The men with the mikes
The RBS 6 Nations commentators we listened to in Australia were in good form.
When Italy flanker Alessandro Zanni had to go off for a blood bin and be replaced, Eddie Butler quipped.
When the Paris crowd started singing “La Marseillaise” when they were one point down, Wales legendary flyhalf, “Jiffy” Davies, remarked:
I think, they think, they’re winning.
Ex-England hooker Brian Moore, a lawyer, was also in Paris:
From the studio another ex-England hooker, Steve Thompson, said Scotland v England was a slow game which favoured England and their no.8
Just as well he stayed on.
Steve Thompson in his playing days – blew a few out himself
Irishman Ryle Nugent showing a healthy bias towards the team in green, when the Wales’ hooker, Scott Baldwin, dropped the ball at a dangerous place in the field.
The wrong man in the right place.
And Nugent again after Wales were hammering the Ireland defenders just before Priestland redeemed himself by slotting a crunch penalty to get Wales ahead 16-13.
Ireland v Wales – an excellent bruising game
The rookies
There are usually a few debutants in the opening round of Six Nations because of retirements, or from coaches looking for fresh faces; but France and Italy went overboard and named six apiece for the opening game of Six Nations.
At the other end of the scale Scotland, England and Ireland had only one each. and Wales didn’t have any.
Most were reserves but some started in their first test match—and two won the official Man of the Match awards.
New France coach Guy Novès would have been pleased with his selection of winger Virimi Vakatawa, who was adjudged the best player on the field. He gained 63 metres in eleven carries, but the way he attracted defenders was more important than stats.
If that seemed a good shift it was all the more commendable because if was the first game of XVs for the former France Sevens player since he started for Racing92 in the Heineken Cup in December 2013.
CJ Stander – outstanding for his adopted country
There was another good story at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Test rookie CJ Stander got the official Man of the Match award for his relentless aggression and skill on the blindside flank for Ireland against Wales, though he usually wears the 8 jersey for Munster.
Roll call of Rookies – Round 1 of RBS 6Nations 2016
France: S Bezy, Y Camara, J Danty, P Jedrasiak, J Poirot, V Vakatawa. Italy: M Bellini, O Gega, A Lovotti, DM Odiete, AJ van Schalkwyk, M Zanusso. Scotland:ZJR Fagerson. England: JA Clifford. Ireland: CJ Stander
Six nations howlers
We’ve all done them on the rugby field but few of us have been paid when making them.
There are sliding doors in all sports and although one never knows what would have happened but for the howler, the arithmetic hints that two games were lost because of them, and another would have been won, not drawn.
The Priestland blunder
In the 24th minute scrummie Gareth Davies of Wales box kicks the ball over the ruck near his goal line but Ireland giraffe Devin Toner leaps up and slaps the ball forward to Wales’ reserve Rhys Preistland standing in-goal. He kicks the ball out for Wales .
Ireland get a lineout eight metres out from the Wales’ line and soon their scrummie Conor Murray is scoring a try.
Preistland should have grounded the ball in-goal because Toner had put it over the goal line. It would have been a 22-metre dropout for Wales, but Priestland wasn’t thinking.
It costs seven points—and the match is drawn.
Rhys Priestland – shouldn’t have kicked the ball out
The Parisse predicament
After flyhalf Jules Plisson of France launches his missile penalty goal from half-way, and wide out, Italy is behind by two points with only five minutes left.
The mission for Italy now is to get the ball into the France half and retain possession of it up the middle; and a penalty to the attacking team may be in the offing.
But the France players are like choir boys, some of the ugliest ones you ever saw, and it dawns on me that they had even read the law book.
So Italy skipper, Sergi Parisse, who had done everything at the stadium but sell the programmes, takes it upon himself to attempt a drop kick from 40 metres out. It never has a prayer because the ball isn’t dropped properly, as one sees in the photo below.
It is a blunder because he should have organised reserve flyhalf Kelly Haimona to make the attempt, or at least asked his forwards to take the ball up closer—or both.
Sergio Parisse trying that kick – not a great drop
The Zanni intervention
In the 60th minute Danty takes the ball up from the Italy 22 and runs straight towards France tight head prop Lorenzo Cittadini. Right winger, Hugo Bonneval of France, tracks the play across the field and appears outside Danty near the other touchline.
Italy flanker Alessandro Zanni is back-pedalling and makes a decision to help Cittadini out. Big mistake: Danty dishes to Bonneval and he scores in the corner and the result is seven points to France, who win the match by two.
Hugo Bonneval scores in the corner – courtesy of Danty attracting two defenders
Not much change
The Ireland v Wales test showed that you didn’t need an expansive game for it to be full of interest. In the end it got down to a match of fine margins where aggression, exactly applied within the laws, was as absorbing as chucking the ball around.
Although their handling was not perfect all the time, the ball retention of both sides in wet conditions was commendable.
But was there any hint that the teams were seeking a more expansive style as a reaction to the poor showing of the Six Nations sides at the Rugby World Cup?
Not really—it was the same old, same old, but there were a couple of brilliant tries at Stade Français.
The Bonneval try has been mentioned above but the first try of the game in the 14th minute, also underwritten by attacking intent, was a cracker also.
Lock Paul Jedrasiak of France was felled in the Italy 22 and he popped the ball to no. 8 Louis Picamoles, who charged around before dishing to Maxime Medard. The fullback fixed Italy winger, Leonardo Sarto, in place before passing to Vakatawa who scored after his left foot had only one blade of grass to spare next to the chalk.
Ironically it cost the services of Picamoles for some time.
Vakatawa was also involved in the Bonneval try, as he broke three tackles before going to ground in the fourth, to set up the scoring move.
Louis Picamoles – injured early setting up first try of the game
Trivial pursuits
There are always some interesting tid-bits arising from RBS 6 Nations; some have already been mentioned in the preview of the tournament or the match reports but here are trivial pursuits from Green and Gold’s resident train spotter “mxyzptik”.
○ Reportedly, France legend Thomas Castaignede was scathing for the BBC about the performance of his old team: “I didn’t think we could do worse than the World Cup but I think I was wrong”. Ouch.
○ George North talked about how refreshing it’d be to leave Northampton for Wales for a while where he could get the ball into space and run. Did he? Not really — looked for contact more often than not, trying to drag defenders in.
George North – not a lot of space against Ireland
○ England had the most possession and territory of any side. But given how ineffective Scotland were, I have to wonder if England could do more with all that ball.
○ Ireland and Wales were more accurate than the other 6N sides despite the Sunday wet weather. Each committed the fewest errors of the weekend (France 44, Italy 42, Scotland 38, England 34, Ireland 32, Wales 30). Together, the two Celtic teams produced the least total turnovers in their game; but England had the fewest overall with seven.
○ The Dublin test also produced 59 kicks, the fewest of Round 1. The weekend tally was England 41, France 34, Scotland 31, Wales 31, Italy 29, Ireland 28 (the fewest of any nation).
In the first 60 minutes, Ireland kicked no chips, grubbers or cross-kicks. I wonder if that was the Wales game plan?
Not that a low number is always the best: the All Blacks kick the cover off the ball but their chasers are lethal.
○ Wales passed the ball a lot: Wales 203, Ireland 178, France 177, Scotland 135, Italy 123, England 110.
○ Wales also carried the ball more: Wales 155 (including L. Williams 19), Ireland 146 (Stander 23), France 122 (Medard 18), Scotland 111 (Hogg 18), Italy 110 (Parisse19), England 102 (B. Vunipola 22)
○ Line breaks in Dublin: Ireland 7 – Wales 0.
