6 Nations

[SlapStick 0]

Really interesting 6 nations coming up.Even if there is no interest I will be posting thoughts here. I really cannot wait, the 6 nations is probably my favourite sport tournament.Wales vs Scotland, Wales are obvious favourites for the whole thing and for Sunday aswell. On the bright side for Scotland they have a pack that can contend with Wales and a few backs that can cause some hassle.. Its in Scotland so maybe they could muster up a shock. Wales are playing great and always entertaining to watch. I'm still bitter over them taking the Grand Slam from us so I hope Wales get pelted. I reckon they will win by 20 putting the match in the bag in the second half.England vs Italy. Willhill has Italy at 6-1 for a victory, this is pretty shocking even if England are at home. They have been abismal of late and Italy has one of the best packs out there with their captain Parisse a world class player. They have a new fly-half coming up aswell.I think an England victory by 6-9 points but I would definitely put some money on 6-1 Italy as this is a close match and its not a big suprise if Italy win.Ireland France. For some reason we are being pipped as 2nd favourites. If Kidney can bring back all the confidence we have lost and if O'Driscol can start breaking some lines we have a good chance. His defence is unquestionable and hes obviously world class but its been a while since hes had a game changing moment for us. France have beaten us the last 7(i think) times we played so despite all the reports I am not optimistic. The French manager is bringing a lot of youth and changing his team in a bizarre way so hopefully we can capitalise on it. Plus its in Croker so the atmosphere will be great.Heres to spending every weekend in February in the pub!

[DinkDonk 1]

You know I'm not even sure which sport this is about. I could google it, but I'll just guess....Rugby? Maybe cricket?

[SlapStick 0]

You know I'm not even sure which sport this is about. I could google it, but I'll just guess....Rugby? Maybe cricket?

First one. Rugby. I wish I was home for this, but an Irish bar will have to suffice.

[LJB723 0]

I'll be watching it all.Predicting:No grand slam this year. England are rebuilding (to put it politely). Ireland aren't great, but with O'Driscoll are always dangerous. France are still struggling to find their best team after the WC. Scotland suck but will take heart from decent performances in the autumn and Italy are no good either. Wales will probably win it again but I hear there are doubts over the squad they have selected.WalesIrelandFranceEnglandScotlandItaly

[James D 0]

I don't follow rugby much, but do watch some of the 6 nations matches.Seems like England are being written off, so I predict England to win. That's just what they need, probably, for motivation.

[SlapStick 0]

I don't follow rugby much, but do watch some of the 6 nations matches.Seems like England are being written off, so I predict England to win. That's just what they need, probably, for motivation.

I hope you're uncanny predictions are only stuck to football.It would be terrible if England beat us in Croke Park. A lot of the people on the fence in the GAA persauded the hard liners to let us play in their Stadium. If England beat us there, it would be unfair to the guys who stuck their neck out on the line to get us in there. Brittish soldiers drove into Croke Park and opened fired into the crowd killing 13 and at the players(killing one of the players) during a GAA match in retaliation to 14 assasinations by the rebels in 1920 for those of you who were not aware what the fuss was about.Any English sport and the Union jack have been banned since as the GAA is an appreciate Ireland and no foreign influences kind of group.I'm 100% confident they won't win the whole thing and not even too sure about them against Italy. Everybody should be worried about playing Italy.

[rinswun 6]

Really interesting 6 nations coming up.Even if there is no interest I will be posting thoughts here. I really cannot wait, the 6 nations is probably my favourite sport tournament.Wales vs Scotland, Wales are obvious favourites for the whole thing and for Sunday aswell. On the bright side for Scotland they have a pack that can contend with Wales and a few backs that can cause some hassle.. Its in Scotland so maybe they could muster up a shock. Wales are playing great and always entertaining to watch. I'm still bitter over them taking the Grand Slam from us so I hope Wales get pelted. I reckon they will win by 20 putting the match in the bag in the second half.England vs Italy. Willhill has Italy at 6-1 for a victory, this is pretty shocking even if England are at home. They have been abismal of late and Italy has one of the best packs out there with their captain Parisse a world class player. They have a new fly-half coming up aswell.I think an England victory by 6-9 points but I would definitely put some money on 6-1 Italy as this is a close match and its not a big suprise if Italy win.Ireland France. For some reason we are being pipped as 2nd favourites. If Kidney can bring back all the confidence we have lost and if O'Driscol can start breaking some lines we have a good chance. His defence is unquestionable and hes obviously world class but its been a while since hes had a game changing moment for us. France have beaten us the last 7(i think) times we played so despite all the reports I am not optimistic. The French manager is bringing a lot of youth and changing his team in a bizarre way so hopefully we can capitalise on it. Plus its in Croker so the atmosphere will be great.Heres to spending every weekend in February in the pub!

excellent thread! my thoughts on the games:England v Italy:Italy will be sticking to a very simple game plan - ruck, maul, ruck, maul and basic one out rugby - as they have got very little to work with outside their pack, so much so they've picked Mauro Bergamasco (a flanker) at scrum half. The english front five will need to be on their game and ready for some attritional battles up front. I expect the score to be within 7 after 60 minutes but then the english sub backs (Geraghty and Tait) will come on and tear the tired legs of the italians apart with the final score probably england by 18-25.Wales v Scotland:Wales are the form team in the championship, are well prepared and comfortable playing in the big games. They remind me of England in the years leading up to the 2003 world cup, except they have a little more flair out wide. Lee Byrne is probably the best player in the tournament and could be a good bet for top try scorer. Scotland have seemingly been rebuilding for 10 years and theyve left out their probably their best players in Chris Paterson and the Evans brothers (i played with Thom in a few 7s comps a couple of years ago and he might be the quickest player i have seen over half a pitch) but they have a decent tight five so could keep it close for a while. I dont see Wales losing this one though and should be good by 12-19.Ireland v France:French rugby is going through a low point right now with just one team in the Heineken cup quarters, and some boring, stale rugby being played in their domestic leagues (i watched the Stade/Perpignan game in Paris last week and it was the dullest game i have ever been too). Sadly, Ireland havent been a whole lot better recently but the provinces have been exception in Europe, particular Munster and particular their pack and Ronan O'Gara. I expect this one to be dominated by territorial kicking and if the irish lineout thrives they should have enough to win it. A tight one, ireland by 1-5.Overall:I really dont see anyone in Wales class again this year and i expect another Grand Slam. Ireland should ride the good form of their domestic teams into second place though if France's Mr Hyde side turns up they could well flipflop. England are rebuilding and are just too inexperienced/lacking in class to cope with the better teams over 80 minutes. Scotland really havent progressed much recently but will be looking to this year as a springboard for future seasons. Italy will just be hoping to keep closing the gap between themselves and the others.1.Wales2.Ireland3.France4.England5.Scotland6.Italy

[SlapStick 0]

Agree with nearly all of the above. I'm pretty sure France will beat us though, I've just come to expect it. I'll never forgive Geordan Murphy for missing that tackle in the last minutes 2 years ago when France scored a later winner.Best part of this tournament is you never have a clue what can happen. Every year it never fails.

[rinswun 6]

Agree with nearly all of the above. I'm pretty sure France will beat us though, I've just come to expect it. I'll never forgive Geordan Murphy for missing that tackle in the last minutes 2 years ago when France scored a later winner.Best part of this tournament is you never have a clue what can happen. Every year it never fails.

LOL, i nearly got sacked from my job at the time because of this. I was working in a call centre at the time (yawn) and was watching the game on the bbc site which was obviously banned. Anyways, France score and i shout 'dick head' forgetting where i am - my dad's from Clare so i had a rooting interest in the Irish. My manager appears from no where and reprimands me giving me all this guff about final warnings and what not. I left soon after. Devasting blow though, pretty much the best chance the Irish had of winning the 6 nations.

[mrpaddyx 13]

Just watched the Scotland game, what a load of rubbish! wooden spoon here we come!

