Iron Maiden

I wrote this YEARS ago now.  It was on the 'A Matter of Life and Death Tour'.  I was still a kid so dont laugh.  It is about the greatest heavy metal band ever: IRON MAIDEN

I was, last night being Friday the 15th of December '06, at about quarter to 8 in the evening sitting ignoring the fact that Trivium were on stage at an arena with my best friend. We were both rather bored by them trying to be a primitive Metallica and left to get something to eat. The duration of their set we remained seated in the small, rather shabby cafe.

It wasn’t until they finally fucked off we got ourselves up to go into the main arena to get good stations for the forth coming set which was about to take place...for it was the magnificent IRON MAIDEN!!!

So Antonio and I, being myself, got to approximately 10 feet from the front and crash bang in the middle. Finally, about 5 to 9 o'clock rolled around and the lights went out and by god(!) it went crazy...I was freaking out!

Maiden emerged from the shadows and WOW!!!

it was 9 o'clock when they came on and they played:-

Different World (will be released as a single on Christmas day)These Colours Don’t Run
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
The Pilgrim
The Longest Day
Out Of The Shadows
The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
For The Greater Good Of God
Lord Of Light
The Legacy
(that was all from A Matter Of Life And Death...all in order, was loving it!)
Fear Of The Dark
and Iron Maiden
They encored with:-

2 Minutes To Midnight (something incredible happened here...)
The Evil That Men Do
Hallowed Be Thy Name(I think that was all)

None of Dance of Death was played and not many more classics were played (which I thought was great because that would have pissed off assholes that came to see them for Run To The Hills and thats it...was great for true MAIDEN fans!) but it was still a 2 hour set and it was a spectacular set with props that are just unimaginable. Only if one can see it for themselves would one understand they level of awesomeness this concert was oozing which was just infinite!!! The props included a tank with Eddie (the Maiden mascot) popping his head out with a set of binoculars...was giant! And better yet, a 12 foot robotic Eddie appeared from nowhere with a gun in hand and walked about the stage! (WHAT!?!?) Was so good! Not to mention the artwork of the backgrounds of the stage. The setup was ever changing with a different picture to set the theme of the song and it was just beyond amazing!

The Maiden guys made it all look so effortless. Bruce Dickenson's voice was sheer talent booming out of his throat; his crowd control was just unbelievable!

He was on fire!

Nico McBrain on drums was just legendary! Set up every song, introduced them very well. How he can keep up with Steve Harris on his bass drum with ONLY ONE SET OF BASS DRUMS just defeats me! It leaves me puzzled!!! An awesome performance from the McBrain as ever!!!

Steve Harris...the heart and soul of MAIDEN!!! He just can’t be more of an icon! The passion he put into every song and every note he play and everything he did. A true performer and one of/if not the greatest bassists of heavy metal and music history!!!

Just when you thought it wouldn’t get any better bloggie,

the guitarists - Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers...
WOW! Solos aplenty!!! Each one of them brought their own element of awe into the gig! Janick is a complete performer; throwing his guitar up 6 feet above himself and catching it clean playing difficult solos incredibly while dancing about the stage. Dave engineering solos like there’s no tomorrow also making it look like a piece a’ cake and smiling at the crowd whereas Adrian, keeping a very calm air of cool about him also making solos piss easy but in actuality, the real reality of it all is that they might be the most difficult thing ever played on a guitar!

During 2 minutes to midnight:

Approaching the end of this rocking song people were going out of their mind, crazy at this point and Bruce was right up at the crowds grill! Really close to us. Pits were crazy! About 8 people fell to the ground at the front, and mid song Bruce stopped singing...the music kept on playing and everyone kept on going nuts. The people who fell were helped up and Bruce asked pretty much everyone who fell, pointing them out individually "are you alright?" and eventually getting back to the song he says "I have lost my track now" but luckily, the hardcore MAIDEN fans kept it alive by singing every word and Bruce heard this and carried it on...with his flawless voice!

As I assessed this situation that occurred post concert, I realised how much care Bruce and the rest of Maiden have for their fans, not only for the people who fell and Bruce asking them all if they r ok but the whole of Maiden put on a fucking incredibly, outstandingly, spectacularly, rockingly, PHWAAAARRR! Of a show. How?? I hear ye of little MAIDEN faith ask?

How many gigs have you been to where the band have put so much effort into their set to make it most enjoyable?

