Rugby union: England go from bad to worse
As England’s women’s team prepares to play Spain in the Women’s Football World Cup Final in Sydney, Australia later this morning UK time, one is reminded of just how big a moment this is.
England – no, let’s make that UK – sports teams don’t often make World Cup Finals (or indeed, any finals), let alone win them. In men’s sport I’m thinking of England’s 1966 football World Cup, GB’s field hockey gold at the 1988 Olympics and England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup but that’s about it. In women’s sport there was GB’s field hockey gold at the 2016 Olympics – and, of course, the England Lionesses’ stirring victory in the Final of the women’s 2020 Euros, but that’s all I can manage.
I watched yesterday’s Rugby World Cup warm-up international between Ireland and England at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin at home, “live” on television courtesy of Amazon Prime.
I say “courtesy of Amazon Prime” but – for the third time in a row, (at least on my television) the coverage I’m referring to was badly “blurred and/or partly pixelated” from start to finish.
There are only three possible outfits that can be blamed for this catastrophe which, in 2023 in the 21st Century you’d think would be technically impossible … but clearly isn’t.
The first is my internet provider – a unit called “Zoom Internet” which operates in the rural area I live and delivers its signal via wi-fi, rather than via wire or broadband operating underground. Zoom’s service can be affected by bad weather and sometimes by strong winds.
The second is my television itself, which (as it happens) normally delivers perfect pictures on every channel except when I am trying to watch Amazon Prime’s live coverage of sport.
The third is Amazon Prime itself.
Could it be that its outside broadcast production team – whether that be a contractor or an in-house operation – is somehow making a Horlicks of its output? Or, alternatively, might it be that said unit’s output is perfect, but that somehow at its command centre Amazon Prime is somehow messing up its own broadcast to the nation?
Anyway.
As we prepare for the Lionesses’ performance kicking off at 11.00am this morning, I can provide Rusters with a comment or two upon the England rugby team’s performance yesterday in its 29-10 defeat against Ireland.
I cannot recall a more inept and lacklustre display by an England team in any sport over the last quarter of a century. Based upon what I witnessed yesterday, in the long run the English RFU might be better served withdrawing from next month’s Rugby World Cup and instead spending its budget for the tournament on trying to save and then develop the grass-roots community version of the game.
It appeared to this observer that few in the England matchday 23 were aware of what their intended strategy was supposed to be – well, bar beyond kicking the ball away whenever in possession – and had clearly travelled across the Irish Sea expecting to come off second best.
Well, at least they got that right.
Mind you, Ireland didn’t play particularly well either – they rarely got beyond second gear – but this was more than enough to take the honours.
A very disappointing 120 minutes all round.
