6 Nations Rugby Championship @ Hurleys

It seems like an age since the last game of the 6 Nations so for those who
may have forgotten (perhaps on purpose) here's a quick round up as we get
ready for a packed Saturday programme:

England 20 Italy 7
Italy (clearly stung by my criticism the previous week) lived up to
pre-tournament expectations and rang rings round the English for much of
this game. Brian Moore, former England Hooker, gave the Man of the Match
award to Italian Scrum-Half Troncon and I don't think anyone would disagree
with that. All England's points were scored by the this season's returning
duo of Wilkinson and Robinson (who had scored 37 of 42 points the previous
week).

Scotland 21 Wales 9
Wales and Scotland were as disappointing as only they can be. Feeble ball
handling skills and an inability to finish any move without screwing up
typified the afternoon. All the points were scored with the boot. Wales
now look to be heading for a last place play-off against Italy. They also
match Italy for shockingly bad haircuts - get a trim boys, you never know,
it might help.

Ireland 17 France 20
This was nail-biting, lip-smacking and ultimately heart-breaking stuff as
Ireland conceded a converted try in the last minute of the match. It was
so disappointing that a team that fought so hard all game should have let
its attention wander at such a crucial stage. France had the upper hand
for long periods of the game but until the 80th minute the Irish had fought
hard and well. O'Gara's try was a silky move which should have been the
most memorable effort of the day but for Vincent Clerc's late winner. I
don't like Ref bashing but you have to ask what Steve Walsh was thinking of
when he blew up for a French knock-on with Geordan Murphy half way up the
field, alone, heading towards the try-line. Bah!

Finally a big thank you to Jerry O'Regan who popped in to fix the TV even
at the risk of having the constabulary give him a ticket.

Saturday, 24 February
And so on to this week with all three games on Saturday
First up is Scotland versus Italy at 10am Montreal time. Both these teams
scored tries against England and hopefully this bodes well for our opening
game. The kick-a-thon (or cock-up-a-thon) against Wales may have got
Scotland the points they so desperately sought but it was not good rugby.
In their last three tournament matches at Murrayfield Scotland have beaten
Wales, France and England whilst Italy have a dreadful record away from
home. Apparently Berbizier has never won in Edinburgh - what are the
chances that will change on Saturday?

Next up is the little matter of Ireland against England at 12:30. Those of
you who do not intend to watch the Scotland game should plan to get to your
seats early for this match as turn out is bound to be huge. I had expected
this to be the Championship decider but the defeat against France means
Ireland have some catching up to do. Remember what I said earlier about
Robinson and Wilko scoring 57 of England's 62 points so far this year?
Both have sustained injuries in training and there are doubts about their
appearance on Saturday. Meanwhile Ireland should have O'Driscoll and
Stringer back. Geordan Murphy, who caved in to Ibanez for France's first
try, is out.

Finally we have France v Wales at 15:00. The French have a habit of losing
to bad teams especially when coming off a strong victory: they lost to
Scotland last year and to Wales at the Stade de France two years ago.
Both sides have made a hat-full of changes for this game and Wales
especially will be hoping that fresh blood will lead to fresh inspiration.
At least Charvis won't be there with his muppet hair style.

Laws of the game
There's been a bit of a kerfuffle about one of the moves the Italians have
been making this season. Habitually teams catching the ball at the
line-out instantly form a maul and try steaming up the other end of the
field for a try. Someone on the Italian coaching has spotted this and
turned it into this year's "how did the referee not see that" moment. The
Italian forwards don't tackle the jumper so the maul is not legally formed;
instead the Italians come round the back and tackle the ball carrier thus
giving the impression of being off-side when in fact the other team is
illegally blocking. It worked against France and England but they may need
a few more tricks than that before they get their next win.

If anybody prefers to read their nonsense in French I have added a link to
a French blog below:
http://www.mondialdurugby.com/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=26

See you all on Saturday
Martin Buckle
Treasurer