It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t always effective, and it wasn’t even always particularly engaging, but another weekend of rugby has passed and six teams are one step closer to discovering their destiny in this year’s tournament. Let’s see how they got on:
What Happened?
A return to the bad old days, unfortunately, of being the ‘valiant
losers’. In an absolutely turgid
encounter at Murrayfield, Scotland managed to create zero scoring
opportunities, instead relying on the accurate, if limited, boot of Greg
Laidlaw. The Scots have an absolutely
lethal back 3 but once again they were starved of possession, with the home
side content to let the visitors dictate the play by only committing 1 man, or
none at all, to a defensive ruck in order to maximise numbers in their
defensive line. The end result of this
was that Wales, like Ireland, Italy and England before them, were able to enjoy
long periods of unpressured possession which will always eventually wear down a
defence, no matter how many numbers you have there. With the little possession Scotland did have,
they were content to kick it away which, given the conditions, was not the
worst idea, but utterly pointless if they weren’t going to pressurise the Welsh
possession.
The Winners
·
Greg Laidlaw – the scrum half is his country’s
chief point scorer, and without him Scotland would seriously struggle. Is Chris Paterson-esque in terms of being
deadly accurate, without having a particularly long range.
·
Duncan Weir – The stocky fly half made his full
debut and did enough to suggest he may become a fixture in the side, showing a
lot of composure under pressure and kicking intelligently from hand as well.
The Losers
·
Euan Murray – The powerful prop was given a
rough old time by Paul James, especially in the first half. He’s not the most mobile of players so if he
is to justify his place in the team, he has to ensure his set piece is
flawless. It wasn’t.
·
Richie Gray – It’s been a very quiet 6 Nations
for the talented lock. It looks like the
move to Sale has dented his confidence and he needs to re-evaluate what he
wants to do to rediscover his form again.
He hasn’t been playing badly but we all know the impact he can have, but
his tournament was summed up when a hamstring injury cut his game short.
What’s next?
A trip to Paris used to be daunting, but there must be a
temptation to scoff at that now, given the way the French have been
playing. But the Scottish need to be
concerned about their performance and the way they have allowed teams to
dictate possession. If they do that
against the French, Les Bleus will grow in confidence and then who knows what they
will come out with. If, on the other
hand, the Scots are aggressive and contest possession, it will rattle the
French – as they were rattled against Ireland on Saturday. It will also mean that even if the French do
retain possession, it will be messy or slow ball, which is so much easier to
defend against. If the Scots want to
win, they have to pressurise the French breakdown so they can get a greater
share of the possession...otherwise they may find a nasty surprise waiting for
them in Paris.
Wales
What happened?
Recovery complete.
Their third tricky away win on the bounce (and their 5th
consecutive away victory in the Six Nations) in Scotland has meant that the men
in red have recovered from an appalling first 40 minutes against Ireland and
the 7 consecutive losses before that to give themselves a genuine shot at the
title. It wasn’t pretty – none of the
wins have been – but nobody in Wales will care because this side has shown an
unbelievable amount of character to come back the way they have. There was still a distinct lack of creativity
– perhaps enforced by the awful weather – but their pack was aggressive and
quick to the breakdown, bullying the Scots into conceding penalties which the
metronomic (aside from brief blip) Leigh Halfpenny slotted from all over the
park with glee. Their defence was as
solid as a rock too, and they now haven’t conceded a try in 3 games – a superb
record that will be put to the test in a somewhat significant game next week.
The Winners
·
Alun Wyn Jones – The veteran lock returned from
injury as if he had never been away, getting into Scottish faces and making a
real nuisance of himself at the breakdown.
A massive plus to have him back in the side
·
Sam Warburton – The ex-Captain made a welcome
return to the starting lineup and to form after roughly a year out of
sorts. Three turnovers showed that he
may be back to his ball snaffling best, and a big performance against Chris
Robshaw will be enough to get him back on the plane to Oz this summer
·
Leigh Halfpenny – His boot was a huge plus in
the penalty-fest that took place on Saturday.
