Friday evening in Paris, the 2021 Guinness Six Nations will be decided in this rearranged fixture. With no Grand Slam to play for, the Welsh still have one hand on lifting the Six Nations, even after their defeat in Paris. But can the French win the Six Nations this year?
Wales are currently top of the table on 20 points, Ireland second on 15 but played all their fixtures, with France in third on 15.
Scotland opened this year’s championship with a first away win over England since 1983. Follow up on their emphatic victory over Italy and they are in good spirits. Bolstered further by the news that Premiership Rugby will release Scotland players for the rearranged match, maybe they can end their 22-year wait for a Six Nations win in France.
The bookies however don’t see Scotland being able to win this game.
Wales currently have a +61 points difference to France’s +41, so a win of 21 points or more over Scotland, should they score four tries and pick up the bonus point, will be enough for Fabien Galthie’s squad to be 2021 Guinness Six Nations champions. That’s the easy way to work this out.
Now, just imagine they win by exactly 20 points and get the bonus point then the winner will be determined by tries scored.
If, in the unlikely situation, Wales have scored 20 tries while France currently have 15, so they’d be on 19.
However, if they win by exactly 20 points but Les Bleus score six or more tires, then that would do it for the home team to be crowned champions. Bookies don’t think this French side are good enough with 6/4 being offered by several big bookies.
Six Nations Outright as at 21 March
If Scotland win, draw or even lose but stop France scoring four tries, then Wales are named champions. So basically any Scottish win is enough, regardless of the score.
Should Scotland lose, not all is lost for the Welsh, provided Scotland concede four tries, as long as the final margin of defeat is 19 points or fewer.
The bookies favour Wales to be crowned outright winners, with odds of 1/2 on being available.
Yes, it’s possible. If France get a bonus-point win over Scotland by EXACTLY 20 points and score EXACTLY five tries, then the two countries would be level on points, points difference and tries scored.
At that point, the Guinness Six Nations title would be shared for the first time since, coincidentally, France and Wales shared the Five Nations crown in 1988. I wonder what odds you’d be able to get on this?
Hopefully, this game will be as entertaining as France Vs Wales 32-30 was. It’s on tv so I’ll be watching it”
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A Quick Overview Of This Weekend
An impressive display by the home team. A well deserved half time lead of 20-6 thanks in part to Keith Earls and Jack Conan who scored superb first-half tries. Ireland coach Andy Farrell certainly had a game plan for this fixture and it paid off handsomely, sadly to the detriment of his son the England captain.
With Lions coach Warren Gatland watching there must have been some serious note taking going on. Maybe Earls will be one of the hookers on the list of players, but Johnny Sexton who kicked 22 points has surely cemented his place in the starting fifteen.
England look tired, lacked ideas and the ill discipline was back. Bundee Aki’s red card in the 64th minute gave England the extra man advantage which enabled them to score a couple of tries in the last 15 minutes. The Connor Murray yellow card on the 78th minute gave the space for May to score a try wideout. Daly hit a magnificent drop-goal conversion from the left touchline to get England up to 18 points.
This defeat though means England slip to the worst finish since 1987 in their final Six Nations table, with Scotland still to play France meaning Ireland currently second could finish as runners up or slip to third, depending on the result.
According to Sir Clive Woodward in an article in the Telegraph, “Eddie Jones has become “all-powerful” at the Rugby Football Union and must be held to account after England’s disastrous Six Nations” and there are many others who are suggesting the same.
It started off so well for Italy, with a try after 5 minutes, Captain Luca Bigi going over and Garbisi converting. Saldy it went downhill after this. Scotland hooker Dave Cherry and wing Duhan van der Merwe both scored twice as Scotland ran in 8 tries against a poor Italian performance. The 24-10 half time scoreline would have given Italian players and supporters a glimmer of hope for the second half, but indiscipline brought two yellow cards after the break. This gave Scotland 28 unanswered points in the second half, to claim their biggest winning margin in Six Nations history.
Seven of Italy’s 12 Six Nations wins since 2000 have come against Scotland, so they must have fancied the chance to salvage some pride in this years tournament. They haven’t won a Six Nations game since 2015 and it will need a lot of improvement before next year to get that statistic changed.
The good news for the Scotland squad is that the English Premiership have agreed to release players for the Friday night final match against France.
Saved the best to the last. What a bloody game of rugby this was. It was Grand Slam chasing Wales going head to head with title contenders France in Paris. It’s been said Wales have had a lucky run this year. With both Ireland and Scotland ( who they beat by a single point ), reduced to 14 man and a contentious refereeing display contributing to their (ultimately) convincing win over England. What people forget is Wales won the final twenty minutes of that England game 16-0, ( without a single ref controversy required) plus they have scored more tries than in any previous Six nations. This final Welsh fixture was going to be as dull as ditchwater or an all time classic. Luckily it was the latter, as both teams knew they needed a four try bonus point.
A blazing start by France saw a flurry of penalties awarded to them, a disallowed held up try before Romain Taofifenua manages to score a try which is converted. A quick reply by Wales sees them also have a try over ruled as the player was held up, at the other end. Dan Biggar does manage to crash over, with an excellent run on the angle and he converts his own kick, making it 7-7 after 14 minutes.
An instant reply from France though as Brice Dulin joins the line and chips over the top for the chasing Jalibert to gather for him to pass to Antoine Dupont to walk a try in. Beautiful French back play there in the 15th minute. France 14 – 14 Wales (Josh Navidi) in the 19th minute after some good play by Biggar once again, who also converted the kick. France replaced injured try scoring lock Romain Taofifenua, which could have been a big turning point so early on. Wales took the lead in the 24th minute as Biggar slots over a well taken penalty. France counter attack from the restart but Jalibert kicks the ball dead, meaning a scrum back on the French 10m line. Another enforced replacement as Jalibert goes off with a head injury to be assessed, Romain Ntamack his replacement starts off badly with a knock on, but redeems himself 3 minutes later with a nicely taken penalty to level the scores once again.
Wales dominated possession in the first half and started the second in the same frame of mind. Biggar adds another three points after 6 minutes to give Wales the lead once again. Further points look on the card 3 minutes later when the TMO is called in once again to see if Josh Adams had managed to score a try. Try awarded and Biggar converts once again. A good French attack breaks down, but they were playing advantage and Romain Ntamack slots the penalty to reduce the deficit by 3.
The 58 minute mark saw game changing actions. Louis Rees Zammit was unlucky with a grounding wideout on the wing, where he was in for a try. Mohammed Haouas (France) was shown a Yellow card for pulling down a driving maul. Dan Biggar kicks the penalty to give Wales a 10 point buffer with 20 minutes left to play.
A French catch and drive from France before Marchand crashes over from the back of the maul, but he looks to be held up, so TMO is called into things again. Wales are offside in the tackle line from the France scrum five and Les Bleus take another scrum five, where Dulin looks to have gone over for a try. TMO time again. Bad news for France, as the try which was going to be awarded, isn’t and instead, it’s a Red card. In a ruck in the build up, Paul Willemse cleared out Wyn Jones and put his fingers near his eye, so after consultation between TMO and officials on the field, it’s a sending off.
With 11 minutes left on the clock, Wales decide to bring on fresh legs to finish off the game. Callum Sheedy for Biggar, Elliot Dee for Ken Owens, Leon Brown for Tomas Francis, and Willis Halaholo for Jon Davies. The French are awarded a lineout in the Welsh 22, and Cammille Chat is on for Marchand but his throw at the line is poor and Wales are able to break out. The French come straight back and Ollivon goes over again for a try, that’s deemed to be held up. After Wales had been told by the referee about a series of penalties defending their 22, Taulupe Faletau was shown a Yellow card for being caught offside. He’s quickly followed off the pitch 2 minutes later by Liam Willams who was off his feet and interfering with the ball. France 14, Wales 13, players on the park, that is!
French opting to use the extra man advantage go for a scrum after the penalty is awarded. Scrum collapsed as Wyn Jones gos down. Another penalty to France, who opt for the scrum again. The clock is ticking and each set and reset is eating into the little time left. Charles Ollivon does get over for a French try on the 77th minute, which Ntamack converts. 90 seconds left on the clock.
France knock it on! Wales have 90 seconds to keep hold of possession. Time is against France and they seemed not to realise this while they were taking the scrums 2 minutes earlier. Wales conceded a penalty for sealing off, Ntamack only has one option to go for touch. France have the ball on the Wales 22, they attempt to go right, then left before Dulin arrives on the scene, far out on the left wing. Conversion missed, but the game was won and the bonus point added too.
