Six Nations rugby Friday anyone?

jds said:
... and we are off again.

Big clash on Sunday with the two 100% winners going head to head. I think England are in a good place, but so are Ireland. Will be a good clash, hard fought and close. If England can get the upper hand up front then I think they will win, but it's a bif if - Ireland have some mighty fine men in jerseys 1 through 8. Heaslip is a big loss - he's a colussus.

I have no idea what to make of France. Who knows what they serve up, but when they click, they click big time. Another big game - whoever loses will be out of the championship race for sure. I think France will put in a big performance and win by 5-7 points.

Scotland / Italy will be entertaining. Scotland's progress over the last months will be rewarded with a win...
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Two firm predictions and neither right. I prevaricated in the Ire/Eng game. Ireland played very well, precise and disciplined - Englnad not so well, and missed their chances. A deserved win for Ireland and a lesson for England. Ireland are third in the World rankings now and deservedly so.
 
Am I being Xenophobic in thinking the ref penalised England for everythinh whilst giving Ireland a bit of leeway? a couple of examples were when ho awarded a penalty against Kruis (I think) for not rolling away when Paul O'Connell crashed over his head just as he was trying to get away. Later on O'Connell was allowed to be on the wrong side of the ruck with no penalty. Late on in the match he penalised England for pushing at the scrum when in fact it seemed that the Irish scrum half should have been done for not putting the ball in.

I'm not suggesting Ireland were not worth the win, but the penalties against England just stopped what little momentum they were gaining.
 
UKRob said:
Am I being Xenophobic in thinking the ref penalised England for everythinh whilst giving Ireland a bit of leeway? a couple of examples were when ho awarded a penalty against Kruis (I think) for not rolling away when Paul O'Connell crashed over his head just as he was trying to get away. Later on O'Connell was allowed to be on the wrong side of the ruck with no penalty. Late on in the match he penalised England for pushing at the scrum when in fact it seemed that the Irish scrum half should have been done for not putting the ball in.

I'm not suggesting Ireland were not worth the win, but the penalties against England just stopped what little momentum they were gaining.
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I wouldn't class such thoughts as xenophobic. One - eyed maybe, but not xenophobic. I tend to think that there is any number of offences that could be picked out at most contact points in a game - some you get, some you don't get and it evens out over the course of a game. What is indisputable is that the team going forward seems to get the decisions, but that is the way it is. I agree with you about the scrum at the end - it did seem a bit harsh on England, but then we couldn't hear what the ref was saying. I thought that was quite a chance for us.
 
Everyone will naturally see more for their own team. Although as an Irish supporter I thought he was blowing up against England a lot. As in all games the ref will have his own view of the scrum and breakdowns. You have to listen to the ref and play it his way. Robshaw seemed to talk back a lot which must wind the ref up. Thankfully I think the result was the right one and the reffing didn't affect the result. When England's forward didn't dominate they didn't seem to have a plan b. Mind you we struggled with Sexton off. Thought Ford played well and Farrell will struggle to get back in the team.
 
Talking about forwards, what a disgrace the pitch was in Paris - how can players hope to scrum properly with the ground moving under their boots? It appeared to be a drop in pitch - at one stage whole strips of turf were being pushed up, well behind the boots.

If the ground authorities want to use stadiums for other purposes then at least they should be made to use an enhanced surface that can cope with the demands of rugby.
 
themadremmy said:
Robshaw seemed to talk back a lot which must wind the ref up
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- I get the feeling Robshaw was getting frustrated at both the refeering interpretations and England's inability to hold sway.

themadremmy said:
When England's forward didn't dominate they didn't seem to have a plan b
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- bang on. We thought we would dominate up front which is why Wigglesworth was on the bench and not Care

themadremmy said:
Mind you we struggled with Sexton off. Thought Ford played well and Farrell will struggle to get back in the team.
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Georgey Boy is a class act and is only 21. He had an indifferent day but is a star in the making

UKRob said:
Talking about forwards, what a disgrace the pitch was in Paris - how can players hope to scrum properly with the ground moving under their boots? It appeared to be a drop in pitch - at one stage whole strips of turf were being pushed up, well behind the boots.

