BBC.co.uk

Six Nations - the final verdict

  • Rob Hodgetts - BBC Sport journalist
  • 18 Mar 07, 10:31 AM

Rob HodgettsLondon - The 2007 Six Nations ended in controversial, joyous, heartbreaking or infuriating fashion depending on the colour of your shirt.

But there's no doubt it's been a cracker - maybe not for the actual quality of rugby but for the drama and suspense right up until the final match.

France, Ireland and England were all tied at the top of the table going into Saturday's finale, meaning every point scored, for or against, would be crucial in deciding the eventual winners.

Ireland were up first and ran in eight tries against Italy but they lost their focus and let in the Azzurri for an injury-time score to cut the final margin to 27 points.

This left France needing to beat Scotland by a clear 24 points in Paris and Les Bleus were seemingly home and dry until prop Euan Murray's late try for the Scots appeared to have swung the title Ireland's way.

But in a pulsating finish, Elvis Vermeulen was deemed (by an Irish video official) to have scored with the very last act of the match to give France a 46-19 win and one hand on the Six Nations crown.

England still had an outside chance of lifting the title but needed to win by 57 points in Cardiff. But Brian Ashton's men were outgunned 27-18 in Wales and France accepted the trophy in their dinner jackets at the Stade de France.

So what's the end-of-term report for the six northern hemisphere teams as the World Cup looms larger on the horizon?

FRANCE
Positives: Proved that they could grind out a win when it mattered, as seen with the last-gasp effort against Ireland and also the title-clinching try in Paris. Lifting the crown will have instilled a winning mentality and confidence to the side and fostered more public support for the World Cup bid on home soil later this year. David Skrela has cemented his place as first-choice fly-half and Pierre Mignoni looks set to partner him at scrum-half.

Negatives: France, and how many times have we said this in the past, still have a tendency to go missing for large periods of time, such as the entire England match. They can't afford these sort of slip-ups in the World Cup. Coach Bernard Laporte was hoping to blood his entire 40-man squad but was unable through injury and is left with a few questions unresolved.


IRELAND:
Positives: Front row didn't buckle like many thought they would at start of the tournament and in open-side David Wallace they have one of world's most unsung players. The backs bristle with menace and dash, and when their dander is up the attacks can come from anywhere. Brian O'Driscoll is the talisman but Gordon D'Arcy is an equal in the centre and on their day the back three of Denis Hickie, Shane Horgan and Girvan Dempsey can carve defences wide open.

Negatives: Lack the composure and ultimately professionalism to close out matches they should have won. Captain O'Driscoll was off the pitch injured when they capitulated to a late French try in Dublin, and was also off when they allowed Italy to score a consolation in Rome, shaving crucial points off their winning margin.

ENGLAND
Positives: Brian Ashton's new-look side have shown moments of promise and are on a general upwards curve after the dark days of Andy Robinson. The opening win over Scotland and the defeat of France at Twickenham were high points, along with the return of Jonny Wilkinson and the emergence of promising young guns such as Toby Flood, Shane Geraghty, Tom Rees and David Strettle. The recall of veteran centre Mike Catt was also a plus, while the pack were hungry against France. Martin Corry moving to lock was another masterstroke.

Negatives: Seem unable to back up their good performances from one match to the next. The pack went missing against Ireland and again in Cardiff, though they did well to claw their way back into that one. But a general lack of real leadership up front is a cause for concern. The Andy Farrell experiment took England down a blind alley, and the appointment of Phil Vickery as captain backfired when he lost form.

ITALY
Positives: The only side that can truly claim to have progressed during the tournament. Their first ever Six Nations away win came courtesy of a pulsating opening seven minutes at Murrayfield and they backed it up with victory over Wales in Rome. The recall of 33-year-old scrum-half Alessandro Troncon was key, and Italy also ironed out their previous inability to keep fighting for the full 80 minutes. Italian public took notice and rugby knocked football off the back pages.

Negatives: The pack is ferocious but out wide Italy are still lacking world-class attackers. Were carved apart against Ireland and are susceptible to letting their heads drop at times. Still questions marks at fly-half with neither Andrea Scanavacca nor Ramiro Pez making the number 10 jersey his own.

WALES
Positives: Ended a very disappointing tournament on a high with a rousing victory over England that showed glimpses of their 2005 Grand Slam-winning form. Also impressed in patches against Ireland and France. James Hook has developed into a real star, while lock Alun Wyn-Jones has been a beacon of light and the back row of Ryan Jones, Alix Popham and Martyn Williams has an impressive intensity on its day.

Negatives: Spectacularly lacklustre at Murrayfield and a general lack of possession has hampered their ability to play "the Welsh way". Hook's rise has led to a difficult dilemma for coach Gareth Jenkins. Does he drop his injured captain Stephen Jones and stick with Hook at fly-half? Or does he go back to the 21-year-old at centre?

SCOTLAND
Positives: Hampered by a raft of injuries going into the tournament including the loss of key flanker Jason White but ended it slightly frustrated that they didn't do better. Took Ireland to the wire before going down by a single point and played with passion and verve at times. Skipper Chris Paterson, wing Sean Lamont and flanker Simon Taylor continue to stand out, while David Callam and Kelly Brown have impressed. Scotland are also strong at scrum-half, with Chris Cusiter, Rory Lawson and Mike Blair, though Cusiter was wobbly against Italy.

Negatives: The fly-half debate has still not been solved. Paterson is clearly the best player on the park but coach Frank Hadden has only flirted with him at number 10, while giving chances to Phil Godman and Dan Parks. The aberration against Italy, when the Azzurri scored three tries in the opening seven minutes, will be etched in the minds of Scottish supporters. The pack lacks real power and cohesion, while the midfield lacks guile.


Comments  Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 08:35 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Steve Dubai wrote:

Fair assessment of Ireland's positives and negatives. Although Irish supporters are extremely disappointed, when all is said and done, France deserved to win the Championship, as they won the head-to-head match with Ireland in Dublin. Ireland clearly have the ability, however they really only performed to their highest levels when they were under real pressure to perform (against England, following the disappointing performance against France and against Italy, with the Championship on the line). If Ireland can find their "A" game on a more consistent basis then they will be serious World Cup contenders. Hopefully, the lessons learned in the Championship will prove to be good preparation for the France and Argentina games coming up in the World Cup. It's also critical to Irish hopes that both O'Driscoll and O'Connell stay fit and healthy, as their leadership abilities are key.

  • 2.
  • At 08:41 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Jack Lawrence wrote:

Gareth Jenkins stood by his Fly Half until he was injured. Stephen Jones has been a great player perhaps not in the same class as the Barry Johns Phil Bennets and Jonathon Davies's and those before.However this International season it has been plain to see by his body language on the field that he has lost his confidence at this level and he should now retire gracefully.

  • 3.
  • At 08:43 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Olivier wrote:

From what I've seen in this VI Nations, I'm reluctant now to keep Ireland in the favorites for the final victory in this year's WC. They are so dependant on 3 players that the chances those 3 are fit for the whole duration of the tournament are very low and therefore their chances to go through 1/4, 1/2 and then final are low as well. But assuming St Patrick is back with them for a two months period in Sept-Oct, then, why not? ;)

Regarding France, I'm comforted by the fact that at least there is a lot of choices available for Laporte. Let's just hope they will be able to create the team spirit that they were missing last Autumn against the AB (people tend to forget that France had not played as a team since June when the got hammered by the same AB that had just came out of a victorious tri-nations) . Let's hope they will be able to play a consistent rugby during the WHOLE tournament, otherwise the trophy will go directly to the SH...

Regarding England, we can see the first glimpses of the next team backbone. Who knows, they might surprise us in a 6 months time from now.

Regarding the other ones, let's not forget that the Scots have almost beaten Ireland and that Wales can be a pain in the a.. to almost any team if they are on a winning day.

Regarding the tournament itself, 2007 will be remembered as the year when Italy started to climb the ladder. Conratulation to Berbizier and his players, you deserved your victories!

  • 4.
  • At 08:55 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Delphine wrote:

I am a French supporter and I was at the Stade de France saturday afternoon… what a game ! a real French team is born during this tournament, with a spirit, a solidarity and lots of great individual talents : Mignoni, Skrela and Beauxis, Clerc, and lots of confirmations : Ibanez, Thion, Jauzion… They live together, they play together, they are no more single players but form like a body… and, most of all, France has win a public, an audience, a country. The Stade de France was standing during 2 hours, was screaming, was waving and singing… I go see the tournament every year, and never before had I lived so much emotions than Saturday. Thank you !

PS : and sorry for the eventual faults in my English !

I don't think you can say Italy are the only side to progress. Ireland are miles better than they have been but I agree totaly the need to have more composure at the end of matches. I thought some of the rugby played was fantastic. I am wondering about the effect if any the impending world cup is having on players at the moment. I think the lapses that saw Scotland conceed so many scores can be ironed out. I honestly don't see England progressing this year. I think with Full fitness on all teams, the English probably have the poorest team at the moment....

A great championship. Its much more fun when there isn't one team dominating.

As an Englishman I am encouraged. We have a decent coach who shows humility and is prepared to pick on form. We have some rising stars who have been blooded in some really hostile environments. Roll on the RWC, Semi-finalist would be a reasonable result.

The only downside is that our Celtic Counsins have the bragging rights and that is never much fun but they deserved them this time around.

A great championship. Its much more fun when there isn't one team dominating.

As an Englishman I am encouraged. We have a decent coach who shows humility and is prepared to pick on form. We have some rising stars who have been blooded in some really hostile environments. Roll on the RWC, Semi-finalist would be a reasonable result.

The only downside is that our Celtic Counsins have the bragging rights and that is never much fun but they deserved them this time around.

  • 8.
  • At 09:31 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Con wrote:

What is the French for jammy!?

It's what if's and maybe's now...
If only those Scot's could have held them off for 30 more seconds.....sigh....

  • 9.
  • At 09:44 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • aurora snow wrote:

6N team,

1.Milloud
2.Ibanez
3.Murray
4.Nallet
5.Wyn-Jones
6.Worsely
7.Wallace
8.Parisse
9.Mignoni
10.Hook
11.Hickie
12.D'Arcy
13.O'Driscoll
14.Lamont
15.Poitrenaud

  • 10.
  • At 10:06 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • armchairruggerfan wrote:

What's been great this year is how open the 6N has been - evryone seems to have beaten everyone else.
As an England fan I am left feeling frustrated again that we show glimpses of good play but we have no consistency. How can a team that played so well against France have been so poor against the Welsh? We seem totally unable to win away from home at present but maybe this is down to the lack of experience amongst so many of the players. Still Brian Ashton has made a difference and I guess we have to hope that we are generally "on the up" after such a poor autumn. What we lack though is real leadership - as soon as Mike Catt went off on Saturday England just fell apart. Any suggestions ? Don't think Vickery is the answer or Wilkinson come to that

  • 11.
  • At 10:08 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Ron McBride wrote:

What an enthralling 6 nations; the only thing that spoils great coverage by the BBC is the inane and boring remarks of Brian Moore. Come on BBC you can do better - get rid of him for next season and find someone who will make watching and listening so much better.

  • 12.
  • At 10:08 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Troff wrote:

France deserved to win the Six Nations but Ireland were a little unlucky on the weekend and will be kicking themselves for the two late tries that they gave up (although the last one was a double move and shouldn't have been allowed).

England made an improvement but need the pack to perform on a more consistent level to give their impressive young backline a chance. Sheridan and Stevens will be welcomed back and that should be a big improvement.

All of the Celtic nations need to raise their game when playing each other to the level they play against England. Only then will the world start looking at them as serious contenders. Wales and Scotland were both guilty of not picking their best (i.e. most attacking) teams for most of the tournament.

All in all, an exciting competition but I doubt that the AB's will be quaking in their boots.

  • 13.
  • At 10:10 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Timmy wrote:

i totally agree woth you regards David Wallace. Nothing is ever written about him, or you hardly ever here people talking about him. He is as fast as our centers and one of the stongest on the team, he can do anything. He should be given alot more credit, hopefully he will come the world cup.

  • 14.
  • At 10:11 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • babbo_umbro wrote:

France will be very focussed in WC- not just because it's at home but because they think were robbed in the last one. We've still to see the best of them. Europe's best hope.

Ireland - not as good as they think they are. Too dependent on a few players. Not sure they can improve, specially given their hints of complacency.

England - big enigma. Pack very disappointing, need more spirit and more craft - how about Richard Hill? If they can sort the forwards, the backs could be great and the team is capable of significant improvement.

Italy - big improvement but it's hard to see where further gains can come from. Forwards are great - like Argentina they suffer from not being in top echelon and too many decisions go against them and/or opponents are given leeway. Fly half problem is crucial - kidnap Hook? Troncon won't last for ever and is suspect in defence now.

Wales - if they can sort out consistency and politics could be really good - if not, they could implode. Again a bit thin on replacements in crucial areas.