How many gigs have you been to where there are any props at all let alone 12 foot robotic Eddies walking about, Giant Tanks and a background which changed with every song?

How many gigs have you been to where the headlining band is on for over 2 hours? But most of all how many gigs have you been to where the front man/woman stops mid song to ask if everyone is ok? Hmm?? Hmm??!?!?

I put these questions to you and i challenge thee to defy me!

As my assessment of this FANTASTIC concert went on, tears almost brewed in the eyes that just saw the greatest band in the world...

UP THE IRONS!!!!!

Cherish her....

I remember when I first started to play Rugby I was desperate for my mum to come and watch me play like all the other players' parents would.  My dad had come once or twice but not too many times because of his working schedule. 

I remember when I would have arguments with mum about why she would never want to come and watch me play and she would always say:
I can't bare to see my baby get hurt or hurting others.

This only aggravated me further. 

I remember I had a very important semi final to play in my hometown.  I remember it attracted nearly two thousand people to come and watch us play.

I remember getting injured during that game.  I remember getting taken to the hospital by ambulance.  I remember seeing my mother's devastation.  I remember hearing my mother cry.  I remember the guilt.  I remember it outweighing all the good time I have had at Rugby. 

I remember how happy she was when she found out I was going to be OK. 

I remember saying to my mum:
After all these years of playing this game and wanting you to come and watch me....I am glad you didn't.  You made the right choice all this time. 

I remember feeling like my mum always knew and will always know best for herself and her family.  I remember forgiving my beautiful mother for this small favour she would not do for me and wish she would forgive me for any hurt I have ever caused her.  She has given me so much. 

I love you mama.

Much love,

Jackson L.

Written in the stars.....

I am all for people looking for hope and different avenues to help make their life seem less dreary.  I do enjoy being in the presence of insanely positive people, even those who are incredibly chirpy on a mundane, dark, cold, beginning of January kind of Monday morning.  They are a real credit to our race.  How can people still find happiness in all that?!  Anyways, I digress as I so often do.  I like it when people find ways to be content and push for happiness and make things happen.  I like it when people find some medium in which they find some sort of hope.  What I do not like though is when that hope is found in something so shit…..daily horoscopes. 

I do strongly believe that the people who write them are actually taking the utter piss out of their readers.  They say ridiculously vague bullshit like:

Things will happen in you life when you go out and do things.  You may or may not like what occurs but remember this; at least you have your health….unless of course you decide to take your own life due to reading a pitifully dire attempt at predicting your immediate future. 

It then goes on to discuss generic things such as romance, finance, general wellbeing and work/academia.  This, more often than not, goes something like this:

Romance - You may or may not find yourself madly in love with someone/something.  If you are - well done.  If not - ……

Finance - You are probably not at all well off because you have picked up and read a free newspaper (The Metro) and that is just tragic.  However, if you are just a tight cunt who likes to read free newspapers and not spend money on real broadsheet newspapers that don’t sugar coat the news by saying insanely zany stuff like “In a place called abroad bad things happened.” then well done you for not being poor.  Also, keep telling those who are poor that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ as this will prevent riots.  You are probably a banker who is getting an undeserved bonus so you are a total shit and I hope you die.  Slowly. 

General wellbeing – good/bad.  It just depends. 

Work/Academia – In terms of works, please see finance.  With regards to academia, you are just awesome for being able to read this in the first place.  I am not at all trying to fill your head with hot air. 

People who read these things and actually take it seriously please, please get a life.  Find your niche in something truly inspiring.  I’m not saying you all need to be like Nelson Mandela and find words of inspiration when serving 30 odd years of your life in prison! Just find something a little more educated and something that will not patronize you. 

I had actually read three different newspapers’ horoscopes today and they were all vague, shit and extremely lame.  But, the thing that REALLY aggravated me about them was that they were all different.  They showed no consistency whatsoever.  For something that is supposedly written in the stars – surely they can’t be THAT different, can it?  Or is it one of those silly things that is just down to interpretation? 

I am a person who believes in fate.  I think everything happens for a reason.  A reason we may not like but it will happen nonetheless.  I have always thought about they why of many things and wondered how things would be if they had worked out differently.  More importantly, I would wonder how I would have turned out if things had worked out differently.....It was then I realised that with or without faith I would believe in fate, destiny or the inevitable.  Whatever you so wish to call it. 

