6Nation review after day 1

Ok abit early, but i wanted to make some comments on the games so far.

Wales v Italy
after the try in the first 3 minutes i was hoping wales were going to push on, however Italy were dogged and determined in their defence and put wales under lots of pressure, however i didnt feel as if wales were going to lose this (dont mean to sound cocky). i thought that mclean and the number 13 for italy were both very good, and for wales, Roberts was having one of his best games for a while smashing the gainline and Faletau seems to be improving each time i see him play, phenomenal workrate, likewise Hibbard, whose tackling is huge! I feel Priestland had a mixed bag, some good breaks but some aimless kicking, however his defence was pretty good too. thought North and Halfpenny both had quiet games and Halfpenny was also forcing things a bit too much. Disappointments for me were Phillips and Adam Jones. Now phillips isint everyones cup of tea but his physicality can be useful, however with the backline players we have, we require a quicker 9, hopefully rhodri and Rhys will both get some more gametime to prove their worth. I am also wondering whether AJ's time has come to an end with the change in scrummaging laws. Ok a bit premature but he has been struggling all year under the new laws and unusually for wales we had a few scrummaging penalties against us. It really is time that Samson lee was given more gametime!

Overall for Wales a mixed bag,some good stuff, but too many errors which in fairness was due to italy's pressure. feels the same old though being a bit rusty first game in. plenty of things to improve on for the next game

France v England
Have to say i found this game much more enjoyable, and the first half definitely seemed to frances, the bounce of the ball was cruel on 2 occasions for england and france capitalised on it! however you could see how the french were tiring already at the end of the first half. second half was all england, and i was impressed with a number of players such as Lawes (who i am not a fan of), Care (wish he was welsh, as he shows just what quick ball can do). i was also impressed with Farrel as he seems to be developing a bit more of a running game which up until the lions we hadnt really seen. i was disappointed with 36 yet again, for all his hype he doesnt seem to warrant it from what i have seen at international level. i though the 2 debutants had average games, Burrel took his try well and was solid in defence, as neither basteraud or fofana seemed to provide much threat. i can also see potential with nowell but perhaps it is too soon? in terms of france it was nice to finally see a bit of french flair back, the back 3 were good, and also felt that nyanga and of course picamoles were dangermen while Plisson for his first cap seemed very level headed. Also i just felt i need to mention Fickou, i remember someone on here mentioning him as a future talent a year or so ago and while he is not a big crash centre i feel he really is more threatening than basteraud.

So overall i would say an enjoyable game, and england were very unlucky not to win, however france, like france always seem to be able to do when needed, flicked on a switch and score a very good try.

so what were your thoughts on the first day of the 6 nations?

Rustiness from the 6N sides so far. Too many basic errors and both home sides allowed the visiting sides to get back into the game through lack of game management. The results were close and there were some enjoyable moments with some good tries taken but we shouldn't gloss over the basic errors that cost all the sides at different stages of the matches. Certainly they were not the benign conditions of the opening weekend last year and the best is yet to come from all the sides. There were some pleasing aspects for all sides but focusing more on the things that didn't work right will stand them in much better stead.

A lot better from all sides than last year. Which was dross from the start!

Maybe in defence but not on attack. Wales vs Ireland was the match of the 6N for me. Italy were enterprising and deserved their victory over France, despite how bad France played. England had their best attacking game against Scotland. You call that dross? Wales vs Scotland and Scotland vs Ireland would be my definition of dross. Eye gouging stuff. Out vile jelly!

Last year rounds 2-4 were probably the most non eventful matches for a long time in test rugby. England I think scored one try in something like four hours of rugby.
This mornings match was really a game of two halves with France having the last say, one of those tries France are capable of at the death...the ultimate enigma side. England did enough in the second half to win other than that.

Wales I thought should have won by more, launched some good assaults, passes sticking pretty well for a first match. Davies was right that they look more dangerous when they move the ball quickly.

Enjoyed both games really...perhaps partly because its been a while since a big games been on but there's something about a big packed stadium full of passionate fans...both the welsh and french really turning it on.

Great start to the year. And already we have absolutely no idea who's going to win this year.

welshy,

Beat me to it on making this thread lets just hope all who post can keep it true and honest without the digs n wums we see on most.

