Good start to the Six Nations

Well so much for the theory of some that the Six Nations have lost its lustre and become stale and boring.

12 tries scored from excellent ball retention, phase play, hard battles on the ground and some rather sharp counter attacking.

Ireland it must be said game out of the gates like a bat out of hell and caught Wales. Completely offguard, with a half time lead of 20 points it was unlikely that Wales would get back in the game, they nearly did, by the time they scored their second try they must have though a momentum shift was in the cards, but alas Ireland was just too good on the day.

Unfortunately even though the tries were shared 3 all by both teams it was Johnny Sexton that made the difference, by the time Ireland have socred their first two tries Sexton could take control of the match by taking his oenalty opportunities.

England must have had a moments fluttering of the heart muscles when Maitland on debut scored a first try for Scotland in the corner, but ill discipline kept Farrell in the hunt with a few penalties. It was Ashton's try that gave England the momentum and from then on Scotland had to defend very bravely to stay in the match.

A run from their own 22 from a turnover gave Scotland another try after Maitland kicked a ball through with Hogg in toe to put the grubber through and score.

Overall both games were entertaining, hard tackling affairs and if this is how the Six Nations are going to be played this year, then I won't be missing any matches.

England
The are looking good, I like their backrow combination, there is some pace and muscle, they will be definite contenders this year.

Ireland
They gave the ball air from the opening minute and weren't afraid to run the ball, their defence looks solid and whether this is O'Driscoll's final season in the Irish jersey or not, he looks like there is still some juice left in the tank. zebo showed some serious skill when he took an akward pass behind his back by keeping in toe heeled in play and dragged it back to score a try. Not sure they will manage to hold off the English pack, but mid table at least.

Scotland.
They have found ways to score tries, their two newly qualified players Visser and Maitland with Hogg completing the back three will cause havoc for those teams who do not chase their kicks. But overall even though Scotland has some very good forwards, they just didn't commit enough numbers to the contact area, if they don't change that, sadly they will have to live off scraps and turnover ball as they did tonight.

Wales.
Slow start and too much straight running, thT is orobab,y the summastion of what Howley will use in the dressing room.

Why are Cuthbert and North not being put in space when they run onto the ball?
They showed a lot of guts to come back and give the Irish a few heart palpitationss, but if they want to have a say in this Six Nations, they have to start playing 80 minutes as they did for a brief period last year.

I think Scotland had the try of the day

It's strange. No tries and the attack is blamed. Lots of tries and the defence is blamed. Some better defending would've helped today but certainly can't fault the attacking intent of the teams. All in all a very good afternoon nursing my hangover and watching some entertaining rugby with a lot of good handling given the adventurousness of the play. Good stuff.

123456789 wrote:I think Scotland had the try of the day

You must be talking about the run of Hogg which made the try of Maitland?

I agree.

I preferred the counter attack try to Hogg as it so nearly was an England try. Good steal and quick handling to get Maitland some space to kick the ball on. A great passage of play from both teams and shows how little mistakes like isolating yourself on the ball can and should be punished whereever you are on the field.

Yes great start unusually to the 6Ns with some attacking intent from all sides.

My personal favourite was Parlings try. A great break by Youngs later followed a glorious pass from Farrell to put Parling over.

Both games were pretty watchable which makes a nice change.Let's hope it lasts!

really wanted Zebo to score a try after that classy footwork would have been nice to finish that off

Yes very entertaining matches. Good to see Maitland involved and spot on with the contact area Biltong. That was really annoying how Scotland gave that area up time after time.

Maitland played his typical support game and got involved in two very good tries, both sparked and finished by a very impressive Hogg, player of the weekend for me.

England were just too consistent in moving forward time after time and its something Scotland need to focus on, without the two low percentage tries would have been left further behind. Not sure why Twelvetrees has been left out for so long. Looks the part, has good instinct, skills and size for the 12 shirt. England has some good options in the centres.

Ireland just a bit too good for Wales helped by BOD's perefectly timed and placed pass to et up the first try and Zebo getting a bit lucking hooking the bad pass back up with his foot...good skills though.

The speed and pace were great in both matches...tries aplenty.

"Good start to the Six Nations "

Not for Wales it isn't!

