Six Nations 2020.

[salarchaser]

Yes very odd. The ABs would never do this and Pivac is from NZ. Surround a new boy with experienced players is the way to start someone.

Aus and NZ used to blood their 10s at 12.
Lynagh's first tour was outside Ella.
Didnt Wilkinson play 12 for a few games?

Even if you have a close squad, making 10 changes always results in a disjointed game.

The same for Hardy. A new scrumhalf needs an old head at 8.
Only give the 9 clean ball. Or an old head at 10 who will take anything thrown at him.
8, 9 and 10 all raw with a 12 finding his way.
An all that with a pack unlikely to provide clean ball.

 

[Aled]

Ah well at least our football team have put a smile on Welsh faces!
Cheers
Aled

 

[Aled]

Well enjoy the games being played this weekend. I just hope Wales get a win, if not Pivac is in big trouble!
Cheers
Aled

 

[salarchaser]

I see Argentina followed up beating NZ with a draw against Aus.

 

[Handel]

I see Argentina followed up beating NZ with a draw against Aus.

Did you watch it? 5 penalties each it says on the news.

 

[salarchaser]

Did you watch it? 5 penalties each it says on the news.

No, just saw the result.

 

[Artza64]

Go France Go!


A+
T

 

[Aled]

Ok all the only game i watched fully was the Wales v Georgia one, and it was not that entertaining, cant see England being too concerned next week. Did watch the last 30mins of England v Ireland, England looked to be quite comfortable, and listened to the 2nd half of the Scotland v France match.
Cheers
Aled

 

[Walleye]

England looked like they were practising their defense in the 2nd half they looked so comfortable. They gave a stat in the 2nd half where England didn't miss a tackle in the first 90 tackles made.
Were England very good or Ireland very poor. I can't decide.

 

[Handel]

I am reliant on Channel 4 so I only saw England v Ireland. I do wish there was an option to turn off the commentary without losing the sound of the game. England had no ambitions at all, one try from a crossfield kick on free ball and a second from a lineout turnover and ship it to Jonny to see if he can do something, which he could. A very dull game. How much does the lack of atmosphere affect the players? What England did show is you can win these games without the ball. We knew that from watching Wales under Gatland. England now have far and away the strongest group of coaches in world rugby and that appears to be what they have decided on as the style of play.

That didn't look like Ireland's first team. I haven't kept up with their injury situation. Larmour, Ringrose, Henshaw, Sexton, Carbery and Furlong were all missing. The back row seemed to be missing a number of players. Stockdale, Murray and Henderson all started on the bench. Stander didn't look fit. And they still haven't found a new hooker which is part of the reason their lineout failed though it picked up when they brought on Henderson. The scrum was a mess but that was as much down to the referee as anyone else. The international game reminds me more and more of rugby league but not played very well. Time to cut to 13 players and get rid of the flankers?

 

[Occasional salmon fisher]

Watched the England Ireland game and highlights of the others.

Looked like Scotland pushed France hard and if Hogg had managed to kick his penalty into touch the right side of the line, who knows they may have secured a draw ?

England's performance was lit up by May's tries, otherwise the game was a lot of huff and puff. Later in the second half, Ireland started to look stronger (and/or England weaker) and their try was no surprise.

Confidence booster for Wales, a win to nil againt Georgia.

Might sign up to Amazon Prime before next weekend, most Christmas shopping will be online this year anyway !

 

[salarchaser]

I thought england were efficient against Ireland though ireland were one dimensional (only allowed to play in one dimension?) Which helped the england tackle stats.

Scotland v France was evenly matched with the difference being a slight lack of precision by Scotland, especially at close quarters.
By the way, what is on top of Duncan Weir's head?

As a proud welshman, I was pleasantly surprised by the Welsh performance. Too often when we make a ruck of changes the basics go. Whilst the performance wasnt the best we at least looked like a team. Conditions were atrocious which didnt help.
I still worry about our lack of ball carriers in the forwards though.

 

[Occasional salmon fisher]

I thought england were efficient against Ireland though ireland were one dimensional (only allowed to play in one dimension?) Which helped the england tackle stats.