Scotland - too limited in every way, I'm afraid. Not sure where improvements can come from but they are needed.

  • 15.
  • At 10:38 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Chuck wrote:

Aurora Snow - post 9

Are you quite sure? Hayes has to be considered - much maligned in the scrum he proved doubters wrong this six nations and didn't have a bad game in my opinion. Lifted well in the line out and was a terrier in the loose. And how can you discount the italian front row who were awesome?

Wyn-Jones was good but would not pick him ahead of O'Connell or Bortolami. Or maybe even Pape.

Worsley at 6? Do me a favour. Easterby was much better and probably even Betsen. You could even make a strong case for Leamy playing there even if he was an 8. In fact, the whole Irish back row were probably the best in the tournament so I'd probably play them 6-8. Corry wrote today that if there was "any forward more of a handful than Denis Leamy, I didn't meet him". Harsh on Parisse who was great.

Mignoni, yes. Hook at 10? He had one good game there and a part game against Italy. Yes, it was a very good game against England but you can't place him ahead of O'Gara - 4 tries, 10 conversions, 14 penalties - 82 points in total, just 7 short of Wilkinsons all time record of 89. Top scorer in all the games he played in. Then you've got Skrela who had a great season at the helm and finally looks like France have got a fly half who can control games.

Don't get me wrong, Hook is a class act and will be for many years to come but to put him ahead of O'Gara and Skrela after 1 and a bit games at Fly Half is just silly.

Poitrenaud is another one i'm not sure of? He was good but I don't think any full back shone? You can't discount Dempsey who had a solid tournament. But I guess we've got to have a frenchman in the back 5 seeing as they won the thing, right? Can't have Ireland 10-15 (minus 14) even though they scored the most tries, right? I would.

Then again, I'm a biased/bitter (delete as appropriate :P) Irishman!!

  • 16.
  • At 10:39 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Rhodri Williams wrote:

6 Nations team

(Form over 5 games & reputation)

1.Milloud
2.Ibanez
3.Murray
4.O'Connel
5.Wyn Jones
6.Poppam
7.Wallace
8.Lemy
9.Peel
10.Hook
11.Horgan
12.D'arcy
13.O'Drisscol
14.Jones
15.Poitrenaud

16.Jenkins
17.Best
18.Gough
19.Corry
20.Mignoni
21.Shanklin
22.Jauzion

  • 17.
  • At 10:52 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Mark Whitfield wrote:

That was probably the best 6 Nations I can remember. The tension at the end of the France game was incredible, I was glad that I could just enjoy the rugby and not worry about the result!

I think the tournament was a massive boost for all of the teams involved. The spirit showed by France, Italy and Scotland was amazing. And some of the rugby was sublime. Considering everyone had written England off from the beginning of the tournament they did brilliantly and showed the quality that we have in depth. Just have to blood as much talent as we can and hopefully grow together as a team before the RWC.

  • 18.
  • At 11:00 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • DaveM wrote:

The French were a bit lucky to claim the championship on 3 occasions - the winning try in Dublin inside the last minute or two; then Italy scoring that last try on Saturday when Ireland caught playing 7's - again last minute; and most notably, the French scoing that try with the last play of their game on Saturday. How could an Irish video ref be put in that position though? From the angles we saw, there was no way he could see it grounded, and yet to deny the Frenchmen a score would scream of bias. Surely a Welsh/English/southern hemisphere judge would have been more appropriate. Made it an exciting end though, didn't it!!

  • 19.
  • At 11:00 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Luke Swan wrote:

if i was to pick a british lions team this year it would be this

1. Horan (ire)
2. Chuter (Eng)
3. Horsman (Wal)
4. O'Connel (ire)
5. Corry (Eng)
6. Easterby (Ire)
7. Wallace (Ire)
8. Jones (Wal)
9. Ellis or peel (Eng and wal)
10. O'Gara or Hook (ire and wal)
11. Horgan (ire)
12. Catt (Eng)
13. O'Drisscol (ire)
14. Strettle (eng)
15. Patterson (Scot we need at least one!)

  • 20.
  • At 11:05 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Steve Dubai wrote:

In response to No.9, here is my alternative 6N team:

1.Milloud (Fr)
2.Ibanez (Fr)
3.Nieto (It)
4.O'Connell (Ir)
5. Nallet (Fr)
6.Wallace (Ir)
7.Ma.Bergamasco (It)
8. Parisse (It)
9. Mignoni (Fr)
10. O'Gara (Ir)
11. Clerc (Fr)
12. D'Arcy (Ir)
13. O'Driscoll
14. Horgan (Ir)
15. Paterson (Sc)

Controversial no doubt, as there are no Welsh or English players included. Although there were some great performances from the likes of Wyn-Jones, Hook, Skrela, Dempsey, Robinson, Worsley and Corry, none of them produced on a regular basis.

  • 21.
  • At 11:14 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Kia Rose wrote:

Thank God we have got past the assumption that the England v France match is the crucial one of the 6N. 6N must be the best tournament in the world regardless of what sport you follow. Saturday could not have been planned better, just a shame St Patrick went to the Caribbean for his holidays this year!!

Bitterly disappointed with Ireland's inability to close down matches, and also their performance against the Scots - they played the Scottish game of pick and drive around rucks, and did not do it as well.

But lots of positives, the back row were awesome; D'Arcy has emerged from the shadow of O'Driscoll and is now seen as a world-class centre in his own right, not just a foil for BOD; front row did not buckle as we were all told it would. I have said it before, but John Hayes has impressed me more than he has ever done before, I am not putting him up there with the top front-rowers, but I always thought of him as a very limited option, this last few months he has shown there is a bit more to his game than grunt and shove.

I hope Ireland can learn from this and take into the WC the lessons that Munster learnt over years of struggle to get their hands on the HC. I think they will and for encouragement, think how often we went into matches as favourites only to be hammered (I went to my first international in Lansdowne Road in 1970, so I have been watching for a while now). We may have lost against France, but were not hammered. Lessons have been learnt, and Ireland can cope with favourites tag.

Remaining HC matches will ve very interesting as will the summer tour.

  • 22.
  • At 11:14 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Andrew Allman wrote:

Interesting that a welshman ( I presume) has choosen 5 wales players in the team despite only winning one game. If they had beaten Italy would he have choosen 10?

As an Englishman I think we were disadvantaged this year by the injuries we have had and robinsons legacy. I think if we had Stevens, Thomson, Vickery, Borthwick and Moody fit we would not complaining about lack of steel upfront. I am also encouraged by the emergence of some potentially great new players.

Soon though we have to stop treading water and move up.

  • 23.
  • At 11:15 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Matt S wrote:

Agree with Post 10, Moore has been a bit over the top this year. Also think that Eddie Butler is too opinionated as a commentator, and too biased when Wales are playing. The summariser is supposed to be the opinionated one, not the commentator. Andrew Cotter and Nick Mullins were much better. Butler should be made a pundit or summariser if he cannot be impartial.

  • 24.
  • At 11:23 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Richard Lake wrote:

Post 16

Form over 5 games and you have 5 Welsh players and just 3 French players in your six nations team?????

Was Saturday's game the first rugby match you've seen?

  • 25.
  • At 11:39 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • tomthepom wrote:

if the 6N is to be decided on points difference, then decisive round 5 games must be played simultaneously in future. this is one of the few areas where football gets it right, while rugby (6N and world cup) and cricket (current world cup) get it wrong.

what about bonus points? ireland would have won 6N by a point from france (19-18). both scored two attacking bonus points, but ireland's loss was by 3 points, earning a bonus, whereas france lost to england by 8. or should it be head-to-head record as the decider, in which case it's back to france as winners?

  • 26.
  • At 11:47 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Matt wrote:

All this talk about young guys coming through - which has been a big plus for a few of the teams.

Anyone got any thoughts of a 6N best newcommer(ish) squad?

  • 27.
  • At 11:48 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Tim Sims wrote:

One of the closest 6Ns in recent years, for sure, but one of the best? I don't think so. How many teams performed well in all or most phases of the game for all or most of the 80 minutes? Ireland did against England, England did against Scotland and France and Wales sort of did against Italy & England respectively - but the rest of the rugby was for me scrappy & pretty low-grade stuff. The England vs Italy, Scotland vs Ireland and Scotland vs Wales matches were particularly poor, and nowhere near the standard that would trouble the All Blacks come the autumn.
BTW have they announced the player of the tournament yet? Parisse would be mine.

  • 28.
  • At 11:48 AM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • adam o connor wrote:

1:MILOUD
2:IBANEZ
3:NIETO
4:O'CONNELL
5:WYN-JONES
6:WORSLEY
7:WALLACE
8:LEAMY
9:MIGNIONI
10:O'GARA
11:HICKIE
12:D'ARCY
13:O'DRISCOLL
14:STRETTLE OR LAMONT
15:POITRENAUD

This is my team/players of the tournament

  • 29.
  • At 12:03 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Ross wrote:

Luke, (Comment 18) are you seriously saying you could justify picking 5 englishmen in a lions team? Catt over D'arcy! Ha! Also Leamy would be at 8 and O'Callaghan above Corry.Hickie should oust Horgan aswell. A great six nations with some great rugby and the wrong winner (if you are irish)

  • 30.
  • At 12:05 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Rhodri Chudleigh wrote:


The comment by Ron McBride 10.08 regarding Brian Moore making boring remarks, - absolute rubish. He is a great commentator, and calls it how he sees it. He is not biased at all, he is the Jeffrey Boycott of commentating. Ask anyone who knows anything about rugby, and they will agree Moore is a bit of a legend, and his banter with Eddy Butler is fantastic. Love the way he is not frightened to speak his mind. Mr Mcbride, you appear to have no idea about the sport at all in making that comment.

From an avid Welsh supporter

  • 31.
  • At 12:06 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Houstie wrote:

Don't know about everyone else but I wasn't too enthralled by the 6 nations this year.

I think a number of teams showed that they are not at their best. It's good when teams are more competitive & improving but I fear for the home nations come the World Cup.

  • 32.
  • At 12:11 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Rhodri Chudleigh wrote:


The comment by Ron McBride 10.08 regarding Brian Moore making boring remarks, - completely disagree. Moore is a great commentator, and calls it how he sees it. He is not biased at all, he is the Jeffrey Boycott of commentating. Ask anyone who knows anything about rugby, and they will agree Moore is a bit of a legend, and his banter with Eddy Butler is fantastic. Love the way he is not frightened to speak his mind. Moore to remain for a long time

From an avid Welsh supporter !!!

  • 33.
  • At 12:14 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Olivier wrote:

To post 25 : you cannot count the points with different rules after the tournament is over. That make no sense. The strategy and decisions taken during each match would have been much different and the final tournament outcome might not have been different...

  • 34.
  • At 12:16 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Howard Pothecary wrote:

1. Horan (Ire)
2. Ibanez (Fra)
3. Canale (lta)
4. O'Connel (Ire)
5. Corry (Eng)
6. Betsen(Fra)
7. M.Williams (Wal)
8. Harinordoquy (Fra)
9. Ellis (Eng)
10. O'Gara (Ire)
11. Robinson (Eng)
12. Jauzion (Fra)
13. Bergamasco (Ita)
14. Strettle (Eng)
15. Poitrenaud (Fra)

An all round 6 Nations best XV
5 Fra
3 Ire
2 Wal
2 Ita
4 Eng

  • 35.
  • At 12:18 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Andy wrote:

Yet again Frank Hadden's side fail to show any promise, or any signs of progress. With the mile-long injury list and the lack of talent on the field...there's a real chance that Scotland could get beaten - even thrashed by a minor nation in the WC.
As the ethos goes..'If you're not progressing - you're regressing'. The SRU badly need to start a review after the WC, to commence change. It's going to be very tiring being the 6th Nation all the time - especially considering how the Italians have stepped up to the plate.

  • 36.
  • At 12:20 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Will T wrote:

Luke Swan either has an odd sense of humour or an odd sense of reality... Chuter, Horan, Corry, Ellis, Catt Patterson??????
The England pack have strugled throughout most of the tournament-I'd rather have a half-fit Jerry Flannery than Chuter, not to mention the titanic Raphael Ibanez. Your choice of prop is also bizarre, considering the dominance of the Italian front-row over pretty much everyone...
And whilst I agree that corry has fronted up well at lock-was v good at Cardiff, how can you discount Bortolami, Easterby or AW jones?
Harry Ellis has improved but is still miles behind Peel, Mignoni, Troncon and Mike Blair-when fit.
Mike Catt at Inside Centre is perhaps your most entertaining suggestion: d'arcy (when played in his correct position) has been fantastic this year, and even a largely lack-lustre Jauzion is streets above catty. And finally Patterson at full-back is not a good option (this from a scotland fan), despite his robotic accuracy, his defense is not good enough- Poitrenaud, Lewsey or why don't you dig out Rory Underwood? Resurrecting past greats seems a uniquely peculiar English past-time.

