6 Nations Rugby tournament endgames

i've been pondering the table and the last two sets of matches and all i can see is the damn frenchies or the english winning on points difference, unless...

they draw in paris on sunday and we or ireland, hell a celtic nation is a celtic nation, win the last two. now we have ireland and italy away. not easy but doable. ireland have us at home and the england away. tough.

just though i'd start the discussion as it's as tight as a gnat's chuff bar the points difference and i'm getting a bit excited about tomorrow. it's going to be a blinder i think. and sunday's match will see the two 'top' teams hammering it out and no love lost i believe.

Much as I'd like it to be I wouldn't put money on it being England.

Although France have played poorly so far, everyone knows the talent is there. England have a stubborn idiot for a manager who can't see what everyone else in the country can, that the centre pairing is completely ineffective and that Cohen is completely off form on the wing.

Add to this the poor selection of the back row 3, having no idea what to do at scrum half, blatantly refusing to change tactics that are clearly not working and refusing to try out most of the younger more exciting players and I can't see it being England.

It will probably be France who win it. However, if Scotland can win tomorrow which is no easy task then with Italy in the last game, who knows.

as a scotsman, you learn to live in hope. this season, i have greater hope than before!!

i do think that france will win on sunday. against us, they looked far more inventive than england and very nearly snatched it at the last.

england appear clumsy and whilst they are good at keeping possession, they never really seemed to go anywhere against us.

it'll be a massive match whatever and as i say, a nice draw would suit us celts fine

grazzenger, where will you be watching the match? Somehow I don't really fancy an Irish pub for this one (and pootle is away).

Thinking that Kilians gonna be mobbed on Sunday cos of St Paddys Parade so gonna slide off to Haidhausen Outland for this one and hopefully not have to suffer lots of cheers from the usual French contingent there

You watching any match on Sat bd? Am hoping to combine Sunday's match with Man Utd vs. Newcastle.

katrina, i'm planning to go to The Arc with an irish friend. maybe catch the second half of the wooden spooner (sorry welsh folks!) and then settle down for a bit of banter with my friend!

as we both live in erding, this will be a 'big day out' in the big city for us!

Will be watching both matches on Saturday down there too Katrina, come on down

OK then I will, is last weekend before having my knee chainsawed.

of course, you're having your ACL hacked about too. we can cordon off a corner with our crutches and get drinks delivered from the bar as we have 'special needs'.

I don't need crutches to get classed as "special needs" though.

mwahahaha wait til i've had a few. puts it into a new category

i've flown to the uk twice in the last 3 weeks and the service you get when you rock up on a pair of crutches is great. i'll be keeping these little beauties for whenever i fly!

yet to tackle muc public transport though, should be fun.

I don't have crutches yet but when I do, it is retribution time for all those fuckers on the U-Bahn who kick folk out of the way. YESSSSSSS

you can generate a surprising amount of elbow room in tight spaces.

well, none of the papers call the ireland/scotland match in either direction and most say it could well be the match of the tournament.

ireland at home in their last match at landsdowne road with a shot at the triple crown vs an on-form and confident scottish side who, on recent form, i'd give the edge. but, i'm not calling it either. i do think we'll see a few tries though and a cracking match right up to the 80th minute. one paper said this could be the closest we'll see to super14 style rugby this year in the 6N. i'm hoping the try count will be reflected but with some real pounding defense into the bargain!

I'm just feeling rather nervous.

Will be setting up shop in Günther Murphy's and screaming obscenities at the big screen for as long as my voice holds out. It's gonna be a good 'un.

Think Ireland Scotland will be superb cos they both still in with the chance to win it all and celtic passion to boot

ok, setting off soon for the arc (erding is a looooong way out and wouldn't mind catching the end of the wooden spooner ). look out for the scot brandishing crutches!!

good luck scotland and good luck ireland, this should be a fun afternoon!!

Good result for us but not really a great game until the last 8 minutes or so. As usual Stringer was a great asset for Ireland. The little fecker is just everywhere. Every time I watch him play I want him to be named man of the match. Scotland were poor for the most part and seemed content with defending. Tries were never really on the cards. I found it a pretty disappointing game but obviously I'm happy with the result. This thing really could go down to the wire.

I want to see Jason White named man of the match every time just for boshing like there is no tomorrow (memorable one midway 2nd half today)

Total legend.

Never heard the word 'boshing' before, but yes, that was pretty impressive. Life advice, do not fuck with that man!

Italy have now got their first away non-loss...give em 5 years theyll be kicking all ur arses like in the football! good stuff...

You really are a total arsewipe aren't you Pirulero ?

You start off with a fair comment and still manage to turn it into a bollox statement.

And when you say " kicking ur arses " who do you mean ? Your profile states that you are British ?

i think all that rain may have had something to do with it. that, and the fact that the scots looked like they had forgotten how they managed to beat the french and the english and had reverted to '00-'05 style rugby. very disappointing. ireland completely outplayed us for the major part of the match and i woz gutted

ps nice reply bluedave! just because he comes from a pointy rock stuck to the arse-end of spain he thinks he's effing continental or sumink!

