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Thoroughly Modern Geech

These days we are told that coaches can only stay at the top for a relatively short period of time before their players stop listening and before the game moves on rapidly towards the next generation. Indeed, few coaching contracts are being renewed which seems to prove the point.

And so all hail the shining exception. Next week, the Lions announce the identity of their head coach for the 2009 tour to South Africa and all the indications are that Ian McGeechan, in his third decade as a coach in the elite game, will be chosen. The great man toured twice with the Lions as a player and this will be his fifth tour in a coaching capacity.

It is a staggering record, but what is even more incredible is McGeechan's ability not only to keep up so beautifully with the modern game that he remains at the cutting edge, but to reinvent himself almost on a weekly basis.

So often you see teams playing with no apparent indication that they have trained together, other than in a kind of perfunctory sense. There is always a splendid freshness and purpose about McGeechan's teams and you can be sure that any supposed area of dominance in the opposition will be nullified. I regard the Wasps victory over Leicester in the Heineken Cup final last May, won by a team without much momentum against a team that was steaming along, as one of the great coaching feats of the era.

And so Thoroughly Modern Geech thunders on to his next challenge. There are very few who can now contest the claim that he is the greatest coach that British and Irish rugby has ever produced and in the week ahead you can be sure that he will be burbling happily about the prospect of working with professional players, of being out there on the field taking the modern game onto new fields. There simply could not be a better man in charge of the Lions, and our chances are galvanised almost overnight.

Who won the new law war?

Utter confusion exists in the aftermath of the International Rugby Board's vote on the implementation of the dire Experimental Law Variations. First, there is the fact that the ELVs will be trialled in various combinations in scattered events around the globe, that some will apply in some places and some - though not all - will apply in Europe. It is a ridiculous state for which the IRB are totally responsible.

But the other bafflement surrounds the identity of the victors in the dispute. Was it the IRB and their acolytes, determined to make a nonsense of rugby by adopting a set of the most dangerous, speculative and shaky proposals you could ever imagine? Or were the true winners those who put the power and excellence of modern rugby ahead of narrow self-interest and artificiality? The answer is, of course, that the good guys won hands down.

Despite the prattling from the IRB that their process was in some way validated, they were heavily defeated and their opponents were gracious enough not to twist the knife. While the IRB wanted the whole sorry mess of the ELVs to be trialled in Europe next season, only 13 of the 33 measures will be put to the test - and most of those are minor matters which make no difference to anything. An exception is a nonsense law on lineout numbers and the potentially dangerous measure which allows pulling down of the mauls.

Many of the rest were sent back to the Laws Project Group, a bunch of out-of-date bumblers who must now be disbanded. Those experiments must never be allowed to darken rugby's door again.

A third chunk of experiments, so the IRB gravely announced, would be trialled in one "elite European competition" next season. Big deal. The event in question will almost certainly be the Anglo-Welsh Cup, an event so elite that next season it will include hardly any leading English players and, in any case, the whole concept is being wound up.

Eternal vigilance is necessary, but most of the worst of the ELVs have been headed off, and rugby has been saved.

Out of the comfort zone

Last week it was announced by Newcastle Falcons that Toby Flood and Mathew Tait, their current international backs, would be leaving the club for Leicester and Sale respectively. Grim news up north? Probably not.

It might seem silly to say it, but I have the strongest inkling that Newcastle will be greatly improved next season in the wake of their two stars. Let's be fair, the pair were in danger of taking their "promising" tags into roughly a third season.

Both are decent players although neither would be in my current England squad. But in my opinion, they were extremely lucky not to be sent on their way earlier in the season. When Newcastle parted company with motivational giant Steve Black and then director of rugby John Fletcher - both decent men - there was a caterwauling from the England backs, protesting that the two men were much-loved and that they could not conceive a future without their old mentors.

This complete lack of a grasp of what a modern professional rugby club should be struck me as remarkable. It is up to Dave Thompson, the owner of the Falcons, to strike out boldly, even with ferocity, and to make his club the best it can be, to shake out complacency and cosiness. And there is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Newcastle Falcons have become too cosy. So our two lads lost their mates. So what? Get on with it.

Flood at Leicester and Tait at Sale will soon be acquainted with two entirely non-cosy environments. They will both have to fight fiercely even to make the match squads in their new clubs. Their opinions on who should be in coaching charge will neither be sought nor listened to.

What do you think? E-mail Stephen at rollingmaul@thetimes.co.uk with your opinion and he'll reply to the best of the letters next week.

