My World Cup Memories

Sure, the final was a bit of an anti-climax, and England didn't make it, but wasn't the 2013 Rugby League World Cup great!

The biggest crowds in Workington for a generation, over 7,000 for a group game in Bristol and a number of sold out stadiums. Record crowds at Spotland (for a RL game), John Smiths Huddersfield (for a sporting event) and Leigh Sports Village and the final set an all-time record for an international Rugby League game. Its fair to say the fans - new and old - turned out in great numbers to support the event.

Great viewing figures on the BBC were complemented by regular highlights, and full live coverage of the world feed was on Premier Sports, with BBC radio commentating on all the games too. They say targets on commercial partnerships were met and whilst it wasn't exactly wall to wall, press coverage was an upgrade on what we're used to. All these are reasons for the tournament to have been considered a success.

But it wasn't just this off field stuff that was good was it - the action on the field was almost always highly intense, highly skilled and highly enjoyable. Who will easily forget the video ref trying to pick the bones out of the dramatic close to Scotland v Tonga? Or Dean Whare's offload out of touch in the semi-final?

I personally went to 7 games live - Rochdale, Huddersfield, Leigh, Salford, Halifax, Wigan and Old Trafford - and watched all but 4 others on the TV. I saw all but three teams in the flesh and I had a great time with all of it. Before I go over the games I did get to, I'll pick out the most memorable games I watched from the sofa.

29 October 2013 - Premier Sports - Tonga 24-26 Scotland - Group C
A lot of people talked about the New Zealand v Samoa game at Warrington as a highlight but sadly I wasn't able to take in that game. The best TV game for me in the first week was Scotland v Tonga at Workington. It looked like a cold night up in Cumbria but the Bravehearts started hot and led 20-4 at half-time. Tonga in all honesty looked rusty and out of tune with one-another but don't let that dent what Scotland did.

The second half started with a surge from the Mate Ma'a and saw four tries in 21 minutes after half time put Tonga ahead. They looked to have found their physically and were making all sorts of metres, but Scotland didn't lie down and Matty Russell popped up in the 72nd minute to get scores level, Danny Brough converting to take back the lead. Tonga threw all they had at Scotland, which left the video ref Ashley Klein with a number of decisions to make, including one on the final hooter as the game ended in the ref's box. 'No Try' came up on the screen and I was as excited at home as those in attendance must have been. The USA Tomahawks debut win was good on the Wednesday night, but nothing really compared to that Tuesday night game from Cumbria.

3 November 2013 - Premier Sports - Scotland 30-30 Italy - Group C
I attended more games in the second week, which also saw a few one-sided results creep in, so Scotland were again the pick of the televised games this week. This time Italy were the opponents at Derwent Park and even more tension was evoked through the drawn result. Again Scotland started fast, Matty Russell in particular in sparkling form, but this time were pegged back before half-time, narrowly leading 14-12.

The Bravehearts dipped after half time, as they had against Tonga, as Italy put the pressure on, particularly through dummy half Raymond Nasso. Italy took a 30-26 lead into the final quarter of the game. A brilliant Ben Hellewell try that Brough failed to convert tied the game up on 69 minutes. A bit of luck and a couple of great defencive sets closed the game out in a draw. Not only was the game itself exciting, but it also set up an exciting end to the group as all three teams in the group could still qualify for the quarters.

17 November 2013 - Premier Sports - Samoa 4-22 Fiji - 1/4 Final
The next week brought the quarter finals. The pick of which was always going to be the South Sea Island clash between Fiji and Samoa at Warrington. To be honest, I don't recall it being that exciting or bruising an encounter and I expected a little more from the game, but it was still the pick of the week.

Samoa lacked organisation and structure in attack and Anthony Milford was sufficiently bottled up that little attacking openings were made. Fiji's half-backs worked as well as they had all competition and their pack had a little more force at the end of the day.

23 November 2013 - BBC One - New Zealand 20-18 England - 1/2 Final
On to the semis, and the game of the tournament. Probably the game of the year and possibly the best game I've watched for many years. England v New Zealand. I had everything really. Great attack, great defence, great skill, great physicality and great drama. The opening hit-up, Sam Tomkins try saving clearance, Graham and Sam Burgess setting Lockers up, Whare's offload, Sinfield's pass for Watkins' try...and that last gasp try to ruin my mood for the rest of weekend.

Looking back, it was a fantastic game, so much to be elated about, but I've never felt so deflated by a sporting result. Maybe its bias,  but I thought England were the better team and had more stand out performers on the day. Strong defence and enterprising attack from England was only countered with an exceptional moment of skill and execution by New Zealand in the first half. England nearly cost themselves the game after half time with a sloppy run of penalties, then the game was almost won through some great passing and line running cutting the Kiwis open twice in 10 minutes, only for the game to be lost on some tired efforts and poor decisions in the closing seconds.

