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popular blog then

well seeing you first up, it probably put most people off.
and change your name, don't you know he's gone on to a bigger club, how super is that

SuperLeeds I agree. We've just had a classic weekend of 6 nations rugby, but what do the beeb do, close that down and put this tedious stuff like this up. Definitely an out of season blog not one for the middle of the six nations.

I am annoyed by this as its been put on there purely to appease complaining english bloggers (you know who you are) who profusely whinge (entirely spuriously) about lack of English coverage. Be careful what you wish for as this is what you get...

Sorry Matt no offense, I did read the blog its perfectly well written and of interest, but right now we all are focused on the actual rugby and the 6 nations tournament which is shaping up to be a classic...

@ 4

just name and shame. we all know it's last king, who's silence on the last blog was deafening. page 6 he eventually appeared with his tripe. remind us again king
how was it proved a try again.

Chap1 exactomundo and another infamous blogger who's name escapes me...microphone, earphone, telephone can't quite remember?? I know there's a phone in it though! Superleeds did you learn to spell Daffodil yet?!! ;)

@ 7

now i know who you mean, but at least he had the stones to comment, even if it
was the usual rubbish. to hide away until you think it's blown over is pretty sad,isn't it eh last king

Yes both conspicuous by their abscence! This should be up the aforementioneds street, I'm sure he could right a dissertation on this one!!

Come on then boys, here's your blog, this is what you wanted. Get your oar in. Ah no, this is not really what you want is it. Its the Welsh blogs that really get you excited and all the pent up diatribe you get to unleash!!!!! ;)

why would you think the english lads would comment on this guys? it has nothing to do with Wales whatsoever!

i'm gonna throw them some bait and see if we can land a pesky wriggler...........IT WASN'T A TRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WALES ARE THE STRONGEST NORTHERN HEMISPHERE TEAM OF THE LAST DECADE (INCLUDING YOUR WORLD CUP WINNING SQUAD)

jess

no baiting there it wasn't a try end of. they can spout of as much as they like, ref didn't give it therfore no try, you would think it's simple to understand.

as for strongest northern hem side, ha i like it, we obviously don't believe that
but if you don't get a bite from that one i'll be amazed

As a passionate England fan... it wasn't a try. The ref said no, end of.

Great to see Wales playing successful and entertaining rugby (generally, not this weekend!) and I can only hope that England build on the foundations of last weekend and become equally as successful and confident.

Great blog as well Matt.

Ps - It would have been a try if Mike Brown has held the ball for an extra second, knew he'd passed too early the second it left his hand and Strettle did well to get that close to scoring. Flood would have bottled it anyway.

Looks like you've caught one Jessop!!

Somehow missed Jessop's post... but did you read what I said?

fair play ayrton

an honest post, i really don't think eng have anything to worry over.
old guard out, new coach ,new way of thinking. as for the final move of the game
it really should have been scored, no exuses really just bad play by the pair of them and yes there is no proof that flood would of converted

Really odd to see such a strange comment from the Welshman in London. It is a relevant and timely blog which was interested to read. I would be interested in a blog about the possibility of Andy Robinson going to Bath

Matt - nice blog. Shame it's been hijacked. A very precarious area right now, with the ever grey areas of responsibility between YST, Sport England all all the NGBs taking the lead on participation in young people. A very political area too - I hope that Steele brings his experience at navigating the shark-infested waters of Twickenham to bear on those of Whitehall etc.

No offence to you Matt, but why can't the press write stuff like this at the time of the event, rather than months afterwards when heads have already rolled. Fair enough: the attention of the media and fans has eventually served to rattle a few dusty cages, but at the time it was all finger-pointing, outrage and sensationalism which helps nobody. It's always the same: media frenzy, band wagon set a-rolling, general public baying for blood.....then when the dust settles there's the vaguely contrite-sounding whisper of "he might not have been so bad after all."

Matt- interesting article, thanks for this. Anything which raises the profile of getting kids into sport can only be a good thing (even if the timing of the piece isn't to everyone's tastes).

YST have a good story to tell- I'm running the London Marathon to support them this year- if anyone can help me in raising money to help them continue their work, it would be really appreciated.




Thanks

Having played rugby with and under the coaching of John I am really pleased that he will be working for an organisation like the YST where his skills and integrity will benefit the next generation. I have no idea what went on at the RFU but in the years I knew him he always acted with honesty and integrity.

