The Pain of Defeat

Defeat hurts. Ask anyone who has ever played sport. Defeat in big games hurts more. Defeat when you're at the opposite end of the world and it means your team is going home on the next available plane, hurts even more than that.

The pain of defeat this morning is severe. It actually helps that, given the appalling first half performance from England, defeat was already accepted by the time another move broke down with a careless pass out to the right wind and Steve Walsh sent the sides into a half time break that the French deserved and England didn't.

The records show that no side has reached three consecutive World Cup Finals. The record will continue to show that. England, having had the draw seemingly blown apart for them to break that record, with first Ireland's massive victory against Australia and then their capitulation against Wales, must go home, lick their wounds and build on the more promising 6 Nations victory, rather than this turgid, backward stepping World Cup effort.

Woeful sums up everything about England's stay in New Zealand. From the dwarf-tossing pub night and subsequent press reports into Mike Tindall's behaviour, to the trio involved with a barmaid, to the aggressive press reporting of these incidents. The attitude of certain players has been too "end of season tour" for my liking. Yes, they need to break out and relax every now and then, but the constant video diaries, 'hilarous' antics and the like has been taking things too far. Johnson has tried to rule the roost like an avuncular kind of guy, backing his players to the hilt in public and possibly dressing them down in private. Whatever, it didn't work, and the slapdash attitude to the tournament as a whole seems to have been taken onto the pitch yesterday.

I don't think we can underestimate the part played by big Andrew Sheridan's injury. Dan Cole and Matt Stevens just didn't perform without him. Cole was a massive underperformer. Time to shave the beard off and get down to brass tacks methinks. Second row should be the area Johnson knows best, but does he, even now, know what his strongest pairing is? I don't think so. I've belittled (wrong word given his size) Nick Easter before, but why he played yesterday is beyond my comprehension. Haskill adds dynamism at the base of the scrum... I'm still struggling to find what Easter gives us (the first person to reply saying Chocolate Eggs wins a chocolate egg).

Half back was always our problem position. Danny Care sat at home nursing an injury, Youngs and Wigglesworth both better when coming off the bench, the pace of Simpson scandalously under-used. Wilkinson and Flood were similarly inconsistent, neither seeming capable of grasping the 10 shirt and not letting go. Ashton scored tries, but was anonymous in big games again. Cueto - was he even playing yesterday? Tuilagi is the hope for the future, but desperately needs a coach who can bring the best out of his game. 4 more years under Johnson will see us blunt yet another sharp weapon.

Yes, all-in-all, this was a confused World Cup for England. Part of me thinks, that if ever there was a World Cup to mess up it was this one. New Zealand's name is half-etched on the trophy already I think.

And Finally...
There are people here, England fans, who arrived (daftly if you ask me) on the morning of the Quarter Final having paid £12,000 for 14 days in New Zealand with 3 in Fiji to break up the journey. They must be crackers.

There is something hilarious about watching 50-year-old Frenchmen in Starbucks. They haven't a clue what's going on. Does the coffee come with sugar already in it was this morning's quote.

New Zealanders are very friendly folk. Aucklanders always seem to take the lone Englishman to heart and include them in the group. yesterday it was Jade, Nicola and Matt, who were, like me, cheering on Ireland before England. Good day all round for us then. The New Bond Street bar welcomed us for the first game, and Wales tactically outthought Ireland comfortably I thought. Ireland's tight 5 had the upper hand, but Wales knew this and just never opted for setplays. Fair play to Gatland and his men. The World Cup Final will never be closer for Wales.... I will be in All Black tonight, honorary All Black for the evening. Meeting up with the same guys at the same time in the same bar.... like Paris all over again Manu, Cider, etc :-)

Auckland must be the hilliest city in the world. Dragging 27kg suitcases up and down hills through crowds of Diwali festival goers in warm weather isn't fun. Wellington beckons tomorrow, we'll see what that is like before heading up through the sulphur heavy air of Rotorua and back to Auckland for the semi finals next weekend. I will be cheering on France against the Welsh.

That's that, a bit of an impromptu rant/brain-dump this morning. I will continue to enjoy this World Cup and who knows, it may become a little more fun now that the pressure of watching and subsequently justifying England is gone.

Yes, defeat is painful. Nurse, Nurofen please.