6 Nations

[Dod101]

So Scotland retain the Calcutta Cup after a thrilling edge of seat game. Well done Scotland.

Dod

[Will2pass]

So Scotland retain the Calcutta Cup after a thrilling edge of seat game. Well done Scotland.

Dod

Yep well done Scotland, as usual they gave it 100% against 'the old enemy'.

Unfortunately that will be the highlight and 4th place will probably be how they finish.
If they could sort out the mentality that this competition is called the Six Nations and not just the Calcutta Cup then they could regularly get amongst it.

[Laughton]

Unfortunately that will be the highlight and 4th place will probably be how they finish.

Not sure about that - I can see them being able to win at least two more matches (Italy and Wales). I guess "bonus points" will play a part but 3 wins should get them a bit better than 4th, shouldn't it?

Discl. I'm not Scottish.

[terminal7]

There was an element of England losing the match rather then Scotland winning. 2 self-inflicted disastrous calls - taking Smith off and off course the Cowan-Dickie idiocy turned this match. At this level it was beyond me why Jones takes off Smith - who was having a blinder and showed no signs of tiring. As for C-D - inexcusable why he didn't try to catch the ball.

T7

Then getting Marler to take the line-outs - that was also a poor choice - whose call?

[MaraMan]

I tend to agree with Terminal 7, it was a great match but England should have won it with the territorial domination they had for most of it. Having said that Scotland took their chances, few that they had, and so well done them. I too think they could finish 2nd or 3rd this year which is a great job considering.

Why Smith was taken off and why they didn't kick their final penalty I can't fathom, but Cowan-Dickie just made a mistake which carried a heavy penalty, other than that he played very well I thought.

The subjectivity in the way rugby rules are interpreted by the referee(s) once again determines the outcome of a match (regarding the scrum particularly).

MM

[servodude]

rugby rules

Rules? They were laws last time I looked (perhaps they can borrow some new ones from volleyball)

I have no idea why Smith was taken off - but I'm glad it happened
- if you're looking for a nailbiting finish - that was it

- sd

[terminal7]

I note some commentators are stating that there was no way the ref was going to award a penalty to England during the red zone for the collapsing scrums - but also saying that anmy any other time a penalty would have been awarded. Also mentioned that if this had been an empty stadium - a penalty would probably been awarded!

Surely penalising (or not) a transgression should be constant at anytime during a match?

T7

[didds]

Argentina? Who have the same best-of-the-rest problem in the Southern Hemisphere. Maybe we need a global second division. Fiji? Tonga?

Gryff

I dont disgaree, but I suspect the issue there is a mixture of

* somebody has to pay for substant5ial global travel to incorporate eg Fiji, Samoa, USA, Japan, Uruguay, Georgia, Namibia etc (or whoever - these are just examples). ie nations form pretty much every continent
* there probably isn't much ticket sales revenue available (CF developed nations incomes v developing nations incomes)
* ability of natioinal squads to train together as their players also tend to be globally diversified following their own individual pro careers in Aus, NZ, Europe especially

[didds]

There was an element of England losing the match rather then Scotland winning. 2 self-inflicted disastrous calls - taking Smith off and off course the Cowan-Dickie idiocy turned this match. At this level it was beyond me why Jones takes off Smith - who was having a blinder and showed no signs of tiring. As for C-D - inexcusable why he didn't try to catch the ball.

T7

Then getting Marler to take the line-outs - that was also a poor choice - whose call?

LC-D. Brain fart (this isnt an attempt to excuse him). If beaten at least allow the scot to catch then tackle him into the corner. 5 point try, and missable conversion versus 7 point PT.

Marler lineout - it wasn't the throw that was the issue - it was the catcher (Dombrandt?) taking the ball inside the 5m line. the throw would have gone 5m.

Smith - I have no issue either way. Seems some say MS was tired, others say not. I can easily see the reasoning for Ford with all that experience to see out the game. One thing for sure - England didn't lose because Ford was playing instead of smith.

WRT LCD being off and thye Marler throwing etc. There as an option to sub George on for eg a back row for 4 minutes and then he could throw. Not unhappy either way but it was an option not taken. In himdsight of course that lineout led to a scots scrum form which the winning PK was won by Scotland.

hetyy ho.

Pressure off England for the slam and probably the championship

Thats Scotland 3 wins form the alst 5 Calcutta games now, and a draw after leading with a minute to go...

[didds]

Surely penalising (or not) a transgression should be constant at anytime during a match?

T7

one would hope so. But its clear that that isnt always the case, at least at the pro end 9and not just internationals)

[terminal7]

Unsurprisingly the bubble quickly burst and Scotland failed to beat a workmanlike Welsh side. As discussed earlier England rather lost the Calcutta Cup than Scotland winning it. With Russell having a very poor match the team failed to function. Hogg should have been shown a yellow card for intentional knock on and as usual failed to show real leadership with the constant whining at the ref instead of inspiring his team. I am sure this approach backfires during the course of a game.

