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Six Nations XV of Round 4
Despite the game between Ireland and Italy being called off, the fourth round of the Guinness Six Nations still offered up a veritable feast of international rugby in its two surviving fixtures.
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England got the ball rolling with an impressive 33-30 win over Wales at Twickenham, with the visitors surging late in that game to add some gloss to the score-line from their perspective. It then finished in dramatic fashion as France saw yellow and red and fell to a fired up Scotland, 28-17, at Murrayfield, as their Grand Slam hopes drifted away in a haze of indiscipline.
We have selected below our pick of performers from the 92 players involved in the past weekend of Six Nations rugby.
- Stuart Hogg, Scotland
Hogg’s best performance of the Six Nations so far this year, the full-back was incisive and his decision-making in attack led to composed and clinical Scottish tries. When Hogg plays well, a lot of Scotland’s attacking issues melt away around his influential contributions and that was as true as it has ever been on Sunday.
Continue reading below…
Watch: Alun Wyn Jones talks about the incident with Joe Marler at Twickenham
- Anthony Watson, England
The wing looked like he had never been away as he collected Ben Youngs’ inside pass and danced his way passed the Welsh defence and found his way to the try line. Watson also held up well defensively and showcased his excellent footwork on a couple more occasions at Twickenham on Saturday.
- Manu Tuilagi, England
For many this spot will go to Nick Tompkins, whilst some will give it to Virimi Vakatawa for a strong showing against the odds, but the influence Tuilagi had on England’s attack was highly impressive. His carries were constantly getting over the gain-line and giving Youngs quick ball with which to work, whilst his late red card, though fully deserved, had no tangible effect on the final result.
- Owen Farrell, England
Just the 15 points for Farrell, who was 100% with the boot against Wales at Twickenham. The England captain also stepped up defensively and with his playmaking as a ball-handler, helping propel his side to a position from which they were not going to lose the game, despite England’s defensive lapses in the dying minutes.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236675321849622529?s=20
- Sean Maitland, Scotland
A brace for Maitland, who clinically pounced after the interval and killed off France’s chances of springing an unlikely upset once they had been reduced to 14 men. He will have flashier games with the ball in hand, though he took his chances when they were presented and did a solid job of keeping Gaël Fickou quiet on his wing.
- Dan Biggar, Wales
Even though Wales struggled for front-foot ball and to achieve parity against the English pack, Biggar’s work from fly-half was eye-catching, despite the disadvantages he faced relative to his opposite number. With a heavily strapped knee, Biggar was still able to manufacture moments of attacking opportunity and there were not many players unluckier to be on a losing side this weekend than him.
- Ben Youngs, England
A very impactful outing from the oft-maligned Youngs, with the scrum-half’s box-kicking proving vital to England’s success at Twickenham. He seemed back to his old self with some trademark darts around the fringes, too, whilst his passing was accurate and helped lead to two first half tries for the hosts.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236696528594644993?s=20
- Rory Sutherland, Scotland
The Scottish loosehead successfully exerted pressure on France’s Mohamed Haouas and though there’s no way of proving that contributed to the tighthead lashing out with a punch and spending over half the game in the bin, it certainly wouldn’t have hurt. Sutherland was also effective in defence around the fringes, repelling France’s power carriers.
- Julien Marchand, France
One of the few French forwards to leave Murrayfield with his head held high, Marchand was effective at the set-piece and one of the more industrious players in the loose in Edinburgh. His ball-carrying and work at the contact area helped keep France in the contest despite Haouas’ red card and some sub-par performances from his fellow pack members.
- Kyle Sinckler, England
The tighthead started solidly for England, holding up his side of the scrum and providing the quick hands that he has become known for. As the game moved on, he started to go after his number more aggressively at the scrum and became more of a carrying presence, all the whilst maintaining his excellent defensive work.
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https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236635102496636928?s=20
- Maro Itoje, England
Itoje has made himself a regular in this XV with the tenacity of his performances and his ability to take opposition game plans and bend them to his will. From his defensive line speed and decision-making to the physicality of his collisions and nuance in the dark arts of the game, the lock was vital to England’s efforts against Wales.
- Grant Gilchrist, Scotland
An honourable mention to George Kruis who was excellent at Twickenham, but Gilchrist came out on top in a battle with two very physical French locks, Bernard Le Roux and Paul Willemse. Le Roux should be one of the front-runners for player of the tournament and yet it was Gilchrist who came out of Sunday’s contest as the more influential of the pair, as he stymied power runner after power runner in the French forward pack.
- Jamie Ritchie, Scotland
Ritchie’s abrasiveness and physicality constantly got under France’s skin on Sunday and he was key to Scotland winning the battle on the gain-line and keeping their opponents frustrated. His work rate, along with that of fellow flanker Hamish Watson, was exemplary.
https://twitter.com/RugbyPass/status/1236592226760888320?s=20
- Justin Tipuric, Wales
Yet another showing of Tipuric’s undoubted ability, as he bagged two tries at Twickenham and added some much-needed consolation to what was a poor overall performance from Wales. Beyond his two scores, Tipuric was influential with the ball in his hand and at the contact area, as the Welsh openside proved to be a persistent thorn in the side of the dominant English pack.
- Grégory Alldritt, France
The No 8 put in a Herculean shift for a pack that was undermanned and outgunned by their Scottish counterparts at Murrayfield. His ball-carrying, link play and contributions at the breakdown were all standout, as France become ever more reliant on his dynamism, power and ability to play for 80 minutes at a high intensity.
Watch: Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell speak to the media after beating Wales
Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
35 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
35 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
9 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
35 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
9 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
9 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to comments