Ruthless Rosol Ousts Nervy Nadal

by Dugald Skene

You could argue that Nadal was under par in his first round match at Wimbledon this year, but it was simply put down to an early grass season blip. A set lost, sure, but nobody realistically saw this as a genuine sign of things to come.

And then came Lukas Rosol.

The Czech and world ranked 100th player, Rosol produced the perfect game last night as he didn't just capitalise on a below par Nadal, but blew the second seed out of centre court with a phenomenal display of power, pace and precision.

Standing taller: Rosol after beating No.2 seed Nadal

Tied at 2 sets each, the match was suspended due to poor light as the players retreated to the locker room as the new roof was closed over. Having won the 4th set 6-2, the momentum at that point was well in favour of the Spaniard, who will no doubt have been frustrated with the break.

Instead, it provided an opportune few moments for Rosol to compose and reset. What happened after the resumption of play, nobody would have predicted.

With Nadal serving first, an undoubted advantage, Rosol used his brilliant forehand return to break, immediately turning the advantage in his favour. From then on, there was no stopping him, and the final set stats tell the story: 20 winners, 1 point conceded in final three service games, 3 aces and a winner to see out the match winning game.

He just didn't slow down, averaging 19 seconds between points compared to Nadal's 26, upsetting Nadal's tempo and refusing to let the Spaniard settle into any kind of rhythm. His shot selection and execution was of a man who had been winning on grass all his career. In actual fact, this was only his second win on grass and only his 18th tour victory ever. In his previous 5 attempts, Rosol had never even made it past the first qualifying round for Wimbledon.

But perhaps the most impressive factor was the complete lack of any apparent nerves from the Czech. His almost robotic, emotionless style was unrelenting, leaving Nadal little chance in most rallies.

Perhaps the biggest shock at Wimbledon in a decade, Rosol has certainly restored faith in the underdog.

Speaking of which, Andy Murray will be smiling quietly somewhere as he has seen his biggest rival in his side of the draw fall by the wayside. The Scotsman has never managed to beat two of the 'big 3' in consecutive matches in a Grand Slam, and with Nadal now eliminated, he won't have to. There are still plenty of potential banana skins before we start talking finals though, not least Frenchman Joe Wilfred Tsonga and who knows, a showdown with Rosol himself.

A great night for Wimbledon, a great night for tennis. Congratulations Lukas Rosol.

As for Nadal, he has now gone almost 2 years since last winning a tour event on anything but clay. Visibly distraught by the loss, he still took time to sign autographs as he trudged off court for another year. He's still a fans favourite and he will be back, of that there is no doubt.

Arsenal Busy Plotting For 2012/13

by Dugald Skene

Arsenal announced the signing of Olivier Giroud on Tuesday for a reported £12 million, adding to an impressive list of names that manager Arsene Wenger has lured to the club over the summer.

The Montpellier striker joins German Lukas Podolski in what will be a beefed up and altogether more potent looking attack alongside captain Robin van Persie.

Olivier Giroud is set to join Arsenal from Montpellier

I suspect this latest willingness to splash some cash on some of Europe’s top players is in response to van Persie’s own contract negotiations that took place at the end of last season.  With the well documented drought in silverware, stretching back to 2004, it would have been understandable had the Dutchman decided to leave in search for success elsewhere.

Instead, he has decided to remain at the club, but clearly made some demands, not least that he needs help up front to aid Arsenal in winning those crucial games.  Even with a league topping haul of 30 goals last term, he knows as well as any Gunners fan that he cannot carry the team alone.  How many times did he singlehandedly win games or claim points last season? More to the point, how many games did Arsenal lose out on because they couldn’t score? One man is easy to defend. Three isn’t.

Wenger is clearly looking at a title push this year, and is backing up his captain by acquiring exactly the right sort of player, the sort of player that is already proven and doesn’t require 2 or 3 years to make an impact.

25 year old Giroud scored 21 goals for Montpellier last season as they claimed the Ligue 1 title and Podolski is a well-known commodity, becoming the youngest player to reach 100 caps for his country earlier this month at Euro 2012 at the age of just 26.

With these sort of additions to the squad, as well as the continual improvement of Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain, I suspect Arsenal may well be a contending force for the 2012/13 season.

Scotland's Tour A Complete Success

By Dugald Skene

Form is a funny thing. Since the World Cup in New Zealand, and arguably before that, Scotland had known very little of it, losing their final two RWC matches and all 5 of their 2012 Six Nations tests.

Yet we find ourselves toasting the Scots as they return home this week from their tour to Australia and the South Seas not only as the only home nation team to win, but to go completely unbeaten after 3 games.