Wales v Italy - Well for me its a win and that's about as good as it gets, why we start so slow I cant just get. Good too see Roberts and Lydiate back and thought both looked good, Faletau was asgood as ever A Jones is struggling, Priestland again a mixed bag some good little breaks but poor kicking, Halfpenny was poor by his standards and Phillips is just to slow but didn't think Webb was any better. Let's just hope it is out usual rustiness.

Italy were dogged and determined and deserved to be in the game as much as they were, their young centre seems very good find and pretty sure they wont go winless this year.

France v England - From neutral point of view great game and bets side lost in the end. England were as good in the 2nd half as they were poor in the first. Though Lawes, Billy V and Care were outstanding with Burrell close behind, Farrell again mixed bag, in explicably kicked the ball away twice with men outside and young Nowell, well he's young and will learn from this experience.

France - Well what can you say other than you just don't know what side will turn up. Piccamoles and Nyanga along with their winger had great games thought Fofana was quiet but class will shine through.

welshy824 (new) wrote:Ok abit early, but i wanted to make some comments on the games so far.

Wales v Italy
after the try in the first 3 minutes i was hoping wales were going to push on, however Italy were dogged and determined in their defence and put wales under lots of pressure, however i didnt feel as if wales were going to lose this (dont mean to sound cocky). i thought that mclean and the number 13 for italy were both very good, and for wales, Roberts was having one of his best games for a while smashing the gainline and Faletau seems to be improving each time i see him play, phenomenal workrate, likewise Hibbard, whose tackling is huge! I feel Priestland had a mixed bag, some good breaks but some aimless kicking, however his defence was pretty good too. thought North and Halfpenny both had quiet games and Halfpenny was also forcing things a bit too much. Disappointments for me were Phillips and Adam Jones. Now phillips isint everyones cup of tea but his physicality can be useful, however with the backline players we have, we require a quicker 9, hopefully rhodri and Rhys will both get some more gametime to prove their worth. I am also wondering whether AJ's time has come to an end with the change in scrummaging laws. Ok a bit premature but he has been struggling all year under the new laws and unusually for wales we had a few scrummaging penalties against us. It really is time that Samson lee was given more gametime!

Overall for Wales a mixed bag,some good stuff, but too many errors which in fairness was due to italy's pressure. feels the same old though being a bit rusty first game in. plenty of things to improve on for the next game

France v England
Have to say i found this game much more enjoyable, and the first half definitely seemed to frances, the bounce of the ball was cruel on 2 occasions for england and france capitalised on it! however you could see how the french were tiring already at the end of the first half. second half was all england, and i was impressed with a number of players such as Lawes (who i am not a fan of), Care (wish he was welsh, as he shows just what quick ball can do). i was also impressed with Farrel as he seems to be developing a bit more of a running game which up until the lions we hadnt really seen. i was disappointed with 36 yet again, for all his hype he doesnt seem to warrant it from what i have seen at international level. i though the 2 debutants had average games, Burrel took his try well and was solid in defence, as neither basteraud or fofana seemed to provide much threat. i can also see potential with nowell but perhaps it is too soon? in terms of france it was nice to finally see a bit of french flair back, the back 3 were good, and also felt that nyanga and of course picamoles were dangermen while Plisson for his first cap seemed very level headed. Also i just felt i need to mention Fickou, i remember someone on here mentioning him as a future talent a year or so ago and while he is not a big crash centre i feel he really is more threatening than basteraud.

So overall i would say an enjoyable game, and england were very unlucky not to win, however france, like france always seem to be able to do when needed, flicked on a switch and score a very good try.

so what were your thoughts on the first day of the 6 nations?

This is remarkably spot on, I agree with almost everything you say on both games.

Re. future games, although France are in pole position now (especially considering the Lions effect) I think E & W look more dangerous - I get the sense that Wales have more in the tank than they showed today, and England showed quite a bit of what's in their tank, even if they somehow managed to lose...

I enjoyed both games, even though they were error ridden for the most part.

