#360Rugby: Eng captaincy, Sevens and Saracens

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  • Fiji were triumphant in the Dubai Rugby Sevens while Danny Cipriani has been making headlines.

    In this week’s #360Rugby, reporters Andrew and Matt take in the Dubai Sevens legacy, the imperious form of Saracens and the rejuvenation of Danny Cipriani.

    Saracens have become the most entertaining team in Europe

    Despite their success in recent years Saracens have never been short of critics, who belittle their achievements with negative assessments of their one dimensional style of play.

    – IRELAND: Insight from Irish camp at Dubai Sevens
    – INTERVIEW: New Zealand legend Sonny Bill Williams
    – SEVENS: Bolger’s hat-trick helps Quins retain Gulf Men’s crown

    The Premiership champions have made another flying start to the new season (they are unbeaten domestically and in Europe) but this time the Londoners have been winning plaudits for their more attacking displays.

    Saracens’ away win against lowly Newcastle on Sunday was far from their best but such is the quality of Mark McCall’s side that a ‘poor display’ now constitutes a four-try bonus point and a 35-point victory.

    Veteran fly-half (and arguably England’s best ball-playing 10) Charlie Hodgson orchestrated the rout and released his hungry backs at every opportunity possible.

    Alex Goode’s silky running skills, combined with robust centre Nick Tompkins and a rejuvenated Chris Ashton on the wing make Saracens the most attractive team to watch this season. Who would have thought it?

    England’s Six Nations captain must wear number 6

    If Eddie Jones was to install a new leader for the Six Nations in February, the leading contenders to take Chris Robshaw’s proverbial armband are Tom Youngs, Joe Launchbury and Tom Wood.

    A prerequisite for any international rugby captain is that they are the best player in their position which rules out Youngs, should Dylan Hartley be available.

    At 24 years of age and with no prior leadership experience at club level, Launchbury would be as naïve a choice as Lancaster was for England coach. That leaves Wood as the only real contender to Robshaw.

    With 42 international caps, the blindside flanker has plenty of experience and was notably man-of-the-match when England thrashed New Zealand at Twickenham in 2012.

    Robshaw’s superb recent form for Harlequins at blindside combined with Eddie Jones’s likely decision to select a specialist open side means that whichever out of Robshaw and Brown he selects at six for England, must be selected as captain as well.
     

    Welsh rugby may have finally turned a corner

    Finally! An encouraging weekend of rugby for Wales. Following a fairly successful World Cup campaign the Welsh regions have largely struggled to keep up the momentum set by the national team.

    However, victory for the Scarlets in a tough away fixture in Italy sees them go top of the Pro12 league, while the Blues won their second game of the season against previous table-toppers leaders Connacht.

    The Dragons eased past a weakened Munster team while the Ospreys’ claimed an impressive bonus-point win to keep their decent run of form going.

    Hopefully this will be the start of a Welsh revival as the Pro12 (not to mention the future of Welsh rugby) requires the Red Dragon to be at its best in order to remain competitive.

    15s to 7s isn’t going to be easy

    Fiji took home the first Sevens World Series title of the season but it was the 15-a-side superstars on show that provided the greatest sense of anticipation.

    Dubai once again provided a perfect backdrop for a breathless display of running rugby but as far as Henry Speight, Francois Hougaard and Juan de Jongh were concerned it was a rude awakening.

    All three players have switched to 7s from 15s in a bid to make the 2016 Olympics and while their core skills were equal with the best on show, it was clear that they have a steep learning curve ahead of them in the finer details of the game.

    Ahead of next week’s Cape Town leg, the converts will be working hard to improve their positional play on defence, while all three were found guilty at times of failing to convert simple two-on-one chances.

    Sonny Bill Williams was on the sidelines in a purely observational capacity and fans will have to wait until Wellington on 30th January to see the two-time World Cup winner in action for the first time on a sevens pitch.

    Time is right for UAE to secure Serevi’s signature

    Sevens legend Waisale Serevi may be on his way home following the conclusion of the Dubai Rugby Sevens, but he has not ruled out one day returning on a more permanent basis to coach in the UAE.

    Currently coaching rugby in America, the man widely regarded as the best sevens player ever says the UAE may be a future destination for him.

    “Nothing is impossible. Don’t rule it out,” said Serevi, when asked if he would consider trying to help grow the game in the Emirates as he is doing in the USA. 

    Serevi also said he could return to play in Dubai next year and help J9 defend their title, although he is keen to coach a youth team instead of a legends one.

    With Apollo Perelini in charge of 15s rugby in the UAE, Serevi would be a natural appointment to the sevens structure in what is an exciting time to be involved in Emirati rugby.

    EXTRA TIME
    In recent weeks the headline axe has unfairly fallen on Danni Cipriani’s head all too often. The exiled England fly-half has been in mesmeric form for Sale yet it is his one mistake a game that makes the back pages. However last week against Gloucester the majestic 10 received media attention for all of the right reasons after a masterclass performance. His chip over the top Ben Edward’s try was pure instinct and something that will have most certainly grabbed the attention of Eddie Jones.

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