Autumn Internationals - Big Tests Await England

England v Fiji. That's that match that is going to kick start the Rugby World Cup at Twickenham Stadium on the 18th September next year. So, with a little over 11 months to go until that day, I thought I'd take a look at England's prospects against the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights in a few weeks' time.

Let's start with the big question on everyone's minds: Danny Cipriani, will he be picked? After seeing some of his club performances, I think it would be remiss of Stuart Lancaster not to pick him. He has been outstanding so far since his return to English club rugby. I could write a full history and bore you all with it, but suffice it to say that both Cipriani and Bath's George Ford both attack flatter and quicker than current first choice outside half Owen Farrell. Although I believe Farrell is a more complete player in his ability to allow the centres to stretch themselves, the wingers to operate with freedom on the flanks, his intelligence at first receiver and his strength as first defender, the speed that Cipriani brings to both attack and a rushing, blitz defence can't be discounted, especially against the pacey in-hands movement of the NZ backline.

All-round there is a serious improvement in England and their in-hands play. This was highly evident in their recent tour of New Zealand. Even though they lost all three tests, they ran the hosts very close in the first two encounters. Considering these matches were played away from the comfort and security of Twickenham, I wouldn't put it past England to thrash them come November. A big call seeing as this is a record-breaking NZ team.

Moving on to the issue of Steffon Armitage, I can't see why the RFU won't allow Stuart Lancaster to pick Armitage as an 'exceptional circumstance' player, with the exceptional circumstance being that he has played incredibly well since moving to Toulon and deserves his place in the England setup. His potential omission must be a bit of a relief for Chris Robshaw as it means there isn't someone who could challenge him for his openside role within the England team. Whilst I believe a solid challenger to his position might bring out the best in Robshaw, handing him the captaincy and telling him to get on with it has already achieved that aim. He is, by far and away, the most hardworking of all the England players. His leadership has inspired this team. I know I've leapt to his defence before, but I can't see another stand-out individual in this squad. No disrespect to any other members of the England squad intended.

The Six Nations will be competed in by broadly the same squad of players that play this Autumn, but I'll talk about that closer to the time.

Drones - What Are They Good For?

Used to fight ISIS and other Islamic insurgents based in the Kashmir region, touted to be used as couriers by Amazon and also assisting Top Gear in locating a waterfall in East Africa, drones have received rather mixed reviews globally for their usefulness. However, in a display worthy of the Red Arrows, an Albanian national somehow managed to fly a drone into a stadium during a European Championship qualifier carrying a nationalist Albanian flag. Obviously, this was going to provoke an international incident. Which it did.

Having already been forced into stopping the match to supervise a flare being extinguished, English referee Martin Atkinson was again called upon to cease play when a firework narrowly missed its intended victim. Several Serbian players soon engulfed the referee, who seemed to think initially that they were having a go at him about the stoppage. Instead, they were trying to point out the impending arrival of the flag to the pitch.

Stefan Mitrovic, in a display of great athleticism and bravery (or stupidity), grabbed hold of the flag and brought it down to pitch level. Almost immediately after, two Albanian players, Andi Lila and Taulant Xhaka, confronted Mitrovic and tried to grab the flag from him. The situation escalated to the point that the staff of both teams were on the pitch getting involved in the fight. At this moment, supporters broke through the, rather pathetic, riot police to invade the pitch. These included a man who had been sent to prison for inciting the violence that led to the abandonment of a Euro 2012 qualifier in Italy. How is he still allowed into football stadia?

Don't get me wrong, this is a deplorable act and one that deserves jail time for those responsible, however, if this was done in the context of a club level game, say the Manchester derby, Man Utd v Liverpool, or even the North London Derby, it would be hilarious. As a staunch Arsenal supporter, I would still find it hilarious if Tottenham fans launched a drone into the Emirates with a flag bearing their logo on it, not that they could afford it of course.