  • 37.
  • At 12:23 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Chuck wrote:

A lot of talk recently on the whole bonus points system and although Ireland would've won it had it been in force, I don't think you can change it.

We just had the most exciting end to a six nations for as long as i can remember and we didn't need bonus points for that so why bother?

Also, some of these teams are shocking, just shocking. Did anyone actually watch the whole of the six nations?

  • 38.
  • At 12:24 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Lee wrote:

#5 You really don't like the English do you?
Ireland have progressed form 2nd to 2nd, so no progress really. Irelnad looked a lot more shaky this season than last and a few cracks are starting to appear.
Italy won 2 games for the first time, progress.
England were up and down, new coach, new team a few sparkling moments (i.e beating France at home) and a couple of shockers, not being able to win on the road!!!!
Scotland haven;t changed for 20 years, if you give them a chance they'll spoil all day and make you look average.
Wales like a mirror image of England, inconsistent, poor selection etc.
France, most consistent team of all turned the screw when neccessary but fell asleep (as every year)for 40 mins.
I was interested to see Stephen Jones's world cup rankings in Yesterday's Times. He had Argentina in 4th. In my reckoning, that means Ireland don't make it out of their Pool. I think I'd agree with him. It's a tough break but to win the cup you have to beat the best.

  • 39.
  • At 12:31 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • ROG wrote:

My 6 Nations 1st and 2nd selection.

15.Poitrenaud / Dempsey
14.Hickie /Lamont
13.D'Arcy / Jauzion
12.O'Driscoll / Hook
11.Clerc / Horgan
10.O'Gara / Skrela
9. Mignoni / Stringer
8. Leamy / Parisse
7. Wallace (player if the Tournament) / Burgamasso
6. Easterby / Taylor
5. Nallet / Wyn Jones or O'Callaghan.
4. O'Connell / Bortolomi
3. Hayes / DeVilliers
2. Ibanez / Best
1. Andrea Lo Cicero / Horan

  • 40.
  • At 12:33 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Chuck wrote:

Why are people suddenly thinking Martin Corry is a top class number 5? Luke Swan - are you serious? If you picked a lions team now would you honestly put Corry as your first choice second row? Ahead of....... O'Callaghan, Murray, Hines, Wyn-Jones, Gough, Sidoli, C0ckbain, O'Driscoll, Borthwick?

Pull the other one.

And Catt over D'Arcy? Behave.

Paterson at Full Back? He is a good kicker, yes, but my gran would offer more in attack at full back.

George Chuter?! Lord of lords.....

  • 41.
  • At 12:38 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Mike wrote:

I thought it was an enthralling and open 6N, but ultimately lacking in world-class rugby. I didn't see anything other than brief flashes from the Irish (especially against England) that would worry the All Blacks.
In short - England (and I'm an England fan), very inconsistent but hopefully on the "up", 3rd in 6N probably fair. A lot still to do.
France - deserved winners, played reasonably well except against England. Can still grind out a result when playing badly.
Ireland - I think they were desparately disappointing. If I was an Irish fan I'd be furious. Should have won the Grand Slam but choked against France. Should have won the 6N but lack of professionalism gave away a championship-losing try to Italy. The were by some distance the best northern hemisphere team during 2nd half 2006, but did not show that. Not as good as the hype.
Wales - very mediocre except against England when desparate to avoid the whitewash and wooden spoon. Why didnt they play like that during the rest of the 6N? What happened to the grand slam form?
Scotland - sorry, but making up the numbers
Italy - played well above their expectations and deserved their results.

  • 42.
  • At 12:40 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Andrew wrote:

I watched all the Scotland games and what fustrated me the most was how rubbish we were at the re-starts. Everysingle time we scored we seem to put ourselves back under pressure by gifting back possesion just outside the 22.

  • 43.
  • At 12:42 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • dan wrote:

Team of tournament (Not reputation) (B&I in brackets)

Milloud (Hayes)
Ibanez (Best)
Nieto (Horseman)
Nallet (O'Connell)
Bortalami (Alwyn Jones)
Eaterby
Wallace
Leamy
Mignoni (Peel)
Skrela (O'Gara)
Hickie
D'Arcy
O'Driscoll
Clerc (Lamont)
Paterson

  • 44.
  • At 12:45 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Jock High wrote:

My team would be :-
1. Milloud (Fra)
2. Best (must be doing something to keep out Flannery)
3. Horsman
4. O'Connell
5. Bortolami
6. Harinordoquy
7. Wallace
8. Parisse
9. Peel/Ellis
10. Hook
11. Clerc
12. D'Arcy
13. BOD
14. Lamont
15. Poitrenaud

  • 45.
  • At 12:59 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Elgordo wrote:

Well as a French man I got really excited by the game, as DaveM wrote France was lucky, this last try against Scotland shouldn't have been granted. Don't understand on which basis the Irish ref took his decision. Anyway I'm not going to complain am I?

Regarding the WC I'm writing France side off. The French coach Mr Laporte keeps making stupid decisions and then blaming the players when things go wrong.

England has many young players emerging and along with some experienced players they may well create a surprise.

Ireland once again has been really disappointing. The main problem they will face at the WC is the lack of good players on their bench.


  • 46.
  • At 01:04 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Macman wrote:

At last another person who struggles with Butler. Funnily enough he was better in the england Wales game. As for Moore I have no problems he calls it as he sees it and he apologised a number of times when the camera showed he was wrong - and he got more right than Donal Courtney or Mr Joubert!!

I'm a Scot but Moore transfers lots regarding the dark arts that others can't.

However we Scots seem to have produced another excellent commentator in Andrew Cotter.

  • 47.
  • At 01:06 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Django wrote:


A entertaining tournament indeed. But all in all it is the All Blacks that will be happy. Even France or Ireland at their best are not quite there. A promising world cup though.

  • 48.
  • At 01:14 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • shaun wrote:

I have to say that in all of the six nations teams posted I was disappointed to see that (and correct me if I'm wrong) the top try scorer for the tournament was left out. Has everyone forgotton Jason "4 tries" Robinson????

  • 49.
  • At 01:19 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • macman wrote:

As with last year I'm a Scotsman amazed at how you all love Lamont out there. I have to admit he improved as the championship moved on..........but.......and a huge one.

He cannot kick (similar to Danielli cept at least he knows it. Therefore the wonderful counter attacking. Name me a side tho that does not expect its full backs to be covered by the wing? Lamont can't do this.

However my new master plan for Scotland is aimed to give the spark in midfield.

So how about

9.Blair/Lawson/Cursiter
10.Paterson (or Ross?)
11.Webster (When fit)
12.Dewey
13.Lamont S
14.Walker/Lamont R
15.Southwell (When fit)

Probably only Scots qualified to comment or Welshmen - on Walker and MacLeod for 2nd row.

  • 50.
  • At 01:22 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • rfan10est wrote:


Ireland have lots of work to do before the World Cup. Dominance in the set piece is crucial and they were too inconsistent. Another key area is leadership. As alluded to already, the pack and backs are at sea when either POC or BOD is out of the picture.
As general footballing skills go, they are impressive but that's not enough.
Scrum-half is a major issue if Ireland are to get to the next level. Second phase passing
from the breakdown is sub-stanard and O'Driscoll can't be relied on to take hospital passes off Stringer
indefinitely. Best should be given opportunity asap. Apart from France, nothing coming through to provide hope for Northern Hemisphere teams.

For the World Cup, I hope the 6N sides don't over-respect the ABs. Graham Henry would have
prepared them to make a statement and given his time here, was likley to want
to prove his credentials. Every team has a weakness which can be exploited. The key to taking them is probably go old style and batter and bruise and hopefully
last it down to the wire. Over-reliance on Carter for sure. If I was a flanker I'd
be looking forward to it...

  • 51.
  • At 01:23 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Noel Shields wrote:

Ireland have only themselves to blame for not winning the Grand Slam . Lack of concentration in two games , the bungled restart after taking the lead against France (a basic skill) and A no 8 taking a tap penalty from his own 22 without consulting those around him . Common denominator is Brian O Driscoll was not on the pitch when both these lapses occured. We have made giant strides this last couple of years , but,we do not have the strength in depth in key positions .If Paul O Connell or O Driscoll or Darcy get injured we will drop from worthy WC Candidates to Quarter Finalist at best .

  • 52.
  • At 01:25 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Clarkie wrote:

6 N team

15 Poitrenaud
14 Horgan
13 O'Driscoll
12 D'Arcy
11 Strettle
10 O'Gara
9 Mignoni
1 Milloud
2 Ibanez
3 Castrogiavanni
4 Wyn-Jones
5 O'Connell
6 Easterby
7 Wallace
8 Parisse

Bench

Robinson
Skrela
Ellis
Jenkins
Best R
Nallet
Williams M

  • 53.
  • At 01:29 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Egbert wrote:

One of the best tactical decisions of the tournament for me was by Bryan Ashton, moving Correy to second row, although I would have moved him to prop - his extra height lifting in the line-out would be great. He would also be good in the centre because he is good at making the "hard -yards".

I think the Azzuri have been another success story, they should be in the 6 Nations more often.
I think they have an outside chance of winning the World Cup in 2008
Allez le blue

  • 54.
  • At 01:29 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • walks wrote:

Exciting finish yes, but the quality of the 6N has dropped, NZ, SA & Australia must be rubbing their hands with joy for the World Cup. France deserved winners, but flattered to decieve once again.Ireland didn't live up to their pre-tournament hype, England game apart and the rest were generally poor. England can take some crumb of comfort from an improvement from a dismal autumn. As for the individuals people have picked, John Hayes? Ahead of the entire french and italian front row i think not, that must have been a guiness fuelled pick. And yes David Wallace one of, if not the player of the tournament.

  • 55.
  • At 01:29 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Tim wrote:

To Will T, post 36: Luke Swan waspicking a Lions team, so Ibanez, the Italian front row, Bortolami, Mignoni, Troncon et al. don't make it!

Even so, Catt over D'Arcy and Ellis over Peel?? I don't think so!

  • 56.
  • At 01:37 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • neyster wrote:

Well, I thought it was all great. Apart from one key area...

In football, the managers are always complaining that the "referees aren't consistent enough". On Saturday the referees were very consistent. Consistently bad.

This is added to the fact the touch judges seem to have been forced to watch the Blackadder Goes Forth episode where they are only allowed to speak when the referee tells them they can. In all three cases "Permission denied!"

There were some shocking decisions in each game which ruined things for me.
Italy v Ireland
Great game, with the Italians and Irish playing great rugby and not giving up and playing to the final whistle. The Irish are to be commended for playing the ball and keeping it alive after the time ran out. As are the Italians. However, the Italian try was clearly a double movement, and everyone in the pub I was in could see it, how could the TMO miss it?

France v Scotland
Good rugby again from both sides, soured by some very questionable decisions. How could the touch judge tell the referee it was Sean Lamont who committed the late tackle when Chris Paterson did it in front of him? A shocking decision, but not quite as bad as the Irish TMO who decided Elvis Vermuelen grounded the ball cleanly. Again, all in the pub could see a double movement after two additional French players jumped on top of Vermuelen and the unfortunate and brave Scottish flanker who had his arm underneath the ball.

Wales v England
Great start by the Welsh, poor by England, but turned into a really close enjoyable game or would have done if Alain Rollaind had not been the referee. How can you award a knock-on when the ball hits someone's shin? How can you award a knock-on when a player drops the ball and it goes behind him through his legs? How can you penalise a player for going through the middle of a ruck (not round the side) when the ball has been touched and sits there invitingly?
Again all the pub could see these mistakes (after four odd hours of solid drinking), how can the touch judges be so anonymous and the referees get it so wrong?

All three winners on Saturday deserved their wins in each of the games, and the competition I think has made great strides over the last couple of years to be much more competitive. the Italians have been superb this year, and Sergio Parresi gets my player of the tournament, with Alun Wyn Jones getting the young player of the tournament.

Please, please, please can Syd Millar 'fix it for me' and get the all the touch judges together and remind them to use their brains a bit more next year, the TMO's to have a refresher course (possibly down the pub watching rugby), and the referees to learn to trust going to the touch judges for help - as it will make the tournament much more enjoyable for everyone.

Yours, a slightly more hopeful England supporter than before the Six Nations, but equally available to be a new TMO - I couldn't get it much worse...

