2016/17 Anglo-Welsh Cup

After its one year hiatus the Anglo-Welsh Cup is back for the 2016/17 season and will regain it’s place in the domestic season.  

Although some people aren’t great fans of the competition in my opinion it has an important place in the domestic ladder and is making a welcome return. The Anglo-Welsh Cup allows the younger members of Premiership clubs and those of the peripheries of their squads to gain valuable game time and exposure. 

The competition format remains the same as it previously was with the 12 Premiership clubs taking part alongside the four Welsh regions and all have been split into four Pools. 

Teams in Pool 1 will play against the teams in Pool 4 and those placed in Pool 2 will duel with those in Pool 3. The four group rounds are split across the season with two occurring in November, one at the end of January and the second at the beginning of February. 

The club that tops each Pool will progress into the Semi-Finals that will take place on the 11th March before the final is held seven days later on the 18th March.

BT Sport will have the television rights for the first time and we will start the new competition, and their exclusive coverage, with a trip to The Recreation Ground on 4th November where Bath Rugby will host Leicester Tigers. Below is a summary of the Pools and fixture dates which you can also download onto your smart phone or place in your computer's calendar from PremiershipRugby.com.

Anglo-Welsh Cup Pools

Pool 1

Bath Rugby

Saracens

Northampton Saints 

Newport Gwent Dragons.  

Pool 2

Exeter Chiefs

Sale Sharks

Worcester Warriors 

Ospreys

Pool 3 

Harlequins

Wasps

Bristol Rugby 

Cardiff Blues

Pool 4

Newcastle Falcons

Leicester Tigers 

Gloucester Rugby 

Scarlets

Anglo-Welsh Fixtures

Round One

4th November - Bath Rugby v Leicester Tigers. KO 7.45pm (BT Sport)

4th November - Worcester Warriors v Bristol Rugby. KO 7.45pm

4th November - Sale Sharks v Wasps. KO 8.15pm

5th November - Gloucester Rugby v Saracens. KO 3pm

5th November - Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs. KO 5.30pm (BT Sport)

6th November - Newcastle Falcons v Northampton Saints. KO 3pm

Round Two

11th November - Bristol Rugby v Sale Sharks. KO 7.45pm (BT Sport)

12th November - Leicester Tigers v Newport Gwent Dragons. KO 3pm

12th November - Saracens v Newcastle Falcons. KO 3pm

13th November - Wasps v Worcester Warriors. KO 3pm

13th November - Exeter Chiefs v Cardiff Blues. KO 3pm (BT Sport)

11th-13th November - Ospreys v Harlequins

11th-13th November - Scarlets v Bath Rugby

18th November - Cardiff Blues v Ospreys. KO 7.15pm

18th November - Newport Gwent Dragons v Scarlets. KO 7.30pm

Round 3 (TV selections TBC)

26/27/28 January - Scarlets v Saracens 

26/27/28 January - Ospreys v Bristol Rugby 

27th January - Sale Sharks v Cardiff Blues. KO 8.15pm

28th January - Bath Rugby v Gloucester Rugby. KO 3pm

28th January - Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints. KO 3pm

28th January -  Exeter Chiefs v Wasps. KO 3pm

28th January - Worcester Warriors v Harlequins. KO 3pm

29th January - Newport Gwent Dragons v Newcastle Falcons. KO 3pm

Round 4 (TV selections TBC)

4th February - Gloucester Rugby v Newport Gwent Dragons. KO 3pm 

4th February - Northampton Saints v Scarlets. KO 3pm

4th February - Saracens v Leicester Tigers. KO 3pm

4th February - Cardiff Blues v Worcester Warriors. KO 3pm

4th February -  Harlequins v Sale Sharks. KO 3pm

5th February - Bristol Rugby v Exeter Chiefs. KO 3pm
5th February - Wasps v Ospreys. KO 3pm

Shifting Mindsets - England Rugby

Back in January Eddie Jones made his opening press conference ahead of the RBS 6 Nations, he was clear about his ambitions and aims for his England side. On the pitch he wanted to bring back the fundamentals of the English game starting with a dominant set piece and layering on top of that the ability to move the ball. Alongside these developments he spoke about driving a ‘change of mindset’ in players and his words at the time were;

“I have no doubt that in this current squad of 33 there are four or five players who, if they change their mindset and they change their attitude, can become world class players. If we get four or five world class players - and I'm not going to name them - then we can be the dominant team in the world.”  

