Five things we learned from Guinness Six Nations Round 1
Ireland, England and Scotland made winning starts to the Guinness Six Nations on a dramatic opening weekend that provided many twists and turns.
Here, the PA news agency examines five things we learned from round one.
England broaden their horizons
While a too-close-for-comfort victory over Italy hardly paints a flattering picture of their performance in Rome, tactically the game was a welcome change in direction for England.
True to the word of Steve Borthwick and Jamie George, their head coach and captain, greater ambition was shown in attack than at the World Cup.
Marauding wing Tommy Freeman roaming the Stadio Olimpico provided the most obvious evidence of a change in thinking, but the sight of scrum-half Alex Mitchell taking on defenders in a way not seen at a kick-heavy France 2023 was possibly more telling.
Italy’s near miss
Italy making an encouraging start to the Six Nations before falling away in the later rounds is a familiar theme, but in Rome there were many impressive moments from the tournament’s perennial strugglers.
Not only was it the smallest margin of defeat in their 31 Tests against England, but the inspired Azzurri were sharp in attack with Tommaso Allan’s first-half try brilliantly constructed and finished.
They led 17-14 at the interval and outscored England 3-2 on the try count and should march into round two with a renewed sense of purpose even if it is Ireland they face.
A star is born
What Ireland’s rivals would give to have their own ‘Big’ Joe McCarthy, the hulking second-row who laid waste to France’s pack in a remarkable victory in Marseille.
A man-of-the-match performance on his Six Nations debut was evidence of his nation’s depth at lock with even the outstanding James Ryan unable to force his way into the starting XV.
McCarthy’s physicality was a throwback to old school tight five forward play and he took on the role of enforcer by bossing the collisions and breakdown as well as carrying hard. Every team should have one.
Les Bleus in post-World Cup limbo
The question of how France would recover from the crushing disappointment of exiting their home World Cup in the quarter-finals was answered emphatically at the Stade Velodrome.
Their hangover from the tournament was most visible in a passive defence, which was breached easily by Ireland.
It could be a long Six Nations unless Fabien Galthie finds the right buttons to push psychologically as well as providing a new sense of purpose in the wake of their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity being snatched away by a one-point defeat by South Africa.
The great entertainers
Scotland feature heavily in the recent Netflix documentary on the Six Nations and they are undoubtedly box office, although not always for reasons they would appreciate.
From amassing a sensational 27-0 lead against Wales in swashbuckling fashion to almost falling victim to the greatest comeback in Championship history, they can dazzle and confound in equal measure.
And with magician fly-half Finn Russell – the self-anointed Lionel Messi of rugby – pulling the strings, you can not take your eyes off them.
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments