Well the dust has settled on the 2015 RBS 6 Nations, and what a parting gift it has left us. Super Saturday was an incredible day of rugby, with so much scoring and excitement that even Super Rugby got a bit jealous. For England fans, its yet another year of coming astonishingly close, and still failing. Scotland will be similarly disappointed, as they suffer the dejection of the wooden spoon, despite playing some phenomenal rugby. France were unspeakably French, and Italy looked woeful in their final match. Wales will have some positives, thanks to a remarkable comeback late in the tournament and an excellent finish. With the world cup fast approaching, things have become very interesting.
Italy vs Wales:
The first half of this fixture offers Italy some hope when Sergio Parisse retires. Fantastic play from Francesco Minto and Samuela Vunisa resulted in Italy hanging right with Wales for the first part of the fixture. Vunisa made an excellent break, and Minto put in a ton of work all around the park. However, Italy simply did not however the firepower to compete with the likes of Wales.
Some excellent quick thinking from Rhys Webb, who is rapidly become a devastating weapon for Wales, took advantage of some Italian afterthought and a sublime line from Liam Williams saw him under the posts. Moments later another good line from Williams put George North away, and after that, the rugby match disintegrated into a track meet.
Andrea Masi’s sin-binning made things worse for Italy, and before the 10 minutes was up, Wales had put 2 more tries on the board.
Thats not to say that Italy were woeful, as a matter of fact, the Italians actually put together some excellent phases, and looked very dangerous from time to time. Giovanbattista Venditti had an excellent game, scoring himself, and setting up Leonardo Sarto’s excellent try. Edoardo Gori had a good appearance, and one has to wonder if the scoreline would have been different with attacking prowess of Kelly Haimona on the field.
Jamie Roberts stood out, taking his try well, and doing what he does best. Solid, reliable defence, good distribution, and crossing the gainline, time and time again. Liam Williams adds another dimension to the Welsh game, and from an attacking point of view, Wales look more dangerous with him on the field. Scott Williams also looked really good, and Jonathan Davies will probably be feeling his seat getting warmer as Williams continues to improve.
Of course, the star of the show was the hat-trick man, George North. North scored three excellent tries, and has been playing with a vengeance since his concussion subsided. When on form, there are not many wingers in the world who are as talented as North, and Wales know exactly how to put him in space. When Wales execute, and North gets his opportunities, they make for a very dangerous side.
If Wales can play in this dominant form week in and week out, there is no doubt that they have a real chance at winning the World Cup, but my question is, what took so long?
Scotland vs Ireland:
Actually a rather similar story to Italy vs Wales here. Scotland were right with Ireland for much of the first half. Finn Russell scored a phenomenal try, and Stuart Hogg, was, as he has been since week 1, incredible.
However, with a championship on the line, and their backs to the wall, Ireland were simply too much for the Scots, whose poor finish climaxed on the day.
Paul O’Connell’s great form continued, as he scored a very good try from close range, setting the tone for a day in which the Irish forwards expressed quite a bit of dominance over their Scottish opponents. O’Connell has been excellent with ball in hand over the past two weeks, and Sean O’Brien and Cian Healy were back to their best. Healy vindicated himself after Joe Schmidt’s controversial choice of him over Jack McGrath, with some early turnovers, plenty of tackles, and good work with ball in hand.
Likewise, Luke Fitzgerald showed that he was well worth being picked over Simon Zebo. Early and often Fitzgerald showed the quick feet and swiveling hips that Ireland and Leinster fans have been missing over the years. One must feel for Zebo, who had an excellent tournament, and Craig Gilroy, who has been tearing it up for Ulster, but Fitzgerald earned his way back into the side, and the fruits of his labor were visible on saturday.
Scotland were not without bright spots in their side as well. Adam Ashe and David Denton looked really good throughout the match with ball in hand. Denton in particular led all Scottish forwards with meters made, while Ashe was simply everywhere, constantly looking for work. These two, along with the likes of Jonny Gray, offer a glimpse of the bright future that surely awaits Scotland. Its worth remembering that Rome wasn’t built in a day, just ask Jacques Brunel. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne also looked very potent off the bench, and if his form continues,
Greig Laidlaw might start to be a little worried about his security in the 9 shirt.
