And there went the first weekend. Somebody (a teacher or summat, I don't know) once told me you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and equally the championship is not won over the opening round, as Wales so ably demonstrated last year. But that's not to say that some things can't be learned from it. Indeed, unless some teams do learn the odd snippet of oval ball wisdom, they may find the final weekends of the competition oddly superfluous. The first and second weekends are always crucial. To apply a cricketing saying, you can't win the game on the first morning, but you can sure as hell lose it. The same is true here, you can't win the 6 Nations in the first two games, but it can be lost, and with that in mind Wales may well be happier than England, despite not playing as fluently. Here we go then, game by game:
Wales vs Italy
In a little sweepstake before the game, myself and 3 others tried to guess how many tries the reigning champions would put past a team with more wooden spoons than Jamie Oliver. The numbers started at 3, which, in the event, proved to be far too generous, and made us look a right load of fools to boot. If anything, the game lent some credence to those who set their store by Lions burnout, with the men in red fielding 9 starters from the final test down under and looking more sluggish than a sloth wading through treacle.
Italy, to general applause, turned up and played some decent rugby. Actually, they did their level best to make a mockery of their bottom-place predictions in a match that encouraged anyone with a crystal ball to chuck it on the nearest skip. I noted before the tournament began that they needed play makers, and they rocked up with 2. Tommaso Allan was very encouraging at 10, and Michele Campagnaro was even more so at inside centre, bagging himself a couple of tries. Teams need to take them seriously or risk paying the consequences. This nearly happened to England last year anyway, so there is a bit of an air of 'how many years do you need to learn this?' but to reiterate: teams heading to Rome need to beware.
Wales, meanwhile, looked a shadow of the team that destroyed England in it's last 6N outing. Seeing as how they won, however, it now means bollock-all. You can put it down to whatever you want: there's the Lions thing, they may have been taking it easy because, y'know, Italy, and we are told every year (especially last year) that Wales are slow starters. Doesn't matter. They won despite not playing well which, as Sir Alex Ferguson will tell you, is the surest way to win trophies. The consensus seems to be that it will not be enough against Ireland next week, but A) you wouldn't bet on Gatland's team being that bad two games running and B) what if it is? Then everyone else really is doomed. In the end the class and settled nature of the side pulled them through.
France vs England
By far the most exciting game of the round, a rollicking start by France saw them 13 points up and England's back 3 mangled beyond recognition. I swear, Johnny May looked EXACTLY like Alex Goode after 5 minutes. Oh...
A brilliant fightback from England then saw them yield a hard-earned lead and fail to score themselves in the final quarter, meaning the only difference between this game and that of England v the All Blacks in the Autumn was the colour of the opposition's shirts. And the reaction. By and large, you don't mind losing to New Zealand, but this was a game that England could have won, and there was a definite sense of letting it slip rather than being outplayed. France probably had more riding on the result than England, and the term 'mixed bag' might apply. Some players, like Nyanga (I still can't pronounce that) were exceptional. Others (Basteraud, Medard) went missing, which is an achievement in itself given their size is measured in hands.
You can argue France were lucky for their first two tries, but equally you can argue that you make your own luck and out on a rugby field, it's far easier to mix up the bad variety. For each of France's 3 tries there was a mistake from someone in England's back three (admittedly, two of those were made by players playing out of position, one aided by a diabolically-scheming bounce that made Blofeld look like an Oxfam volunteer). England last week had a pair of wingers with 1 cap between them, and next week are likely to have similar. It would help if they stayed on the field more than 5 minutes with only utility cover on the bench. There were good signs in attack though, with B. Vunipola showing no signs of stopping (literally) Burrell doing his best Tuilagi impression in the centre and Owen Farrell having his most accomplished England game, offensively speaking, to date. Even Danny Care was good, for Chrissakes, but they still looked like a team who hadn't really played before in the first half, which was because they were one. Time grows ever shorter, and England need to learn how to win these tight encounters.