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>>>>>LIST OF THE WEEK<<<<<

The five men Martin Johnson must name in the England squad to tour New Zealand, announced next week:

1. Olly Barkley - a shoo-in for the Test inside centre spot. Clever, tough and confident.

2. Dylan Hartley - the ebullient Northampton hooker and easily the best thing up front since the young Steve Thompson.

3. Mike Tindall - should be Johnson's skipper but would settle for a nice long stint in midfield.

4. Danny Care - bright as a button, though Harry Ellis must still get the starting spot at scrum-half for now.

5. Richard Blaze - I hate the idea of taking young men just for the ride but the giant Blaze must be set on a fast track in the problem lock position.

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The Stephen Jones Debate

Hero of the week: Andy Haden? For him to describe others as arrogant is like the pot calling the kettle black. Has there ever been a more arrogant All Black than Haden? If it was someone like Brian Lochore or Wilson Whineray making the comment then people might take some notice. Bob,Wellington, New Zealand

SJ: I still feel that the points Haden was making were valid, Bob. Some of the disappointment of New Zealanders attached to the World Cup defeat seemed to me to concern a divine right to win.

For Jones to waffle on about the refereeing in that game [New Zealand v France, 2007 Rugby World Cup] being some of the best of the tournament does nothing but illustrate the boring rhetoric he has now become known for. Independent reviews of the second half revealed up to 20 penalty offences by France that Barnes simply refused to give. Caleb, London, England

SJ: Yes, independent reviews commissioned or conducted by Kiwis. Those who dislike New Zealand arrogance and would like to see them not win the 2011 World Cup will be encouraged by the continual peddling of the utterly ridiculous notion that refereeing cost them the match.

As a New Zealander this is the only time I agree with Stephen Jones. The lawyers' report was a waste of time. We lost and have got over it. I disagree with the ELVs - in NZ we think like the UK: what's the point? Chris, Dunedin, NZ

SJ: And for god's sake sort those Highlanders out, Chris. They used to be the Unbeatables.

Stephen Jones writes: "bad decisions were made for and against NZ in that match", then claims: "the standard of officiating was absolutely brilliant ... it was one of the best-refereed games in the tournament". If so, the officiating in the other games must have been diabolical. Gareth Williams, Powys

SJ: Wayne Barnes set a new and elevated standard in that match. If every referee had officiated the breakdown as did Barnes that day, the ELVs would never have made their sorry way into rugby.

For the sake of clarity, here's the ONLY reference to officiating in the 47-page report. "Factors outside the control of the All Blacks contributed to the loss of the quarter final. The performance of the referee and touch judges had a significant adverse impact on the All Blacks." Jerry, Wellington, NZ

SJ: That's it, Jerry. It is crystal clear.

Of course Andy Farrell is slow. When he retired from rugby he was slowing so much he'd moved to playing prop. And then he moved to union as a centre. If the RFU is going to pick up rugby retirees then what do they expect? Richard, Kingston upon Thames

SJ: It's rugby league players that are the problem, not so much the stage of their career they are at. They have two gears, as my old sports master used to say. Dead slow, and stop.

In regard to the Super-14 competition which has been rightly panned this season largely due to the new ELVs, I have watched some of it hoping to see free flowing rugby but instead most teams appeared to be in a state of utter confusion as to what to do next. If the players are confused then what about the fans? I recall some commentary of an early game when a former Australian forward said: "not another scrum, that's just what the fans came to see" with a hint of sarcasm. It does beg the question: what have the fans come to see? Do you think the recent defection of good NZ players to Europe is purely financial? The European competitions and Premiership are getting better and the brand of rugby can be expansive but also has an intensity that S14 lacks. Patrick O'Connor

SJ: Well, that's a very good question. One of the most famous All Blacks now in the Guinness Premiership believes that the ELV-haunted Super-14 is neither good to watch nor fun to play. Sean Fitzpatrick is just one of many who think that the intensity of the Premiership is a better proving ground than any Southern Hemisphere event.

I would like to comment on Andy Hopper's and Brian Browne's criticism of the ELVs in a recent edition of The Rolling Maul. Andy writes that Super-14 games under the ELVs have produced no turnover ball from counter-rucking and that there is no emphasis on lineouts or scrums and certainly no contest for possession at these restarts. Brian asks: "Is it now impossible to legally turn over ball at a ruck?". The Crusaders continue to be the outstanding team in Super-14 rugby due in part to their ability to score tries from turnover ball. Their set pieces remain more than solid. In airy-fairy-let's-make-rugby-more-like-league Australia our two best performing teams are the Force and the Waratahs. I don't think John Mitchell downplays the set pieces in preparing his team while the Waratahs have played a forward orientated game this season. Angus Boyle

SJ: Very good points, Angus. I am not sure I agree totally with your analysis of the Australia teams, though you are closer to them, but I'd also say that the Crusaders are just a very fine side and would cope with any laws, good or bad, better than others.

