The Six Nations 2009

[Banquo's Ghost]

Since no-one has seen fit to start one up, I guess it falls to me as a kind of post-hangover tradition.

The Six Nations championship has kicked off with some fascinating duels in possibly the most open tournament for a long time.

England played Italy at Twickenham, though using the verb "play" might be over-dignifying the fare on offer. The Italy coach, Nick Mallett, clearly suffering from advanced dementia, decided it was a good idea to place a flanker at scrum-half (for our American readers, this is a bit along the lines of deploying a half-decent linebacker as quarterback). Bergamasco had the hang of passing to his right (though not actually to anyone) but simply gave up on anything aimed at the left. To be fair, he did do a good job of clearing out the ruck, but this is not quite the job description of a scrum-half and tends to bring down the wrath of the ref. Thus, the Italians spent the first half slowly wheeling rightwards around the pitch.

One might have thought this was going to be a godsend to the England team, and for a while they looked as if they might put Italy to the sword. Italy changed their scrum-half at the break, and as master-strokes went, this one had an unexpected bonus - England fell apart for no discernible reason. Bumbling pointlessness was taken to a level last experienced in the autumn tests.

Ugly game, resulting in a 36-11 victory for England and a lot of anticipation in Wales for next week.

In Dublin, France visited Croke Park for the second time, evoking memories of how they broke Irish hearts two years ago. That year should have been Ireland's second ever Grand Slam (our only one so far was 1948) but Vincent Clerc scored a last-minute try while Ireland were gently asleep. It looks like Declan Kidney has brought some Munster fire to the Irish team, and they had an entirely different look about them.

In contrast to the other game, this was rugby at its best. Crunching tackles, imaginative attacking, wonderful French flair, dogged Irish defence and occasional brilliance for the men in green. We actually looked like we might want to play for Ireland, and there was close teamwork, good skills and real passion. We looked like we might have pulled away just after the half, but the French played hard and drove back to 20-18. I was frantic - I couldn't go through 2007 again - even when we took it to 27, they came back to within that one score margin - and the last minute loomed too large. This time though, we got a penalty quickly and slotted it to make 30-21. Much merriment thusly ensued.

Great match - the only downside is that Louis has disappeared so I can't enjoy the turnabout quite so much. But I know he is hurting somewhere in Paris, and that's all that counts.

Today 'tis Wales' turn to dance with Scotland. Ought to be a formality, but Murrayfield's a hard place in winter and the Scots much improved. It will tell us much about whether Wales against Ireland in March will be the Grand Slam decider. And I have tickets for Cardiff!

[Guildenstern]

Yeah, I agree with you about Italy's disastrous strategy. We definitely offered nothing in opposition and the Bergamasco experiment failed spectacularly.

[Moros]

Gah! I was supporting Chabal and co. So if you want to rub it in, here's you're chance. Gah!

[Scurvy]

Very impressed by Wales over first half, although I still favour Irealnd, especially after yesterday

Feel some of the criticism of England has been a bit ott, they played poorly, against a terrible Italy side, but I expect them to improve, as they'd won the match after the first try, so had little incentive to go for it.

[Marshal Murat]

England fell apart for no discernible reason. Bumbling pointlessness was taken to a level last experienced in the autumn tests.

Oh lordy, the autumn tests were a massacre, but at least the Italians couldn't exploit any charged-down kicks. Italians are always a surprising lot, especially with the Bergamasco choice, but as always it never works out (Ethiopia, Coliseum, etc.)

I knew the Irish were gonna pull through against France though. Quite the match, hard-fought, full of fire and intensity, the Irish deserve the win. Now if they could only beat New Zealand...

Today's match, I'd been hoping for a rougher time for the Welsh. With the sin-bin, though, the Welsh have overloaded the Scots, and they've shown what Grand Slam material is made of.

Wales is definitely going to do well this year, with Gatland at the helm. They've got speed, skill, ability, and talent. It's like the Mori Warrior Monks in Shogun. They look weird and all, but unless you shoot them they'll carve through your lines.

[Megas Methuselah]

I thought he was talking about the Iroquois. What this?

[Marshal Murat]

I thought he was talking about the Iroquois. What this?