Stuart Hogg has carried Scotland for much of the tournament, and he rapidly growing into one of the worlds best fullbacks. I know, that is a bold statement, but if you look at what he has done for Scotland in this tournament, there can be no denying that he has been incredible. Hogg led the tournament in meters made, carries, defenders beaten, and whenever his team needed him, he stepped up. His try saving tackles against England, and the fact that he so nearly scored late against Ireland, truly reflect how good this young man has become. Definitely one to watch come world cup time.
This was really a day for Ireland to come out and silence their critics. People said they wouldn’t get the required points because they kick too much, well, Ireland ran out and played exciting, explosive rugby. George Hook is eating crow, again, after calling Jared Payne, who has really grown into the 13 shirt over the last two rounds, a “second rate foreign player”. Rory Best was a disruptive force at the breakdown, and had Ireland’s lineout clicking after it misfired against Wales, and Jonny Sexton marshalled an Irish backline that was always threatening. Most impressive however, was Sean O’Brien’s return to his best. Two tries, 68 meters made, 8 tackles, 7 defenders beaten, the Tullow Tank was at it again.
It really was a very impressive display from Joe Schmidt’s side, and even though they were not able to improve on last season, and win the Grand Slam, Ireland showed just how dangerous they might be when the World Cup kicks off in London. As for Scotland, there is a lot to do, but if anyone can do it, its Vern Cotter. Even though Scotland took the wooden spoon, they played better than Italy for much of the tournament, and if South Africa are not careful, they really could shake things up in pool B.
England vs France:
To say that England will be disappointed would be a slight understatement. In fact, I think the last Englishman to feel this bad would probably have to be Neville Chamberlain after that “Peace in our time” thing didn’t really work out.
Of course, leave it to France to play their best rugby when they have nothing to play for.
In all seriousness though, this was probably one of the most high paced games in the history of the 6 Nations. With England aware that they needed to move quickly and put points on the board, there was no time wasted walking around, England hustled to kicks and lineouts, and this made for plenty of time for try scoring, and both sides were all to happy to oblige.
England’s pack was, once again, a dominant force during the match. Up against a big front row of Debaty, Guirado, and Mas, Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, and Dan Cole got the job done. Marler and Cole might not have been as effective in loose play as they have been in past weeks, but they kept France from getting the ascendancy at the scrum and lineout, and they gave England the forward momentum they needed to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Ben Youngs played, without a shadow of a doubt, his best game of the tournament. He tore the French defence to pieces, and set up his teammates for try after try. Danny Care is a great player, but he may find it difficult to take the 9 shirt back after so many quality outings from Youngs. George Ford also had a great game. The young out-half was fantastic, apart from one satisfactory showing against Ireland, and is really growing into a fantastic player for England.
Jack Nowell continues to improve, and his double reflects that. He has been one of England’s best weapons since he has come into the side. Even when the likes of Jonathan Joseph and George Ford were silenced by Ireland’s stoic defence, Nowell consistently made meters, and plenty of them. England have uncovered many stars in this seasons 6 Nations, and Nowell is one of the brightest.
Jules Plisson will now be giving Kelly Haimona his lucky kicking boots back, after a woeful day kicking for posts, and getting absolutely battered by Courtney Lawes. Overall, Plisson really struggled, and while you wouldn’t expect a dominant display from such a newly formed backline, you would expect fewer basic errors, and better kicking.
Maxime Mermoz had a great game, confusing and dazzling English defenders with his quick feet, while Luther Burrell was very quiet. Jonathan Joseph might not have gotten his fifth try, but his pace kept Gael Fickou on edge. Noa Nakaitaci will have soiled his pants after nearly stepping out of bounds before scoring, but he seemed to have few issues with tiptoeing along the white lines, as he ran his way to a team leading 163 meters, and setting up Vincent Debaty’s remarkable try. Sadly, it has been confirmed that Debaty suffered a heart attack after running so far, and hundreds of past props turned in their graves as they heard of the remarkable feat. Scott Spedding also looked dangerous, while Yoann Huget uncharacteristically quiet tournament continued.
England have laid the foundations for a really good team here. They might have made a few key mistakes that probably cost them their title, such as James Haskell’s yellow, and the lackluster showing against Ireland, but this is a side that is built for success. With the likes of Joe Launchbury, Manu Tuilagi, and Davey Wilson to name a few, coming back, England are in a really good place for the World Cup, which is being played in their backyard. As for France, well, this is not the France that made the incredible run to the final in 2011, but is that the France that will turn up? We haven’t a f#*@ing clue.
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Superb article on a truly amazing day of rugby. Well done!