Stephen, you have indicated before that you are a friend of Roger Lewis, the WRU chief executive. Could you ask him why, according to reports in the Guardian, the WRU appeared to have stabbed the RFU in the back in their opposition to the ELVs? "One of the RFU's few victories in the council meeting, after they were deserted by Wales and Ireland, whose opposition to the variations suddenly waned, was to keep the changes aimed at increasing the number of free-kicks away from the amateur game", they wrote. We as players deserve to know what happened at this meeting which is going to have such a huge impact on the game we love. As a front row forward I view the ELVs as a threat to the one thing that keeps me going through the week which is to play rugby for 80 minutes at the weekend. Richard Tanner

SJ: Richard, it is not fair to say that there was any back-stabbing. The WRU did disagree on one or two individual ELVs but they were united in opposition to many others, which as I point out in Rolling Maul today, gave them victory over the IRB fools.

As a Kiwi I couldn't agree with you more about the lawyers' report. But please don't make the mistake of thinking this report reflects the opinion of most NZ rugby fans. The report has been greeted with widespread disbelief and derision. It is obviously a shallow attempt by those in charge of the game in NZ to cover their backsides and avoid any blame for the pathetic fizzer that the AB's campaign turned out to be. Hayden Mellsop

SJ: Yes, a fair point to take on board, Hayden, and I think Andy Haden was making the same point.

I recently watched again the France v New Zealand quarter final and the unbelievable insularity and failure to take responsibility for defeat was beautifully encapsulated by the commentary of Murray Mexted who complained about Wayne Barnes for 1) sending McAllister to the sin bin for barging Jauzion (correct decision), 2) penalising Jerry Collins for being on the wrong side (correct decision), 3) penalising Richie McCaw several times for use of hands in the ruck (correct decisions), 4) THE forward pass (missed by Spreadbury). I thought Aussies were whingers but this really takes the biscuit. Perhaps if NZ had not dropped the ball so often, tackled better, had some tactics other than driving forwards and diagonally-running backs and a bit of bottle they would have done better! Maybe they should have spent the lawyer money on appointing a decent coach. Andy Pickup

SJ: Ah yes. Good old Murray. The refereeing of McCaw was around 100 times as significant in the All Blacks defeat as the French try.

Collapsing the maul is one of the scariest things I can imagine. The ELVs "remove reference in law to heads and shoulders not to be lower than hips". I remember a school assembly where our headmaster related news of a serious accident in a school match in which a maul had collapsed leading to a player being paralysed. He had entered the maul with his head lower than his hips, something that now will be permitted and even encouraged. Forget changing the nature of the game - this is a recipe for tragedy. Michael Spragg

SJ: Michael, I am dreading the new season and I know scores of coaches in junior rugby who are dreading it too. The blame for any injury will lay squarely at the door of the IRB.

Stephen, what are your views on the Heineken Cup final? I bet you're disappointed there's no English or Welsh team going to Cardiff? As a Munster supporter, I'm delighted to be going back to the venue of our greatest triumph, in 2006. I was in Coventry on Sunday for the semi against Sarries and feel we were lucky in some ways. The defence again stood up well as they had done at Gloucester but some of the passing was not great. Dan Galvin

SJ: No doubt it will be a fantastic occasion, Dan, with hotel rooms sold out to a radius of 20 miles. My instinct is to say that the match will depend on the Toulouse medical staff between now and the day, but I could be wrong.

Your commentary of the game rarely misses a beat, however I feel it must be pointed out to you and your readers that the ELVs are neither meekly accepted nor lauded as the best thing since sliced bread by the majority of Australians. The divide in opinion over the matter is almost as clear as the border between the two major rugby states, Queensland and New South Wales. The Australian media, with its heavy bias towards rugby league, often presents a very different case as to Australia's leanings on the issue of the ELVs than the reality which can be heard around the grounds of Australia's club rugby heartlands. It is my experience that the ELVs are not accepted by the majority of Australian rugby supporters despite some media reports, yours included, seeming to suggest the opposite. Whilst I enjoy a bit of good natured ribbing, and we Australians can be a cocky mob at times, it is completely unacceptable to a Queenslander's pride to be lumped in with that lot from New South Wales every time you feel like sinking the boot into Aussie rugby. Please desist or I will have to initiate proceedings to permanently return Kylie and her sparkly, gold hot pants back home Down Under. You'll probably point out in response that there are a lot of blokes in Sydney who would find occasion to wear those pants and that's ok as long as you acknowledge some difference in the underlying rugby styles of these two very different rugby states. Garth Hamilton

SJ: Point (and pants) taken Garth. I know that many inside the ARU are unhappy too. But it does seem to me that in Australia and other countries the ELVs are intended to make a gaudy nonsense of the very top echelon and are unloved and even more useless elsewhere. I will be careful in future about the "lumping"!

