MM8 lowres final

On the ball
From the commentary box: Dick Best tells it like it is
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Six Nations
Six nations time
again: a great time
of year for me.
Especially when
England is looking
so strong after the
10 www.middlesexrugby.com www.middlesexrugby.com 11
Autumn
Internationals
Dick Best coached Harlequins,
England and the British Lions.
He now runs his own sports
sponsorship agency
www.insiderugby.co.uk
The England elite player squad is a great
mix of old and new faces but as always,
it will come down to who gives us the
edge on the day. I’m still optimistic that
England could win this year, after coming
2nd last year.
It’s a very open championship. Wales,
England, France, and Ireland could all
potentially win it. Wales are looking
particularly strong and Ireland proved
outstanding against the All Blacks in
their last outing. I don’t see the Scots
winning it but I do see them causing some
upsets in Murrayfield. We have to work
hard to make sure Rome doesn’t prove
a banana skin for England, especially as
the first game against France presented
an unpredictable start. But nobody
knows how the French are going to play,
especially the French themselves!
Stuart Lancaster continues to be very
popular with both players and fans. He’s
very public about who he selects with no
hidden agenda, works extremely hard and
expects no less from his team. For him,
this championship is going be all about
selection. He really needs to blood the
fresh talent if he’s going to take the team
forward. He’s already had some setbacks
to deal with including Wade’s ankle injury
and Yarde’s ruptured hip tendon. Both
were serious injuries, indicative of just
how demanding the sport has become. For
exciting prospects such as Anthony Watson
and Jack Nowell, this could be a chance
for a run out. They both played really well
in the Premiership and Heineken Cup. I
certainly wouldn’t have any hesitation in
taking these two exceptional players to any
game. They have to be blooded somewhere,
where better than Six Nations?
A key player for England will be
Owen Farrell. He’s come on far as an
international player and his goal kicking
will be crucial. England’s weakness, if they
have one, will be not getting on the front
foot. Scrum-half decision making is going
to be critical; Lee Dixon, Danny Care or
Ben Youngs, the choice of which scrumhalf
is picked for each game is going to
be really important. They in turn have to
make good, quick decisions and use the
possession effectively.
We have a great captain in the form of
Harlequins’ Chris Robshaw once again.
He’s a sound player at the top of his game
and an inspirational leader. He gets on
very well with Stuart Lancaster and that
harmony between coach and captain is so
important in a successful team. The team’s
moved on with both skill and fitness levels.
Certainly the forwards playing against the
All Blacks equipped themselves really well,
showing we’ve got a pack to rival, if not
better, anyone in world rugby.
It feels as though we’re within
touching distance of the World Cup 2015
and we should definitely be looking at
selecting players now for that time. We
want to enter 2015 as a team with a strong
chance of winning. For that to happen
we have to start putting down markers
now and playing a brand of rugby that
excites people. Let’s expand the game
even more, use the new scrum laws to our
advantage and bring out all the young,
unharnessed talent we have who are so
keen to experiment and really push the
game to the next level.
Aviva Premiership
Refereeing has taken a lot of stick
lately. Ed Morrison, Head of Elite
Referee Development at the RFU,
stood down last year. I think as well
as his desire to pass the reigns, he was
frustrated by the contention caused by
what the refs see on the field compared
with what the cameras capture. I’d
like to see video reffing brought in as
standard: not only for tries, but also to
assess foul play. It seems daft not to.
We have amazing technology covering
all angles of the game and somebody
scrutinizes the footage anyway, so we
might as well use it. If the game takes
a little bit longer, so be it, if it means
reaching an unequivocal decision.
Getting to the pub five minutes later
seems a small price to pay for a definite
result that everyone’s happy with.