England looked very dangerous though all day with the ball in hand... esp. Youngs and then Care at the fringes. England have some decent runners and were picking good lines all game. The passing was also very slick.... against more one dimensional backlines like Wales and Ireland I think we will be able to cope better and therefore put more men at the floor and out of the defensive line.

If you commit too many players to the breakdown you leave holes in defence.

Its a fine balance and I think for much of the game we competed well.

Perhaps but based on that thinking no start would ever be good- the rugby was generally very good, as a neutral.... The Irish win was predictable based on Wales 2012. Seems since the day Gatland fell off that ladder Wales have lost their mojo. Still the same names but somethings sure gone south. Can't see why theyve about turned so much last 12 months...

IMO the reason why Wales have called so far is because they have become a one trick pony.... Other teams have began to work out Wales.

They have very little bar their a route one approach which needs a dominant pack to work... If they lose that then they struggle and with Phillips slow pass added to that the backline loses their edge.

England was pretty much the form book,Ireland more of an unknown quantity.The Irish try just after half-time being the killer blow wales responded well but the the gap was just too much.

The biggest thing for me was the level of ball skills in key moments- BODs pass, zebos flick up of the ball, Hogg's run and deft skills kept Scotland in the match, twelvetrees line to the line. All good signs that not only are the set pieces and breakdowns and defences at a good level, but individuality and small combinations are ensuring the gains are being maximised to take advantage.

Great days rugby, I thoroughly enjoyed both games. All four teams played the game in the right way, there was hardly any argie-bargie and the like.

Special mention to Chris 'no splash' Ashton and Leigh Ha'penny for the excellent placing of the ball while scoring their tries under serious pressure

Yes have to agree it was a good sight seeing the opposition at least reduce Ashtons wingspan on the way to the line... ...for once anyway.

England look lethal. It'll be interesting to see if they can be as lethal in Dublin. I bleedin hope not. It'll also be interesting to see how France go. They looked really good in the Autumn.

I also have to mention the physicality of Wales v Ireland. It was brutal. But not dirty. How many blood subs were made. The amount of walking wounded at the end. Although this ferocity has become the norm in Ireland v Wales games for the last 5 years or so. I'm always astonished by it.

The Irish must be wrecked after that. And next up is England, who always bring physical power, even at the times they bring nothing else. Can't see Ireland win that one, but hopefully it'll be played in the same way as todays.

I'll be completely satisfied when Scotland v Italy is a 10 try thriller. Is that asking to much?

Taylorman wrote:The biggest thing for me was the level of ball skills in key moments- BODs pass, zebos flick up of the ball, Hogg's run and deft skills kept Scotland in the match, twelvetrees line to the line. All good signs that not only are the set pieces and breakdowns and defences at a good level, but individuality and small combinations are ensuring the gains are being maximised to take advantage.

Have to agree on O'Driscoll's pass (offload) that was the singular best piece of execution I have seen from him in a very long time.

If we're honest it was a little lucky to completely evade the arms a bodies of the two Welsh players but great players have that instinct of finding perfection when they need it.

Well to be fair most great moves have an element of luck to it.

Doesn't negate the move though.

Little things that stick in the memory - Ben Morgan selling a half dummy and wrong footing the Scottish defense. Beattie looked great in the wide open spaces but Morgan was making as many yards running through the middle of the Scots.

As a Leinster fan I see BOD do exactly that type of thing quite regularly. So he has to do a bit more than that to impress me. I loved Zebo's heel flick to control a pass. Great stuff.

Do you southern hemisphere guys get 6 Nations on TV down there?

Of course we do.

It will become a bit of an issue in a few weeks when the Super XV starts though.

Last year was quite a nightmare to decide whether it was better to watch the six nations live or suler rugby.

In the wake of all sorts of questions about the timing, the antiquated nature, the bonus points, even the overall value of the 6 Nations, today has been a breath of fresh air. We have the weather to thank, in a strange way - had it been the dire winter climate we'd been led to believe, we may have had to put up with a couple of tries in each game, rather than a total of twelve, and a lot of rumbles growing to a crescendo about our quaint NH game.

Today showed that there's nothing wrong with the spirit, the occasion or the product. Let's leave it well alone, even if we get two 7-6 games next week.