The RBS Six Nations Championship got itself off to a flying start this year in a weekend that concluded with wins for France, England and Wales. The results were by no means clear cut and certainly left a lot to be discussed in the aftermath.
FRANCE V ITALY
The weekend opened in Paris and a packed Stade de France where the hosts welcomed Italy. France, the World Cup runners up were looking to put the disappointment of New Zealand, under new coach Phillipe Saint-Andre, firmly behind them. Italy, also with a new French coach in Jacques Brunel, were looking to bring a new style of Gallic flair to their game that doesn’t just rely on their ever impressive pack.
France were quickest out of the blocks and seemed to take the wind out of the Italian sails with Louis Picamoles and World player of the year, Thierry Dusautoir, carrying the ball with vigour, making valuable yards over the gain line in the process. Italy began to nullify the French attack with their uncanny knack of recycling the ball time and time and again, building phases and gaining a hard earned three points. Unfortunately for the Azzuri though, their old demons behind the pack slowly came back to haunt them and as the French intensity rose, so the Italian’s concentration faltered.
A soft try was gifted to the experienced Aurelien Rougerie before the daunting figure of winger Julien Malzieu stepped past what looked like the entire Italian back line to score just before half time. Italy continued to fight and scrap and, if a bit more accuracy was attributed to their passing in attack then a try would have been just rewards for their efforts. The French, who never seemed to really get through the gears, stretched away with two more tries through Vincent Clerc and debutant Wesley Fofana. Both tries exposed huge weaknesses in the Italian’s defensive structure.
France welcomes Ireland to Paris this weekend and they will be full of confidence to repeat their success at home. The squad is the strongest in the championship. The fact that Saint-Andre can take the assured move of resting Imanol Harinordoquay and replace him with a player of the class of Picamoles speaks volumes. The new players in the squad also added vast amounts of quality, Fofana in particular grew in stature as the game developed and Malzieu looked likely to beat all before him every time he had the ball in hand.
Italy can also take great confidence from this result. The score flattered France somewhat and Brunel will continue to try and get his backs moving onto the ball with more impetus to trouble the opposition. Italy in Rome, as always, will be difficult for any team but with a new look England up next, the Italians will smell blood and expect a more ruthless streak to come from Parrisse and his men.
SCOTLAND V ENGLAND
At a freezing Murrayfield on Saturday evening Stuart Lancaaster, England’s interim head coach, took his young and inexperienced squad to face Andy Robinson’s Scotland. Murrayfield has not been a happy hunting ground for England in recent history but things were about to change.
England fielded 7 new caps in total and the lack of cohesion was noticeable throughout patches of this game. The link between forwards and backs was sometimes blurred and confused but what was evident was a new, steely aggression coupled with a passion to wear the Red Rose from the players.
Scotland were seeking revenge for their premature World Cup exit at the hands of the Auld enemy but the performance was abject at best. The back row of Ross Rennie, David Denton and Al Strokosch put the home team into scoring positions time and time again before their impotence outweighed their composure in front of the try line. The statistics showed that Scotland dominated this game but they didn’t necessarily paint the true picture. Yes, Scotland had the lion’s share of the ball and yes, it was predominantly in the England half but recycling slow ball and predictably passing it short to another bullocking forward to ensure going through the phases at minimal risk is not going to win test matches. What will have surprised Scotland on the other hand though will have been the discipline that England showed at the breakdown. In the past this has been England’s Achilles Heel but Lancaster’s men showed a patience and maturity in this facet of the game that frustrated the Scots. That said, with Scotland enjoying even more ball than they are usually afforded, they still did not cross the try line for the fourth game in a row.
This win will have galvanised the England squad and with a long way to go in their development, confidence will be key to their success. Lancaster and his coaching team have a long road in front of them but given the time, which Lancaster is looking like affording his players, a new culture and a successful new era could be developing before us. Chris Robshaw looks every inch an England Captain and the aggression and control that his fellow forwards showed in defence on Saturday evening looks like nothing less than a positive. A trip to Rome this weekend will certainly tell us a lot more about what this England team has to offer in the long run.
Andy Robinson’s Scotland now face a mountain to climb. Their confidence will be at its lowest ebb for some time and their clear inability to cross the whitewash will be at the forefront of Robinson’s mind. A trip to the Millennium Stadium to play an impressive Wales team could end up becoming a soul destroying eighty minutes for the men from north of the border.
IRELAND V WALES
The best fixture of the weekend was certainly saved until last. An electric atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin was the backdrop for a repeat of the World Cup Quarter final with Ireland looking for revenge over the travelling Welsh.
A game that swung backwards and forwards, sometimes in controversial fashion truly showed why these two teams are regarded as two of the best in the world. The match was billed as a battle of the back rows as both nations fielded world class pragmatists of this position. The headline writers however were firmly fixed on what was unfolding in the opposing back divisions.
From the first whistle both teams were looking to move the ball wide through the exciting talents of Jonathon Sexton of Ireland and Rhys Priestland of Wales orchestrating from fly-half. Delicate hands from Priestland drew first blood to send the travelling Welsh faithful into raptures. His persistence to attack the short side paid off when drawing in two men to offload to outside centre Jonathon Davies who gratefully crossed for the first score of the game. Priestland’s right foot was not up to speed with his hands though and his missed kicks were proving costly. As a result, it was Ireland who surprisingly went into the changing rooms at half time in the lead. Good hands from a gaggle of green shirts lead to Tommy Bowe penetrating the Welsh line and feeding Rory Best to touchdown.
The second period was just as exciting and then the defining moment of the game came. Off the back of the lineout, the giant nineteen year old figure of George North came storming off his wing to, with ball in hand, propelling the would be tackler of Fergus McFadden into the air. After North’s show of extreme power he then showed the touch of a young kitten playfully pawing at a ball of wool with a sublime flick out of the back of his hand to the oncoming Jonathon Davies to lap up his second try of the game.
Back came the Irish and good hands again rewarded the ever busy Bowe with a try of his own in the corner. This looked to have wrapped up the game but Wales were not to be denied. The power of George North ended a slick move for a five point score in the corner. Leigh Halfpenny missed the resulting conversion to leave the men in Red one point adrift but after a controversial decision against Stephen Ferris, Halfpenny sought redemption with the winning kick in the dying minutes.
Ireland will count themselves unlucky not to have won this match when Bradley Davies was spared a red card after inexcusably lifting Donnacha Ryan into the air and dropping him on his head off the ball. The other Welsh lock then won the penalty in front of the posts that Halfpenny converted to take the spoils. They do however face yet another stern test of their character in Paris this weekend and again, the back row battle will be a main focus in the build up but taming a very energetic and exciting French back division will also be top of their priority list. McFadden looked weak in defence and if D'arcy is forced to support him against Rougerie then the young Fofana could really be announcing himself on the world stage.
As for Wales, this performance, considering they were devoid of some key players that were so influential during their quest for World Cup glory, will only propel them skywards. A convincing win over Scotland at home is all that will be expected to keep them on their charge towards Grand Slam glory. Gethin Jenkins is likely to come back this week in the front row to bolster their pack and with the launch of North into the bracket of a world class winger there are not many that will be betting against them.
Andrew Daniel - Whilst growing up and until this day, my life has always revolved around the world of sport and Rugby in particular. As both a player and ...
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