A highly anticipated series of 6 nation’s games took place last weekend, watched by millions of supporters who felt their teams all still had it all to play for. England, Wales, France and Ireland still had their hopes of 6 nation’s glory intact, and the words “Grand Slam” must have been on the tip of the tongue for every Irish and Welsh fan around the world. In contrast, Scotland and Italy were once again battling it out for the wooden spoon, despite having shown vast progress and moments of brilliance throughout the competition so far.
So it’s 8pm, Friday 27th February, and the Welsh are in Paris for possibly the biggest, most physical encounter of the tournament so far, promising to whet the appetite of even the most ardent supporters of competing nations. The first half did not disappoint, a physical battle of gargantuan proportions, as warrior like players such as Wales no. 8 Andy Powell, and his opposing man, Imanol Harinordoquay, led the charge for their respective teams with immense defensive displays. On 24 mins Lee Byrne showed just why he has been deemed “the best full back in the world today” with a carving run leading to a first half try for Wales, later to be answered by a French try from Dusatoir on 38 mins, a result of huge French offensive pressure and a break away by the aforementioned Harinordoquay. The second half continued the relentless physicality combined with skilful set plays by both teams, leading to another French try on 52 mins by Cedric Heymans, sealing the victory for Les Bleus. France 21-16 Wales.
The following day the Scots faced Italy at Murrayfield in an early afternoon kick off, hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s match, where Italy were 3 tries up within 10 minutes. The match was bound to have the dogged determination of 2 teams struggling to avoid taking home the wooden spoon, and it did not disappoint as both looked fired up for the encounter. A beautifully worked set move led to a first half try by Scottish winger Simon Danielli on 35 mins, leaving the score at 16-3 as the teams went in at half time. The second half showed once again how Italy fail to capitalise on possession as long phases of play resulted in nothing for the light blues. Scotland, smelling the weakness off their opposition, managed to carve a whole in the Italian defence, using the impressive Evans brothers as the catalyst for Scott Gray’s 62 minute try. A late surge by the back row combination of Parisse and Bergamasco led to a near try, yet the bounce of the ball was clearly not in Italy’s favour as it eluded the 2 powerhouse Italians at the last minute. Scotland, who have been unlucky in their previous games, put a solid, convincing performance together which they can build on for the coming games. Scotland 26-3 Italy.
Later that afternoon the English travelled to the fortress of Croke Park, Dublin, to face an unchanged Irish team chasing the illustrious Grand Slam. In a seemingly dismal spectacle of first half rugby, sharing no resemblance to the excitement in Paris the night before, the first half ended with a modest 3-3 score line at half time, with an unusually off form Ronan O’ Gara missing 2 of his 3 kicks. The second half started with another missed kick from O’Gara leading to the captain and man of the match Brian O’ Driscoll taking over kicking duties with a drop goal on 45 mins. The Discipline problem that has plagued England recently, with 8 sin bins in 3 games going into the match, reared its ugly head again once more, as former England captain Phil Vickery was penalised for repeating a scrummaging offence right under the nose of the referee. This resulted in a Brian O’Driscoll try on 56 mins, showing just how problematic England’s discipline is becoming. Danny Care later added insult to injury with his petulant “rucking”, which resulted in yet another sin binning and a furious response from Martin Johnson, evidently fed up with Care’s stupidity. A late conciliation try from Dillon Armitage gave some hope to English supporters, but it was too little too late. Ireland 14-13 England.
There is yet another week break for the players, but what can we expect from the teams for the following games left in the tournament.
England – Have been their own worst enemy with poor discipline jeopardising the games so far, yet if they can keep their tendency to give away penalties under wraps, the French and Scots may struggle to match the potential the team so evidently has.
Ireland – It’s all about the Grand Slam for the men in green, but a mammoth roadblock of Welsh pride and skill still stands in their way. Scotland also have the potential to upset the Irish, but on current form my money would be on Ireland
France – Although the Grand Slam is out of reach having lost to Ireland already, they can still achieve victory if Ireland and Wales falter. The English and Italians are still to play, but if they can play like they did against Wales, victory could be theirs.
Wales – No doubt disappointed with their performance against France, the Welsh will be fired up for the Irish match, which could prove to be crucial in the overall standings. The Millenium Stadium is a fortress of Welsh Rugby so it will be interesting to see if Ireland can rise to the challenge
Italy- Already Wooden Spoon winners but are now playing for pride against France and Wales. Improving every year and will be back challenging in 2010
Scotland- Hugely unlucky so far, and their position in the table could be very different if Referee decisions went their way. Big games against Ireland and England will show just how capable this team is.
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