Matt, really appreciate you coming back to our posts - you and Ben Dirs could teach some of your fellow ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ bloggers a thing or two about this :)!

Others have talked about this blog being boring and not of interest in light of things happening on the pitch but, to be honest, I feel the exact opposite: I wish that much more press attention was focussed upon matters like this that are in the broad interests of the fans but are largely inaccessible. We rely on journalists to scrutinise and analyse the behind-the-scenes machinations of the RFU in order to keep them honest - this has long been the traditional role of the press. Yet all we seem to get these days is the odd line of bombastic sensationalism in an article otherwise bereft of reason: it became the accepted narrative to hint at the 'shambles' that was/is the RFU without ever picking apart the detail in a truly investigative and insightful way. That's why press-savvy people in the organisation merely have to skillfully dodge the odd bullet, and keep their heads down until the media storm has passed. Then, lo and behold, the abuse stops and nothing changes. If they really want to modernise then it has to be approached in a dispassionate manner with a clear focus on the long-term: the mass media jumping up and down like a kid throwing a tantrum will only ever bring about short-termist and bad decisions.

Another example of this - to my mind - was so-called 'bloodgate'. Wild press frenzy caused panic amongst the powers that be, who struck out at the immediate thing - Richards - without realising that his actions were largely the result of an unhealthy attitude to 'tactical injuries' that had become worryingly prevalent in the game. The result: Richards is gone, the press appetite for blood is sated, and props are still feigning injuries.

To all those babbling about the 6 Nations, buzz off to the rugger pages will you. Trying to take over the blog for your own means does Matt's article a real disservice; its a very nicely balanced piece encapsulating an awful lot more than simply what happened in a few rugby matches over the last few weeks. As for the delay, lets think shall we - he's just taken up his new post, he is only now getting back on the media trail, hardly rocket science shurely?

I had the pleasure of working with Steele when he was at UK Sport and a) he seems a very fine chap indeed and b) a better administrator i'm not sure i've met. Yes, he ended up making a pig's ear of the RFU performance director recruitment and i'm sure, with hindsight, he would probably agree with that too. But as Matt points out, he also made many important changes during a very brief tenure and even if many blinkered fans and commentators out there don't recognise that, Ian Ritchie certainly will as he slips into the big leather chair at Twickers.

If John has anything like the same effect on YST as he did on UKS, it will be all the better an organisation for it and so too will youth sport in this country.

To the earlier posts I agree that Brown butchered a huge overlap by passing too early.

As for the main blog I wish Steele well in his new job, he is obviously a shrewd business guru in a sports environment looking at some of the changes he made to modernise the RFU.

He should take responsibility however for Rob Andrew still being in any post within the RFU player management, the man is a total liability and even as a Welsh supporter I am sick of seeing him in the stands whilst a succession of well meaning and passionate coaches struggle to work within his constraints. Robinson, Ashton and now Johnson have all been consigned to the scrap heap and Lancaster (or the new full time appointment) will follow in a season or two unless Andrew is removed completely from the picture.

For this reason I hope Steele has learned from his mistake and is able to see the bigger picture on the non-business side as well.

John Steele seems to have suffered the usual fate of well-meaning and impassioned individuals inside the RFU. He was the fall-guy for the performance director debacle but in truth the latest victim of the impossibility reconciling the big egos in the RFU. They seem unable to come up with a sensible structure that balances the interests of the professional game, the amateur game and the national team.

In itself that really shouldn't be too hard and the average MBA student would be able to come up with an effective, equitable structure. Sadly, the personalities involved mean that absolutely every possible solution will be investigated...except the obvious one. The problem isn't Rob Andrew alone but he is a big, big part of it. The man has done his bit for human evolution by developing a prehensile buttock!

I met up with an old Scottish mate a few days ago who told me that, as part of a management conference using the RFU's facilities (which can be rented out), there was a sudden shortage of meeting rooms. As his employer is a valued client, he and two other Scottish colleagues were ushered into the RFU's vacant main boardroom to carry on their discussions. Left alone, at the very sacred heart of "H.Q." itself, they solemnly dropped their trousers and did the full moon! Such is the parlous state of the RFU that all I could do was wish that I was there to join in!

Good luck to John Steele. He deserved better!

PS: I never believed it was a try and said so at the time.