Six Nations 2018

[ayepatz]

Here we go with the poor losers. Fracas? What fracas? Love the pic. WWBMCLS? (What would Bill McLaren say?)

[99call]

1 hour ago, ayepatz said:

Here we go with the poor losers. Fracas? 

 

Owen Farrell, Maybe a world class Flyhalf/12, but he's pathetically easy to wind up. You can't get into his head with physicality, but with words, it's simple.

 

[David88]

It was a good weekend of games, certainly the best of the tournament so far. Well done to Scotland, as an England supporter it’s painful to say but Scotland were outstanding. 

That result has been coming for a while for England, they seem to have been on a downward slope since the Australia tour. Hopefully some changes will be made. 

Am I the only one who has had enough of Dan Biggar now? His moaning to the ref has no place in the game and is a bit embarrassing. At least Martyn Williams sees it as I do http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/43195627

[99call]

7 minutes ago, David88 said:

Am I the only one who has had enough of Dan Biggar now?

As a Wales fan, Yes Dan Biggar does himself a massive dis-service. He should look at how Warburton handles the Refs. There is a way of Jedi mind-effing them. You basically ask the ref why he's making decisions through-out the first half, and then compliment him on his decisions (right or wrong), then in the second half, you reference a back catalogue of how many times an opposition have infringed without a penalty given.  

In short Warburton backs himself and the team, to prevail without any help from the ref, but then in the 70th minute, he can drop his trump card, of listing all the reasons the ref may have 'lost it' in terms consistency. He's a genius at doing this, you'll often hear refs talking to Warburton in an apologetic tone in the second half of games. 

Shut you mouth Dan! stop putting your hands out in disgust! play the game. luck whether good or bad may not even itself out over the course of a single game, but it does of the course of 10 games. Control your performance, not the refs

[ayepatz]

Working again today, so missed Ireland v Scotland. Sounds like the Irish roundly beat us up in the first half, and that Hogg was over-exhuberant on a couple of occasions, and cost us certain points.

Congratulations to the Irish, who are now on for a Grand Slam, and will win the Championship today if England don’t turn over the French.

 

[Ken Gargett]

should make the irish series here even more of a concern for cheika. 

and thumbs up for the french.

as predicted, and one would hardly need nostradamus for this, the toxic hobbit is going exactly to plan. early enthusiasm, all on board, good results, glorious future predicted, a few grumbles and very quickly the wheels come off. i anticipate a revival of sorts but by the time of the world cup, england should be a complete shambles. well, one can hope.

i did see a comment on a rugby site, amid all the congrats for the irish and french, from a fan of an unnamed nation suggesting that the ref in france (didn't see the game so no idea) had made an error and that therefore, in his view, the result was negated. i'm sure the history books will reflect that. 

[ayepatz]

Finally saw the Ireland v Scotland game. 

Much closer than I would have imagined from the score. A very open first half, but Scotland have taken a step backwards where the silly mistakes are concerned. Not just Hogg, but Huw Jones and Peter Horne should be kicking themselves for schoolboy handling errors. Against a team of Ireland’s quality you cannot afford to squander such easy chances. Horne, in particular, should be kicking himself for that intercepted pass.

Conor Murray and Sexton were admirable yet again, as was Rob Kearney, who deserved man of the match, but, for me, Jacob Stockdale must be man of the tournament. What an immense talent, and as exciting as O’Driscoll when he burst upon the scene!

[JohnS]

Congratulations to Ireland for winning just their third Grand Sam (Caithréim Mhór) in their history and the first since 2009. Ireland defeated England 24-15 this weekend to accomplish the feat.

 

[99call]

Massive congrats to Ireland. Very interesting tournament this year. 

Wales come second, big result for all who ripped the piss out of them. 

Eddie's current state

 

[ayepatz]

Well, I would never have predicted that.

[ayepatz]

I actually wrote a team by team assessment, but hit delete by accident. Too lazy to re-type it. But the gist was, basically, “Well done, everyone!” Except England. ?

