Mike Tindall Failed to Achieve His Potential with England

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 15, 2014

commentComment        

Mike Tindall was 25 years old when England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003. Although Jonny Wilkinson received most of the plaudits for the 20-17 win over Australia, flanker Richard Hill and centre Mike Tindall were outstanding.

Aside from Wilkinson’s last-minute drop goal and Jason Robinson’s try, the abiding memory of that match is Mike Tindall’s dump tackle on Wallaby captain George Gregan.



The powerful England centre picked up the Australian legend and carried him off the pitch before putting him on his backside.

At 25, Tindall, already a fine centre, had the potential to be the best in the world. Tindall was a powerful strike runner who was forceful in defence and had an improving kicking game.

But Tindall’s career never developed as it should have, because he never challenged himself the way Jonny Wilkinson always did, for example.

It is also a testament to the quality of his 2003 centre partner, Will Greenwood.

Although Greenwood wore the No. 13 jersey for superstitious reasons, he was an intelligent inside-centre who brought out the best in Tindall. His deft touches were the perfect foil for Tindall’s power. Greenwood was the brains, and Tindall was the brawn.

When Greenwood finished international duty in 2004, England were left with a choice about how to develop a new centre partnership. Between then and 2006, Tindall had seven different partners. The worst partnership of all was with Jamie Noon. The two were too similar, too predictable and too slow.

A broken leg ruled Tindall out of the 2007 World Cup in France, when England surprised the rugby world by making the final. Much of that run was due to the brilliant rugby mind of Mike Catt, installed in the centre to provide England with tactical nous and decision-making. Tindall wasn’t missed at all.



Come the 2011 World Cup in New Zealan...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!