Wales never looked like losing, no doubt about that, but Italy managed to hit them hard at the breakdowns, and even though I thought Wales got away with a few things they managed to use their backs for the crashball well.

I still believe Phillips is too slow with his service, and the theory that he acts as a fourth loose forward doesn't justify his selection in my view as I have seen little to convince me of that fact.

England lost to a French team that showed a lot of energy and passion in the contact zone and ultimately their poor decision making with poor execution on kicks cost them dearly, their passing game and handling was not up to standard either.

They did look to take control, but when they had the opportunity to nail the French with a five meter line out their execution once again let them down.

They did score the best try of the day though when an offload from Farrell stuck to Vunipola and after a strong fend and run his offload send Burrell over.

Italy is trying to play wide, but the vision is not there to pass to the player in space or a better position to go on.

France impressed even though they allowed England 30 minutes of control.

I feel like Wales didn't look too bothered today, there was not enough intensity at the breakdown and too many aimless kicking. In the 2nd half they looked like they had lost their shape and not following a particular game plan.

Look the rugby wasnt great a lot of the time (Wales game got horrid towards the end) but at least there was plenty of drama and twists.
Pretty much standard for the 6 nations although a few more points than often scored on the opening day.

I feel like Wales kept most of their hand hidden today. Did what they had to against Italy but will a completely different side when they meet Ireland. They and England looked by far the better teams today, despite englands loss, and can't wait to see what Ireland do tomorrow.

Both games were poor quality but were reasonably entertaining.Wales were pretty ropey against a dogged Italian side.Both our 9's were poor and Priestland is some way off his best still.
We need to sharpen up if we want to compete next week.

I thought England & Wales looked the better teams overall today, however, I can still see anyone of 4 teams winning the championship.

I think welsh fans ironically will feel more disappointed than English fans in their teams performance although as they say a win is a win.

For a young England it will have been good experience.

What was frustrating was that of the 4 teams today England looked to establish the longest period of dominance & still didn't manage to put the game away.

bedfordwelsh wrote:welshy,

Beat me to it on making this thread lets just hope all who post can keep it true and honest without the digs n wums we see on most.

Wales v Italy - Well for me its a win and that's about as good as it gets, why we start so slow I cant just get.  Good too see Roberts and Lydiate back and thought both looked good, Faletau was asgood as ever A Jones is struggling, Priestland again a mixed bag some good little breaks but poor kicking, Halfpenny was poor by his standards and Phillips is just to slow but didn't think Webb was any better.  Let's just hope it is out usual rustiness.

Italy were dogged and determined and deserved to be in the game as much as they were, their young centre seems very good find and pretty sure they wont go winless this year.

France v England - From neutral point of view great game and bets side lost in the end.  England were as good in the 2nd half as they were poor in the first.  Though Lawes, Billy V and Care were outstanding with Burrell close behind, Farrell again mixed bag, in explicably kicked the ball away twice with men outside and young Nowell, well he's young and will learn from this experience.

France -  Well what can you say other than you just don't know what side will turn up.  Piccamoles and Nyanga along with their winger had great games thought Fofana was quiet but class will shine through.

I think that is a fair assessment, of both games to be honest. Italy IMO surprised Wales with their attacking game and at one tims maybe put a a scare early on.

Re France V England England looked at one time in the first half that would be on the end of a thrashing. But sheer dogyness and determenation got them back into the game, and for a short time in the lead, but like we have come to know about france ( which team will turn up ) the never say die attitude. That is what happend a last minute try from the young French lad was enough to win them the game.

Two good games for the start of the championships, lets hope the rest of the games are just as good, and the tournament is as close at the end as it is now.

I think England are looking dangerous with the tempo and intensity they showed yesterday, made and broke the gainline at will with Vunipola, Lawes and Hartley running very well and Care sniping,

If they can just learn to tighten up at the right times - which will come with experience - they will be very dangerous and i believe they have got the basis of a gameplan that will challenge all sides, including the AB's

As for Wales, we looked pedestrian and perhaps didnt give Italy enough respect, however saw one or two (and I mean that litarately) of trying to use more width with forwards making the extra pass. Still think the intensity and tempo needs to go up several notches to compete with the best and I dont feel phillips is the right man in the long term for that.