Nevertheless the game was exciting despite the absence of many classic moves and after last week kept me on the edge of my Welsh seat.

Taffy7

[Dod101]

Unsurprisingly the bubble quickly burst and Scotland failed to beat a workmanlike Welsh side. As discussed earlier England rather lost the Calcutta Cup than Scotland winning it. With Russell having a very poor match the team failed to function. Hogg should have been shown a yellow card for intentional knock on and as usual failed to show real leadership with the constant whining at the ref instead of inspiring his team. I am sure this approach backfires during the course of a game.

Nevertheless the game was exciting despite the absence of many classic moves and after last week kept me on the edge of my Welsh seat.

Taffy7

Well you could say today that Scotland lost this game rather than Wales winning it but obviously, being Welsh I assume, you would not say that.

Dod

[terminal7]

Unsurprisingly the bubble quickly burst and Scotland failed to beat a workmanlike Welsh side. As discussed earlier England rather lost the Calcutta Cup than Scotland winning it. With Russell having a very poor match the team failed to function. Hogg should have been shown a yellow card for intentional knock on and as usual failed to show real leadership with the constant whining at the ref instead of inspiring his team. I am sure this approach backfires during the course of a game.

Nevertheless the game was exciting despite the absence of many classic moves and after last week kept me on the edge of my Welsh seat.

Taffy7

Well you could say today that Scotland lost this game rather than Wales winning it but obviously, being Welsh I assume, you would not say that.

Dod

Au contraire - totally agree with you.

T7

[Rhyd6]

So do I and I'm Welsh. Since the decision to use only players who play for Welsh clubs (I think I've got that right) I'm surprised we managed to put up a reasonable show against Scotland.

R6

[terminal7]

We are now in for a fallow week so good time for a quick re-assessment of the first 2 weeks. Now crowds are back the atmosphere and support for the home teams are exceptional and are 'worth' 3 points. Excluding Italy - all games have been home wins. Three encounters were extremely close and you could hear/see the home players being uplifted in the final quarter. Interestingly the next 2 games give England home games whilst for France away games. I believe that England will win both games and France will possibly lose one of their games against Wales or Scotland. It looks like it is heading for a showdown in Paris where the winner takes all. Hence a little punting advice - you can bet England to win the 6 Nations at 6.6 on Betfair (I have not checked the price with the bookies). This seems a cracking bet for if the results lead to a shoot out in Paris England will be down to around 2.3 - providing a wonderful arbitrage. I know a lot of ifs and buts - however France started poorly against Italy and allowed Ireland back into the game. I am not convinced they will stay the distance.

T7

[Leothebear]

France are looking a bit tasty aren't they?

I didn't see the Eng-Wales match but I'm willing to bet England will look like stampeding cattle compared to the lithe skills that France seem to have in spades.

[Dod101]

France are looking a bit tasty aren't they?

I didn't see the Eng-Wales match but I'm willing to bet England will look like stampeding cattle compared to the lithe skills that France seem to have in spades.

France were on sparkling form and wiped out Scotland, I am sorry to say. On this form they should beat Wales and win the championship, a grand slam quite likely.

Dod

[simoan]

France are looking a bit tasty aren't they?

I didn't see the Eng-Wales match but I'm willing to bet England will look like stampeding cattle compared to the lithe skills that France seem to have in spades.

Lucky you! England and Wales are two bang average teams. Yes, they have some good individual players but when you watch England in particular, you just feel they could play for a month without an outside back scoring a try. If Elliot Daly is the answer at centre then Eddie Jones must’ve asked himself a very strange question.

[terminal7]

France - clearly a class apart from Scotland - though they were stretched by Ireland - not sure that it is a shoo in at Cardiff

Scotland - as mentioned previously I felt they were fortunate to win against England and showed their true colours against Wales - One of their best players - Hogg - is also a key reason they lose some matches - when he makes a mistake it tends to be a howler and possible game changer

Wales - despite being second best they could have beaten England - they seemed to lose virtually all the 50/50 bounces - gave away the most ridiculous try (though blatant interference not picked up by referee).

England - you have to keep asking with all that talent why are they not firing? If they get hammered by France, it maybe the end of Eddie.

I thought the officials had a poor game at Twickenham - as it happened it favoured neither team over the whole match.

T7

[TonyB]

Agree with most of the above. England, Scotland and Wales are 3 very average sides, all capable of winning games against one another but less so against Ireland and France, though France seem to go through periods in a game where they lose focus. I'm not sure either England or Wales are good enough to take advantage when that happens.

I don't understand England's inability to score when in the red zone where I think we are probably the least effective of the home nations and France. It was a poor decision from Lawes not to take the kick at goal from a close central position when 6- nil up and were fortunate to redeem that poor decision. Also whilst I think Lawes is one of England's better players, I'm not sure his engagement with the referee is sufficient.

As an England supporter, I'm increasingly concerned about Jones' inability to develop a playing style and his confused selection policy (Daly?) it's almost as if he makes selections hoping to chance on some winning combinations. Of course that might still happen but ...