Another drink in the Last Chance Saloon

Just what is it with the England rugby team? Just like their round-ball counterparts currently muddling through in South Africa, it seems as if it takes a major crisis before they can summon up the effort and nous to produce a decent performance.

By all accounts (I didn’t see it) England’s victory over the Aussies in the 2nd Test in Sydney last Saturday was impressive. It was also fairly significant in that wins away from home in the southern hemisphere have a rarity value that is worth celebrating.

Don’t listen to those Aussies who point to the fact that their 1st choice front row was missing – so was England’s, arguably, and all it shows is that we have the far greater scrummaging depth.

What is disappointing, though, is that it took an utterly dire effort in the 1st Test to shock the England players into performing properly one week later. And, let’s face it, the team does have a recent track of having to redeem itself after truly shocking displays. World Cup 2007 anyone?

So, for those who say that Martin Johnson’s England have finally turned a corner, a word of warning – it’s what’s around the corner that counts.