Ireland vs Scotland
For 35 minutes this was a case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, with both defences holding firm (a little too firm, from a neutrals perspective) against sustained periods of attack that wafted from side to side like a Caribbean wave on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The moon of this metaphor seemed not to be paying attention though, and for most of the first half our increasingly-complicated island had no tide, little wind, and the atmosphere of a librarians wake.
Then Ireland (and in particular Johnny Sexton) remembered that the aim of the game is the try line, and set about trying to get there. A searing run from Ireland's 10 nearly resulted in the game's first try (except Jamie Heaslip's feet were too big) and the men in green kicked on from there. Scotland were obviously enjoying their holidays too much to notice, though, and remained resolutely impotent, making this the most one-sided fixture of the opening round. Ireland, it should be noted, played probably the best rugby of anyone in these first 3 games, being the only side to have both a successful attack AND defence, which usually helps if you want to win. Rob Kearney, Jamie Heaslip and, of course, Sexton were all great going forward and not a man of them didn't do his duty in making sure the Scottish attack looked about as likely to score as Jim Davidson in a gay bar.
Not that they didn't have their fair share of the ball, Scotland, but that's the worrying thing. Rarely did they look like doing anything with it. In fact scoring opportunities were so rare throughout the game that they were raw. I.e. not cooked at all. I.e. they hardly scored, with just 3 points in each half a sorry return for 55% possession/territory stats in the opening period (these figures were both reduced massively after the break, when Ireland upped their game). To stand any chance of winning these games, especially away, you have simply got to make visits to the opposition 22 count. I may be guilty of prematurely judging a book by it's cover, but if they play like that for every game there's only going to be one contender for the wooden spoon this year, and it ain't gonna be Italy. Happy, Alessandro?
To sum up:
Wales and England both need to improve if they want last years finishing spots, and you sense that they both can. Ireland were good but not All-Blacks-game good, and will be looking for more, while France had the air of a team that had just won a ridiculous game of roulette. I still think they'll be found out. Italy looked encouraging. Scotland didn't. So if I had to predict the end table now, and so retrieve my crystal ball from it's skip and lay waste to my book-judging habits, it would be:
1. Ireland
2. Wales
3. England
4. Italy
5. France
6. Scotland
PS: I really wanted to put France last, but Scotland were that bad.
PPS: I also, being biased, wanted to put England top, but to do that they're going to have to beat both Wales and Ireland. Although both are at Twickenham, I don't see that happening.
Wales vs Italy
In a little sweepstake before the game, myself and 3 others tried to guess how many tries the reigning champions would put past a team with more wooden spoons than Jamie Oliver. The numbers started at 3, which, in the event, proved to be far too generous, and made us look a right load of fools to boot. If anything, the game lent some credence to those who set their store by Lions burnout, with the men in red fielding 9 starters from the final test down under and looking more sluggish than a sloth wading through treacle.
Italy, to general applause, turned up and played some decent rugby. Actually, they did their level best to make a mockery of their bottom-place predictions in a match that encouraged anyone with a crystal ball to chuck it on the nearest skip. I noted before the tournament began that they needed play makers, and they rocked up with 2. Tommaso Allan was very encouraging at 10, and Michele Campagnaro was even more so at inside centre, bagging himself a couple of tries. Teams need to take them seriously or risk paying the consequences. This nearly happened to England last year anyway, so there is a bit of an air of 'how many years do you need to learn this?' but to reiterate: teams heading to Rome need to beware.
Wales, meanwhile, looked a shadow of the team that destroyed England in it's last 6N outing. Seeing as how they won, however, it now means bollock-all. You can put it down to whatever you want: there's the Lions thing, they may have been taking it easy because, y'know, Italy, and we are told every year (especially last year) that Wales are slow starters. Doesn't matter. They won despite not playing well which, as Sir Alex Ferguson will tell you, is the surest way to win trophies. The consensus seems to be that it will not be enough against Ireland next week, but A) you wouldn't bet on Gatland's team being that bad two games running and B) what if it is? Then everyone else really is doomed. In the end the class and settled nature of the side pulled them through.