Scotland v France was evenly matched with the difference being a slight lack of precision by Scotland, especially at close quarters.
By the way, what is on top of Duncan Weir's head?

As a proud welshman, I was pleasantly surprised by the Welsh performance. Too often when we make a ruck of changes the basics go. Whilst the performance wasnt the best we at least looked like a team. Conditions were atrocious which didnt help.
I still worry about our lack of ball carriers in the forwards though.

Apparently it is to raise funds for charity !

 

[ozzyian]

Yes, he's apparently raised over £80 now He's actually doing pretty well as the stand in No10 though it's glaringly obvious that his style couldn't be further away from Finns, his kicking is like clockwork and he's throwing himself into defensive duties like a back row, he always was a hard working player.

The truth is that Scotland were a little off France who deserved the win on balance, even though they weren't just as slick as we've seen recently. Scotlands defence generally very good, pack very good in play but struggled a bit in the scrums, the attacking threat these days seems to rest on Finns shoulders.

Watched the England/Ireland game and there's a couple of hours I'll never get back. The Wales game held a morbid sporting fascination to see whether the Lelos could manage it, in hindsight of course they couldn't. Anybody still think that Italy should be demoted from the 6N and replaced by Georgia?

 

[Occasional salmon fisher]

The game wasn't great even as an England supporter, must have been very dull for a neutral !

 

[salarchaser]

The game wasn't great even as an England supporter, must have been very dull for a neutral !

Sometimes 'dull' games are well executed technically.
As an ex-player (local club rugby), I often appreciate games like that. England strangled the life out of Ireland which isnt easy to do, requiring discipline, high levels of fitness and a good structure.
Not the swashbuckling attack thats easy on the eye, but you have to respect the execution.

 

[Occasional salmon fisher]

Yes, I think you are right. Eddie Jones was probably very pleased with the performance. Lets face it, Woodward's world cup winning team were based on solidity and power, not flair. But I would love to see a swashbuckling 52-26 (to England !).

 

[salarchaser]

Yes, I think you are right. Eddie Jones was probably very pleased with the performance. Lets face it, Woodward's world cup winning team were based on solidity and power, not flair. But I would love to see a swashbuckling 52-26 (to England !).

If you watch games from our glory years in the late 60s and 70s, the games were error strewn. Lots of dropped passes, knock- ons, missed tackles, dog-legs in the defensive lines.
It was the errors that produced the turnovers for a lot of the attacks and the defensive errors that allowed the line breaks.
A different approach to the game. Modern coaches would be pulling their hair out.
I find I can appreciate both approaches, though prefer less of an arm wrestle.
Down the years england have always had a strong pack and adopted a conservative game plan. Very effectively I must add.
A lot of the time, england resort to a 10 man game.
Its why barnes lost out to Andrew.

 

[salarchaser]

After some of our comments regarding tactics and entertainment, this makes an interesting read.

Jiffy, pundits and fans are concerned rugby has turned boring

Is rugby facing significant problems? The lack of fans, poor weather and defensive dominance has not made for a great spectacle, and some people are concerned

www.walesonline.co.uk

 

[salarchaser]

RIP Ray Prosser.

Knew of this guy as a coach rather than a player as he played before my day (aled, ask your dad ).

As Carwyn James (ask your dad again ) revolutionalised coaching in general, so Ray Prossor revolutionised forward play, overseeing the great pontypool packs of the 70s and 80s that never took a backward step.

Pontypool legend Ray Prosser dies aged 93

The Pontypool coaching legend represented Wales and the Lions during his playing career

www.walesonline.co.uk

 

[Occasional salmon fisher]

After some of our comments regarding tactics and entertainment, this makes an interesting read.

Jiffy, pundits and fans are concerned rugby has turned boring

Is rugby facing significant problems? The lack of fans, poor weather and defensive dominance has not made for a great spectacle, and some people are concerned

www.walesonline.co.uk

I would have to agree with most of that. Grinding out results is fine for wins and points but most of us want at least some exciting, passing rugby in games. I often record games and fast forward through scrums e.t.c.

 

[pfeul]

Yes, he's apparently raised over £80 now He's actually doing pretty well as the stand in No10 though it's glaringly obvious that his style couldn't be further away from Finns, his kicking is like clockwork and he's throwing himself into defensive duties like a back row, he always was a hard working player.

