U2 at the O2 Arena, 30 October 2015

Posted on November 2, 2015 by John S

IMG_3388_2

On Friday, still a bit jet-lagged, after arriving back from New York at nine that morning, I went to see U2 at the O2 arena, aka the Dome. I’d had tickets for the Tuesday, but gave them away after I realised I’d be in New York. Fortunately a colleague at work had a couple of spare tickets on the Friday evening, right up in the Gods; and so I got to see the band after all.

I was keen to see them as I had a feeling that this might be something of a valedictory tour. But I have to say that there was no sense of that at all at the O2 that night. This was a band absolutely at the top of its game. I’ve seen them a few times in the past and I would say this was the best. It might be because it was indoors rather than at Wembley stadium, but the sound, the passion, the quality was absolutely all there.

The first thing about the show was that it really brought the latest album, “Songs of Innocence”, to life. I reviewed that album in my “Have You Heard?” series last year. I liked it, but it didn’t feel like anything new. I read about how it was a return to the band’s roots – lyrically, at least. But I didn’t completely get it. Live, it really worked. The show generally was simply presented. No lasers, no interviews with celebrities or politicians. Just a very high quality set of screens which added to the intimacy of the show inasmuch as you can have intimacy in a large venue. The first seven songs included four from “Songs of Innocence” – “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)”, “Iris (Hold me Close)”, “Cedarwood Road” and “Song for Someone”. Two more of the songs were from really early days: “The Electric Co” and the awesome “I Will Follow”. This was U2 exploring their roots: personal and musical. I loved it. There was a vibrant “Vertigo” thrown into the mix too.

One of the things the band did to engage the whole audience was to wander along an extended stage with a circle at the end, so everyone got a close take on them, and not just those in the posh seats near the front. Whether those in the posh seats appreciated this I don’t know, but I certainly did!

The rest of the show was a procession of U2 classics – there are just so many! We had “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, “Until the End of the World”, “Even Better than the Real Thing”, “Mysterious Ways”, “Desire” and “All I Want Is You” in midstream. We had a lovely version of “Every Breaking Wave” off “Songs of Innocence” with just Bono singing and Edge on piano, in that circle.

IMG_3396_2

And the last five of the main show were the sort of thing only a band like U2 can do: “Bullet the Blue Sky”, “Zooropa” (which bizarrely I don’t really remember: Setlist FM tells me it was there – maybe it was a snippet, unless I dozed off with the jetlag and beer combination!), “Where the Streets Have No Name”, “Pride” and “With or Without You”. Awesome, as good as it gets. Played, sung brilliantly. Rock music at its very, very best.

And then the encore! An epic “City of Blinding Lights”, “Beautiful Day” rescued from the thrall of ITV football, Bono indulging himself with a poignant take on Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion”, and to end, an inspiring “One”. It couldn’t get much better.

IMG_3398

This whole show was U2 showing the love: for the audience, for their own musical beginnings, and the music that has inspired them. I was so pleased to be there, sharing the feeling.

So I think I was wrong about the valedictory sense beforehand. This is a band that still have a lot to give. Still one of the very best.

Posted in Music - concerts, lists, reflections | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Sportsthoughts (140) – New Zealand win the World Cup!

Posted on October 31, 2015 by John S

Well, what a game that was! New Zealand 34 Australia 17. A fitting end to what has been an excellent World Cup, notwithstanding England’s flop. The best team by a mile ran out winners – the first ever to win back-to-back World Cups. The first time the All Blacks have won it outside New Zealand. They can now lay claim to being the best team ever.

I missed the semi finals as I was in New York and, believe it or not, had better things to do than try to catch the games in an Irish bar somewhere. Maybe if England had been playing…

But the quarter finals had all been superb, in different ways. The All Blacks crushed France with the most awesome display of all round rugby brilliance that the tournament witnessed. Australia and Scotland slugged it out until the last, with a controversial Aussie penalty which dashed Scotland’s chances. I felt sorry for them for a micro-second. Argentina showed how much they have improved as a result of playing in the Southern Hemisphere championship, and gave Ireland a trouncing. The Irish were the unluckiest team with injuries, losing so many of their leading players in the brutal game against France. And South Africa ground their physical way to a close victory against Wales, who were also battling against injuries.

From what I read and saw on highlights, New Zealand showed they could tough it out in a grim struggle with South Africa in the semis, while Argentina lost it mentally against the Aussies, who won quite easily. And so we had what was probably the dream final for anyone setting aside their own national allegiances.

The game followed a classic pattern. First quarter, two sides sounding each other out. The All Blacks on the front foot with Ma’a Nonu blasting through on a few occasions; but Aussies resolute in defence. Second quarter, New Zealand stepped up a gear and scored a brilliant try just before half time, with Milner-Skudder finishing off some outstanding interplay between four or five of the team, including centre Conrad Smith’s reverse pass which sent the Aussie defence off kilter and allowed the decisive passes which led to the try. The speed, the intensity, the intelligence: this is what England must work on. They had it in 2003 – they need to get it back! Third quarter, crucial. Nonu scored an outstanding individual try – power, footwork, pace. Released by an amazing Sonny Bill Williams offload. Sonny Bill replaced Conrad Smith at half time. The man who created the first try with a bit of magic and had been his usual solid self. But no sentiment in this All Black team – they wanted to kill off Australia. So many options!

But then Ben Smith upended Aussie winger Drew Mitchell at the breakdown and was sin-binned. In the ten minutes that followed, Australia scored two tries: one pure forward power, finished by Pocock, the second a nicely crafted chance with Kuridrani powering through a gap in the All Blacks’ defence, created by a deft kick from scrum half Will Genia and a perfectly timed pass from Drew Mitchell. Behind a lot of the Aussie attacking was bad boy Kurtley Beale, who came on after 26 minutes for Matt Giteau, who got concussed in a tackle. Losing Giteau so early on was a massive blow for Australia; but Beale minimised the damage with an excellent, adventurous display.

So it looked like the traditional Aussie comeback was on. From being 21-3 down, they got back to 21-17. But as we went into the fourth quarter, Dan Carter steadied the ship. First an audacious drop goal, then a penalty from close to his own half way line. Breathing space. Australia tired, New Zealand re-energised. And towards the end a dangerous run from Beale led to a fumble by Mitchell, Ben Smith pouncing, surging through and kicking ahead incisively for sub Beauden Barrett to sprint ahead of a knackered Aussie defence to collect the ball and touch down to complete the victory.

In the end, a score of 34 -17 looks like a comprehensive victory. But it doesn’t tell the story of stout Australian resistance and a serious wobble by the All Blacks while Ben Smith was in the bin. But they were resilient when they needed to be, and in Dan Carter had the man to show coolness under pressure with that drop goal. He did the same in the semi final against South Africa. The world’s best fly half half of the last decade finally getting the chance to grace the greatest stage – a World Cup final. Injury robbed him of the chance in 2007. It wasn’t just Kiwis who were hoping he wouldn’t get crocked in the early games. It was right that he should finish his international career where he belonged – at the very top. Man of the match in what, I guess, is the best final since rugby World Cups began, in 1997. I say I guess, trying to be neutral for a moment, as it can only be 2003 for we English, when we beat the Aussies on their home turf!

A lot of top New Zealand players are now retiring from internationals: their amazing captain, Richie McCaw, Dan Carter (off to earn a fortune at Racing Paris for three years), the awesome Ma’a Nonu and his central partner, Conrad Smith (61 games together!), stalwart forward Kevin Mealamu. Will it make much difference? I don’t suppose so – not for long, anyway. The replacements will already be ready to slot in, I’m sure. New Zealand don’t leave much to chance.

It has been a great World Cup. Many are saying the best. The quality of the games has been high. England and Wales have been good hosts, with most games sold out. Shame about the England performance itself; but let’s just say they were unlucky to be in that group of death with Australia and Wales, and might have grown if they’d got into the quarter finals from an easier group.

