Six nations final standings predictions?

First topic message reminder :

So how do you think your beloved nation will fair this time round. We have already had a few predictions on the boards this week. Let’s see people nail their colours to the mast for the opening weekend is not far away now. I’ve managed to find a few quotes by different posters from the different nations on their thoughts of their own team or their opponents.

It’s not easy to find many posts where people lay down their cards, hence wanting to see where people’s thoughts on the final standings might be.

First up we have Wales welcoming Italy to Cardiff. The bookies have Wales picked to come third overall and Italy to grab another wooden spoon but both teams have new coaches and there are a few elements of change ahead in their squads and their philosophies. The fans are a mix in wales on the prospective good fortune of a new rugby ethos and the limitation of being a tiny nation fighting against giants. “That's what Pivac will be dealing with in the next 2-3 years as Jon Davies, Biggar, AWJ, Halfpenny etc. wind down and retire. There are some good prospects coming through, but particularly in the midfield, we look weak...” Wales  and their coaches will need to make an impressive start to this campaign, while Italy have nothing to lose and a growing pool of talent.

Next we have Ireland entertaining Scotland in Dublin. After both nations fans likely feel a little underwhelmed post RWC2019, maybe now is the time to set the record straight. Ireland have changed their head coach, will they change their squad...? Scotland have some exciting players but can they get them enough ball to do the damage they need to win....? The bookies have Ireland to come second Scotland to come fourth. There is some jubilant wise old Irish heads stating “I'm calling it, 2020 will be a good year ..” the Scots are off to Spain for a pre six nations training camp maybe They can rectify a few faults as one fan said “This squad has a soft underbelly which has been exposed time and again. It needs mentally tough individuals who refuse to lie down to anyone / thing.”

England make the trip to Paris first up on Sunday the 2nd of February. It all depends which French team turns up for any encounter against the French but in this case they have new coaches 19 new players all uncapped as well as new kit and a new pair of boots. There is plenty to ponder on. Though it looks like they are being written off. One young upstart has already written off the French on these boards stating “4th/5th finish for them in the 6Ns. They’re just lucky that Italy are utterly dire and getting worse year on year.”...! Will his words ring true or may Monday the third of February see un peu des oeuf sur son visage...?

Would you be that surprised Cyril if England didnt win the 6 nations?

I think if they had won the final they probably wouldnt have won the 6n however they probably will now.

Yep. Should win the 6Ns. Disappointed if we don’t get the slam to be honest.

Should really be RWC holders too, but you can’t afford a really poor game, especially if your opponents play a blinder. England won’t face that kind of power in Europe though.

Cyril wrote:Yep. Should win the 6Ns. Disappointed if we don’t get the slam to be honest.

Should really be RWC holders too, but you can’t afford a really poor game, especially if your opponents play a blinder. England won’t face that kind of power in Europe though.

They will. England peaked last year.

Hardly. Plenty more to go in this young side.

Ireland look to be the busted flush.

Gaw dont remind me...

Cyril wrote:Hardly. Plenty more to go in this young side.

Ireland look to be the busted flush.

Ireland are one year on from their peak. They have been dealt a new hand with very few knaves.

England have breasted their twin peaks of high performance, and by end of Six Nations this year, after a severe bout of navel gazing, those will seem like distant mammaries.

Pot Hale wrote:

Cyril wrote:Yep. Should win the 6Ns. Disappointed if we don’t get the slam to be honest.

Should really be RWC holders too, but you can’t afford a really poor game, especially if your opponents play a blinder. England won’t face that kind of power in Europe though.

They will.  England peaked last year.

I agree, England almost always have ups and downs, they wont have it easy.

England  
France
Ireland
Scotland
Wales




Italy

Looks like I upset some Italian Posters!

Sorry guys.

England's inconsistency has cost them a few titles since 2003. That will be the key test. It helps having Wales and Ireland at home and with other teams hiring new coaches apart from Scotland. If there is a grand slam it will be England I would think but far from guaranteed.

Hard to judge this years 6 nations, games are now decided by decisions by TMOs and whether or not they have their glasses on.

It would be great to see some new Refs take charge of games as some of them on the Ref circuit are past their best. Mostly French Refs!

I would like to think that England will win the 6ns. (Grand Slam?) probably not.

Wales? should if you go on RWC form come second.

France? they are the under dogs for me. of course it will depend on which France team turn up. but would not write them off. 

Ireland? did not do very well in the RWC . for me will depend on their first game.

Scotland and Italy could be a toss up for the wooden spoon.

So England
Wales 
France
Ireland 
Scotland
Italy.

TightHEAD wrote:Hard to judge this years 6 nations, games are now decided by decisions by TMOs and whether or not they have their glasses on.

It would be great to see some new Refs take charge of games as some of them on the Ref circuit are past their best. Mostly French Refs!

Bold prediction time.

France for the slam.