European Rugby Union Tournament between the national teams of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, and Italy.

Six Nations

[Marshal Murat]

My picks for Round 2

Saturday, 14th.

France v Scotland, Stade de France
15:00 GMT, 16:00 local

While the Scots put up a show for Wales, they still lost to the reigning champs. They haven't got Murray or Hines back, and they don't look so strong this year. Another spirited fight that will result in a FRENCH victory

Wales v England, Millennium Stadium
17:30 GMT, 17:30 local

The Welsh have shown the consistency, skill, ability, talent, speed, and all around awesomeness that is required to be 6 Nations champions (again). England, while better than they used to be, aren't all the way to the top, and will give up an away game to the Dragon. WALES

Sunday, 15th.
Italy v Ireland, Rome
14:30 GMT, 15:30 local

Ireland's punching bag. IRELAND. The Italians have figured out, as BQ pointed out, that Bergamasco isn't suited for scrum-half. I don't particularly trust the Italians, so I'm giving the Irish an away win.

[PBI]

What on Earth is this thread doing all the way down on the second page?

Anyway, the weekend's action; I thought England did pretty well, and ran a Wales side who looked a little lost in attack without Shane Williams pretty close, but in the end they gave away too many penalties and it cost them. Not sure if this was a deliberate tactic to break up the Welsh rhythm or if it was just poor discipline, but in the end it resulted in Wales racking up points from penalties faster than England could score tries.

Ireland-Italy wasn't exactly inspiring, but in the brief phases when Ireland were able to get some momentum going they looked very impressive. The possible championship decider between Wales and Ireland on the last day should be a real treat.

France-Scotland was a bit of a farce IMHO. I may not know all that much about rugby, but one of the things I do know is that you aren't supposed to drop the ball every time it is passed to you, and you certainly aren't supposed to run the ball back over your own try line and then drop it with an opposition player right behind you, which I seem to recall a French player doing and being very lucky not to give away a try. In the end though France dropped the ball slightly fewer times than Scotland and therefore won, but if they play like that against Wales they will get slaughtered.

I'm looking forward to weekend after next, Wales-France should be a fantastic game and Ireland have a big test against England, should hopefully be a bit better to watch than this weekend.

[Marshal Murat]

As I understand it, Scotland almost (ALMOST) got the try on the France because they kicked it in. Besides, I think France got lucky with a forward pass try that they shouldn't have gotten.

Cha-ching.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Great match - the only downside is that Louis has disappeared so I can't enjoy the turnabout quite so much. But I know he is hurting somewhere in Paris, and that's all that counts.

Quoi?? Hurting? Me? Over losing a championship-deciding game in the very first round already? This against our traditional green-clad pushovers?

Naaahhh...



Rest assured that of my many worries during the game, the thought of a certain Irish gentleman brooding on a merciless .org post was not among the least!



As for the championship itself: clearly it is between Wales and Ireland. May the best of the two win and may they do so in a sublime final game!

[Andres]

Quoi?? Hurting? Me? Over losing a championship-deciding game in the very first round already? This against our traditional green-clad pushovers?

Naaahhh...



Rest assured that of my many worries during the game, the thought of a certain Irish gentleman brooding on a merciless .org post was not among the least!



As for the championship itself: clearly it is between Wales and Ireland. May the best of the two win and may they do so in a sublime final game!

Louis is back

Quick, put him in a cage and chain him to a PC which has only acces to the Org forums.

[Marshal Murat]

For all Americans, there's what some call "Rugby Lite" or "Rugby 7s". It's currently on in San Fran, part of the World Tour. Well, ABC has created an hour-long experience on February 22nd, 5 pm EST.

Take a look. Maybe they'll have actual rugby matches if this gets some actual attention.

[Strike For The South]

Quoi?? Hurting? Me? Over losing a championship-deciding game in the very first round already? This against our traditional green-clad pushovers?

Naaahhh...



Rest assured that of my many worries during the game, the thought of a certain Irish gentleman brooding on a merciless .org post was not among the least!



As for the championship itself: clearly it is between Wales and Ireland. May the best of the two win and may they do so in a sublime final game!

