6 Nations is back folks! Well it will be tomorrow afternoon when 2 of the 3 shades of blue the tournament has to offer confront each other in St Denis, France. The rugby season still builds to this event for me. Yes, the Heineken Cup has provided much needed intrigue and interest through the season, ensuring that February is not the first time we see a Frenchman. Terrestrial tv coverage, and matches starting at different times, ensures that this is, for some, their only involvement with rugby for the year.
In my youth (who am I kidding, I'm still young!) the highlight was Grandstand heading over to the great Bill McLaren at Murrayfield, or Nigel Starmer-Smith and his well-spoken enthusiasm at Twickenham, for 90 minutes of blood and thunder rugby. Now coverage is as professional as the players who play the game. Huge teams of analysts pick their way through previous encounters, highlight the ones to watch and show us the sites of the evocative cities which host games. These analysts wouldn't know a fence to sit on if it existed (watch the post-game wind-up with the sound off and it is instantly obvious by the face of Jonathan Davies or Jeremy Guscott whether England or Wales have won. And that sums up the Six Nations.... 1 word: PASSION.
So what of the 2012 version? England, let us not forget, are the reigning champions. Defeat in Dublin did not take away that trophy and a changed side, led by new skipper Chris Robshaw and under the coaching of Stuart Lancaster will defend the title won by Martin Johnson's side and raised by Lewis Moody. Only the most fervent fan would have them as favourites to retain the trophy though, as that honour goes to the French, with the Welsh second favourites in the bookmakers', if not my, eyes.
So to my predictions. A list for you to cross off as they are made to be false. We will see how close I am at the end of the tournament in a little over 7 weeks time:
1. France will win the title. World Cup Finalists, strength in depth, friendly fixture list. Everything in their favour.
2. There will be no Grand Slam in 2012. France will slip up once.
3. Ireland will win the Triple Crown. An away win at Twickenham will seal this.
4. England will win 3 games. The first 3.
5. Scotland will lose in Italy. Italy's tournament will build to this final game.
6. Vincent Clerc will be the leading tryscorer. Pace and a pure sniffer (France will use him too)
7. Jonny Sexton or Owen Farrell will be leading points scorer
8. Wales will disappoint their supporters who expect way more after their World Cup than they have to offer
9. Wesley Fofana of France will make a massive impact
10. William Servat will underline why is by far the best hooker in world rugby
11. England's discipline will be much better under Lancaster
12. Scotland will continue to struggle to score tries
13. The finishing order will be France, Ireland, England, Wales, Italy, Scotland
14. There will be 1 drawn game
15. There will be no red cards
I must dash. Feel free to add any predictions to this list by using the comments below. I will have a review of each game here, but you can also follow me on http://therugbyblog.co.uk/ for whom I am following Ireland this year. Follow me also on Twitter @theeggchaser or you can e-mail me on marktheeggchaser@googlemail.com
That's all for now. Happy 6 Nations everyone, may the best team win! Do you think I mean that?
Showing posts with label 6 Nations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 6 Nations. Show all posts
Friday, 3 February 2012
Thursday, 12 January 2012
EPS, RBS and ERC
For the uninitiated, that's Elite Playing Squad, the sponsor of the 6 Nations and the European Cup.
So England have their first squad of the new (or temporary, who knows?) era. Stuart Lancaster and his team have perused the options on offer in the Premiership (primarily at the top end, but that is to be expected). The vast majority of the squad was as expected, though there was still the odd surprise, some welcome, some slightly less so if the Twittter traffic yesterday was anything to go by. I managed, when you take into account the 4 injury replacements for the 6 Nations, to get 26 names right, which is a fair stab, and in some cases, you could have given me 4 guesses and I wouldn't have plumped for the name selected.
Forwards
Corbisiero, Marler, Cole, Stevens, Wilson, Hartley, Mears, Webber, Lawes (Parling), Palmer, Deacon (Attwood), Botha, Wood, Croft, Robshaw, Morgan, Dowson, Clark
Without going into too much detail, the surprises are Mears and WIlson in the front row, Palmer, Deacon and Botha in the 2nd row and Dowson and Clark in the back row. In a squad which is full of youth and positive vibes for the future, Mears seems a strange selection. He has struggled with injury recently, resulting in major hooker headaches for Sir Ian McGeechan at Bath, and with younger talent around, such as Paice, Gray and George, such a stop-gap selection surprises me enormously.
Wilson is a solid option, but I fear that the 5 props selected mean more moving left and right for Matt Stevens, which will ultimately be to the detriment of both him and the squad.
The second row is full of surprises for me. Deacon I thought would have, and maybe should have, been jettisoned with the other older members of the squad. He is also injured. George Robson of Quins must be very disappointed to miss out, and I can't help feeling that Deacon has had his day. Palmer is a more than welcome surprise. The only reason I didn't select him was his current residence in France, which I believed meant he was not selectable. His line-out work is exemplary, and for that alone I am glad to see him selected. Parling and Attwood replace Deacon and Lawes for the 6 Nations while they recuperate from their injuries. A big chance for these two to prove they are the long-term answer that Deacon so clearly isn't.
