RBS Six Nations: Ranking the Backs

As we come into another great weekend of RBS Six Nations rugby and following up on our article Ranking the Forwards, Here is how we rank the back lines of Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, France and Italy.

6. Italy:

Here we go again. Italy have yet to record a win, and their play has been pretty
cringeworthy most of the time. There are a lot of young stars in the Italian team, and they have looked really good for brief flashes, but the these moments do not make up for the defensive lapses and general lack of focus that this Italian team shows. On the bright side, Luca Morisi seems to have taken Campagnaro’s notes on announcing yourself as a 13 with his double against England, and Andrea Masi actually looked quite promising as a 12. Italy’s biggest problem lies in finding a quality option at 10. Kelly Haimona has looked dangerous at times, but his poor decision making and prop-esque kicking means that he is holding this side back. Until Italy find a reliable flyhalf, they will continue to struggle.

5. France:

The reason why France find themselves so low down on this list is that this list is
based on not only potential, but form as well- and as usual the French have no consistency! To date, France’s backline have scored a grand total of 0 (yes, zero) tries, and never really looked like they were going to against Ireland. We are actually surprised that the French forwards haven’t revolted against Camille Lopez, who seems to enjoy kicking the ball away when his pack goes forward. Poor kicks wasted good attacking opportunities time and time again. The French look more frenzied than traffic around the Arc De Triomphe. Now there was a time when the French turned this chaos into a thing of beauty, with players like Philippe Sella torturing defences with their unpredictability, but those days are gone. If the French of old were a monet painting, the current team is the finger painting that a 4 year old brings home from preschool. Yoann Huget, Wesley Fofana, Scott Spedding, all are incredible, explosive players, but France’s lack of a game plan keeps them from having a major impact on the game. Relying entirely on superior size and strength has yet to work, so France need to be more creative, and utilize Fofana and Lopez to open gaps for Huget and Bastareaud, for if they dont, success will not follow.

4. Wales:

Wales have the potential to have the best backline in the tournament. Every player in
this unit is a proven scorer on the international level, they just have been in pretty poor form as of late. Rhys Webb has been torturing defences, and Dan Biggar is a proven and reliable option at 10. The problem the Welsh have been having is that they are constantly being caught behind the gainline, exposing them to turnovers. One part of the problem is that Jamie Roberts wasn’t running into contact at full speed, rather he was ‘stutter’ stepping before going into contact, killing his momentum and making him easier to tackle. He looked better against Scotland, but he still didn’t seem to be running his lines at full speed all the time. Another problem the Welsh seem to be having is consistency. Against Scotland, they went no where in the first half, but in the second, they exploded into life, culminating in Jonathan Davies’ excellent try. Alex Cuthbert has the pace to finish from anywhere, but he has been lacking lately. Liam Williams looked really good against Scotland, and I think that he should hold onto his starting spot, and take over for Cuthbert for the time being. Cuthbert is a very good player, but against Scotland he never really had any sort of impact on the game, and was the same way against England. Wales have all of the parts for a really dangerous backline, now they just need to put together the performances they are capable of week in, and week out.

3. Scotland:

Scotland have a lot of talent in their backline, and have looked really dangerous
throughout the tournament. Their 23 year old flyhalf Finn Russell has looked really good with ball in hand, although his kicks from hand have let Scotland down on a few occasions. Alex Dunbar and Mark Bennett have looked very good, with Bennett looking very dangerous against France in particular. Dunbar and Bennett have also been a threat at the breakdown, picking off isolated runners and winning penalties for their team. Tim Visser has a lot of potential, and Sean Lamont adds a lot of experience to this young side, but the most dynamic part of the Scottish backline thus far has been Stuart Hogg. Hogg found gaps everywhere in the French defence and was heroic against Wales. His try showed just how much pace he has to offer, and he is really coming of age in the Scotland jersey.

2. Ireland:

Ireland also have a very dangerous backline, they just haven’t been able to fully
unleash it. What makes this Irish backline so dangerous however is not only the ability to create line breaks, but also the fact that nearly every player in the backline is capable of reversing the field with well placed kicks. Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne really haven’t sparked as a centre pairing, but Schmidt’s consistent selection of these two over the likes of Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Darren Cave, and Stuart Olding says a lot about what they are capable of. The back three of Simon Zebo, Tommy Bowe, and Rob Kearney offer an excellent kick chase, as well as being some of the most explosive backs in the tournament. Conor Murray has to be considered
with the likes of Aaron Smith for best 9 in the world, as he has become a key leader in the Irish backline, and his excellent box kicking has given Ireland a great platform time and time again. The return of Johnny Sexton is a huge boost to the Irish team. At the moment he is the worlds in form flyhalf, and even after 12 weeks out, his man of the match performance against France was nearly perfect. With some time to work together, and the return of Sexton, expect this Irish backline to improve over the coming weeks, and start to become a major threat in time for the World Cup.

1. England:

The English backline should not work. It has been made of leftovers, the
players that have survived what has turned out to be a very attritional start to 2015.
Jonathan Joseph and Luther Burrell have taken over in the centers due to the injuries to Brad Barritt, Manu Tuilagi, and Kyle Eastmond, and remarkably, Joseph has scored three tries and looked really dangerous whenever he has had the ball. Ben Youngs and George Ford were waiting behind Danny Care and Owen Farrell, but now they form one of the most dangerous partnerships in the tournament, and have been able to flawlessly control every game they’ve played in. Anthony Watson has been really good under the high ball, and dynamic with ball in hand, and even though England are now without Mike Brown due to concussion, they have plenty of talent to call up with Alex Goode or Semesa Rokoduguni set to play a major role against Ireland. Johnny May has become a controversial selection, but his incredible pace makes him a danger to any team, and he set up a great try for Danny Cipriani last week as well. As painful as it is for many to accept, England’s backline has been the best in the 6 Nations so far, and a lot of that is down to the good play of George Ford. Ford has looked really dangerous with ball in hand, and his goal kicking has been excellent. If he continues to play like this, England could be a major contender for the World Cup this year.

Who has the best back line in your mind? Let us know!