2016 Six Nations Rugby

[PeteC]

Standings after Round 1:

1 - hutchy10 (Yellow Cap) 3.50
2 - pooley 3.50
3 - lindosfan 3.00
4 - oz 3.00
5 - Pete 3.00
6 - pharvey 3.00
7 - redzonerocker 2.50
8 - iron jack 2.50
9 - BigBoy 2.50
10 - MasterClass 2.00
11 - JimmyGreaves 2.00
12 - Dai_L 1.00

[dtaai-maai]

Pete, I think your 'Wales by 3' pick sucks!

But it was sooooo nearly spot on!

What a ferocious game of rugby.

[PeteC]

^ Yes, close but no cigar. Fly-Half Biggar is injured and unsure going forward against Scotland. Pete

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35516570

[PeteC]

If you have your system rigged so you can use BBC's IPlayer, they have repeats of all the matches available. Pete

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006w29 ... des/player

[PeteC]

Biggar will be playing tomorrow against Scotland. IMO he won't play all 80 minutes. Pete

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35549868

[PeteC]

Standings as of the end of Round #2:

1 ▲11 Dai_L (Yellow Cap) 7.25
2 ▲4 pharvey 7.00
3 ▼1 pooley 6.75
4 ▲1 Pete 5.75
5 ▼2 lindosfan 5.00
- ▲2 redzonerocker 5.00
7 ▼3 oz 5.00
8 - iron jack 4.50
9 - BigBoy 4.50
10 ▼9 hutchy10 4.50
11 ▼1 MasterClass 4.00
12 ▼1 JimmyGreaves 3.75

[PeteC]

Team standings as of the end of Round #2:

[pharvey]

Bit late in the day to comment, but an interesting weekend of rugby.... and I actually got to see it

Surrender Monkeys vs Emerald Islanders - Not exactly a classic! Poor conditions, handling errors and a lot of "off the ball" incidents.... I wouldn't be surprised if the Citing Commissioner doesn't get involved. Sexton certainly had some unwanted attention and apparently has been reported as suffering from "Whiplash" . France have certainly done Beelzebub and the boys a favour in a) Winning and b) Putting a couple of major players out of commission - Sean O'Brien and Dave Kearney out of the clash at "Twickers". Ireland's title defense surely now well and truly over.

God's Own vs The Sweaties - An exciting game and a cracking start for us -in the 1st 10 minutes I honestly thought the Sweaties were going to be in for a very long afternoon. Unfortunately, over the next 50 minutes or so Wales were clueless - aimless kicking, little idea in attack and losing the contest in the air...... The Scots on the other hand taking the game to Wales with a lot of passion and commitment - deserving to be more than 13-10 up at half time. The only plus for Wales in this period was their lineout and scrum. The last quarter was a different matter with Wales reverting back to tried and tested tactics and scoring tries through North and Jamie Roberts. However, we'll need to step up a gear before the Surrender Monkeys arrive in Cardiff.

Pasta Munchers vs The Lillywhites - Not exactly a great first half for England, way too many errors, especially in the lineout - poorest I've seen them have in a long while and they certainly won't be pleased. Beelzebub and the boys going in just 2 points up at half-time after spending most of the match thus far bitching and moaning at the ref.
The 2nd half was a different story, players coming off the bench had a big impact - bringing a bit more fire to the pack. The boys from Bath then did a job on the Italians with Joseph scoring a hat-trick of tries and Ford adding another.
Jones will be happy with the win, but they'll be some concerns over the lineout and also the way the 1st half was played.

Big round in a fortnight - the Paddies visit HQ, Les Bleus visit God's country and the Sweaties head to Rome with hopes of ending their losing streak (now standing at 9 in the 6N).

[pharvey]

Bl**dy Frogs trying it on already......

Six Nations 2016: France Call-up Then Drop Ineligible Player

France have had to drop David Smith for Friday's Six Nations match with Wales after discovering he is ineligible.

Castres' Samoa-born wing Smith was added to coach Guy Noves' squad on Sunday after injuries to Marvin O'Connor and Teddy Thomas.

But when the 29-year old arrived in camp, he revealed he had played sevens for New Zealand in 2008.

"Because of this, David Smith isn't eligible for selection for France," said a French Rugby statement.

The statement said that the French Rugby Federation (FFR) had a document dating from August 2014, which indicated that Smith "appeared eligible" for France on residency grounds.

But it added: "On his arrival, David revealed to us he played in 2008 at Edinburgh in the international Sevens tournament for New Zealand."

Full Story: - http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/35631172

[dtaai-maai]

Wales 19-10 France

Well, I'll be interested to read pharvey's take on this game, but for me it was a classic example of the gulf between the northern and southern hemispheres.