England a minor self destruct

Wales and Ireland will struggle under new coaching teams

Scotland will be Scotland

Italy will be better than normal

carpet baboon wrote:Bold prediction time.

France for the slam.

England a minor self destruct

Wales and Ireland will struggle under new coaching teams

Scotland will be Scotland

Italy will be better than normal

So France will finish top and everyone else 5th?

England Grand Slam t-shirts on order.

Test!

just seeing if I can pick up another negative message reputation!

Lol

carpet baboon wrote:Bold prediction time.

France for the slam.

England a minor self destruct

Wales and Ireland will struggle under new coaching teams

Scotland will be Scotland

Italy will be better than normal

A big part of England’s mental preparation will be over coming their loss against SA and repeating their amazing performance when the demolished the All Blacks and repeating with consistency

maestegmafia wrote:

A big part of England’s mental preparation will be over coming their loss against SA and repeating their amazing performance when the demolished the All Blacks and repeating with consistency

I don't believe many teams could play to that level consistency. Not even the great All Blacks teams of the past. Not saying it was a one off but it was clear that the team had been building towards 'That game' for a very long time. Shame for us the RWC was a week longer than planned.

Gooseberry wrote:

carpet baboon wrote:Bold prediction time.

France for the slam.

England a minor self destruct

Wales and Ireland will struggle under new coaching teams

Scotland will be Scotland

Italy will be better than normal

So France will finish top and everyone else 5th?

Pretty much yes

Wales - I think people will realise what a great coach Warren Gatland is and value the contribution of Shaun Edwards more, now they have left Wales.  They look like a team struggling with injuries, having to pick up players not good enough to play for their home country and still selecting some players who should be looking at retirement.  A mid-table finish is the best I can see for Wales.

Ireland have a new coach whose track record when with England wasn’t good.  Form wise they look like they have been on the downhill slope for over a year now and despite the retirement of Rory Best, still seem to be heavily invested in the 30 somethings.  I don’t expect anything other than solid from them this year.

France, have lots of talent and potential but yet again a new coach and very much a new squad.  At least with Galthie we can expect to see round pegs in round holes.  The French eyes seem to be firmly on the 2023 home world cup and we can expect some lows as well as highs.  On their day and I am sure there will be 1 or 2 in this 6 Nations, they can beat whatever is in front of them, but I expect them to fall short of the title.

Italy – the only question is should they still be in the 6 nations.  They are in a 2 horse race for the wooden spoon, which is the only thing they are likely to win this tournament.

Scotland the other half of the 2 horse race for the wooden spoon.  Despite the usual xenophobic/racist rants pre Calcutta Cup heightened by the refusal to allow another independence referendum, I expect them to be well beaten and for coach Gregor Townsend to depart at the end of the tournament.

England should be in a great place with player consistency, having put out the youngest ever squad for a World Cup final.  Add in a coach who has helped 3 different teams to the World Cup final, plus the recently addition of Matt Proudfoot to provide the forward physicality that was the only thing between England and a second World Cup victory, then the garden looks rosy.  The Grand Slam is surely England’s to lose, although an unfortunate trait which they have managed to do all too frequently in recent years.  However, I think under uncle Eddie’s leadership a Grand Slam is a possibility, but a Championship would do.

Final standings:
England
Ireland
France
Wales
Scotland
Italy

nlpnlp wrote:Wales - I think people will realise what a great coach Warren Gatland is and value the contribution of Shaun Edwards more, now they have left Wales.  They look like a team struggling with injuries, having to pick up players not good enough to play for their home country

I agree about Gatland and Edwards, they were worth at least 7-10 points to any team IMHO.

2nd Paragraph. - Ouch! (I will not comment about that but, umm, yes!)

Was that cheap jibe in reference to Heinz and Shields? Awkward.

I think its clearly Wales' year, great to see the English as 'confident' as ever though

Yes. Theres nothing to suggest world cup finalists with wales and ireland at home wont be top of the tree.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Yes. Theres nothing to suggest world cup finalists with wales and ireland at home wont be top of the tree.

In all fairness England do choke when the big games come, so I wouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket if I was an England fan. But your are favourites by a country mile...! Just need to convert that promise into results.

I don’t agree it’s wales year, it might be, we basically know very little about this new welsh squad.

We certainly choked at the world cup. Not sure theres anyone to majorly worry about should we get the win at France though. Feeling more confident with the fact they are seemingly all change though. Either way should be a grand slam. Personally think wales are looking at 5th place. May throw a surprise though and plenty of new combos in coaching.

No 7&1/2 wrote:We certainly choked at the world cup. Not sure theres anyone to majorly worry about should we get the win at France though. Feeling more confident with the fact they are seemingly all change though. Either way should be a grand slam. Personally think wales are looking at 5th place. May throw a surprise though and plenty of new combos in coaching.

I’d be happy with anything better than fifth for wales.

