Six Nations: France, England and Wales Take The Points
Gareth Knight reviews the first weekend of the 2012 Six Nations Championship.
6 Feb 2012, 10:00
Gareth's SIx Nations write up
The BBC seems to have reverted straight back to type in its Six Nations coverage and it now looks so haplessly dated. Even putting aside the formal presenter format the BBC cling to, over the course of the weekend they managed to drop their HD broadcast for a short period, they had to switch to the French TV feed (including graphics which were far smaller than the BBC’s) and they managed to miss a key Welsh lineout because they were faffing around with analysis. Add to that one of my pet hates – the score graphic. When are the broadcasters going to realise that there is nobody who can be watching in HD who needs the graphics to be 4x3 friendly?
Then we come on to booing the kickers. The brainless idiots at Murrayfield who were booing Hodgson are a disgrace to the game and their team. If you want to act like disrespectful morons, go watch football. The SRU have got to get to grips with this behaviour and quickly and they are entirely to blame if they don’t, and I also hope the Welsh fan who was alone in screaming as Sexton took his kicks is tracked down by the WRU and banned him from future matches.
All of the points I made in the wake of the World Cup still stand, including kickers wasting time over penalties: http://www.iaindale.com/posts/rugby-world-cup-making-it-even-better. None of this is rocket science and it would vastly improve the game.
France 30 Italy 12
What should have been a rout was far from it and for moments Italy looked like they could pull off a big upset, but as the game went on France’s lead gradually increased.
In many regards this was an ideal performance for France. During the Lievremont era they lacked consistency and discipline but this weekend they showed a style of play that was solid if not exciting (in the way it’s exciting to see a decent friend humiliate himself after a few drinks). The French back row was strong but it was the backs who ensured victory, Julien Malzieu in particular had an amazing game. The scrum needs some work – Italy have a good scrum but Ireland, Scotland and Wales are even stronger and France need to be competing more if they’re to win the championship.
Italy played some of the best rugby I’ve ever seen them play. This wasn’t a team taking opportunities and slugging it out but a team with a game plan. A dominant front row, a back row that equalled the French and some outstanding half-back and fullback play. You can already see why new coach Jacques Brunel is trying to do and I fear his claim that by the 2014 championship Italy will be serious contenders could come true as they clearly have the foundation of an excellent team and with Kristopher Burton playing so well at fly half, a major gap in the Italian game plan is en-route to being filled.
Scotland 6 England 13
Probably the worst Six Nations match I’ve ever seen because of all the errors, missed opportunities and self-inflicted mayhem. Had I been the Television Match Official I would have given the try to Greig Laidlaw – if you watch the replay you can clearly see the ball stop dead which must mean the ball was in contact with both the ground and Laidlaw’s wrist, but I accept that this is so borderline that as many people would not have given it as would have so the decision is probably fair. What I do not understand is why once the decision was made the referee did not go back to the original penalty as the play happened while Scotland had a penalty advantage. A few people commented on this but it seems to have been forgotten.
Scotland have only themselves to blame for losing this match. This was a display of how to turn what should have been an almighty victory into a crushing defeat. The Scots had the possession, the territory, the defence, the scrum, the lineout, the breakdown and countless attacking opportunities, yet they consistently failed to turn any of this into points on the board, whereas England had one opportunistic moment when they had the chance to score a try and they took it. Individual performances from Scottish players were at times extremely impressive but as a team they were dire - poor passes, dropped catches, missed kicks, their ability to run directly into England defenders even when there was acres of space around them and their inability to bring players into the game; Sean Lamont, their best defensive line penetrating back barely touched the ball. On the bright side if you changed fly half and gave the team a lot of practice passing, catching and dodging, you wouldn’t swap many players for next time. The front row got the better of the England scrum all day, ditto the second row and the lineout, same again for the back row at the breakdown. Coach Andy Robinson looked frustrated, and he should be. This kind of performance from such a strong team is unjustifiable.
England’s game plan is to build this fairly new team over the course of the next four years and they’ve suddenly found themselves winning their opening fixture. England got the victory largely thanks to Scottish failings but the winning try was a testament to English pressure and opportunism and they deserved the win for that reason alone. It was noticeable that English discipline has vastly improved and they dictated the pace of the game whenever they were in possession. England made many errors but unlike Scotland they were rarely threatening the Scottish try line so they were less noticeable and less frustrating. I was extremely surprised by how quiet so many England players were. The captaincy is clearly a problem. I thought Chris Robshaw showed signs of immaturity and a lack of gravitas that should accompany an international captain and one has to wonder if he’ll keep his place in the starting lineup once Tom Wood is back from injury. I feel it’s time for England to move to a dual-captaincy arrangement as they have in Ireland, with Ben Foden as team captain and Tom Croft as pack leader and vice-captain. England may have been fortunate to have faced a hapless Scottish team and take a win, but they’ll be all the stronger for it and with some fine tuning, this team may be competing with the stronger and more established teams far sooner than expected.
Ireland 21 Wales 23
If the game at Murrayfield was the worst game of the Six Nations in memory, the game at the Aviva Stadium was one of the best. Two excellent teams playing with speed, passion and skill, using all their players and with twists to boot. The two big decisions of the match... Bradley Davies was all set to be in my team of the week until he bodyslammed, WWF-style, Donnacha Ryan and I have no doubt that he should have been given a red card – it was off the ball and it was deliberate (and I expect an IRB suspension to follow). On the other hand, I don’t think Stephen Ferris should have received a yellow card for his tackle on Ian Evans as it was on the ball and under control.