Brice Dulin of France scored his side’s fourth and winning try in the 82nd minute of a match that had everything.
Yes, they can if they score four tries vs Scotland next Friday and win by 21 points in the rearranged fixture. A couple of weeks ago, I’d have said that this was on the cards, but the Scots will be on a high after their drubbing of Italy this weekend. Paris will be the deciding chapter in this seasons Six Nations, the French are favourites but never say never with Scotland just now. Roll on Friday!.
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Serge Blanco’s 93 caps for France were filled with outlandish levels of attacking skill and ambition. Regarded as one the if not the best running/attacking fullbacks in the world. With the likes of Philippe Saint-André, Patrice Lagisquet, Philippe Sella and Pierre Berbizier the French backs lit the world up in the 1980s, with their flair and grace. Are we entering a new Golden Age of French rugby?
Without a doubt the best game of the competition this season by far. It was always going to be a tight scoreline and with England starting as underdogs, they had a lot to prove. With an early try for Dupont, the French set out their stall. England defended well, looked dangerous on the attack and Watson scored a well taken try and was unlucky afterwards with a break and a chip and chase which would have been a world class score. Penaud scored a well taken try to take the French into the half time in the lead HT 13-17.
Maro Itoje barged over for a 77th-minute score to seal the win which was well deserved, such a pity though that the stadium wasn’t full of supporters.
Farrell ( 2 conversions 3 pens ) took the head to head against Jalibert who managed 2 conversions and a couple of penalties. The best 9 & 10 partnership on the international scene? Jalibert and Dupont light up the game for sure and with them hosting the 2023 world cup in France, the home nation will be expected to lift the trophy.
Englands Discipline Sorted?
After giving away 41 penalties in their first three Six Nations games so far, Test referees Wayne Barnes and Matt Carley were invited to England training to give them guidance on how to stay on the right side of the officials. Yes it seemed to work. With the World Cup looming and the rules saying that they want more flowing rugby, players on their feet etc, this looks like a savvy move by the England team to help curb indiscipline going forward.
Eddie Jones has suggested only around 70% of the current squad will feature at the next World Cup in 2023. The final fixture of this Six Nations against Ireland might be one where he experiments with his starting line up once again?
This was always going to be a game where the question wasn’t ‘if Wales will in’, but it was more about how many they’d win by. Running in 7 tries to win by Italy 7-48 Wales, this really was one way traffic. When you’re losing 27-0 at half time, there’s never going to be any way back into the match even with home advantage.
This was Wales’ 16th successive victory over Italy and it clearly showed the huge gap in quality between both teams.
Grand Slam Again?
Wales have now matched their record of 17 Six Nations tries in one tournament with a game remaining. This is the all deciding fixture in Paris against France. Win, lose or draw this game, I can see Wales scoring at least one try to beat their record for number of tries.
Relegation An Option?
The facts are damning. It was a 31st successive defeat for the Azzurri in the competition, with their last victory coming against Scotland in 2015. They have not managed a home Six Nations win for eight years, with 20 successive losses.
Italy have conceded 187 points and 26 tries in four games this year. They have lost class players like Sergio Parisse, who was a genuine leader and a world class player. It may take years and years for Italian grass roots rugby to produce players of the required quality to compete at the highest level. I think the money will have the last say, thanks to sponsorship contracts, but maybe the future might see Georgia being invited to join the competition in the coming years?
Scotland at home would have fancied their chances in this fixture. Scoring three tries against the Irish brace was encouraging some would say as it showed the Scottish attacking ability. What let the home side down here was discipline. When you have a kicker of the ability of Jonny Sexton on the opposing team, the last thing you want to do is give away kickable penalties. This really hits home when you see Sexton pop 5 over for 15 points in the game you have just lost by 3 points. What must hurt most was the Scottish team had bounced back in the second half to get the scoreboard to 24-24.
At 10-14 the halftime score showed how close the match had been and it really was there for either team to win. A quick try then a penalty meant that 15 minutes in Ireland were in control. Scotland showed the grit to get back to 24-24, but at the end of the day it was the boot of Sexton thanks to the penalties that were their undoing.
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At least he gave England players time to get on the pitch before the kick off!