The truth is that Scotland were a little off France who deserved the win on balance, even though they weren't just as slick as we've seen recently. Scotlands defence generally very good, pack very good in play but struggled a bit in the scrums, the attacking threat these days seems to rest on Finns shoulders.

Watched the England/Ireland game and there's a couple of hours I'll never get back. The Wales game held a morbid sporting fascination to see whether the Lelos could manage it, in hindsight of course they couldn't. Anybody still think that Italy should be demoted from the 6N and replaced by Georgia?

not the nicest game but a nice win abroad.
The influence of Dupont is amazing even when he's not at his best like yesterday. Ali price was surely instructed to hunt him at the output of every scrum because of his threat close to the big guys. But that led to the french try by opening a space between the scrum and big hair weir. Nicely played.

I agree with you ozzyian. The scottish defence was good and the pack struggled a bit in the scrums but it struggles a lot in the mauls.

I found the behaviour of the scottish players rather silly after Haouas enter the pit when they try repeateadly to unpin him like a grenade. this guy owes a lot to Galthie to be selected and he was warned that he would not come back with les bleus anymore if he got red carded once again.

What is good to see is that France has also a very good bench in the front pack. Just hope to see Penaud coming back soon, because neither Rattez nor Thomas impress me.

With the usual fight between the league and the federation, players could be selected more than three times. So the two next games we'll see many new players on the field who were not selected until then. Especially several U20 WC winners like the young Carbonel at 10.

Some nice games coming!

 

[ozzyian]

not the nicest game but a nice win abroad.
The influence of Dupont is amazing even when he's not at his best like yesterday. Ali price was surely instructed to hunt him at the output of every scrum because of his threat close to the big guys. But that led to the french try by opening a space between the scrum and big hair weir. Nicely played.

I agree with you ozzyian. The scottish defence was good and the pack struggled a bit in the scrums but it struggles a lot in the mauls.

I found the behaviour of the scottish players rather silly after Haouas enter the pit when they try repeateadly to unpin him like a grenade. this guy owes a lot to Galthie to be selected and he was warned that he would not come back with les bleus anymore if he got red carded once again.

What is good to see is that France has also a very good bench in the front pack. Just hope to see Penaud coming back soon, because neither Rattez nor Thomas impress me.

With the usual fight between the league and the federation, players could be selected more than three times. So the two next games we'll see many new players on the field who were not selected until then. Especially several U20 WC winners like the young Carbonel at 10.

Some nice games coming!

Yes, agree about Dupont, though I thought Price did do a good job and generally marshalled him pretty effectively. Had Ntmack been playing I think there would have been quite a few more opportunities for France. Mind you had Finn been playing who knows - perhaps a big scoreline and something to remember Dupont shows that a scrum half at the top of his trade can make a big difference to the operation of the pack

I forgot about the maul, this was an area that possibly made the difference for Scotland, 2 of them in particular totally reversed any Scottish gains and put France into a very good position, both I think ended up yielding penalties after big territory gains. This is a shame for Scotland as the maul has recently become the most effective weapon and has scored quite a few tries. There must be a difference between attacking and defending mauls and I suppose you have to practise both on Tuesday nights

 

[Handel]

RIP Ray Prosser.

Knew of this guy as a coach rather than a player as he played before my day (aled, ask your dad ).

As Carwyn James (ask your dad again ) revolutionalised coaching in general, so Ray Prossor revolutionised forward play, overseeing the great pontypool packs of the 70s and 80s that never took a backward step.

Pontypool legend Ray Prosser dies aged 93

The Pontypool coaching legend represented Wales and the Lions during his playing career

www.walesonline.co.uk

Not sure whether this is true or apocryphal but Carwyn James was seen eyeing the weather before a cup match between Llanelli and Pontypool at Pontypool, the sun was shining with no prospect of rain and he was heard to say "Ray Prosser and a thousand hosepipes will not prevent running rugby today". Goodness knows what he would make of modern international rugby.

 

[Handel]

Well there is a shocker. That day at Twickenham in 1999 was a great day.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55056643