England were defending their lead manfully in the face of mounting pressure and got the chance for a clearing set with just over two minutes left. At the end of the set though, the first tired mental error crept in. Kevin Sinfied, having no doubt his greatest representative game to this point, chooses to kick to the most in form winger in the world rather than look to hammer the ball dead in goal or touch and give the defence a short breather. George Burgess, NRL rookie of the year, slipped high on a tired tackle on Sonny Bill Williams as New Zealand come on one last counter. a couple of drives, including a quick scoot by Isaac Luke, left England's defence on the back foot close to their line. Sinfield unwisely rushed out of the line at Shaun Johnson, whose quick stepping feet were easily able to adjust back inside and past a tired George Burgess with enough speed to get beyond the covering attempts of Sam Burgess and Tomkins. The kick wasn't easy in the circumstances, but it wasn't hard enough to put much doubt in the outcome. The kick went through and England fell at the semis again.

I was heartbroken, gutted, deflated. And that was just sat at home watching it alone. My girlfriend, a safe distance away upstairs told me later it was the most animated she'd ever heard me get, but she didn't realise how flat the result had made me feel. Judging on my Twitter feed, I wasn't the only one!

So what of the games I attended? Well most of them were pretty special too.

28 October 2013 - Spotland Stadium, Rochdale - Group A - Fiji 30-14 Ireland - Att. 8,872
As was to become a bit of a theme, we were sat in a queue into the town with only half an hour until kick off. I can't imagine the last time there was such a rush to get into Rochdale. I'd only visited Spotland once before, for a poker tournament. It was nothing like this night.

We got in just before kick off, in the little Sandy Lane Terrace stand. The anthems were sang with spirit and pride, which was taken up a notch with the surprise of the Fiji Bati team hymn instead of the more customary war dance we expect from the Island nations.

There was a lively and fun atmosphere, a lot of the crowd supporting Fiji, but Ireland were well represented too. And the large crowd got what they were expecting from the off with some massive hits put in by Fiji in the first set that I almost felt in the stands.

It wasn't the physicality of Fiji that did for Ireland in my opinion, it was the speed and finishing ability of their NRL experienced outside backs. Ireland put up a good fight in the first half despite conceding a couple of early tries and some nasty hits from the Fijians. From where I was stood Ashton Sims looked lucky to stay on the pitch for some afters on the floor after being laid out by a great hit - we saw punches thrown on the floor but it wasn't picked up by officials or cameras apparently and just a penalty resulted. Ref Phil Bentham was at risk of losing control and eventually took action in sin-binning Eloni Vunakece.

In reality Ireland just weren't creative enough and had little answer for the pace of the Fiji right edge, Akuila Uate getting a hat-trick of tries. An epic downpour began and we timed a chance to dodge the worst of the showers and missed the last couple of minutes where two Ireland garbage time tries were scored. The night belonged to Fiji and to Rochdale. Boy was it wet on the drive home too.

2 November 2013 - John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield - England 42-0 Ireland - Group A - Att. 24,375
A number of ridiculous Saturday lunchtime traffic issues saw us find the car parks full and the anthems playing as we ran up to the stadium. We eventually got in just in time to see replays of Ryan Hall's opener for England.

We were in The Chadwick Lawrence Stand, the traditional away end at Huddersfield, which meant we were at the wrong end for England's six try burst in the first half. We could see the spaces being made and the gaps being found, but not the actual touchdowns themselves. The game really was over within 25 minutes when Brett Ferres strolled in for England's sixth try - at this time Cudjoe, Watkins and Tomkins were tearing Ireland to pieces on the edges and finding free runners next to them for pretty easy scores. Ferres' bombed chance a couple of minutes later started the scrappiness that was to be endured until the end really.

Ireland offered very little in the way of threat or excitement and the Mexican wave that George the Knight worked tirelessly to get going was about as interesting as things got until the thunder and lightning display coming over the top of the M62.

5 November 2013 - Leigh Sports Village, Leigh - Tonga 22-16 Cook Islands - Group C/D - Att. 10,544
The joys of traffic turning up to stadiums that haven't ever really had to deal with it before was felt again with more time spent on the A580 than in all my previous trips to Leigh or St Helens put together I reckon. It did give me time to find a taker for our spare ticket on Twitter, though I never had chance to meet the grateful recipient.

Quite a few late comers were rolling in as the anthems were played, and the ground was nicely full for the haka battle. I wasn't expecting much from the Cooks after watching their last two outings, whereas the Tongans needed to win to keep quarter final hopes alive. Thankfully the game was far more competitive than I anticipated and again came down to the wire for another classic game in this tournament.

