Off Topic Six Nations 2021

Best game of 6 nations....

 

Wow! Recorded the 2nd half and just watched it.
Fantastic win for England and by far their best performance since the world cup.
Big (and correct) decision by the TMO, as the ball clearly brushed the turf.
Itoje was immense in that last few minutes.
Imagine if there had been a full house at Twickenham to witness that.
A great match and France are a very good and exciting young side.

 

Not wholly convincing yet but credit to England for a gutsy win. And to both teams for a really exciting spectacle.

 

Really?
I thought England were very good.

 

Best performance of theirs so far in the 6 nations, but thinking ahead to the world cup, still giving a few avoidable penalties away and somewhat predictable in attack.

 

.

 

I certainly didn't particularly rate the guy who started at fullback.

 

Max Malins. I agree. He was better in the first half. He may be one for the future.

 

A great win for an England team low on confidence. England haven’t gone away, just going through a bad patch. This French team are playing the rugby of the future, strike runners who off load at will. In a game that’s turned sterile with high press defences, it’s beautifully refreshing.

No need for English fans to panic. Just experiencing a bad patch. Poor discipline is destroying momentum. While you may beat poorer six nations teams, a serious change of attitude towards discipline has to be instilled before taking on the southern hemisphere teams.

 

It’s turned into a difficult position for us, as Daly has lost his defensive game completely it seems, presumably why he was dropped.

I hope the French way is the way of the future for most teams, it will be great to watch.

England have to be better than we have seen in this tournament, but I think a lack of on pitch leadership doesn’t help them. Worrying that Jones doesn’t think the next generation of players are up to test match rugby yet, as some of the existing bunch haven’t got much left in them. Yesterday will be a great boost to their self esteem.

 

Amazing how conservative EJ has been with his team/squad selections. Heard yesterday on the radio how few players he’s tried, especially in key positions. Some very good players performing well in the Prem especially with Exeter. Saracens in turmoil with their players off the pace.

Ireland in a similar position. Great young players coming through the provinces but AF resisting giving them opportunities. Key stalwarts like Sexton, Murray, Healy etc all have had better days.

 

Jones did say after yesterday's game that the rugby we saw in that game is the way forward, especially due to rule changes and that England are trying to move away from an attrition based game.
Hope he means it.

 

England certainly have the players to do it. ‘Gatland Ball’ is a thing of the past. Defences now are just so good it’s incredibly difficult to break them down. The line speed is incredible. Quick ball, quick ball, quick ball with off the shoulder runners. Leinster for years played that style.

the problem for England is that they can generally bully northern hemisphere teams but you’ll always run into a SA. England lost the World Cup because they had no plan B.

Ireland for the last few years are the perfect example of what not to do. They generally have more possession and territory but are so slow and predictable that they end up going sideways and invariably backwards.

 

Just to let folks know that Rugby World Cup 2023 tickets go on sale at 6pm GMT today.

Register to join the RWC family and you have a chance to get tickets.

You can buy "follow your team packs" to see 4 qualifying or 3 qualifying games and one quarter final for a certain country.

Or you can buy "city packs" to see 3 games in a certain city.

This is the second presale, The first one was a few days ago. I was lucky enough to get enough tickets for a group of us to go see some Ireland games.

If anybody is interested, remember to register in the RWC 2023 family. Good luck.
https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2023/news

 

England in Dublin hoping to avert a 'Triple Crown Wooden Spoon', hard to remember last time we got done by Scotland, Wales & Ireland in same year. It certainly won't be easy. Wales in touching distance of Grand Slam in what should be the game of the Championship in Paris, if they win there it'll be a great Slam to compare to any they've won...

 

For me it will be a grand slam presented to them on a plate by officials. Red cards in the first two fixtures and two of worst decisions I have ever seen in the match against England.
France are 8 point favourites with the bookies and if they achieve you would think that they would probably win the six nations outright as Scotland are getting worse the longer the competition goes on after a bright start.

 

England in Dublin is traditionally one hell of a struggle, as the Irish certainly raise their game against England.
I wonder whether the lack of crowds will maybe make things a little easier for England?
I expect Ireland to win a close game.

 

CJ Staender's last game for Ireland. What a brilliant player he has been. He will be missed.

Enjoy the game and may the best team win.

 

Sounds sort of QPRish...

 

Not a hope Col
England by 8+