[LJB723 0]

Just watched the Scotland game, what a load of rubbish! wooden spoon here we come!

Not really. Wales are very, very good remember. Byrne and Williams are the best backs in world rugby right now, this was always going to be a pretty heavy pasting for us.Ireland and France both looked pretty good in their game so I think one of them will still be challenging.But Italy and England were dire. Granted Italy had a flanker at scrum-half, and boy could you tell but England could only get points when he made mistakes. So I can't see how they'll penetrate the Welsh, Irish or French. If Italy's old no9 was still around (bald fella, name escapes me) then things could have been different. England are going to get thumped in Cardiff. Except Cueto, who I've always liked but can't put a reason on it...

[rinswun 6]

england were awful. against any other team they would have been destroyed but italy left themselves with too much to do in the second half. bergamasco's performance was one of the worst i have ever seen by a scrum half, huge misstep by the management not to bring him off earlier.ireland and france both looked very good and that was easily the best game of the 3. o'driscoll had his best game in an ireland shirt since maybe the last lions tour and that has to put the fear into the other teams. the french were counter-attacking brilliantly but looked a bit less impressive from first phase ball.wales did enough against scotland but never really got out of 3rd gear against a scotland team who need to start the evans brother next time out. when max came on they looked much more dangerous and offered an attacking threat for the 1st time. wales scored some good tries but it wasnt an exceptional performance by any means.

[SlapStick 0]

I'm still in shock. France have ruined nearly every one of our last six nations when we had a good team. I can't believe we beat them.There was a lot of positives for us. We never let our heads drop, whenever France scored we got another one quickly after. After our terrible kicking in the first half allowing them to run at us, we stopped doing it so much in the second, something that didn't happen with O'Sullivan.With O'Sullivan, Leamy would have been brought into the team, Heaslip got his chance and took man of the match.Even as good as O'Driscol was he wasn't even in our top 3 players on the night so it was great.It was about time we beat them, trust me when we lead by 6 in the last 10 minutes not one Irish person was confident.Gordon Darcy came back after a year out froma broken arm in 7 places and bagged a try, great news.Wales toughest challenge will have to be going to Paris and then who knows with Ireland in Cardiff.They look very impressive and can definitely make more scores then the french did running through our lines. Its Wales to lose at the moment.England looked pretty bad and it was depressing how bad Italy were. England need a proper performance against Wales or they are going to get stuffed by France and Ireland too.I'm not looking forward to going to Murrayfield, things will be a lot of clearer of everyones form after the 2nd match.

[SlapStick 0]

Its hard to make any crazy predictions for these matches.Wales England: Will be a tough encounter with England playing it up front, I think if England can hold on for the first 30 minutes it can be a close match but they will lose. I reckon Wales will be too much and win by 16-19 points. I hope England give them a good test, check out how their pack holds up.France Scotland: Will probably be a depressing match with Scotland making mistakes and France punishing them. I hope not but most likely it will be. France by 20-25Ireland Italy: Will be a very tough match, Bergomasco is back in as flanker and Griffen is a good fly-half. If our pack play like it did last week we can win it well. I'm pretty afraid of the Italians but we should win. Its going to be ugly rugby. Ireland by 6 points

[SlapStick 0]

If Italy's old no9 was still around (bald fella, name escapes me) then things could have been different.

Alessandro Troncon. Great player

[LJB723 0]

Alessandro Troncon. Great player

Grazie. That was doing my head in!I'm dissapointed Williams is injured for the game against England, if both he and Byrne were fit the English would get caned.Of course we'll get trounced tomorrow. Although the French squad confuses me, I barely recognise anyone and I'm a Stade fan (casual obviously). So maybewe have a tiny chance.And Ireland will beat Italy handsomly but thats a given isn't it?