There’s no doubt that there are a lot of very talented young English players. We see that at Quins, and all the top sides are in a similar position. The challenge is to get them to play with the intensity, the pace, speed of thought – and confidence – that they are capable of when they pull on an England shirt. And that needs management which brings out that potential. Clive Woodward managed it in the years up to 2003; maybe the authorities should bring him back into the fold, at least to advise them on what to do next. Director of Rugby?

Won’t happen, of course!

Posted in Sportsthoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Have you heard? – (68) “Every Open Eye” by Chvrches

Posted on October 23, 2015 by John S

ehDYTZz-1024x1024

I’d really been looking forward to the new Chvrches albums. Readers of this blog will know I loved the first album, “The Bones of What You Believe” – it was was my top album of 2013. Quite a long time ago. Since then Chvrches have been building up a following the traditional way – gigging and then gigging some more. Especially in the USA. A business strategy has clearly been in place here. And why not? If you make music you want it to be heard and you want to make a living out of it.

Chvrches’ attraction in that first album was its combination of eighties electro sounds and melodies allied with a modern indie feel and, of course, the voice of Lauren Mayberry, which floated delicately but effortlessly over the whole thing. And as I listened more to the whole album it grew and grew on me, different songs became favourites. It was a joy to listen to. Always uplifting.

So, what of the new album, “Every Open Eye”? It came out at the end of September but I got it a couple of weeks ago. I’ve listened all the way through three or four times, no more. So my first impressions are more of the same, maybe a bit poppier than before, and because it’s not that different in style and not better, not as exciting as it might have been. It starts with a bang as all good pop albums do – and until you look at the band you’d call them pop rather than indie now – with the three best tracks, on early listens, the first three. “Never Ending Circles” rumbles on like one of the great tracks on the first album, “Lies”. “Leave a Trace” is just a great pop song, and has a video that got some people a bit worked up. They seemed to object that Lauren, indie goddess, but also a forthright defender of women against the Twitter trolls, had agreed to be filmed in a short black dress and, unusually for Chvrches, on her own. What a ridiculous fuss! It’s pop music. Image matters. Elvis was about image. The Beatles were. So were The Clash. Everyone. Image always has mattered, always will. Chvrches, like any band, will make the best use of what they have. And Lauren Mayberry is a potential star beyond indie confines.

Here’s that video.

And then the third track, “Keep You on my Side”, which is the one that has jumped up and hit me in the face on the first listen. It’s just a great banging eighties-style disco anthem with a massively rousing chorus. I’m surprised it hasn’t been a single yet.

The rest is good but, apart from maybe “Empty Threat”, which could fill the dancefloor, I’ve yet to get the full flavour of the album. Sometimes these things take time and Chvrches are a band whose music I will give lots of time to.

If you get the deluxe version you get, amongst other things, “Get Away”, which came out in 2014. Another fine pop song.

I suppose the dilemma now for Chvrches is do they stick to the electro indie or go absolutely into mainstream pop? Will they ever quite appeal to the teens as opposed to the older students? No idea! But I think they are a band that is thinking about how they build a mainstream following. Gigging massively in America and writing great pop melodies with an eighties touches isn’t a bad plan. But Lauren will be key to the crossover, like it or not. Just think Debbie Harry and Blondie in the seventies. Who remembers the blokes?

Not making any judgements. Just pop reality.

Posted in Music - Have You Heard? | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Sportsthoughts (139) – Rugby World Cup: South 4 North 0

Posted on October 18, 2015 by John S

This weekend provided an absolute feast of rugby (and some pretty decent football too). It started for me with Quins’ first Premiership game of the season on Friday evening at the Stoop. They beat a good Wasps team 26-21, so that was pretty encouraging.

But the main attraction was the World Cup quarter finals: two at Twickenham and two at the Millenium Stadium, Cardiff. No England, but we’ve long since put that out of our minds and just sat back to enjoy the action.

And what action it was! Each game was brilliant, but in different ways. Each included moments of sublime skill, brutal collisions, controversial refereeing decisions, and huge passion. And in the end, the Southern hemisphere asserted its supremacy like never before. Only easily in one case, but nonetheless in an unprecedented way – and in the heartlands of the northern game.