"That's what it takes. Why haven't England been dominant since 2003? Because, they haven't had those players. If you go back to 2003 when I was coaching against Clive, you had Greenwood at centre, Wilkinson at 10, Dallaglio at eight, Hill at six, Johnson at five. They were guys who have changed games of rugby and England haven't had those players.”

"Our job is to develop those players and if we do that the side will come through. There are enough good, hardworking players here, but to be a dominant team in the world you've got to be better than good and hard working. You have to want to do that bit extra, seek that extra bit of advice, you have to look at doing things differently. You've got to be desperate and hungry for success.”

Since that point we’ve seen England win 9 from 9 taking a Grand Slam title and a series whitewash in Australia. Individuals have found the form of their careers and it seems that under the tutelage of Eddie Jones shifts in performance and mindset are occurring. 

Jeremy Snape, former England cricketer and leading sports psychologist, is part of the England set up and I’m sure those that needed to have tapped into his considerable knowledge. Alongside this Eddie Jones himself has done plenty to ignite the development of his side's mentality. He’s put an arm around players that needed it, made others feel valued and progressed individuals into the squad and starting XV at his pace, and nobody’s else’s. From the outside it looks like his England team are starting to believe how good they can be and the Australian is content with their shift in mindset;

“It’s definitely evolving. To me the hardest game that we had on tour was the last test. It was a difficult test for us, as we’d won 2-0 and Australia had nothing to lose and were going to give it everything. Our guys had been up since June [pre-RWC 2015 training camp] and I could see physically during the week that there were signs of wear and tear in the players. So, to put in that effort mentally, more than physically, is what we needed.” 

“It’s what we were talking about with the Tour de France [Eddie spent time with one of the teams this week], those guys go up that first slope for 45-minutes, it was tiring enough driving up there, and then they’ve got to keep going for another 4 and a half hours. That’s not physical toughness that’s mental toughness and our guys exhibited that in that third Test which was really pleasing. 

“But, you’re never there. It only takes one thing to change, one person to come into the squad and change the dynamics so it is something that we’ve always got to be aware of as complacency is always around the corner.”

The head coach warns about complacency and rightly so, however it’s hard to see that arriving at any point during his tenure. Every player that has been coached by Eddie Jones, or coach that has worked with him, has spoken about his unrelenting pursuit of excellence and interestingly following his visit to the Tour de France he believes England’s preparation can improve again. The Australian was impressed by the professionalism he witnessed at the Tour de France in terms of the team's preparation, messaging and briefing and said that it 'shows that we've done some good things in rugby but there's still a long way to go'. 

For now Eddie Jones’ squad are enjoying well earned breaks however their head coach, and his assistant coaches, are still in work mode and the Australian has in mind a new 45-man EPS squad. There will be a 3-day England training camp in August which a provisional squad will attend followed by another camp in September. The EPS squad announcement will be made in early October and then they'll have a week training together prior to the opening-Test against South Africa. 

At the heart of this EPS squad should be his Australian touring party and then the interesting part will be the players that are brought in alongside them. Nathan Hughes is now available for selection and Eddie Jones also said that a few of the U20s World Championship winning players have 'promoted themselves' into his thinking. 

With the loss of James Haskell to injury the spotlight will be firmly placed (again) on England's 7 jersey. Chris Robshaw could shift back to 7 with the aforementioned Nathan Hughes coming straight into the 6 jersey. Matt Kvesic, Luke Wallace or Jack Clifford may be considered and the eligibility of Sam Underhill is something that Eddie Jones is continuing to clarify and work on.  

For now England's international players are enjoying well-earned breaks before throwing themselves into pre-season with the enticement of donning their England jerseys again in November and December and potentially finishing the calendar year unbeaten.