Legitimate target

England v Ireland: Jonny Sexton will be targeted - Eddie Jones, BBC Sport

The cold dark months of Winter are not my favourite months but a few things make February more bearable. The days are drawing out, the garden is preparing to burst into life and we have the Six Nations.

An ancient Briton by birth, I am not without some English blood in my veins which makes the performance of the England rugby team all the more disappointing with their "winning is everything" attitude to the game. Perhaps it is because they give the impression that they always deserve to win that they appear so arrogant. The depths of their financial and human resources indicate as much but better a good game than win at all costs. In such circumstances the real losers are obvious.

Regrettably England's new coach Eddie Jones is from the England mould. His interview for BBC Sport is a new low in English rugby. Teams want to win but not so obviously at any price. Jones admits that his attitude is to be "physical, fair and brutal" with emphasis on the brutal - so long as it is legal! Brutality: cruel, harsh, and usually violent treatment of another person.

He says Ireland's Johnny Sexton will be a 'legitimate target' during Saturday's Six Nations match at Twickenham, as was England's fly-half Jonny Wilkinson when Jones coached Australia.

Eddie Jones' attitude to the game has made himself a legitimate target. England should send him back to the Southern hemisphere where he belongs taking his brutality with him.

Ungracious losers

Click HERE to watch while there is still time.
Too late to view but see end note for a good summary.

This morning I was alerted by Anglican Mainstream to the BBC's 'The Big Questions' programme. With only five days left to view I thought I had better tune in. I was shocked. The anger and untruths coming from the losers convinced me more than ever that Jesus knew what He was doing when He appointed only male Apostles. Sitting opposite them were the objects of their anger, those who had secured the vote under the agreed rules. The 'opposition' appeared almost apologetic by comparison but I realise now that what I was witnessing was a living example of the Christian faith revealed in Galatians: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Ruth Gledhill was very keen to emphasise that our failure to play their game will ensure that we will be subject to the law. But the law they speak of is of this world, something that they are unable or unwilling to grasp. 

Thank God then for Peter Hitchens who, from a position of neutrality, met force with force and considerable candour in refuting the disingenuous claims of Christina Rees and the Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin that every concession has been made to accommodate traditionalists. Ms Rees spoke of 'trust' suggesting that opponents should leave the church if they do not trust their bishops. She quoted Archbishop Rowan Williams to reinforce her point: "When you say to your neighbour I don't trust you, what do you say next to them?" She continued, "Those who are opposed to this, who have completely refused to accept all the arrangements that we have worked painstakingly over years to provide is that if you don't trust us, what are you doing in the church where you do not trust the authorities.....? "

Ms Rees is economical with the truth. Back in July, in defence of the climb down by the bishops over Clause 5(1)c, Archbishop Rowan said: "The bishops had only been trying to help when they tinkered with the draft legislation in May. He remained unconvinced they had got it wrong but they should question why they failed to anticipate the outpouring of anger from senior female clergy and campaigners for female bishops. So the bishops changed their minds not because they had got it wrong but because of the outpouring of anger repeated in this programme and at every stage through the process. The Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin even condemned the arrangements which allowed women to become priests as making them second class. That "fudge" as they called it will no doubt become another arrow in their quiver. 

In answer to the question posed by Ms Rees, yes we do trust the authorities. The authority of scripture, reason and tradition all of which put the authority of the Church of England into perspective. Many have already left the church of their birth which, in charity, allowed a minority of liberals to prosper and gain control. Now those who find themselves in a minority within the Church of England are invited to leave. It is increasingly clear that this has been the liberal agenda all along resulting in torn-up promises, deceit and, I can't think of another way of putting, lies. That WATCH have been invited to attend the meeting of the House of Bishops after their climb-down suggests that they enjoy a higher authority in the Church of England but whatever their standing the ungracious losers should meditate on Galatians before they speak.

NOTE
A revealing summary of the programme can be found HERE.

Losers

Yesterday evening I struggled through the first live debate between the main party leaders and avoided dropping off by keeping an eye on the ITV1 website watching viewers’ comments and their ever changing score card.

Those who said that David Cameron had most to lose were proved correct. Denied his well rehearsed brief he looked distinctly uncomfortable as he listened to what his opponents had to say. Gordon Brown suffered the ‘Nixon effect’ nervously grinning and laughing uncharacteristically in the wrong places while viewers consistently put Nick Clegg ahead with his assured performance.

More surprising though was the Party reactions afterwards. On the BBC News Vince Cable said it as it had appeared while Alan Johnson gave his considered smart response but the ex-boy-star William Hague actually claimed his man the victor. Back on ITV George Osborne was speaking from the same script, perhaps on the basis that if you say the same thing over and over people will begin to believe it. Not this time. The media have seen to that.

But at the end of the day these ‘X’ factor performances should not be about personalities and their delivery but about policies. One of the ironies following the outcome of the debate is that we should now hear more about them and be better able to make an informed judgement thus making the Great British voter the clear winner.