Sympathy for Andy Goode

I hate to say it, but I feel a bit bad for Andy Goode. The poor lad's been dropped for Toby Flood in the England team to play Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday. I know Goode is old, a little bit lardy (despite apparently having lost some weight), has a haircut like Rik Mayall and has been associated with some of the worst performances of the post-2003 era. I've never been a fan, having always thought he was a decent positional kicker but an average goalkicker and a very limited attacking player.

And then, against Wales, he unleashed the international performance of his career, moving the ball around slickly and bringing runners in to play as England gathered confidence in Cardiff. He put through a lovely dab kick for Paul Sackey's first try and, frankly, was quite unlucky to have to take that yellow for the team just after half time. He's not the future, and Flood may be, but I certainly found a new respect for Andy Goode in that game, and I found Nick James' chants of "he's fat, he's round, his a*se is on the ground" to be not without irony.

In HK, I know we're all pretty stoked, as the Australians might say, for Saturday's Scorpions v Dragons derby. It's always good to either (a) have a fight with Andy Noble if he's on the other team or (b) get into a fight alongside him if he's on your team. He won't let you down either way. This is always a lively encounter in which Scorps grow in stature in a way that belies their league table position. Drags will need to be wary, and I'm sure Tony George will be telling tales of famous Select victories over Scorps to inspire the, er, Scorps, if you can see how that works.

Our Captain has said he will show the video clip (below) of me predicting a 15 point Drags victory in the changing room beforehand. Frankly I don't think he has the technological know-how to make this happen. In any case, I'm standing by my punditry. Over to you all.

Harps

Dragons defend fortress HKFC against strong PLA attack

PLA warm up before taking on Drags

Dragons 24 - 17 Laxton PLA

Dragons go into the Christmas break as HKFC's most successful team and its only unbeaten one after Club succumbed to HKCC Aberdeen two weeks ago. Without question, the well-drilled soldiers of the PLA offered Drags' sternest challenge so far, but that challenge drew - in spells - Drag's most disciplined and professional performance of the season.

Having been reminded of the importance of starting on the front foot by the previous weekend's encounter with a motivated Scorps side, Drags came out of the tunnel with real intent and soon started to put the PLA under pressure. Before the game, Drags had been particularly aware that they would face near first-grade opposition and that the PLA lineout, in particular, was very strong. One Drags team member (who will remain nameless) went as far as to describe it as "probably the best lineout in Asia, apart from the Japanese national team." While this might be a bit of a stretch, the PLA clearly pride themselves on their lineout as a platform. But it was in this area that Drags forced the first mistake by their martial opponents. Some robust pick-and-drive play in midfield by Drags in the openining exchanges gave Dave Beckett the opportunity to slot a clever positional kick into touch inside the PLA 22. They then bungled the tap-down to allow a marauding Steve Matthews in for the first score of the game.

Adam Raby failed to convert, but went on to kick a Wilkinsonesque five from six in the game (Raby even emulates the Wilkinson pre-kick stance). For good periods of the first half, Drags kept up the pressure on the PLA, keeping the ball tight and playing good, structured rugby. Denied an open and chaotic game in which their fast men could thrive, the PLA struggled to establish a rhythm and Drags dominated. Late in the first half, a sustained assault from the Drags pack allowed Robin Bredbury to feed a subtly delayed pass to Beckett, who surged over from close range. Drags went into the break 15-0 ahead (I think) and looking good, although the first half had been blighted by the loss of the Andrews Corkery and Noble to injury, bringing Chris Howard and Bredbury into the game.

Those two tries were to be the only five-pointers of the game for Drags, though. Although Raby kept on slotting the penalties, PLA came back into the game strongly in the second half. As Dragons began to lose their shape, the PLA's fast men started cashing in on space out wide and, at 24-17 with maybe 10 minutes to go, Drags suddenly looked under threat. They dug in, however, refusing to let their season so far be tarnished by losing a game they should have won more comfortably. Drags were first relieved and then jubilant to emerge as winners, and should take enormous credit for delivering on their promise in the first half of the 2007-08 season.

If this form continues after Christmas, speculation will inevitably return to whether Drags could cut it with the big boys in Division One. While this team is far stronger than the one that limped from defeat to thrashing in the first grade last season, the new elite, five team structure of Division One and the increased number of professional players there has raised the quality, pace and physicality to a fearsome pitch. It is too early to talk about the possibility or desirability of Drags' promotion, but it will no doubt become a real issue in the New Year. For the record, Drags are 13 points clear of Valley Knights at the top of Division Two with 35 points from seven games and a stunning differential of 248 points for and just 69 conceded (giving an average match score of roughly 35-10 for the mathematically disinclined among you).

Harps

HKFC Dragons v Laxton PLA

HKFC, 3pm, Saturday 24 November 2007

1. Adam Harper
2. Duncan Robertson
3. Damian Babis
4. Laurence Denvir
5. Ramsey Carter (C)
6. Andrew Corkery
7. Rob Hewitson
8. Steve Mathews
9. Andy Noble

10. Dave Beckett
11. Ed Cosgrove
12. Troy Hogan
13. Romain Perret
14. Piers Nickalls
15. Adam Raby

Reserves

· Jez Lawson (Hooker)
· Ben Michael
· Chris Howard
· Diarmuid Kinsella
· Robin Bredbury