It was an exciting first half full of physicality and endeavour. The highlight came just before the break when Conrad Hurrell scored an immense solo effort, crashing through and over most of the Cook Islands defenders to go over for an 18-10 half time Tongan lead.

The Cooks weren't out of it though and Isaac John had the potential to be the most influential player on the pitch with a controlled performance in the halves. Their true moment of class came through winger Chris Taripo though. He'd already claimed two decent tries in the first half, but is hat-trick try was a very special finish. Watching live I couldn't call it but the video ref gave the green light to what was one of the tournaments very best finishes. Changing hands and flying through the air, he kept his body in play and just touched the ball down inside the sideline. He even converted from as wide as you can do to bring his side within two points, but the very impressive Jorge Taufua was awarded the try his performance deserved to get some breathing room, but a missed conversion meant a tense finish.

The game had some sublime moments, but it also had two of the most ridiculous moments I've seen in a rugby game. One of the Cook Islands' replacement forwards, who looked like he'd been dragged out of the pub to be fair, got totally turned around in contact and managed to get up and play the ball towards the wrong set of sticks - I've never seen a player so comprehensively play the ball the wrong way. The over moment was even more influential on the game. With 10 minutes or so left, Cook Islands worked an opening on their right edge and set winger Jordon Rapana free. All he had to do was touch the ball down, but somehow he managed instead to knee the ball out of his own hands and knock it over the in goal line for a 20m restart.

The Cooks did have another couple of opportunities to score but Tongan held them out and kept qualification hopes alive, albeit out of their hands. We also learnt some local knowledge that a torch is a good idea for the track that allows you to nip through to the housing estate off St Helens Road where we'd parked the car. It allowed for a much quicker trip home than trip in.

7 November 2013 - AJ Bell Stadium, Salford - Scotland 22-8 USA - Group C/D - Att. 6,041
I didn't have to wait for anyone else to finish work to make the journey to Salford and I didn't want to see a repeat of the traffic I'd experienced three games in a row beforehand. Instead I got down early. Early enough to get a good standing spot in the North Stand and to watch Ben Fisher go down right at the end of warm ups to put Scotland's plans in need of a rethink. I'm not sure what Fisher did but I suspect that's the last we'll see of him on a playing field.

The first half lacked a little in action, both teams looking a little sluggish after three games in close succession. USA scored two tries and Scotland had two ruled out by the officials but this was the least physical game I'd attended so far and Scotland really were lacking a little spark and timing out of dummy half was off.

For me, the game changing moment came when the super versatile Danny Addy slipped into dummy half around the 50 minute mark. Shortly after Scotland went in for their first try when Brett Phillips hit a Danny Brough short ball with perfect timing to go through the defence.

USA had no answer and Scotland scored three more tries to close the game out with not much threat coming from USA in the final quarter. My ginger beard gives away that I have a bit of Braveheart in me and it was great to see a home nations side being successful after poor stuff from Ireland and Wales.

10 November 2013 - The Shay, Halifax - Tonga 16-0 Italy - Group C - Att. 10,266
The journey over the Pennines wasn't nice because for some reason my radio was stuck on mute and I had no-one for company either, but the trip was worth it as a Tonga by way of Scotland through grand-parentage fan - I almost felt as qualified as most of the players on show in tartan shorts!

I hadn't been to The Shay for a decade, and I'm guessing there were a fair few in the 10k+ crowd in a similar position in the jam packed South Terrace. A few home town fans tried to get Halifax chants going, but the bulk of the cheering came for the Tongans, which I was well on board with as it meant Scotland qualification.

The first half was low on scoring but incredibly physical, both in attack and defence from Tonga's perspective and the crowd loved it. Fuifui Moimoi actually lived up to his reputation and charged to a deserved man of the match vote. There were chances and Italy played some nice stuff but lacked the final pass or the pace and strength out wide to break through successfully. Tonga just couldn't capitalise off the back of string forward running - they desperately lacked a half back of poise and control. 2-0 Tonga at half time but the crowd were in to the game for sure.

Italy were fairly dominant in field position and possession in the second half but still couldn't take their chances, whereas Tonga did. There wasn't much in the way of electrifying attacking skill in this game, but it was a tense physical encounter throughout and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I went to this game on my own but found the people of Halifax stood around me to be friendly and knowledgeable so that was a nice plus. Oh, and the radio worked on the way home, but there was dominant coverage of the post-match Man United v Arsenal debrief than the game at The Shay for some reason. All these people missing out!

16 November 2013 - DW Stadium, Wigan - England 34-6 France - 1/4 Final - Att. 22,276
This was another game where I was only just in my seats for the kick off, but this time it was because of the beer queue. I'd been in Wigan all day, combining the occasion with a mate's birthday and we were a little merry by kick off - truth be told, I don't remember the game in much detail!

