So to the penultimate weekend of the RBS 6 Nations and it looks to be another cracking one with France travelling to Rome and Ireland to Cardiff on Saturday, then to round it all off the clash for the Calcutta Cup on Sunday between England and Scotland.
You would think that it would be quiet easy to call the results for these games after what has gone before and I will; France by 30, Ireland by 5 and England by 20. But then you have into account who is playing who and what for!
Let’s start with the Italy France game. Italy have played some good rugby in this tournament and if not for a late O'Gara drop goal in the opening round they could well have had a scalp over the Irish, next up for them was the English and although everyone barring Sergio Parisse did not turn up for the Italians it was not all doom and gloom with some nice little phases of play thrown in amongst the, well let’s say not so good. When it was the Welsh turn the visit Rome the Azzurri could sense victory over a stumbling Welsh opposition but unfortunately they dropped off towards the end leading to their third defeat in the tournament. Then to France, the team, or should that be squad, that do not know when they want to play rugby. Against Scotland in the first game there were times where I could see no reason why they would not go on to claim back to back Grand Slams but in conceding three tries they showed that they were vulnerable to a team that had any decent attacking edge to it and so when they went to Dublin I wasn't even quietly confident that the Irish would win it, I was shouting it from the roof tops. So the Irish gave away their penalties yes but the French should why you can never underestimate them with the boot of Morgan Parra securing the French a vital win in there march to another Grand Slam. And so to the Grand Slam decider (or at least the press and TV coverage would have you believe) England vs. France at Rugby HQ, the big one, the game that everyone has been waiting for since England trashed the Aussies. There can only be three words to describe it really; Massive Let Down!
To conclude the French should win this one easy but if they let the Italians get a sniff, well, they could just make life very hard for their French neighbours.
And so onto the Wales Ireland game. My home nation go toe to toe with their Celtic brothers, the might of Ireland against the skill of the Welsh; Byrne v Fitzgerald, Williams v Bowe, Roberts v O'Driscoll, Hook v O'Gara, there are alone are 8 of the Lions squad that toured South Africa in 09, it shows what talent that both teams have but yet this game for me will never be allowed to show it. I am not saying that it will be an easy win for either side, nor am I saying that there will be no enjoyable flowing rugby but here are the two teams that top the list for penalties given away (1st. Wales, 2nd. Ireland). I refuse to believe that any team or player for that matter goes out to deliberately give away penalties but the fact that these two teams are at the top of the penalty list means they are doing something wrong. Declan Kidney and Brian O'Driscoll have both come out and openly admitted that the Irish management and players are very disappointed with the penalty count and that even some players have been picked out as repeat offenders! I hope both teams can go out on Saturday and just play rugby as it should be and with the players at each coach’s disposal I think we could see the best match of the weekend. But the Welsh hearts will be weeping come the full time whistle as I can really only see one result and that is an Irish win, whether it be a hard fought battle, a stroll in the park or a scrappy penalty ridden game. This game is Ireland's.
And so to Sunday and the game that every English and Scottish fan will tell you is the biggest game of the tournament, the one with the most bragging rights. England have played some fantastic rugby over the past few weeks and with Johnson finally realising that to build a team you need some consistency then England are looking like the force they were in 2003 when the lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy for the first time. But let us not think that because of this England are going to run out on to the grass at the Cabbage Patch and run riot like they did against the Italians, this is a Scotland side who beat the current World Cup winners South Africa and a team who at times against the French showed that their attacking abilities would match that of any International team. Scotland are going to Twickenham not just for the Calcutta Cup, not just to fight the auld enemy on their patch but to restore pride into their jerseys, to show that the last couple of games have been a blip, that they are the team that on their day can stand toe to toe with the World Cup winners and win. This is going to be a hard battle for Scotland but one that I believe they are capable of winning, if they turn up, if not, the Calcutta Cup is England's once more.
Hopefully I have not put you to sleep by reading this; it is my first attempt at a preview to a rugby weekend. Feel free to leave any comments below.
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