Is it just me or do the RFU disciplinary committee come down harder on non-England players when handing out bans? Lee Thomas (Sale), with no video evidence and neither referee or touch judge seeing anything, gets a 14-week ban. Yet certain other players in the England squad seem to get a short ban, which happen to finish about two weeks before England are scheduled to play. Don't you think it's time for the so-called independent disciplinary committee to be overhauled, to be completely independent? Martin Lloyd

SJ: Martin, no, it is not just you. It is common for England players to be given short sentences. It is easier to make a disciplinary point about someone who is not a household name.

This area of the e-mail is reserved for your views and boos. E-mail Stephen at rollingmaul@thetimes.co.uk and he'll either agree, disagree, add some insight or come back firing...

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>>>>>HERO OF THE WEEK<<<<<

Dave Thompson, Newcastle Falcons owner

The blunt and engaging Thompson has been the saviour of professional rugby in the North East and last week, in offloading Mathew Tait and Toby Flood, he struck a blow for the club's continuing prosperity. Too many people have become far too fond of referring to Newcastle's brilliant backs. They are nothing of the sort. They have been predictable, soft and easy to defend against, running pretty patterns. Soft backs, but no sacred cows. Good old Thompson was refusing to go along with the illusion one season longer.

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The week in 60 seconds

Thursday:

LEWSEY'S LATE TRY CAN EARN BONUS OF GLORIOUS FAREWELL FOR DALLAGLIO

Newcastle 13 Wasps 32: England winger scores London club's fourth try with four minutes left to secure a bonus point

Report by John Westerby

KIDNEY LANDS DREAM JOB, BUT IRELAND HAVE TO WAIT

New head coach will take over after summer tour of New Zealand and Australia because Munster 's European ambitions come first

Report by Mark Souster and David Hands

Wednesday:

LOFFREDA PLEADS FOR TIME TO TURN ROUND LEICESTER

Six months in and the head coach is under a lot of pressure: the tipping point could be the game against Harlequins

Report by David Hands

WASPS AIM TO REGAIN MOMENTUM IN PLAY-OFFS SCRAMBLE

Back line is reshuffled after Sunday's defeat by Gloucester interrupted the London team's late bid for a top-four spot

Report by David Hands

Tuesday:

HARLEQUINS LURE EVANS AWAY FROM ALL BLACKS

Heading off several rivals, Harlequins secured Nick Evans as a full back to partner the up-and-coming Danny Care

Report by David Hands

Monday:

LOFFREDA AND LEICESTER STARING AT BLEAK FUTURE AFTER SURPRISE DEFEAT

Newcastle 28 Leicester 25: Head coach faces worrying future after Leicester suffer upset that leaves their season hanging by a thread

Report by John Westerby

GLOUCESTER CLIP WINGS OF WASPS WITH RETURN TO THE SUMMIT

London Wasps 17 Gloucester 25: West Country club top the Guinness Premiership after a rare victory on Wasps territory

Report by David Hands

Sunday:

FALCONS FLY THE NEST

The departure of Toby Flood and Matthew Tait leaves Newcastle on the brink and Jonny Wilkinson all at sea

Report by Nick Cain

WASPS READY FOR REVENGE AGAINST GLOUCESTER

The London side know that a win today in the Guinness Premiership should make them top seeds for the playoffs

Analysis by Stuart Barnes

RUTHLESS BATH MARCH TO TOP

Bath 66 Saracens 21: This nine-try destruction of Saracens ensured Bath a place in the Guinness Premiership playoffs

Report by Nick Cain

AUSTIN HEALEY: ME AND MY BIG MOUTH

The Leicester Lip is still distraught about missing out on the 2003 World Cup win and now he fears that he will not be working with Martin Johnson's England either

Interview by David Walsh

Saturday:

WASPS INTENT ON A STYLISH PROGRESSION TO SEMI-FINALS UNDER 'OLD' LAWS

Ian McGeechan will spend the rest of this season demonstrating how well the existing laws work before taking his place as head coach on the Lions tour of South Africa

Report by David Hands

Friday:

McGEECHAN BAFFLED BY 'ILLOGICAL' CHANGES

The IRB approves a raft of new laws but the Wasps coach voices concern and predicts the end of short lineout and maul

Report by David Hands

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Things you need to know about rugby: No13

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

The decision of Victor Matfield, the South African lock, not to join Northampton next year was put down to his wish to head for the grass of home (brown grass, in his case). But the testimony of many at Toulon , where he is on a short-term contract, casts doubt on whether he has the attitude and selflessness to thrive in the Premiership anyway.

Insiders at Toulon say that Matfield made little attempt to absorb the local customs, culture or language, or to play with much fire or effectiveness. Lucky old Saints?

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4

Number of Heineken Cup finals Declan Kidney has led Munster to.

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Suggestions, fan mail and complaints: rollingmaul@thetimes.co.uk