We started with Wales v South Africa at Twickenham. The Boks won 23-19, overtaking Wales late on with one of their few moments of guile, as No 8 Vermeulen created space from a wheeled scrum with a crafty backhanded offload to scrum Du Preez, who raced in for a try. Mostly the game was a battle of power and will, and the South Africans – as is their wont – slowly ground a depleted Wales team down until they could exploit the situation with a moment of high skill. Obviously not planned exactly like that, but the physical pressure opened up the weak spots in the Wales defence – though only at the last. Bad luck Wales, but it felt like it was coming, even though they led for quite a while, after coming back from a slew of penalties against them early on, as they figured out what referee Wayne Barnes was up to. Good ol’ Wayne – not the most popular man round the Stoop, and definitely persona non grata in Cardiff right now.

Next up was New Zealand v France. France have had a bit of a hex over the All Blacks. They’ve beaten them twice in knockout stages over the years and gave them a fright in the final last time. Why, it’s hard to say – just that Gallic unpredictability, I guess.

Last night any demons were well and truly exorcised. The All Blacks crushed the French, 62-13. Nine tries to one. As an all-round display of brilliant rugby, it’s hard to remember a better one. A true lesson in how to play the game. There are no obvious weaknesses in this team, and it’s great to see the supreme fly half, Dan Carter, finally surviving injury to play through the tournament. Just hope the Boks don’t crock him in the semis – they’ll no doubt try to, as the best way of getting a win.

New Zealand must be hot favourites to get to the final, but those South African hard men should never be underestimated. Let’s hope the beautiful game – aligned to some steel too – wins.

Today we started at the Millenium with Ireland v Argentina. Ireland and France the previous weekend had battled it out to avoid the All Blacks and secure the supposedly easier tie. Ireland triumphed. But easy it was not. Argentina trounced them 43-20 in the end. It was a close match for the middle part of the game, but otherwise the Argentinians showed how much better they have become since they joined the annual championship with NZ, SA and the Aussies. From being a team reliant mostly on forward power, they are now devastating in the backs – a complete team.

I got back from a cycle along the Thames with twenty minutes gone and Ireland were something like 20-3 down! We didn’t expect that. We thought of Ireland as the leading European team, destined for a semi with Australia, which they were capable of winning. But injuries to leading players like O’Connell, Sexton and O’Mahoney clearly had weakened them. In leadership terms as much as anything else. And Argentina, playing an expansive game, getting the ball wide, had exploited that. Ireland clawed their way back into the game and got within three points of the Argentina lead. It looked for a short while that they might take the game, but Argentina stepped up another gear and scored a couple of superb tries. Ireland were done.

The Argentinians can no longer be underestimated, that is for sure. The final is a real possibility.

Finally, Australia v Scotland at Twickenham. Surely an Aussie walkover? But no. I missed the first half – doing the weekly shop at Waitrose. OK, so if England had been playing, I might have re-prioritised, but I assumed it would be an Aussie try fest which I could catch up with at half time.

Wrong! Scotland were leading and only at the end of the first half did Australia get close. Why was that? Maybe the fatigue from being in the Group of Death? A touch of complacency? Who knows. Unsurprisingly, the Aussies came out in the second half more decisive and went into the lead. But with each lead they then made mistakes, gave away penalties – and tries. This continued through the match until a telegraphed Australian pass in their own half led to a Scottish interception which put the Scots 34-32 up with very little time to go. It looked like the first big upset of the knockouts was on. Scotland, the worst northern hemisphere team in the quarter finals, were going to be the only one to get through to the semis.

But then a Scotland lineout in their own half. Messed up. A scramble, with the ball bouncing all over the place in the direction of the Australia defence. A Scottish player gathers it – offside. But was it? It depended on whom it bounced off previously. The ref, the South African Craig Joubert, gave the penalty, without referring to the TMO. Fair enough, he was right on the scene. The Aussie fly half, Bernard Foley, under intense pressure, kicked it firm and true. Over the posts. Australia 35 Scotland 34.

Absolutely gutting for Scotland; joy for the Aussies. A familiar tale.

