Ireland and France flourish, Scotland struggle
South African rugby took a break at the weekend and attention switched to the opening weekend of the Six Nations. There was a feast of action as France walloped Wales 43-0, Scotland worked hard to beat Italy 31-19 and Ireland prevailed over England, 29-22 in a tense struggle.
Mike Greenaway looks at five talking points from those matches.
French hangover is over
We know the French can be temperamental but their World Cup exit in 2023 at the hands of the Springboks resulted in the worst case of the blues in rugby history. Captain Antoine Dupont was so scarred that he traded last season’s Six Nations for a place in his country’s Sevens team.
France were off-colour in the 2024 tournament but have shown they are back to rude health. It is two years to the next World Cup and already it is evident they will push the Boks hard for their crown.
https://youtu.be/IJWr3TeWBgE?si=8G4l-W15m2H-ZiMFA long and winding road ahead for Wales
The dazzling brilliance of France camouflages the green shoots of regeneration evident in Warren Gatland’s youthful team. The average age of the side is just 24 and they showed plenty of pluck in trying to stem the blue tide. With Antoine Dupont turning on the razzle-dazzle, his side was irrepressible but the Welsh hung on.
The score could have been a lot worse and on that Friday night in Paris, it is unlikely that any team in the world would have beaten the hosts. They could not have drawn a tougher opening fixture for such a callow Welsh side. Gatland will tell them the worst is over and the 13-game losing streak can end in Rome this week.
https://youtu.be/K0PMmyklRkQ?si=U3ziv_QsFpMJlTamAzurri are not the pushovers of the past
Scotland had a sizzling start, with Huw Jones scorching over for two tries before completing his hat-trick later in the game. The score was 19-6 in no time and, historically, Italy teams would have sent up the white flag.
But former Puma Gonzalo Quesada has added a steely resolve to the team and their courageous performance in Edinburgh shows that the success in last season’s tournament was not a flash in the pan. Italy won two games for their best result in the Six Nations.
On the other hand, Scotland will be disappointed. Their flyhalf and co-captain, Finn Russell, blew hot and cold as did the team in general. They host Ireland on Sunday and must be way better.
https://youtu.be/DGc6Fe7-zp0?si=3289_TIXKoVsD54fIreland's bubble has not burst
Two late tries by England made the score a respectable 29-22 but it does not disguise how thoroughly they were outplayed in the second half. The first half was a classic arm wrestle and England’s tactic of playing three open-siders in their loose trio worked a treat as quick ball for the Irish backs slowed to a trickle.
The second half was a different story. The Irish hit the afterburners and scored 22 points in 20 minutes as the Red Roses wilted. The big difference is that the 6-2 Irish Bomb Squad detonated while their English counterparts were a damp squib.
Some had said before the game that Ireland are an aging side but there was no sign of that in Dublin.
Borthwick under the pump
Steve Borthwick’s tenure as England coach could end sooner rather than later. The former England lock took over from Eddie Jones shortly before the last World Cup and he hit the ground running.
England consider themselves unlucky to have lost to the Boks in the semi-final but it has been downhill for them since. Most worrying, is that England are not learning their lessons and, more specifically, Borthwick has not successfully coached them on how to close out games.
England have lost 11 of their last 12 matches against top five ranked opposition and in 10 of those games, they were leading ten minutes into the second half.