February 16th, 2012

To celebrate England v Wales at Twickenham on Saturday 25th February, we’re giving you the opportunity to win two tickets to see England v Wales at Twickenham on Saturday 25th February. The winner will also be joining us in the Champagne Bollinger tent to be presented with a Bottle of Bollinger Special Cuvée.

For a chance to win this exclusive prize we’re testing your knowledge of both Bollinger and Rugby. Simply tell us the answers to the following four questions:

1. Where are Italy’s home games being played in this year’s Six Nations?

2. Where was the first ever match between Scotland and England played in 1871?

3. What is the most recent vintage released of Bollinger La Grande Année rosé?

4. Which British sporting event will Champagne Bollinger be supporting from 19^th – 23^rd June?

Then describe in 30 words or less how much Bollinger Champagne means to you.

Submit your answers via Facebook post and you could be joining us at Twickenham on the 25th February. Terms and Conditions apply.

February 15th, 2012

England defeated Italy in Rome at the weekend by 19 points to 15, but  it was another frustrating performance for supporters searching for  signs of improvement.

In fact, if Italy hadn’t missed several kicks at goal, the result  could have been different, but another Charlie Hodgson charge-down try  and Owen Farrell’s boot were enough to see England through. Just.

England still looked desperately short of ideas in attack, with little  creativity in their outside backs.  The lines of running are all too  predictable, making life much more comfortable for the opposition  defenders.

On a positive note, this new England side has now won two games in a  row, both away from home.  They return to Twickenham in a fortnight to  take on Wales, and are still in the running to win the Championship.   There are several key players returning from injury, such as Toby  Flood and Manu Tuilagi, and the expectation is that the inexperienced  side will improve steadily.

In reality though, England have narrowly beaten two mediocre sides,  and the challenge facing them over the final three rounds will be  significantly tougher.  Wales will start as favourites to win at  Twickenham having impressed in their opening two matches, whilst  France away followed by Ireland at home does not make for an easy  finish to the tournament.

The decisions facing Stuart Lancaster over the next two weeks will be a test of his management.  Number 8 Ben Morgan and scrum-half Lee  Dickson have made strong claims for selection, whilst Tom Wood, Flood  and Tuilagi are expected to be fit and pressing for inclusion.  He’ll  need to plot how best to stop the in-form Welsh and then reshuffle his  side accordingly.

February 10th, 2012

Stuart Lancaster has named an unchanged England team to take on Italy in Rome this weekend.

The interim coach is keen to nurture an environment in which players are not afraid to make mistakes on the field – some players were paralysed with fear under the previous coaches which prevented them from playing well – and this team selection is a clear indication of that policy.

In some quarters, there had been calls to drop Phil Dowson and Ben Youngs after relatively indifferent performances against Scotland, but continuity of selection is extremely important in building a new side and England will benefit by having more time playing together.

England has never lost to Italy, but there’s a first time for everything, and there are worrying signs that the first time is getting closer.

Since joining the competition in 2000, Italy have beaten Scotland 5 times, Wales twice and France once in a memorable match at the end of last season’s Championship.  Their list of major scalps is growing and of their Six Nations rivals, only Ireland and England remain.

Playing Italy in Rome is one of the most popular fixtures for travelling Rugby fans, given the heritage of the ancient city, but it is becoming increasingly uncomfortable for visiting teams.

This weekend’s fixture takes place at the Stadio Olympico, where a capacity crowd of 70,000 fans is expected to give Chris Robshaw’s side a hostile welcome, and England will need to show all of the fighting spirit they displayed against Scotland in order to make it two wins from two.

Can England maintain their unbeaten record against Italy?

February 7th, 2012

England kicked off their RBS 6 Nations campaign, and a new era of English Rugby, with a hard-fought win over Scotland at Murrayfield.

It wasn’t particularly pretty, and Scotland were not the toughest opponents that England will face this year, but the result is all that really mattered as the young English cohorts attempt to build some momentum.

Particularly pleasing was the attitude of the players – you could clearly see that they were giving everything they had to keep Scotland from crossing their tryline, and the fighting spirit was obvious from the statistic that confirmed that England had made 142 tackles in the match.  Scotland made just 62, which demonstrates just how much possession they enjoyed without being able to score a try.

The discipline had also visibly improved.  During the Rugby World Cup, England were guilty of giving away penalty after penalty in defence – sometimes up to 10 or more in each half – but England conceded only nine penalties all game, restricting Scotland to just six points.

There were still moments of frustration, with several handling errors and little creativity in attack, but the crop of new players performed respectably in a hostile environment, and with that experience behind them, they should continue to improve as the competition goes on.

Coach Stuart Lancaster is likely to name an unchanged team for this weekend’s match against Italy, and rightly so.  Consistency of selection is an important part of building a winning team, and although there are promising players such as Ben Morgan and Toby Flood waiting in the wings, the starting side from Round 1 deserve at least another game together in Round 2.

England’s next opponents Italy proved against France that they are no longer the also-rans of the Six Nations, and will be extremely competitive at home.  England will need to show more cutting edge in attack in order to break down a resilient Azzurri defence, but with one victory in the bag, they ought to have the confidence to go on and win.

We’ll be cheering on England in Rome – join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the news from the England camp.

February 3rd, 2012

An away fixture is not the ideal start to a tournament, but interim coach Stuart Lancaster will be desperate for a victory to get his ‘new’ England off to the best possible start.

Since the Rugby World Cup debacle, Lancaster has quickly rebuilt the team’s reputation off the field, reiterating the need for discipline and commitment to the cause – but all this may count for nothing if results on the field do not go England’s way.

England has not won in Edinburgh since 2004, and although history is unlikely to count for much in terms of the result, there’s no escaping the heritage of the oldest rugby fixture in the world.

England and Scotland first played each other at Rugby Union in 1871 at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, with Scotland the victors by a score of 1-0 – needless to say the scoring system was slightly different back then. The teams now compete each year for the Calcutta Cup, so called after a group of expats in India formed a rugby club, created a trophy from melted-down Indian rupees, and then donated it to the RFU in 1878 on the basis that it should be competed for annually.

To this day, there have been 129 matches between the two sides, of which England has won 69 and Scotland 42, with 18 draws – the overall record is firmly in England’s favour, but the Scots have had the upper hand in the contests at Murrayfield in the last few years. The most recent fixture took place in Auckland in the Rugby World Cup in October, when England’s last-gasp victory ended the Scots’ campaign.

There has been talk of vengeance for that defeat to motivate Scotland, but the reality of over 130 years of fierce rugby battles against the Auld enemy will provide sufficient motivation, and the task facing a young England side will not be easy.

October 10th, 2011

England’s World Cup campaign came to a disappointing end at the weekend with an abject performance against a resurgent France.

Hopes were cautiously high going into the game for the fans, with France’s loss to Tonga the week before evidence that England should have the confidence to win the game and progress to the semi-finals. Alas, it was not to be, as France dominated the early stages, racing to a two-try lead within the first half hour. From that point, it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the men in white.