  • 57.
  • At 01:38 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Kerry N wrote:

A very entertaining six nations. It is definitely one of the more interesting tournaments around, and saturdays games were a fitting climax!!
Scotland 1st- my trips to murrayfield this year and in the autumn have done nothing to fill me with any optimism for the coming RWC. From the 2nd half of the pacific islanders match onward we have been very poor. We are lacking in every department against every team we play and its only through grit and heart that we don't get humped every game. Our players also seem to be the only guys who don't realise that nobody cares if you take steroids or HGH in rugby. Small, weak, slow and fighting a losing battle.
The Irish threw this one away. In Dublin and with the late try in Rome, but do seem to be the 6N side that will have the best shot at the All Blacks come the autumn, assuming their talismans stay fit. Kings of the forward pass though- does that rule even exist these days.
Great to see the Italians on their way up, if this continues then the 6N will continue to be a cracking tournament. Certainly considering a trip to Rome and Biarittz to see if the Scots can get some revenge.
The English were lumbering and the Welsh inconsistent but both are a worry if they get going and in Englands case have a fully fit squad.
The French well they are the champions and with home field advantage should do well at the world cup, but based on their capitulation at twickenham, i don't see them being as much of a threat to the southern hemisphere sides as the Irish will be.
PS If anyone finds my remarks about steroids/hgh inflammatory don't kid yourself. Just be content that its a level playing field pretty much and that Bigger, faster, stronger players make for a more entertaining sport.

  • 58.
  • At 01:41 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • greg wrote:

Whats with everyone selecting Hook at 10?

Did you actually watch the 6 nations or have you just read about the last round of games?

OGara was far and away the best 10 in the tournament, he scored a lot of points, was spot on with his kicking game (mostly) and, for the first time in the 6N, he scored a lot of tries, proving hes not just a kicking machine, never mind the best 10 in the tournament, surely a contender for player of the tournament.

Also Skrela looked really solid for France, proving himself as a world class 10.

Hook on the other hand (dont get me wrong, he's an awesome player and no doubt will grace the world stage for years to come) plays one decent game and gets voted best 10 of the tournament??? has everyone forgotton Wales lost all but one game?

And someone with Hardywhatsit at 8? (or worse, at 6)....whats the matter with you people?....Leamy and Parrisse were miles better, parisse for me would shade that one.

one with Ellis above Peel (Mignoni was head and shoulders better than both) more delusion, Ellis had one decent game against Scotland, but he's well short of International standard. Stringer has also conclusively proved he is not up to it, his service is just poor.

Another non Rugby watcher putting Martin Williams in at 7, Wallace was another in contention for Player of the tournament.

I could go on forever, but ill stop there.

In conclusion, Ireland threw it away, France probably deserved it, but both of these irrelevant compared to the emergence of Italy as a genuine contender in the 6N, and with a good few world class players tucked away in their ranks, it looks set to get better and better for them, well done Italy!

  • 59.
  • At 01:42 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Liam wrote:

This year Irish fans were genuinely disappointed due to the way they lost to the French. However, I think Ireland have much more to be pleased about than people think. Whilst a moment of stupidty cost them the French game we were pushing France without BOD and Stringer. The ease we put away poor teams especially England was also encouraging. And whilst performing well against Wales and Scotland we still ground out victories. Clearly we don't have the pool of players that France, NZ or even SA do but our back up continues. Most crucially of all was the performance of Ronan O'Gara - who was the most consistent player in the Irish team and was outstanding against France. People used to think the half backs were our achilles heel - I would say now they are our backbone. No doubt that our pool doesn't not favour progression which is unfortunate (not ony for us but also France/Argentina) and we will lose people to fitness so a bit of luck is required. In the meantime lets get the cotton wool out!

  • 60.
  • At 01:43 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Ian Churchill wrote:

Re:Post #30

Totally agree about Brian Moore. I don't think he's particularly biased, certainly not like certain Welsh commentators and pundits.
He call it as he sees it, either for or against England, and there's many like him in rugby club bars the length and breadth of the land - the "shoeing" incident 2 weeks ago; do you really think anyone who has played the game in the forwards over the years would disagree with his sentiments and observations?
Then on saturday, after Eddie Butler had come out with some totally fatuous piece of drivel about the linesman, when Moore responded with his "feel free not to burden me with any more of your irrelevant comments", well, I nearly dropped my Guiness !!
Overall thoughts:
Ireland - lost a grand slam and a championship that were theirs for the taking, but still the best NH side at the moment IMHO.
France - failed to turn up at Twickenham and paid the price. Despite their newly found determination, games like that against England will cost them in the RWC.
England - Improving, but not enough to retain the RWC. Stick with the youngsters, draft in more after RWC and then watch 'em go in 2011.
Italy - bloody well done! Need to sort out the discipline but deserved all they got this year. Looking forward to a possible trip to Rome next year!
Wales - said it all last week, too good a side to go through the 6N without a win, and when they moved Hook to fly half, the writing was on the wall for us. However, they should have won by more than they did and they've got to do something about Shane Williams' ego!!
Scotland - good in parts, still some excellent players (White, Patterson, Taylor, Lamont), but they badly need a confidence boosting win to get them firing again. When they're "picking and going" with confidence and speed there's not many better at it.

For the RWC, can't see England getting past the semis, but I'd love to be proved wrong. Next hope would be for Ireland to win it, lovely people, sporting crowds, brilliant "craic" and the current crop of players have given them their best team and chance since the RWC started.
Slainte !!!!

  • 61.
  • At 01:47 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Gavin David wrote:

Here is my assessment:



France - Had a good run knowing they really needed to perform with a home WC coming up. As always showing their hand as the unknown quantity still seems to pay dividends for them on a regular basis. Deserved champs.



Ireland - seemingly over rated from the start, i dont think a grand slam was ever on the cards with just the 2 good results against england + italy. A veritable bevvy of dodgy refereeing decisions saw them both loose out on the title, and by the same token helped them sneak wins that they might not have achieved on merit alone, so its very much horses for courses and found success in the triple crown.



Scotland - swapped their usual single 6N win from Italy to Wales, however performed well against ireland, seem to be lacking direction over the last few seasons. Probably more open questions than answers gained, is Hadden the man for the job? Im not sure at this juncture.



England - seem to be going sideways rather than forward or backward. I think this can only be expected with a new coach, plus a change of 11 starting players between the ireland and france game showed in the result of which that not only is there an underlying talent in the team, but also that concrete selection is still up in the air. I think the WC for them will either go really badly or really well.



Italy - did well this year to secure the two results, the hard part now is to gain these results consistently. Troncon masterminded the wins but wont be there for much longer, i really hope it is not not a flash in the pan but with some of the other 6N teams under performing this year, i really think they will have to make a marked improvement over the next couple of years to allow for the consistent results.



Wales - Under performing Stephen Jones and lack of G Thomas' leadership made them look hopeless at times, a slight tweak of that made them go from the ridiculous to the sublime (in patches). Still chasing after their 2005 form, and with so many injuries in 2006 you can argue that only recently is the 2005 team is back out on the pitch. And while a single win is not much to gloat about, perhaps winning your final match is better than winning your first and losing all matches there after.



The match officials - very poor this year, not sure they have the quality to be considered for the 6N competition. Far too many situations where it was not just down to interpretation, rather clear misunderstanding of clear and distinct rules in the book. In any job where you are getting paid, if you don't perform you either get fired or at least disciplined. I think between having a referee, linesmen and a video ref there are no excuses, referees should be held accountable!

  • 62.
  • At 01:50 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • eidur wrote:

An exciting tournament, but not a quality one. The only team that did well were the Azzuri, France were a bit lucky, but Vincent Clerc showed a lot of promise. Ireland were unlucky, but really could have and should have done better. England went from being rubbish under Robinson to having a little promise about them. Wales were a bit unlucky but it seemed that they were unorganised, once they get that right they will be hard to beat, by northern hemisphere teams anyway. The real winners from this tornament are the southern hemisphere teams. The 6N teams would not have posed them any real worries to what they will be facing. All in all I feel sorry for argentina the most, why do they always happen to be in a group of death for world cups? Sometimes I feel a proper seeding should be how the world cup groups are made. Can't wait to see what the springboks are going to do in the world cup though, in my view they have the best up and coming youngster in the world, Francois Steyn. All that being said, the kiwis will more than likely win the world cup, but how many years has that been said and failed to happen??

To No38 Lee, The improvement from 2nd to 2nd is to do with how the Irish played this tournament and how much the scored this time around. No I have no problem anymore with the English. I got over that chip on my shoulder a long time ago. Sounds as if some of your guys are building one up on theirs. ... Yes the Irish should have done better. We are not calling for anyones head. I understand it's sport. My comment was about an English rugby team that won the WC for years ago and has gone steadily down hill since. If the Irish were truly dissappointing and choked and were unprofessional, and nothing to worry the All Blacks then it speaks volumes about how far the English rugby team has gone down. Consider that for a moment before hoping on the high 'RED RUM'. All things considered, perhaps they were happy with the 3rd place position? The World Champions? com'on. Ireland lost the competition by a single try, over 5 games.

  • 64.
  • At 01:53 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • tomthepom wrote:


i wrote post 25, and i was floating a possible idea for the future about introducing bonus points, not suggesting you change the rules for 2007 and take the trophy back from the french. DOH!

  • 65.
  • At 01:53 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Ed wrote:

I think when all 6 nations have calmed down it's the Scots who will have the fewest positives to take from this tournament. A marginally better performance against France can't disguise the fact that as soon as they give the ball to their backs they seem to be totally ineffective or just make stupid mistakes. You can't play route 1 rugby for the entire 80 minutes. By far the bluntest attack in the 6N.

  • 66.
  • At 01:56 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • RobK wrote:

A lot of poor team selections above I'm afraid, though Jock High has it nearly right: (Lions in brackets where applicable)

Milloud (?)
Ibanez (?)
Nieto (?)
Bortolami (Palmer)
O'Connell
Taylor
Wallace
Parisse (Leamy)
Mignoni (Peel)
O'Gara
Hickie
Darcy
O'Driscoll
Horgan
Dempsey

Whoever put Catt over Darcy is plain stupid the world's in-form 3/4, Catt is error-prone and slow.

Jauzion and Lamont were excellent on Saturday, and were close for my team. Dempsey almost by default as no other 15 did anything of note. I can't decide on B&I front rowers as they have all had good and bad games this term.. e.g. the Scottish were excellent in the tight against Ireland but got stuffed by France.

  • 67.
  • At 02:02 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Ed wrote:

Can everyone go easy for a bit on the TMO in the France game. Probably you were watching in the pub and so didn't hear the ref over the mic. The TMO didn't 'award' the try at all - the ref said he thought he'd seen the grounding and asked the TMO to tell him if he'd seen any problems with it. Seeing as you couldn't possibly see anything on the replays (and presumably the TMO told the ref that) the decision was down to the ref, who awarded the try. Still not sure how he saw anything, but still, it wasn't the TMO.

  • 68.
  • At 02:04 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Rhodri Chudleigh wrote:


Why on earth do English supporters still think Matthew Tait is world class and in the league of O'Driscoll and Guscott. Neither of which have been embarassed on a rugby pitch like Tait was in Cardiff 2 years ago. English supporters need to accept that Tait, flood, Noon and Deacon are just not up to scratch and will never cut it at international level. Neither of which have done much in the guiness premiership either.
Tom Rees, Strettle, Geharty on the other hand look promissing.

From a Welsh fan

  • 69.
  • At 02:12 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Chuck wrote:

53 - I thought it was a double movement but Di Maringy made his second movement when there was no one touching him so he had every right to move?

Will T - 36 - in defence of Luke Swan, it was a lions team he was selecting, not a 6N team

  • 70.
  • At 02:15 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Ed2003 wrote:

An exciting championship but depressing for me as an English fan and for northern hemisphere in general.

France deserved to win the title. They have the best 15 and the best squad.

I cannot tell you how annoying it is to be an England fan at the moment. We have a squad of players who should have taken us well down the road of recovery and moved us into the top 5 in the world rankings. This would have been excellent preperation for the WC defence.

As it is, the players just down look up for it. It seems like they need a huniliating loss for motivation. I don't know where we are at the moment; some people need to get their head in gear.

As for northern hemisphere in general, this championship just highlighted the gulf in quality between NH and SH. France are the only contenders in my opinion and a large part of that is to do with home support.

Ireland have a decent back line but I haven't seen evidence that they can consistently put in the performances of the intensity needed to win a WC. When you cannot win the 6N in the same year as a WC then it does not bode well for your chances. Probably looking at finishing second in the group and then getting smashed by the AB's.

England have no chance. Absolutely none. We'll probably scramble through the group then get walloped by Australia (because we wont be up for it, it's only the WC after all).

So just to sum up the championship:

Scotland - played quite well at times actually. It was just that half against Italy which put a downer on their championship.

Wales - maybe if they just imagined that every other team was England then they'd play to their obvious potential.

Italy - the big winners this year. Taken the step from just having big clunking forwards to actually using them effectively in a game plan. Parisse is a class player. Be hard to improve next year though.

England - dear oh dear. Gave experience to some promising youngsters but the commitment and consistency is abysmal. Miles away from where we should be.

Ireland - one great game against England. The centre partnership showed it's class again but the simple fact is that if they want to move forward then they need to bring their best game to every game and they just aren't doing that.

France - the winners again and deservedly so. A very good squad with excellent strength in depth. Used the championship as a stepping stone for the WC. They will be there abouts in the closing stages but on that performance they will do well to win it.