France vs England
By far the most exciting game of the round, a rollicking start by France saw them 13 points up and England's back 3 mangled beyond recognition. I swear, Johnny May looked EXACTLY like Alex Goode after 5 minutes. Oh...
A brilliant fightback from England then saw them yield a hard-earned lead and fail to score themselves in the final quarter, meaning the only difference between this game and that of England v the All Blacks in the Autumn was the colour of the opposition's shirts. And the reaction. By and large, you don't mind losing to New Zealand, but this was a game that England could have won, and there was a definite sense of letting it slip rather than being outplayed. France probably had more riding on the result than England, and the term 'mixed bag' might apply. Some players, like Nyanga (I still can't pronounce that) were exceptional. Others (Basteraud, Medard) went missing, which is an achievement in itself given their size is measured in hands.
You can argue France were lucky for their first two tries, but equally you can argue that you make your own luck and out on a rugby field, it's far easier to mix up the bad variety. For each of France's 3 tries there was a mistake from someone in England's back three (admittedly, two of those were made by players playing out of position, one aided by a diabolically-scheming bounce that made Blofeld look like an Oxfam volunteer). England last week had a pair of wingers with 1 cap between them, and next week are likely to have similar. It would help if they stayed on the field more than 5 minutes with only utility cover on the bench. There were good signs in attack though, with B. Vunipola showing no signs of stopping (literally) Burrell doing his best Tuilagi impression in the centre and Owen Farrell having his most accomplished England game, offensively speaking, to date. Even Danny Care was good, for Chrissakes, but they still looked like a team who hadn't really played before in the first half, which was because they were one. Time grows ever shorter, and England need to learn how to win these tight encounters.
Ireland vs Scotland
For 35 minutes this was a case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, with both defences holding firm (a little too firm, from a neutrals perspective) against sustained periods of attack that wafted from side to side like a Caribbean wave on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The moon of this metaphor seemed not to be paying attention though, and for most of the first half our increasingly-complicated island had no tide, little wind, and the atmosphere of a librarians wake.
Then Ireland (and in particular Johnny Sexton) remembered that the aim of the game is the try line, and set about trying to get there. A searing run from Ireland's 10 nearly resulted in the game's first try (except Jamie Heaslip's feet were too big) and the men in green kicked on from there. Scotland were obviously enjoying their holidays too much to notice, though, and remained resolutely impotent, making this the most one-sided fixture of the opening round. Ireland, it should be noted, played probably the best rugby of anyone in these first 3 games, being the only side to have both a successful attack AND defence, which usually helps if you want to win. Rob Kearney, Jamie Heaslip and, of course, Sexton were all great going forward and not a man of them didn't do his duty in making sure the Scottish attack looked about as likely to score as Jim Davidson in a gay bar.
Not that they didn't have their fair share of the ball, Scotland, but that's the worrying thing. Rarely did they look like doing anything with it. In fact scoring opportunities were so rare throughout the game that they were raw. I.e. not cooked at all. I.e. they hardly scored, with just 3 points in each half a sorry return for 55% possession/territory stats in the opening period (these figures were both reduced massively after the break, when Ireland upped their game). To stand any chance of winning these games, especially away, you have simply got to make visits to the opposition 22 count. I may be guilty of prematurely judging a book by it's cover, but if they play like that for every game there's only going to be one contender for the wooden spoon this year, and it ain't gonna be Italy. Happy, Alessandro?
To sum up:
Wales and England both need to improve if they want last years finishing spots, and you sense that they both can. Ireland were good but not All-Blacks-game good, and will be looking for more, while France had the air of a team that had just won a ridiculous game of roulette. I still think they'll be found out. Italy looked encouraging. Scotland didn't. So if I had to predict the end table now, and so retrieve my crystal ball from it's skip and lay waste to my book-judging habits, it would be:
1. Ireland
2. Wales
3. England
4. Italy
5. France
6. Scotland
PS: I really wanted to put France last, but Scotland were that bad.
PPS: I also, being biased, wanted to put England top, but to do that they're going to have to beat both Wales and Ireland. Although both are at Twickenham, I don't see that happening.
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