Jonny's time is surely up!

It was a familiar sight, an image England Rugby fans had witnessed so many times before. Jonny Wilkinson glances up at the posts, calmly adjusts his feet, takes a deep breath and then neatly slots a right-footed drop goal to secure the match for his team at the death.

However there was no celebrations, no fist pumping, no macho embraces. Wilkinson and his teammates instead looked relieved and almost embarrassed.

Seven years on since Wilkinson’s magical last minute kick made England world champions and him a national hero, it was painful to watch England and their aging fly half struggling to record a victory against a poor Italian side at the Stadio Flaminio.

Like so many in the England side of late, Wilkinson is suffering. His contribution in this match was a nightmare of uncertainty. He missed three kicks in front of goal, too of which would have been a certainty for the old dependable Jonny. It looked like Wilkinson was finally showing humanistic traits, surely he wasn’t feeling the pressure.

Yes, really. The hero from Sydney who would take advantage of any opposition transgressions with an un-natural precision was finally feeling the heat. Gasps could be heard from every stand as Wilkinson miss fired.

After leaving the field a dejected man, The 30 year old admitted ample kicking practice is in order before England’s next tie against Ireland in a fortnight.

“Kicking problems can happen and it is a good learning curve” He observed
“It shows you have never got it nailed down. It is a good motivation to get out there and sort it out, as I will.” Wilkinson concluded.

Whilst it can be conceivable to put a few missed kicks to one side, it is not as if Wilkinson’s performances else where on the pitch have been inspiring. He contributed to England’s main failing yesterday, an incomprehensible amount of witless kicking.
At times Jonny’s tactical kicking was indisputably awful. A lack of confidence was clear for all to see as substantial yardage was sacrificed as Wilkinson just concentrated on not making yet more errors.

He is clearly struggling to read the game of young and admittedly unpredictable scrum half Danny Care, and has failed to form any kind of relationship with Riki Flutey.

There also seems to be reluctance from Wilkinson to step up to the breach and lead an England side that is crying out for guidance. All the old mockers have gone. There is no Greenwood or Mike Cat. No Dawson calling the shots. In the past Wilkinson simply did the job, whilst the others did all the thinking.

Maybe the drive is no longer present in Wilkinson’s game. After all life is sweet in the Riviera where he plays for Toulon. Money is no object and for a man who has been plagued with injury after injury, he is in remarkable health.

His former greatness has rightfully earned him a huge amount of respect among fellow players, coaches and even politicians, and whilst he has certainly been a tremendous servant to English rugby, his recent inclusions based on reputation rather than performance has hindered England’s problems in finding a genuine replacement.

Shane Geraghty has been performing amicably for both Northampton and the Saxons but has failed to be provided with any genuine opportunity. Toby Flood has had his moments but is often played out of position to accommodate Wilkinson.

Jonny will always have our respect and gratitude. We will always remember those faultless performances, which helped England become the World-class force they were seven years ago, however it is now time to move on.

Head Coach Martin Johnson must be brave enough to move on from the Wilkinson era and inject some life and creativity into England’s number 10 jersey.

How to solve a problem like Iran

With Iran this week announcing its intentions to step up its uranium enrichment, America and France is promising to increase international sanctions against the rogue state, but will this really have any effect?

Bearing in mind that the UN has already imposed three rounds of sanctions on the country, but this seems to have had little impact.

There is no doubt that Iran, led by president Ahmadinejad is a real threat. World leaders are far too aware that the country's uranium enrichment could easily be used to produce a nuclear bomb. America recently released details of its plan to position a number of missile defense units around Iran’s border to protect the us and other countries.

The hundred-dollar question is.... how can it all be stopped?

Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran prides itself on a strong and efficient army. And with Britain and America already fighting one war, they don't have the resources to start another. China and Russia have been identified as key states, which must be won over in order for tight sanctions to work. Unless the two countries agree to publicly denounce Iran's behavior then negotiations will never work.

At this point in time, there seems to be no real answer to this crucial question. Iran knows it’s holding all the cards, and it’s reveling in it. According to Iranian scientist they will have 10 uranium plants up and running within ten years. Can we afford not to believe them?

