Talk about the agony and the ecstacy. As Danny Cipriani lies in his
hospital bed, coming to terms with the horrible ankle injury which
threatens to rule him out until the end of the year, he can at least
reflect on an extraordinary season. Rarely has a 20-year-old fly-half burst
as brightly on to the scene or been stretchered off amid so many heartfelt
sighs. There may even be those with a Leicester postcode who privately wish
the young man was fit to play in the Guinness Premiership final on Saturday
week.
If Cipriani needs some perking up - and anyone who has endured a bad
break or dislocation will sympathise both with his pain and his frustration
- at least he will not have to wait long. Both the players' union and
Premier Rugby are due to dish out their 'player of the season' awards
shortly and, in the event of a split decision, the Wasps fly-half is now
assured of the sympathy vote. Either way, he makes my Premiership XV of the year which, clearly, is the one that really matters.
The criteria, to reflect a stop-start league season, is simple: the
field is open to any player from a Premiership club who has participated in
domestic or European competitions in 2007/08. Having completed my
selection, two things immediately stood out: 1) the grand finalists
Leicester only supply one player 2) nine different clubs are represented in
the 'dream' XV. No disrespect to Bristol, Leeds or Saracens but standards
are rising so fast that only the best is good enough these days.
A word or two of explanation is required in a couple of cases. Geordan Murphy, for instance, might not strike everyone as the obvious choice ahead of Harlequins' Mike Brown or London Irish's Peter Hewat. But a good full-back can turn a game in attack and defence and Murphy, when it really mattered, was arguably the catalyst for the Tigers' astounding semi-final comeback at Kingsholm.
Watch the replay of his gather and jink close to his own line which prefaced the upfield surge ahead of Aaron Mauger's crucial try. It was almost Phil Bennett-like in terms of its instinctive yet calculating brilliance and the Irishman's certainty under the high ball is also spectacularly good for a man of such relatively slim dimensions. If the Tigers do retain their title, Murphy will be one of the reasons why.
There are, similarly, other midfield candidates, not least at Wasps. But if you had to avoid marking one inside centre in the latter months of the season your choice would definitely be Sam Tuitupou, Worcester's Kiwi import who would be right on the All Black selectors' radar if he was still resident back home. Fast, strong, direct ... the prospect of Luke McAlister and Cipriani either side of him represents a defender's ultimate nightmare.
Up front it is also fair to say that Michael Lipman, Alasdair Strokosch, Danny Grewcock, Simon Shaw and Raphael Ibanez are hard done by. Anyone who saw Akapusi Qera's performance against Bath earlier this month, however, will understand my selection at No7 while Steve Borthwick's determination and commitment to a team he will shortly be departing has been exemplary. Coach of the year? I reckon Shaun Edwards already has that sewn up, although Steve Meehan merits an honorary mention. But a Twickenham
final still looms and, as Marcelo Loffreda and friends will tell you, the
season is not quite over yet.
Robert Kitson's Premiership team of the year: G Murphy (Leicester); P Sackey (Wasps), L McAlister (Sale Sharks), S Tuitupou (Worcester), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester); D Cipriani (Wasps), M Claassens (Bath); T Payne (Wasps), L Mears (Bath), M Stevens (Bath), S Borthwick (Bath, capt), N Kennedy (London Irish), J Haskell (Wasps), A Qera (Gloucester), T Guest (Harlequins).
Replacements: A Lutui (Worcester), C Hayman (Newcastle), B Casey (London Irish), M Lipman (Bath), D Care (Harlequins), O Barkley (Bath), M Benjamin (Worcester).
And the Nostradamus award for best prediction goes to ...
It's never wise to draw attention to your colleagues' occasional
lapses of judgement. Hunched over a laptop in our respective glass houses
we all get it wrong occasionally, some of us more often than others.
Nevertheless, the headline on Jeremy Guscott's Sunday piece - 'It is
difficult to imagine anything other than a comfortable victory for a fresh
Bath team today' - did the author no favours at all. And I'm afraid this
season's 'Nostradamus Award' is destined for Stuart Barnes's mantlepiece
for this spectacularly prescient introductory sentence to his semi-final
match preview: 'Leicester have no chance in today's play-off game against
Gloucester ...' All of us respect Barnesy's erudite opinions and tactical
acumen but was that the sound of teeth grinding in Sky's commentary box as
the clock counted down at Kingsholm on Sunday?
Testing times at Twickers
Scotland are to play a Test in Aberdeen next season. Ireland are playing the Barbarians in Gloucester this month. New Zealand and Australia are due to get it on in Hong Kong later this year. And England? All their four home Tests next autumn will be staged at Twickenham, as per usual. The RFU's overriding imperative is financial but surely it is time to spread the gospel. England versus the Pacific Islands at Old Trafford? At the very least it would have been a gesture of solidarity towards Twickenham's friends in the north.