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, ayepatz said:

I actually wrote a team by team assessment, but hit delete by accident. Too lazy to re-type it. But the gist was, basically, “Well done, everyone!” Except England. ?

ah grasshopper, much to learn. 

as soon as anything is deleted like that, you post pretty much as above and then blame rob and his dismal site and his future grandchildren etc. never accept responsibility for any forum shortcoming. 

and yes, congrats to all bar england.

have a great old friend of mine from england coming out for a visit soon. he planned it pre ashes and pre six nations. a request arrived last night that cricket and rugby be off the conversation table.

fat chance! 

[Ken Gargett]

more seriously, the predicted and inevitable implosion of the toxic hobbit is well under way. in a month or two, england has gone from near favourites for the world cup to the schmozzle so beloved of all rugby fans who do not own a tweed jacket. 

[ayepatz]

6 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

more seriously, the predicted and inevitable implosion of the toxic hobbit is well under way. in a month or two, england has gone from near favourites for the world cup to the schmozzle so beloved of all rugby fans who do not own a tweed jacket. 

I’d hate to be an England fan. They’ve won the World Cup once, in both football and rugby, yet from reading the press you’d think they were the greatest Rugby and Football nation on earth, and that it is, somehow, their right to win. The expectation v reality thing is so far askew, it’s ridiculous.

I call this attitude the “colonial hangover”, and the sooner they get rid of it, the sooner they can stop asking why we all club together to support any team that happens to be playing England.

[JohnS]

England are playing 3 tests against South Africa in June (in South Africa) but it's the Autumn internationals against New Zealand on November 10th and against Australia on November 24th that I'm really looking forward to.

[Ken Gargett]

Just now, ayepatz said:

I’d hate to be English. They’ve won the World Cup once, in both football and rugby, yet from reading the press you’d think they were the greatest Rugby and Football nation on earth, and that it is, somehow, their right to win. The expectation v reality thing is so far askew, it’s ridiculous.

I call this attitude the “colonial hangover”, and the sooner they get rid of it, the sooner they can stop asking why we all club together to support any team that happens to be playing England.

and both wins were due to a fair bit of luck off the posts. but a win is a win.

the attitude you describe is so often so prevalent but the problem that they have is that they honestly don't realise it. and most are quite put out when you discuss it with them. and they are a bit offended that an antipodean could suggest such a thing. you point out that this is exactly the problem and we go around in circles again. 

certainly doesn't apply to all and i think the younger poms are not so bad. not immune but not so bad. 

 

[ayepatz]

2 minutes ago, JohnS said:

England a playing 3 tests against South Africa in June but it's the Autumn internationals against New Zealand on November 10th and against Australia on November 24th that I'm looking forward to.

Have you booked your tickets? Should be interesting. Particularly if Ken’s “Toxic Hobbit” lasts that long! ?

[Ken Gargett]

3 minutes ago, JohnS said:

England are playing 3 tests against South Africa in June (in South Africa) but it's the Autumn internationals against New Zealand on November 10th and against Australia on November 24th that I'm really looking forward to.

so the hobbit could go from 23 wins out of 24 games to winning just two of the next ten. 

[Ken Gargett]

1 minute ago, ayepatz said:

Have you booked your tickets? Should be interesting. Particularly if Ken’s “Toxic Hobbit” lasts that long! ?

he'll be in the firing line if they don't win the majority of those. because the next thing that will emerge is former coaching assistants will spill the beans on how insane he is. a few former players might join in.

and the english press, who make a pack of rabid dogs look like guinea pigs, would absolutely love to tear into an upstart aussie. 

 

[ayepatz]

One thing this tournament has started me off thinking about is that I would love to see a regular fixture in the calendar where a Northern Hemisphere XV with the best players taken from the year’s Six Nations teams takes on a Southern Hemisphere XV with the best players from that year’s Rugby Championship.

Everyone loves a Lions Tour, but this could be better, I reckon.