We had the recent kidnapping incident in which 5 British sailors were held by the Iranian military for apparently entering their waters. We then discovered that Iran could well have been involved in the kidnapping of British IT worker Peter Moore and expect more trouble in the capital Tehran this Thursday when protesters once again hit the streets on the anniversary of the revolution.

It strikes me that Iran is playing a game, a very good game. Ahmadinejad's and his merry men enjoys outside interest and media coverage more than the proverbial wag, And with no sign of the UN or other countries coming up with any realistic solution to control the rogue state I don't expect anything to change.

Emotional Campbell doesn’t put tears in my eyes.

Viewers of BBC 1 ‘The Andrew Marr show’ yesterday would have seen an emotional Alistair Campbell once again defending his good old friend Tony Blair

The former journalist turned spin-doctor’s cool and calm persona somewhat deserted him as he held back tears.
Having appeared on the show to promote his new book, Campbell should surly have had just the tiniest of inkling that Marr would be raising the issue of Iraq.

However the man, who mastered the art of media manipulation during his time as head of communication under Blair’s Labour government, looked genuinely perturbed by Marr’s questioning.

When asked whether Blair mislead parliament, Campbell denied the allegation but looked close to tears during his reply.
Mr Campbell said the media was obsessed with "settling your scores and setting your own agenda".

"You did it again this morning, which is probably why I'm a bit upset, this constant sort of vilification” he moaned

This kind of comment strikes me as being rather contradictory. Alistair was the expert at setting the news agenda.
In 2003, when BBC journalist Andrew Giligan accused Campbell and the Labour government of sexing up the dodgy dossier on Iraq, Campbell replied in the way he knew best.

He launched his own attack on the BBC and its coverage over the invasion, airing his views on as many news platforms as he could. This was a clear attempt at controlling the news agenda, and it worked.

So we must not feel sorry for Campbell. Maybe I’m underestimating him. Maybe the tears were fake, an accusation, which was leveled at our prime minister yesterday in the Daily fascist… I mean the Daily Mail

And we think our politicians are bad!

South African president Jacob Zuma today finally apologised after fathering an illegitimate son, but surely an apology does not suffice.

How irresponsible and stupid can he really be? Having been handed a huge responsibility as the president of a country riddled with aids, he then decides to have an affair with the daughter of a leading world cup official.

Rightfully so, opposition groups have acted angrily, pointing out that zuma’s behavior has contradicted government guidelines which advise the use of condoms and faithfulness.

Lets not forget that Zuma, who is a practicing polygamist, already has three wives and fathered at least 19 children.

To make matters worse, this isn’t Jacob’s first misdemeanor. After being acquitted of rape charges in 2006, he admitted to having unprotected sex with a women he knew was HIV positive.

It just beggars belief how a man who has contradicted the policy’s his government actively tries to promote can still be in charge.
We can’t surly expect a radical improvement in aids awareness and prevention in South Africa whilst they are lead by a president who possesses the morals of former England football captain John Terry.

Capello wields the axe

I have to say I’m a little surprised about the latest news involving our disgraced England captain, nevertheless I’m glad that common sense has prevailed.

When the story broke last week that Chelsea and England captain John Terry had cheated on his wife with former team mate Wayne Bridge’s past lover, it hardly filled me with surprise.

Terry’s been involved in a few highbrow incidents in the past, which have resulted in numerous storys plastered all over the tabloids. Until last week he had managed to keep his latest misdemeanor under wraps with the use of a super injunction.

Rightfully so, the request for an extension was denied, Mr. Justice Tugend stated Terry only wanted the injunction to stand, in order to protect his sponsorship deals, many of which now look in doubt.

One thing is for certain, Terry has lost the position every young boy dreams of, the England captaincy. Our beloved Italian manager must have deemed Terry’s position unattainable. I’m sure he has lost the respect of many of his teammates who will be now keeping an even closer eye on their other halfs.

Rio Ferdinand will now take the vacant armband for the foreseeable future. The defender hasn’t got a squeaky-clean track record himself, having been banned for eight months in 2003 for missing a drugs test.

As for terry, I’m sure he has still got a bright England future ahead of him. After all if England selectors introduce a policy where by any footballer that had committed a serious wrong was barred from the squad, we would have a lot of empty seats on the plane to South Africa in the summer