The Rugby Union Thread

koneguitarist

French Polish too slick for Italian antiques !

Gassage

If those are red cards my dick is a kipper.

FFS. Handbags.

koneguitarist

Head butts immediate red card, welsh players get sent off for accidentally dropping a player !

bertie

koneguitarist said:

French Polish too slick for Italian antiques !

quick bring back the face-palm............

the Italian no 5 had a huge game

Gassage

More butting at a scrum engagement, seriously.

bertie

I bet a certain Mr Moore was chuckling all the way to the bar...............

Gassage

Horrible game, truly was.

Zanni should have been on from start. 

Parisse played brilliantly at 9 for the last 20!

digitalscream

I wonder...could Wales and England upset France and Ireland next week to blow it wide-open again? All it'd take is Wales to get their mojo back and Ireland to pick the wrong game plan.

Aside from cheering for England, I can't remember the last time four teams were even after the third round. Would certainly make things a bit more exciting

koneguitarist

Not sure Wales could upset a tea cup at the moment. Think England could beat Ireland though, especially at Twickers !

Gassage

digitalscream said:

I wonder...could Wales and England upset France and Ireland next week 

I doubt it. They've a week off.

bertie

 

digitalscream

koneguitarist said:

Not sure Wales could upset a tea cup at the moment. Think England could beat Ireland though, especially at Twickers !

It might not be a case of Wales upsetting anyone - all that's necessary is for them to up their game a little and France to have their annual stinker. As good as they've looked so far, I'm still far from convinced that they're going to be consistently good. Five good matches on the trot is more than they've managed in many a year.

Gassage

Here you go: 6N team of week:

Brown

Huget

Burrell

Fofana

Trimble

Sexton

Care or Murray

Vunipola

N'yanga

O'Mahony

O'Connell

Lawes

Castro

Hartley

Healy

(actually, when I look at that side, it's pretty fair on all nations)

tbm

Gassage;158296" said:

Horrible game, truly was.

Zanni should have been on from start. 

Parisse played brilliantly at 9 for the last 20!

That's what I was thinking, how was Zanni on the bench?

bertie

to save me trawling through pages of guff................what news on the longer term English injuries..... ie Corbi  etc ? what chance of any of them being fit ?

Gassage

This week's piece, in 5 posts (with added Royalty)

Each Wednesday during the Six Nations, Planet Rugby's Expert Witness analyses the past weekends' action along with a former international player.

Continuing last week’s theme of physical centres, this week we welcome former England skipper, Mike Tindall to share his views on the latest Six Nations action.

With another riveting round of international rugby, we witnessed strong displays from both Ireland and England, whilst France finally overcame a resurgent Italy

In Dublin, Ireland’s demolition of the Champions, Wales, was a significant victory from the home team and one Mike Tindall believes was built upon the foundation of powerful forward play and a masterclass of fly half skill from Lions’ ten, Johnny Sexton.

“Sexton’s right boot was certainly the most influential and impressive of the weekend,” noted the former England skipper.

“His ability to vary the plays and to dissect the Welsh defensive weakness was a huge factor. Wales were unlucky to lose centre Scott Williams early on, and Sexton probed his replacement Liam Williams’ defensive skills all day.

“Liam hasn’t played a lot as a test three quarter, and he got up a little too eagerly on a number of occasions. Sexton seems to have an extra second just to see that, and time again he made Williams turn to defend a aerial bombardment!

“However, clearly Wales struggled to find their own game on Saturday. When that didn’t happen, they were doomed to fail.

“They made the fatal mistake of getting drawn into the Irish wrestle, and once you’ve done that you will lose every time. Whenever we played Ireland, we would talk about committing as few players to contact as possible; to keep their big forwards honest by moving them around the field. Ireland are past masters of the choke tackle, of holding players up around the contact area and generally making it as hard as possible for you to get quick usable ball.

Gassage

“The last thing you want is a contact-zone battle. Wales fell right into that trap and will kick themselves for being so naïve.

“Wales and Warren Gatland have a very prescriptive method. We saw that in the British and Irish Lions tour last year. They have a belief in a big powerful Plan A, and when that fails, Warren’s first reaction is to throw more bulk at the plan!” quipped Tindall.

“Those tactics also rely greatly upon certain gifted individuals putting in some game changing moments, and we didn’t see that from the likes of the extremely talented Jamie Roberts, Mike Phillips and George North.

“There will be massive pressure on Wales to respond in a fortnight. They’ll need to dig deep as Gatland does not have the resources available to him that he had last summer. They also failed to react to the game changes. When it became clear that Sexton would bomb the back three and the Irish would rush-chase, the Welsh leadership could have dropped a midfielder back to alleviate the pressure on the back three. They didn’t react, and as a result, the Irish were rampant.

“Factor in too the performance of Paul O’Connell and Peter O’Mahony at the breakdown and you will see that Wales had a very tough day at the office,’ explained Tindall.