  • 71.
  • At 02:26 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Martin Johnston wrote:

Scotland's biggest problem in the championship was the fact that they did not have a consistent half-back partnership. That, in my opinion is due to the indecision over fly-half - quite clearly Godman is not up to the task. Parks for me can be an excellent kicker but offers very little else - for me we have to play Paterson at 10. He at least offers some more attacking options - he is wasted at full-back or the wings where he does not have the pace required.

  • 72.
  • At 02:29 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Ed2003 wrote:

1. Milloud
2. Ibanez
3. Nieto
4. Wyn-Jones
5. O'Connell
6. Wallace
7. Easterby
8. Parrisse
9. Mignoni
10. O'Gara
11. Strettle
12. Darcy
13. O'Driscoll
14. Horgan
15. Poitrenaud


What is with people who see someone play one game and all of a sudden they are world class and genius?

Also, to the guy who was complaining about the refs. The Italy score at the end was not a double movement. The ball was touching the line on his first stretch.

As for the French try, the ref said to the video ref "Is there any reason why I cannot award the try?" Seeing as how on all the replays the video ref couldn't see anything to do with the grounding, he couldn't tell him not to award the try. Correct decision.

  • 73.
  • At 02:38 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • jonnyC wrote:

Unfortunately, the debate about the best backs in the competition is crazy. The best backs seem to always come from behind the best pack, funny that (scotland fans please forgive me, this does not apply to you). One week Wilkinson was a hero behind an inform pack, the next against Ireland he reminded me of Dan Parks. The Welsh backs have traditionally been strong and showed their hand again against England after the pack finally delivered more than 34% of the ball.Before this they seemed ponderous and second rate.

The interesting question is.. Wilkinson or Flood/Geherty? How quick some people forget goof old Jonny.

Finally, i think i saw the worst international performance from a scrum half on Saturday when Shaun Perry came off the bench.. what was wrong with him???

It ranked alongside Luger in the RWC 1/4 final and Henson against Ireland last year.

Surely there is better... I know a lad playing for Trimbles U14's who would do a better job.

  • 74.
  • At 02:39 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Ashley wrote:

No, the All Blacks won't be quaking in their boots but they've gone into nearly every WC as favourites and mostly failed to live up to expectations. As an Englishman, before the Six Nations I had no hope. Now, I have hope. Okay, it's a slim chance but at least we have a chance. And we have most room/potential for improvement between now and the tournament. Strettle, Rees, Easter and Geraghty show the skills and desire I thought were lacking. If Sheridan, Vickery and Stevens come back with a vengeace we can start with a steadier platform and you never know. One player who deserves praise is Jason Robinson. Three chances, three tries - that's what it's about at this level. He has the hunger back and our opponents know it.

  • 75.
  • At 02:43 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Daniel Kingdon wrote:

Thoroughly enjoyable series. I think every team provided moments for their fans to be proud of. Overall I think Irish are the best current team, closely followed by the French, although the final table says different. The Welsh could be a force again with some tweaking and strengthening. The Scots need a little more work but I saw better spirit this year. Italy, lucky to beat Wales, but generally very impressive. England face a harder task than most because of the pressure they and the media put them under. Zurich prem does not produce expansive and creative players and I therefore fear for their World Cup.

  • 76.
  • At 02:47 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Stuart wrote:

Ref post 18.

The referee saw it grounded and asked the TMO to confirm. So it wasn't down to an Irishman to decide. "Any reason not to award the try" was Joubert's question.
The other point that people seem to miss is that the referee's and their teams really don't care who wins. Blame them all you like, but the vast over whelming majority of the time, they are right. If you added up all the mistakes all of them made over the whole 6N, they still collectively made fewer errors than Shane Williams did on Saturday! (For which, as an Englishman, I am very grateful)!!

  • 77.
  • At 02:59 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Darren wrote:

Re post 53

I think post 53 has got a good point. Moving Corry to prop would give a significant advantage in the line out. I also agree that he could play centre, although i would put him at outside centre. It is plainly clear to everyone that once again Tait failed to live up to the hype. I think corry could do the job. Lets face it he has got better hands than Tindal and he is deceptively quick. It makes sense when you think about it. Farrell and Corry in the centres a daunting prospect for any team playing England!

Also I think everyone has got it wrong with their choice at scrum half. What about Stringer and Troncon? No one can deny that Ellis and peel offer a fraction of the danger that Stringer causes round the fringes. Having said that i would go with Troncon (for me the find of the six nations). He really does look like one to watch for the future.

  • 78.
  • At 03:04 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Jim from Croydon wrote:

Best Coach - B Ashton - always thinking out of the box and prevented England getting wooden spoon - has conjured something approaching a back-lne with strong previously un-blooded half-backs and a decent strike force on wings - centres stil bedding in - forwads - not my speciality and I don't know why they have gone back so far in relation to others - but plainly work in progress with some progress

Best Team of Championship - France - looked more cohesive than most French sides although why did they not play against England? bizarre - good half-backs and good options in backs and if Skrela had kicked like he did the rest of the tournament Ireland would have been dead and buried in Dublin.

Scotland - kinda getting there - bizarre belief in their limited ability - long on scrum halves and short on fly halves - and don't use Lamont as much as they might as who else is there? - but will improve especially in pack

Wales - don't understand Welsh rugby - some good forwards and some goodish backs but seem completely driven on by their emotional state of mind

Italy - like Argentia used to be for me - great forwards but once you wear them a bit get play into the backs as Ireland did they aren't half as good. But great move forward for them and they do play to their strengths.

Ireland - my team - continue to show they have the best all-round side in these islands but selections and secondary selections are a worry - Horgan is not the third best centre in Ireland - surely completely proved now (no matter how effective a wing) - where is the second row back up ? - second choice half-backs as good as first choice but no proper rotation as still too dependent on goal-kicking - failed to develop Best, Trimble and others on bench and elsewhere who have the talent and may be needed in World Cup - and may be more importantly the leadership missing on a few occasions..... if Skrela had kicked OK their championship might never have started - and what do we know that we didn't know before ? and no idea of best options if key men are absent....

  • 79.
  • At 03:18 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • walks wrote:

in response to post 61, we have no chip on our shoulders, but i think everyone was hoping that the 6N would end with some genuine contenders for winning the WC. Instead we have re-inforced how far apart the All Blacks are at the moment. The Irish are a good side as the defeat of England proved. Outstanding back row and backline (scum half apart) but front row frailties, someone to partner O'Connell and a lack of a classy replacements bench mean that the Irish along with the rest of the 6N teams are way behind the southern hemisphere. I'd hate to see the cheating bullying Kiwis win but can you see it going anywhere else?

  • 80.
  • At 03:27 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Mark Chalmers wrote:

For post no 26, my best newcomer 15 would be the following, with gaps in a few positions where there were no stand out new comers that come to mind:

1.
2. R Best
3. E Murray
4. L Nallet
5. A Wyn Jones
6.
7. T Rees
8. D Callum
9. P Mignoni
10. J Hook
11.
12. D Skrela
13. R Dewey
14. D Strettle
15.

While Hook played most of his games at 12 and Skrela was France's 10 I feel that if they were to fit into the same 15 they would be better switching.

  • 81.
  • At 03:39 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • emerald star wrote:

ed2003 spot on with most of your comments.. it really is annoyong that ireland are now being criticised for some admittedly below par performances. however we won the matches except for the france which believe me hurts! however at least ireland are consistently winning as opposed to teams playing well one week and then losing the next match! i agree ireland need to play much better rugby but to be honest i'm not that worried. france deserved the championship but we ended up with same amount of points as them and they also lost a match!not much between us really. also i reckon england can only improve with time.

  • 82.
  • At 04:07 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Kelly Jones wrote:

As Long As We Beat The English

We don't wanna be your enemy,
But when we're on the field,
It's red, white and green,

Get beat by the Irish,
Get beat by the Scots,
The French ought'ta struggle,
But you're the one we want,
We want...

As long as we beat the English,
As long as we beat the English,
As long as we beat the English,

we don't care

As long as we beat the English,
As long as we beat the English,
As long as we beat the English,

we don't care

We don't care

  • 83.
  • At 04:21 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Liam wrote:

No 67 - De Marigny Try was clearly double movement. You are allowed to make one movement in any direction when you are grounded his first movement did not make the tryline and thus his second amounted to holding on. When you are floored by tackle you must release the ball. No. Anyway it is irrelevant France may have gone for it even more. THere is no doubt that Ireland lost the championship - the French did not win it. They were lucky to beat Ireland, they were pump against england and even against Wales they were poor.

  • 84.
  • At 04:35 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • neyster wrote:

Ref:- Ed2003

If Di Maringy was already touching the line after his 'first stretch' why bother stretching again?

How could the referee see a good grounding if every possible tv angle going didn't show one? The referee asked the wrong question. Therefore, it was the wrong decision all round.

  • 85.
  • At 04:51 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Hugo wrote:

Strange as it may seem, as a french supporter, I'm left frustrated by this tournament. No NH team is likely to trouble the All Blacks, not even the brave irish.

Scoland's squad is far too limited to threaten any serious opponent for more than 15 mn.

Italy has eventually reached standards worthy of the tournament, after being almost everyone's punching ball over the past years. Berbizier surely deserves some praise for this achievement.

Wales has indeed a real potential, far superior to their results this year, and might just be the surprise team next autumn, but I can't see them get past the semi-finals.

England has improved, but they were so abysmal last autumn that they couldn't possibly get any worse, could they ?. Strettle is a real find, let him confirm before we call him a genius, and Ellis is a world class scrum-half (but name a top 10 team who hasn't got a world class scum-half, even Scotland has Cusiter...) Their win against France was promising, but France produced on that day such a miserable display that I'm pretty sure many other teams would have beaten us fair and square. And I simply cannot believe that England's success rests on Mike Catt...

Ireland are often a joy to watch, they are on the verge of stealing the word "flair" from the french, they have a strong mobile pack and are definitely a contender to play a major role in the world cup...but they have a major weakness : they depend far too much on BOD, O'Gara and Stringer. Another problem is obviously that they'll have to beat both France and Argentina to avoid NZ , and that's a high mountain to climb.

Last but not least, France, remains as ever an enigma. They seem to have in their DNA the gene of inconsistency and you never know which side will show up. Good news is that they can rely on a squad of around 30 top-level players, which means that no injury would be a major disaster (a main difference with Ireland) Mignoni and Clerc have shown true class, and with the return of the likes of Marconnet, Pelous, Martin, Nyanga, and Michalak (provided he brings his kicking boots), well I'm confident that on home soil, we can just beat anyone, that is but the big fast monsters in black....

  • 86.
  • At 05:13 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • rfan10est wrote:

This wasn't a bad blog until very recently, even funny at times, but I never realised the depth of losers out there when I hear the usual and boring references: 'paddies' and 'froggies' - borne out out of a deep frustration no doubt.
There's no such thing as Celtic nations vs. English.
Despite Ireland's obvious limitations, if you can't see them in Wales, you must have been following football for the last 20 years my friend.

  • 87.
  • At 05:34 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Charlie Hodgson wrote:

Do the England team forwards actualy practise catching a rugby ball? They are also way to slow.

England have Backs with great potential, just need to get the ball to them.Do not play Shaun Perry ever again & find an insperational Captain.
Funny how no one ever mentions Charlie Hodgson, he's great.

Ireland: great when firing on all cylinders & BOD not injured.Lack depth on bench.

Scotland: Need Jason White back.

France: Potential WC Winners

Italy: Good to see them getting better

Wales: Could do better, see me after!

  • 88.
  • At 06:03 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • philip wrote:

Catt ahead of Darcy for the Lions!!?? And just to show I'm not a one-eyed Irishman, if we are talking of a team of the tournament, I think Marty is worth the other centre spot ahead of O'Driscoll. Lets look beyond the reputations sometimes.

One other point: anyone, such as Mark Reason of the Sunday Telegraph, who can leave Wallace out of his team of the tournament needs to seek urgent medical help!!

  • 89.
  • At 06:10 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Alan wrote:

Although the championship did not go our way i still feel Ireland have to be proud of their acheivements. We needed a lot of points and decided we needed another try and paid the price but thats life, Ireland were positive and played well crucially under pressure which bodes well for the world cup as Irish teams in the past didn't seem to have the bottle for the fight, ie. france in the 2003 world cup. Roll on September, C'mon Ireland.

  • 90.
  • At 06:15 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • marsatmach wrote:

In answer to Jack Lawrence (post 2)

How can you say that Stephen Jones should retire??????

James Hook is a 10 and he plays his best rugby at 10 better than he plays at 12 in my opinion.

Stephen Jones is still a great outside half and is only 29 now we have 2 world class outside half's in the squad either of which could play at 12, with a world cup this year and a tour to Australia both players will be used and needed.

