Rugby: Summer tours are back on the right track at last

Ignore the logistics for a minute and imagine if the Lions toured the southern hemisphere every year, playing one Test annually against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Now traditional tours by individual countries are thankfully back on the global agenda. From 2012, the leading countries in Europe will play proper three-Test series against the SANZAR giants, plus Argentina, while also returning to the Pacific Islands and even Japan.

In the case of sporting conflict, familiarity so often breeds tedium, which is exactly why pleas for Lions tours to become more frequent have been rightly ignored. Scarcity is part of the appeal.

England will get the ball rolling with a series in South Africa and it will have the feel of a Lions expedition.

A series also gives time for sub-plots and dramas and conflicts to emerge and evolve.

Reviving proper tours in June may be a nod to nostalgia, but the move is founded on commercial imperatives, too, as crowds and revenues are down for these June matches, which are too often one-sided.

With midweek games thrown in it allows fringe players to stay involved and the whole exercise will hold a greater sense of resonance and purpose.

In Europe, attendances and bank balances are well catered for during the November Test window, but proper series would be an improvement then, too.

On the flip-side, when a true contest materialises, as was the case last summer when France won a Test in Dunedin and New Zealand hit back in Wellington, 1-1 is not a satisfactory conclusion. It was crying out for a decider.

This is where the familiarity argument kicks in. Back in the day, a visit by the All Blacks was a major event, but now that mystique and air of expectation has been somewhat eroded by regularity. They have come to Twickenham during the last four years of autumn internationals.

A real series would carry more weight than the endless round of one-off Tests. England could play the likes of Fiji or Samoa at the start of November, followed by a three-Test series against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa or Argentina.

In the interests of expansion, the RFU could take one match each year to the provinces - to Old Trafford, Villa Park or St James’ Park.

The public don’t moan about repetition during an Ashes series, which comes to these shores once every four years.

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Rugby: Olly Barkley tells England team mates: 'We must behave'

Olly Barkley last night backed Martin Johnson's demand that the England rugby squad behave themselves on tour next month.

Johnson wasted no time yesterday in issuing a stark warning of the "pitfalls" which potentially lie await for them off the field on a five-match mission to Australia and New Zealand.

It will be England's first trip Down Under since the 2008 tour to New Zealand when allegations of serious sexual assault were made against four of the squad.

"In the world we live in there are pitfalls, some can be put there deliberately, some are just the pitfalls that young guys face when they're out and about in big cities

"We'll be together for three and a half weeks in hostile territory, staying in different hotels and city centre locations," he said. "There will be distractions and potential areas to get embroiled in so we'll need to be smart and look after each other.

No formal complaint was made in 2008 against the so-called Auckland Four of Danny Care, David Strettle, Topsy Ojo and Mike Brown, whom NZ police sought to interview over claims made by an 18-year-old woman.

"I don't think they will be targets but this is the world we live in. People have cameras on their phones these days."

But Barkley acknowledges that the whole episode was a wake-up call and that it is vital no-one invites embarrassment onto the tour this time.

Indeed, an RFU inquiry found no evidence of any such incident having taken place - though it did adjudge Ojo and Brown guilty of misconduct for staying out all night.

"The management and the players are confident we will all adhere to that.

"We've put the 2008 issue behind us and there's now a code of conduct in place," said a player who has had his own off-field problems in the past.

The difference between this one and the last is that Johnson will be with it every step of the way. In 2008 he stayed home to await the birth of his second child and in his absence chaos ensued.

"The big thing is if you don't you compromise not only the squad but the individuals involved as well. That's the last thing anyone wants to do to a tour that we're all so positive about."

At Twickenham yesterday he left nobody in any doubt that he will be on top of matters in Perth and in Sydney and across the Tasman Sea in Napier.

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Rugby: England tour payments agreed

The Rugby Football Union and Team England Rugby have settled a players' payment dispute ahead of the upcoming tour to Australia and New Zealand.

An independent third party was called in to settle the dispute and the RFU and TER have accepted their recommendations ahead of the opening clash against the Barbarians in Perth on June 8.

Martin Johnson's men face two friendlies with Australia Barbarians and two Tests against Australia before making a trip to take on New Zealand Maori in Napier in June, but the tour looked in doubt after the two groups failed to find some common ground over payments for the 44-man squad.

However, the finer details of the players' payments will not be made known to the public.

A basic tour fee of £7,800 was thought to have been offered with an extra £5,000 on offer for every man that made Johnson's squad of 22 for the two Tests against Australia with the other half of his squad receiving no extra incentives.