But breathtaking stuff. This World Cup is really shaping up, with England’s underachievement a distant memory. The semis are New Zealand v South Africa and Australia v Argentina. You’d expect an All Black/Aussie final from that; but it really could go in any direction. The knockout stages are like that, as more and more it becomes about the mindset, the ability to stay focused and effective under pressure.

Roll on the next weekend!

Posted in Sportsthoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Gengahr at the Scala, Kings Cross, 8 October 2015

Posted on October 11, 2015 by John S

IMG_3352_2

Gengahr at the Scala was always going to be good. Their album, “A Dream Outside” is almost certainly going to be my album of 2015, unless the new Chvrches release takes over. They were excellent at Latitude, in a half hour set. So it was just a question of whether they could translate that to a whole performance.

Of course they could!

The set was mainly the album in a different order, of course. But there were one or two unfamiliar tracks in there – whether they were from previous EPs or new, I don’t know. Strangely they opened the set with one of them. It may have been called “Loki”, judging by reviews of earlier concerts. Wasn’t a great move, as I would have thought you want your audience to get going straight away. The album opener, “Dizzy Ghosts”, works perfectly, as it did at Latitude. Anyway, the second track played was “Heroine”, which is one of the best, and it was plain sailing from there.

I’ve written about Gengahr previously. They play classic indie music with a twist. Felix Bushe’s falsetto vocals add a hint of vulnerability to the tunes. The guitars veer off in odd directions at times. There is something unsettling about it all, but also beautiful. The melodies throughout the album grow on you with every listen. So it’s a bit weird, but basically really good pop music.

Live the guitars come to the fore. A lot of the songs follow a classic indie slow – fast – slow – very fast pattern and mean that most of the songs end with a rousing climax. Great for the live experience.

So a tried and tested formula, but the best I’ve heard since who? Arctic Monkeys?

My three favourite songs right now – as with all great albums, this shifts around – were the last three. “Powder” ended the main set and gave Felix the opportunity to wander into the crowd as the riffs built. The encore began with “Lonely as a Shark, which may have the loveliest melody of all, and Felix appeared solo for the first part, before the rest of the band joined him.

IMG_3355

And then, of course, we ended with “She’s a Witch”. A wonderful refrain, which the crowd sang in unison. It must be inspiring, early in your musical career, to have a song which everyone sings along to. Harmony with the audience.

A great concert then. I think Gengahr should become massive, but you just don’t know.  If the teens catch on to them, they’ll be a shoo-in. If it’s the Uni students, they’ll be Indie-big but not Pop-big. Right now, looking at the crowd at the Scala it’s the student posse (and a very few oldies like me).

Hopefully they’ll stick to what they believe in and see what turns up. And become huge.

 

 

 

Posted in Music - concerts, lists, reflections | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Sportsthoughts (138) – Goodbye England!

Posted on October 3, 2015 by John S

So goodbye England.

Against Fiji you were OK, but nothing more.

Against Wales you were strong but gave the game away. You lacked composure and discipline when it mattered.

Against Australia you lacked creativity and defensive nous. Your self belief looked gone. The Aussies had all three of those qualities and had sorted out their scrum.

In the end it looked like you didn’t have the big match temperament. Dropping George Ford for Owen Farrell before the Welsh game showed excessive caution – lack of self-belief again.

I guess the management resorted to the Saracens way as soon as the pressure was on.

You have to say that the tournament organisers showed great probity by having an honest draw that put the hosts in the Group of Death. The only group with three top teams. Puts FIFA to shame (not hard).

Commercially bonkers though.

You can’t fault the effort of the team. They gave their all. But their flaws – and those of the management – were cruelly exposed.

World Cups are like that. Football as well as rugby.

Maybe they should get Clive Woodward to advise them on how it’s done!

Posted in Sportsthoughts | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Choosing a book cover

Posted on September 27, 2015 by John S

Tonight Brian Eno gave a brilliant talk at the BBC 6 Music annual John Peel lecture. His theme was the importance of art and culture and that it wasn’t just about contributing to GDP or getting a job. Early on he came up with a very telling phrase: “Art is everything you don’t have to do”. It’s the extra mile we go as human beings, beyond the necessary.

