2 games into the Six Nations, we’ve seen some great action so far and it’s set to get even better. Here at RBP, We’ve ranked each team by the strength of their packs.

6. Italy:

Typically the pride of the Italian team, Their scrum has really struggled. Italy’s ageing
stars in the pack can be likened to a classic Italian sports car – for a while it was a thing of beauty and brought you a huge smile, but now it wont start and the depreciation means you’re bankrupt. An injury weakened Irish pack handled the Italians comfortably, and a very banged up English scrum demolished them. Against Ireland, the lineout was woeful, and while it improved against England, that wasn’t enough to makeup for their poor work in the scrum. Young players such as Josh Furno and George Biagi offer some hope for the future, but the likes of Parisse, Ghiraldini, and Castrogiovanni are rapidly ageing. If Jacques Brunel cannot get the scrum sorted soon, Italy will struggle mightily to get out of the pool stages come World Cup time.

5. Scotland:

Despite all of their improvements under Vern Cotter, the scrum remains one of
Scotlands problem areas. They were bullied by the French pack for some patches, and never really got the upper hand against the Welsh. Euan Murray really solidified them against France, but was unavailable against Wales for religious reasons and his absence was very noticeable. Scotland’s lineout has looked really impressive and they tortured both Wales and France in this area, however they will be without the height of Richie Gray who has suffered an arm injury. His brother, Jonny, was actually more impressive to us, but the biggest disappointment about Richie’s injury was that it means the “two shades of Gray” pairing is at an end. Scotland’s pack is really strong in the loose, and constitutes a major threat in the lineout, but until they get the
scrum sorted, they will remain unable to contest at the highest level and will stay challengers for the wooden spoon.

4. Wales:

Its hard to believe that Wales can be found so far down this list. Less than 2 years ago,
5 of the starting 8 in the Lions pack were Welsh. But so far in this tournament Wales haven’t found their familiar solidity in the set piece. England and Scotland got the better of Wales in the lineout, and England smashed Wales in the scrum. The individual parts are definitely there for Wales, Alun Wyn Jones, Gethin Jenkins, but to be an attacking platform that was feared like before, they need to learn how to work together without their anchor for many years, the now retired Adam Jones. Wales have a really solid back row, and Justin Tipuric is a great impact player to bring off the bench. Rhys Webb is scoring a lot of tries, and a large amount of that is down to the great work of his pack. His try against England showed what the Welsh pack is capable of. A great shove, then Faletau drew two defenders before putting Webb over for a great score. Give them a year or two and they’ll be back to their full strength.

3. France:

Guess what holds France out of the top two… Unbelievably its their inconsistency! Who would have guessed it! France has some truly massive players, and finally have some consistency in the selection of their scrum, but they have a few issues. Firstly, that consistency thing, well they’ve stupidly thrown it right out the window. Pascal Pape, their experienced lock and a true leader on the pitch, has been banned for 10 weeks for his cheap shot on Jamie Heaslip. Also their lineout has struggled. This could be due in part to the immense size of all the players in the French pack, which means they are harder to lift. Additionally, the simplicity of the French game plan means that their forwards struggle to cross the gain-line for extended periods of time. Lastly, France’s scrum really only becomes dominant when they bring on their massive subs. Players like Romain Taofifenua, and Uini Antonio make a huge impact, but their impact is limited because they are only on the field for 20 or 25 minutes, probably not able to last longer. France face a big test against Wales, and their performance will go a long way in determining whether or not France finally right the ship.

2. Ireland:

Ireland are finally getting healthy, and the return of Sean O’Brien, Cian Healy, and
Iain Henderson, has been a welcome sight for Irish fans and fans of the sport. That said, we were more nervous about O’Brien or Healy getting hurt, again, than the result. Ireland’s scrum has been solid, in that it hasn’t been dominant, but hasn’t given away many penalties either. Rory Best and Paul O’Connell have the lineout working as reliably as a wood burning stove. In the loose, there hasn’t been much in terms of flash, but you get the sense that every player in this team knows their role and quietly executes it. The most impressive part of the Irish team has been the consistency despite injuries. Throughout the Autumn and the beginning of the tournament, Ireland were without big names, but players like Jordi Murphy, Jack McGrath, and Rhys Ruddock, stepped up, which is a huge credit to Joe Schmidt and the rest of the Irish coaching staff for helping to develop the younger players. Tommy O’Donnell had his turn when O’Brien went down pregame against Italy, and he took it really well, capping the day with a try. If Ireland continue to discover talent like this, you can expect them to go far come the World Cup.

1. England:

Against Wales and Italy, England were dominant. Dan Cole has returned to his
old form, and Joe Marler is rapidly becoming a major force. Dylan Hartley has put his
discipline issues to bed, and he may finally have become the player Stuart Lancaster
hoped he would be. Thats not to say that he is totally forgiven, but he is heading in the right direction. George Kruis and Dave Attwood both have admirably filled the roles of Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury, and England’s lineout is one of the best in the competition. The backrow of Haskell, Robshaw, and Vunipola has looked really good. Vunipola carrying is back to the level it was on a year ago, and Haskell has looked menacing with ball in hand. Haskell may want to break the habit of running into the posts however. What is most impressive about this English pack is the strength in depth. Almost none of the starters from the November tests remain, and yet the pack is still just as dominant. It really is a testament to the quality that England have on offer and bodes well for the upcoming World Cup. It will be interesting to see who stays and who goes when the likes of Launchbury and Ben Morgan return from injury, but for now, Lancaster seems confident in the side that he has selected.