"Both sides met today with the independent third party appointed to review the situation, and accepted their recommendations.

A joint statement made by the RFU and TER read: "The Rugby Football Union and Team England Rugby are pleased to announce that they have resolved all the outstanding issues over tour payments for the elite player squad for the tour to Australia and New Zealand.

"The details of the final resolution remain confidential and will not be disclosed by either party."

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Rugby: Brian Moore: calm down England it's only the phoney war - real hysteria is coming

It is England's football fans who need to keep their nerve not Fabio Capello and his players. From now until England either win or get knocked out of the World Cup there will be little else in the media.

You may have forgotten, or at least tried to, that the coverage will be all-encompassing and that it has a marked effect on the English psyche.

The mass hysteria that is on the way is not one in which people lose all semblance of will; it is more unusual than that. What is created is a compulsion to comment and most of the multitude of comment will be notable only because of its stupidity. Armchair professionals and would-be/could-have-been international sportsmen will opine sagely on any and all facets of English football.

There will be a divided nation; all wanting England to win and approaching each minute piece of news with solemn consideration yet reacting in different ways.

On the one hand you will have the know-all-know-nothings. Pessimists at heart they will become most expert on the topic on which they are least qualified to comment. Indolent lard-arses will criticise players' fitness levels; some with the tactical nous of a radish will berate Capello for his use of one system over another; with the miracle of hindsight many more will tell you they knew it all along.

On the other side of the national divide will be those who approach their support as a faith. As is the way with zealots they will be less entertaining but messianic in their proclamations for "Ingerland". As a mantra they will urge, if not demand that we "get behind the lads" whatever the results or level of performance. They will laud quite ordinary players as "world-clarse" and display wilful ignorance concerning anything that might suggest England are not the best team in the world – oh, and by the way, anyone not in agreement is a traitor.

For players it is impossible to shake out the knowledge that this is not the real deal and though they may say that 100 per cent attention is given, they will have reserved some part of their thoughts for South Africa. There is nothing wrong with this and nothing Capello can do anyway. The only thing you can hope for is that none of the players gets injured.

So for the media and public let's stamp down the surges of passion and keep it for when it really counts because as certain as all the above is, there will be incidents that rightly provoke our indignation.

It is when this clamour is reaching its height that Capello and his squad need to excuse themselves, at least mentally, from the scene. It is very difficult to enforce a ban on accessing the news, given the number of platforms on which it is available and unless a player is very strong-willed widespread criticism will affect him, even if he believes this not to be the case. Praise is not without its possible pitfalls; self-belief is welcome, indeed necessary, but self-importance is too often the reaction to preternatural adulation.

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Autumn Internationals 2010: Wayne Rooney's energy gives England edge, says Francois Pienaar

Francois Pienaar skippered South Africa’s rugby union side to global glory and he reckons the “infectious enthusiasm” of Wayne Rooney and Lionel Messi could give their countries the edge when football’s World Cup takes place in his homeland.

“I think you have to look at the usual suspects and see what effects the likes of Messi or Wayne Rooney can have,” Pienaar said.

For players it is impossible to shake out the knowledge that this is not the real deal and though they may say that 100 per cent attention is given, they will have reserved some part of their thoughts for South Africa. There is nothing wrong with this and nothing Capello can do anyway. The only thing you can hope for is that none of the players gets injured.

“A successful team needs to have players on the pitch who can sense the moment and feed off one another.

“Individuals like Messi and Rooney just sort of inject enthusiasm. They have that can-do mentality and winning spirit and when you have that in your team it is infectious.

“I think that Brazil are looking very good and playing some very sexy football. But who knows? When France won it no one gave them a chance.

“I think that England will be really strong, the Germans are always there. Then there is Spain, Italy, Argentina – if the rest of the team can back up Lionel Messi.”

Pienaar inspired South Africa to World Cup success as they overcame the odds and that is something his compatriots in the Bafana Bafana team will have to repeat just to maintain their interest in the tournament beyond the group stage.

“We were a very good team, not favourites certainly, but it was a very special team and had the knock-out punch which we delivered when it mattered,” Pienaar added.

“Bafana Bafana have not had the build-up to their tournament that we had but if the team gels, trains hard and has resolve and the obsession to detail that I always say you need then they have a shot.

“If Bafana Bafana reaches the knock-out stage, as we all hope they do it will be just like 1995 or 1996 when I went with the whole team to the stadium in Soweto to see South Africa win the Africa Cup of Nations.”