[White_eyes:D]

I thought he was talking about the Iroquois. What this?

I know....here in Canada we have a "Six nations conference with the chiefs"......thought for some odd reason it was about that...

[Sasaki Kojiro]

For all Americans, there's what some call "Rugby Lite" or "Rugby 7s". It's currently on in San Fran, part of the World Tour. Well, ABC has created an hour-long experience on February 22nd, 5 pm EST.

Take a look. Maybe they'll have actual rugby matches if this gets some actual attention.

I watched this. The first 15 minutes they showed the end of an NBA game even though the Celtics were ahead by 20 points. The rest was highlights...fun but I'd rather have seen an actual match.

[Marshal Murat]

I watched this. The first 15 minutes they showed the end of an NBA game even though the Celtics were ahead by 20 points. The rest was highlights...fun but I'd rather have seen an actual match.

It was interesting to an extent. The NBA game definitely cut into the program. I was a little disappointed in overall coverage, and the actual game coverage was sketchy. I don't know if they explained any of the rules or anything, so not accessible to anyone outside the rugby establishment. The rugby adverts were...unusual, and it was difficult to get past Lapassets accent (darn Belgians!).

Otherwise, though, it was Rugby for Free and it's exposure.

[Marshal Murat]

MM 6 Nations Picks
Friday, 27th
France v Wales, Stade de France
20:00 GMT, 21:00 local

This one is going to be one of the few really good matches this year. France will be playing at home, with a serious team that did well against Ireland. Wales is, as always, the consistent, fast, skillful bunch that I love. Can they bring consistency to a match? Yes. Can Wales win the lineouts...we'll see. Can Wales beat France at Stade de France?

Saturday, 28th
Scotland v Italy, Murrayfield
15:00 GMT, 15:00 local

The Scots have done, well, what the Scots always do. Italy, well, they've done what they always do. This match will definitely be "who can not screw-up more?" and in that case, I'm seriously in favor of

Ireland v England, Croke Park
17:30 GMT, 17:30 local

Some sort of "Millennium Trophy"? The Irish will definitely avenge centuries of English oppression. Who would've thought the English would actually be giving the Irish their silver?
That's all the English bashing I've got. Seriously, it's gonna be

[Banquo's Ghost]

Well, last night's France-Wales match was one of the finest games of rugby I've seen for a long time. Thunderous tackling and sublime ball skills.

I'm so glad we met France first - they are developing into an awesome side. Adding traditional flair to some really aggressive rucking and a swarming defence produced a thing of beauty. Might have found a kicker too. It was hard to believe that half the squad had been playing only five days before - they should have died on their feet at 60 minutes.

It was all that was best about the truly beautiful game. Sad for Wales, and now I fear they are going to be really angry in Cardiff.

[Marshal Murat]

I will be the first to tip my hat to Louis. From what I read, it was some of the best rugby played (I can't actually SEE the game). Wales has disappointed me this once, but they will redeem themselves. I hope.

For you Louis:

Allons enfants de la Patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé
Contre nous de la tyrannie,
L'étendard sanglant est levé,
L'étendard sanglant est levé,
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes !

Aux armes, citoyens,
Formez vos bataillons,
Marchons, marchons !
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !

[The New Che Guevara]

Scotland 26- 6 Italy
Ireland 14-13 England...

DAMMIT ENGLAND

[Banquo's Ghost]

Oh Lord, that was ugly. All sorts of mean, nasty and ugly.

There are those who argue that Ireland managed to do just enough despite freezing, and that is the mark of a champion. I'm afraid we just choked again, and were blissfully lucky that England are true believers in the idea that union is a 14 man game.

The only hope is that Cardiff will be a long way from the utterly stupid Irish press. (Think of the hype that the England soccer team generates at major championship team when scraping a win against Andorra means the World Cup is already in the cabinet).

Anyway, we always lose at Murrayfield, so that'll be fine. We just don't do victory, it's not in our natures. Glorious loss, inglorious loss, that's what makes good laments and sorrowful drinking bouts. A country where it rains on a permanent basis cannot win championships.

On a much happier note, did anyone catch Martin Johnson's face when Care got sin-binned? Warmed the cockles of my heart, and that of our president, to be sure.