French referee Pascal Gauzere set out his stall early in the game when he was whistle happy from the get go. Supporters and viewers want to see talent on the pitch running and kicking the ball, not the centre of attention being the guy with the whistle.
The stadium lacking the vocals of the singing fans meant that this game was probably going to be quite subdued off the pitch, but the fixture for the players was ever important with Wales going for the Triple Crown.
Wales scored four tries against England for the first time in 23 years and ran out deserved winners after two highly contentious decisions set them on their way to victory over England
Early penalties awarded against England kind of set the tone for this game, with Wales slotting one over for an early lead. Itoje’s pressuring the scrum half box kicking attempt almost paid off with an England try when he charged down a Hardy kick. Fullback Williams won the leg race by inches to keep him out from scoring what would have been a kickable try.
Farrell put the game back on par with a well taken kick and at 3-3 it was time to go again. It took just 15 minutes into the game for the first controversy to hit home.
England captain Farrell was penalised for failing to roll away from his own tackle on George North. Personally not sure how much rolling away you can do with 2 opponents on top of you, but that’s nothing compared to the farce that followed.
Step up Pascal Gauzere, into the spotlight once again. Gauzere told Farrell to tell his team to “change their behaviour” and said “time off” indicating that the clock was stopped. Accordingly, Farrell did just that, calling in the wingers from the wings and the backs. On came the water carries to enable the England team in their huddle to get water taken on. They’re still being briefed by Farrell and breaking up the huddle as they hear the whistle blow, despite the water carriers still on the field in the huddled group. Biggar kicked out wide and Josh Adams catches the ball to go over for a try.
England captain Farrell argued vehemently there were water carriers on the field and his side had no chance to reset after being asked to speak to his team about their discipline. The referee had zero interest in listening to his complaints and brushed him aside like he didn’t exist. Try stood and was converted. A second Farrell penalty brought England back into the game.
Well, you may well ask. Almost another 15 minutes passes then we see Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit attempting to take a chipped kick from Adams, but he knocks it forward with his hand, but it comes off his own leg. It then hits Slades leg, all without touching the ground and Liam Williams is there to touch down for a try to make the scoreline Wales 17 England 6.
Could this be a new sport? Keepy Uppy with the rugby ball? Just a thought.
From where I was sitting in front of the tv, it looked like he’d lost possession of the ball.
Former England and British and Irish Lions captain Martin Johnson; “I would have thought he’s lost control of the ball. Everyone who has ever played rugby will think that’s a knock-on.”
For the record, World Rugby’s laws state: “A knock-on occurs when a player loses possession of the ball and it goes forward, or when a player hits the ball forward with hand or arm, or when the ball hits the hand or arm and goes forward, and the ball touches the ground or another player before the original player can catch it.”
Wales went back to the changing rooms enjoying a fortunate 17-14 half-time lead!
Hardy took advantage of a correctly awarded penalty against England lock Hill and his tap and go try was converted by Sheedy. England never gave up and tries by Anthony Watson and Ben Youngs, saw the hour mark scoreline 24-24. As good as they are in going forward, England need to sort out their discipline.
Wales replacement fly-half Callum Sheedy kicked three penalties, before Cory Hill’s last-minute try sealed a commanding bonus-point win. The scoreline was flattering, but Wales were worthy victors.
Rees-Zammit the Welsh winger is fast. he was unlucky not to score a try and had the pass gone to him instead of the kick and chase, maybe he would have just managed to get over the line.
Wayne Pivac said the referee was lenient on England in some aspects with star second row Maro Itoje giving away five penalties in total, without being shown a yellow card. Utter bullshit! At least one of these calls was borderline and a second it wasn’t even Itoje who was offside.
The prematch commentary did a focus piece on Alun Wyn Jones and how he has that old head on him to wind up opposing players who he knows will bite. His display against Sinckler in the last game was a wonderful assessment of how this captain looks to try to gain the upper hand.
Nigel Owens, MBE who was interviewed earlier about his experiences in the game and him coming out as a homosexual was a really nice and entertaining pice too. Based on the performance shown today, I’d have happily as an Englishman had him in charge of the match.
Not only have Wales produced some world class players over the years and will continue to do so, but they have also enhanced the world stage with top, top referees. Clive Norling, Derek Bevan and also Nigel Owens.