Anyways, rant over.

Much love,

Jackson L.

Facebook.

I remember the scepticism I felt when I was first told to just join Facebook.  I had already had a 'Bebo‘ page.  I thought this was terrible and about a year or so I got rid of it.  I then joined Facebook to shut some people up and in perfect honesty I must say I was very surprised, after getting used to properly using it, at how good it was.  It was full on global and I must say I found people on Facebook that I had not spoken to in over a decade!  It has gone from strength to strength having been only an internet phenomenon to mobile phone apps to becoming a household name.  Even my parents are on it.  It has, for many people, become their main source of communication; ahead of emails, texting, instant messaging (chat) and even phoning. 

This service allows you to plan and organise dates for your calendar, birthday reminders, communicate, play games, upload photos, keep updated on what your friends are up to as well as allow you to let people know 'what's on your mind'.  It is a massive commodity now.  Some people, really sad people, but people nonetheless have withdrawl symptoms due to lack of Facebook in their lives.  It truly has become one of the biggest things on the internet as for many, this is the first port of call when they log into the internet and even I am guilty of being on Facebook on my phone when I am not supposed to be. 

Although Facebook has been used for many good things like; rekindling lost friendships, keeping in close comms with close friends and even getting Rage Against the Machine to oust X-Factor to UK no. 1 last Christmas, it has recently become such a drag.  What with the whole changing your profile picture to a cartoon character:

This was a plan to try and help allure attention to child abuse and it was to act as a reminder that it does still happen everywhere.   I am all for driving attention to worthwhile causes which this most definitely was.  But, I'm sorry but if you were to ask some children who are/were abused - they would probably say something along the lines of "What the hell was this supposed to achieve?!"  I think it is such a dumbass thing to have done! If people were truly concerned about the well being of children they would have done something a little more proactive like....I dunno FUCKING GIVE TO NSPCC CHARITY!!!  The really funny thing was that this was apparently an unofficial movement and it had no affiliation to the NSPCC at all.  A rumour quickly spread that it was linked to a paedophile ring, yet people still kept their toon profile pictures up.  Their reasoning was 'It does not actually harm anybody.'

I would just like to express my opinion here - I believe that the vast majority of those people involved in this movement did not actually give a shit about whether children get abused or not.  They only got sucked into the so called 'movement' because everyone is painfully conformist and in my humble opinion a total douche.  The main slogan I saw was 'Plaster facebook with your childhood memories'.  FUCK.  OFF.   This had no effect on lessening a child's chances of being abused.  I would very much like to remind you that it truly does happen - even here in the UK.  It is very much a real thing.  Do the right thing.  Give to charity and show REAL support (here) like I do and continue to do so. 

Now there is an even more annoying affair occurring on Facebook.

This so called 'Numbers game'.  What this entails is a friend would private message you with a number and then on you status update you recite the number and then give a description of what you feel towards your friend.   How pitifully insecure about your own friendship must you be to want to know what someone feels about you through the medium of Facebook with such a shit method too?!  A number so that it is anonymous - yet those who like what they read will 'like' it so it is only too obvious.  Some people are SO fucking thick!

There have been many other negative stories in the media surrounding Facebook due to people's inherent need to be racist, threaten to take lives and many other such acts of violence. 

Of course they have also made a film 'Social Network', seriously?  How much more do they actually think they are going to milk from us?  It is totally deplorable that people are so feeble minded. 

For me, Facebook is unfortunately a great way to keep in touch with family who live abroad, friends who live far away and to keep updated on what my nearest and dearest are up to.  However, these stupid games and constant emails you get referring to pointless comments you receive based on the aforementioned things. 

Please Facebook, stop being shit. 

Much love,

Jackson L.

UGG boots

Once again, as always, I was on the tube on my way to be educated on a higher level when I found myself in a slightly less crammed carriage (thanks snow) and I witnessed a distinctly unappealing girl standing about 3 feet away from myself and she was only made even more tragically horrific due to those HIDEOUS Ugg boots. 

Apparently they are unisex but I am not, as a human being, going to be seen wearing that shit! I would rather be a destitute!

So to add insult to insult (as for me wearing those in my presence in a fucking MASSIVE offense which should have the consequence of those seen in public wearing them to be put down!) she began to address the entire carriage about the cons of wearing these grotesque, repugnant boots in the snow.  She initiated this with a complaint about how insanely soaked through these boots, retailing at an average of £90 - £150!

