´óÏó´«Ã½

Of course there are probably pressures from pr and marketing gurus and agents who tell you that if you do xy and z off the pitch you can "raise your profile" and make more money etc.....

but the bottom line is this...if you take care of business on the pitch, and the rest will take care of itself.

Model yourself on Mike Teague not Simon Cowell.

Haskell definately impressed off the bench against aus. (in fact all of the replacements brought in did)I think that MJ has made some good changes. still a bit dubious at goode on the bench - if it were me i'd have at least somebody able to play back 3 to bring off the bench

Why does the ´óÏó´«Ã½ constantly go on about Twitter? All surveys done show it to be no more popular than any other similar service.
It really annoys me.
Someone obviously has shares in it - wake up Aunty, no-ones tweeting.

You are clearly very impressionable Tom!

There are good reasons why people have questionned Haskell's character.

He might laugh off all the talk about Brand Haskell. Yet in his book, Ian McGeechan says the player and his advisors were talking about Brand Haskell during contract negs.

He has generally given the impression of being arrogant and cocky before really achieving anything. Look on his site-he would attend the opening of an envelope

One thing you don't mention (and nor does he) is that the N°6 jersey is likely to remain the property of a certain Tom Croft for many years to come, barring injuries. Given that Haskell is most definitely NOT an openside, at least not the kind most people want to see (he doesn't have the hands, the eye, or the feet), then he will have to accept the idea of competing with out-and-out 8's if he wants to keep playing for England. For someone with so little experience in this pivotal position, I must say it's a tall order... Having said that, Easter is just a rumbling old diesel bus, and none of the other candidates have really put their hand up, so who knows?

Of the other selections, I think Hodgson is a good pick - Care is the quicker, more talented player but was guilty of slowing the tempo last week and generally seems to be playing as if the England 9 shirt was his own, which it patently isn't yet.

haskel is rapidly becoming a caricature of himself. there are so many contradictions in that interview its not funny. as i was reading it i kept expecting him to refer to himself in the 3rd person, but he's avoided that one, at least in this instance.

here are a few gems-

in refering to people comenting on him online (like me now infact) he said

"Anyone who has the time to fill in comments online, you know- "

clearly implying he thinks they're sad/losers or whatever. he also says

"I don't ever look at anything online, especially people's comments"

then goes on to talk about his use of twitter

"With Twitter it's quite nice to just have a little avenue to express your feelings. And the fact that people are able to give their opinions back - it's quite enjoyable"

brilliant.

oh and as for "Out in France I don't do any media, I don't talk to any PRs or anything", would that be because he doesn't speak any french yet?

he had a web site pretty much before he was in the national side, let alone an established international, that kind of arrogance is pretty hard to like. you'd have thought that being at wasps with people like dallaglio, dawson, worsley, vickery and ibanez that he'd have had a good grounding and really applied himself, but apparently not. i hope his move to france does him good as he clearly has the physical presence to be a successful international, but i doubt he has the brains to be a great one.

Some posters on this blog really need to get a life.....What does it matter if Haskell has his own website, or tweets, or goes to an opening of something or other. What counts is what he contributes on the pitch. If he is good enough, he will get picked. If he doesn't perform, he will get dropped. Simple.

I can count lots of players in International Rugby that have been arrogant, possibly even dislikeable, but I still admire them as players. Arrogance in some players has even made them better. Mark Regan for one - can imagine he's probably quite annoying, but I still love him as a player. I don't think I could spend time in Danny Care or Cipriani's company, yet I still think they are players of great rugby skill and talent.

So why do we criticise a player who was stagnating at Wasps to move to Stade and play in a back row with some World greats? If he has his own website, so what?

Rate him on his play on the pitch, not your perception of what he might or might not be off it.

'I don't do any media, I don't talk to any PRs or anything - my focus is just on the rugby.'

He says this while doing an interview with the ´óÏó´«Ã½!

Also, Fordyce, this is at least the 2nd blog you've written about Haskell....... Just watch out, he may have befriended you to get access to favourable sections of the media so people start writing blogs like, well, like this one.....

To Sam Giblett,
I think Johnno has decent options on the bench - Erinle played a lot of his rugby on the wing or at 15 when he was at Wasps and the Tigers. Cueto and Ugo can interchange if neccesary and in emergencies Jonny has the talent to move to the centres. You have to make the choice for 4forwards or 4backs. Against the Pumas having replacements up front is probably more important.

As for Haskell, he is arrogant but as others have said if he performs then it isn't a problem - you don't have to like him as a person. Regardless of what he does around his career at club level, PR events etc if it isn't disrupting his international form and perfomance then fine. I'm happy to see him at 8 - I really don't want to see Easter come back into it even when he is fit, nothing better than average premiership standard, nor for my money is Jordan Crane. As long as Haskell performs, makes yards and tackles without giving away silly penalties then we can look forward to a english back row with great ability in all aspects of the game. For my money Steffon Armitage must be running Moody very close, even though the old warhorse is in fantastic form at the moment.

Danny Cipriani seems to be effected by off the pitch matters as does haskell, at least in the past...
I think they both need to remember why theyre in the public eye and who pays there wages...
maybe its endemic of a professional era, look at the way other sports have gone, lots of money and exposure very young before youve achieved anything, unless theyre mentally focused on improving themselves as players, there careers could be over before their potential was ever allowed to flourish...

York_Yoshi

I wasn't questioning 4 forwards - it makes sense to me it just seems that in the last game erinle had little effect off the bench and tbh i wouldn't have brought goode on at all as he kickjs too much ball from 10 i think there has to be someone other than goode that could be on the bench eszpecially as johnson has 2 goal kickers on the pitch already.

haskell came off the bench and stood out. in the past he has given awawy silly penalties but lets hope that has stopped. he adds something to the back row which is lacking at 8...pace! goodbye easter, you may retire now.

future back row will be haskell, croft and rees/ armitage. its not about being huge its about speed and having the skills...this trio be immense if they can all stop getting independantly injured/ dropped...

good selection of hodgson.

if second rows dont perform after 30 minutes, bring on lawes. his total lack of respect for his opposition is excellent.

will england win????

I understood the concerns of the RFU as the SRU were trying to adopt a similar attitude by illustrating a strong desire for the players to ply their trade within Scotland. It was always going to be unrealistic as the funding levels in the game up here are pathetic. It is a real shame to only have two professional teams, you cant expect players in that environment to try and stay here.

Haskell is a good player. He definitely made the right decision by heading over the France. It is hardly a drama. Flying back and forth, as well as trains back and forth between are two countries is hardly difficult. England cant afford to ignore players of the calibre that Haskell possesses. People get far too concerned with hype. I am happy to see that the moves for the players, Wilko and Haskell, has paid off tremendously well and despite everything that the RFU were saying, it is now going to benefit England.