Uhh with the sole exception of the lineout I thought the Scots played very well - they won against France and England through fantastic defence - and they would have won again if they managed to score an intercept try. All the rugby message boards seem to bear this out.

The standard of play is appalling in the 6 Nations again this year and honestly cant see it improving too much for next year. NZ and S.A wont have to do too much next year judging by the standard of Australia and the NH nations this past 2 years.

I will say Robinson MUST go for England to improve and why doesnt he use up and coming players? I would like to see Shaun Edwards as England Coach-least he knows what to do as seen by his playing record with Wigan in Rugby League and his coaching record in Union with Wasps.But sadly cant see Robinson going so England will be lucky to make even the Semi Finals next year!

Agreed Robinson has to go. He has taken us back to the Will Carling era of style of play, batter teams with the pack and then rely purely upon crash ball tactics in the backs. Playing Noone and Tindall as centres shows his singular lack of ambition and imagination.

May I ask just when England, France or any other NH team were favourites to beat NZ ? Quite honestly you have to go very far back to find an occassion where the All Blacks were not favourites to win the WC and rightly so. They may not on occassion be the best team on the day but they have been IMHO since the days of John Eales the best team in world rugby.

The list of mistakes that Robinson continues to make amaze me really. Moody playing on the wrong side. Publicly displaying no faith in your captain. Picking 2 crash ball centres and an out of form winger. Relying on the old guard and generally being too damn stubborn to change anything. Doesn't bode good for the WC next year unless he's not there of course.

There is a young winger at Leicester Vandell or something.Fail to understand why he isnt given a run against Wles, Italy etc. There are other younger players that should be used now to get ready for the WC but honestly Robinson uses the same old rubbish and England play the same old game. The England U21s are unbeaten in the 6 Nations U21s Championship and Robinson would do well to use the odd player from here as these then are prepared more for the future than the deadwood he is using.

Shaun Edwards played Rugby League for Great Britain aged 18 as did Paul Newlove. Brad "Freddie" Fittler was also 18 when he made his debut International Rugby League debut for Austalia and all went on to have highly distinguished careers!.Age doesnt matter when you are good enough! If you dont try these youngsters how will they ever be tested at the highest level?

Against Scotland the English had only one tactic-try and runover the Scots.It was clear it wasnt working so why not use the grubber kick or get the ball wider to make the Scots defence work wider or to stop them coming up so quick? Where are the leaders on the park for England? They just seem to have head down ass up attitude which will win few games-as shown!

Very poor game by 2 very poor teams! If thats the best of NH Rugby Union then Union hasnt got much hope of attracting new fans! Dont expect most games to be quality but havent seen or heard any of the past 2 years of the 6 Nations being decent enough to watch for 80 minutes. Professional players who cant catch, tackle or do the basics are a disgrace. I fail to see how these alleged top players deserve the media coverage they get as they are shit! My parents local Siddal U8s Rugby League team can tackle and catch a ball better than these waste of spaces! Sooner Robinson goes the better! If you cant get your players doing the basics after all these years you are wasting your time.Good to see the English so poor tho as hopefully the arrogant attitude might change tho doubt it!

oh isn't rugby league just wonderful and union shite!

Nothing to do with League being better just find such a pathetic performance a disgrace and embarrassing from players who are supposed to be World Champions.Has there ever been a team less worthy of carrying the World Champions as England Rugby Union?Consistant failure to do the basics and to have more than one option is criminal at any level of International sport.If a Rugby League team especially an International one had played like that I would of said the same and have done-GB v Australia last year when the Roos ran in 40 points. Failure to catch a ball at that level in eithar code is criminal. Failure to create anything is also criminal as is poor tackling. These are supposed to be earning thousands a week and put in a crap performance like that.If you think thats OK then you have no idea.

Thats just poor attitude from the players not the coach.England having one tactic which fails is Robinsons fault. To me England would be better using some of the unbeaten U21s players next week as least they would likely show pride in the shirt which was lacking today!

OK i will reply in kind, has there ever been a twat who hates union so much that all he posts are negative comments, fuck off dally m and stick to your own game, ok ?

BlueDave and Wibble, today I hate both of you. will probably like you both again tomorrow but today I definitely hate you both. loads.

Rugby League... don't they were shoulder pads and the like for Rugby League?

Anyway. Most of the fans England won after the World Cup win have probably already forgotten we ever won it. I have lost total interest in the game and freely admit to jumping on that wonderfully-coloured bandwagon that set off back then... Robinson sucks, but everyone knew he sucked as soon as he started but he used the "transition" argument to its full effect..

they do, yeah
that's cos they do things other than just kick the ball from one end of the pitch to t'other

maybe so. But it is a damn sight better rugyb than anything I've ever seen in the league code.

very true. NZ have always been expected to do well in the World Cup, they have certainly always had the potential to win every single time, but somehow they manage to fluff the important matches. I don't see that happening this time round, though. Highly unlikely that they won't make the final in Paris. It is really just a question of who they will play.