Yes, I admit that referees do make mistakes, but as glaring as this one was today, French referee Pascal Gauzere should not be on the International Panel. That being the case too, while ever England are giving away so many penalties, then you will get referees who will keep an eye on them ready for the next one to come around.
Some more reports from the big boys available here;
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In the final fixture of the second round of matches, France managed their first win on Irish soil in a decade. Pointless for the first ten minutes, a penalty to France looked certain to get them on the scoreboard, but the difficult kick by Matthieu Jalibert drifted just wide of the mark. Billy Burns returned the favour 8 minutes later with a bad miss from his kick at goal, but 3 minutes later he puts Ireland in front with a better penalty kick.
When French lock Le Roux is given a yellow card for a trip, this was the chance that Ireland should take. A certain try opportunity for James Lowe on the wing was well defended and the TMO correctly saying ‘NO TRY’ thanks to some great defensive cover to help him into touch. This spurred the French to take the game back to the Irish after being penned in their own 22. Quick French hands saw a try from Ollivon with the conversion kicked. Jalibert then adding a penalty just before the half time whistle.
With the majority of possession and 10 minutes playing with an extra man, Ireland failed to put more points on the board. This is where great teams punish opponents. Ireland still don’t seem to be hitting games with the ruthlessness they’ve done in recent years.
The second half was scoreless for the first 14 minutes until a lovely try by Penaud extended the French lead. James Lowe who missed two tackles last week against Wales, needed to make his count this time, but he was beaten by the sidestep. The 12 points difference would mean that the next score would be vital for either team. France to push on to win or the Irish to come back into the game. It was Irish replacement scrum-half Ronan Kelleher who conjured up something special 4 minutes later to pop over for a try. With Byrne adding the conversion, this was now back to a try difference at Ireland 10-15 France. Byrne added a penalty on the 64th minute to bring the game closer at 13-15.
71st minute and a French penalty awarded after Tadhg Beirne takes out Charles Ollivon in the air, sees Matthieu Jalibert’s kick come back off the upright.That was the final scoreline in a game where Ireland didn’t look their best and the French ground out a victory.
Ireland had the most territory and also possession: 59%-41% ( same stats for both ), they had 10 minutes with an extra man on the field and still couldn’t manage to overcome a determined French team.
Saturday 27th sees Wales entertain England, in a must win for Wales if they’re to push the French. The following day Scotland are in Paris in a match that could prove important in deciding the outcome of the tournament.
Going into March we’ll either see France extend their lead at the top of the table, if they beat Scotland. Personally, I think France will win by 7 or more points. Wales would need to beat England convincingly and pick up bonus points to keep pace with France. Wales have the home advantage but they’ve limped home in their opening couple of games, both against teams who have had a player sent off. As bad as Englands’ discipline can be at times, I’d be stunned if they get a red card. I wonder what the bookies are offering for the odds on that though? I think that this will be a game England might just edge and they’ll do so by 5 points or under.
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With both teams winning the first round fixtures this was going to be the game to see who will be top of the table on the Saturday night. Scotland 0 – 3 Wales (Leigh Halfpenny) after 7 minutes showed the visitors fancied their chances. Finn Russell though kicked an equaliser just 3 minutes later. Russell added a conversion 9 minutes later after Scotland’s Darcy Graham scored their first try. A Stuart Hogg chip and chase to gather his own kick to score a try, which was also converted by Russell saw Scotland open up a nice lead.
A passage of play that saw a series of sloppy penalties and advantages being played enabled Louis Rees-Zammit score a try just before the half time.
Gary Graham thought he’d got Scotland a try on the 50th minute, but the TMO over ruled. A minute later Liam Williams runs in a Welsh try, which is converted by Sheedy. The TMO came into play again 4 minutes later when Zander Fagerson was shown a red card for his shoulder connected with Wyn Jones’ head at the breakdown. Clearly, he’d not seen the Irish red card the week before for the exact same thing.
So for the second match on the trot, Wales were playing against a side with 14 men on the pitch. After the close result against Ireland, this would be the best time to exert pressure and put in a solid winning display. With 25 minutes left this would be the perfect chance to get the points difference in their favour and close the French in the tables.