After listening to this pathetic excuse of human existence ramble on for close to 15 minutes about how terrible they are to wear in the snow but then explain how much she loves them, literally half the carriage, myself included, of course, began to badger her with questions about her stupidity which in turn left approximately 50+ people in this carriage stupefied.  I decided to go on a rant in front of everyone myself and proceeded to explain:

'Can I just first of all say that you are awfully brave to have come out and face this weather in those boots let alone discuss to a carriage full of people who were bored shitless by your little social experiment.  I am a man who gives credit where credit is due.  However, I must share my opinions with you as you shared your lamentable opinions with me.  I would like to point out that these boots are without fail the most disgustingly aberrant item of footwear I have ever laid eyes on.  I also think that it is a painful tragedy that in the UK these are socially acceptable.  I did not think Britain would get much shitter but obviously I have been catastrophically incorrect.  And it is afflictive to the point where I think I may get cancer.

You only needed to take a look outside and perhaps have made the suggestion to yourself that these were not the most appropriate boots to wear on a day like this, no?  Well done genius.

The weather of late has been rather harsh and the fact that you decided to wear a non-water proof item on your feet really goes to show your intelligence....or lack thereof.  I would like to convey my happiness that this has occurred in your life and I hope it would have taught you a lesson to not spend copious amounts of money on such silly looking ugly, ugly, abhorrent boots on the basis of their comfort alone. 

You are a really stupid idiot.  I hope you do not make anymore fuckheaded decisions like this in your life anymore; otherwise you will struggle in life. 

Thank you for listening.' 

Needless to say, it felt very good and several people did give the girl pitiful looks.  The girl did not say anything after that.

Flawless victory. 

Please, if you are thinking about buying Ugg boots, don’t.  They are just awful and a complete turn off. 

Much love,

Jackson L.

Rugby

It has been a very exciting time of year in the international rugby calendar.  The autumn tests have been and gone and my good god have there been upsets and near misses and so much more.  It is a great time for the southern hemisphere teams to come and flex their rugby might.  It is also a chance for the northern hemisphere teams to see how they fair with trying to match or better their southern cousins.

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to watch teams battle the French of or the Italians, however, reflecting on the scores it would appear that the French were very uncharacteristic with a good win against Fiji (34-12), although nothing less was expected, an unconvincing win against Argentina (15-9) and a crushing defeat at the hands of the Wallabies (16-59).  The Italians showed some great leaps of improvement.  Narrowly losing to a good Pumas side (16-22), losing to a wounded Australian side with a lot to prove on the back of a defeat at the hands of the English and also beating a well drilled good Fijian side that drew with Wales (24-16).  Let’s hope the French get their flare back in time for the 6 nations and also hope for a more competitive Italian side that can beat more than just Wales and or Scotland. 

The home nations (Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England) had a very mixed string of performances all lacking consistency.  However, Ireland and Scotland are very exciting prospects for the 6 nations as they steadily improved as they played more tests.  England, despite their last defeat which could be a blessing in disguise, were also very, very good.  Woeful Wales did not manage to put a winning performance together and that was, not only surprising but a shame. 

Wales came out with a good first half against the Australians in their first game of the autumn tests.  Having just beaten the All Blacks, however, the Wallabies must have been either sore or soaring on confidence.  Their backs were devastating – with an average age of 23 years in their backs division and their attacking prowess, it looked like it was going to be a whitewash.  Thankfully for Wales, in front of the Australian backs were a poor set of forwards that really struggled at set-piece time – particularly in the scrum.  For international rugby it was almost laughable how much the Welsh were bossing the Aussies about at scrumaging.   This more than kept Wales in the game and in touching distance at half time 7-6 however, Stephen Jones had missed one or two penalties.  The game ended at 16-25 to the Aussies but the score did not at all reflect how the Welsh played.  Not to say they deserved the win but Australia had the better attacking play through their backs with the little ball their forwards managed to secure.  Wales did not take their chances when they got them and also, Stephen Jones should really land his kicks. 

Against South Africa, Wales were 17-9 up at the half.  I would even go as far to say that the Springboks with their hallowed green and gold were fortunate to only be 8 points adrift.  But this truly was a game of two halves.  A game for the purist.  17-9 became 20-9 very quickly after half time and Wales looked very comfortable however, two quick converted tries later (Alberts, Matfield) and two more penalties in the closing moments of the game saw the South Africans record their second win of the autumn tests and only Scotland and England stood in their way of a 5^th grand slam.  Wales really did not have the cutting edge and ruthlessness to see the game off and seal the win which would have sent their confidence sky high. 