If the ground authorities want to use stadiums for other purposes then at least they should be made to use an enhanced surface that can cope with the demands of rugby.
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- It's a mare when the pitch is substandard like that. The Millenium Stadium suffered for many years in a similar way and it not only makes for tedious viewing it's downright dangerous too
 
OK - today's matches.

Ireland had an off day - a very off day, Sexton was as bad today as he was good against other sides. Does that make him or Ireland a poor side? I would say that it doesn't - just as I would say that England losing to Ireland was not the end of the world.

What does it say about Wales? Slow to start against England just as they were against Ireland a couple of seasons ago when, just like this season, they came back strong. So, it seems the tag is that England start their games with a problem and Wales start their season with the same problem.

Ireland? Based on today's performance against Wales they looked as bereft of scoring ideas as England at their worst. Forty phases at one stage and none of them looked any different to the other thirty nine.

England v Scotland just made me realise (finally) that England have no chance of winning the WC - I'm putting money on South Africa.
 
Well done Wales on today's win - plenty of passion and commitment! Just what I expected from Scotland though. More of the same i.e. showing promise and a bit of fight but always short. And to think I hand carve wooden spoons? Maybe I'll get the order.....
 
Gairdner said:
Well done Wales on today's win - plenty of passion and commitment! Just what I expected from Scotland though. More of the same i.e. showing promise and a bit of fight but always short. And to think I hand carve wooden spoons? Maybe I'll get the order.....
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Brilliant Graeme.
 
Didn't see the Wales - Ireland game but the father said Wales really deserved it. Said their defence was rock solid. Also said the second half was great, non stop action. Well done Wales.

Watched England - Scotland. England very unconvincing, Scotland just make me groan. Thought England won go on and dominate when Forde went over, not their best day at the office, they needed more points.

Looks very interesting heading into the final round. England will have it tough against France and for that reason I think it might come down to Ireland or Wales.

Shane Horgan commented on Irish TV that this year's competition has been highly lacking in skill and flair, thought it was generally poor. Can't say I disagree.
 
Would you be describing a certain J. Gusset, per chance? Och man, we're over him - he just needs to get over himself....:D
 
This is what the worlds greatest outside half in any era had to say about the game and Barry John can be one of Wales biggest critics.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wales-six-nations-win-over-8843464
 
mikebrownington said:
chrisbell said:
Might I apologise to neutrals and Scotland fans for the lack of sportsmanship and ultra-critical moaning shown by a certain ex-England player turned pundit?
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Thank you - he was being such a twat at half time, I was hoping he'd forgotten to take Clarkson his lunch...
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Brilliant!:icon_lol:

Now, on the subject of today's match...has anyone got anything printable to say about it?:icon_rolleyes::icon_razz:

Gairdner said:
Would you be describing a certain J. Gusset, per chance? Och man, we're over him - he just needs to get over himself....:D
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He was a brilliant player, but he's a very critical pundit, and can be a miserable twit at his worst, Graeme. For what it's worth, I was pleased that the Scots played pretty well, and put enough pressure on England that they screwed-up many of their try-scoring chances.
 
chrisbell said:
For what it's worth, I was pleased that the Scots played pretty well, and put enough pressure on England that they screwed-up many of their try-scoring chances.
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I don't see it that way Chris - the fact is that England had so many line breaks and good scoring opportunities that they should have buried the Scots. It was their lack of composure and using their support runners that cost them tries - hardly anything to do with Scottish pressure.

I don't profess to understand the nuances of rugby, but my overall impression of this seasons tournament so far is a complete lack of standards and interpretation when it comes to referees. Scrums appear to be a lottery in terms of who is penalised - and as for rolling away at the breakdown, they might just as well flip a coin to decide whether a penalty is warranted or not.

One rule change I'd like to see is the truck and trailer outlawed - it just seems to be contrary to the rules that someone at the back of a maul with only the slightest connection can carry the ball and have team-mates legally protect him. Might as well be playing American football.
 
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