International interest begins as domestic matters conclude

Wednesday 14th October 2009

A kind of Bluey

Leeds Rhinos' victory in last weekend's Grand Final and thus the recording of Super League's first ever hat-trick of Championships was obviously a great achievement for the club and the group of players involved.  But coach Brian McClennan also deserves to receive plenty of recognition for his role in the triumph. In my opinion, 'Bluey' , as he is known (not sure why...does anybody know?), has proved himself to be a superb motivator and a leader of  groups of elite players.    As Kiwi coach, he masterminded New Zealand's victory in the 2005 Tri-Nations when he was up against a strong GB side and an awesome looking Australian outfit and he has clearly been a huge influence on the Rhinos players since he arrived in 2007.  

Dealing with a St Helens side who were desperate to avenge back-to-back Old Trafford defeats was no mean feat and it seems to me that the Leeds team would have needed some special preparation to face them.  Listening to Rhinos skipper Kevin Sinfield after the match, it's clear that McClennan played a key part  in the build-up to the decider and he clearly succeeded in giving his players the right tactical and motivational approach.

That is a great achievement for any coach working at that level where competition is so intense and small margins can be the difference between winning and losing.

Ode to Joy

I can't stand classical music personally but I think I'm right in saying that the above is the title of a piece of music by Beethoven that for some time has been adopted as Europe's 'national anthem'. You may know it as the music they play before, during and after soccer's Champions League matches.  Anyway, that is tenuous link into the rugbyleague.com European Cup which gets underway this weekend (see the dedicated  section on this site).

The tournament will be fascinating for many reasons. The performances of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Lebanon will be a source of great interest as will those of Serbia and new entrants Italy. Both these countries seem to be developing rapidly as Rugby League playing nations and the competition is a great opportunity for them to grow further. They may be up against more 'seasoned' teams but they seem to have plenty of raw enthusiasm and athletic ability. Their participation in the rugbyleague.com European Cup should , in my opinion , already be regarded as worthwhile. Good luck to them both.

Four's up

I am also looking forward to the Gillette Four Nations. The addition of France makes the tournament more interesting to me than just a 'bog standard' Tri-Nations and despite their poor recent results they will add colour and variety to this meeting of world Rugby League's main players.  Although Catalans Dragons duo Adam Mogg and Casey McGuire won't be donning the tri-colour jersey, Clint Greenshields will and the addition of this Foreign Legionnaire can help them to improve their performances  Bon Chance to Bobby Goulding's 'equipe'.

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