England put in some superb performances last year, in Ireland and at HQ vs France but they choked vs Wales and Scotland and went from looking like certain GS winners to not looking like they have it in them

Dont think there was a choke on either of those scotland especially was more an exhibition with nothing on the line. If anything it was a good come back. Wales game was disappointing I'd grant. The beat team for when ice been following rugby in the recent nz team went through that though and came through. I've set out the changes to england I'd like to see and I expect that there will be a couple.
I think It'll be one where a lot of team use the line that a lot of players were given a debut looked good and they are happy.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Dont think there was a choke on either of those scotland especially was more an exhibition with nothing on the line. If anything it was a good come back. Wales game was disappointing I'd grant. The beat team for when ice been following rugby in the recent nz team went through that though and came through. I've set out the changes to england I'd like to see and I expect that there will be a couple.

Squad announced on Monday I think. Let’s see what happens.

I’m not really sure why Wales would be fifth, playing the Blue teams at home. We may slip up against one of Scotland or France, but both seems highly unlikely.

RiscaGame wrote:I’m not really sure why Wales would be fifth, playing the Blue teams at home. We may slip up against one of Scotland or France, but both seems highly unlikely.

I am not sure either why people would put Wales at 5th place. 

I truly believe this 6ns is  hard to predict. If you English like me you want England to win. Like wise if your Welsh you want Wales to win.

But apart from Scotland England are the only team unchanged in the coaching department and the player selection. That is why i think/hope/believe England will win the 6ns this year. Having said that would write off Wales or France this year.

majesticimperialman wrote:If you English like me you want England to win. Like wise if your Welsh you want Wales to win.

That is not a prediction that is the definition of supporting your own country...! A prediction is to say what you think will happen not just what you wish to happen.

CollinsEnglishDictionairy wrote:
prediction
(prɪdɪkʃən  )

Word forms: plural predictions

VARIABLE NOUN

If you make a prediction about something, you say what you think will happen.


“He was unwilling to make a prediction about which books would sell in the coming year.”

“Predictions that the recession will be short are small comfort to those already affected.”

“Weather prediction has never been a perfect science.”

Synonyms: prophecy, forecast, prognosis, divination   More Synonyms of prediction

That’s a bit patronising.

Let's face it risca it's a complete stab in the dark at this point. There'll be injuries lack of form and surprising debuts to deal with game by game.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Let's face it risca it's a complete stab in the dark at this point. There'll be injuries lack of form and surprising debuts to deal with game by game.

That’s why I couldn’t predict 2-5. I am pretty certain who will finish 1st and 6th. I just find it unlikely that Wales will lose 2 out of 3 home games and finish 5th.

Cyril wrote:That’s a bit patronising.

You don't think most if not all of majestic's comments are patronising to Wales?

Some of them are just intentionally stupid mikey. I hope its intentional.

I guess so, but my point is why hasn't Cyril ever mentioned it seeing as he is now policing the forum? I guess he has an agenda.

Probably fair enough. I had similar.

I may revise predictions as this saracens thing unfolds anyway! I'm hoping england is the nice release.

No 7&1/2 wrote:I may revise predictions as this saracens thing unfolds anyway! I'm hoping england is the nice release.

Do you think it will have a big impact?

Last year there was all kinds of rumour speculation and general turmoils for the welsh based players in our squad but on international duty in the six nations they put it all behind them..!


Sad news about Billy breaking his arm. Great opportunity for someone else to stake a claim and improve depth, but as rugby fans we will miss seeing an impressive, ferocious player and an absolute gent off the pitch.

Not after today. I'd expect the English players involved would more likely suffer playing for their club the most but they came through a rough test really well. Earl put himself well in the frame as well.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Not after today. I'd expect the English players involved would more likely suffer playing for their club  the most but they came through a rough test really well. Earl put himself well in the frame as well.

Squad announcement tomorrow I think?

Yup.

Do you think some of the Saracens players may bring there it's us against all the rest of the prem teams attitude into England camp a bit more and cause a bit of friction?
Or the non Saracens players hold a bit of a grudge against them?

carpet baboon wrote:Do you think some of the Saracens players may bring there it's us against all the rest of the prem teams attitude into England camp a bit more and cause a bit of friction?
Or the non Saracens players hold a bit of a grudge against them?

There are a few thoughts on the impact of Saracens punishment.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/jan/18/eddie-jones-england-rebuild-saracens-six-nations

carpet baboon wrote:Do you think some of the Saracens players may bring there it's us against all the rest of the prem teams attitude into England camp a bit more and cause a bit of friction?
Or the non Saracens players hold a bit of a grudge against them?

No, this is rugby not Football.

I cant really see it carpet. I'm sure there'll be some disgruntled players but let's face it they arent a group of friends.as long as they button it and train properly there'll be no issue. As with Te'o and Brown, Jones has shown he wont have people upsetting the apple cart anyway.

Given most of them will be looking for contracts in teams with their England teammates I suspect they are more likely to be bringing bags of toffees.