This is the next best way to troll football fans. Take it out of the context of genocide and extreme racial prejudices and hatred and it becomes one of the greatest practical jokes of all time. Please don't misread this and think that I'm condoning what happened, I just think that if whoever thought of it was a little more light-hearted and decided against using the tactic amidst the already fiery atmosphere that was the Partizan Stadium, he (or she) would have been hailed as one of the best football trolls we've seen since Wojciech Szczesny chipped Lionel Messi.

Unfreeze On Engine Development Unlikely Even Amid Backlash Of Mercedes Dominance

Mercedes won the Constructor's World Championship on Sunday with three races of the season remaining. Whilst extremely impressive, it's hardly surprising as their engine has been so dominant over the year and the works team's chassis has been able to make the most of some highly sophisticated engineering within it to drive (see what I did there?) Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton to the upper echelons of the Driver's Championship. What Mercedes have been able to create is very complicated and difficult to explain by someone without any real technical expertise in the area (if you're interested then there is a fantastic article on BBC Sport), but it has set the F1 world alight with some great racing. I heard someone say that it was yet another year where one car has been all over the opposition and it was clear from the start who was going to win, which made it boring. I disagree, 2014 has been excellent and the racing throughout the pack has been top notch.

What I can't disagree with is the complete dominance of Mercedes-powered cars and, whilst Fernando Alonso did his best to compete, this has made it a little boring. Making the fastest cars is what F1 is all about. It's about introducing new technologies into motor racing that will eventually make it into the cars we mere mortals get to drive. Think ABS, traction control, flappy-paddle gearboxes and even direct fuel injection. Ultimately, the hybrid engines we see in the F1 cars will make their way, in some form or another, to regular cars. They already are, sort of, with the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 and Ferrari LaFerrari. So if these cars are already making waves throughout the world with their ingenuity and hybrid power units, why restrict the development in Formula 1?

All the teams, except Mercedes, would like the, rather draconian, rules regarding engine development relaxed to enable them to develop the engines in the best way. Look at KERS for an example. In 2007, when it was first touted for use in Formula 1, it weighed 107kg and had an energy efficiency of 39%. When it was introduced in 2009, albeit only taken up by a few teams at that point, it weighed 25.3kg and achieved an efficiency of 70%. In its final incarnation, the KERS unit weighed in at under 24kg and ran at 80% efficiency. This would not have been achieved unless the engineers involved had continuously striven for improvement.

Apply the same figures to the current engines and the results are staggering. Admittedly, it's a fantasy to believe that any form of internal combustion engine will achieve a thermal efficiency of 80%, but with the current crop of F1 hybrids running at roughly 40% efficiency, that's about roughly the same as the KERS unit was in 2007. Imagine an elongated timeline and there's an argument to say that the engines will be hugely more thermally efficient, and therefore more fuel efficient, within a timeframe of 10 years.

This is all theoretical of course, given that Mercedes are likely to veto any changes on the engine freeze rule. It's a strange situation to be in, but Mercedes have had the edge this season in terms of power output and it plays into their hands to restrict the engine development and keep the performance difference in hand over their rivals. However, this is one of the most forward-thinking car manufacturers in the world. If you want to see what is likely to be standard on the cars of tomorrow, look at what is standard on the Mercedes S-Class today. Advances like seat belts, air conditioning and the road-going ABS system have all been first seen on our roads in the S-Class through the ages. 

It makes no sense in the long term for Mercedes to restrict the engine development in order for their F1 team to gain short term success. Of course it will increase brand recognition for the AMG Petronas team to win more races, but will it gain more admirers globally as a result? Would you rather be a team which encourages future planning to bring the F1 team more in line with their production car arm, or a team that wins races but lacks respect because the only way they were able to do it is because they disallowed other engineers to build on an already fantastic formula?

Toto Wolff, I implore you to reconsider your views on this subject. Do not let a single Constructor's World Championship cloud the judgement that has seen reach impeccable levels of performance. Please allow the future to be shaped by rapid advancements in technology that have come from Formula One. Don't be scared by the prospect of other engine manufacturers catching up in terms of performance. Instead see it as a challenge. You've won this year, and the Driver's title looks to be going your way as well, so see next year as the next step. Strive for better performance from both the chassis and the engine. Let everyone else do the same, because if there's no development, there's no future for Formula One.

