Six Nations Thread
Comments
-
Stag on wrote:Hmmm...George North born in Kings Lynn, Jon Davies in Salford, Alex Cuthbert from Gloucestershire and only picked up by the Welsh system when he went to uni in Cardiff. Toby Faletau ex Filton College in Bristol. All could quite possibly be wearing the Red Rose in another dimension so not as clean cut "toffs vs valley boys" as you might think.
Just to help you argue with yourself.......you missed out Warbs!
International sports people can pretty much choose their nationality these days. They chose to be Welsh not English
0 -
ddraver wrote:I don't know who Mike Corrigan is, but I ve not sure I ve ready so much b*ll*cks in a newspaper since the last Jan Moir debacle...
I didn't think much of it either, but it does make the point that GB-wide BBC assumes England as the Home Team, and I guess for the majority of the listeners viewers it is. However, Mrs Eleri Jones in Treorchy goes into the kitchen to make the tea, she switches on BBC 5 Live to hear the 'News from around the globe', only to hear a discussion on 'How are We going to beat the Welsh', you can imagine it might get her back up. That sort of perspective belongs annexed off onto 'BBC England' just as the equivalent is in BBC Wales/Scotland/NI.
The good old Beeb, as the deliverers of the 6N don't half stoke up the arrogance thing. Left to most fans, all you would get is good banter. I know Jiffy winds up a lot of English viewers, but it is a taste of what non-English viewers have had to put up with for years.0 -
Eng slight fav at bookies.... Bring it on.... Eng by 10....
Plus eng u20 bt Wales last night to secure the u20 6 nations....--
Chris
Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/50 -
Stag on wrote:Hmmm...George North born in Kings Lynn, Jon Davies in Salford, Alex Cuthbert from Gloucestershire and only picked up by the Welsh system when he went to uni in Cardiff. Toby Faletau ex Filton College in Bristol. All could quite possibly be wearing the Red Rose in another dimension so not as clean cut "toffs vs valley boys" as you might think.
And before anyone mentions Manu T, Dylan Hartley and Bradley Barritt.....hmmmmm. fair one, at least Manu came through the English system and sports a Leicestershire twang.
Very much looking forward to tomorrow!
Cuthbert is the one we 'stole' from England, the rest of them are welsh and went through the system. Cuthbert was a dressage rider until he was 17, hence his nick name - horse.0 -
Well done Italy!0
-
Well... that was a disappointment.0
-
clarkey cat wrote:If you mean sending up Jamie Roberts on the crash ball ad infinitum is "spirit in their stride" then you're more one-eyed than most Welsh. That's why they'd just lost 8 games on the bounce (yes, 8 games) and if it wasnt for a glorious moment of inspiration from Dan Biggar that could easily have gone to 9.
An extremely young England side closed out an immensely mean, experienced and streetwise Ireland in Dublin. Absolutely epic. Best win I've seen in quite a few years (All Blacks 'aberration' aside).
Oh well.. like you say, a young side that today lost the Grand Slam, so at least they will be around next year!0 -
Well that was Abysmal, Everyone except Chris Robshaw, Vanapololololu (or however) and Mike Brown hang your heads in shame! Ironically Ashton hang a bit less but Tuilangi I want to see your forehead brushing the ground!!!
Wales deserved winners!
Warburton at 6 and Robshaw at 7 should be fun for the Lions, that's the only positive I can think of....We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
Ben Kay @BenKay5
If from ireland called irish, scotland -scottish, england - english Never understood why people from wales aren't called Walsh...oh wait!
Hee hee, not entirely fair (and he does say so in a second tweet), although he seemed to invent an entirely new set of laws for the Scrum! It's time for that to be sorted out now...We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
ddraver wrote:Well that was Abysmal, Everyone except Chris Robshaw, Vanapololololu (or however) and Mike Brown hang your heads in shame! Ironically Ashton hang a bit less but Tuilangi I want to see your forehead brushing the ground!!!
Wales deserved winners!
Cracking game. Stirring defence and some very solid tackles from EnglandWarburton at 6 and Robshaw at 7 should be fun for the Lions, that's the only positive I can think of....
That's a tough one for Gatland. Tipuric has been threatening to put in a performance like since September, and it would be hard to put Robshaw ahead on that performance. Robshaw's been a tremendous captain, but... Good to have the quality in those positions.
Reckon Croft will go?
From a Lions perspective, England's collapse was a worry. Some of them need to get their mojo back. As do some of the Irish lads. A few Scotsmen back in the mix?FCN 2-4.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."0 -
Robshaw was the only England player that played well today. I feel really bad for him, he has nothing to be ashamed of...
Fair point about the first half defence though, both teams were immense (hell even Jonathan Edwards flung a compliment Englands way, even if it was wrapped up in a Welsh one). I was nt able to call it either way all week but the one thing I really hoped for was that England at least did nt bottle it. Unfortunately they bottled it in some style...
If my post above about crunch matches has any validity, England need to play in a few more of those...