After trying and not really enjoying most of the real ales on offer in The Berkeley whilst we watched Australia rout USA then parts of the yawnion, we moved on to The Anvil, which had a much better selection on offer. We had some Italian food and I think the Peroni we resorted to at that stage pushed me over the line from being able to understand much of the game - not like me these days!

I was still with it enough to appreciate the home town presence in the England side but that was forgotten with the sluggish start by England, letting France in for a fairly soft score.

Sam Tomkins was influential in getting England into the ascendancy on his farewell DW appearance, which probably got him his man of the match award despite the late sin binning. Some decent play by England got both wingers free for scores in quick succession and just like the Ireland game, the match as a contest was over really with England only needing a 20 minute burst to win it.

England gave France plenty of ball and field position either side of half-time but they lacked the invention and execution to do anything and the second half was largely a non-event...I think. I do remember the delightful passing move in the forwards that set Brett Ferres into a nice gap late on despite France having an extra man, but it was back to The Anvil for us before the last train home. It was a fun day, but an average game.

30 November 2013 - Old Trafford, Manchester - New Zealand 2-34 Australia - Final - Att. 74,468
I don't know about anyone else but I'd only just got over the semi-final and the fact that England wouldn't be at the game. But hey, at least we've have the two best teams in the world facing off yeah?

New Zealand were never going to be favourites, but lots of fans and experts were giving them a chance to retain. In SBW they had arguably the game's biggest figure and best player. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is the world's in form winger. Isaac Luke has been as threatening as any player in the tournament, and there was try-scoring strike power everywhere.

Australia though weren't undercooked, and despite plying some easier games, it wasn't an accident that they hadn't given up any tries since the England game - they wanted this, 2008 still hurt and 2017 might not come for some.

On the way we discussed if we would want to have lost to the champions so see a Kiwi win or not. I just couldn't see it and if that were the case then there would be too much regret from an England view as we should have been there - the heartbreak would continue. It was already all we could talk about on the way to Manchester!

To round things off in typical fashion, we only just made the start, catching the haka in the concourse before finding our seats as the kick off went up. This time some broken farm machinery and a detour to Orrell put us behind schedule.

In reality, it wasn't the end to the tournament that what had gone in the five weeks previous deserved. People were asking whether New Zealand didn't turn up, or whether Australia were than good. Others suggested England tired the Kiwis out the week before. I think it was just an incredibly professional and driven performance by the Aussies. Their defence was every bit as good as the stats suggested. Their attention and relentlessness in the earlier rounds against lesser teams had drilled them for this. They controlled the speed of the ruck, bottled Isaac Luke up and contained SBW. It was clinical and dominant. No breaks allowed all game. Phenomenal.

On the other side the kangaroos were far better too. The kick that set up the opening try was almost impossible to defend. Inventive and enterprising kicking was a theme that set up most of Australia's scoring opportunities in the first half.

Man of the match Jonathan Thurston then took to opening New Zealand up any which way he could and some brilliant team interplay got a try straight after half-time, which was a hammer blow to New Zealand. Despite 20 offloads still they couldn't find a way through and Australia just kept driving their supremacy home.

The one-sided nature and result being clear early in the second half took plenty away from the occasion, but take nothing away from that Australia display. Well and truly deserve to be back in place as world champs. Sure, we can think England would have given them more of a game. Heck, the atmosphere would have had something extra-special about it had we made it. But in reality, playing like that, no-one would be a match for that green and gold performance. A tribute to their brilliance is the fitting way to go out on this review, that memory will endure. Bring on 2017 eh!?

Is 2013 Make or Break for England Rugby League? Should we go back to Great Britain?

I'll start by saying I loved the Great Britain test series' against Australia and New Zealand. I have Great Britain shirts, but no England Rugby League shirt. When I was getting into Rugby League around the turn of the millennium there was the awful World Cup for England, but then these great contests with Great Britain against the best in the world. Whilst I still attend England games now and want them to win, I miss the Lions fixtures. I won't let that stop me being objective though.

Richard De La Riviere's recent book 'Rugby League: A Critical History 1980-2013' (a highly recommended read) starts with a couple of chapters looking at the international game over the last 33 years.

Amongst all the things that need sorting out at the moment by the RFL, from the prominent placement in his book, it's pretty clear that this is one De La Riviere feels is important. It isn't something I've thought or commented a great deal on, but after reading his book I've been giving it more thought.

