There were some interesting observations on the weekend, not all about the rugby.
For Round 1 of Six Nations we talk about commentators having fun, two referees, whacky lineouts, trival matters, winners and losers from the weekend, and a pride of Lions.
Uini Atonio – large human
Quotes
The commentators were in good form on the weekend.
Nick Mullins mentioned the 934 kg France pack and the large units, which included 145kgs THP Uini Atonio:
Lawrence Dallaglio: “I saw them this morning coming out of the team hotel at Richmond Hill. I was walking the dog – and the dog turned around.”
David Flatman: “You wouldn’t want to share a rickshaw with any one of them to be honest.”
David Flatman of a French forward interfering with play on the ground: “He’s making no effort to move; at least give it a proper wriggle to make the ref think you’re trying”.
David Wallace on Kearney trying to score near the corner post, but a part of his body went into touch. “It’s only a few blades of grass and he’s hanging over it – his arse is just a little bit in touch there.”
The wise Paul O’Connell at Murrayfield: “You can play as you like once you have quick ball from the ruck.”
JP Doyle – ball has to be in straight – sometimes
Referees
A while back, up north, they had a crackdown on crooked feeds to the scrum. It lasted until Christmas.
On Sunday JP Doyle warned the Wales scrummie in Paris if his team went for a pushover scrum: “If you don’t strike I want it in the middle.”
So if they did strike it was OK to put it in crooked, JP?
Angus Gardner pinged someone at Twickenham for diving on the ball emerging from a ruck. Commentator Dallaglio had no clue why, but Gardner was right.
Players can’t do that – nor when it emerges from a scrum. It’s in the book.
Hands up those who remember that law being invoked? I do: it was in 2003 when the Poms played the All Blacks in Wellington in the test when they defended with 13 men for a while and won. They were pinged at a scrum for that, by Stuart Dickinson.
The look on Martin Johnson’s face was priceless. Dallaglio should have remembered – he played in that game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BqZm68AgO4
Scotland surprising lineout at 2 mins 15 secs
The tale of two lineouts
It was the best of lineouts; it was the worst of lineouts.
• At Murrayfield Scotland got a 5-metre lineout in the 28th minute.
The personnel of the Scotland lineout was interesting. At the front was scrumhalf Greig Laidlaw, behind him was winger Tommy Seymour and third was inside centre Alex Dunbar—not your basic tall timber.
Rory Best of Ireland was marking Laidlaw and the other two were lonely.
Ford threw the ball to no. 3 man, Dunbar, who caught it and saw nothing but grass in front of him, and he scored.
It was as though it was a cunning plan dreamed up by Baldrick, but it worked.
• After 17 minutes at Twickenham Hartley throws to the England lineout and everything went wrong. Needing only Looney Tunes’ music Hartley realises something is amiss, balks, then throws anyway. It hit Courtney Lawes near the number 5 on his back because he was facing the other way.
England got pinged for balking.
Richie and Jonny Gray (v Australia) – top tacklers
Trivia
• Openside flankers play on the open side don’t they and they wear the no. 7 shirt, right – unless they’re from South Africa where it’s the other way around.
Not for France they don’t: Dusatoir always packed down on the left hand side of the scrum and it looks like the current no. 7, Kevin Gourdon, prefers the left hand side all the time too.
I said it was trivia.
• Scotland usually start their season real slowly before engaging second gear and that’s where they usually stay; but their win against Ireland meant it was their first win in the opening round since 2006. That’s when they beat France – the only other time they have won in Round 1 since the tournament started in 2000.
• Two shades of Gray. The Gray brothers lock the scrum for Scotland and they topped the tackle count at Murrayfied. Jonny tackled 27 Ireland players and Richie downed 24. Of the top ten tacklers in the match, nine played for Scotland.
Wales v Italy – Wales came good after an hour
Winners and losers
1. Scotland was the biggest winner – not in the margin but compared to expectations. Their comeback was scarcely less meritorious than their sensational start.
2. Wales looked poor in the first half and didn’t shine until the hour mark – but was this because Italy fell away or because Wales overcame them? Maybe both.
3. England won ugly, but they won, with a poor effort at home. The best feature was the effect of their bench which the England skipper, a Kiwi, said were “finishers”.
4. Ireland were out-hustled early, made too many errors, and looked out-coached, a rare happening. Their big ball runners did some damage but not as much as expected.
5. France showed signs of their good play against the All Blacks in November, but then deteriorated into the tentative team that could not score enough against a scratch Aussie side.
6. Italy were good for nearly and hour but the familiar poor discipline emerged to help Wales to win comfortably at the end.
Happy Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw – top scrumhalf of Round 1
Lions XV
(heavily weighted for Round 1)
1. Jack McGrath
2, Jamie George
3. Tadh Furlong
4. Richie Gray
5. Jonny Gray
6. CJ Stander
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Jamie Heaslip
9. Greig Laidlaw
10. Finn Russell
11. Elliot Daly
12. Owen Farrell
13. Jonathan Davies
14. Sean Maitland
15. Stuart Hogg
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