Six Nations Rugby 2016

[ayepatz]

And we're off!

Halftime France v Italy, and this game is turning into a good one after a slow start. Very evenly matched.

But the big game is Scotland V England later.

Scotland have lost our World Cup centre pairing of Bennett and Horne, and now Dunbar is sidelined as well. That could cost us. But great to see Hogg back. A real talisman for the team. We need to break old habits and build upon a great World Cup showing, instead of having yet another disasterous Six Nations. We'll never have a better chance given the big changes happening with England.

Eddie Jones will, I feel, turn things around after their World Cup debacle. Physicality will be a big issue, and the appointment of Dylan Hartley as Captain is certainly a statement of intent. Care to start ahead of Youngs at Scrum Half.

Should be a great game.

*Correction* Bennett has recovered from his shoulder injury. Good news!

[Ken Gargett]

And we're off!

Halftime France v Italy, and this game is turning into a good one after a slow start. Very evenly matched.

But the big game is Scotland V England later.

Scotland have lost our World Cup centre pairing of Bennett and Horne, and now Dunbar is sidelined as well. That could cost us. But great to see Hogg back. A real talisman for the team. We need to break old habits and build upon a great World Cup showing, instead of having yet another disasterous Six Nations. We'll never have a better chance given the big changes happening with England.

Eddie Jones will, I feel, turn things around after their World Cup debacle. Physicality will be a big issue, and the appointment of Dylan Hartley as Captain is certainly a statement of intent. Care to start ahead of Youngs at Scrum Half.

Should be a great game.

eddie jones might turn it around short term but long term it will end in tears. guaranteed.

was staggered to read the article in the guardian that had england only winning one 6 nations and no grand slams since the world cup in 03. amazed. thought they had done far better.

[Ken Gargett]

i see with 15 to go, france down by a point. against italy at home?wow. that won't impress locals whatever the end.

[ayepatz]

eddie jones might turn it around short term but long term it will end in tears. guaranteed.

was staggered to read the article in the guardian that had england only winning one 6 nations and no grand slams since the world cup in 03. amazed. thought they had done far better.

Yup, Irish and Welsh dominance. Scotland, meanwhile, have amassed a fine collection of timber cutlery...

[ayepatz]

i see with 15 to go, france down by a point. against italy at home?wow. that won't impress locals whatever the end.

Italians doing well. Hope they can hang on. France just starting to build momentum, but too many scrappy handling errors.

[ayepatz]

Bugger.

[JohnS]

Bugger.

Both close games today. You'd think Ireland will account for Wales at home to complete Round One. Still early days as there are 4 rounds to go!

[Ken Gargett]

Both close games today. You'd think Ireland will account for Wales at home to complete Round One. Still early days as there are 4 rounds to go!

john, i'd be thinking it will be close but if i had to back either side, wales by 7. which might look very silly in 24 hours.

i think ireland carrying a few injuries and i wonder if the glorious run they had is now past its peak. think wales have a few playmakers which might get them home, if they perform.

[David88]

I think it was a good opening day. Italy were very unlucky against France but place kicking from both sides was woeful. I'm obviously glad England won but thought the performance needs to improve vastly before considering winning the championship. I'm unsure about Ireland Wales. I think Gatland needs to trust the Welsh runners and playmakers more. His selection policy seems to be pick the biggest guys possible and aim for a physical game, which doesn't seem to suit them.

[ayepatz]

Big generational shift recently in the Irish team. And Wales have been badly disrupted by ongoing injury woes. But both teams are more than capable of turning on the tries.

Should be a corker.

[ayepatz]

Great game. A very hard fought draw. First Irish/Welsh draw since 1974!

[ayepatz]

Halftime France V Ireland. Irish leading a tight game. Its a bruiser of a game, and the Irish have had a few casualties. Added bonus today's games is the Lions selectors who'll be watching Sexton and, later against Scotland, BIggar with keen eyes.

[ayepatz]

Oof, that was a tough game. Ireland defended valiantly, but France came to life in the last quarter. Superb pressure and a well worked try.