One thing that has kept coming up ever since the change came into effect after 2007, is that we should be going back to Great Britain. History, brand and fan support are often reasons given for doing this. De La Riviere makes a great point about the damage being done to the Celtic nations by all their qualified players preferring to target an England place as its the only way to consistently play against the Aussies and Kiwis.

Ironically, 'consistency' was the reason Richard Lewis felt the move to break up Great Britain was a good thing, saying "it has always been illogical that we play as Great Britain for three or four years, and when the World Cup comes along, suddenly we become England"

The decision was made before the 2013 World Cup to be held in the Northern Hemisphere had been finalised, but you have to think maximising chances of a home win whilst still developing a successful, viable tournament was a factor in the decision that was made back in 2005.

Great Britain went out on a high with a 3-0 series win against a (depleted) New Zealand side in their 2007 series. The England era started pretty woefully with the dismal 2008 World Cup. Although the side would have been broken up into England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland for that tournament anyway, it was a sign of things to come and despite a couple of wins on home soil against the Kiwis, results against the southern hemisphere sides have been largely disappointing - an aggregate of -98 in five games against Australia since 2009, with no wins.

The most reasonable explanation for breaking up the Lions brand and reverting to England Rugby League is that they wanted to build a 'club mentality' and develop a consistent group of players with an eye on giving it a strong push for the home World Cup. What happens if it doesn't work?

Well, I'll firstly suggest what good may have been done. Importantly, regular live BBC TV coverage has returned in the recent past after Sky monopolised the international coverage for the first decade or so of the Super League era. And, the BBC coverage is to continue through the next cycle of Four-Nations tournaments up to the 2017 World Cup. With such investment in the sport, you would hope BBC give the coverage a push year on year and greater national interest is generated.

Another commendable step has been the development of the Elite Training Squad concept. This has given the players more opportunity to meet up regularly and form some relationships that should prompt a more connected and cohesive unit on the field. The players certainly seem to enjoy it, although would probably be gagged from telling us if they felt it was a waste of time. Steve McNamara's recent trip to catch up with the NRL based players has been heavily criticised by fans, but I also think this is a good step to make sure there is some integration amongst the players who can't join up with the ETS on a regular basis.

Whilst those are positive recent developments, there are negatives to balance things out.

The loss to Ireland, Wales and Scotland of potential players, despite what Richard Lewis asserted in 2005, has been noted above and is better covered by De La Riviere's book. It certainly shouldn't be forgotten but isn't something I'm going to dwell on.

The other big negative point relates to the very defence of the switch made by Richard Lewis of 'consistency'. It also puts cracks in the ETS system. From 2008 to 2012, England have fielded 13 different starting half-back combinations in 24 internationals, and haven't played NRL winning stand-off Gareth Widdop in any of them. This isn't a new problem, GB had issues in consistently getting a play making partnership for years too, but is surely one the consistency and ETS system should have helped England solve. We're now going into the World Cup with the starting half-backs still an open question.

Although I've previously spoken up our chances of success, we'll still enter the 2013 World Cup as distant second/third favourites behind the Kangaroos. I wouldn't pick quite the same team I went for in November last year by the way, but that'll be for another time.

Surely though if England don't win the World Cup, or at the very least push Australia really close in the final, then the whole move from Great Britain has failed? 

Maybe, maybe not...I'll make one final observation before leaving you to make your own conclusions.

Crowd figures are something De La Riviere also goes into as an issue, and I will dwell on this a little. In all home non-World Cup games (but including the world cup rated tests of the late 1980s), during the GB era 1980 to 2007, gates averaged 21,473. In all England home internationals since 2007 (excluding Exiles games) the average drops to 19,144 - not bad considering a higher proportion of games against Wales and France. Now, the high ticket end of season Australia and New Zealand matches - GB 1980-2007, 25,764; England 2008-onwards (2009 & 2011 series), 28,919 - better as England, surprisingly so. What about just in Super League era versus the big boys? GB 1996-2007, 25,004 compared to that England figure of 28,919. (There is an average of 26,618 for GB 1980-1995 by the way, despite a number of 40,000+ crowds vs. Australia.)

Maybe the fans aren't as put off by the 'rebranding'. This possibly isn't the negative people have made out. From the criticisms I hear and read, I expected it to be. Crowds for the top international fixtures have remained fairly consistent between GB and England eras. It isn't a factor that should influence any future decisions either way, the fans still turn up.

Oh, and whatever you think about the name of our international side, I still recommend Richard De La Riviere's book.

NFL 2013 International Series preview

With 2012 coming to an end I'm continuing my look ahead to sporting events I'm excited about in 2013, and there isn't one I'm looking forward to more than than the chance to see my favourite NFL team playing here in the UK - but the 2013 International Series isn't just about the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town, there is so much to be excited about.