How true that is, and it justifies all the time I spend on this blog – and my music book, “I Was There – A Musical Journey”, which I have now finished. Just have to compile some kind of index, design a cover and find a printer. Then it will be ready to give to friends, though it’s still a way from any commercial publication.

I’ve been playing around with photos for the front and back covers. The front I’m quite set on. In 2014, I saw Fat White Family at Latitude, in the i-Arena. I took a few snaps on my iPhone which were completely distorted by the flashing lights. But they gave me a subject – the lead guitarist. I love the pose, the big hair, the rawness. I’ve distorted it further, with room at the top for the book title.

Here’s the sequence from the original…

IMG_1118

IMG_1118_3

IMG_1118_3_2

For the back cover I thought about nicking the sort of thing Bob Dylan did on “Bringing it all Back Home” and Oasis did on “Definitely Maybe”. Other than themselves, a few iconic objects spread about the place. Albums to the fore. And my guitars, of course. So I tried some variations. Then I thought, what about me playing guitar? A bit pseudy, but why not?  I got Kath to take a few snaps on the iPhone.

So here are a few options. I’ve numbered them and would be interested in any views you have on what you think would work best.

1 and 2 – a bit of trim and fade.

IMG_3298_2IMG_3298_3

3 and 4. Books, West Ham scarf and trainers make an appearance. Too much information, possibly.

IMG_3308IMG_3308_2

5 – spot the cameraman

IMG_3310

6 – Keeping it simple. But with whole of guitars and photo of Kieran at young age sneaking in. And Daddy’s little monkey, which Isabelle gave me one Father’s day.

IMG_3320

7 and 8 – focusing in.

IMG_3321IMG_3322

9 – Bowie plectrum on Radiohead box set cover. Sums up quite a lot.

IMG_3324

10 – just the symbolic records.

IMG_3327

11 – me! With beer.

IMG_3333_2

12, 13, 14  – Me x 3! Without beer. I kind of like this and the original (12) is now on my Facebook and WordPress photos, instead of some crappy iMac shot I took in haste back when I started. Having said that, I make no claims about my guitar playing. I strum a few chords – that’s it.

IMG_3339IMG_3339_2IMG_3339_3

I think I’m favouring 1 or 2 and 12-14 right now…

Posted in Random stuff | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy

Posted on September 20, 2015 by John S

The Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei’s exhibition opened at the Royal Academy on 19 September. I got to see a friends preview the day before, after work. It’s a must-see if you are in London. A fascinating insight into the artist’s struggles with the Chinese authorities and his campaigning for the rights of the people of China. He tackles the way the authorities have sought to destroy inconvenient history, the neglect and corruption which made school buildings so vulnerable to the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, oppression in general. His own experience includes imprisonment, and that is well-documented too.

This is art as a political statement and a personal experience. Powerful stuff.

A few iPhone snaps – just a taster.

This one’s “Cao”, or grass. Also an internet term of abuse apparently. Each blade of grass and the supporting hexagons hewn from a quarry in which Ai Weiwei bought a share. Same marble as used for Mao’s mausoleum in Tianaman Square.

IMG_3279

Surveillance cameras never far away. Not so different to London in that respect.

IMG_3280

Reaching back into the past, and alluding to the way the authorities have reinvented history, Ai Weiwei takes ancient vases and modernises them.

IMG_3285

There’s a story about an arts centre in Shanghai Ai Weiwei built at the local authorities’ request. The order was then countermanded and the building razed to the ground. Just before its brief opening, Ai Weiwei, who knew it would also be destroyed, arranged a party. 800 guests turned up to eat river crabs, a synonym of harmony, and also internet censorship. Ai Weiwei was put under house arrest, so he couldn’t attend his own party. But he rescued some of the rubble and reassembled it.

IMG_3283

And he made hundreds (thousands?) of porcelain river crabs. These mass objects are a typical Ai Weiwei work. He filled the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall with millions of porcelain sunflower seeds back in 2010.