While others have come close, most notably grand slammers Wales, Scotland has put together a run of positive results that could potentially change their fortunes in the coming few years as we head towards 2015.

Following the victory over Fiji last week, the Scots had pulled themselves from their lowliest ranking if 12th to 10th in the IRB system, a win over 9th placed Samoa was paramount to continue their push for a top 8 place come December. That win duly came, albeit in dramatic fashion as debutant Harley scored a try in the final seconds and Laidlaw's subsequent conversion clinched a one point win. 

That win takes Scotland up another place to 9th in the latest revised IRB rankings, far more familiar surroundings with the likes of Samoa behind them.  Let’s not forget, however, that it won’t take much of a bad result to reverse the recent upward trend.  What was clear from the last few tests is that the ‘lesser’ southern hemisphere teams are continuing to improve and will be challenging Scotland’s position in the world rankings on a far more frequent basis.

John Barclay and Co celebrate the win against Australia

So what to make of this tour?  Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, it is clear that a confidence has returned to the Scotland squad.  Expectations were predictably low going into June with the prospect of a heavy defeat to Australia in the first test very much at the forefront of many minds.  But a combination of midweek scheduling, Mother Nature and a phenomenal defensive resolve saw Scotland defeat the hosts for the first time in 30 years on their soil.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective.  It stopped the rot that was starting to set in following those 7 straight defeats and acted as a springboard for what was coming the team’s way in the islands.  Many thought that one win against Fiji would be the minimum requirement.  After one test, Scotland had blown that out of the water.  Expectations were quickly revised and talk of a full sweep was on the cards.

What’s impressive about the three wins is how Scotland managed to build win on win, and managed to fulfil those revised expectations.  It would have been easy to write off the Australia win as a one off in exceptional circumstances, but Andy Robinson was able to use that victory and focus his teams minds on continual improvement in very different conditions.

Secondly, it all happened a little under the radar.  It has been proved over recent years that Scotland do well when the spotlight isn’t on them (think Argentina 2010).  With England, Ireland and Wales all competing in three test series against the top three southern hemisphere teams, attention was duly diverted away from the Scots.  It was even a struggle to find coverage of the Scotland games.  Sky covered the Australia match in the UK, but only because it filled a midweek gap. The Fiji test was picked up by ESPN at the last minute and struggled with the intermittent satellite signal as the game went out live.  The Samoa game was even covered at all.

All this helped the Scots, I think.  It may not have been as demanding or gruelling a tour as others had arranged, but it was exactly the kind of test Scotland needed to restore some pride and confidence, particularly for the younger members of the squad.  Looking forward to 2015, it is paramount that players like Matt Scott, Stuart Hogg, Ryan Grant all get used to a winning culture and even demand it.

Other players have come home with their reputations very much improved. Player of the Tour Al Strokosch looks reborn and dominated his role at 6, working well in tandom with Rennie at openside and the displaced Barclay at 8.  With the awaited return of Denton and Brown, competition for places in the back row is ferocious.

Greig Laidlaw performed well in the pivotal 10 role.  His game winning kicks against Australia and Samoa have elvated his status once more for Scottish fans, but I still hold reservations over him. Firstly, I don't think his in play kicking game is particularly strong.  Is it becasue we've been used to the likes of Dan Parks in the past?  Maybe, but his tactical nouse is something that needs improvement.  He also only tends to play well when in familar surroundings - in other words, when he has his Edinburgh colleagues to play off.  With Blair, Scott, De Luca and now Tim Visser all commanding first team places, Laidlaw is in something of a comfort zone.  His impact on the Samoa game wasn't quite what it had been, partly down to the Samoan effort, but also becuase he started with Cusiter at 9, a pairing that hasn't had nearly as much game time as Laidlaw/Blair.

Duncan Weir will be coming home disappointed.  For me, he is the longterm solution for Scotland at 10, but holds little hope of fulfilling that ambition with no game time.  He works well with Cusiter, who again I see as number one pick in the run up to RWC 2015, and his kicking game is far more established for such a young player.  When it comes to the finest of margins in big games, his more containment based game is preferable to Laidlaw's in my opinion.

Overall, a huge amount can be taken from the tour.  It was at a level that tested, but did not break Scotland.  November will be the time to take on the big boys back at Murrayfield, and look to consolidate what this tour has laid down.  New Zealand and South Africa, home or away, is supremely difficult and Scotland’s chances of gaining that top 8 ranking by December is as much down to the fate of others than it is to Scotland’s performances.  A win in either would go a long way towards achieving that short term goal, a victory against Tonga a necessity.

Whether or not Scotland achieve Pool 2 status for the RWC 2015 draw, there are early signs that Scotland are building positively to the tournament.  There’s a long way to go, but things are looking up again in Scottish Rugby.