With three rounds down and two to go in the RBS 6 Nations, let’s revisit some of the interesting happenings of last weekend.
1. THE RACE SO FAR
England remain the only team in the hunt for a Grand Slam after Round 3, although their two remaining games are against Wales and France, the two other teams in contention for the title.
Wales ended France’s Grand Slam hopes on the weekend and go into the England game sitting a close second with two wins and a draw.
The title race is close, and has the possibility of the 6 Nations coming down to the final game on the final day if England can stop the Welsh momentum in the next round. This could set up England v France with the Grand Slam on the line and points-difference could be critical for the title if France wins.
If Wales win at Twickenham in Round 4, three teams could still be alive in the final round, although Wales shouldn’t stumble against likely cellar-dwellers, Italy.
2. WOODEN SPOON
The Wooden Spoon race is probably decided on paper, amidst talk about making the Spoon winner face off in a relegation battle with the winner of the Six Nations B competition. The Ireland v Italy match in the next round may have more at stake than ever.
If Italy lose the game it will be their eleventh Spoon in 17 years of the 6 Nations. On the other hand if Italy can upset Ireland it could give Ireland their first Spoon since the tournament extended to six teams.
If Italy do claim another Spoon it should be enough to suggest the Italian experiment has failed and it is time to give someone else a shot—after all they have only won 12 of 83 games since joining 6 Nations.
At least a home and away play-off to qualify the following year should be considered. In Six Nations B, Georgia and Romania currently sit top of the table undefeated with three wins apiece.
Scotland pretty much avoided the wooden spoon on the weekend when they defeated Italy.
3. THE FRENCH DECLINE CONTINUES
Where to for the French national side? Over the last five tournaments the French winning percentage has dropped to 47%, though in this time French clubs have dominated in the European Rugby Cups due to the influx of imports.
France is stuck in the middle of a drought: they have not won the tournament since 2010 and don’t look like winning this year either. If you look back over the history since the tournament expanded, France has a winning percentage of around 65% of their games. Before that they were winning closer to 80%.
There is a huge disconnect between the national and domestic teams. The FFR (national) feel helpless about the power of the clubs and even the LNR (domestic) are concerned that so many clubs can’t compete with the richer ones and are in financial trouble.
There is an ordinance which requires a ratio of home-grown players in their squads, but the sooner they can implement an enforceable quota for match day squads in the Top 14 and Pro D2, the better.
I miss watching a French side that can score from anywhere on the field and throw the ball around like a bunch of kids on the school oval at lunch time—it was fun to watch and always bought some excitement to the game. But at the moment the French don’t look like they are going to score many tries and have just been bashing sides into defeat when they have picked up the odd win.
The weekend’s loss to Wales was the fifth in a row against them; their win against Ireland was the first in five years. They are just not competitive on a regular basis any more.
4. IS THIS 6 NATIONS REALLY MORE BORING THEN PREVIOUS YEARS
After the World Cup the Northern Hemisphere sides had something to prove and needed to show the world that they can play the attacking rugby that can make them competitive against the Rugby Championship sides. True, they are playing in winter and some tough, wet conditions at times, but I think the main problem is they have developed players that don’t have the skills.
I went through the scoring details after Round 3 this year and compared it to last. I was not surprised to see that the teams had scored a whopping one point more than in 2015. So all I can say is that nothing has changed and these teams have reverted back to their defensive style of rugby.
I previously have not been a fan of introducing the bonus point into the 6 Nations, but for the benefit of rugby it has to be done.
5. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
So Wales v France was played on the Friday night. 6N games have played before on Friday, but there should be more of them.
The attendance for the Wales v France match was 74 160 (74500 capacity) in Cardiff so it must be said that Friday night tests can be a great success.
Expect other host nations from all over the world to be testing it in big games in the next year or two.
6. THE OTHER 6 NATIONS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS
There are two other 6 Nations tournaments that run in tandem with the men. They are usually held at different grounds on the same weekend though the women played after the men at Twickenham on Saturday.
Women – England is unbeaten and are the only team who can win the Grand Slam, but they are yet to play Wales and France who have dropped just one game.
Under 2o – Wales is undefeated and England, a powerhouse in Under 20s in recent years, has won just one game out of their three.
Scotland thrashed them in Round 24-3 and Ireland beat them last Friday 26-20.
It just goes to show how much the Aussie Under 20s are missing. Last weekend NSW played the Reds U20s in front of mums and dads on a training ground, whilst Ireland were rolling England at Kingston Park.
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