The back row isn't without surprises either, as Dowson and Clark are 2 names that were not really considered ahead of the squad announcement, either by the tv experts or the various bloggers online. Both are solid options, but I can't help feel that Thomas Waldrom is a little hard done by. Already shamefully overlooked for the World Cup, and with many going so far as to say that Graham Henry maybe missed a trick by letting him slip through the net.
Backs
Youngs, Simpson, K. Dickson, Flood, Farrell, Hodgson, Tuilagi, Turner-Hall, Barritt, Ashton, Sharples, Strettle, Foden, Brown, (Trinder), (Goode)
The backs have a strange look to them, with only three centres and only three wingers. That said, Farrell, who seems to be the one the press are fixated with, has been playing centre all season and Trinder is added for the 6 Nations. Flood's injury may well force England to play Farrell at 10, but with Hodgson in the squad, it would be a shame not to use him. The inexperience of the back line would be eased by an older head at 10 while Flood recovers (if indeed he is out). It doesn't proffer much in terms of attacking rugby though, as Saracens, effective though they are, are not exactly purveyors of the beautiful game, and a line of Hodgson, Farrell and Barritt (in Tuilagi's absence) would suggest a dose of realism over expansive game.
The wings offer different things, Ashton with his finishing prowess, Strettle with his all-round game and Sharples with his electric pace. Brown will give continued pressure to Foden, who has never had it easy in terms of his place, as Armitage pushed hard while he was around. Foden is the incumbent, but Brown has impressed and will be ready to step in at the slightest sign of weakness.
Dickson has forced his way into the reckoning in recent weeks with some sterling performances, but I think Youngs holds the aces at scrum half still. Simpson can be considered lucky, as he hasn't performed well in recent weeks, and Danny Care's indiscretions have possibly given him one last go.
Finally, Trinder and Goode step up as cover for Flood and Tuilagi. Strange one that; Trinder for Tuilagi I get, but why Flood should be replaced by Goode (the one similarity is their rhyming names) I don't know. Full back for fly half...?
So now, the pontificating can move on a level. For ten days or so, the game has been to pick 32 from a list of 200 or so. Now, we have to pick 15 (or 22) from 32. This should be a lot easier, given positional limitations, but there are those (Farrell being the obvious candidate) who can function effectively in more than one position. I'm sure this will provoke much more animated discussion as the lead up to the first weekend of the tournament continues.
A brief thought of that first weekend now: when the fixtures were established, little could people have known that the first round would involve three big grudge matches (so to speak) with very recent (2011) history. Scotland vs England sees a repeat of the match which sealed Scotland's World Cup fate back in late September. On home territory, and with a much more settled squad, they will be confident of going one better. Wales and Ireland go head to head on the same weekend. A repeat of a World Cup Quarter Final which, beforehand, most people had Ireland winning. Ireland though were clearly reading their own press and over-confidence saw them failing to reach their first World Cup semi final. 4 months later and they have a chance to right that wrong, to a certain extent.
Finally, France welcome Italy in what is traditionally a relatively innocuous game in Paris. France won't be troubled, but given the defeat in Rome last year, Italy will be brimming with confidence in Paris for the first time. That said, that Rome defeat being so fresh in many memories will ensure that complacency will not be an issue. Given that it will also be the first game in charge for new coach Philippe Saint-Andre, I think you can safely say the French will be ready.
A more detailed preview will follow later of course...
Finally to Europe and Round 5 this weekend of the two trophies. The English sides showed sides of improvement last time round and Leicester will need to continue that progress in Ulster if they are to progress. Clermont should romp home against Aironi to put themselves within a Home win against Ulster of the Quarter Finals. Much could be decided this weekend, but traditionally, Round 5 sets the experts going and the graphic designers of Sky Sports will be creating "What if?" slides from Monday onwards. Another weekend of non-stop action awaits though, and as ever, you can read all about it, and the various qualifying permutations, here on either Sunday night or Monday morning.
I will hopefully have some more news to divulge to you then too. (That's called a teaser) ;-)
So England have their first squad of the new (or temporary, who knows?) era. Stuart Lancaster and his team have perused the options on offer in the Premiership (primarily at the top end, but that is to be expected). The vast majority of the squad was as expected, though there was still the odd surprise, some welcome, some slightly less so if the Twittter traffic yesterday was anything to go by. I managed, when you take into account the 4 injury replacements for the 6 Nations, to get 26 names right, which is a fair stab, and in some cases, you could have given me 4 guesses and I wouldn't have plumped for the name selected.
Forwards
Corbisiero, Marler, Cole, Stevens, Wilson, Hartley, Mears, Webber, Lawes (Parling), Palmer, Deacon (Attwood), Botha, Wood, Croft, Robshaw, Morgan, Dowson, Clark
Without going into too much detail, the surprises are Mears and WIlson in the front row, Palmer, Deacon and Botha in the 2nd row and Dowson and Clark in the back row. In a squad which is full of youth and positive vibes for the future, Mears seems a strange selection. He has struggled with injury recently, resulting in major hooker headaches for Sir Ian McGeechan at Bath, and with younger talent around, such as Paice, Gray and George, such a stop-gap selection surprises me enormously.