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Rugby: Scotland scrap southern hemisphere tours

The SRU have confirmed Scotland will no longer hold three-day tests against South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, at least for the next eight years.

Scotland's absence from New Zealand's tour schedule for the next eight years has been explained as a decision taken by the SRU, contrary to reports. It had been suggested the Scots had been snubbed by the All Blacks, when they unveiled their future plans earlier this week.

National coach Andy Robinson and performance director Graham Lowe no longer favour prolonged tours of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Instead, Scotland will travel for one-off matches against the three for the foreseeable future, while also hosting the trio nine times in six years between 2012 and 2018.

France, England, Ireland and Wales are all booked up to play the three, who are collectively known as SANZAR, on tours scheduled until 2018.

“I am very pleased with the tours schedule,” Robinson told the SRU website. “We have a first-rate programme of autumn Tests incoming to Murrayfield, which are important for our rugby development.

“As far as our overseas tours are concerned I do not believe it would be beneficial for us to play a series of three Tests against the individual SANZAR countries at the end of our season.

“What I believe works for us, from a performance perspective, is a mix between SANZAR and Tier 2 unions as that gives us the opportunity to develop players which is part and parcel of touring."

"More than anything I'm just relieved to be playing again, the Wallabies was just more of a bonus if I made it."Lowe, who left the New Zealand Rugby Union to take up his post with the SRU last October, added: “Like Andy, I firmly believe that the schedule, as outlined, will assist with our rugby development and importantly develops solid relationships with some of world rugby's emerging nations.”

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Rugby: Force back row to provide Wallaby backbone

The Western Force back row will feature prominently in the upcoming test arena with Matt Hodgson, David Pocock and Richard Brown all selected in the Wallabies squad announced today.

The trio was a force to be reckoned with in the later part of the Super 14 season following the return of Pocock and Brown from injury, and could carry the responsibility for Australia against the likes of England, New Zealand and South Africa.

The selection of Hodgson is great reward for his stellar 2010 campaign. The versatile forward was a man mountain in the back row and the only player at the club to start and finish every game.

"It's one of your biggest highs playing for Australia and then getting injured and missing out was hard, it sort of drove me this year to put my hand up again and make selection and get that test cap that I want," Hodgson said.

"Robbie gave me a call yesterday morning, so it was good to pick up that unknown number. It is good to get that call early.

"He just sort of congratulated me on such a good performance in the Super 14 at the start of the year, and said just to continue working and keep aiming for that jersey that I want to get."

For Brown and Pocock the recent Super 14 presented challenges in other forms as injuries to both players in round one forced them to watch from the sidelines for half a season.

But true to form the pair returned ready for action and made a telling contribution to a positive second half of the year for the Western Force and are keen to add to their test caps.

"I'm a little relieved to make the squad after only playing half a season so I'm pretty excited," said Brown.

"I was always hopeful but I was just happy to come back in the second half of the season regardless of whether I made the Wallabies.

Other Western Force players selected for Wallabies duties include prop Pek Cowan, lock Nathan Sharpe, the most experienced player selected in the 30-man Australian squad, and full-back James O'Connor, the youngest member of the 2010 class.

With 79 tests to his name already Sharpe will provide the leadership and experience to a young squad, something he has done with distinction throughout his career and again this season at the Force.

"Sharpie doesn't talk a lot about how his performance is but that probably sums the guy up, he's had probably one of his best seasons in his time in Super Rugby and the way he's led us through the year has been instrumental for a lot of blokes," said Hodgson.

"I know it made me keep going at the start of the year when we were up against a brick wall. He's a good bloke and his form has been great this year.

"He is probably the best Captain I've ever had. The way he leads us on the field is the same as off the field. He's got that good combination with all the blokes from the older guys to the younger guys, everyone respects him."

Tough forward Ben McCalman has been acknowledged for his excellent debut Super Rugby season with inclusion in the 10-man Australian Barbarians squad that will train alongside the Wallabies and play two midweek matches against England next month.

Winger Nick Cummins is also part of that squad and will be hoping to impress after picking-up an injury on the opening day of last year's Wallabies training camp.

"I'm really happy for Ben to get his chance I think it's well deserved, especially in his first year, it's just a huge effort," Brown said.

"For Nick, people know he's a talent and he is a colourful character too, so it should be good to have him along. He has done well to come back from his injuries and I think we all know what it takes to come back after a few setbacks."

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