Six Nations: The Deciding Weekend

After four weekends of exciting rugby, we unfortunately wave goodbye this weekend to the Six Nations and look forward to the home World Cup on the horizon.

Week 4 Re-Cap:

Wales vs Ireland

The last weekend of rugby was probably the most exciting of the campaign so far. Unexpectedly, Wales overcame the Green powerhouse to give them a glimmer of hope and a chance, despite being very slim, of lifting the trophy for a third time in four years. They executed the breakdown perfectly and forced Ireland to concede easily kickable penalties for the fantastic foot of Leigh Halfpenny. Despite a debatable performance from Wayne Barnes in the final passage of the game (especially in Paul O’Connell’s opinion), overall I believe that Wales deserved their victory; setting up a mouth watering last weekend.

England vs Scotland

Chances, chances, followed by a few more chances! How England were behind at half time bewilders me as (and no disrespect to a much improved Scottish team who took their chances) they should’ve been winning by up to 20 points after just half an hour! Regardless, Robshaw’s men ensured that they were still contenders for the trophy this weekend. It was certainly positive to see the return of Geoff Parling to bolster the second row but the argument remains on whether Danny Cipriani should be played more. I’m sure that England fans will remember the atrocity of the Southern Hemisphere destroying England at Twickenham in 2008 and they will unfortunately associate Danny Cipriani with that. I believe that George Ford is doing a fantastic job at fly-half and should remain with Ben Youngs until a drop in form requires a necessary change. Anyway, at least Lancaster gave him 3 minutes!

Italy vs France

Unfortunately, Italy seemed to return back to the type of rugby we used to associate with them as they conceded 17 penalties against a very average French team. After a  fairly close first half, the French took their opportunities in what was a poor game of rugby. This French side seems to be miles off the team that reached the World Cup final 4 years ago and it is only because of their relatively easy group that they will make progress in the tournament. Hopefully both sides will produce a better group match once the World Cup comes around!

Looking Forward:

It is a must win for England, Ireland and Wales for them to win the coveted Six Nations trophy this weekend.

Wales require in the region of a 60 point victory to ensure that they end up victorious. However, Italy will be eager to redeem themselves for their departing coach and their extremely loyal supporters meaning it may not be straight forward. As Ireland and France have discovered in recent years, Italy can be a very difficult team to beat when they enforce their forward based kicking game. In my opinion, it will be a comfortable victory for Wales. However, like England last year, they will most likely fall short in a  valiant effort for what could potentially be Warren Gatland’s final Six Nations game!

Result prediction: 40-12 victory for Wales

Ireland could’ve wrapped up the Six Nations and Grand Slam in Cardiff last weekend but left us a tantalisingly close set of games for this weekend. Perhaps they did that just because they want the fans to be entertained? A nice thought but I don’t think so. Joe Schmidt was reported saying that he will have sleepless nights after the Welsh game so perhaps this could fire up the ‘Boys in Green’ even more. Their task is comparatively simpler than Wales’. A victory of about 15 points will mean that England will need to win by more than two tries against the French. However, I have no doubt that Scotland will be desperate for a much owed victory to set up the next few months for them leading up to the RWC.

Result prediction: 23-15 victory for Ireland

We finish this campaign off with what should be an absolute thriller at Twickenham! So much talk about England being plagued with injuries but a majestic second half performance at the Millennium Stadium cast away the doubters. Although England should’ve converted more of their chances, they nevertheless go into the final weekend scoring an average 25.5 points per game (best attacking average in the tournament) and the 3rd best defensive record: conceding 16.25 points per game. Unfortunately, that will need to be improved slightly in order to guarantee the Six Nations trophy returning after a four year absence. Undoubtedly, the French will also want to end on a high with a statement of a performance to end an average 6 nations for them.

Result prediction: 28-10 victory for England (if they take all of their chances!)

 So, based on my predictions, England will win the Six Nations with Ireland on points difference by 14. Of course, I may be overestimating Scotland and underestimating France in my thoughts. Regardless, it should be a wonderful weekend, full of explosive rugby for everyone, regardless of nationality, to enjoy!

By Vince Masterson

 

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