I've heard Clive Woodward is sending Andy Robinson to a fancy-dress party. He's going as a pumpkin. They're hoping at midnight he'll turn into a coach

My point was - they are the best - they have been the best for a very long time - other teams have been lucky/plucky enough to pull it off on the day - that's about it (compared to NZ).

As Zinzan said - the best most ferocious NZ team ever in his opinion was the 1995 team in South Africa - and although he was a member of the XV he's not known as a guy who shouts a lot:

New Zealand: Glen Osborne; Jeff Wilson, Walter Little, Frank Bunce, Jonah Lomu; Andrew Mehrtens, Graeme Bachop; Olo Brown, Sean Fitzpatrick, Craig Dowd; Robin Brooke, Ian Jones; Mike Brewer, Josh Kronfeld, Zinzan Brooke

They tore valleys in their opposition but right at the end they lost to a great South African side - that they would have been expected to beat at least 90% of the time.

Rugby league ? Pah! If rugby league players were half the BS claimed on here they'd be all Lomus and making personal fortunes in Union - they're not and please dont tell me it's because of love of a better game - that mentality died the day sport became professional. If half of the members knew of the "super supplements" that modern players use by the truckload they'd be wondering a lot more about the merits& morals of pro-sport. At least in respect to the drugs issue League is way way way ahead of Union (in terms of abuse that is , ahem).

finally England are still a great team , Martin Corry is a saint for the courage he showed yesterday - tis easy to play well when everyone around u is giving 100%.

I actually think England are too bulky now. We have gone for power and weight in the forwards and this is not actually paying any dividends. Despite being 1 1/2 stone a man heavier the forwards not only failed to dominate but were slow to the breakdown.

Often only Moody or Worsley were there and the rest of the forwards were shambling around not getting there in support until it was too late. This is the reason I think Thompson keeps popping up on the wing.

It will be interesting to see how AR reacts. However, some players such as Varndell are not an option as they are in Aus for the CG.

England still have enough decent players to be a threat in the WC but if they are not getting picked and when they do are often played out of position then things won't improve.

Get rid of Robinson and bring in someone like Ashton.

I personally would like to see the Welsh do a come back and win say 20-12 against the French, England to beat Ireland say 18-15 then Scotland to beat Italy say 60-12...
odd this a Jock wanting England to win

@ Wibble - lot of guys saying that today - and funnily enough they are BLAMING rugby league coaches for the over-emphasis on size - one good example being Mike Tindall thinking he is a back but far too clumsy and not aware/able to read the game smartly enough to be a back.

Personally I don't see it like that - I saw one decent attempt at truck and trailer where Corry was penalised yesterday and that was it. I see in the whole game from the match stats that England tried only 6 mauls - most of them half arsed attempts with the one exception just mentioned. If the forwards cannot make a 9.5kg per man advantage count then they are either not doing the basics right (rucking/mauling) or are not putting in enough effort - I thought Steve Thompson was woefully out of shape yesterday and Matt Stevens has reached 122kgs wtf!!!??? If you are gonna play with a forward pack with guys that size then u have to keep it tight - they will be destroyed in the loose by a much more mobile pack.

i going to sit down now as i've gone all light headed. i am seriously depressed at one of the crappest english games for a long time. not a sniff of a score the whole game. the only things they caught in france was that stomach bug. i personaly think we should let ireland (or rather play our normal current game standard) win by 60 points to deny the french the championship. it's the only honorable thing to do.

nah stick to my scores you will make all of Scotland very happy

sorry but you'll all be going on about it for the next two hundred years...

the only way the scots won against england was through heroic defences. ireland game was the same old same old in effect. if you look at the top 10 run gains they were all tattie peelers and no scots to be seen. defence might be solid but attacking is weak as ever.


its painful supporting a team that doesnt even have a player calling a defence line and were as atrocious as they were yesterday, but I also will be supporting England next week (first time ever). last chance saloon for us to win so needs must. cant say im proud of this but will have to grit my teeth and get on with it.

Fucking Union gobshites know fuck all.many League players for a start dont wear shoulder pads. Also more Union players got done for drugs in England than in Rugby League. Because your so fucking complex you have to get Shaun Edwards, Mike Ford, John Muggleton, David Ellis, , Daryll Powell and Graham Steadman in to show you how to play your own game! No point being big if you cant run or know how to offload.

I tell you most people would rather watch paint dry than watch England.How many trys in the last 2 games? NIL-not even close to scoring!Fucking punt monkeys. The toüp players like Lockyer, Marshall, Sculthorpe, Gasnier, Minichello,Lyons, Johns etc have no real desire to play Union-only for the money. They are League through and through

very eloquently put, DallyM. I am sure you have convinced everyone with your well-reasoned and thought-out arguments.