Box office Feyi-Waboso and Garbisi’s redemption – Six Nations talking points
There were wins for Italy, England and France in an enthralling round four of the Guinness Six Nations that ensures there will be something at stake in all three final games of the tournament.
Here the PA news agency examines five things learned from the weekend.
A star is born
Other players may have had a bigger impact on England’s inspired upset of Ireland, but few brought Twickenham to its feet like Immanuel Feyi-Waboso with the ball in his hands. The Exeter wing is genuine box office and despite making only his first start after two replacement appearances, the 21-year-old showed he has the big game temperament to match his electric running skills.
Cardiff-born Feyi-Waboso opted for the Red Rose over Wales in January and it is to Steve Borthwick’s credit that he kept the medical student out of Warren Gatland’s hands and then fast tracked him into the side.
Mission impossible?
The reason why no team has won back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era was laid bare at Twickenham where Ireland’s expected procession to the greatest prize in European rugby ended in despair. Even a team of the quality of Andy Farrell’s men – who are quite possibly the best in the world despite South Africa retaining the World Cup last autumn – will meet insurmountable roadblocks in such a demanding tournament.
On Saturday it came in the shape of an England side whose game clicked into place, providing the ammunition to match their resolve after being taken apart by Scotland. Completing successive Grand Slams remains the Holy Grail in this hemisphere.
Garbisi’s redemption
No Italy player will have felt the joy and relief of a seismic victory over Scotland more than Paolo Garbisi. A fortnight after a bungling last-gasp penalty miss cost the Azzurri victory over France, his 73rd-minute kick proved the difference in a glorious 31-29 triumph at the Stadio Olimpico. Remarkably, once again the ball dropped off the tee for his first shot at goal against Scotland but this time he showed the composure to still nail the kick as well as refusing to let a later miss derail his game.
Italy have the precious victory their performances deserve and in Garbisi they field a classy playmaker who will surely be at the heart of more big days.
Riding the Scotland rollercoaster
It was classic Scotland – flatten England in style to propel them back into the title conversation only to then fall in Rome. Their extraordinary inconsistency extends from game to game and within matches themselves, as their near ruinous collapse against Wales in round one showed. Quite possibly the most complete side in the nation’s history is in danger of seeing their talent broken apart on the rocks of their ambivalent performances.
Time is running out for Gregor Townsend’s men to lift some silverware and the evidence from the Stadio Olimpico suggests that may well never happen.
Wooden spoon shootout
These are grim times for Wales who were overpowered 45-24 by France at the Principality Stadium to set up a wooden-spoon decider against Italy at the same venue on Saturday. And all the momentum is with the Azzurri having drawn with France in a game they should have won before stunning Scotland.
Wales have not finished bottom of the Six Nations since 2003 when Steve Hansen was in charge and their young players are undergoing a baptism of fire as they learn on the hoof what it means to play at Test level. Spirited but outclassed, it could get worse before it gets better.
Comments on RugbyPass
The better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances?
9 Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
4 Go to commentsCouple of things BS missed: wind was behind the Baby Blacks in the first half. Baby Boks got points from a scrum penalty in the final quarter against this ‘dominant pack’, and left three points on the park after a missed penalty.
9 Go to commentsSensible thoughts on this, Brett. Also worth considering we’ve sold 60k tickets for a game between the Rebels and the Lions next year. Got to be roughly $10m in ticket and game day revenue there.
5 Go to commentsUnsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
4 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
4 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
4 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
4 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
4 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
200 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
9 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
9 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
200 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
200 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
5 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
200 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
5 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
9 Go to comments