Aim to copy All Blacks Six Nations champs

Six Nations rugby champions France are set to try and emulate the All Blacks new style of play according to coach Marc Lievremont.
Lievremont, with French sports daily L'Equipe in an interview, said admitted he watched all four Tri-Nations games so far and had been hugely impressed by the All Blacks.
"At such speed to play such rugby, four matches at such a level and with such an intensity. In the Tri-Nations it is a new trend.
"Certainly it is a result of the new application of the rules that prioritise ball possession. The kicking game is alonely for attacking."
Lievremont believed the All Blacks after two wins over the world champion Springboks and victory over the Wallabies last weekend had not previously hit this level of play since last November in Marseille against France when winning 39-12.
"To produce this style of rugby in three consecutive matches is extremely rare.
"They play a game of three pass phases maximum except when they can complete the action. The ball carrier looks for the contact.
"They are always going forward, always looking to release the ball, always trying to play while defending. The smallest error from the other side is immediately punished."
Lievremont believed the South African's pragmatic and physical style had been overpowered by the All Blacks, adding that "South Africa are not good at the moment".
"Of course, the All Blacks method is the one which we will try to put in place although I don't like to admit it.
"What hurts most is the technical quality of the New Zealanders in every department. Everything stems from that. Our difficulties over the last three years essentially come from that."

Allen vows not to be England's forgotten man

Anthony Allen aims to avoid becoming England's forgotten man by making himself the centre of attention in the season's climax.
Allen’s debut three years ago is the stuff nightmares are made of: one intercept and one missed tackle equalled two New Zealand tries and a record 40-21 defeat.
Things did not get much better one week later as England suffered a first defeat to Argentina on home soil. Like so much English talent, Allen was sent back to his club and written off as a defensive lightweight.
That tag still grates the 23-year-old despite his move to the Tigers where he maintains he has been transformed into a player ready to take his place at the front of the queue for England’s No.12 shirt.
He said: “When I played for England three years ago it (defence) was an area of weakness because I was young.
“I have developed a lot since then both physically and mentally and have essentially turned into a man. It does take time to do that.
“I have started to take on more defensive responsibility and at Leicester it is drummed into you, you have to make that tackle.
“I am not the finished article. It has been a tough season in some ways, starting at a new club and settling in. But that has helped me as a player – it has forced me out of my comfort zone.
“I have had to learn to be more confident; running around the park dishing out the commands. “That means having the confidence to call in players and to take risks without being afraid of things going wrong.
“People say my kicking game is limited but I have stepped up several times this season.
“I am really confident with that part of my game but it is about choosing when to use it. I am not used as Leicester’s main kicking threat but that is not to say I can’t do it.
“Getting my first cap for England was a massive day and it highlighted everything I needed to work on to be at that level.
“I want to get people talking about me again. Lots of other people are being talked up as 12s for England and I want to be part of that group.”
Ironically one of his tormentors in chief on his English debut – Aaron Mauger – was his partner in the Tigers midfield this season before injury unfortunately brought the All Black’s career to an end.
Mauger will be a big loss for the Tigers next season not just as a player but for his role as vice-captain.
But after turning in arguably the performance of his career against rivals Bath last week, Allen says he is ready to fill his boyhood hero’s boots.
He added: “Aaron Mauger was the captain within the backline so players look up to him.
“There’s no question we will miss him but it will also give me the chance to be more of a leader in the team.
“He has been a massive help to me since I moved here. He has so much experience and has played much more at first receiver so he is able to pass on lots of technical points which have been really useful.
“The Bath game was definitely one of the best games I have played since moving to Leicester – but there’s more to come from me.
“Everyone before was talking about Bath and how confident they were going into the game. We were aware they were on a good streak but we wanted to prove that it is never easy to come to Welford Road.
“Cockers (Richard Cockerill) was really pleased with us afterwards and said we did well. Words of praise are pretty rare from him but there were plenty of things he still wants us to improve.
“The main thing is having a home semi-final for the play-offs.
“There were a lot of good times at Gloucester but the final step was always just missing. I have been to finals and have that experience of those sorts of games but now I want to go that extra step.”