Against the Fijians, a game you would bet your house on the Welsh to beat due to their superiority in the game, I believe there to have been incorrect managerial decisions made pre-game.  It is a game that Wales needed to win to set them on the right path.  A game, I think Wales were lucky to come away with a draw! The Welsh were shaken in the first half due to the hard hitting, hard running, hard Fijians.  A shock first try came from the Fiji number 13.  With the Fijians up 10-6 at half time, it was time to bring the big guns on and Wales made the right substitutions.  A penalty try was awarded to the Welsh due to pressure on the Fijian scrum 5M out from their try line.  An exchange of penalties and then an injury time penalty to Fiji gave them the draw which, of course they treated like a victory.  This left the All Blacks licking their lips.  It was almost certain that their 4^th grand slam was in the bag! It was disappointing to see Wales play their worst rugby in a long time.

Against the All Blacks, the Welsh really stepped up their game but it was not good enough.  A tired, lackslustre New Zealand still managed to rack up a 20 point differences with Dan Carter missing 13 points.  Wales’ rush defense tactics worked initially they were finishing the half at 13-9.  The second half was much more interesting with 3 more tries coming from NZ and despite Dan Carter not having his kicking boots on, managed to land a few of his kicks.  A late consolation try for Wales saw the score end at 25-37 to the All Blacks. 

Wales have found new youngsters Dan Lydiate and the imposing 18 year old winger, George North who made a great man of the match debut against South Africa with two tries.  BIG improvements need to be made in the run up to the six nations and the World cup. 

Ireland a bit more success having recorded two vital wins out of four.  They had narrowly lost their first game against reigning world champions South Africa who had come from the back of a lamentable season in the southern hemisphere’s tri-nations having only managed one win against the wallabies.  Ireland had not played together for several months and this was no easy start to the autumn tests.  They only get into their stride by the second half having scored one or two tries and also, there was more confidence in the team.  South Africa held out for a narrow 2 point victory to win 21-23.  A bad start to the game from an Irish point of view but, it developed into an excellent game of rugby.  Tight, edge of your seat stuff.  Young Jonathon Sexton had one or two penalties that could have landed victory earlier in the game.  With experience, he will land those kicks easily as I feel he may have been a little nervous. 

A hard fought win over Samoa in wet, miserable, muddy conditions saw Ireland win 20-10 in a good game of rugby.  As was seen by Samoa, they were not push overs and you really had to work for a win against them.  They were still in search for top form as they had not yet reached the epic attacking dexterity which, on their day could give the likes of France a run for their money.  A win, however, is a win however unconvincing it may be. 

Unfortunately, in the Irish’s search for form, they had to face up to the strength of the New Zealanders.  This, although ended at 18-38, saw Jonathon Sexton play one of his best games in an Ireland jersey and also, saw Ireland play some great rugby.  The first half was end to end action with tries being exchanged to give New Zealand a 19-13 lead at the break.  The game ended at 18-38 with the beloved Brian O’Driscoll picking up a try.  The score did not reflect the game at all but a tired Irish defense let in 2 easy tries.  Or maybe they looked easy because it was the All Blacks.  Either way, a terrific first half especially from Ireland and a thoroughly enjoyed test match.  Ireland went on to record a great win against the Pumas.  Ireland racked up 29 points to Argentina’s 9 which was a great win for Ireland which put them 5^th in world rankings. 

Scotland had a very poor start to their autumn series campaign.  Allowing the prolific All Blacks to walk all over them and put 7 converted tries on the board.  They lost emphatically with a final score of 49-3.  There were a few young players on the Scotland team and playing against the world number 1 team perhaps made them nervous as well as not having played as a team for several months.  Although a truly devastating hit to the confidence within the team, they were a completely different team against South Africa just a week later.  They managed to defend very well, exploit the Springboks rush defense and force errors by the world champions and defeated them 21-17.  A flurry of penalties and a drop goal for Scotland and a penalty less and an unconverted try more for South Africa saw Scotland take the game.  Who ever said you need tries to win a game? After this victory Scotland came into 6^th place in world rankings.  After only narrowly defeating Samoa 19-16 (with a last minute Ruaridh Jackson penalty) and other results now puts Scotland in 7^th place, just behind France. 