Wyn Jones went over for an unconverted try a couple of minutes after the red card was shown, Wales in front by 3 points now. Scotland awarded a couple of kickable penalties but instead chose to go for scrums, neither bringing the try they were looking for. Eventually, Stuart Hogg produces a lovely try which Russell converts to put Scotland back in the lead by 24-20 and there were just about 15 minutes left to play. The previous week we’d seen the pace of Rees-Zammit and this week he once again showed his skills. His try here coming from his own chip and chase which was well taken. The conversion failed to add to the points.
Outcomes so far;
Scotland are dangerous even with just 14 men on the field as the past 2 weeks have shown. The Welsh have battled and beaten 2 teams who had a man sent off, 5 points ahead of Ireland last Sunday and a single point today. It’s often argued that it’s difficult to play against 14 men but my own thoughts here are that Wayne Pivac makes great tactical substitutions but against a fully functioning England side or the French in the top of the table clash, their luck will run out. Wales have held on in both their opening games, they’ve never looked dominant.
Saturday 27th Feb sees the English team in Wales for the next round of fixtures. This one will be the real test for Pivac and his men.
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After the lesson in the Calcutta Cup last week, this was the perfect opportunity to get back into winning ways for England. The question on peoples lips was; By how many points?
This is without doubt seen as the easiest fixture in the Six Nations. The Azzurri were looking to end a 28 defeat record, but facing a wounded England team was never going to be an easy way to do so. With rumours and speculation regarding Italy and if they should be allowed to remain in the competition, this was always going to be an uphill struggle even before the whistle sounded for kick off.
A try in the third minute, therefore, wasn’t unexpected, but not many thought it would come from Italy. Montanna Ioane opening the scoring, but Paolo Garbisi missing the conversion. England came back into the game with Farrell kicking a penalty. A Jonny Hill try soon followed. Garbisi pulling back the score with a well taken penalty brought the game back to 8-8.
Watson scored a wonderful try with a sweet sidestep to leave a couple of would be tacklers wrongfooted, Farrell adding the extra 2 points. Shortly before halftime an awesome try on the left wing by Jonny May saw him dive high for the touchline, meaning the tackler couldn’t take him. No conversion this time though.
Italy have a habit of weakening in the second half of matches, so there were going to plenty points. it only took 3 minutes for the first to go onto the board and it was an Italian penalty kick. This inspired the Azzurri who started to look like they could get another try. A great interception of a pass though by Anthony Watson, saw him race 70+ metres to score under the sticks. Farrell kicking the conversion to extend the lead.
Voted Premiership player of the year last season, he comes on after 58 minutes for his Si Nations debut. A minute later a quick tap penalty taken by Dan Robson sees the replacement scrum half brought down just short of the try line, Jack Willis, in support though, picks and drives over to score a well deserved try. Five minutes later it’s all over for the Wasps Flanker, who has done his knee after it seems he got his leg caught while being rolled away by a tackler.
With the scoreline, 34-11 and about 15 minutes left there was still time for more tries. And so, Tommaso Allan obliged to score his try and also convert the kick himself. A very quick response from England, Elliot Daly outpacing a tired looking defence to score under the posts, Farrell adding the extra points.
No further scores in the game, but wishing Jack Willis as speedy a recovery as possible after that horrible injury. Surely this will be 5 minutes he’ll never forget.
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Italy at home to France for the first fixture and it has to be said that France went out to put their stamp on this game. By half time with the score 3-24, the French were home and dry. In an impressive performance, they ran tries in from Cretin, Fickou, Vincent, Dulin, Dupont, Thomas (2) which combined with the excellent kicking from Jalibert (6 conversions and 1 penalty ) saw the final score of 10-50 put France on top of the table.
Now I’ll remind you all of my words here months ago, when I said; “As I said earlier, check the odds to see what price the French are for the Six Nations outright” and based on their performance against Italy this made sense. This was based on the final match in the Autumn series, and my comments are here.
So the next match is England who will be looking to storm out of the starting gate in an explosive fashion and lay down their own marker…..
The next game was favourites England at home in fortress Twickenham against Scotland, who seem to still play hit and miss rugby. Great one match, then poor the next game then average the third. England would have already seen the French scoreline, but wouldn’t be expecting to better that against Scotland, but would feel confident about the victory.
