WhiteHorseRam Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 3 hours ago, Angry Ram said: Well that well yesterday.. Have not seen the games yet due to other commitments but was shocked with the Irish result. What happened @Highgate? I hear England struggled but just had too much in the end. Scotland looked good - high speed intelligent play - which is what England lacked for 70 minutes yesterday, but in the end the French couldn't cope with the white meatgrinder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highgate Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 7 hours ago, Angry Ram said: Well that well yesterday.. Have not seen the games yet due to other commitments but was shocked with the Irish result. What happened @Highgate? I hear England struggled but just had too much in the end. Scotland played really well in the first half and led 21-5 at half time, with very high pressing and high intensity. Hogg was a constant threat. Ireland made some basic handling errors, and our line-out was really poor, including giving away a try by having one man less in a defensive line-out. Second half was different, Ireland dominated most of it...and led 22-21 at one stage, but Scotland manage to land a penalty with 10 mins to go, and closed the game out well. Enjoyable game for the neutral I'd say, not for me though. I have to say Scotland deserved it overall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Maybe we should rename the thread 6 nations rugby, you can always have a separate thread for England? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWC1983 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 On 05/02/2017 at 15:44, Highgate said: Scotland played really well in the first half and led 21-5 at half time, with very high pressing and high intensity. Hogg was a constant threat. Ireland made some basic handling errors, and our line-out was really poor, including giving away a try by having one man less in a defensive line-out. Second half was different, Ireland dominated most of it...and led 22-21 at one stage, but Scotland manage to land a penalty with 10 mins to go, and closed the game out well. Enjoyable game for the neutral I'd say, not for me though. I have to say Scotland deserved it overall. I thought Ireland were too predictable in the first half and let Scotland knock them back in the tackle. The scrum was a real source of strength for you, but the lineout was woeful. Scotland played just like Glasgow have been this season. A couple of ball carriers in the forwards, Gray and Strauss, and when the opportunity arises attack the space with pace and numbers out wide. Second half was a different story, Ireland varied their attacking lines and made a few breaks. Scotland only really had possession in the last 10 mins when they actually managed to close out a game for once. They managed to win without Finn Russell playing well, which is encouraging, but we need our key players fit. Scrum is a cause for concern, the French will take us to the cleaners next week, but hopefully we can move them around and knacker them out. The substitution rules possibly takes that advantage away. The one thing that was noticeable was watching England France straight after the Murrayfield game how bigger the packs were in the Twickenham game, or perhaps that was the many Guiness's kicking in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade 86 Posted February 7, 2017 Share Posted February 7, 2017 A strange opening week. England and Ireland both looking rusty, one scraping through, the other snatching defeat when victory looked within their grasp. The Irish line out was poor and unusually for such a canny team, they conceded too many penalties. Usually dominant at the breakdown, it was Irish hands coughing up turnover ball and what was O'Brien (or was it Heaslip - can't remember) thinking when he popped the ball up for Maitland instead of support runners to his right?. They'll regroup and anyone expecting them to under-perform again might be in for a nasty surprise. The championship is not gone for them but they can no longer afford to drop points against either England or Wales if they are to secure a 3rd championship in 4 years. The Scots played well - nicking line-out ball, securing turnovers when they had no right to and clinically taking the opportunities that arose, this was a just reward after a year or two of near misses. Indeed, the Scots have speed to burn across their three-quarters and will give all their opponents plenty to think about. They should not be taken lightly and have one of the best finishers in the game in Stewart Hogg. The fact that the lad is only 24 is genuinely frightening - Lord knows what he can go on to achieve if he avoids any serious injuries. In any case, a Lions slot seems assured for starters. France are on the up. Their clubs sides have been resurgent this season and, in Guy Noves, they finally have a coach with a clear vision that suits the personnel at hand. Much was made of England under-performing but to my eye, they were matched in all areas of the park (and some!) for all bar the final quarter. Credit to the boys for digging in, it was their squad depth that ultimately kept their winning streak going. Expect a more cohesive performance at the Millennium but their normally dependable set-piece will need to operate a deal closer to it's optimum if they are to beat Wales in their own back yard. Quick ball and plenty of it will be needed and the current pack will need to ensure they provide plenty of go-forward in the absence of Billy, Mako and Chris. Expect Itoje to return to 4 to partner Launchbury as Haskell looks certain to start after a typically robust performance that helped turn the game. Wood was strangely mooted and one wonders whether Jones might opt for more mobility against the Welsh. Jamie George is pressing hard for a starting slot but I'd expect Hartley to retain the number 2 jersey for now. Wales were too classy and