Wilson is a solid option, but I fear that the 5 props selected mean more moving left and right for Matt Stevens, which will ultimately be to the detriment of both him and the squad.
The second row is full of surprises for me. Deacon I thought would have, and maybe should have, been jettisoned with the other older members of the squad. He is also injured. George Robson of Quins must be very disappointed to miss out, and I can't help feeling that Deacon has had his day. Palmer is a more than welcome surprise. The only reason I didn't select him was his current residence in France, which I believed meant he was not selectable. His line-out work is exemplary, and for that alone I am glad to see him selected. Parling and Attwood replace Deacon and Lawes for the 6 Nations while they recuperate from their injuries. A big chance for these two to prove they are the long-term answer that Deacon so clearly isn't.
The back row isn't without surprises either, as Dowson and Clark are 2 names that were not really considered ahead of the squad announcement, either by the tv experts or the various bloggers online. Both are solid options, but I can't help feel that Thomas Waldrom is a little hard done by. Already shamefully overlooked for the World Cup, and with many going so far as to say that Graham Henry maybe missed a trick by letting him slip through the net.
Backs
Youngs, Simpson, K. Dickson, Flood, Farrell, Hodgson, Tuilagi, Turner-Hall, Barritt, Ashton, Sharples, Strettle, Foden, Brown, (Trinder), (Goode)
The backs have a strange look to them, with only three centres and only three wingers. That said, Farrell, who seems to be the one the press are fixated with, has been playing centre all season and Trinder is added for the 6 Nations. Flood's injury may well force England to play Farrell at 10, but with Hodgson in the squad, it would be a shame not to use him. The inexperience of the back line would be eased by an older head at 10 while Flood recovers (if indeed he is out). It doesn't proffer much in terms of attacking rugby though, as Saracens, effective though they are, are not exactly purveyors of the beautiful game, and a line of Hodgson, Farrell and Barritt (in Tuilagi's absence) would suggest a dose of realism over expansive game.
The wings offer different things, Ashton with his finishing prowess, Strettle with his all-round game and Sharples with his electric pace. Brown will give continued pressure to Foden, who has never had it easy in terms of his place, as Armitage pushed hard while he was around. Foden is the incumbent, but Brown has impressed and will be ready to step in at the slightest sign of weakness.
Dickson has forced his way into the reckoning in recent weeks with some sterling performances, but I think Youngs holds the aces at scrum half still. Simpson can be considered lucky, as he hasn't performed well in recent weeks, and Danny Care's indiscretions have possibly given him one last go.
Finally, Trinder and Goode step up as cover for Flood and Tuilagi. Strange one that; Trinder for Tuilagi I get, but why Flood should be replaced by Goode (the one similarity is their rhyming names) I don't know. Full back for fly half...?
So now, the pontificating can move on a level. For ten days or so, the game has been to pick 32 from a list of 200 or so. Now, we have to pick 15 (or 22) from 32. This should be a lot easier, given positional limitations, but there are those (Farrell being the obvious candidate) who can function effectively in more than one position. I'm sure this will provoke much more animated discussion as the lead up to the first weekend of the tournament continues.
A brief thought of that first weekend now: when the fixtures were established, little could people have known that the first round would involve three big grudge matches (so to speak) with very recent (2011) history. Scotland vs England sees a repeat of the match which sealed Scotland's World Cup fate back in late September. On home territory, and with a much more settled squad, they will be confident of going one better. Wales and Ireland go head to head on the same weekend. A repeat of a World Cup Quarter Final which, beforehand, most people had Ireland winning. Ireland though were clearly reading their own press and over-confidence saw them failing to reach their first World Cup semi final. 4 months later and they have a chance to right that wrong, to a certain extent.
Finally, France welcome Italy in what is traditionally a relatively innocuous game in Paris. France won't be troubled, but given the defeat in Rome last year, Italy will be brimming with confidence in Paris for the first time. That said, that Rome defeat being so fresh in many memories will ensure that complacency will not be an issue. Given that it will also be the first game in charge for new coach Philippe Saint-Andre, I think you can safely say the French will be ready.
A more detailed preview will follow later of course...
Finally to Europe and Round 5 this weekend of the two trophies. The English sides showed sides of improvement last time round and Leicester will need to continue that progress in Ulster if they are to progress. Clermont should romp home against Aironi to put themselves within a Home win against Ulster of the Quarter Finals. Much could be decided this weekend, but traditionally, Round 5 sets the experts going and the graphic designers of Sky Sports will be creating "What if?" slides from Monday onwards. Another weekend of non-stop action awaits though, and as ever, you can read all about it, and the various qualifying permutations, here on either Sunday night or Monday morning.
I will hopefully have some more news to divulge to you then too. (That's called a teaser) ;-)
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