The Irish must be gutted.

But not as gutted as us Scots. Another disappointing end for Scotland. Congratulations to Wales. Great tries from Roberts and North just when they were needed.

The scrum farce continues. 5 minutes of play eaten up by 3 momentum killing attempts to get the scrum right. I've said it til I'm blue in the face. The laws need changing. Health and safety has renders it useless, and the current laws make a balanced scrum a rarity. If you want to avoid injuries, let the front rows engage first, then the other rows join in. This stupid attempt to keep two tonnes of of opposing weight precariously balanced for 30 seconds at a time is killing the game.

[David88]

A good few games yesterday. France were lucky to get that result in the end and Ireland will feel gutted by another poor result. Im still undecided by Scotland, perhaps the massive world cup performance against Australia has taken it out of them?

Interestingly the World Cup 2019 seedings are decided at the end of this year. New Zealand, Australia and South Africa will surely take the top three, but 4th is sill to play for. Perhaps this is why Eddie Jones has been so conservative with his England selections?

[ayepatz]

Interesting that all the home nations now have southern hemisphere coaches - Schmidt, Gatland, Cotter, and now Jones.

[JohnS]

I don't know Iain, do you think the Northern nations have tried to emulate the Southern nations brand of Rugby for some time now mate? Maybe I'm veering this thread a little, but in my mind the England team (and the British and Irish Lions) under Clive Woodward in the early 2000's played to their strengths with their forward pack and Jonny Wilkinson, their ever-reliable kicker/fly-half.

[Ryan]

Ireland played well in the first half against a fairly young French team. In the second half, after French substitutions, Ireland couldn't compete in the scrum at all and the French took advantage. France deserved the win. The Irish team are getting old now, the average age yesterday was nearly 30, and they're not showing much imagination on the field. Still trying to run the ball up the middle, Paul O' Connell style, without Paul O' Connell. They're much too slow getting the ball out to the wings.

[ayepatz]

I don't know Iain, do you think the Northern nations have tried to emulate the Southern nations brand of Rugby for some time now mate? Maybe I'm veering this thread a little, but in my mind the England team (and the British and Irish Lions) under Clive Woodward in the early 2000's played to their strengths with their forward pack and Jonny Wilkinson, their ever-reliable kicker/fly-half.

They've been trying for a while, no doubt. Schmidt, Gatland and Cotter have been in their jobs for some time now, and their appointments were seen as an attempt to bridge the, let's be honest here, long-standing quality gap between the major southern and northern hemisphere teams. England have come lately to this thinking with the appointment of Jones, but, as you say, arguably their greatest team was under Woodward.

I think we can certainly argue, after the last world cup, that the success of these appointments has mostly been for the better, (a point borne out by England's imperious second half demolition of Italy today), yet there still exists a big gap between the hemispheres.

Speaking as a Scot, our greatest successes were built on the success of a form of rucking and scrummaging that has sadly disappeared in the professional era. Players played week-in, week-out in terrible wet, muddy conditions which pretty much ruled out fast back play, and dictated moving the ball up the field with strong pack play. The great Scots packs were never the heaviest in the game, but they were masters of the old-school rucking - gaining yardage by placing the ball down, binding and driving over - which we just don't see anymore.

Our failure as a nation team has been that, as the game has changed over time, we've failed to adapt our tactics sufficiently. Appointing a southern hemisphere coach was not a popular decision at the time, but he has undoubtedly benefitted us in bringing new thinking to the Scots game.

There's no doubt that there is promise in the side now. We just need to gain that winning confidence and mental ruggedness that seems to come so naturally to the southern hemisphere teams.

[ayepatz]

Wales ground out a satisfying result against France yesterday, in spite of a whistle-happy referee who seemed determined to kill the game at every opportunity. Four minutes to set a scrum at the end of the first half was a particular disgrace.

Welsh defence was imperious, coming under huge French pressure for most of the second half. Faletau had another great performance, and George North scored an amusing try that highlighted his never-give-up attitude.

