Re: Six Nations 2014

by taipan Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:09 am

beamer wrote:Well, it's fair enough given you have the reverse pattern in the alternate years... the order of matches varies within that structure, and there doesn't seem to be any clear pattern to which teams do well in odd/even years, although France have tended to do well in post-Lions years - perhaps the Welsh dominance of last year's touring squad negated the Lions hangover impact on England and Ireland.

By two sections do you mean promotion/relegation, or a parallel group system with a final between the two winners? The former would just leave Scotland and Italy stuck playing each other year after year, with the others taking turns to join/thrash them. The latter might work but would mean losing key rivalry games and playing other teams twice instead. Another idea would be a home/away structure over two seasons, but that would be protracted and lacking impact. I'm not sure there's really a format that would improve it.

Oriignally I was thinking promotion/relegation but a parallel system would be better with a home and away final and play off for lesser places. So what if we lose CalcuttaCup for a season or two.

by beamer Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:23 am

Only playing two opponents twice plus a play-off that would be all but meaningless unless it was for 1st/2nd wouldn't be that interesting either. Plus two teams would be inactive each weekend, unless they played a "friendly" against each other, so it would take longer as well.

An expanded European championship if other nations develop might offer some new possibilities, but for now I think what we have is as good as we can get, even if it doesn't always have a climax like this year's. Still, things can shift quickly, I remember around the turn of the millennium it was dubbed the "Two Nations" as England and France were so dominant, with ideas of them breaking away and merging with the Tri-Nations. The subsequent resurgence of Ireland and Wales soon put paid to that talk. Maybe Scotland and Italy will find breakthrough generations of players before too long.

by taipan Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:30 am

True, but playing a league system without home/away is also wrong. The system suited England this year.

by beamer Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:34 am

A neutral ground final between the top two in the standings could be another idea?

by taipan Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:48 am

beamer wrote:A neutral ground final between the top two in the standings could be another idea?

Not the worst idea, but the purist in me says home and away with the best team finishing top is the fair result.

by beamer Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:50 am

I'd happily extend it to eight weekends of the season, but the clubs might not agree!

by taipan Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:56 am

Always the problem but somehow we do it even with S15., which I would scrap anyway.

Personally I think NH is a better fit for SA anyway.

by Merlin Sun Mar 16, 2014 9:02 am

I reckon the Frog kicker of the penalty (with 8 minutes to go to win the tie 23-22) was either on the take, or had the mortgage on Ireland to win the championship or else was cross-fuc*ing-eyed.

Further, the final forward pass which would have definitely nailed the Irish with the subsequent try was deliberately thrown forward . . . I'd check both those buggers bank balances in a week or so's time.

The Bombay Bookies were well in attendance today at the Stade.

France gifted Ireland the game in the last 10 minutes of the game - frog dickheads.

by beamer Sun Mar 16, 2014 9:09 am

The French have always been shit at place-kicking, it just doesn't seem to be in the basic skill set of their fly-halves like it is with other countries.

Sexton's first half efforts (including the easy conversion that just crept over) were worse than that one from a sub taking his first effort at the posts.

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