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Six Nations XV of Round 3

By Alex Shaw
Round three didn't lack for drama nor great performances

The 2018 Six Nations passed the halfway mark this weekend, as the runners and riders positioned themselves for their final push for success in the two rounds still to come.

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France took themselves out of wooden spoon contention by recording their first victory of the championship, beating Italy, 34-17, in Marseille, whilst Ireland kept alive their Grand Slam hopes, defeating Wales, 37-27, in Dublin.

The Calcutta Cup wrapped up the weekend’s action, with Scotland securing silverware and ending England’s hopes of a Grand Slam, as they recorded a 25-13 victory over the reigning champions at Murrayfield and reignited their own title challenge in the process.

We have picked our XV of the round from the three games.

 

  1. Leigh Halfpenny, Wales

Halfpenny impressed in defeat for Wales, mopping up plenty of the kicks from Ireland and doing his best to keep Wales playing in the right parts of the pitch. It was not a vintage performance, but it did help keep Wales in contention right up until the final minute, when Ireland ran home the game-winning try.

 

  1. Sean Maitland, Scotland

Maitland shifts over from the left wing, where he did an excellent job denying Anthony Watson any opportunities that came the Englishman’s way. He also took his try well and was inches away from adding a second, were it not for a desperate try-saving tackle from Mike Brown.

 

  1. Huw Jones, Scotland

Both Mathieu Bastareaud and Chris Farrell are unlucky to miss out, but Jones was in scintillating form at Murrayfield. He scythed through the English defence with ease and really didn’t have to do too much defensively, such was the control Scotland had on the game, as well as the damage they did at the breakdown before England could get the ball wide to their dangermen.

 

  1. Owen Farrell, England

Really, Farrell was the only England player worthy of inclusion this week, with his biggest competition coming from Ireland’s Bundee Aki. In a poor team performance, Farrell shouldered his responsibilities well, continued to fashion half-holes with his play on the gain-line and took his try well, running an incisive line that Scotland’s defence had no answer for.

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  1. Remy Grosso, France

A late intercept try added some gloss to Jacob Stockdale’s performance and would have him here for many people, but Grosso was quietly excellent against Italy. It was an all-round performance, with the Clermont man keeping Italy bottled up in defence and, aside from Bastareaud, proved the key attacking threat for Les Bleus.

 

  1. Finn Russell, Scotland

Russell bounced back wonderfully from criticism to lead Scotland to a famous victory on Saturday. Johnny Sexton was also impressive, but his goal-kicking issues, combined with Russell’s composure in key moments, was enough to swing this in favour of the Scotsman.

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  1. Conor Murray, Ireland

It was a masterclass in control and game-management from Murray on Saturday afternoon. He mixed up his passing nicely close to the Welsh try line to keep defenders guessing and constantly delivered tempo for his side to dictate, for the most part, the game. He even kicked a late penalty to make it a two-score game and alleviate Wales’ growing momentum.

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  1. Jefferson Poirot, France

Poirot scrummaged well against Italy and made a telling impact in the loose. He was constantly busy, either as a carrier, a tackler or at the ruck and is one of the few French forwards that is comfortable playing well into the second half at a high intensity.

 

  1. Stuart McInally, Scotland

Dylan Hartley went well at Murrayfield and if there was one area England had an advantage, it was at the lineout, but McInally contributed much more in the loose, particularly at the breakdown, and was hardly a loose cannon at the set-piece.

 

  1. Andrew Porter, Ireland

Porter coped well with the added expectations that come with being a Six Nations starter. He went very well against Rob Evans, one of the more adept props in the game, and the speed with which he has become accustomed to his new position on the right of the scrum is impressive.

 

  1. James Ryan, Ireland

Ryan continues to grow in his role with Ireland and Saturday’s win over Wales was another big step in his development. He is becoming one of Ireland’s more trusted ball-carriers and filled that role well at the Aviva, both with his power around the fringes and his speed further out from the breakdowns.

 

  1. Grant Gilchrist, Scotland

Didn’t quite get through the amount of work that his second-row partner Jonny Gray did, but Gilchrist made several “splash plays”, helping the dominant Scottish pack turnover the English ball-carriers almost at will.

 

  1. John Barclay, Scotland

Italy’s Sebastian Negri did well but there was only one person who this spot was going to this week and that was Barclay. The Scotsman caused havoc at the contact area against England, stymieing everything and anything the visitors to Murrayfield tried to work in the tighter areas of the game.

 

  1. Yacouba Camara, France

Camara looked a class apart in the French forward pack, showing adept handling to keep phases alive, as well as an eagerness to look for work all over the pitch. Errant passes, carries and offloads blighted the French pack in Marseille, but Camara executed with efficiency and composure throughout.

 

  1. CJ Stander, Ireland

France’s Marco Tauleigne was also impressive, but it was the work rate of Stander which really caught the eye against Wales. He may not have flashed with some of the highlight plays that the Frenchman did, but he constantly battered – with success – the Welsh defensive line as a ball-carrier and kept Ireland moving forward.

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A
Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

11 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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