Guirado was impressive for Les Bleus, but the French never really gelled, or showed much of the quick counter-attacking danger we expect of them. The arrival of Trinh-Duc and his immediate impact made one question why he hadn't started the the game.

The wooden-spoon-off between Italy and Scotland starts in a little over 4 hours. Only pride to play for, but it could be a good game.

After that comes the main event with England V Ireland. Wales did England a favour yesterday, as defeating France means now only England can still achieve the Grand Slam. Jones has told his men to target Sexton (but not in a dirty way - yeah, right), so it could be an interesting match for the referee!

[ayepatz]

Quite a day. My nerves have almost recovered.

Italy V Scotland was a nailbiter. Looked like a done deal for us after a couple of early tries, but Italy hit back just before the break.

Sergio Parisse had another outstanding game for Italy, harrying the Scottish defence at every opportunity throughout the second half. He almost single handedly brought the Italians back into the game with superb vision and drive, and a silly penalty from Finn Russell saw the Scots staring a big upset in the face. Thankfully, we withstood the onslaught, and cliched the game with a late try for Seymour made by a moment of brilliance by Hogg. Laidlaw had a superb game, and I was particularly impressed with the flankers Hardie and Barclay, who both scored today.

But, for me, Parisse was the real class on the pitch. An unquestionable first pick on any team sheet in the world, it's a shame that his international career will never garner him the honours he deserves. But as Italy grow ever more stronger in years to come, he will be held up a hero, talisman and inspiration, and it will be a fitting legacy to one of the finest forwards ever to grace the game. And he's still got years left in him!

England v Ireland was a captivating game, with nothing between the teams for most of the game. Vunipola just goes from strength to strength, a power No.8 in contrast to Parisse's more strategically-minded style. But what power. He made significant yardage with every carry. O'Connoll's stopping power was sorely missed against him today. George Ford showed some lovely touches today, and Mike Brown impressed me hugely, as he seems to do every time he pulls on that white jersey. And Nowell's try saving tackle on Henshaw was crucial in preventing what would have been a heart fought Irish comeback.

Conor Murray stood out for Ireland for me, and Stuart McCloskey had a good debut at centre. Sexton was as reliable and understatedly effective as ever, but it was a bitter day for the Irish. As has been said here before, by Ryan, there's a generational shift happening in the squad, and things are not quite gelling yet. For me, the gap that O'Connell has left desperately needs to be filled. That frontline battle commander, like Vunipola and Parisse is what is missing from the Irish pack. Hopefully one of the younger players will step into the breach soon.

So now only England can achieve the Grand Slam, and you can bet your bottom dollar the Welsh want to pee all over that plan in a fortnight's time!

[JohnS]

Yes, I look forward to the England-Wales match in a fortnight. It will be great to hear from Eddie Jones again after his self-imposed media ban.

By the way, our dear Rugby aficionado brother, Ken (and El Pres) may be still lamenting the opening round result of this year's Super 18 between the Waratahs and the Reds. I'm sure we'll hear from him soon enough.

[JohnS]

Wow...what a game, England hold off Wales 25-21 and now the ironic situation of a Scottish victory in the next round ensuring England win the Six Nations!

[westg]

Wow...what a game, England hold off Wales 25-21 and now the ironic situation of a Scottish victory in the next round ensuring England win the Six Nations!

What sad news

[ayepatz]

Scotland put in a terrific shift against France for a well-deserved victory. It's ten years since we last beat the French - I was at Murrayfield for that one - and it's a very welcome result.

Hogg was simply awesome - his try, a 54m penalty, brilliance under the high ball, tactical kicking, and an outrageous bit of skill to put Visser in for the last try. Another player who could walk into any side in the world. One of the finest full-backs in the game today.

Duncan Taylor's breakaway from a quick tap/go was sensational too. Peter Horne played a superb game as a replacement fly-half after an early injury to Finn Russell.

But the reason for the victory was the brilliant way they absorbed 20 minutes of relentless French pressure in the second half.

A great day for Scottish Rugby. Even if we did make England Six Nations Champions.