I expect exciting and unpredictable things from this Scotland side this 6 nations.  I think Coach Andy Robinson is doing a great job at the helm. 

England had an impressive start to their campaign.  Although losing to New Zealand, they played very well.  They made a thrilling second half comeback but lost by just 10 points to the world’s best rugby team.  They actually won the second forty minutes. To suffer this defeat and then think about having Australia to play against in a weeks time, for many, would have been very daunting but, not for Martin Johnson’s men.  They grew in confidence from their second half performance against New Zealand to churn out a historic win against England’s favourite rugby opposition, Australia.  35-18 was the final score against Australia and this was their second win in a row with 2 Chris Ashton tries including a wonder try from his own half.  A hard fought win over Samoa saw England win 2 out of 3 in their campaign with wins over Australia and Samoa and a good performance against the All Blacks left England relishing their final game against the world champions.  But the wounded Springboks had other ideas.  After their loss in the highlands, the Springboks wanted to put things right and who better to do it against?  A Powerful performance from South Africa saw them dominate the set piece and territory in the open and left a final score of 21-11 with 2 tries for SA (Alberts, Mvovo) one converted and 3 penalties to England’s 2 penalties and late consolation try. 

A lot of positives to take from this campaign for England but, I do not like their brand of rugby.  However, no one has to like it; as long as they win, right?  I think if they peak at the right times which recently England have had a knack of doing, they can go on to great things and cause great upsets in the future. 

The northern hemisphere, I found were not a million miles away from the southern hemisphere.  I saw that they would either beat them, narrowly lose or the scoreboard did not reflect how they played.  I feel that competitions will be a little bit more closely contested and I feel this will start with the 6 nations. 

Although the northern hemisphere teams were not too far off, I still feel that the southern hemisphere play at a much higher place, play with more confidence and play with a greater level of creativity.  They are just more clinical.  They do the basics right, they do the basics well and that is a devastating combination.  Although it may be more closely contested, I feel that the tight grip the southern hemisphere have on world rugby domination will not be loosened drastically anytime soon. 

I believe teams like Fiji and Samoa have really benefitted from having some of their players playing in the more competitive leagues in the world; the Aviva premiership, Magners league, Top 14, even the Super 14s.  I do think there is still a lot of room for improvement but, not all their games were one sided affairs. 

The big three – New Zealand, Australia and South Africa showed some very good stuff.  Especially New Zealand, they were able to churn out wins even on a bad day against England and Wales.  When they were on top form they were slicing through defense as if they weren’t even there.  Australia were running hot and cold.  To lose against England in such a harsh fashion but then to go out to France and win by such a MASSIVE margin….well done them is all I can say.  They have a very young team and I am expecting exciting things from this team.  Their forwards do need a lot of work though.  They did really suffer against Wales and England.  South Africa lost out only marginally to Scotland but won all their other games against good opposition.  Although they have had a poor season, they showed true champion form by winning games and closing them out against Wales, Ireland and they showed their true form against a very confident England. 

I believe that, unless France show some improvement to get back to their winning ways and soon, England to take the 6 nations crown this coming year.  A grand slam? I don’t think so. But a tournament win? Definitely not a far cry from it.  I hate to say it, because I do not like their brand of rugby, but they can indeed win the six nations for the first time since 2003! Scotland can definitely be outside favorites.  I can see Scotland causing upsets this year in the six nations.  Wales need to get back to winning ways and close out games.  Ireland has found some form in the last few games in the autumn series.  Could they win the championship?  Well they do have the home advantage against the big teams, France and England, but they did lose their last game at Croke Park against Scotland last season.  Beating Scotland in Murrayfield can prove too difficult.  All this aside, France did win 5 championships since 2000, 3 of which were grand slam wins. 

As for the world cup, could a northern hemisphere team win it one more time?  From their display in the autumn tests it looks like the All Blacks have a point to prove.  They do not want to choke when it matters anymore.  They showed very well rounded performances; defensively, from spot kicks, their open play, their set piece and athletic ability.  It is said every rugby world cup but, I think New Zealand really will win it.  They have to win it.  They have been the best team for the last 4 years despite the Springboks having the crown of world champions.  I guess we will have to wait and see until October 2011. 

Much love,

Jackson L.