It was watching Sergio Parisse (Italy’s great No.8) have another great game, and wondering what he’d have been capable of against the world’s best with players of similar ability around him, that made me think of it.

 

[Ken Gargett]

43 minutes ago, ayepatz said:

One thing this tournament has started me off thinking about is that I would love to see a regular fixture in the calendar where a Northern Hemisphere XV with the best players taken from the year’s Six Nations teams takes on a Southern Hemisphere XV with the best players from that year’s Rugby Championship.

Everyone loves a Lions Tour, but this could be better, I reckon.

It was watching Sergio Parisse (Italy’s great No.8) have another great game, and wondering what he’d have been capable of against the world’s best with players of similar ability around him, that made me think of it.

 

they have been talking about that for decades. along with a rugby v league game. 

the calender is already chockers. clubs do not want to give up players. organising and selecting and coaching will create endless havoc. and i suspect the players will only ever see it as a barbarians style game. which would be fun but will hardly meet the standards and criteria we'd want. 

[gweilgi]

5 hours ago, ayepatz said:

One thing this tournament has started me off thinking about is that I would love to see a regular fixture in the calendar where a Northern Hemisphere XV with the best players taken from the year’s Six Nations teams takes on a Southern Hemisphere XV with the best players from that year’s Rugby Championship.

I'd pay to see that live...

First, though, how about reforming the Six Nations?  Stop giving Italy a guaranteed place and invite the top-ranked European (or even Northern Hemisphere) team to the sixth spot.  

 

[Ken Gargett]

17 minutes ago, gweilgi said:

I'd pay to see that live...

First, though, how about reforming the Six Nations?  Stop giving Italy a guaranteed place and invite the top-ranked European (or even Northern Hemisphere) team to the sixth spot.  

 

why limit it to italy?

if another side finishes last in a year, surely that side then is into "qualifying" or whatever you plan? 

i'd certainly watch a south v north and it would be a bit of fun but do you see it rivalling something like the lions v all blacks or a bledisloe or a test to decide the 6 nations. or the world cup? 

to me, fun but frivolous. 

[ayepatz]

55 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

why limit it to italy?

if another side finishes last in a year, surely that side then is into "qualifying" or whatever you plan? 

i'd certainly watch a south v north and it would be a bit of fun but do you see it rivalling something like the lions v all blacks or a bledisloe or a test to decide the 6 nations. or the world cup? 

to me, fun but frivolous. 

It would be frivolous, but then I expect that’s how the original Lions tours might have seeemed to some. There’s nothing at stake other than pride, yet it’s become a big deal.

But I agree that it will never happen. I can’t see the Six Nations opening up any more, as things stand, and the Home Nations would never agree to qualification for a tournament they founded, but they might just drop Italy. It’s an easy step to help reduce calendar congestion, but I really hope they don’t. Their governing body needs a kick up the backside, as they are never properly supported development of the professional game in Italy, and thus, the National side have never fulfilled their potential.

[gweilgi]

2 hours ago, ayepatz said:

It would be frivolous, but then I expect that’s how the original Lions tours might have seeemed to some. There’s nothing at stake other than pride, yet it’s become a big deal.

It has become a big deal alright, and that also makes it attractive from a marketing point of view.  As far as I am concerned, anything that helps to raise the profile of Union, helps to bring in more viewers, more fans and more kids playing, that must be a good thing.

 

2 hours ago, ayepatz said:

But I agree that it will never happen. I can’t see the Six Nations opening up any more, as things stand, and the Home Nations would never agree to qualification for a tournament they founded, but they might just drop Italy. It’s an easy step to help reduce calendar congestion, but I really hope they don’t. Their governing body needs a kick up the backside, as they are never properly supported development of the professional game in Italy, and thus, the National side have never fulfilled their potential.

Said kick up the backside might just be provided by having to compete for the last slot int he biggest and richest tournament in the Northern Hemisphere.  It might also motivate some of the other teams to do better.  Right now, Georgia is better-ranked than Italy, but where is their reward?