  • 91.
  • At 06:27 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Alaska Dave wrote:

Bring on the Blacks one of the NH teams will beat them I am sure in the WC,Munster for another Heineken Cup and Ireland for next years 6N,it was a great tournament for me ,listening far away ,refs will always make mistakes thats part of the game too. Long live rugby, best sport in the world by far , gotta put up with ice hockey and dog mushing here,its going to be a long six months til the WC.

  • 92.
  • At 06:32 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Dave wrote:

Re: 34 Howard Pothecary...

So thats what hardcore drugs do to you, you lose all sight of reality...I would say what i totally disagree with in your selection but i reckon it'd be far quicker to mention the few you have chosen with any kind of 'debatable' merit...Ibanez, Harinordoquy, O'Gara, Poitreanaud and possibly Robinson...Strettle is certainly one of the finds of the tournament but wasn't really given the chance to shine often enough


Dan 43 i think that team is just about spot on, good to see someone else has been watching the same sport! (though unsure about Paterson)


The centre partnership is the most laughable part of the selection!

Gotta say i don't think enough credits been handed to France's back 3, they have looked immense on the counter and were particularly lethal against Scotland, not giving them a moments rest...disagree with anyone saying no full back has done that well as Poitrenaud has been great and Dempsey has shown his class too

Player of tournament: David Wallace

Finds of tournament: Strettle, Dewey, Italian front line as a unit, the strength in depth of Ireland's back row and the amazingly swift French counter attack

Disasters of tournament: Perry, Stephen Jones, some dodgy umpiring and Scotland's lack of a half decent fly half (Paterson is ok but generally isn't being played there)

Whoever says Ireland have a weak bench take another look...Flannery (quality hooker), Neil Best (surely the most unlucky player of the tournament as would get into any other NH team), Andrew Trimble (fantastic player and great prospect), Malcolm O'Kelly (when fit)...I think Ireland's weakness lies in the props (even though they stood up quite well this tournament) and scrum-half (and i don't think Boss is the answer), everywhere else they look like a sound world class outfit...inconsistency has let ireland down this 6 nations but i reckon they could put in some good performances in the WC and don't think they would get completely battered by NZ if they were to play them

  • 93.
  • At 06:43 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Richard P wrote:

Why do so many people have it in for Mathew Tait? Granted his attacks may have been limited against Wales, but you can only do so much when you don't have the ball. On the other hand his cover tackling was superb, and he saved England single-handedly on several occasions. He has got to be a better bet than the old trundler Tindall.

  • 94.
  • At 06:53 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Dave wrote:

Sorry meant to say the centre partnership is the most laughable part of Howard Pothecary's selection, not Dan's...

  • 95.
  • At 06:59 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • swanexile wrote:

For those saying England should move Corry to Prop - get a life! Do you know anything about rugby? Prop is a very technical position and no way can you simply move a no 8 to prop!

I was pretty impressed he managed to move to the second row though to be honest.

  • 96.
  • At 07:00 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Egbert wrote:

Darren (#77) - AT LAST SOMEONE SPEAKS SENSE!
I agree too with your suggestion of Troncon, undoubtedly the find of the tournament, give him a world cup or two and he could be deadly!
Jim from Croydon (#78), it sounds as though you would also agree with using Correy as a dynamic and menacing power-house in the centres! He's a surprisingly versatile player as shown by his seamless move into the boiler house.

I think you'll all agree too that Peiter Devilliers is the French unsung hero, his viscious scrummaging skills are the main reason they are the 5 Nations winners (again), and will be instrumental in bringing them the World cup next year. It's a shame he can't be involved in our Lions 1XV (yet)

My 6 Nations line up:

1 DeVilliers
2 Chuter/Ibanez
3 Correy
4 Murray
5 O'Connell
6 Hill
7 Cheval
8 Wallace
9 Troncon
10 Hook
11 Strettle
12 Dewey
13 D'Arcy
14 Patterson
15 Lewsey

  • 97.
  • At 07:11 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • hawkiliam wrote:

Never before have a seen a team so roundly praised after having 51 points scored against them...
and to top it the team that did is over hyped - get a grip

  • 98.
  • At 07:21 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • J McVicker wrote:

As an Ireland supporter I am Slightly disapointed about the fact that As pre tournament favourites we just failed to produce the Goods. On the up side we have shown to be in quite good form going into the world cup with the backs in particular able to produce fantastic rugby from little openings.The WC pool maybe dosen't help but I believe that we can do better than a lot of pundits think. I feel that to be better in the future a few more players are going to have to learn a bit more leadership qualities, as Saturday showed some of the players didn't step up to the mark in time of importance.weaknesses in the front row are a major concern at the moment and possably 2 nd row. We have the best back row unit in the Northern Hemisphere and the back speak for themselves. Alhough I would put G Murphy in at centre iy D'Arcy or O'Driscoll get injured as S Horgan just hasn't got the hands.
Team of the 6 Nations.
15- Dempsey ( postional sense and
angles superb)
14- Clerc ( good runner always looking to run)
13-o'Driscoll ( great defense as well as attacking)
12-D'Arcy ( great of every foot side stepping and always breaks the gain line)
11-S Williams ( speedy and elusive)
10- O'Gara ( great controller and amongst thr try's this season)
9- D Peel ( best in the world )
8- Leamy (fittest backrow forward in the 6N always willing to carry the ball
7-D Wallace ( player of the tournament)
6-S Easterby ( best blind side does a lot of the dirty hard graft well)
5-P O'Connell ( Talisman and great leader
4- Wyn-Jones ( Fantastic athlete and line out jumper
3- Nieto (best scrummager around )
2- Ibanez (Great in the loose)
1- Milloud ( Fantasic player)

  • 99.
  • At 07:32 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • George Sumsion wrote:

I Agree with item 60. The standard of the officials was not up to the quality of the tournament.Despite the modern technology in use, the teams and spectators have to put up with officials who are only yards away from incidents fail to see them ! As for the most basic rule of rugby, forward passes, we saw many missed forward passes and the whistle blown for passes that were absolutely legal.It's time for the governing bodies to revue what's going on.

  • 100.
  • At 08:02 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • chuck wrote:

95 - egbert. you're having a laugh right? corry playing prop? I know he moved from back row to second but think that might be step too far...

who's cheval?

hill? hill who? Richard Hill? lord tell me you're taking the mick here.

WILL PEOPLE STOP PICKING JAMES HOOK AS THE BEST NUMBER 10 THIS YEAR? He played one and a bit games there! yes he played well but O'Gara was far superior I cannot stress that enough! Joint top try scorer, top points scorer, 7 points off record in a season. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL?!

Dewey ahead of O'Driscoll? Heaven's above...

Lewsey? LEWSEY??? In case you hadn't noticed he was DROPPED!!! Shame because he is good but things just didn't go his way... Paterson has a great boot on him but other than that he was poor and offered little.

I swear the majority of people here didn't watch the whole thing?

  • 101.
  • At 08:09 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • coops18 wrote:

Someone please tell me what Peel has done this 6 nations? NOTHING.

People wanted Philips in as he offers a more dynamic game. Ellis was excellent against Scotland, France and Wales, and was solid against Italy and Ireland. He falls just behind Mignioni for me, with Troncon behind him and Peel below that.

This natural bias against Ellis has blinded people from seeing three very good performances.

  • 102.
  • At 08:30 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Chopper wrote:

What are you talking about?

Clearly Troncon had the most influence on any team in the tournament and was head and shoulders above the rest. Peel a good player but has to learn how to win games for his country as above.

No England players in your teams!! But you pick players fromn the lower teams i.e. Wales and Scotland. Get a life.

Robinson, Strettle outstanding - when got the ball. As was DOminici

Otherwise, Martyn Williams unbelievable - close on the best 7 in the world.

Patterson - good at kicks but sadly exposed for lack of pace when breaks were made.

Ibanez - played out of his skin - a true captain

D'Arcy - wow - showed what he could do when allowed to go for it - never seen him in that light before.

other centre Jauzion

French second rows?

no 8? Leamy

Italian props

Stand off - O'Gara - easy that one - did it all this year.

That leaves Full Back - that's the hardest because Poitrinaud was shcoking for 90% and awesome for 10% - is that enough. Not a lot of competition I guess i.e. no Blanco, Irvine etc. perhaps there never will be.

Last spanner - that double movement was a tripple - watch the slow mo - kicks the legs before goes for the line..........


  • 103.
  • At 08:36 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Egbert wrote:

Chuck
I don't see your team, perhaps provide your own before criticising others.

Cheval is the long-haried French flanker who plays for Newcastle I think (did you not watch the French games?!)- he must be up there at the top of the top try scoring list for a forward - tries win games!

As for Richard Hill - if you compare the games that we (England) have won or lost when Hill is playing, you'll no doubt see that we always win when Hill is playing - WC 2003 for example!

I do agree O'Driscoll is awesome and it was a really tough call, but I just don't think he had as good a tournament as Dewey who looked dangerous whenever he touched the ball from the games I saw. #50 and #80 also seem to agree.

Regarding Correy, I just feel he has proved his versatility and could be considered for other positions in the pack

  • 104.
  • At 09:11 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • jonnyC wrote:

All the teams are very interesting and everyone has merits. The big question would be however..

How many of these guys would get in the All Black team?!

Sorry, Just to clarify, I meant the All Black 1st team

I think O'Driscoll and um.. O'Driscoll?!

  • 105.
  • At 09:23 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • JonnyC wrote:

In response to 78

Best Coach - Brian Ashton??!

Who are you kidding? Did you forget a certain Pierre Berbizier?

1/100th of the resources of Mr Ashton.

Did good old Brian not reside over the worst English defeat to Ireland in History?

Some season he has had.

Funnily enough, he also resided over the worst Irish defeat by England when in charge of Ireland!

So coach of the season, Ashton oh and Shane Williams to join corry in the front row.

  • 106.
  • At 09:34 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Peter L wrote:

99 chuck
I started to type and then read yours - best blog of the day!
103 honestly jonnyC if theres one for me its Darcy!
And if you want a second Easterby- made the Lions and keeping Neil Best out of the Irish team.
And if you want a third - Wallace.

  • 107.
  • At 09:35 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • handy-legend wrote:

To be honest, Darcy would have a better shout of getting in the All Blacks team than O'Driscoll at the moment on current form. Ellis would not be far off either!

France- overall the strongest side.
Ireland- I fear overrated(hope I'm wrong)
England -young and improving
Italy- battled well
Wales- good showing eventually
Scotland- boring and dull

Looking ahead, I desperately hope Ireland get off to a good start in the WC- I'm just worried about their group, France (in France) and Argentina- whom they lost to in 1999! They just can't be satified about the 2007 6N. Make no mistake - THIS WAS THEIR GRAND SLAM YEAR! They had a cracker jack of a chance ,having France and an inexperienced England side at home but they blew it! They shouldn't have even cared about the title with the whole points difference situation - the fact is they missed their opportunity and the Ultimate prize in NH Rugby, the GRAND SLAM. They should be devastated-I am. Ireland will forever be a nearly made it team team unless polish sides off (and not rely on O'Connel BOD, and O'gara).

  • 108.
  • At 10:18 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • munster all the way! wrote:

no 100 youre dead right. ellis is fantastic! i'm irish and have to say he was one of the few english to impress v ireland this year! ellis is definitely one to watch- as a munster fan it pains me to say this but he was outstanding for leicester agianst us. ellis is a jewel! theres been gushing about strettle and flood and geraghty but ellis is a real find!

  • 109.
  • At 10:26 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • jonnyc wrote:

I understand that Wallace and Easterby have had great seasons, but are you going to drop Collins or McCaw for them?

Ireland are a good side, i have to confess to being slightly disappointed in them this 6Nations. I thought the form they showed against Australia and South Africa was world class and they might challenge NZ in the world cup. However, the 6N indicates that this wont be the case.

  • 110.
  • At 10:34 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Dai Rally wrote:

15 Julian White
14 Duncan Jones
13 Colin Farrell (Andys irish film star bro)
12 Eddie Stobart(All over the place and always gets there)
11 Colin Mcrae
10 Tony Blair
9 My plumber (very fast service, hard to get hold of)
8 Shane Williams
7 Honk Kong Fooey (quicker than the human eye)
6 Vinny Jones (capt)
5 Stringer
4 Stringers smaller brother
3 Frankie Dettori
2 Madonna
1 Patterson (he does everything else for Scotland so Im sure hed make a good Prop also.)

So theres my lions team, bit silly I know, but easily more sensible than a lot of the teams on here so far.

There has been a lot of hostility on these blogs of late, dont understand it, banter and well placed comments are fine, but remember, there are English, Scots, Welsh and some Irish guys (not getting into N ireland/ S ireland here) fighting side by side around the Globe together. This is just sport, important yes, but not life or death.
Regards to all, we are the best fans in world sport I believe, lets not lose that.