Watching England Is Like Pulling Teeth

Well, it is. I dare anyone to prove me wrong. As I'm writing this, England are in Tallinn, Estonia. Currently battling to a 1-0 victory. It's boring, tedious and just what you'd expect from Sunday afternoon trash telly. There's no creativity in the passing and the decisions, there's no depth in the squad and we're still playing Jordan Henderson. I really struggle to comprehend the sheer lack of ability our academies must have if he's the 'go to' midfielder England have. It's a sad day for English football.

So what can we do to halt this desperate slide and increase the interest in our national side? Well, for one, we can sack ITV as the broadcaster. The coverage is incessantly dull and uninteresting. The only highlights are the adverts, which I also hate. Other than that I'm out. Barring Henderson, this is probably the best team I would pick from the selection we have. Maybe Gibbs rather than Baines and possibly start Sterling but those are like for like changes, there's not much in them really. Whilst that sort of competition would normally result in the best from each player, they know they're going to get game time so they don't bother. It's no longer the pinnacle of the sport because they're getting paid so much by their respective clubs.

They don't care, which means neither do the fans. Wembley said be packed out, every match. Except it isn't. It's in the back end of nowhere in North West London and there are no good pubs anywhere near it. It's a commercial disaster and the poor quality of the England team only compounds the view that the FA are a crap organisation who only care about the money.

Vettel To Ferrari - Hmm...

More to the point, he is replacing Alonso. For a four-time World Champion, it must be extremely goring to be sat on the grid with two other drivers the media classify as better then you. I've heard Lewis Hamilton described as 'the fastest driver on the grid' and Fernando Alonso as 'the best all round driver in F1.' Now those are some bold claims when ignoring Sebastian Vettel, a man who has continued to break records ever since his maiden victory for Toro Rosso all those years ago.

There is no doubt that he is a phenomenal driver, the story speaks for itself. Four back-to-back World Championships puts you into the stratosphere with F1's greatest drivers. However, something that Alonso said last year has stuck with me, "Time will tell us, but I think when he will have a car like the others, if he wins he will have a great recognition and he will be one of the legends of Formula One." In essence, put him on a level playing field and see if he does as well as everyone else. Well, ask and you shall receive. This season's Red Bull car has not been a world-beater, partially due to the Renault engine and partly because Adrian Newey is going to be moving on from the F1 side of things. However, neither has this season's Ferrari. Vettel must know something we don't. Either that they will have a competitive car or that the car will be so uncompetitive that he can blame the lack of success on that. I'm inclined to believe the latter, but suspect that it's the former.

Simply put, he can see how much Raikonnen is struggling in that Ferrari this season and believes that he can do better than that. But can he do better than Alonso? I doubt it. Alonso is a great driver and, although it seems stupid to suggest this, a third World Championship will prove that.

So who's going to provide the car for him to win that important third? Mercedes? If so, they will have to get rid of either Rosberg or Hamilton. Difficult choice as Rosberg has been with the team since it returned four years ago and Hamilton is likely to win the Driver's Championship this season. Alonso and Hamilton also had a rather acrimonious relationship while they were both at McLaren. That was seven years ago. So is that seven years enough for the Ron Dennis and Alonso relationship to have warmed up again? Are McLaren likely to be the team that he goes to? There's no seat for him at Red Bull and the next most competitive team he can go to is Williams who spend more time going up and down the F1 ladder than a yoyo.

I believe Alonso will end up at McLaren, which is a bit of a shame because whilst I think having him back in the team will do it no end of good, it will mean saying goodbye to either one of a pair of drivers that I thoroughly enjoy watching. Magnussen has been epic this season, there's no way you can fault his driving. And Button? He and Ricciardo fight it out for the nicest guy in Formula One. He's faultless and he's a lovely man to boot.

It looks like we won't be treated with the usual merry-go-round that we're used to in the close season so I'll finish off with this: whatever happens, it will be a sad day if Alonso is forced out of the sport rather than given the opportunity to retire with the grace he so deserves.