How wrong could this be? A game producing one single try, which was scored by van der Merwe for Scotland. Farrell kicking 2 penalties for England and Russell managing the same for Scotland the 6-11 final score stunned the England camp.
Well played Scotland, good and deserved victory, only took 38 years…..
So to give this some perspective for those old enough to remember these things:
The last time that Scotland won at Twickenham, the world was a very different place.
* A pint of beer cost 62p.
* Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’ was top of the UK charts.
* Larry Holmes was WBC heavyweight champion.
* The average UK property price was £23,335.
* Sega and Nintendo released their first video game systems.
* ‘Gandhi’ swept the board at the Oscars.
* British police series ‘The Bill’ aired for the first time.
* A loaf of bread cost 28p.
* ‘Octopussy’, the 13th James Bond film, was released in cinemas.
Sunday saw this fixture between two teams who have had a dip or blip in recent form. These 2 sides are both well matched, but like Scotland can go from looking like world beaters in one game to being very average in the next.
The 14th minute straight red card for Irelands flanker O’Mahony was certainly going to impact the game. Juggling a back into the scrum for some of the scrummaging would leave possible gaps in the Irish backs. Halftime scoreline though of 6-13 to the Irish seemed to indicate that playing with 14 men wasn’t such a hindrance. A wonderful pick up and go try from lock Beirne, a conversion and 2 penalties from Sexton showed that Ireland were here to try to win this game.
With both North and Rees-Zammit scoring tries for Wales in the second half, they took the lead and as the clock was turning red the simple thing was to put the ball out for the final whistle. For some reason this didn’t happen and when Ireland regained possession they began to counter attack. Needing a try to draw or a converted one to snatch victory, this was the incentive they needed. A penalty awarded to the Irish and the obvious option was the ball down towards the corner and then the line out. If they could take a clean lineout then the catch and drive could possibly see the all important try being scored.
Replacement fly haf Billy Burns though could only watch in dismay as his kick went dead, much to the relief of the Welsh. Thanks in part to the impressive 11 points from Leigh Halfpenny they had clung on for a home victory.
Peter O’Mahony who was the first ever Irishman to be sent off in the Six Nations has also picked up a 3 match ban. This means he’ll miss the Sunday clash against France, which will be the pick of this coming weekends fixtures for me.
Saturday sees England entertain Italy, in a fixture that England really do need to bounce back from and rack up a shedload of points. Wales travel to Scotland in what should be an entertaining fixture as the current second placed team takes on Scotland who are third for now.
Already we are seeing England and Ireland playing must win games, with the Irish one facing the stiffer opponents for sure.
The current Six Nations holders playing on paper the only team to beat them in the Six Nations this season should have been a mouth-watering final. As we mentioned here, this was not a first choice French fifteen, it was a team that was rather makeshift. So imagine how this game played out to get to the 40 minute mark and England trailing by 7 points.
Grit, determination and passion in abundance in this first half demonstrated by this French makeshift team.
The willingness to take the game to England in attack supported by a rugged defence means that the half time lead was deserved. If you had chance to watch this via Amazon Video, this was a really good game.
Brice Dulin scoring a wonderful try to cement the young French side firmly into this fixture. Into the last 3 minutes of the half saw England pressuring the French try line. With 10, 11, 12 phases trying to get over the line, the French showed unbelievable determination to keep them out. This is one of the rare times this past couple of seasons when you se an England side camped on an opponents line and come away without points.
Based on what I’ve seen in this first half, the future looks bright for the French national team. Remembering too that England last lost against a team who were the French Six Nations team, away in Paris. These first 40 minutes was entertaining and was only the 3rd time in 2 years when they have trailed at half time. Having an ante post bet on France for the Six Nations? Worth a look for the odds, for sure.
The second half playing right to left saw an early penalty awarded to England. Opting for touch sees the line out won enabling England to pressure France, but nothing coming from it. Quick changes in the 44th minute in the second and back row, from England.
Pesenti the French lock giving away a penalty for a no-arms tackle giving Farrell a penalty kick chance, which he slots cleanly through the sticks to bring the score back to within 4 points.
A passage of ping pong kicking ends with a poor pass to the French 14 who couldn’t pick it up off his bootlaces and knocked on. From the scrum a penalty advantage allowed England to spread the ball out to the English backs, Watson showing a good turn of pace. Brought back to the penalty, Farrell pushed this wide to the right of the uprights.