The fact he can boot them from anywhere in the opposition half was one
of the major differences between the teams and may well be crucial next week.
The Losers
·
Jamie Roberts – I’m sure you’re as bored of
hearing it as I am of saying it, but can the real Jamie Roberts please stand
up? Utterly anonymous once again aside
from a couple of obvious handling errors.
Defensively he is very solid but we know he can be so much better than
this.
·
Mike Phillips – This is purely a personal and
non-objective point, but I just pure don’t like the bloke and I’m pretty sure
most people (even most Welsh fans feel the same). He played reasonably (an improvement in his
performance levels this Championship) but what is it with all this pathetic
mouthing off and shoving he gets involved with?
I know, it’s part of his “competitive nature”, but just play rugby mate.
What’s Next?
Some little game in Cardiff against England to decide the
Championship. If Wales win by 8 points,
or by 7 providing England don’t score 2 tries more than them, then they retain
the Championship and can celebrate one of the more unlikely comebacks the
tournament’s history. Let’s not forget
they were completely written off after their opening match against
Ireland. They’ll be facing an England
team that has stuttered of late but is still going for a first Grand Slam in a
decade – but they are inexperienced, with over 10 of the squad never having
experienced the cauldron of international rugby at the Millennium Stadium
before. To this end, Wales will have to
increase their intensity even further and force the English to panic and make
mistakes – although they haven’t won at home in their last 5 games so they will
be feeling the pressure as well. They
also need to look at getting more creativity in their back play – getting quick
ball into the hands of Cuthbert and North – because this England side is fairly
well disciplined and they’ll struggle to rely on Halfpenny.
What happened?
They managed to blow a decent lead to the flappy French in
awful conditions in Dublin, earning themselves a draw that would still have
felt like a huge disappointment to the supporters and the players in
particular. Once again, as against
Wales, they put in a dominant first 40 minutes, smashing back the French in the
contact with a series of huge drives – one which travelled nearly 20 metres and
another which earned them a try through Jamie Heaslip. A smart tactical kicking game was also
helping them get into the right areas, but after the break the intensity and
composure left them and they let the visitors back into the match. The only reason for this was a drop in
aggression and compensation, allied with some curious substitutions by coach
Declan Kidney (he must have been sitting too close to his French counterpart,
it’s contagious), which saw the French pack given a foothold they should never
have attained.
The Winners
·
Mike McCarthy – Aggressive performance from the
big lock, making a lot of yards in the tackle and getting stuck into the rough
stuff. Would have absolutely loved the
weather when he drew back his curtains on the morning of the game.
·
Connor Murray – the scrum half has been short of
his best this Six Nations but was the man ordering the dominant Irish pack
about in the first half, as well using his refined boot to gain territory to
good effect and take the pressure off his young halfback partner.
·
Paddy Jackson – The kid from Ulster was under a
lot of pressure after last week and responded in the best way with a mature and
composed display. Nudged over some
difficult kicks and also showed a decent boot with the ball in hand.
The Losers
·
Declan Kidney – Must be seriously worrying about
whether his contract will be renewed.
Ireland have regressed over the last few weeks and have failed to win at
least 2 games you felt they had in the bag.
Obviously the leaders on the park must do more to address this, but why
on earth did Kidney substitute a man in a key position (scrum half) who was
having a stormer?! His days may be
numbered.
·
Eoin Reddan – Harsh perhaps, as he did nothing
wrong when he came off the bench, but couldn’t deliver Murray’s level of
quality service and tactical kicking – although the pack were going backwards
by this point. And to top off an already
difficult few minutes, there’s a chance he may have broken his leg. A bad-luck cameo, but all the best for his
recovery.
What's Next?
The men in Green will head to Rome to face Italy in what
could be a very tricky game for them.