Up in Murrayfield, England dismantled Scotland. In a game plagued by poor conditions, both overhead and underfoot, Tindall, a keen tactician during his international tenure, was excited by what he saw:

“It’s a bold statement, but I believe England have finally turned the corner,” observed the former England skipper.

“International rugby is about a style evolving within a group of players and, with the addition of the talents of Luther Burrell and Billy Vunipola, England finally seem to be gelling into a defined style and, most importantly, a style of power and attacking ambition.

Gassage

“I’d temper that by saying that yes, the attacking game is still work in progress (and I’d point out that the conditions in Murrayfield meant you were never going to get a piece of rugby artwork), but there is a defensive base led by the forwards that is highly impressive.

“Scotland were absolutely hammered on the gain line. Almost every single time they took the ball into contact they lost a yard at the tackle. Conversely, England made two yards in that tackle contact. Those are game-changing margins at this level.

“A word for Andy Farrell here; he has re-defined the way England defend. The line speed up into the opposition faces is superb. England look to rush on the first 2 or 3 carries by their opponents, but then look to revert to an intelligent drift thereafter. Really clever stuff,’ noted Tindall.

“This of course is underpinned by gametime together as a unit, trusting each others’ growing knowledge and knowing each others’ roles. Stuart Lancaster now has much greater clarity in his personnel than perhaps he did a year ago, and both a clear gameplan and options around the field are emerging as a result.

“I’m also warmed by the attacking intent. I said it was work in progress, and it is, but game by game the offloading talents of the two Billy’s, Twelvetrees and Vunipola are coming to the fore.

“I also believe that playing players in their chosen positions is key. Wingers have a certain mindset, and will stay out wide to create opportunities. When you play a fullback in those channels, the mindset is not the same. England are benefitting from astute and consistent selections.

“Factor in you still have established world class players such as Alex Corbisiero and Manu Tuilagi to return to the fold and you will see that England are in a good place.

On the theme of astute and consistent electoral policy, Scotland have come in for vociferous criticism from all quarters, a lot of it aimed at the perhaps eccentric coaching style of the charismatic Head Coach, Scott Johnson.

“I have to admit I am often perplexed when I look at the Scottish potential on paper and then see their performances in the field. The two are quite incongruous at times.

Gassage

“They have some world class options in all three rows of the scrum, a high quality centre and some pace in the three quarters. But it just doesn’t seem to gel.

“Although I am not party to the behind the scenes decisions, you also have to question what is going on the camp itself.

“Dave Denton was yanked off after 55 minutes of brilliant defence and honest toil. He was Scotland’s stand out by a mile. As he walked off, you could see exactly what he was thinking through his body language. I also question the treatment of Kelly Brown, an outstanding blindside flanker or eight, yet someone dropped because he can’t perform the openside role? I don’t quite get that, I’m afraid. 

“He may well be looking to find a secret or magic ingredient with some of these left-field selections, but when Scotland are in the position they are in, Johnston would do well to learn from Lancaster’s ethos in picking specialists in their chosen positions,” mused the Gloucester centre.

In Paris, Italy’s impressive form continued, but finally they succumbed to a French side that unlocked the Italians late on.

Tindall is quick to point out that France have become a lot better at closing out games and singles out one man as being key to that quality:

“Pascal Pape’s leadership has impressed me hugely,’ he explained. “When Thierry Dusatoir became injured I wondered how much he’d be missed, but Pape has been inspirational in his captaincy and physicality.

“Italy are always massively physical and, rather like the Irish, if you get drawn into playing their game style, you will suffer. France did exactly that for 60 minutes, but then pulled away.

Gassage

“The Azzuri will be fuming with regards to their place kicking. They could have gone in at halfway with a three or six point advantage which would have been crucial. However, they are hugely improved. I was concerned after their summer tour as to their progress, but Italy have a renewed ambition and have discovered a deeper pool of talent.

“Central to this (and I admit I am delighted to see that the two emerging talents of the season are both fellow outside centres!) is the electric skills of Michele Campanalle, who looks a highly skilled young man. He may find it tougher as defences work him out, but so far he’s unlocked two very strong defences in his test starts this season.

“But returning to the French side, I’m also delighted to see they’ve finally found a proper solid test option at fly half in Jules Plisson, something they’ve lacked for many years.

“Elsewhere, the front row remain formidable, Yoann Huget is the best winger in the tournament and Yannick N’yanga is in the form of his life. He’s a truly sensational player who can turn a game in a flash, and his line out work is world class for a man of relatively short stature,’ noted the World Cup winner.

“Looking back at the weekend, I am warmed by the progress of England, Ireland and France. Italy have improved and will continue to do so, but there are big question marks over the form and tactical processes of both Wales and Scotland.

“The next round will be a huge test for the sides and I’m relishing the battle ahead!”

We would like to thank Mike for joining us and look forward to another installment of Expert Witness next week to examine Round Three of the RBS 6 Nations