what a belter

well this is my first thread so go easy on me but i just had to make comment on the opening day of "six nation 2013" and what a belter. as exciting as it is to finally reach the opening day normally the quality of the rugby can be a little bit of a let down as teams find combinations and player get up to international match fitness but boy oh boy was that not the case yesterday. wales had a first half to forget and ireland proven me right on the prediction game where i picked that things might finally start to click for the emerald ireland. what a first half from ireland to run out 20 points clear of the grandslam champions at home! and some astonishing skill to please the eye especially from young simon zebo who seems to have shaken off any despair from his roughest of introduction to rugby in new zealand and seems to now have the confidence to let his flair show on the international pitch. ireland showed the guts and character they been lacking and brian odriscoll, well what can you say? what a legend of the game surely at the peak of his vintage a certainty for lions captain!

i was convinced at half time that wales had there selection all wrong and needed more of the guile players and less of the direct approach with cuthbert embarrassed on defense and roberts and north having little impact against irelands fearsome choke and hold tactics especially when the same combinations led to yet another irish try after the break. But wow! how wales proved me wrong. summoning some spirit of the great welsh teams of the 70's the side in the last 30 minutes were relentless. they looked threatening from everywhere and ireland just couldnt cope! i think over 100 tackles in the second spell from ireland! and what commitment and guts to hold out on that hostile wave attack to win a deserved victory for them. but a word of wales if they can find that sort of form early in a match then they can beat anyone. although i do think they might have got a bit over the top with the use of the slipper on the grounded players in the last 20 minutes.

On to scotland v england and i was expecting one way traffic but certainly scotland put up a fight and showed some mettle under the new australian coach. that kiwi winger maitland that they have rushed into the team adds a dimension or two doesnt he? and as for stuart hogg well i dont remember any fullback making such a mockery of our defense at twickenham when he wasnt wearing a black shirt in professional times! a dark horse for a lions reserve perhaps? as for england well we took up were we left off against the kiwis and any englishmans heart will be bursting with pride to see the team looking so creative and fluent and with such a composed fly half running the show as young farrell. the front unit seem to have the potential to build into a force not seen since england of 2003. im chosing england now for grandslam glory as we seemed "never in doubt" to win that one even when maitland scored early on. we seem able to take apart any opposition at the moment and stuart lancaster and his team should be congratulated for such fine work in such a short space of time. 2015 england "here we come". all just optimism there though! still france to come.

looking forward now to settling back on the sofa after digesting my lunch and enjoying the spectacle of france and italy with a steady handle or two. "bring on next week"

Good on you for posting your own thread. May there be many more.

It was a great start to the tournament with some excellent handling and attack done with pace. The defence probably could do with some work as some tries were a little too easy but then Ireland showed the way how to defend on your own game line. Some of that defence in the second half was heroic after Wales finally managed to string phases together, and really saved a match that was running away from them.

What would be ideal now is a big match like next week against England Ireland, Wales vs France etc where there's a right see-saw battle. Like many 6Ns, often there is a clear form team and the others fall off the rails a bit. This year is as good a year as any to see the leaderboard cluttered. I'm sure fans want their own teams to go for Grand Slam glory but what I'd love to see is going into the final weekend and four teams vying for top glory and four teams who are in good form.

That's the effect of yesterday I think. I liked what I saw. I want more. I want it to be even closer and even more competitive. Let NZ walk away with the 4N.

Ah GE. I miss when you were so optimistic!

Well I was right about the force of 2003 coming back was I not? On for the first triple crown since.

They were good times. When you were supporting England. It seems like you've become more bitter since turning Kiwi. You're like the anti-Steve Walsh!

I was right about Maitland too.

Still had to be said. No one was interested at the time, judging by the extreme number of replies. Perhaps look at yourselves? You LOVE me, just the way I am.

And Farrell!

And Stuart Hogg.

Sad that you feel the need to be more provocative to get attention though

Is it more sad that you spend so much time bickering because I am?

I don't really bicker, just feel sad you don't get enough attention in your life. I like to look out for charity cases!

Well thanks then 7.5 who knows what I'd do without this constant stream of reproval.

Pity about your predictions regarding bod mind

I'm under advisement not to respond to this thread any further.