Six Nations 2011

Opens up with Wales v England tomorrow night... looks like quite an open championship this year. Let's hope the quality's a bit better than last year.

Bookies make England favourites, despite not having won it since 2003 - crucial we get off to a good start though. Tindall captains in the absence of Moody - well I suppose he is almost royalty now! Wales are hit and miss, it's been a case of Grand Slam or bugger all over the past few years. Always hard to back against the French though they too are unpredictable and had a poor autumn series. Ireland are perhaps on the downward slope now but if the World Cup marks the end for O'Driscoll and his generation they will want to go out on a high in terms of the Six Nations. Scotland look like they could be more of a threat than they have been for a while, not too much flair but tough to beat. Italy, as usual, will be pleased if they can win a game.

France will probably stroll it, Ireland second.

Time and again, England flatter to deceive.

We've not had the players since 2003 to do anything but Pete. I could sense some improvement last year though.

Always a tough place to win to begin with.

I woudl like to believe so, but there have been plenty of individual talents, not bound together into a meaningful purposive winning team ... and most tellingly, without a vestige of a Plan B if things are going awry.

One down...

We looked quite cohesive to me, Peteypoos.

Yes, not bad at all. Far from world beaters at this stage, but the definite makings of better things to come. Chris Ashton...... MBE surely....

Are Scotland good enough to win two?

Fast match - express pace early on.

Disappointed in the two players I like best for England - Foden and Youngs. The latter winds up his long passes with such a backlift that they become telegraphed slow passes. And both made too many mistakes.

On the other hand, decent forward play, and Flood was very good running passing and kicking.

Ange: my comment was on Lever's first part rather than his second. (I wasn't thinking of Wales as a team likely to contend for the title this year.)

And a fairly promising start to the canpaign by England is just the point I was trying to get at (i.e. can they now for once go on to keep up the good work for a few games, and limit the errors?).

Or that was the first of the points I was getting at. On the other point I was getting at, Plan B wasn't needed this time. Wales were fast and relentless, but not incisive or - which would equally have been a bigger test - resourceful in approach.

I have to say Hook runs and generally plays like a dream (in a good sense).

Go Steelers!

Luck o'the Irish!

And go Packers!!!

HH_pink wrote:Go Steelers!

Is it a ghost? Not seen you around these parts for a bit

England 59 Italy 13

Chris Ashton with 4.... still with a swan dive! Sterner tests to come but a good result as Italy are not pushovers even if they are the weakest side.

England building up nicely toward the next World Cup. We are like the anti-New Zealand, shite for most of the time yet somehow seem to pull it out of the bag near/at World Cups.

I will PMSL if Un Zud fail to win the WC in their own back yard.

Poor Scotland.

JKLever wrote:England 59 Italy 13

Chris Ashton with 4.... still with a swan dive! Sterner tests to come but a good result as Italy are not pushovers even if they are the weakest side.

Yeah, impressive stuff, remember Ireland needed a last-gasp drop goal to see off the Italians and they've generally got the better of England in recent years.

France at home next, that could be the decisive match of this campaign.

But what one team does against two others, doesn't always predict who will win when those other two play each other ....

England look the most cohesive side in the Tournament at present, although I am a little concerned about our scrum. We seem to have a lack of good scrummaging props (something that has never happened from my memory). Proven by the fact our bench has that piece of shoite Wilson on it. And we are also short of a decent seconf rower. Louis Deacon is farking gash!!!

A test this weekend for sure, and it will be won up front, although the French are doing their best to c0ck it up for themselves for sure.

Building for the WC, I am worried that we will get humped up front by the Saffa's and that NZ (chockers or not) if tghey don't get beat by the French will smash us up front and our centre combination will get obliterated in both defence and attack.

Although that being said, I would still back England at Twickers against the French to win by 5 points.

French have had the wood on us since 2003 though. Bring back Micky Skinner!

Bring back Brian "Raging Bulldog" Moore?

We've beaten them on more than one occasion since 2003, but usually in the years when we were absolute crap against everyone else. We beat them in the 2007 WC semi as well.

Good chance for a grand slam now, this may come back to haunt me but I can't see Scotland beating us which means it's just Ireland and they've already lost at home so they are beatable.

Ireland away is a tough'un to win though.

Decent game today, better than a 17-9 scoreline sounds...

Aye, not saying it's going to be easy by any means and we have a history of farking up grand slams so I don't think we are favourite to do it. Best chance we've had for awhile though.

Tournament still isn't in the bag yet so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself....

Nice to see the arrogant French farked tho