[rinswun 6]

my thoughts on this weeks games:Wales/England:Martin Johnson has very much named a defensive team designed to stifle the Welsh by cutting off quick ball and clog up the midfield. Worsley and Tindall will bring experience and presence to the English team and i think we'll see a marked improvement from last weeks debacle, especially in the first half where i wouldnt be surprised if it was within a point or two either way or possibly a draw. The English kicking game will also be key as the Welsh back three, even without Williams, are extremely dangerous and can counter attack from anywhere. IF they find their touches and put pressure on the lineout, they may be able to keep in within 7 points but i am gonna go for a Welsh victory by 8-15 points with the wide men scoring the tries.France/Scotland:For the last 20 minutes last week Scotland where able to compete with Wales upfront and laid a platform for the backs to get good quick ball which they exploited with a Max Evans try. This French pack isnt as strong as the Welsh and if the Scots can keep this intensity up for 80 minutes there is certainly the chance of an upset here. The French played some great stuff against the Irish but still came away with a 9 point loss which indicates to me that they dont quite have the class of years previous. They are still very dangerous in broken play but Scotland have recalled Thom Evans who is lightening fast will light up the championship if given the chance, and he provides a counter threat to the French themselves. I see this one being the closest of all the games this weekend with the French just eeking out a 1-5 point win IF the Scottish pack fronts up.Italy/Ireland:Ireland are the only team that have named an unchanged team since last week but, sadly for them, the Italians have actually put a scrum half at scrum half - tactical genius duh! Italy were actually pretty good in the second half last week, albeit against a very poor England but i dont see them being able to put the Irish pack under any pressure which could lead to a bit of a bloodbath in the backs as BO'D looks like being close to his old self and Italy really dont have much class in the midfield. I see a 20-27 point victory for the Irish and top spot at the end of week 2.

[LJB723 0]

Rinswun has teh knowledge.

[rinswun 6]

Rinswun has teh knowledge.

heh just educated guesses my man. i was lucky enough to play a pretty high standard of rugby for a long while and got to play with or against quite a few of the current guys in and around the international squads. the fact england are struggling so badly and i never made it probably tells you all you need to know there lol.

[SlapStick 0]

Quality predictions rinswun even if France did grab a bit more.The only thing I see from all these matches is that it is bad news for Ireland.

[SlapStick 0]

Prediction time.Wales vs France: who the hell knows what France are up to. Baby playing out-half for the first time ever. I really can't wait for this one. Wales looked vunerable at times against England but a team can't force the play for the whole game, they are a class act and have become pretty ruthless. I think Wales by 12 points in a tough match. I basically despise wales since they (deservedly) took our Grandslam away from us and Scotland is the only Brittish team I would officially cheer for( I was rooting for England in Cardiff sssshhhhhh) so I want France to win. Wales pack and backs are just so solid if someone could point out some weaknesses that would be nice.Hoping for a good game but I think Wales will just be too professional and when they take a lead will close it out.Whats the views about the Friday Night match in your respective countries Brits? I'm in Israel so I don't get to hear much of the banter except for my dads updates on his failure to get a ticket t Croke Park.Ireland England. Anyone who thinks Ireland are clear favourites are blind or trying to build us up so we bottle it AGAIN. England will cause us a lot of trouble at the breakdown. If we don't have fast ball they will neuter us. I like how our front 3 is consistently targeted but always holds up. The talk of targeting the 10-12 channel is funny and I don't think it will be a problem for us. They are rugby players after all, if they were weak tacklers they wouldn't be playing.Hopefully Paddy Wallace can finally get his chance at centre and justify Kidneys faith in him. We've been calling him Paddy Balboa, both eyes 18 sticthes in 2 games.I have no idea why Easter is still there(Guscott certainly is not happy about it). Our backrow 3 are in excellent form and Johnson should have made some changes to combat that.If Flood plays the ball like he is expected to we could have a cracker of a game.I'm not optimistic but I say Ireland by 10. The Croker affect will help us a lot. Playing England in Croke Park is all the motivation the players need.Italy Scotland. 90% chance that the best way to describe this game afterwards will be "Ugh". I hope its a good game and have no idea who will win. If the Evans brothers are playing maybe the spark in the backs can be the deciding factor, as good as Italys pack are ,the backs offered barely anything in attack against Ireland.cool article about rugby in America: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/...9722117665.html

