Yes I know Sarries are a great side who have had a wonderful season. I was in Lyon to watch their final which they won comfortably to take their first Champions trophy. And I know Exeter, Wasps and Leicester are also great teams, but there is other rugby going on in the UK which merits coverage. The English press column inches given to Connacht's achievements this season has been woeful, even this weekend, when having beaten Glasgow for the second time in a fortnight (admittedly at home) they now march onto the Pro 12 final to play the mighty Leinster. Most non Irish people have never really understood how Ireland can fund four professional teams, especially one based in Galway, with a 7,000 capacity stadium, full of journeyman from other clubs. But Pat Lam, the Samoan legend and Connacht coach, has done a marvellous job over a number of seasons culminating in them being the dominant Irish team this year from start to finish. If they win the Pro 12 it will be (almost) as good as Leicester City's title win. Let's hope that, despite the inevitable promotion of some of their players, like Robbie Henshaw, to bigger Irisher provinces next season, that Connacht's progress is not a one off.
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| Connacht beat Glasgow again to win tight game and make Pro 12 final |
Likewise, Scotland Sevens team, who despite being 12th in the World Rugby rankings, won their first 7's crown in London beating Kenya, England (how sweet) plus USA on the way, and SA in the final. An achievement (almost) as good as Leicester City, etc ... I missed it live, but the three tries scored in the last 2 mins must have been a marvellous spectacle, crowned with Dougie Fife's winner after the hooter had sounded. Thrilling stuff, and it's a shame that more Tier 2 nations cannot repeat their achievement in the 15 a side game, dominated by its size, set piece and money.
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| I love the smell of heather in the morning, smells like victory |
Again, coverage of the win was token in the English press, with the Telegraph squeezing it in almost as a support piece to a feature on the England 7's captain's injury. Don't get me started on Simon (English coach) Amos' English dominated selection for the GB squad, which doesn't look so exciting now England are so desperately short of form, having suffered easy defeats to Scotland in the last two tournaments. In my view there are too many 15 a side players in the squad, and not enough of the specialist 7's talent on show in London this weekend.
Great Britain Sevens Men Squad for Rio 2016: Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Dan Bibby (England Sevens), Tom Bowen (England Sevens), Phil Burgess (England Sevens), Sam Cross (Wales Sevens), James Davies (Scarlets), Alex Davis (England Sevens), Richard de Carpentier (England Sevens), Jamie Farndale (Scotland Sevens), Alex Gray (England Sevens), Charlie Hayter (England Sevens), Warwick Lahmert (England Sevens), Ollie Lindsay-Hague (Harlequins), Gavin Lowe (Scotland Sevens), Ruaridh McConnochie (England Sevens), Tom Mitchell (England Sevens), Luke Morgan (Wales Sevens), Dan Norton (England Sevens), Scott Riddell (Scotland Sevens), Mark Robertson (Scotland Sevens), James Rodwell (England Sevens), Joe Simpson (Wasps), Luke Treharne (Wales Sevens), Marcus Watson (Newcastle Falcons).
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