Hopefully someone can do something in MSR tomorrow and soothe my pain a little...We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
Well played wales. Played with an intensity ive not seen from them for a while....--
Chris
Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/50 -
It's times like this when it is important to remember that Wales lost to Ireland, and Ireland lost to Italy. So Wales are worse than Italy.
England, on the other hand, beat Italy.
So England are better than Wales. The objective and undeniable facts say so.
That said, Wales did seem to be better on the day, I suppose.
I did wonder whether England were going to react positively to last week or not. It seems not. Still lots to do. Oh well. Two years to do it in.0 -
When I said that I wanted an Englishman to score the first try, i didnt mean Alex Cuthbert....
No seriously, Wales brought an intensity England couldnt live with. Adam Jones MOTM for me, schooled both Marler and Mako V. Never underestimate the impact of the scrum going to rats on the rest of a teams game.
A topsy turvy tournament, the reality is all teams evenly matched. The two best coached teams top...the worst bottom! Italy now a real force, with a pack to match anyone. Player of the tournament, Parisse. Best No8 on the planet.0 -
All three winning teams today thoroughly deserved their wins.
Just goes to show that the teams aren't that far apart.
Scotland might get better results if they try playing from the start instead of hoofing the ball for 70 minutes. That said, it was an effective tactic while raining. Lost the game by not adapting quick enough and depending overly on a well disciplined defence in the first half. Time and tiredness gave way to the inevitable in the second.None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.0 -
Dick of the tournament: the head groundsman at the Stade de France. What a tool.What do you mean you think 64cm is a big frame?0
-
30 - 3 :shock: I didn't see that coming
I'm going to have the mother of hangovers 8)
I quiet afternoon watching MSR for me.
Wales should be angry with themselves now for such a cr*p first half against Ireland.0 -
The sky is darkening with chickens coming home to roost...snigger. 0
-
I sat down to watch Eng v Wales properly today, having had to listen to most of it on the radio yesterday. It's interesting to watch it knowing the outcome, and focussing on performances.
First half was pretty evenly matched. Wales slotted their kicks and Farrell didn't. Wales deserved to be ahead at 1/2 time, but they were not running away with the game by any stretch; it looked like a case of first team to score a try would take the game. Both sides' defences were rock solid - almost impossible to break down. England had a couple of half chances in the far corner that they managed to butcher; Wales spent a lot of time in England's territory. The two players who looked to have a very busy day at the office were Halfpenny and Goode, both of whom I thought played exceptionally well, and both of whom I felt lack a real attacking edge. I found myself thinking that you would never hoof the ball to NZ's back three that regularly.
The second half contained ten minutes from 55 to 65 mins that settled the game and the 6N. Wales' first try was classic NZ stuff: turnover ball, three quick passes out wide to a winger with pace and a try. Very impressive stuff, and sort of underlined the futility of going through countless phases of play to try to break down a well organised defence. Wait until the defence is disorganised, then attack it quickly with fast passing and speed. The second try was not dissimilar: Warburton's break left the English defence disorganised and Wales attacked it quickly again from the next phase.
England, by contrast, very rarely have fast ball to attack with (it's no coincidence that some of their best attacking games have been when they have secured fast ball and then used it consistently). And they even more rarely attack fast and wide from turnover ball.0 -
One more: the way the game is played now means that it is pretty much a necessity to pick your midfield for its defensive skills rather than its attacking skills. That in turn contributes to the attritional nature of modern phase play. BOD is an exceptionally good player because he can do both. The best out and out attacking centre this year? Fofana.0
-
In other news.... Had a great day out at LV Cup final yesterday, what was effectively the quins 2nd XV showing for the 2nd week running how to play, entertaining, fast, asccurate rugby against premiership 1st XV teams. Hopefully SL is watching this as this is how we would like England to play. If you didn't see the game highlight should be on the ITV player... I had a great day out... And if you are in the area the The Red Hart in Kington, Worcestershire is one of the best (if not the best) pub sunday roasts I've every had--
Chris
Genesis Equilibrium - FCN 3/4/50 -
ddraver wrote:...still burns
Hand on shoulder....
Cheer up fella. I know how it feels and get to experience it more frequently. FWIW I'm quite a fan of Stuart Lancaster and he is taking his team in the right direction.
Wales had their planets aligned on Saturday and unleashed the dragon. England were like a bunny in the headlights.
Here ends the post hangover philosophy 0 -
I hope no one in the England set up is reading the papers today (for once...). You'd have thought England had done a France or an Ireland from some of the hysteria. Yes it was very very very bad but Wales were equally humiliated by the SH teams 6 months ago and look what they managed to do....We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
A lot of talent in that England team why it didn't show on the day is a mystery. That said playing Wales in Cardiff in the last game is not any easy task.
I did note that BBC breakfast today didn't mention the rugby in the sports section - funny that.
-Spider-0 -
ddraver wrote:I hope no one in the England set up is reading the papers today (for once...). You'd have thought England had done a France or an Ireland from some of the hysteria. Yes it was very very very bad but Wales were equally humiliated by the SH teams 6 months ago and look what they managed to do....
Ian McGeechan's player ratings in the Telegraph make for interesting reading (although I think he may may swung the pendulum too far the other way).0
