The 2016 Six Nations is over; so now it’s time for some of the talking points:
1. England Claim Grand Slam
It was the first time in 13 years that England won every game in the tournament; no one expected the Poms to turn around their form so soon after their horrible World Cup.
Eddie Jones has performed a small miracle with a short lead time. Given what he has managed in this period Michael Cheika and the Wallabies will not be taking the test matches against England in June lightly.
Wales finished second, and Ireland ended up third after two comprehensive wins in the final two rounds. Scotland was fourth and France and Italy were at the bottom of the table.
Maro Itoje (England) – star in the making
2. Rising Stars
Maro Itoje (England) – The young Saracens’ flanker was called into the senior squad at the beginning of 6 Nations by new head coach Eddie Jones and made an immediate impact. He played in four of the five games and was Man of the Match against Wales. He’s an exciting prospect and is one player I will be taking an interest in when England arrive in June.
Ross Moriarty (Wales) – Even though Moriarty has not earned a regular starting spot he has been more than impressive in his handful of tests so far. I like the way this guy has played and can’t wait to see how he progresses over the next couple of years. Since he is just 21 years of age, Jones would be livid that he switched his allegiance to Wales after playing his Under 18 and 20’s rugby with England.
CJ Stander (Ireland) – Is another flanker who has changed his allegiance. The South Africa-born Munster flanker has blossomed for his new country and received the Man of the Match award on his debut test against Wales in the opening round. Stander played every test for Ireland, and although he started at blindside flanker a lot of fans will be looking forward to seeing him in his regular number 8 jersey.
Finn Russell (Scotland) – Not really a new kid on the block, Russell cemented the starting flyhalf position before his injury, in a Scottish side that finished fourth and showed potential. Hopefully Russell can help Scotland to step up to their Rugby World Cup level on a regular basis.
Virimi Vakatawa (France) – The winger made his shining début in this 6 Nations and was another to play every test in his first tournament. He was one of the few stars for France, who had a poor series after starting well. One hopes that he doesn’t return to Sevens because it will be interesting to see how he progresses in XVs and the French certainly need the instinctive flair he brings to the test team because we have seen so little of it lately.
Mattia Bellini (Italy) – Was hard to find anything positive about Italy’s tournament. They had a few new faces and winger Bellini looked like one who could become a long-term inclusion in the Italian set up, because he showed showed some ticker in a side that was generally beaten by the end of the national anthems.
3. Spring Tours
So with the 6 Nations now completed the next international rugby we look forward to is the tours in June. Here are the schedules of the top three teams.
Emotions will be running high when Eddie Jones brings his new England outfit to Australia for the first time. Nobody likes playing the English let alone when your former international coach is at the helm of the enemy raider. This three-test series should have plenty of fire as the teams last met in the group stage of the World Cup. Prediction: 2-1 to the Wallabies
Wales head to New Zealand were they will be looking to pick up a win though they have not beaten them since 1953 and never away from home. Since this is the last international rugby before World Cup seedings are drawn up they will be wanting to remain in the top 8 of the rankings to avoid another challenging group of death in 2019. Prediction: 3-0 to the All Blacks
Ireland head to South Africa, after a disappointing exit from the World Cup and 6 Nations tournaments. They will want to bounce back and make their way up the rankings. Hopefully some of the impressive Irish injury list are back to match fitness and can help bolster the Irish chances. Prediction 2-1 to the Boks.
4. Time for a change
I said it a few weeks ago, and the final two rounds just proved that Italy should be relegated from the 6 Nations.
In their final two games of the tournament they conceded a whopping 18 tries. It’s time to give somebody else a chance. After eleven wooden spoons in 17 tournaments it’s time to give Georgia a shot after winning the last six European Nations Cup titles.
The Georgians should at least be given a shot at a play-off game to prove the are worthy at entering the main tournament.
France wins Women’s RBS Six Nations
5. Women’s and Under 20s Six Nations
In the world of rugby not too many people hear about the other 6N tournaments going on.
The Women’s tournament was won by France. It was good to see one of their national sides doing well, winning four out of five matches. This was the French Women’s team fifth win from 18 tournaments.
The Wales’ Under 20’s next generation look likely to progress as senior players as they earned a Grand Slam. It was the first time Wales has won the tournament in it’s nine-year history. It is also probable that it is the worst placing for the normally dominant English side.
6. Johnny Sexton’s soccer player moment
On the weekend much was said about Sexton’s disgraceful acting—the guy definitely deserves to be made an example of.
Playing for a penalty is just not on at any level of the game. I don’t think the clean out was legal but Sexton’s actions afterwards were shocking—and I’m an Ireland fan.
It’s time that the rugby governing bodies put their foot down and let the players, boards and clubs remember who the boss is.