The growing popularity of the game over here and the further ambition of the league to expand it's audience has led to us getting two games next year. We'll see some of the best players in the league in a match-up between the AFC North and NFC North in September, and then we'll get our first chance to show some support to our London Jaguars (ours for a game each year for four years at least!) in October. So, lets preview this thing...

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Founded in 1933, then known as the Pirates, this is one of the most historic and successful franchises in the sport. Under the continued ownership of the Rooney family, one of the worst teams in the league turned into one of the best after the hiring of Chuck Noll and the most brilliant run of drafting in league history during the glorious 1970s.
The Steelers won four Super Bowls in that decade and a dynasty was born. They have remained perennial challengers ever since, with Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin both guiding the teams to rings this century to make a league record total of six Super Bowl wins.
This winning history has led to them having the third most Hall of Fame inductees of any franchise, and the most for any club founded 1933 or after. Owners Art and Dan Rooney, Head Coach Chuck Noll, and players like Terry Bradshaw, 'Mean' Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Rod Woodson and Dermontti Dawson have been recognised for the impact they had on this historic franchise and on the game as a whole.

Honours:
Super Bowl wins:           1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2005, 2008
Conference Champions: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1995, 2005, 2008, 2010
20 Division Titles
27 Post-season appearances

Players to watch:
You have to start with 'Big' Ben Roethlisberger. This former Offensive Rookie of the Year is only bettered by Tom Brady for championship rings and is famed for his ability to extend plays, break out of tackles and complete plays that would never be drawn up on the chalkboard. Although not regarded as 'elite', Ben has shown an ability and a determination to win, despite playing behind some inconsistent offensive lines and decreasing support in the running game. Ben is supported up by a bunch of young talented fast and tricky wide receivers and an increasingly admired tight end that can do it all.
On the other side of the ball, legendary defensive coach Dick LeBeau has created one of the best units over the last decade, consistently figuring at the top of the rankings for yards and points allowed. He has been helped by two former defensive players of the year in Troy Polamalu and James Harrison.


Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings were created through a league expansion in 1961 and went on to rise through this first decade to be the best team by the end of the decade, picking up the best record and the NFL Championship in 1969. 
Like the Steelers, the 1970s was the real rise to prominence of the Vikings, built on a punishing defense and dominant D-line, earning the side the nickname "The Purple People Eaters".
The people eating line was led by Alan Page, the first defensive player to win the league MVP award in 1971. He led the team to near total dominance of their division through the decade and is one of six players to have their numbers retired by the franchise, along with legendary quarterback from the same era, Fran Tarkenton.
The good times were less frequent through the 1980s and early 1990s, until they put together one of the greatest teams not to win the Super Bowl with the 1998 team. A young Randy Moss was mentored by the outstanding Cris Carter. They set a new NFL points scoring record and scored at least 24 points in every game, but couldn't even get to the Super Bowl.
A slight decline in the 2000s has seen the signing of Brett Favre, a legend of the Vikings' divisional rival Green Bay, being the biggest headline they made. He took them to a NFC Championship game in his two years on the team.

Honours:
NFL Championship wins: 1969
Conference Champions: 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976
18 Division Titles
26 Post-season titles

Players to watch:

Adrian Peterson is probably the best running back in the game and should retire as one of the best ever. If you go to London next year to watch any one player, this is that one player. He broke all sorts of records in an outstanding rookie season in 2007, including the league record for single game rushing yards. He has backed this up ever since, leading the league in rushing in 2008 and going over 1000 yards each year until his 2011 season was seriously curtailed by injury. In 2012 he has started every game after coming back from a torn MCL and ACL that ended his 2011 campaign. The injury hasn't slowed him down as he miraculously leads the league again in rushing. He is the main event of the offense, although all-purpose Percy Harvin is an exciting threat whenever and however the ball gets in his hands.
On the defense there are some hard working and strong tackling linebackers, but the real impact player and difference maker is sack king Jared Allen. His 114 sacks is the most by any player during the time he has been in the league. He has come as close as anyone to taking Michael Strahan single season sack record. He's forced 27 fumbles, 4 safeties, 5 interceptions and a defensive TD.



Series Match-up and possible story lines:
The all-time series is tied up at 8-8, although the Steelers are on a three-game winning streak after wins in '01, '05 and '09. The most famous match-up was Super Bowl IX - The Steel Curtain vs. The Purple People Eaters, future hall of famer Terry Bradshaw vs. future hall of famer Fran Tarkenton. The Steelers won 16-6 thanks to an MVP performance from Franco Harris and a late Bradshaw TD throw.