  • 111.
  • At 10:52 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Top-Pundit wrote:

I have to say that the author of comment 16 is, im my opinion, deluded. Hook at 10? Perhaps if it was a development squad! Ronan O' Gara was hands down the outstanding 10. The only negative aspect of O'gara's game over the whole 5 matches was his kicking against Italy and this was due to the fact that along with the rest of the Irish team he was totally focused on running the ball. O'gara scored ugly and pretty and top the points list. In contrast to this Hook played at 12 for the first game and got a good schooling from the immense Gordon D'arcy. I find it difficult to justify the inclusion of Hook at No.10, the most influential and controlling position on the park, when all he could orchestrate was a single victory over the below-par England. While I recognise his undoutable talent his inclusion is warrantless. For Ireland I found D'arcy, Leamy, Wallace and O'Connell to be truly immense, I would extend that list to at least 8 but fear that would expose my bias. I took as always great pleasure in watching Shane Horgan he is so unique.
I'm with chuck (posting no.99) all the way, I think some people on this blog are exercising their more creative minds. 'Cheval' is the french word for horse and Chabal is the French No.8 who plays for Sale (not Newcastle Egbert No.102). France seemed to only get out of second gear against Scotland which is worrying for the rest of us but on the otherhand shows their lack of focus is still their achilles' heel.
England Strettle and Ellis apart were poor, if pushed further I could find positives with the youthful Flood and Geraghty, they coped well when given their chance.
Wales whom I usualy love to watch were uninspiring and Scotland despite getting the wooden spoon (which they should be slapped with for letting down their Celtic brothers) were better than the last two champioships. Ireland played all the rugby and were focus, aggressive and clinical in everything they went about bar that one lapse in concentration that allowed Vincent Clerc to scoot in. As much as I enjoy and respect him, John Hayes is not man you want out The backs defending wingers in second+ phase ball. Geordan Murphy as I always suspected might happen was found out against France. He is phisically and mentally found wanting and I fear his inclusion in the Irish World Cup squad as I think his personal disappointment may be slighty infectious.
Finally I think those who say Ireland without O'gara are useless are either unfamiliar or seriously underestimating Paddy Wallace.

  • 112.
  • At 10:59 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Dave wrote:

The one thing i have learnt from this 6 nations is tht egbert is either drunk, having a laugh or knows nothing about rugby! lol cheval...horses for courses indeed...

In response to chopper 101 with no England players in these teams i think Robinson would be unlucky not to be in a 6 Nations team but there have been many other quality wingers to choose from like Clerc, Dominici, Hickie, Horgan, Lamont, Strettle...Robinson i don't feel has stood out as much as some of these (maybe he hasn't been given the same opportunity)

Unfortunately as fantastically as Wallace has played i guarantee he still wouldn't get in the NZ team...unless McCaw gets a nasty injury! Reckon both D'Arcy and O'Driscoll would have a chance even against the imperious likes of Nonu, Mauger etc...O'Connell would be up there (though not on general 6 Nations form), possibly Mignoni on form shown this 6 Nations...as well as the wingers have played they would have no chance up against the quality of wingers at NZ's disposal, they'd be fighting to get in their 2nd team squad! Mealamu over Ibanez or Flannery (when fit) and most certainly over Chuter...don't really know the NZ props (or understand front row scrummaging generally tbh!) so maybe milloud in there? i dont know...

  • 113.
  • At 11:29 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Travis Miller wrote:

To Greg, post 57:

"Hook plays one decent game and gets voted best 10 of the tournament??? has everyone forgotton Wales lost all but one game?"

Hook only played half of any of the other 4 games - are you suggesting then that he won the Wales/England game alone? Cos you seem to be claiming he's not up to scratch?!

To Ian Churchill, post 59:

Brian Moore is often entertaining, but when he shouts "GO ON!" etc when england have overlap against Ireland he really is a joke, and shows far more absurd bias even than Eddie Butler or Andy Nicol, which is saying something. Having said that, I quite like the partisanship of the different countries' pundits/commentators, as it means there is a subtext of banter.

That is all.

  • 114.
  • At 11:30 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Chuck wrote:

102 - egbert. I am convinced you are now completely taking the biscuit. For what it's worth I've commented plenty about who shouldn't be in the team on the basis of some of these ludicrous selections - mine will follow at the end of this message.

Cheval - i guess you mean Chabal who plays for Sale and went missing against England, right? And was dropped after that. And didn't play against Wales.

Richard Hill didn't play in the tournament so you cannot include him? unless you are picking a random team of players from recent six nations? Which kind of strikes Chabal/Cheval off the list as he has rarely played for France.

The only scottish back I would consider picking is Lamont because he was the only one who looked dangerous. To say Dewey had a better tournament than O'Driscoll is nonsense.

Here is my team

15. Dempsey - Solid in defence, options in attack.
14. Clerc - dangerous on the ball and scored the try that arguably won France the tournament.
13. O'Driscoll - so important and made the best partnership in world rugby
12. D'Arcy - oozed class. give him an inch, he'll take a mile.
11. Hickie - old legs never showed, still got that pace and very good in defence.
10. O'Gara - joint top try scorer, top points scorer, top scored in every game he played in. no contest.
9. Mignoni - very impressive. proves size isn't everything.

8. Leamy - strong with ball in hand and great off base of the scrum.
7. Wallace - amazing talent. pace, strength, ball carrying, the lot.
6. Easterby - another underrated player. So important to Ireland - does so much unnoticed work.
5. O'Connell - perhaps has too high standards nowadays but when he plays well he plays VERY WELL
4. Bortolami - superb for italians, still so young too. great future.
3. Hayes - targeted as weak spot before six nations but proved nothing of the sort. great lifting, terrific in the loose and steady in the scrum
2. Ibanez - led the french team superbly and line out throwing was strong. top player.
1. Lo Cicero - another star of the Italian pack. scrummaging was great.

I feel a lot of people were picking players on the basis that France won the championship and couldn't think of anyone else - Milloud, Nallet, Poitreneud spring to mind. They played well, yes, but I feel the above selections were better. :P

Robinson almost scraped in - can't sniff at 4 tries - as did David Strettle, a great find. Wyn Jones was also great, would probably make the bench.

Probably a little/a lot biased the above team but I do think Ireland were the best team. They were switched off for 15 mins v France but managed to get back in to the lead and were it not for that 2minutes of madness, well, we all know but that's life.

Slate the above selections all you want but it's a hell of a lot better than having Hook at Fly Half, Paterson at Full Back and Martin blimmin Corry at Tighthead Prop for godsake!!

  • 115.
  • At 11:30 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Roy of the Rovers wrote:

110-Top Pundit and 99-Chuck, It seems you have an appreciation for the finer details of the game, well said fellas, although you should probaby lay off 102-Egbert as he's probably just a kid.

Here's a team for you!


15 Girvan Dempsey,
14 Shane Horgan,
13 Brian O'Driscoll,
12 Gordon D'Arcy,
11 Denis Hickie,
10 Ronan O'Gara,
9 Peter Stringer,
8 Denis Leamy,
7 David Wallace,
6 Simon Easterby,
5 Paul O'Connell,
4 Donncha O'Callaghan,
3 John Hayes,
2 Rory Best,
1 Marcus Horan,

I admit not alot of thought went into this one but I'm confident this team would beat any other posted so far.


  • 116.
  • At 11:55 PM on 19 Mar 2007,
  • Bobeto wrote:

obviously the idea of picking a team of the tournament is a bit dim as there were reserves of strength in some positions (openside flanker for example) and little quality in other places (fullback). my way of doing it: best players, in no particular order

Martyn Williams, Sergio Parisse, Sandro Troncon, Pierre Mignoni, Paul O'Connel, Gordon D'Arcy, Marco Bortolami, David Wallace, Alun Wyn Jones, David Skrela, Pieter de Villiers, Lionel Nallet, Cristophe Dominici, Dennis Hickie, Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Mauro Bergamasco, Martin Castrogiovanni, Andrea lo Cicero, Alix Popham, Chris Patterson, David Strettle, Rafael Ibanez,
a team from that?

MC
RI
AlC
LN
PoC
AP
DW
SP
AT
RoG
CD
GD
BoD
DS
DH

(??)
PdV
AWJ
SP
PM
DS
CP

  • 117.
  • At 12:24 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Kellyizer wrote:

Aurora, Worsley? Are bloody joking?

  • 118.
  • At 01:12 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • liam meighan wrote:

#109
Well said Dai,
other than Roy of the Rovers 15, your team wins it for me and at least yours gave me a laugh. But your best part is surly that it is only sport, yes the best sport going (unless Dublin beat Kerry in the All Ireland Final)but sport none the less.
Some great blogs, and some spoilt children crying when someone disagrees with their ideal team.
Maybe if New Zealand (and who knows maybe they won't) win the World Cup, then maybe they could play a European 15. And I say a European 15, rather than a NH 15, otherwise the USA will want to join in!

  • 119.
  • At 05:41 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Mike wrote:

Perhaps you're right about Mr Wallace at number 7 but wasn't the real foot-shooting on Eddie O'Sullivan's part that he left his best back-row player, Best, on the bench for all 6 nations games? He was Ireland's player of the autumn internationals. Easterby is an experienced player but he's not World Class. I think had Best have started or come on earlier against the French, Ireland could have one that elusive Grand Slam!

  • 120.
  • At 08:42 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Charlie Bronze wrote:

Quickly: great championship and one of the best I've seen. The whole gamut of skills and excitement from excruciating to illuminating.

Brian Moore is the only commentator on the circuit (I know of) as widely admired by his southern hemisphere contemporaries as his northern. Intelligent, articulate and doesn't peddle in nationalistic nonsense like Butler or the Irish bunch.

To say that NZ won't be quaking in their boots by this 6N display is to forget that the All Blacks are famous for their choking on the biggest stage. I defy any team to resist a full 80 minutes of the Welsh onslaught that England had to face. And anyway, silky skills can be quickly reduced to rubble in the face of determined, Moore-ish, bloody-mindedness.

Can't wait for WC kick-off.

Come on England.

  • 121.
  • At 09:04 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Red Rose wrote:

I cannot believe the number of deluded irish fans on these forums. Despite being huge favourites yet again you failed and france won the tournament ! You have a good team who have been playing together for years and can therefore beat teams that are going through development similar to Ireland some years ago ! Unlike England you will not become World Champions and if Ireland were to play the All Blacks tomorrow there would be anyting up to a 20 point margin in my opinion !

  • 122.
  • At 09:07 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Jabba wrote:

Sorry to join the convo a bit late but all this talk of playing the "best 5 nations team" is absolutely ridiculous. What a surprise that everyone goes for all the flair players with no regard for the consequenses and lack of game structure.

Egbert great shout for Corry at 13 (although personally i'd play him at 15 for his tackling and gain line skills).... at last someone who realises that it's not all about long blond hair and gas.

for me the best 5 nations side would be one that refostered "up ya jumper rugby" once more.....let the boiler room boys get hold of things and roll on the unpretty hard yards.

On that "10 man" basis i think Troncon at 9 complimented by Dan "territory" Parks at 10 and i know its against the rules but bring back Kevin Maggs at 12 for that j'ne sais quoi that all 5 back lines were missing this time round! yet again injury robbs the sport!

Thats the spine of a side that will bring back silverware! FACT

jabba.

  • 123.
  • At 09:24 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Brian Moore wrote:

This is my team of the six nations-;

Patterson
S.Williams
Tindall
Dewey
Lamont
Hook
Troncone
Rees
Worsely
Taylor
Corry
Bortalami
Vickery
Best
Horsman

As you see this is a pisstake from the rubbish i just read. Eacj of these were included. Now look at my list and realise how terrible this team actually is. Anyone who can say that Hook will go forward with this pack is havin a laugh!

  • 124.
  • At 09:25 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Ross wrote:

JUst wondering what anybody else thought about this.....
In the autumn series of internationals - Ireland had a blindside flanker named Neil Best who raised eyebrows with his hard hitting no nonsense attitude. He quite rightly was man of the match against the aussies at Lansdowne and was hailed by rugby pundits all over the world as one of the best in the world! Roll on to the six nations..... Less than 6 months later, the same player is still doing the same thing, his last match for his club - he was named man of the match, yet if youu care to count the minutes he spent on the pitch in the 6N, you might be surprised to find that "one of the best in the world" spent only 23 mins total on the pitches and all as pointless time wasting substitutions...
Any comments?

  • 125.
  • At 09:29 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Humps wrote:

Re 99 - Chuck

I actually agree with Edger's selection of Dewey ahead of O'Driscoll,

May be a bit controversial... but i just don't get what all the hype about O'Driscoll is. Is he truely a world class player or even international standard for that matter. For me he had a poor tournament (again) and it is only the world class players around him like Horgan, Hickie and O'Gara that have ever made him look good. Can anyone honestly give me an example of O'Driscoll actually creating something off his own back without being handed it on a plate? I agree he has had the odd good game for Leinster but is he really international standard... i am not convinced.