[rinswun 6]

damn, this weekend snuck up real quick and now i have to head out and wont have any time to do my proper predictions.france/wales: i agree almost completely with what you said slapstick and think wales will take it by 10-15. i have no idea what lievermont is thinking in his team selection and i think it will backfire. wales are too professional to let a little thing like the parisian crowd intimidate them.ireland/england: i think ireland will win this one by 10-15. england have improved - not difficult - but are still too negative in their approach to beat the irish at what will essentially be their own game, tough work in tight and then spread it wide. i expect england to take less penalties but to have far less possession and eventually conceed a couple of late scores.scotland/italy: blah, the wooden spoon decider shouldnt really be much of a contest at all. scotland have been a much better team in the tournament so far and the only chance italy have of keeping this close is by illegally battering the scottish as they did to the irish last week in the first half. scotland by 20-25.fwiw, i HATE the fact there is a friday night game this week. i dont know who's decision it is or why theyve made it, but its crap - stick with the 3rd game on a sunday or have all of them on the same day. friday night is for drinks after work, not six nations rugby. urgh.

[Jargonator 0]

If Ireland bottle it today I plan on renouncing my citizenship and moving to Africa,With that being said, from this 6nations England have seemed utterly flat and unimaginative with the exception of maybe Sackey,Looking for O'Gara to completely outclass Flood and give Ireland direction and get the back line moving like they can for once.

[SlapStick 0]

Well Rin we were wrong about Wales.I think Martin Johnson is lucky. Lucky that Ronan O'gara brought his clown shoes instead of his rugby boots so now he can say sin bins cost him the match and the media can agree with him. If O'Gara knocked over those easy(for him) kicks the match would have been out of reach and exposed his unimaginative not one risk taking selection.It was a worrying performance for Ireland and a lot to be talked about but for Johnson to happily blame the sin bins and have his many flaws not highlighted is ridiculous. Vickery was a clear sending off as the ref told them the next one to foul in the red area will see yellow. The Care one was wreckless but Im ok with those bits of aggression in the heat of the moment and it was a scrum half on a prop. Kind of meh but if the ref calls...ok.Oh and a classic rugby ref comment in the Scottish Match when Danielli went down after being "blocked" by a player.."Anymore of that and you'll be off to Drama School"

[rinswun 6]

Well Rin we were wrong about Wales.I think Martin Johnson is lucky. Lucky that Ronan O'gara brought his clown shoes instead of his rugby boots so now he can say sin bins cost him the match and the media can agree with him. If O'Gara knocked over those easy(for him) kicks the match would have been out of reach and exposed his unimaginative not one risk taking selection.It was a worrying performance for Ireland and a lot to be talked about but for Johnson to happily blame the sin bins and have his many flaws not highlighted is ridiculous. Vickery was a clear sending off as the ref told them the next one to foul in the red area will see yellow. The Care one was wreckless but Im ok with those bits of aggression in the heat of the moment and it was a scrum half on a prop. Kind of meh but if the ref calls...ok.Oh and a classic rugby ref comment in the Scottish Match when Danielli went down after being "blocked" by a player.."Anymore of that and you'll be off to Drama School"

i missed 2 of the games this week - the friday game due to a work function and the scotland game because i was off watching brentford/bury. from what i hear france deserved the win and it looked like wales were complacent. maybe theyre starting to believe their own hype and thinking they only have to turn up to win? i pity poor italy because i imagine they will be on the end of a wales backlash if that is the case, as the coaching staff will have beasted them in training. i was shocked to hear of the loss though for sure.ireland/england was a pretty poor advert for the game. both teams pretty much cancelled each other out and england's negativity is really ruining their games as a spectacle - one tait burst and 1 decent tindall break are about all the positive points i can remember. i totally agree that johnson will keep fixating on the sin-binnings and not focussing on the short-comings of his side. until they change tact and start spreading it wide they are going to continue losing tight games, as they are predictable and easy to defend by just defending in tight and clogging up the middle.looking forward to wales/ireland for the championship now - come on ireland!