too fit for an underwhelming Italy who seem sure to once again, to flatter to deceive. Their talisman Parisse won't be around for ever and they really need to start to progress if they are to survive any future cull should relegation be introduced into a two tier tournament, as seems likely at some point in the future. That's my tuppence worth - enjoy the second round guys, unless you happen to be Welsh, of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Kevin Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 You dancers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StockholmRam Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 My favorite England win in all the run. My oh my how much " yap" have I had to put up with this week from Welsh mates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zag zig Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Havi 1 hour ago, StockholmRam said: My favorite England win in all the run. My oh my how much " yap" have I had to put up with this week from Welsh mates. Having spent 3 years at Uni down there, I know ha tone will hurt, what was Jonathan Davies doing? Only saw the 2nd half but I'd say England got away with it more than Derby today and that's saying something! Biggar looked great and his reaction when Elliott Daly broke free , summed up my opening sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWC1983 Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Guess that sets up the grand slam decider against us at Twickenham....... I'll take a 3- 0 win in Paris tomorrow. The only slight chance we've got is getting enough ball to run the big French pack around. My fear is that they batter us up front and create enough space for the South Sea islanders to score a few tries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van der MoodHoover Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Have to say we could learn a lot from that will to win. To say nothing of that titanic defence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StockholmRam Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 11 hours ago, CWC1983 said: Guess that sets up the grand slam decider against us at Twickenham....... I'll take a 3- 0 win in Paris tomorrow. The only slight chance we've got is getting enough ball to run the big French pack around. My fear is that they batter us up front and create enough space for the South Sea islanders to score a few tries. Going to be very interesting to see how France v Scotland go today CWC... Both vastly improved sides which is good for 6 Nations overall. It's been suggested that France played well above themselves because it was v England. Everyone's favorite scalp still and of course now we are THE scalp given our run. Scotland have had a few very good players for a while now. Hogg being the pick of, however they didn't have much else in support but that's really getting better now. I predict an extremely tight game but no idea who will win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I have a feeling France will edge it. As @CWC1983 said, the size of the French lads might open up too much space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Did England really get away with it? I don't think so. Yep they made mistakes but were always within 5 points of Wales and at that level keeping yourself in the game is what counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van der MoodHoover Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 1 hour ago, davenportram said: Did England really get away with it? I don't think so. Yep they made mistakes but were always within 5 points of Wales and at that level keeping yourself in the game is what counts. Blew 5 points in kicks as well - was a very tight match that could have gone either way. but I thought it was great to see us really capitalise on the Welsh kick that didn't find touch. In previous years I suspect the first runner would almost inevitably head back towards the pack rather than go for the space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 4 hours ago, JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta said: I have a feeling France will edge it. As @CWC1983 said, the size of the French lads might open up too much space. At two points between them at half time my pick would be Scotland. France tired against England and will do again, if Scotland get a nose in front then Frances might lose their discipline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van der MoodHoover Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 9 minutes ago, davenportram said: At two points between them at half time my pick would be Scotland. France fired against England and will do again, if Scotland get a nose in front then Frances might lose their discipline. Scotland need to keep theirs and in particular their young stand-in scrum half Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWC1983 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 France making the hard yards look easy. Laidlaw going off is a blow. Try to keep it close and see where it takes us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highgate Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Hard to take for the Scots, it always is when you score more tries and end up losing. But it was very hard work against such a powerful French pack. Scotland just ended up giving a few too many penalties away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curtains Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 Lol That try yesterday was epic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade 86 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Only one team left with Grand Slam possibilities. Could this all set up for a Championship (and possible GS) decider at the Aviva? Well done England, weathered the storm then delivered the coup de grace in style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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