Martin Johnson resists England coaching changes in Six Nations review

The England manager, Martin Johnson, will resist any attempt to get him to change his coaching staff as part of a Rugby Football Union review of the international season. England won three of their eight Tests and finished third in the Six Nations, which they have not won since 2003.
Johnson will this morning meet the RFU's elite rugby director, Rob Andrew, to discuss the season and plot a way forward, with the 2011 World Cup 17 months away. The manager's position is not under threat but he will come under pressure from some at the RFU to review the structure and make-up of his coaching team.
Andrew's department will also come under scrutiny. He is Johnson's line manager, which means that any concerns or issues RFU officials may have should be expressed through him. The governing body is concerned that England's failure to arrest a slump that started almost as soon as they won the 2003 World Cup will start to have an impact commercially. Ticket prices at Twickenham will rise next season, to take into account the restoration of the 17.5% VAT rate.
Since 2004 England have won four of 24 matches against the three major southern hemisphere nations; have beaten Ireland once; and have lost more matches than they have won against France and Wales in the Six Nations.
Since 2003, in 26 away Tests (not including those played at neutral venues) against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, Wales, France, Scotland and Argentina, they have won three times – twice in Paris and once at Murrayfield.

Phillips vows to shake off injury and face Ireland

Scrum-half Mike Phillips insists he'll win his fitness battle in time to face Ireland in Dublin despite suffering a dead leg in Ospreys 33-17 defeat to Edinburgh.
The 27-year-old, who is yet to appear in this year’s RBS 6 Nations, was forced off after 50 minutes of the Magners League clash at Murrayfield.Phillips returned to the Wales squad for last week’s defeat to France at the Millennium Stadium but was kept on the bench by impressive Blues No.9 Richie Rees.But the British Lion is confident of returning to fitness in time to claim the shirt from his young pretender.“I picked up a bit of a dead leg in the game,” said Phillips.“It could take a couple of days to recover, but the good thing is that there is nothing wrong with the previous injury. That has cleared up.“I felt good today and really fit. I was just relieved to be back on the field.”

Six Nations history

As Europe's finest prepare to lock horns in the 2010 RBS Six Nations championship, Ben Sullivan look back at great tournaments from the past.

The Six Nations is the annual highlight of the northern hemisphere season and the envy of the rugby-playing world.

The Tri-Nations may boast more world champions and a 'better' standard of rugby, but in terms of profile the Six Nations comes out a clear leader.

Every Six Nations game is played before a capacity crowd and attracts a level of interest the southern hemisphere nations can only envy.

And in terms of revenue - so crucial in today's professional era - the Six Nations is even further ahead.

Crucially, the Six Nations has also become genuinely competitive in recent seasons. France, Wales and England have all enjoyed their eras of domiance over the last 40 years, but since the turn of the century all three, with the addition of Ireland, have been capable of winning Grand Slams - and coming close to picking up Wooden Spons.

With the possible exception of Italy - still finding their feet a decade after their debut - the five other sides are all capable of winning any game on any given day.
It is this unpredictability that has given the Six Nations its pre-eminence in the modern era and five sides will all start this year's championship with genuine hopes of lifting the title.
The tournament has evolved impressively since the first Home International Championship of 1883.

For the first 10 years England and Scotland dominated, before Wales won their first title in 1893. Ireland won their first title a year later

Recuperating Vickery to miss start of Six Nations

Wasps prop Phil Vickery will miss the start of the Six Nations contempt undergoing successful neck surgery. Vickery requires a minimum three months of reclamation from the injury sustained against Racing Metro last month.
With England opening their Six Nations against Wales on 6 February, Vickery has little hope of forcing his way back into the team until later in the tournament. But the Wasps director of rugby, Tony Hanks, is backing the 33 year old to make a complete recovery from his latest injury setback.

UB40 of king hits Provo

Founding member of legendary British and the former lead singer band UB40 hit the stage at the swish resort after midnight on Thursday evening.

But the late start did not stop hundreds of excited residents and holiday makers from bobbing and swaying to the intoxicating reggae beats.

Ali Campbell, who turned 50 this year, sold more than 70 million records worldwide with UB40.
He has four number one hits under his belt including ‘Red, Red Wine,’ ‘Baby Come Back,’ ‘I’ve Got You Babe,’ and ‘I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.’

After three decades of success with the popular eight-piece Brummie band, Ali split from them in January 2008.

He added the break-up down to reoccurring problems with management and said he wanted to focus on his solo career.

In 2007 he launched a solo album called Running Free which entered the UK charts at number nine and earlier this year he released his second album Flying High.