Ireland can play without Brian O’Driscoll! This was the first time I’ve seen Ireland’s 14 other players play at strength without BOD leading the charge but there’s still a need for some improved communication and leadership among the backs. I believe Fergus McFadden plays better on the wing that at outside centre but I think he played very well, though his inside centre partner Gordon D’Arcy was unusually quiet. The half back combination of Conor Murray and Jonny Sexton worked well, though still not well enough to close down the never-ending debate over the Irish 9 and 10 jerseys. The Ireland defensive line was immense and it seemed impossible to expect them to resist the Welsh attack for as long as they did in the first half. If they can maintain that solidity in defence it’s hard to see Scotland, England, Italy or France breaking through as the Welsh play a defensive line penetration tactic through Jamie Roberts that few others teams manage, so if Wales couldn’t get through, it’s a good sign for Ireland going into the remaining matches.
Every time Wales had the ball they were threatening and it was only the solid Irish defence that denied Wales on numerous occasions – play like that and they’ll score tries a plenty against England, Scotland and Italy. Wales were able to neutralise what should have been Irish dominance in the scrum and at the breakdown and even thought they lost lineouts, it was bizarrely creative lineout play that led to two of Wales’s best opportunities and eventually gave them the winning try. Alex Cuthbert had a good game on the wing though the competition he faces for the position is immense – Leigh Halfpenny, Morgan Stoddart and Aled Brew can all lay claim to the wing position the moment Lee Byrne gets back to his old form at fullback. The great news for Wales is that Ireland away was their hardest match on paper so now we may get to see if Wales truly can turn their World Cup dreams into a Six Nations reality.
My team of the round
(When one of the team is Italian or French, my top home nations player is in brackets).
1. Andrea Lo Cicero – Italy (Cian Healy – Ireland)
Outstanding loosehead play from Lo Cicero in the scrum and in the loose. When he was substituted there was an instantaneous drop in play.
2. Rory Best – Ireland
Nailed his lineout throws with a 100% record and scored a try. Special mention to Leonardo Ghiraldini and Ross Ford for some excellent work, but Best scored a try and chased the ball more.
3. Martin Castrogiovanni – Italy (Euan Murray – Scotland)
Kept the French front row under pressure with some excellent prop play. Euan Murray was one of the hardest working players Scotland had and on work-rate just pips Adam Jones.
4. Pascal Pape – France (Mouritz Botha – England)
Pape played the game of his life against Italy, at every tackle he seemed to show up and make his presence felt. Mouritz Botha had a dream game for England and nudges out Jim Hamilton who seemed to drop off in the second half.
5. Paul O’Connell – Ireland
When O’Connell plays well he’s still the best lock in the Six Nations and he seems to be even better when he’s given the captaincy.
6. Stephen Ferris – Ireland
The breakdown master. The Ferris at 6, O’Brien at 7 combination seems to work, allowing both to hunt the ball down.
7. Justin Tipuric – Wales
The Welsh back row is a hard place to be competing for a place right now, but Tipuric made his claim very clear with a display that made you forget Sam Warburton was off the field.
8. David Denton – Scotland
A difficult decision because Jamie Heaslip and Toby Faletau had such good games for Ireland and Wales, but David Denton stood out because of the way he dominated the breakdown so much. A very good weekend for Number 8s with Parisse and Picamoles also playing blinders.
9. Chris Cusiter – Scotland
This may surprise some of my regular readers as I’m a big fan of Mike Phillips and Conor Murray who had strong games. Cusiter stood out to me because of the way he disrupted the England ball the moment it came out of the scrum.
10. Kris Burton – Italy (Rhys Priestland – Wales)
Finally, an Italian fly half who can compete with the best. Other fly halves had less impressive days but Priestland’s kicking for territory and attacking style, if not his kicking for goal, puts him ahead of the other home nation stand-offs.
11. Julien Malzieu – France (Andrew Trimble – Ireland)
Malzieu was the stand-out player for France – lightning fast and always a threat, he ran 130 metres with the ball – more than any other player except Masi. I tip him to be the top try scorer of the tournament and a thorn in the side of the home nations in the coming weeks. Andrew Trimble had a great game for Ireland while Tommy Bowe had a bit of a ‘mare on the other wing despite scoring.
12. Brad Barritt – England
Jamie Roberts was contained and Sean Lamont never got the ball so I’m saying the top inside centre was Brad Barritt, entirely for his defensive efforts that ensured that when Scotland didn’t mess up there was still an Englishman, perfectly positioned, to get through.
13. Jonathan Davies – Wales
An outstanding performance from the man known within Wales as “not that Jonathan Davies” and outside of Wales as “the other Welsh centre who plays next to Jamie Roberts”. Two tries, more metres run with the ball than the rest of the Welsh three-quarter line combined. Davies is now getting the attention he deserves.
14. George North – Wales
A year ago I was concerned about his handling skills but he’s now rapidly becoming the best winger in the home nations. Max Evans, Lee Jones and David Strettle all had good games, but North is such a standout player that you have to wonder just how long it’ll be before he takes Shane Williams’s top Welsh try scorer record.
15. Rob Kearney – Ireland
Rob Kearney was absolutely outstanding but still only just beats Ben Foden to be in my team of the week. Kearney’s style is very different to Foden’s in that Kearney kicks and passes as well as runs with the ball whereas Foden just runs. Some of Kearney’s high-ball catching and suicidal leaps to secure the ball ensure that Ireland keep moving forward even when up against quality opposition. I said before (http://www.iaindale.com/posts/rugby-world-cup-what-now-for-the-home-nations) that Kearney vs Foden was the contest for the 15 jersey on the next Lions tour and I stand by that claim. Credit to Andrea Masi for his outstanding play for Italy – at 148 metres he ran further with the ball tyhan anyone else all weekend.
Next weekend: Italy vs England, France vs Ireland, Wales vs Scotland
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