They have a real chance to finish on a high but you just sense that the
confidence and killer instinct from this undoubtedly talented side is just not
there at the moment. So how do they get
it back? Well, first off, the attack
needs sorting out. Too many times
runners take the ball into contact by themselves, meaning that they have nobody
to offload to (the key line-breaking skill) or anyone to ruck over quickly to
provide fast ball. They will need to
work on this if they want to get in behind the Italians on Saturday.
France
What happened?
Zut alors, the French didn’t lose! Although that will make a welcome change, the
realisation that this was a mere draw and the performance was once again
sub-standard will come as a sobering reminder of the problems this French team
face. After being dominated up front for
the first half, the French played some
physical stuff of their own in the second and scored a decent try – but with
the pack the French have, they shouldn’t be getting dominated by anyone. For the first 40 it once again seemed to be
Picamoles alone who was pulling his not inconsiderable weight, whilst in the
backs there was once again indecision and a lack of punch, thanks in part to
the selection of Frederic Michalak at fly half.
The 10 showed some decent moments – such as landing an important kick –
but can someone explain to me what Trinh Duc did to merit being dropped for
this flake?!
The Winners
·
Louis Picamoles – Along with Sergio Parisse, the
best number 8 in Europe right now. He is
just so aggressive and powerful, he will always leave a significant impact on a
game – and he did again today.
·
Yoann Huget – The Toulouse man has always been a
talented runner but on Saturday he answered questions about his skills as a
fullback by giving an assured performance under the high ball in awful
conditions
The Losers
·
Frederic Michalak – He didn’t have an awful
game, but where is the flair, where is the running threat? And what on earth was he thinking when he
kicked the ball away in the last play of the game?
·
Philippe Saint-Andre – Sorry Phil, a draw won’t
be enough to save your job post-six nations, buddy. Better get on the jobcentre.
What's Next?
The French have one final shot at redemption against the
stubborn Scots in Paris, and it’s a game they really should win. The Scottish have gifted their opposition
around 65% possession in each match they’ve played this season, and will
undoubtedly extend that generosity to the French on Saturday. Saint-Andre must realise that his backline
looks far more threatening with Francois Trinh-Duc playing fly half – not only
is the Montpellier 10 a more reliable player, he is also more aggressive and
stands more flat than his rival. This
positioning will be critical if Les Bleus want to draw in the numerous Scottish
defenders to create the gaps out wide.
As for the pack, once again Captain Thierry Dusautoir needs to make a
step up – the game against his Scottish counterpart is one of the clashes of
the weekend and whoever comes out on top will go a long way to winning his side
the game.
England
What happened?
Well, they’re still on for the Grand Slam. That was about the only real positive to pull
out of the game against Italy at Twickenham on Sunday after they produced a
shockingly inaccurate display where they butchered chance after chance,
especially in the first half. It wasn’t
for lack of ambition – indeed, there was some reasonably quick ball, flat
passes and plenty of width – but there was no real intelligence in what was
being done; it was all fairly predictable.
There’s nothing wrong with a pick and go or an inside ball once in a
while to suck defenders in and keep the opposition on their toes, but the men
in white seemed obsessed with chucking it wide at the first opportunity. By the end, there was little doubt that their
minds were on the Grand Slam game in Cardiff the following weekend. In terms of positives, their defence was
generally pretty solid, although the Welsh will provide a far sterner test, but
this was the game they were supposed to pile on the points so they couldn’t be
caught in the Championship. Mission
failed, in that regard.
The Winners
·
Dan Cole – Held up his side of the scrum very
well and earned his side at least 6 points, as well as winning 3 turnovers
throughout the game. He could be the
poster boy of tightheads...if only he didn’t look like a chunky Victor Meldrew.
·
Mike Brown – The pick of the English backs, one
break in particular caught the eye, where he left Venditti for dead. Should he have passed inside to Ashton
though? Don’t worry Mikey, nobody’s
doing that at the moment.
·
Tom Croft – Not a spectacular appearance but a
welcome sight none the less. Shocking to
hear that he could have been paralysed 10 months ago, but incredible to see him
back in the white of England. Tip of the
cap to you, sir.