I reckon if you put him in a poor team like Scotland (come on guys you did come last) he would fail to shine and there would be none of this rubbish about O'Driscoll being world class. He is a good club player and thats it!

  • 126.
  • At 09:39 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Damien O'Carroll wrote:

I think that Jonny Wilko should be moved to play hooker. He cannot play fly half. all he can do is kick Who agrees. By the way IRELAND RULE

  • 127.
  • At 09:56 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Spooner wrote:

109 Dai, well said!
I don't understand why all these toys are being thrown out of prams either, even the obvious wind-ups are setting people off on one.
I also agree with others who say that picking a 6N squad is easier and probably more sensible than a team.
The following observations are limited, don't get Sky so don't know the "form" players in the various leagues.
Very mixed bag though, this 6N, Ireland have the best 1st XV, maybe even 22 but they may need more than that in September - injuries happen. They are perhaps a little over-reliant on one or two key players (as England were in 2003, what happened next?).
Not sure about France, probably the strongest squad but where's the old spark gone?
Italy, great strides forward but they do need a bit of class and pace out wide, or they won't continue to progress.
Wales, Hook does seem to exude class, but let's wait and see. Team great against England but even then, the individuals played better than the team, otherwise they would have won by 20+.
Scotland, primarily, need a 10 - does Paterson play 10 week in, week out? A few good players but not much depth there. It's a worry.
England need to dispel any thoughts about retaining the WC, persevere with the younger lads (why has Tait been given all this flak?) and maybe scour Her Majesty's Prisons for some nasty forwards.
Would love another Northern Hemisphere win, but can't see it.
Bon courage.

  • 128.
  • At 10:27 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Egbert wrote:

**********************************
Chaps apologies for spelling Chabal wrong, I guess it's his thundering runs and long hair that remind me of a horse.

Back to more important things like the WC. I think this year it will be a battle with the NH, I feel this 6N has been a real battle and will only help all the NH teams beat the SH for once. So happy BA is now there for Eng, so much better than AR and on par with the IQ of SCW.

COME on NH! Lets show the SH what we're all about in this WC! COME ON Eng and the BA army, come on JR, JL, JW, LD, RH & MC (prop).

BTW, Roy of the Rovers #114, I was a kid one day, not anymore unfort, but I do know my rugby - I used to play mini rugby with Bill Beaumont!

  • 129.
  • At 10:39 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Philip wrote:

For what it's worth, my team would be as follows:

15 Girvan Dempsey - Good in defence and attack.
14 David Strettle - A real find who shone on the few times he got the ball. Pity England didn't get him it often enough.
13 Brian O'Driscoll - Not always up to his usual standards, but still consistently better than most this year. The loss of his leadership hindered Ireland at crucial times in the tournament.
12 Gordon D'Arcy - Possibly the best player in the tournament this year. Always dangerous.
11 Shane Horgan - Has improved a lot over the last few years, had a good tournament.
10 Ronan O'Gara - I've never really rated him, always thought him just a kicker, and wouldn't normally even have him in the Ireland team. Played really well this year though, so is there on merit.
9 Pierre Mignoni - Just played well, consistently.
8 Sergio Parisse - Usually where a number 8 should be, either in the ruck or waiting for ball beside it. Excellent.
7 David Wallace - Superb. Contender for player of the tournament, and certainly the forward of the tournament.
6 Simon Easterby - Very good, consistently.
5 Paul O'Connell - Wasn't up to his usual very high standards for the entire tournament, but even then was still good enough.
4 Marco Bortolami - The best 2nd row in the tournament.
3 Pieter de Villiers - Great scrummager, surprisingly quick on the wing!
2 Raphael Ibanez - Better than all other contenders.
1 Martin Castrogiovanni - Unfortunate injury, looked good before then.

Replacements:

Andrea Lo Cicero - More than adequate cover for either side of the scrum.
Mauro Bergamasco - Unlucky to be up against Wallace for inclusion (as is Martyn Williams) but great player, both as flanker and back.
Jason Robinson - I always feel he's too slow after the first 10yds, but as an impact player against tiring opposition... 4 tries this year also speak loudly.
David Skrela - France finally have a good solid fly half. Didn't really do anything wrong, but O'Gara just too impressive this year.
Sean Lamont - Best Scots player, always looking to attack, good in defence.
Rory Best - Solid hooking, good around field.
Mike Blair - good for the entire time he was on the pitch, which no other scrum half (Mignoni excepted) can say.

The reason there aren't any Welsh or Scots in the team is I don't think any deserved a place in the starting XV. If this offends national pride, sorry, but there were better players in every position. Alun Wyn Jones did play well, and Chris Patterson was consistent as ever, but neither were quite good enough.

  • 130.
  • At 10:39 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Mac Eddey wrote:

The best team won, no doubt. If anyone is going to stop the Southern Hemisphere teams at the WC it will be France; they are the only side with the combination of grunt up front and gas behind that can do the job. Sorry, Irish fans, I don't think your pack is up to the job and Stringer will get mangled behind a retreating eight.

England are getting thoroughly unpredicatable and could get to the semis on a good day or go out in the group stages on a bad. Wales will have to raise their game and keep it up there - something they haven't managed in thirty years. Sorry, Scotland, no chance at all. Italy will give anyone a game up front and would be serious contenders if they had a set of backs. I'm expecting a France/NZ final. Anything could happen on the day but I hope for a French win.

  • 131.
  • At 10:50 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Rhodri Williams wrote:

Post 128.

Gd team- I thought Harry Ellis had a very gd tournament, he prooved wrong his doubters. Not sure you meant to put in Blair who was injured! I would probably have Clerc somewhere round there as well! From a bias Welsh perspective, Wyn Jones and Poppam i thought deserved a shout. Very physical and caused the opposition problems on a indivdual level. Shanklin might also make your bench...

  • 132.
  • At 11:10 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • LLcoolJason wrote:

Ireland & France were light years ahead of the rest but both still have tweaking before world cup but can see one of them get to the WC final. Where as the rest are in real disarray with their prep fo WC. Wales on day with right balance can cause teams major probs, England don't have the forwards to beat the top teams, Scotland need there best XV to do anything and can't afford injuries to key players like white, hogg and blair. Italy are getting better but now have to work ona plan B for tactics. They should all aim for at least QF.

  • 133.
  • At 11:13 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Chuck wrote:

124 - I am in a pure state of shock that you have just said that and am convinced you are just winding me up.

Take a straw poll of people who know anything about Rugby and ask them if they think O'Driscoll is world class, I think you'll find you'd be in the minority.

There is no point arguing with you because there is no argument. You are clearly out of your mind.


  • 134.
  • At 11:15 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Charlie Hodgson wrote:

Whys eveyone forgotton about Charlie Hodgson? Best fly half England ever had.

  • 135.
  • At 11:21 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Eamon wrote:

Why all the hype about Catt ? He had one good run where he chipped the ball forward when he ran out of ideas and got a very lucky bounce for the try. Otherwise he was ponderous, slow and looked out of his depth. Andy Farrell is a much better option at 12.

  • 136.
  • At 11:27 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Allan in the Middle East wrote:

The quality and diversity of the comments following this article clearly highlights its thought provoking content. We all have our views on the good, the bad and the ugly moments of the tournament but for me the horror story has been the standard of the refereeing which left much to be desired. There seemed to be a terrible lack of "teamwork" between the onfield officials and an awful "bottling it" by refs passing seemingly simple decisions to the video official. I only hope that the IRB get it right for the RWC.

  • 137.
  • At 11:29 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • LLcoolJason wrote:

brian moore is a joke. For the BBC to let this biased moron onto our television to support England courtesy of our license fee is disgraceful. However, it is entertaining when they get beat which is a regular occurence these days e.g. When Boss intercepted a pass for a try his girlish scream still makes me laugh.

  • 138.
  • At 11:39 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • emerald star wrote:

humps if o driscoll was englsih scottish or welsh he'd walk into their first team! graham henry has also daid that he along with o gara o connell and leamy would be in the nz team if they werw kiwis! enough said.

  • 139.
  • At 11:40 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • emerald star wrote:

humps if o driscoll was englsih scottish or welsh he'd walk into their first team! graham henry has also said that he along with o gara o connell and leamy would be in the nz team if they werw kiwis! enough said.

  • 140.
  • At 11:41 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • jabba wrote:

ref 109 mac - i fail to see how you can say the best team won when they were so severely ripped apart by the scots who i feel were VERY unlucky to lose.

At no stage at all did they look like handling Pattersons power at 15, or indeed Deweys quick feet.

I think on another day the scots would have put a cricket score past them and indeed should have won the whole tournament, had Ford, Kerr and Hines found 6th gear.....

all of this and i'm welsh - i just feel we have to be more REAL about this and less BIASED....

let me guess Mac, just an outside one, Parler Francais??

  • 141.
  • At 11:49 AM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Mac Eddey wrote:

"At 11:39 AM on 20 Mar 2007, emerald star wrote:
humps if o driscoll was englsih scottish or welsh he'd walk into their first team! graham henry has also daid that he along with o gara o connell and leamy would be in the nz team if they werw kiwis! enough said."

O'Gara for Dan Carter, Yeah, Right. And I bet he'd pick Andy Farrell at inside centre.

  • 142.
  • At 12:02 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Humps wrote:

What does everyone think about moving Stringer to inside centre?
And before you say it i know he is small but he is deceptively strong. I think his vision and pass may provided the likes of Horgan and Hickie with space to use their pace. A frightening prospect!

  • 143.
  • At 12:03 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • munster all the way wrote:

the scots did play well against the french for certain periods in the match but at no stage were they ever going to rip france apart!i was hoping the scots would cause an upset but to be honest the french got in gear in the 2nd half and took out their frustrations after the england game on the poor scots! no offence jabba!

  • 144.
  • At 12:08 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Philip wrote:

Rhodri, Post 130

I agree that I didn't mean Mike Blair, I meant Mike Phillips! Oops. Although, on further consideration I would have had Alessandro Troncon on the bench, he played very well. Alix Popham played well, but I feel that Parisse was much better, and Denis Leamy also played well, so Popham misses the call. The same with Vincent Clerc, he played well, took his chances, just there were others who shaded it.

Who would everyone have liked to see more of during the tournament?

For me, Mike Phillips, Nick Easter, Isaac Boss and Neil Best immediately spring to mind.

  • 145.
  • At 12:14 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Chuck wrote:

By the way Egbert, when you say post 50, I think you meant 49... (the post numbers seem to go out of sync) and 50 mentions the fact that Ireland are at sea when BOD isn't in the team.

Post 49 does have Dewey in his back division. You'll also notice that this is a scotsman given his idea on a Scottish backline. Wouldn't expect O'Driscoll in that given he's Irish.

Post 80 is a 'newcomer' squad. O'Driscoll made his debut in the 2000 six nations.

Man alive, has Jeremy Beadle hijacked this Blog?!

  • 146.
  • At 12:14 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Rhodri Williams wrote:

haha i dont think ive ever seen stringer pass from a movin position. its a totally different skill! ive heard seen some stupid posts on this blog but that takes the seabiscuit

  • 147.
  • At 12:15 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Mac Eddey wrote:

Jabba, decidedly English, I'm afraid. I failed to see the Scots rip the French apart as well - were you watching the same game and can you tell me the score? Once the Irish blew it against Italy despite the referee's best efforts on their behalf it was clear that the French would ensure they did enough to win the championship. Remember, they beat Ireland in Ireland by sheer self belief and keeping going - it's that which makes a great team. Don't bet against them for the World Cup. I wish I could say the same about England but I've been consistent in all my posts on that subject - we should have started rebuilding four years ago - not four weeks.

  • 148.
  • At 12:20 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • DDog wrote:

regarding post 18 - luck is part of the game (but hopefully evens itself out in the long-run you could claim Ireland were lucky to be in the position to challenge for the title - stronger reffing in the Welsh game could could have resulted in a loss and a 1-point win against Scotland!) as to France's try the ref asked the 4th official if he could give any reason NOT to give the try as the ref said he had seen the grounding.

  • 149.
  • At 12:24 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Wise old owl wrote:

Charlie 133!!

Sorry mate but you could not even tackle my Granny!!!!

  • 150.
  • At 12:34 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • Lee wrote:

Is Hook world Class? Or did he just have a good game against England? No doubting he's a talent but is he a similar talent to the now invisible Gavin Henson (even if he was fit). Let's hope not for the sake of Welsh Rugby.
Tait is not world class. He's handy to have on the bench becuase he changes the focus of a game. Deacon isn't even Premiership class in my opinion, a total plodder.
Flood has got something, not sure what but I think he's one to watch.
Rees and Strettle will have long futures with England and Gerraghty will be up there too if he can get to grips with kicking a ball.

  • 151.
  • At 12:34 PM on 20 Mar 2007,
  • munster all the way wrote:

mac edey- those were graham henry's comments in an interview! and yes he probably would as new zealand have a huge squad and part of their brilliance is the fact they have more than one player for each position.