But it was the 31-year-old Robinson who really walked tall in Rowell’s eyes

But it was the 31-year-old Robinson who really walked tall in Rowell’s eyes.In the past Rowell has said he wants a big open-side flanker and so Robinson (5ft 9in) and Neil Back (5ft 10in) looked to be out of it. That is the future of English rugby.” And Hall again: “That was the best Bath performance ever.”
Bristol tried, but on their rare attacks their midfield generally found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place – Robinson and Jeremy Guscott’s defence. Bath’s team manager, John Hall, called it “the best club match I have ever seen” Rowell said: “Breathtaking Sensational That is what English rugby needs. Replacements: J Olivier (Northern Transvaal), H Honiball (Natal), J Roux, C Rossouw (Transvaal), T van der Linde (Western Province), R Straeuli (Transvaal).. Andy Robinson’s huge influence in Bath’s record-breaking annihilation of a robust Bristol side looks to have earned him a call-up to England training at Marlow tomorrow – or so the England manager, Jack Rowell, hinted after a scintillating and far from one-sided match

Hyperbole was the order of the day. The Springboks have three changes from the team who beat the Welsh in September and field 12 of their World Cup-winning XV.SOUTH AFRICA (v Italy, Rome, 12 November): A Joubert; J Small (Natal), J Mulder, H le Roux (Transvaal), C Williams; J Stransky (Western Province), J van der Westhuizen (Northern Transvaal); S Swart, J Dalton (Transvaal), T Laubscher (Western Province), J Wiese (Transvaal), M Andrews (Natal), F Van Heerden (Western Province), F Pienaar (Transvaal, capt), R Kruger (Northern Transvaal). The union’s preferred choice for the pounds 60,000 position is understood to be the former Scotland and Lions coach, Ian McGeechan, who has been Northampton’s coaching director for the past year.Having paid his pounds 9,000 fine and served his 30-day suspension for laying out Derwyn Jones of Wales, Kobus Wiese is back in the South African second row for the Test against Italy on 12 November that precedes their meeting with England at Twickenham six days later.

Already Graham Childs, the England A centre who joined West Hartlepool from Wasps this season, has diverted north to Newcastle.The Welsh Rugby Union is to appoint a director of rugby over and above the Wales coach with the task of producing a successful team in time for the 1999 World Cup, which the WRU will host. Tony recently gave up his job in the City of London, while Rory, England’s most-capped player, is a pilot in the Royal Air Force posted temporarily in Cyprus.Having been knocked back by a succession of players – most publicly, Garath Archer, Martin Corry and Alan Sharp of Bristol and Mick Watson of Harlequins – Newcastle have an increasing need for the psychological lift of one or two major signings.And there is also the practical need to get newcomers registered so that they will be eligible for the Second Division run-in if the 120- day rule persists. They have lifelong connections with the North-east and attended school in Co Durham with Andrew.Their mother, the noted TV personality Annie, continues to live in Castle Barnard, 50 miles south of Newcastle. Meanwhile Tony’s recovery from a knee operation will take at least another six or seven weeks.The Underwoods are obvious targets for Andrew in his new guise as “the Kevin Keegan of rugby”, otherwise known as rugby development director of Newcastle United Sporting Club. But whether either or both of the Underwood brothers will be involved appears to depend on further talks not only with Newcastle but also with the England wings’ present club, Leicester.

Yesterday Tony Underwood preferred to keep his counsel at his Hertfordshire home, but if there is a sticking-point it could be the Rugby Football Union’s continued application of its 120-day stand-down period for transferring players.
This is widely expected to be abandoned at the end of this month and, if it is not, the RFU can expect a legal challenge. Newcastle – more specifically Rob Andrew – finally expect to make a big- name announcement this week. Harlequins: Try Staples; Penalties Pears 2.Sale: J Mallinder (capt); R Liley, J Baxendell, G Higginbottom, C Yates; P Turner, C Saverimutto; A Yates, S Diamond, A Smith, J Fowler, D Baldwin, D Erskine (A MacFarlane, 60), P Hewitt, N Ashurst.Harlequins: J Staples; D O’Leary, W Greenwood, P Mensah, S Bromley; D Pears, R Kitchin (capt); S Brown, B Moore, A Mullins, M Watson, P Thresher, G Allison (A Snow, 21-32), C Sheasby, R Jenkins.Referee: S Lander (Irby).. No longer – but he remains, now as then, a prophet without honour in his own country.Sale: Tries Baldwin, Ashurst; Conversions Liley 2; Penalties Liley 5. As it happens, Turner is a far steadier and more reliable player – if, praise be, no more predictable – than he was when he was in his pomp back home with Newbridge.Keith Westwood, Turner’s coach in those distant days, used to say he knew his man was about to have a stinker whenever he produced some dazzling trickery at the start, whereas an early blunder would portend a blinder. Pears, in particular, did not enjoy favourable comparison with Turner and, if Jack Rowell cares to know, the Welshman once said he had grandparents from Warminster, Wiltshire.All right, it’s too late now, though Hugo Porta, the great Argentine stand-off, was still playing international rugby at 39. This game did more for Will Carling – because he did not play and was seen to be needed – than for any of Harlequins’ other England pretenders.

Later, a David Pears grub-kick stood up conveniently not for a Harlequin for Neil Ashurst who, because the kick had been executed in an unlikely defensive position, found himself in the clear.Quins eventually broke Sale’s obdurate defence with Jim Staples’s late (too late) try but the point sardonically made by Keith Richardson, the Quins coach, that his team had in fact created all three tries was self-criticism rather than sour grapes “To be fair, we got stuffed,” he added.And how. Rob Kitchin’s kick was charged down by Dave Baldwin and regathered by Christian Saverimutto, who gave Baldwin a reward for his line-out distinction with Sale’s first try. “Now you know why we were surprised.” Specifically, Quins won insufficient ball at the line-out and were hustled into an unconsidered and occasionally over-ambitious style of rugby out of keeping with the pressure they were under.This is not a complaint – certainly not, when ambition has been stifled at every turn this season – so much as a statement that when Quins, unimpressive in scraping through the preceding games against the lowly Saracens and West Hartlepool, actually had to go out and win a match for themselves they could not do so.Instead, they went out and lost it big-time. They have dropped to third.”We were pleasantly surprised to have won five in a row,” said Simon Halliday, the ex-Bath (and Harlequins) centre who has joined Quins’ coaching team. Imagine, then, how his team-mates cope; if their thought processes matched his, Sale, a good side anyway and substantially under-represented representatively, would be real contenders.For now they must rest content with beginning the move away from the First Division’s danger zone and also, as a byproduct, with turning Harlequins into less viable contenders than they had previously seemed – though afterwards even the most ardent Quin was accepting that their position up there with Bath had never been that realistic after all. But Rob is progressing and is a fine footballer.”Point taken. The range of Turner’s options, whether passing or kicking, is breathtaking, wider than that of any other outside-half in Europe and even, you could sensibly argue, the entire world “I can’t work myself out sometimes,” he said.