Another quick penalty in the 53rd minute opting for the line out, showed France were upto the task and thwarted the English attack.
Great turnover from Itoje leads to another penalty, which Farrell nudged right once again,for a disappointing 2 from 5.
Daleys 65th minute kick into the corner was inch perfect, but France managed to clean up their own lineout. Despite all the England possession in the second half, a French penalty extending their lead as the clock ticked into the last 10 minutes. Straight from the restart, France concede a penalty, but the advantage was played and despite 7 or 8 phases there was no way through. Farrell this time kicks the penalty, ensuring he has racked up over 100 points against France.
12-16 with 7 minutes left, sees France on the attack and earning themself a penalty. 4 minutes to go, sees the kick off the post to extend their lead back to 7 points. France haven’t won at Twickenham in 15 years, yet here we have the French underdogs pushing for the win.
A penalty to England sees Slade with a pinpoint kick into the corner. They take the lineout cleanly and the driving maul from the lineout sees Exeter hooker Cowan-Dickie go over for a well deserved try. Farrell slotted the conversion with the last kick of the match to make the score 19-19.
Now it’s time for extra time, to determine the outright winner. With two halves of 10 minutes to come to see who can seal the sudden death win. The first score, any score will be sufficient to decide this final.
With only 2 Minutes in sees a sloppy French penalty given away, but Farrell manages to clip it off the right upright and it doesn’t go over. The restart sees big Billy Vinaopola knock on the balls and a scrum to France.
With France pushing forward to try get the position for a drop goal, a penalty for off feet eased the pressure on the English defence. From the English lineout, the French defence managed a turnover. A sloppy lineout sees Marler steal for England but the French get possession back.
The second period of the extra time sees a nice kick through into space, Itoje was stopped from getting the ball by French players laying on the ball. The penalty to England slotted over by Own Farrell to rob the French in extra time.
With the debate probably still ongoing as to was it a penalty or not, the official result shows a W for win for England. Was it deserved? Well they ground out the win. England did what they needed to do, but they just made hard work of things. At the end of the day they have a couple of tournaments in the bag this season.
England looked average, this unknown French team were immense. As I said earlier, check the odds to see what price the French are for the Six Nations outright and this might be a trading opportunity.
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So, when I say pointless fixture, I don’t mean that there will be no points scored, in fact far from it. If anything it will be the total opposite and records could be broken.
Consider that England’s starting XV will have over 810 caps between them, so compare that to France’s 68. This indicates the clear divide in bother experience and quality of the players.
Thie Autumn Nations Cup final being played at Twickenham should see a clash of 2 titans in the Northern Hemisphere. The rugby powerhouses of Europe going head to head to see who will lift the crown here. With the resurgence of Argentina in the world fixtures beating the All Blacks and drawing with the Wallabies, the prospect of an enthralling World Cup has fans across the globe excited for the remaining fixtures of this year to be played.
Cast your mind way back to the start of the 2020 Six Nations, when France took the wind out of the English sail by inflicting an unexpected defeat on the England favourites. France went on to finish second in that tournament on points difference and this Autumn Nations Cup competition sees both teams in the final against each other. With Ireland not quite hitting the mark in either competition and Wales on a downward slope with 6 defeats on the bounce, maybe the next Six Nations will be between these 2 squads in action at Twickers?
What we now have here is a French team who will be captained by a player ( scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud ) earning his first ever international start. The most capped player in the team has 30 caps being the fullback Brice Dulin.
An agreement basically between the French federation and the Top14 league, is what went wrong. This put into play a rule that meant players could each only play three international Tests during the autumn window. The result of this means due to these contractual obligations, French coach Fabien Galthie has lost close to 25 of his squad to choose from.
Does this mean England can go out there are rack up as many points as possible and be saluted for this? Or is this one of those damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenarios. Hammer the understrength team and you get slated by the press for taking advantage. Or you win by a handful of points and still get slated by press and pundits for not being clinical enough, not being dominant enough and not pressing home the advantages.
From a fan’s perspective, if I was buying tickets for a cup final, I’d be expecting both sides to field full teams. Turning up to what could be almost a training session isn’t what I’d have been wanting to see.
I hope for the sake of the sport that this is an entertaining fixture and the result is a fair outcome.
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