The Losers
·
Danny Care – chance blown. A couple of stupid offloads and loopy passes
didn’t showcase the best of his skills, but his negative-yardage box kick was
the crowning turd of an achievement in a poor performance. He’s a much, much better player than this and
will be kicking himself for not laying down a marker.
·
Alex Goode – Went walkabout for McLean’s try and
managed to butcher a 4 on 1 overlap.
Really not good enough from England’s second playmaker. He needs a big game soon as Brown wants that
fullback jersey.
·
Chris Ashton – Not a terrible game for the
winger, and got himself into a couple of decent positions, but things just aren’t
falling for him at the moment and he could have done with a try to get the
press off his back.
What's Next?
The big one. England
head to Wales with a huge amount of pressure in an almost winner-takes-all
clash. I say almost, because it’s not
quite that clear cut. As explained
above, if England win or lose by less than 7, they win the Championship (and
obviously the Grand Slam should they defeat their hosts) – anything else will
see the Welsh nick it. That latter
option is a truly sickening thought for any Englishman and you can bet your
bottom British pound sterling that Stuart Lancaster will have his men fired up
and focused for this. The key is to not
let the emotion drown out the game plan of fast, aggressive rugby that makes yards
in close and earns the right to spread to the ball wide. Against the All Blacks, England were
impressive in the close quarters, winning their contact battles, and this step
was missing against Italy. The English
need to rediscover this formula quickly, or the mother of all horrors will
await in Cardiff – a smug Welsh victory.
What happened?
It would seem that expectation doesn't sit too comfortably
for the Azzurri, rather like their opposition at Twickenham on Sunday. After two poor performances in games in which
many had tipped them for the win, the Italians were back to being the
resounding underdogs for their match against England. And guess what? They showed up. Sure, some of their attacking play,
especially in the first half, was a bit lateral, but they still played with a
significant intensity and bite that was missing from their last two
performances and they did enjoy two moments of inspiration from Sergio Parisse,
when his inside pass nearly sent Zanni clear, and Luciano Orquera, who set up
his team's try with a glorious kick.
Defensively, they still looked vulnerable out wide, but luckily the
English were too imprecise and sloppy to take advantage of it – and a first
shut-out of the tournament is nothing to be sniffed at.
The Winners
·
Sergio Parisse – Utterly inspirational once
again on his return from the naughty school.
Wonderful handling, running and tackling reminded us how unfortunate it
is that such a player will probably never get to lift a major trophy, and
fortunate the Italians are to have him.
·
Andrea Masi – once again the pick of the Azzurri
backs. Doesn't just tackle people, he
smashes them – as he showed when he hit Vunipola hard in the first half. Always hungry for the ball too.
·
Luciano Orquera – The diminutive fly half
returned to the starting line up and, although he missed a couple of important
kicks at goal, generally played with an assuredness that probably surprised
even himself. A wonderful assist for
McLean's try, too.
The Losers
·
Martin Castrogiovanni – Alas, it pains me to say
it, but this is not the Castro we know and, in many cases, love. Struggled at scrum time before having his
afternoon cut short by injury which will have upset him – his magnificent
performance against the French seems a long time ago now.
·
Eduardo Gori – Summed up his tournament so far
with a brainless display which culminated in him getting sinbinned for taking
Flood out off the ball. He can be a
sharp player on his day, but he hasn't looked too clever so far this year.
What's Next?
The Italians can't afford to do what they did after the
victory against the French and assume the victories will come. They have a decent shot against a vulnerable
Ireland side in Rome next Saturday, but they will only get the long-awaited
second victory if they get their heads down this week and concentrate on
improving what was already an impressive performance. Their tactical kicking from scrum half was
appalling so Tobias Botes should be brought in to ease the pressure on Orquera,
and their defence still tends to group close to centre field, leaving gaps out
wide. If Brian O'Driscoll is fit, he may
be able to exploit that but they can prevent it by working on the speed of
their drift. Above all though, the Italians
need to learn how to cope with expectation.
Rome is waiting – they shouldn't disappoint.
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