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February. For some, this means love, hearts and chocolate. For rugby fans all over Europe, it’s time for the Six Nations! Never before have the six giants been so close, with only a points difference of eight separating the men in green and the men in white last time. One try, one moment of brilliance. Can a simple act of excellence from Lancaster’s rookies help England claim their revenge from the experience of the Irish bulldogs?

Ben Morgan crashing over to score the opening try of the England vs Australia match in November.

During the Autumn Internationals, England came extremely close to wins against New Zealand and South Africa; only for the two giants to show why they are currently the best in world rugby. It is safe to say that England divided opinions – some fans were extremely impressed by how far England has come under Lancaster, Rowntree and Farrell while for others it was the same old England. So close but so far. I believe that with an injury free campaign (unfortunately we already know that Joe Launchbury, Courteney Lawes, Ben Morgan and Manu Tuilangi will miss at least a portion of the Six Nations) and a reduction of basic errors, England can win the Six Nations. Although written off by some pundits due to the fact they have their two most difficult games away from home (Wales and Ireland), the experience of Chris Robshaw and lessons from previous heartaches (30-3 to Wales in the final weekend of the 2013 Six Nations) should pull them through. Perhaps George Ford will morph into the next Jonny Wilkinson over the upcoming two months? With only seven months and nine matches to go until the World Cup, a successful Six Nations will be more coveted than ever!

Jamie Heaslip, Ian Madigan, and Peter O’Mahony celebrating vs Australia in the autumn internationals.

Ireland had a tremenduous Autumn campaign with unexpected wins against both South Africa and Australia, resulting in them claiming 3rd place in the IRB world rankings. Under Joe
Schmidt, youth and experience have been mixed beautifully with Jamie Heaslip and Johnny Sexton perfectly primed to take the lead from Paul O’Connell after what will likely be his
final world cup, later this year. Intelligent, creative, simple. These three words summarise Ireland perfectly under Joe’s leadership. Although I am an England supporter, I do
recognise Ireland as the largest threat out of the five other teams to claim the Six Nations crown. With seven straight wins in a row and eight victories in their last ten matches,
Ireland are definitely regaining the dominance they had in the famous Six Nations campaign of 2009. Four provinces, one nation. They are certainly answering Ireland’s call!

Mike Phillips in Action.

George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts. These three players will be instrumental in Welsh success. A hard earned, forwards dominated win against South Africa gave much needed encouragement for a side that had only beaten any of the ‘big three’ once in the 27 games beforehand. Rugby is as much mental as it is physical; meaning that that win could give Wales the momentum needed to defeat England on February 6th and continue to eventually win the tournament. Personally, I believe that Wales will finish third and ultimately fail to qualify from the pool stages of the upcoming World Cup. However if Wales decide to focus on a similar forward, physical style, then they may surprise many and replicate their successes of 2011 in the World Cup and their Six Nations win in 2013.

Yoann Huget running in a try vs England, 6 nations 2014

France. What a transition between 2011 and now. From being one point a first World Cup win to winning just five of their eleven matches last year and 4th and 6th place in the last two Six Nations campaign. The last four years have certainly been ones to forget, despite a decent result against Australia in their penultimate game of 2014. However, you can never rule out a side with Thierry Dusautoir, Wesley Fofana and Mathieu Bastareaud. Realistically, I can see France having to endure another difficult campaign, perhaps clinching fourth place from a courageous and ever improving Scotland side.

Scotland in action vs England, 6 nations 2014.

Deep deep with in us, we all love an underdog. It is simply in our nature. We were treated to a surprising and certainly encouraging display from Scotland against New Zealand. Although it was a much weakened All Black side, history wouldn’t have seen it any differently had they won. Usually seen as nothing more than candidates for the Wooden Spoon and last year branded ‘an embarrassment to one of sport’s greatest tournaments’, Scotland have displayed moments of brilliance in recent years and have beaten Australia and South Africa more times than Warren Gatland has with Wales. Despite this, the likelihood is that Vern Cotter will struggle to transfer his leadership success that lead the Crusaders to a Super 14 winning campaign to his squad. Fourth is ambitious but not unachievable. Realistically, they will be battling, once again, for the Wooden Spoon.

Sergio Parisse, Martin Castrogiovanni and Michele Rizzo during the national anthems vs Wales, 6 nations 2014.

At the turn of the millennia, we welcomed Italy into the Six Nations. Unfortunately, they have won ten Wooden Spoons and never finished in the top three. Despite this, their physical style and pure hunger has meant some difficult games against them (19-15 loss vs England, 22-15 win vs Ireland). Yet again, I feel that Italy will be in the middle of a fight in the bottom three. However, if they can salvage wins against France and Scotland then fourth place could be salvaged. Although they have not been boasting much success in their time in the Six Nations, they are certainly a team of surprises and excitement!

I believe that this Six Nations will be the tightest we have ever seen (apologies for the cliché). The battle for first will be between Ireland and England (their match on March 1st should be a colossal one) while the bottom three places will most likely be contested between France, Scotland and Italy. Third place is probably the only certainty with Wales holding that position, in my opinion. Then again, the Six Nations wouldn’t be so special if it didn’t have its surprises. Who’d have thought that France would come last two years ago or that Ireland would lose to Italy? I just hope that this year proves as entertaining, captivating and sensational as previous years and sets up a platform for a Northern Hemisphere team to win the World Cup!

By Vincent Masterson

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