fall-out. Mainstream opinion genuinely seems to be very wary of putting their necks on the line on which direction England will go this November.

On the one hand England, denuded by injuries and retirements, really would seem to be heading for some 1990s defeats to the in-form Boks and old nemesis Australia, it is almost as if 2000-2003 never happened. Then again there is a sense that June 2004 was the line in the sand for the Woodward era and with some new faces melded with old, the nation once again expects.

Either way, there should be fireworks aplenty.

Can BOD cut it as Lions' skipper?

There is a scent of Lions in the air but many of the critical selection questions, like who will be the starting No.9, will have to remain in the box until the Six Nations. However, one of the biggest questions likely to be resolved in the minds of fans at least, if not Clive Woodward, sooner rather than later is who will take over from the Colossus that was Martin Johnson as head of the British and Irish Lions.

At present there seems to be only one leading candidate in the form of Brian O'Driscoll of Ireland. Should he be given the nod by Sir Clive, he would be the first Lions captain from the Emerald Isle since Ciaran Fitzgerald took the best of the British Isles to New Zealand in 1983. They lost that Test series 0-4 so at least BOD won't do any worse than that on a three Test tour.

Unfortunately for Lions' watchers Ireland don't have the toughest of November schedules but there are still challenges and pressures aplenty for a captain to handle. It will be interesting to see how he gets on against South Africa and Argentina and most importantly how his playing performances stack up at the same time. Just a shame it looks like the groin of Gordon D'Arcy has made it unlikely we shall see a potential Lions midfield partnership in action.

Will the Boks build on their success?

Not since the heady days of 1998 has South Africa felt so good about their rugby. After the years of Harry Viljoen (remember him?), Mr Straeuli and his naked training in the bush it seems that Jake White has returned the Bokke to an even keel that they had in the late 1990s.

Their Tri-Nations success this year means they can walk tall and travel to the British Isles with some confidence of secure a possible 'Grand Slam' over the Home Unions. Respect for the Bok team seems to be back and this goes for the players themselves, the fans and yes, even the English media who have heralded White's arrival. The events surrounding the 2002 Battle of Twickenham seem a long time ago.

However, it does not take long for the ever demanding Bok fans and the South African scribes to turn on their team if results begin to slide and coach White knows his reign could end as quickly as it began. Can the Boks build on their momentum? They had better. Are they as good as their Tri-Nations results suggest? We shall see.

Are Wales improving at all?

Tough times for Welsh rugby ... again. Although at least the Welsh (unlike the Scots) have settled on a path forward, the analgesia for the pained birth of the regional sides was always the hopes of successful domestic, European and international campaigns. Sadly the first and second have not really materialised early doors, leaving everyone looking at the Welsh national side this month.

Although progress on such a macro level needs to be looked at in a much longer timescale, the pressure is unsurprisingly on the Welsh side to show that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Wales coach Mike Ruddock has had his first tasters of Test rugby but the serious work starts now. He needs comfortable wins over Romania and Japan and at least one very creditable performances against South Africa or New Zealand to keep the critics onside.

How many photos will there be of Prince Harry and Zara Philips cheering on England?

Rugby and royalty, gawd bless 'em. Aside from sex, drugs and Stan Collymore, royalty has always been most likely to get rugby on the front pages of the UK's finest tabloids (Does that include The Times now? Ed.). So expect plenty of shots of the two media darlings in the Twickenham crowd appearing in the UK newspapers, Zara cheering on her Tins and Harry, erm, well just being Harry and hanging out with all his rugby chums.

How long can George Gregan go on for?

Or should that be, is George Gregan the only scrum-half in Australia? 34 years and 102 caps and counting, he seems to have racked up the caps in double quick time. Seems inevitable that in 10 years time the world record will be more like 150 caps, 100 will merely be an average. The Wallabies are without perennial bridesmaid scrum-half Chris Whitaker through injury but at 30 they can't expect him to hang around.

Spiky haired Matt Henjak has been called away from his brief sojourn in the bright lights of London to provide back-up, otherwise there is the utility of Matt Giteau who can be called upon for services. Will be interesting to see if any of those two get a run out in one of the two games against Scotland.

Who will take the place of St Jonny of England?

What is clear is that England's favourite son is no longer the immoveable object he once was, or at least England fans thought him to be. Whatever the truth about his shoulder and arm prognosis, it is clear that England can't keep waiting around for him to descend from the heavens like some sort of talismanic saviour from the North. They need to pick themselves up and get on with building a decent team whoever occupies the No.10 jersey, be that Charlie Hodgson or Alex King. Hence why despite intriguing selection posers all over the park, it is the No.10 that all eyes will be on.

What about Scotland ... and will anyone there care?

With internal boardroom strife, problems over player release, mounting SRU debts, resentment at journeymen over young home-grown talent and more poor European form there is little of the impending seasonal cheer for Scots' rugby at the moment.

Transition phases cannot last forever, but you better not tell Scotland coach Matt Williams that! Williams has been re-building since he took over after the Rugby World Cup last year and there has been little signs of success on his part, unless you count keeping the score down against the Wallabies.

They play two of their four tests away from Murrayfield this November, one in Perth and one in the home of Scottish football, Hampden Park in Glasgow. They will need to empty the surrounding regions of their rugby support for these games, not only for the team but also for the bank balance and the general morale.

What will the Welsh hair salon bring us?

Previously, watching Wales play is like wandering in to the latest Paul Mitchell products show. Gavin Henson's Hedgehog, Shane Williams' Swansea 'Busted' look, Colin Charvis' 1970s wild retro and the 'Hair Bear' duo in the front row. We shall be deeply, deeply disappointed if we see nothing modelled ahead of the 2005 season.