By Chris Chaplin
June 10 2003

One of the good things about Sky coverage of international rugby is the opportunity to see the matches at your convenience and so I watched the first quarter at the Gym and the remainder at home later on and I thought that some of the lads did pretty well. England -vs- New Zealand Maories
by Chris Chaplin

One of the good things about Sky coverage of international rugby is the opportunity to see the matches at your convenience and so I watched the first quarter at the Gym and the remainder at home later on and I thought that some of the lads did pretty well.

Phil Vickery continued his rehabilitation but has a way to go before the Raging Cornish Bull is back in full effect. Still looks rusty and off the pace and I do wonder if he‘s really fit. 5/10

Dorian West produced a solid traditional hooker’s performance. Scrummaged well, found his jumpers at the line-out and did well in the loose carrying the ball up without getting in the way of the backs. Should have been enough to get him on the bench on Saturday. 7/10

Trevor Woodman looks to have recovered his fitness after a long absence through an England induced training injury. Aggressive and pugnacious, his defence was of the highest order and he performed well in a good front five performance. 8/10

Simon Shaw continued to show the superb form that he demonstrated for his club in the letter part of the premiership season. Certain and safe in the line-out, dominant in the loose and put in some fearsome tackles. Must have surely got his label on a place on the bench at least against the All Blacks. 9/10

Steve Borthwick must have been pleased to have been included in this tour party rather than that to North America as might have been expected. Played well enough, did nothing wrong but was put in the shade by his partners’ performance. 6/10

Martin Corry showed why his detractors should not discount him quite yet. First rate at the re-starts, carried the ball superbly in the loose, tackled like a man possessed and fought like a demon for possession. Whether he’ll get a bench spot on Saturday is doubtful although I can’t imagine what more he could do to gain that accolade. 8/10

Andy Hazell played as well as I can remember for quite a while. Extremely mobile and effective in his ball carrying, which was a real feature of the England Eight’s performance, defended very well, another feature of the England pack, but I fear he may see Volley in front of him for the Test who, while only on for a short time caught my eye. 6/10

Joe Worsley seemed to have regained his composure after his obscene hand gestures to the Gloucester supporters at the ZP Final (strange isn’t it how so little has been made of this? Imagine the furore if it had been Backy or Lewis, or any Tiger come to that, committing such an indiscretion) The Wasp had a fine game. He really is a superb ball carrier, bristling with aggression and some of his tackling was fearsome. Sure to get a bench spot against the All Blacks I’d have thought. 8/10

Kyran Bracken is, I’m afraid, not showing much sign of regaining his old form. Given that he was behind a largely dominant pack his service was slow and imprecise although he did scrap for possession and tried hard. It was only when an on fire Gomersall came on did we see how it should be done, quick ball, fast flat passes, sniping darts, the whole bag of tricks. Bracken - 5/10. Gomersall - 8/10

Paul Grayson had a good evening with the boot and from that perspective at least he pushed England toward their win however in the first half some of his kicking out of hand was wayward and his distribution was poor all through the game, lacking in preciseness imagination or directness. I was amazed that King didn’t replace him at 10 and can only assume that he’s being saved for bench duty on Saturday. It is true that Grayson got poor service from Bracken but still not a good display from the veteran Saint. 5/10

James Simpson-Daniel was unfortunately denied much sight of the ball all evening and when he did see the ovoid there was a Maori attached to it. I felt that he could have involved himself more though and this is another instance of a where player dogged with injury and illness for much of 2002/3 may have benefited more from a prolonged break than this end of season sojourn. He did make a few good tackles. 6/10

Stuart Abbott tried hard but it was not an evening for backs given the England game-plan. The Wasp just was not put into space that he could exploit but he did defend well and make some opportunities for his centre partner. 6/10

Jamie Noon at last got his chance and although he got precious little opportunity to display his wares those that he did get he took good advantage of. He does have a good eye for a cutting line and some good instant pace to take advantage of the gaps. Pity that he’s not had the opportunity of more international experience. Could still get a bench spot in this problem area for ICO. 7/10

Dan Luger showed some tantalising glimpses of the old Danny Boy but he somehow doesn’t seem to quite have that combination of pace and strength that he did before he was injured for so long. It’s almost as if the eye and brain are still at 110% but the body is at 80%. Hard to see him featuring in the tests on this showing. 6/10

Iain Balshaw looked like a player with fragility in all parts. Fragile in body after so many injuries. Fragile in confidence after the set backs of the last couple of years. He looked semi-detached to me and almost relieved when the action passed him by. I felt rather sorry for him and that he would have also been better served by going to North America or staying at home for some conditioning. No chance of a test appearance. 5/10

Team performance: Great showing from the pack. Aggressive. Mobile. Direct. and this is the second string (so called). With Dawson and Wilkinson behind them this would have been a bigger win by some margin. As it was we looked bereft of ideas at half-back until Gomersall came on and the Maori backs were in a different class. 6/10