[Louis VI the Fat]

We're back in it!

Thanks, maréchal Murat!

We just don't do victory, it's not in our natures. Glorious loss, inglorious loss, that's what makes good laments and sorrowful drinking bouts. A country where it rains on a permanent basis cannot win championships.

Aye, what's up with that? Ireland relishes in unnecessary losses, it seems. That, and a poisenous mixture of hype and insecurity.
Ireland can not conceive of itself as actually being good at something.

As it stands, Ireland is leading the table, on course for a Grand Slam even, with crucial wins against France and England already in the bag. Scotland should not be a problem. All that there is, is a crunch match against Wales on the last day, which either team can win or lose, depending on the form of the day, since both teams are pretty much equal in strength. That's all there is to it in this campaign, and this has been the deal ever after the first round. There is no need for either hype or worry.

(We are eying any opportunity for a last-minute table turnaround, though. And even if we won't manage that, the post-Laporte era is looking promising. Get your trophies while you can, lads, cause the next decade is ours. )

[Louis VI the Fat]

Little online rugby game

[Banquo's Ghost]

I was surprised that Wales struggled so badly in the Stadio Flaminio. If Italy could only get some backs that could do more than smile at the crowd while tossing their tousled locks in a manly, yet sensitive manner, they'd be a force.

I can no longer bear being an Ireland fan. My heart can't take it any more. If we can win matches by playing ten minutes of sublime rugby when the other seventy are an unremitting catalogue of schoolboy errors, laziness, pomposity and general foolishness, I shall require Declan Kidney to text me with the proposed time the good stuff will start. Then, I can just amuse myself with a game of whist for rest of the afternoon.

Wales rested much of their team and confused themselves into stagnation because of it. Ireland are just confused and confusing. Cardiff next week is going to be hell - or paradise.

One small thought - in the extremely unlikely event we do win the Grand Slam, and finally get that monkey off our back, the resulting unchoked team might just be completely unstoppable next year.

Oh, and apparently there's another match today. Can't remember who between.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Oh, and apparently there's another match today. Can't remember who between.

Oi, that's right. I think there was another match indeed. The sun was shining, so naturally Louis was smart enough not to waste a potentially glorious day on staying at home for an irrelevant game of rugby. What was the score?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Okay, so I did see it.

Why oh why are the English 364 days a year a loose bunch of ill-disciplined, incompetent, clueless thugs who can't even finish a game with all men on the pitch, only to magically transform into some sort of All-Blacks on steroids whenever they see something blue?

[Banquo's Ghost]

Why oh why are the English 364 days a year a loose bunch of ill-disciplined, incompetent, clueless thugs who can't even finish a game with all men on the pitch, only to magically transform into some sort of All-Blacks on steroids whenever they see something blue?

It was kind of awesome in its awfulness, wasn't it?

I think the real question is how a team of supremely talented wizards who can pass a rugby ball around as if it is a soaring hawk practising for a ballet (most especially in the presence of anything green) can magically transform into a ham-fisted collection of prat-fall clowns auditioning for Amateur's Night at the local pub? Usually occasioned by crossing the Channel and seeing something white.

Even for the Jekyll and Hyde France, that was an extraordinary day. Having said that, England played very well in the first half but not at all convincingly in the second. If a Frenchman had rediscovered the ability to actually catch the ball at any time, you might have run them close. The English press is already overflowing with hubris, bless 'em.

Personally, I blame Lièvremont for choosing a side based on a rumbling mob of a pack. You don't batter England into submission, even when they are down and out. You dance past them, watching them wheeze after you like that rhino at the back of the Jumanji stampede. Your coach made the fatal error of compounding the Channel effect with blunt force trauma.

Worst of all, he's apparently going to select the same side against Italy, who also have nothing but the bludgeon. Then again, France may well turn up as a thing of beauty again - who can say?

[gaelic cowboy]

Looking good for a change I was seriously worried we might mess up the thing in the Scotland we will beat wales and win grand slam and no better week to do it in that Paddies week

[Marshal Murat]

OH IRELAND HOW COULD YOU WRECK US SO?

Wales, you will be redeemed!

[naut]

Well played Ireland.