Six Nations 2014

Well, Wales did get 3 points in the second half.


The question is, will Wales be stung by this into sweeping all the lesser teams before them, and hoping Ireland stumble somewhere?

And the concomitant question: Will Ireland keep it up from here - even away from their passionate home support - and go on to win the trophy?

Again v disappointing from Scotland. Pointless at home is a grim summary of their match.

Workmanlike without being exceptional from England. Brown stood out in the running game.

Both, it has to be said, in horrible conditions. When the runner, the catcher, the scrummager, the support runner can't ever be sure of his footing, the quality of the game always suffers.

Robshaw is a huge asset. He is perhaps as not as sheer massively powerful on the surge as others. He makes an occasional mistake. But he does stacks of productive work, set-up play, tackling, cleaning up at close quarters, intelligent and accurate passing, scrum-half duties, tidying up messy ball - much of it the thankless work, but crucial input in inclement and pressure conditions.

I've seen landfill tips look tidier than Murrayfield did today.

Indeed. And drier.

Wales were one dimensional again, and got beaten by a side that fronted them down and beat them at turnover!

Ireland were scarily precise, from set piece, ruck ball was excellent, and their physicality was superior to Wales. They look the side to beat comfortably.

Scotland look worse than Italy!!!!!!!

England battered the Scots, and still only scored 20 points. There in lies the issues. Billy immense at 8, Brown is our best back. As much as Robshaw is admirable, in the bug games he is not a true number 7 and we miss that massively.

Let's see how bad or good the French look tomorrow!

Wales back on track with a big win against a pretty woeful France. The French were either going to click and win the Grand Slam or prove their unconvincing first two games were a sign that they're not really up to much. It proved to be the latter, the half-backs had no influence whatsoever and they were smashed in the scrum.

The margin of victory gets Wales back into a championship that now looks almost certain to be decided on points difference, England v Ireland looks the key fixture now though.

Jeez the Frogs were shocking. The a welsh weren't much cop either to be fair! Pretty sh1te game all in!

Wales passed the Donkey card to France!


It could get messy from 4 tomorrow. If there's one team the Irish are always EVEN MORE up for than the cocky Welsh, it's the perpetrators of the Potato Famine and 800 years of arrogant, complacent rule.

A convincing Irish win will pretty much mean they just have to beat Italy for the title.

Entertaining second half to the now traditional wooden spoon contest, with a last minute drop goal giving Scotland a rare win in Rome.

England missing early chances here, could pay the price later on.

Determined tackling (with good anticipation of all but R Kearney's runs), Robshaw's inspirational leadership, Farrell's fire and more Brown magic just won it for the Poms.


Care needs to be told to speed up the bloody feed. It's that old error again. He's a good player though.

Johnny Mae (or whatever his name is) looks thoroughly bloody awful.

And of course the front row needs a good sorting.


Apart from that, I wish England would play South Africa most of the time. Then they could avoid that BF Joubert.


Interesting that the 6N Race is wide open, 4 pts from 3 to no fewer than 4 teams. Hence Wales are back in the driving seat, after their top-speed head-on collision into a brick wall in Dublin.

No Grand Slam contender after three rounds, is that a first? At least it won't be the usual hollow victory for a four-win champion who loses the last game...

Points difference is massively against Wales and France, both are probably pinning their hopes on everyone else losing two. It's England's to lose, with Wales at home and a trip to Italy, given Ireland's poor record against the French.

Are you kidding, beams? Wales have all the combinations to the English safe.

And tradition gives them a 12 point start.


I wouldn't bet against Ireland fighting back from this. They don't usually get hit as hard and as regularly when carrying the ball as they did today. And they have the best hwyl of the six nations.

England can't afford to think like that, it's a home game and it's not the Wales of the last couple of years.

Ireland face France on the last day after presumably beating Italy and Scotland respectively - one of those two will finish 4-1. Wales will need convincing wins to be in the mix.

No, I'm not suggesting Lancaster, Panface, Rowntree and their players should (or will) think that way - I am just setting the expectations low as a long-suffering fan.

(And being part-ironic - not the same as sarcastic, though some struggle to appreciate the difference!)

Gritty display from England.
The best match of the 6 nations thus far.

Frenchman Romain Poite reffing the England v Wales match next up. In fact, of the six remaining 6N fixtures this year, three different French refs in charge. They're taking over, I tell you. They'll be reffing France next.

Of the 15 2014 fixtures, no one referee is officiating at more than two matches, which must be good. It's a pity the mighty Wayne Barnes (lawyer, I see!) didn't get a second gig, liek the equally impressive Welshman Nigel Owens. And Barnes is the only Englander running any of the 15 matches. Nobody trusts the Poms. Corrupt anally fixated one-eyed bastards that they are.

And thank the Lord C Joubert has finished his tour of duty.

I see that Poite is not a South African favourite. But is otherwise widely respected in the world of rugby, for fairness and favouring positive play. Good-oh. I hope he catches the opportunist niggly tricks .... and not just the technical infringements.


Come on England, get bloody streetwise to the secondary Wales tactics at last! Otherwise it's another humbling coming up at the hands of players generally of no greater merit than yourselves, for all the pumping of tyres and Eddie Butler's gorilla imitations.

PeterCS wrote:Frenchman Romain Poite reffing the England v Wales match next up. In fact, of the six remaining 6N fixtures this year, three different French refs in charge. They're taking over, I tell you. They'll be reffing France next.

Of the 15 2014 fixtures, no one referee is officiating at more than two matches, which must be good. It's a pity the mighty Wayne Barnes (lawyer, I see!) didn't get a second gig. And he's the only Englander. Nobody trusts the Poms.

And thank the Lord C Joubert has finished his tour of duty.

I see that Poite is not a South African favourite. But is otherwise widely respected in the world of rugby, for fairness and favouring positive play. Good-oh. I hope he catches the opportunist niggly tricks .... and not just the technical infringements.


Come on England, get bloody streetwise to the secondary Wales tactics at last! Otherwise it's another humbling coming up at the hands of players generally of no greater merit than yourselves, for all the pumping of tyres and Eddie Butler's gorilla imitations.

Poite is useless.

You were lucky to have Joubert, wish he could blow our games.

Aye, I spotted this:

https://www.facebook.com/RomainPoitePetition

PeterCS wrote:Aye, I spotted this:

https://www.facebook.com/RomainPoitePetition

He totally destroyed the RC last year. French qunt.

Heh, yeah it wasn't a happy time around here after that match.

France have dropped Picamoles for sarcastically applauding the ref after he was penalised against Wales... you wouldn't see that course of action in football. Brave decision to ditch one of their better players given recent showings though!

the above discussion provides surprisingly good arguments for the value of the French

taipan wrote:

PeterCS wrote:Aye, I spotted this:

https://www.facebook.com/RomainPoitePetition

He totally destroyed the RC last year. French qunt.

He's French. The second adjective is unnecessary.

I bet you take their cooking though.

And their oo-la-lah.