With the 6 Nations quite literally around the corner, I wanted to start Route One by talking about each country and some of the possible talking points going into this tournament. I'll place the countries into different posts and I'll save my thoughts on the Round 1 matches for separate posts, and hopefully this doesn't take terribly long. They are arranged in absolutely random order:
England: Certainly one of the favourites to take the title, though really, outside of Scotland and Italy, any of the teams in this competition could make a reasonable claim for that statement. Stuart Lancaster has taken the opportunity in this tournament to introduce even more new blood into the England team, with Henry Thomas, Luther Burrell, Jack Nowell, Anthony Watson and Jonny May set to play some serious minutes. Burrell's is an inspiring story (here), but he is in this team to make a difference and give England the sort of impact runner they lack in the centres with Manu Tuilagi still on the sidelines. The same goes for the other aforementioned rookies, all of whom have earned this ascension into England XV reckoning based on fantastic club form.
Thursday 30 January 2014
Dawn of the 6 Nations, pt. 2
With the 6 Nations quite literally around the corner, I wanted to start Route One by talking about each country and some of the possible talking points going into this tournament. I'll place the countries into different posts and I'll save my thoughts on the Round 1 matches for separate posts, and hopefully this doesn't take terribly long. They are arranged in absolutely random order:
Scotland: The last couple seasons have seen the Scotland side have had reasonable hope and potential to do well in the 6 Nations (with surprising -and misleading- Autumn results fuelling this), and beating more than Italy last year was a nice surprise, but to continue winning games will require 80 minute efforts each time out, and a couple players need to play absolutely out of their skin for this side to get a positive balance in the W column for this year's tournament. It really comes down to 10, as it has for the last decade (and beyond, but I won't pretend to know those sagas). Weir or Jackson or some effective combination of the two have to start doing something productive for this team to go places. Jackson has a real creative flair that can cause as much good as bad, but this is a team that does need to take risks in the right part of the field (ie not in the 22 please).
Scotland: The last couple seasons have seen the Scotland side have had reasonable hope and potential to do well in the 6 Nations (with surprising -and misleading- Autumn results fuelling this), and beating more than Italy last year was a nice surprise, but to continue winning games will require 80 minute efforts each time out, and a couple players need to play absolutely out of their skin for this side to get a positive balance in the W column for this year's tournament. It really comes down to 10, as it has for the last decade (and beyond, but I won't pretend to know those sagas). Weir or Jackson or some effective combination of the two have to start doing something productive for this team to go places. Jackson has a real creative flair that can cause as much good as bad, but this is a team that does need to take risks in the right part of the field (ie not in the 22 please).
Dawn of the 6 Nations, pt. 1
With the 6 Nations quite literally around the corner, I wanted to start Route One by talking about each country and some of the possible talking points going into this tournament. I'll place the countries into different posts and I'll save my thoughts on the Round 1 matches for separate posts, and hopefully this doesn't take terribly long. They are arranged in absolutely random order:
France: Certainly the past year was not great for Philippe Saint Andre and his men, but not everything was an albatross, as the Autumn Tests saw some improved play and while les Bleus did not get the victories they were hoping for, it certainly has created an element of surprise as to how the squad will perform during this tournament.
France: Certainly the past year was not great for Philippe Saint Andre and his men, but not everything was an albatross, as the Autumn Tests saw some improved play and while les Bleus did not get the victories they were hoping for, it certainly has created an element of surprise as to how the squad will perform during this tournament.
Welcome
Hi, my name is Kevin (pillaging that ruck below), I'm surprised by your presence.
Anyway, for much of the past decade my main sporting concern has been rugby and while there are a number of great online sources for those interested in the sport, I figured there was always room for one more marginally informed opinion. I was a better student of the game then player, hopefully my observations aren't a waste of your time, but if they are, provide some constructive feedback.
Anyway, for much of the past decade my main sporting concern has been rugby and while there are a number of great online sources for those interested in the sport, I figured there was always room for one more marginally informed opinion. I was a better student of the game then player, hopefully my observations aren't a waste of your time, but if they are, provide some constructive feedback.
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