One thing of interest looking ahead is how many of the young receiving core and promising running backs will be on the Steelers roster next year. Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer are all out of contract for 2013 and salary cap pressures make it unlikely all will be kept. 
How well the young group of high draft picks on the Steelers O-line gel will also be an interesting factor. They will need to keep improving if they can help keep Big Ben clean and unhurt from a match-up with Jared Allen.
Another area to watch will be how well the special team coverage unit for the Steelers can contain Harvin. Both teams are capable of playing out close games, and in close games special teams can be the difference maker.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

San Francisco 49ers

The team was established in 1946, becoming the city's first major league professional sports franchise. A few division winning seasons and play-off appearances littered a largely uneventful first 30 or so years of existence, but the 49ers real history started in 1979 with the arrival of revolutionary offensive mind Bill Walsh as head coach and the drafting of Joe Montana. 
Walsh's 'West Coast offense' marshalled by Montana was supported by Dwight Clark for the first two Super Bowl wins in the firs half of the 1980s. Then Montana was given a new weapon to throw balls to in 1985, when the team traded up to take Jerry Rice in the first round of the draft. Pretty much every receiving record in the league was to fall to Rice over the next decade and more and he helped the team to three more championships - back-to-back wins in '88 and '89 under Montana and a triumph under Steve Young in 1994.
Needless to say, a number of characters from these glory years have made it to the Hall of Fame and/or had their numbers retired by the team out of respect. Their rise in the 1980s coincided with American Football getting exposure in the UK for the first time, and as a result they have a strong loyal following in the UK.
The glory years didn't continue and the franchise slumped through the noughties, but a punishing defense and functional offense saw them host the NFC Championship game in 2011 and things are looking up for the Gold Rush.

Honours:
Super Bowl wins:           1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994
Conference Champions: 1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994
18 Division Titles
24 Post-season appearances

Players to watch:

The defense is the real strength of the team, lead by possibly the best pair of linebackers in the league - Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. Willis has been outstanding ever since coming into the league and has been voted the best linebacker in the league on three occasions and has been voted to the Pro-Bowl in each of his five seasons in the league. Bowman broke out in his second year, 2011, when he was second in the league for solo tackles and was voted All-Pro by the Associated Press.
Frank Gore has carried the load for the 49ers offense since stepping up in his second season, 2006. That year he broke all the franchise records and was consistent in yards per carry as well as leading the team in receptions. He has consistently broken 1000 yards, apart from his injury hit 2010 season. Although Gore still leads the offense, other players like Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree are increasingly making plays for the team, whoever the QB is.





Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jags are a relative newcomer in the league compared to the other teams we'll see in 2013, but they are ours to keep for four years at least. They enjoyed a faster start to their existence than the other franchises coming to town. After coming in to the league in the 1995 expansion, they made the play-offs in four of their first five years and had the best regular season in the league in 1999.
Defeat in the 1996 AFC Championship game is as good as it has gotten so far for the Jaguars and little success followed their 14-2 1999 season. Attendances haven't been great and the spectre of relocation has loomed over the franchise in recent times, but under the new ownership their is renewed optimism and they only need to sell out seven games in Florida for the next four years because they should be getting one sell out each year at Wembley Stadium.

Honours:
2 Division titles
6 Post-season appearances

Players to watch:
The Jags have a couple of exciting receiving talents emerging in Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon, along with the rangy and skillful tight-end Marcedes Lewis, that give the team some threat in the passing game. However, the star of the show is still pint-sized running back Maurice Jones-Drew. 'MoJo' showed what he was capable of as a rookie, leading the AFC in all purpose yards from scrimmage and scoring 16 total touchdowns. He proved himself as an all-around offensive threat in his first few years in the league, and proved his toughness playing the 2010 season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. He then proved he was one of the best running backs around by leading the league in rushing yards in 2011.
Despite having some good defensive coaching talent over recent times, this is an area that doesn't really have an outstanding player in relation to the rest of the league. Rashean Mathis is the holder of all franchise defensive backs records and is joined by some other talent in the backfield. Ahead of them is hard working linebacker Paul Posluszny. 'Poz' has consistently put up high tackle numbers since joining the league after a stand out college career.

Series match-up and possible story lines:
The two sides have only met three times before, the Jags lead the series 2-1 but the 49ers won the last meeting of the sides in 2009.

The big storyline in San Fran this year is the switch of starting QB from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick even though Smith has been putting up career numbers and leading the team to a winning season. The switch from the conservative offense that Smith manages to the more explosive and varied game that Kaepernick brings to the table long-term will be interesting to watch. San Fran could very well be coming to London as Super Bowl champs too.

For Jacksonville, it remains to be seen what they can do in the draft for next year with this season already finished for them. Because of the beauty of the reverse order draft in the NFL, they will be looking to get a high draft pick next year - an they don't have to look further than divisional rivals the Indianapolis Colts to see how that can bring a change in fortunes one year tot he next. If they can get a quarterback that can manage the football and a player in the front seven defensively that can make impact plays, they will be a team who can at least compete.

Tickets are already on sale for both games and I've got mine booked. Can't wait. Hope anyone reading this gets theirs too and I hope to see lots of people their and maybe meet a few more UK NFL fans. Give me a shout on Twitter if you're going - @markill

2013 Rugby League World Cup - One year out preview

With the Autumn trail matches over and the World Cup less than 12 months away, I've been wondering if England can win this World Cup next year. I'm not sure if this is misguided optimism but I really think we have a decent shot. I've been thinking about it for weeks now and I've not managed to convince myself otherwise. 

I assure you it's nothing to do with three big wins in this Autumn northern hemisphere series. If anything I thought we were scratchy and disorganised in attack, rarely tested in defense and a little bit unprofessional in going about our business in this recent series. Add to that a lot of big name players were missing, some of whom would walk into any squad in the tournament, and I'm not convinced we can take a lot from this little showing.

So, why do I think we have a fair crack at this?

• We have some of the best players in the world! This isn't my opinion, this is the opinion of the wider Rugby League world. Rugby League World listed Sam Burgess as 7th best player in the world and Sam Tomkins was voted 10th best player in the world. 9 other England players made the RLW top 100 for 2012. Ryan Hall retained his title as RLIF Winger of the Year and James Graham was awarded the top prop honours.
• We have more and more players playing at the highest level! The NRL has come hunting for British talent and has helped bring some guys through for us as well. Gareth Ellis leaves Wests to come back home but he has three outstanding years and one injury dogged one at the top level. Gareth Widdop gets in the premiership winning Melbourne side week in week out. James Graham made a big impact at minor premiers Canterbury. Sam Burgess is a leader at the returning to competitiveness South Sydney Rabbitohs, with his brother Luke keeping a starting jumper through most of 2012 too and George even showing potential, with his twin Tom also now on the NRL roster. Jack Reed and Chris Heighington have come through NRL systems and are experienced top level players. Even Scott Moore has been given a lifeline in the NRL at the Cowboys and rumours have been out there for the likes of Briscoe and Hock to be in demand too.
• We have a squad full of winners! Look though any team England have put out in the last two years and you'll see that almost to a man they have winners medals on the mantelpiece - some of them hold medals from down under, others run out of fingers to count final appearances on and a lot can boast impressive individual honours as well.
• We only have to beat the Aussies once! We generally can beat them at least once in a series, but unfortunately this has often come early in series rather than when trophies are on the line. We might time it right this time.
• We're at home! Ok, we're playing a game in Cardiff and potentially (hopefully!!) a game in London but tickets are all reasonably priced and we have ages to save up and get them so lets get out and support the team. Try and make being at home an advantage. And don't just go to sit back and watch the world class players from the other side of the world, go to watch and cheer our own world class players on.

Assuming a squad size of 24 players like the last time around, this is my squad - and tell me if you don't think we have a lot more than a punchers chance with this lot:

1.  Sam Tomkins (Wigan Warriors - 1 SL, 1 CC)
2.  Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos - 4 SL, 1 WCC)
3.  Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos - 1 SL, 1 WCC)
4.  Jack Reed (Brisbane Broncos)
5.  Tom Briscoe (Hull FC)
6.  Kevin Sinfield (Leeds Rhinos - 6 SL, 3 WCC)
7.  Gareth Widdop (Melbourne Storm - 1 NRL)
8.  Sam Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
9.  James Roby (St Helens - 1 SL, 3 CC, 1 WCC)
10. James Graham (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - 1 SL, 3 CC, 1 WCC)
11. Gareth Ellis (Hull FC - 2 SL, 2 WCC)
12. Gareth Hock (Wigan Warriors)
13. Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan Warriors - 1 SL, 1 CC)

14. Adrian Morley (Warrington Wolves - 1 SL, 4 CC, 1 NRL, 1 WCC)
15. Luke Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs - 1 SL)
16. Ben Westwood (Warrington Wolves - 3 CC)
17. Rob Burrow (Leeds Rhinos - 6 SL, 3 CC)

18. Zak Hardaker (Leeds Rhinos - 2 SL)
19. Josh Charnley (Wigan Warriors - 1 CC)
20. Michael McIlorum (Wigan Warriors - 1 SL, 1 CC)
21. Chris Heighington (Cronulla Sharks - 1 NRL)
22. Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves - 1 CC)
23. Richie Myler (Warrington Wolves - 1 CC)
24. Leroy Cudjoe (Huddersfield Giants)
 
I accept I'm being optimistic and we need it all to fall into place perfectly, but I really don't think I'm being delusional. COME ON ENGLAND!!!