Wales were deserved winners against a very poor French side, but were not particularly impressive themselves, particularly during a first half in which they dominated territory and possession without really capitalising on it.

In the 2nd half, France had their own dominant period of about 15-20 minutes in the Welsh 22 during which Wales were, IMO, extremely lucky not to concede a penalty try and/or a yellow card. 16-10 at that point might have seen a shift in momentum.

France will be extremely disappointed with their overall performance, but I don't think the Welsh camp should be dancing in the streets either.

Good to hear my favourite commentary team at work - Butler, Davies and Mr Angry.

[pharvey]

They say we opened the roof so God could watch us play........ apparently he fell asleep during the first half..

Referee Wayne Barnes certainly didn't help matters with his efforts to take centre stage and not controlling the scrums which once again were a constant source of frustration.

Wales 19-10 France

Well, I'll be interested to read pharvey's take on this game, but for me it was a classic example of the gulf between the northern and southern hemispheres.

Indeed - certainly have grave concerns over our tour to the home of The Blackness later this year......

As to the game, France are a team re-building, so some leeway should be given - however, on this display have some way to go. God's own on the other hand are very much a settled squad, but are currently playing well below par, seem bereft of attacking nouse and continue to insist on kicking possession away at critical moments. A perfect example was Scrum-half Gareth Davies kicking the ball through in the French 22 when there a was a 5 to 2 man overlap!!

To have a 70-30% advantage in possession in the first 40 minutes and go in at only 6-3 up at half-time is literally criminal in rugby terms. We seriously miss the likes of Shane Williams, James Hook and Jonathan "Jiffy" Davies to name but a few, those who could a turn a game on it's head with a single act of creative brilliance. Blame should be shared by the coaching team and their tactics, but they also need the players who have that flair at their disposal. Man of the match Gareth Davies is a real live-wire and makes some cracking breaks....... unfortunately also prone to those "headless" moments as per above.

Certainly not many (if any) positives for Les Bleus, but a few for Wales. We are improving as the tournament moves on, but do still have a long way to go - certainly needing to improve our game before visiting Beelzebub and the boys at "HQ" in the next round. The defence was very good despite the French attack lacking the teeth of old, although some of the defensive displays these days lead to dour games and cry out for that spark of brilliance from attacking teams. Both Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams put in much improved displays and Wales once again took control of the ariel game (lacking against Scotland).

As a Welshman, certainly pleased with the win, but obvious concerns over how (and when) we are going move forward......

As for a Penalty Try/Yellow Card against Wales - I find Wayne Barnes to be a superb referee and his decision making is second to none......

That said however, France should have had a Yellow for the Tip-tackle...... in all seriousness this is one area where there really does need to be some consistency in refereeing.

[arcadianagain]

I watched the first 25 minutes but got so bored I surrendered the remote control so Mrs.A. could switch to Coronation Street. I did watch the second half but saw little improvement. North got lucky with his try, overrunning the ball which was then obligingly tapped into his path by a Frenchman. But a win is a win.
Now it`s a long, long time since I played but do the backs, even when in attack, line up too flat making it difficult to take the ball at speed in space? Maybe they are waiting for the inevitable kick ahead for them to chase down.

[dtaai-maai]

Now it`s a long, long time since I played ...

Arcadian, the revered Elder of the sports forum!

Here is at hooker just before his retirement from the game in 1953...

The Old Arcadians RFC.jpg (12 KiB) Viewed 347 times

[redzonerocker]

Wales 19-10 France

Well, I'll be interested to read pharvey's take on this game, but for me it was a classic example of the gulf between the northern and southern hemispheres.

Wales were deserved winners against a very poor French side, but were not particularly impressive themselves, particularly during a first half in which they dominated territory and possession without really capitalising on it.

In the 2nd half, France had their own dominant period of about 15-20 minutes in the Welsh 22 during which Wales were, IMO, extremely lucky not to concede a penalty try and/or a yellow card. 16-10 at that point might have seen a shift in momentum.

France will be extremely disappointed with their overall performance, but I don't think the Welsh camp should be dancing in the streets either.

A pretty spot on analysis.

None of the games so far have been classics but they have been watchable.
This one was hard viewing.

Good to hear my favourite commentary team at work - Butler, Davies and Mr Angry.

Always entertaining and the highlight of this particular game.

[arcadianagain]

Now it`s a long, long time since I played ...

Arcadian, the revered Elder of the sports forum!

Here is at hooker just before his retirement from the game in 1953...

The Old Arcadians RFC.jpg

Rumbled

I once played for a team where the hooker was an alcoholic, his stinking of gin and constant retching was a factor in winning a lot of scrums.
Has anyone else ever read the book The Art of coarse Rugby? That pretty much summed us up, if we ever got 15 players we didn`t know where to put them all.