IMG_3282

Outside, in the courtyard, there’s “Tree”.

IMG_3288

The exhibition is on until 13 December. Catch it if you can!

Posted in Art, books, theatre, cinema | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Sportsthoughts (137) – 2015 Rugby World Cup predictions!

Posted on September 18, 2015 by John S

So the Rugby Union World Cup starts today with England, joint hosts with Wales, playing Fiji at Twickenham. Time to get excited!

Naturally the question I most want to ask is, can England win the World Cup? Most commentators don’t seem to think so; I think there’s a decent chance, but ultimately I don’t really believe they can. They have a promising, quite young team, with some pace in the backs and an inventive fly half in George Ford. The forwards are tried and tested, and few will be able to boss them, although France gave them a bit of a going over in one of the recent friendlies. But even now, after a few years of being promising, they haven’t developed the ruthlessness in the final phases, the clinical finishing that is so essential when chances are few and far between. Maybe the home support, the edge that real competition can elicit, will add those final touches. But in the end I can’t quite see them matching New Zealand or South Africa, who, as ever, will be the favourites.

Just to show that the draw from the groups isn’t fiddled in favour of the hosts, both England and Wales have been put in the same group as Australia. Veritably the “group of death”. Normally all three would expect a passage to the quarter finals; this time one must fall. England can beat both, but they could just as easily lose. Fiji won’t be pushovers either. Wales have had some injury setbacks – the loss of Leigh Halfpenny deprives them of the best goal kicker in the world. But they remain a strong, powerful side. Australia have better, more incisive backs than just about anyone, but their scrum usually lets them down when in the Northern Hemisphere. Apparently it has got better under Michael Cheika’s direction, but the jury is still out.

So all I can do really is say England can do it and hope for the best! It’s essential they come first: that way, they avoid going into the half of the knockout draw where New Zealand and South Africa will be lurking, assuming they both top their groups. If England come second, they will face South Africa, probably, in the quarter finals – a big ask. If they come top, they will most likely face Scotland or Samoa. That’s very winnable, though any match with Scotland comes with a special fire and passion. If they beat Scotland, there’s a good chance they’ll meet Ireland in the semi-final, if the Irish maintain their form as the best European team in the last two Six Nations (as opposed to their form in the last friendly against England). And then in the final it would be New Zealand or South Africa – or Australia/Wales… or France. You can never rule the French out in World Cups. They often spark to life against the odds: last time, in 2011, they made the final and were unlucky not to beat New Zealand, who seized up when the moment of glory approached.

To be honest, it’s only that possibility of nerves getting to the New Zealand in the final stages that gives anyone else hope of winning. They are the supreme team, solid and resourceful in all areas, with devastating pace and guile in the back three and ruthless when they gain possession in broken play.  Dan Carter, the best fly half of the last decade, gets a final chance to win a World Cup, having missed the tournament through injury last time, in his home country. And the awesome Richie McCaw, the world’s most-capped rugby player now, leads them out once more.

Amongst the European sides, you’d expect Ireland to be the best, with Johnny Sexton orchestrating them from fly half; but their World Cup pedigree is poor. Will they have the belief deep down? The same question could be asked of Wales, whereas both England and France have often done well, even when the team is not a great one (England 2007, France last time).

Argentina can’t be ignored either. They are now battle-hardened from regular games against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. They could be heading for a quarter final against Ireland. Brutal.

Anyway, with a dash of wishful thinking, I will predict a New Zealand v England final, with the All Blacks winning. Ireland and South Africa losing semi-finalists.

Now is the time to stick your money on Australia or France!

Posted in Sportsthoughts | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

lovelondonscenes – 104

Posted on September 17, 2015 by John S

From the murk of a very wet Wednesday afternoon, with the City skyline struggling to make itself seen…

IMG_3273

IMG_3271

… to the beauty of a sunny autumnal morning today in Lammas Park, Ealing. Everything so lush and the sunshine burning off the accumulated dampness.

IMG_3274

IMG_3275_2

IMG_3276

September.

(My 500th post, by the way).

Posted in Photos - lovelondonscenes | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments