World Cup Roundup – Three Lions out, Costa Rica shine, Les Bleus Dominate !

Man of the Match Luis Suarez (R) consoles England Captain Steven Gerrard (R) after his two goals all but eliminated England from the World Cup.

Matchday 2 fixtures of the World Cup in many ways followed the first. Upsets, goals, thrills, spills, misses and well more upsets. Its been that sort of a tournament really, a goalfest, an entertaining spectacle for both the loyalists as well as the neutrals. From Costa Rica’s incredible fairytale rise to top of the supposedly ‘Group of Death’ to French attacking prowess in Group E, from England packing their bags as they exit the tournament to some other shocks by the likes of Algeria, Ghana and USA.

Not So Brave Three Lions:

Arguably the biggest story of the past week was England’s early elimination from the World Cup. This was their first group stage exit since 1958. The previous 2-1 loss to Italy had seemed a bit undeserved as England’s performance had glimpses of some of the attacking football that the fans hoped to see. But the perennial underperformers failed again at the biggest stage. As Chris Waddle quite rightly remarked, “England never learn”. Despite the nation’s preoccupation with that man Luis Suarez, he still proved to be the difference. His two goals were courtesy of nervous and shaky defending from England. But such is the quality of even a half-fit Luis Suarez that he got two chances and he took both of them sublimely. The young “fearless” players such as Sterling and Welbeck failed to shine while senior players such as Gerrard and Rooney (who could have had a hat-trick in this game) performed poorly and failed to lead a young England squad to victory. England don’t seem to have the same hunger, desire, passion and drive that their more successful counterparts seem to have. Tactical and personnel changes are needed. A better balance to the team is necessary. A formality game remains against surprise group leaders, Costa Rica, who have already qualified to the next round. This particular fixture could provide Hodgson with a chance to give the younger players such as Barkley, Lallana, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Wilshere and Shaw a go to prove themselves and gain valuable experience as well.

But where next for England? The English FA have publicly sounded out their backing of Roy Hodgson as manager. Many believe theres a change needed. England still have some good young talent that should encourage fans. This experience in Brazil will be a difficult but important one in their rather steep learning curve.

Coasting Costa Rica:

Everybody loves an underdog triumphing against all odds. They are also an symbol of this year’s unpredictable World Cup where a country’s reputation hasn’t always stood for much. Losses for big names such as Italy, Spain, Uruguay and Ivory Coast with star names show the beauty of the game in the most deserving of footballing arenas. Work ethic, determination and desire embodied by this Costa Rica side have prevailed over the big reputations of Uruguay and Italy. Their high-tempo, fast paced counter-attacking style is not only easy on the eye but has also delivered two massive scalps en-route to the round of 16. Mathematically, they could still end up as runner-ups in the group but not many envisioned that in this ‘Group of Death’ which consisted of three former world champions, the supposed ‘also-ran’ Costa Rica would impress the most. Potential clash with Columbia or Ivory Coast awaits in the next round. Surely that’s that for the Latin American side, or is it?

Les Miserables No More:

Ah what a difference 4 years have made for the Les Bleus. Wind the clock back to the summer of 2010, an unhappy, disgruntled and divided group of players rebelled against their then coach, Raymond Domenech. But the image of the new French national team – led by the likes of Benzema, Valbuena, Matuidi, Varane and Co. – is in stark contrast to the previous team. Despite being in a relatively straightforward group, the swashbuckling attacking football has resulted in them scoring 8 goals in 2 games so far. Their players look in form, their tactics seem to work, the players are happy, confident and look raring to go. Everything seems to be clicking together well for the dark horses.

Best of the Rest:

Here’s a summary of the rest of the results in the rest of the groups. Match day two saw Columbia confirm qualification to the next round by defeating Ivory Coast. Similar in tactics and style to Costa Rica, Columbia’s young guns James Rodriguez and Juan Quintero impressed while their veteran captain, Mario Yepes, led from the back with an imperious defensive performance. The other game saw a bore, goalless draw between Japan and ten-man Greece.

Meanwhile in Group F, Argentina just about edged out a win against a heroic, war epic, defensive performance from Iran. Individual quality, indeed individual brilliance was the difference at the end of the day. Lionel Messi’s trademark left-footed piledriver into the bottom corner had won the game for Argentina at the last possible moment and sealed progress to the next round as well. The battle for the second place saw Nigeria win 1-0 against Bosnia-Herzegovina with a controversial winner from Peter Odemwingie. So Bosnia-Herzegovina are sent home packing in their World Cup debut.

On to Group G which witnessed two exciting goalscoring 2-2 draws. Group leaders Germany were expected to beat Ghana with relative ease but the Black Star’s persistence was rewarded as they drew 2-2 with Germany. Comebacks have been occasional in this tournament as teams have come from behind to win seven times in the cup. Ghana replied to Goetze’s close range header with quick goals from Ayew and Gyan. Then the man for all seasons, the evergreen Miroslav Klose scored his 15th (yes 15th) World Cup goal. This means that he is on the brink of beating Ronaldo the first’s (the Brazilian Original) record to become the highest ever goalscorer at the World Cup. The second game was great entertainment too. With all the talk of Ronaldo and his form going into the world cup as the best player in the world was justified in this particular game…..kind of. He cut a rather frustrating figure against Germany and for much of the game against USA as well. Nani took advantage of a defensive howler to score from close range. But Jermaine Jones equalized for the Yanks with a blinder of a long range goal. Dempsey continued his amazing start when he scored late in the second half with his….stomach. But Ronaldo provided an incredible cross for substitute Varela to head home in the last minute of stoppage time to keep Portugese hopes of qualification alive.

Finally, Group H then where Belgium huffed and puffed their way towards another three points. Yet again it was a substitute who struck the winner for the Belgian Red Devils – Divock Origi. Despite a lot of talent at their disposal, Belgium are nowhere near their fluidic best, especially Romelu Lukaku who has been unable to replicate his club form for his country. Origi may get a start in the penultimate group stage fixture and perhaps the likes of Januzaj and Mirallas could be considered as well. Defence is still a bit of a predicament due to their lack of quality natural full backs. While the Belgium-Russia game was dull, South Korea 2-4 Algeria was a defending nightmare but with the six goals and a surprise win for the lower ranked Algerian team, not many are complaining.

With one final round of fixtures yet to be played, there is a lot at stake. Most of the groups have yet to sort themselves out – group winners and qualifiers are still to be determined. These, in turn, are of huge significance to finding out who faces who in the Round of 16. One thing is for certain though – this World Cup is proving to be one of the best ever with the promise of much more skill, excitement and drama for the fans to savour.

World Cup Roundup – The champions are out!

Spain on their haunches following a woeful early exit [Reuters.com]

The world cup in Brazil has brought us many things over the first week; squiggly foam, dreadful defending, goal-line technology, goals, goals, more goals, and a sprinkle of more goals for good measure. To date, there have seen sixty goals in the past seven days. Why is this? A lack of top quality centre-backs? A proverbial purple patch for attacking players? Probably a combination of both.

To take the recently relegated Spain; Pique and Ramos have been terrible and the pacey, ever-threatening Jordi Alba was non-existent. Coming up against an Arjen Robben in the form of his life, and a resurgent Robin Van Persie, there was no contest. There are a lot of strikers either in-form, or with a point to prove in this tournament, whilst the centre-backs are not up to the same standard. Even England and Italy, who both have a rich history of world class defenders, will admit their defences are the weak points.

It has probably been one of the more open world cups too, with a host of teams now in with a chance of winning. Pre-tournament, the same names of Argentina, Germany, Spain and Brazil were cited as likely winners, but with the holders Spain now eliminated, the hosts Brazil looking nervous under home pressure, and Argentina’s history of peaking early, it is wide open.

A number of teams have staked their claims to the trophy after the first round of matches too; Netherlands demolished Spain and saw out an uncomfortable but professional victory over a dogged Australian side, Croatia are the in-form team, and Chile put Spain to the sword with apparent ease. Italy, despite not having much second half possession, looked a classy side against England, who themselves showed an attacking verve not seen since the 90s.

Germany and France, as ever, are colossal threats despite a pre-world cup fall-out between the manager of France and a couple of the players. No European side has ever won a South American world cup, but there could well be one this year.

The openness of the Brazilian world cup is not only down to teams underachieving, but aside from Cameroon and Iran, the lower ranked teams in the tournament have proven to be a challenge. Australia are the lowest ranked team and they can be very disappointed to be on 0 points following spirited performances against Chile and Netherlands respectively.

Costa Rica also surprised Uruguay with a commanding 3-1 win. Full credit goes to their coaches for the way they have set up against the top teams. A favourable formation seen fairly often so far, mastered by Chile, has been the 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation, with the full-backs functioning more as wing-backs; the whole set-up revolving round their stamina and ability to provide the overlap for creative midfielders, whilst also tracking back. These guys are the fittest players in the tournament. Many teams have also opted to simply play five in midfield with the 4-2-3-1; it floods the midfield with creativity and provides the striker with a wealth of opportunities (in theory).

Spain being eliminated in the first round is a catastrophic loss to the tournament, but Chile’s success is refreshing and might just spur some of the other dark horses on, creating more potential ‘cupsets’.

The second coming of ‘The Special One’: José Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge

Photo credit: [nigerianeye.com]

 

 

In a long, drawn out affair spanning from Gabriel Clarke’s infamous ‘We’ll assume it’s England’ interview, following Real Madrid’s exit from the Champions League, to the Premier League’s ‘mistaken’ article yesterday, ‘confirming’ Mourinho’s return, ‘The Special One’ is back in the hot seat at Chelsea.

Chelsea fans will be partying in the streets of Fulham tonight; their nemesis Rafael Benitez has gone, off to Italy to take on the Napoli job, and ‘King José’ is back. The main question being asked however is, will his second stint at Chelsea be one of success? The immediate response ought to be yes; he is arguably inheriting a stronger squad than the one he worked with before, which was also an excellent team. Working with players like Mata, Oscar and Hazard, a resurgent Lampard, and potentially even Romelu Lukaku who is back from his loan at West Bromwich Albion, ought to be a manager’s dream. He still has the ever-consistent Petr Cech in goal and of course versatile defenders, Luiz and Ivanovic. Chelsea will also no doubt add to this squad over summer in order to challenge for the title, so the indicators are positive for Mourinho and the Chelsea contingent.

Mourinho became hot favourite to take the job at Chelsea following his interview on television in which he stated ‘I will go where people love me…there is one club that does’, and since then the anticipation and excitement has snowballed; Apparently so much that somebody at the Premier League just could not wait to tell us today, instead electing to publish the confirmation on Sunday morning!

The club issued the following statement earlier this afternoon:

Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Jose Mourinho as First Team Manager.

Mourinho has signed a four-year contract and will return to the club where he won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups between 2004 and 2007.

Ron Gourlay, Chelsea FC Chief Executive, said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Jose back to Chelsea. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate.

‘It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future and Jose is our number one choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that.

‘He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again.’

Since leaving Chelsea in 2007, the 50-year-old Portuguese has worked in Italy with Inter and Spain with Real Madrid, lifting three league championships, two domestic cups and the Champions League.

Originally appointed at Stamford Bridge in 2004, immediately after winning Europe’s top competition with Porto, he quickly achieved success securing his first trophy for the club as early as February 2005, when we beat Liverpool 3-2 after extra-time in Cardiff to win the Carling Cup. We went on to win the league that season with a record 95 points and a record low of just 15 goals conceded in 38 games.

The club celebrated consecutive championships in our centenary 2005/06 season, secured with a 3-0 win over Manchester United in late April, and the next campaign we were able to add the Carling Cup with victory over Arsenal in Cardiff, and the FA Cup when United were beaten again in the first senior game at the new Wembley.

Mourinho departed by mutual consent in September 2007, going on to develop his already impressive CV by winning the Serie A twice in two years and the Champions League with Inter, before joining Real Madrid in 2010, where he lifted both La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, ending his stay in Spain yesteday.

He brings three coaching staff with him in Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais. Each carries the title of Assistant First Team Coach and will work alongside current first team staff Steve Holland, Christophe Lollichon and Chris Jones.

The new manager will be officially presented in a press conference at Stamford Bridge on Monday 10 June, further details of which will follow in due course.

Mourinho is not without his critics, in the outspoken way he deals with things, but one can certainly concede that Match of the Day will be considerably more exciting next season.

RBS Six Nations 2013 – Final Round

photo credit: [RBSsixnations.com]

The final round of the RBS Six Nations 2013 was a tumultuous affair; England and Wales clashed at the Millenium Stadium for the title decider, with England on for a potential Grand Slam win. Ireland travelled to Italy to attempt to rescue a poor tournament, and France hosted Scotland in the hope to avoid the wooden spoon.

With all the games being played on the same day, Italy first hosted Ireland in the early kick-off. The Irish, who once again travelled without legend Ronan O’Gara, despite all the injuries suffered in the backs against France would quickly rue this decision, with Luke Marshall, Keith Earls and Luke Fitzgerald all going off injured in the first half. This was further marred by the talismanic Brian O’Driscoll being sin-binned for a cheap stamp on an opposing player. Ireland took the lead early on with a well dispatched penalty from Paddy Jackson, whose kicking in recent weeks had been lacklustre. However, Italy struck back with penalties of their own; Orquera kicking two of his three to give the Italians the lead after 20 mintues. With O’Driscoll off in the sin bin, the Italians added to their lead with another converted penalty, only for Jackson to bring the Irish back within three points, going in at 9-6 down, with three injured backs and O’Mahony, a blindside flanker playing on the wing.
If the first half had been poor for the Irish, the second half certainly wasn’t any better. With a lack of backs at the away side’s disposal, open free-flowing rugby was not on the agenda and the game descended into a slug-fest, which the Italians of course did not mind. They capitalised on this with a strong drive over the line from Venditti, who had looked great for the Italians this year. Orquera converted to give the Italians a commanding 16-9 lead, though this wasn’t to last. Paddy Jackson was in inspired form, in comparison to his previous weeks, and slotted home three penalties to bring the Irish within a point of Italy. They took advantage of the home side who looked all at sea with Sergio Parisse sin-binned for a cynical trip. However, this resurgence was not to last; two further sin-bins for the Irish, from Donnacha Ryan and Conor Murray, set up two simple penalties for Orquera to dispatch. The final score Italy 22 – 15 Ireland

The second game of the day, the one every rugby fan was looking forward to, was the title decider between England and Wales at the Millenium Stadium. Wales would have to defeat England by 8 points to win the title, England would have to defeat Wales to win the Grand Slam. Both sides began strongly, but a handling error from Tuilagi put England under pressure, with Wales staying camped in the England 22 for the next 10 minutes. Sport just wouldn’t be sport without some hilariously awful refereeing decisions, and it was clear that Steve Walsh had his own interpretations of how rules should be applied, penalising England twice and Wales once for ‘not rolling away’, both sides bemused considering the three eighteen stone men lying on top of them. Wales led 6-3, and were getting the rub of the green in both refereeing and bounce-of-the-ball respects, yet it was what the home side did with the ball which was what counted. They went in at half-time, leading 9-3, after a scintillating half of rugby, both sides flying into tackles, but the home team looked stronger, faster, and more up for it. The crowd urged both on, and with the first half being relatively well-balanced, the second half was anything but. The referee took a back seat this half, and this time far more Rugby was played. England were poor in the line-out, they looked second-best in the scrum and their backs were underperforming, giving Wales a massive advantage. Halfpenny kicked another penalty to put Wales further ahead, so several changes were made later in the second half. However, these quick changes did little to help, with England failing to stem the Welsh tide and Alex Cuthbert went over, palming of Mike Brown and burning him off with sheer pace. The conversion was missed, but Dan Biggar performed a well placed drop goal to give Wales a commanding 20-3 lead. Only 1 minute later, Wales finished the job, with Justin Tipuric storming through towards the line in a centre-esque fashion, only to off load the ball to Cuthbert for his second try. The conversion was missed again, but a penalty shortly after added to England’s woes. Suddenly, England began to play, putting some great moves together, but with 9 minutes to go and a 27 point deficit, the game was all but over. England were poor and added no points in this period of pressure, the game finishing 30-3.

Ireland’s earlier loss to Italy gave France the chance to avoid the wooden spoon, provided they could see off Scotland by 17 points. This was, however, asking a lot of the French side which has looked appalling from start to finish, in comparison to a new-look Scotland side. In a game which was more or less a dead rubber, other than France trying to save some blushes, the home side looked the stronger in possession. France were consistently assaulting the Scottish try line, with some excellent defense and typical Scottish counter-attacking rugby, taking the away side in at half-time with a 6-0 lead. Laidlaw converted two penalties for Scotland in a game where running rugby was not to be performed too often, the pitch disintegrating under any movement. The pitch was a metaphor for the French team all tournament, falling to pieces at every turn, making uncharacteristic errors and, with the exception of Fofana, completely lacking in flair. However, the French fought back in the second half, and Scotland couldn’t quite muster the defense they were so proud of in the first half. Three early penalties from Michalak in the second half to Scotland’s one, were followed by a try from Fofana; Bastareud bruised his way through the defense, before offloading it to Fofana who ran over the line for a simple finish. Michalak converted and the French took the lead, 16-9. Soon after, Maxime Medard went over with Machinaud converting, after Bastareud again put a tiring Scottish defense to the sword. Visser went over for the Scottish for a consolation try, with Jackson converting, to give the away side a well deserved try in a tough game in Paris. France secured their first win of their tournament on the last day, but it was not enough for them to avoid the wooden spoon, finishing bottom for the first time in 1999.

RBS Six Nations 2013 – Round four

Photo credit: [RBSsixnations.com]

In the penultimate weekend of internationals rugby, Scotland met Wales at Murrayfield, Ireland did battle with France and England played host to a mercurial Italian side.

Firstly, Scotland faced Wales in a game that promised to be a close encounter with Scotland’s new-found form, masterminded by the new head coach, Scott Johnson. The first half was a penalty strewn affair, with Scotland keeping within touch of Wales, despite the Welsh side having most of the possession and chances. Laidlaw and Halfpenny exchanged penalty kicks, with Halfpenny missing three penalties in quick succession, keeping Scotland in the game. Hibbard went over for a try before half time for Wales, after an incisive run from George North, who laid the ball off to Hibbard who was helped over the line by his forwards. A successful conversion from Halfpenny put Wales in a solid position in the game. The home side were unlucky, with Richie Gray being taken off after a serious injury, being replaced by Al Kellock. It was Scotland however, who were to go into half-time in the lead, or rather it would have been had Jim Hamilton not conceded a silly penalty right in front of the referee in the 39th minute. Hamilton entered the ruck at the side, obviously and cynically, and Halfpenny converted in due course, with Wales going in at the break 13-12 up. Both teams came out in the second half feeling the game was there to be won, but this half, Wales too suffered an injury. Captain Ryan Jones sustained a shoulder injury and is in doubt for the England game next week. Tipuric came on for the injured captain, not a bad replacement to have, with Tipuric shining at club level. The second half was again full of penalties aplenty, Scotland clearly irritated at Craig Joubert’s fussy officiating. Laidlaw kicked over two penalties for Scotland, but Halfpenny was the hero for Wales, notching up an 87% conversion rate, kicking a further five penalties for the Welsh, the score finishing 18-28 to Wales.

The second game of our penultimate week of the Six Nations championship was at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Ireland played host to a French side that has looked appalling all tournament, having won 0 points, but this was about to change. Ireland themselves have looked out of all sorts, an O’Gara howler contributing to their downfall against Scotland the round before. The wind was up, the rain lashed down and the crowd were treated to a game not dissimilar to the scrappy match versus England a few weeks ago; Ireland thrived early on, Heaslip going over for a try with Paddy Jackson converting. Jackson added two further penalties in reply to Michalak’s one to put the Irish in front at half-time with a less-than-commanding lead of 13-3. The second half was full of change, Jackson missed a drop goal attempt, as did Rob Kearney shortly after, whereas the French were having more luck against the Irish. Morgane Parra assumed control of kicking after Michalak spurned opportunities in the first half, and converted a penalty to bring the away side back into contention. Louis Picamoles, a rose between fourteen thorns then went over for the try for France, bringing them within two points of the Irish. Michalak returned for the conversion, and slotted home from a tight angle to bring the sides equal at 13-13. Almost instantaneously, the Irish responded, the crowd getting nervy at Ireland’s lack of any points in the second half. After a fantastic grubber kick, Keith Earls was through for a try, though was quite clearly taken out off the ball by Debaty. The decision went to the TMO, who bizarrely chose not to give Ireland a penalty at the very least, instead awarding the 22 drop out. The game ended 13-13, with the match potentially being Brian O’Driscoll’s last home game in the Ireland jersey. Certainly a lacklustre finish at home for an Irish side that never got going; as for France, Saint-Andre’s P45 is in the post as we speak, the wooden spoon being a very distinct possibility.

Finally, England met Italy at Twickenham in a game which many deemed a straight-forward match for the in-form home side. The result was far from it. Both sides put together some great running rugby in the first half, but with said running rugby came embarrassing mistakes. England had two separate opportunities for almost certain trys, the first with a seven man overlap to Italy’s three defending players. Goode handed the ball short to Toby Flood who was the only player that the defenders could have conceivably tackled, and the ball was held up. Controversially at the other end, Italy broke free from the England defence, with referee George Clany overruling touch-judge Nigel Owens, giving the decision that Italy had knocked on. They hadn’t. Parisse, clearly furious, quickly checked his temper, remembering that he was only participating in this match after an appeal against a ban for abusing officials. England went in with four penalties to Italy’s one, leading 12-3 at the break. The second half began with John Inverdale rather tragically announcing ‘we all know who is going to win this one’, which carried an ominousness to it throughout the second half. England never got going, their attacking line was flat, the Italians rush defence dealing with England with ease and with a Luke McClean try for the Italians shortly into the second half, the game was on. Danny Care botched his box kick for England which Zanni swept up, off loading to Orquera who rather with rather a ‘Ronan O’Gara-esque’ finish, chipped the ball behind the England defence onto an oncoming Luke McClean who finished incisively. Flood kicked a further two penalties for England, but Orquera reclaimed one for Italy also; the gap narrowing to 7 points from 9 in the first half. The game was a close encounter as the match got closer to its climax, and with the Azurri storming the England defence for the remaining 10 minutes, but England held out for a nail-biting 18-11 win to secure a final round play-off against Wales.

RBS Six Nations 2013 – Round three

Photo credit: [RBSsixnations.com]

In round three of the 2013 RBS Six Nations, Italy once again looked fragile, unable to recover their fantastic rugby from the France match, and went down to an improving Wales side. England and France clashed at Twickenham in a toughly fought game, England proving to have the better strength in depth. Finally, Scotland and Ireland toiled at Murrayfield, with the new-look Scottish side looking to be a force to be reckoned with. The final scores of round three are as follows:

Italy 9 – 26 Wales

England 23 – 13 France

Scotland 12 – 8 Ireland

In the first match of round three, Italy hosted Wales and with both teams proving to be inconsistent this Six Nations, and Italy at home, one could potentially see a closely-fought game. The first half was a close encounter with Wales leading 9 – 6, but trys from Jonathan Davies and Alex Cuthbert and a further penalty from Halfpenny to Italy’s sole reply from Kris Burton, left the final score 26 – 9 to the Welsh side. Italy were sloppy as they were against Scotland, unable to recapture the form they showed in round one against France, and showed signs of devolving into their mediocre old-self of a strong forwards game with backs devoid of ideas. Conversely, the Welsh forwards were monstrous, going toe-to-toe with the Italians and rendering their forwards game less effective. This put pressure on the Italian backs, with the Welsh closing them down early, forcing more errors from the Italians and allowing the Welsh backs more space as the match went on. Whilst they are certainly improving, it is perhaps a little ambitious to tip Wales to defend their Six Nations title as they still have a fair amount to improve on.

The second game of the weekend showcased what is generally perceived to be one of the most mouthwatering fixtures of the Six Nations, England vs France. In recent weeks, Phillipe Saint-Andre has received much criticism pertaining to his selections, and quite rightly so: no natural fly-half instead opting for for two scrum-halfs playing in the half-back position, Fofana, a natural centre, being played on the wing and the list goes on. This week, Morgane Parra came in at scrum-half, with Francois Trinh-Duc back in at fly-half, and Fofana back in the centre. As a result, the French side looked a much improved outfit with Parra dominating throughout. England blew hot and cold in the first half, doing something amazing, usually through Tuilagi and then following with something dreadful. With Parra controlling the French pack and Picamole leading from the front, France edged the first-half 10-9, thanks to a magnificent solo effort from Fofana and some poor tackling from the England backs. The second half began with a penalty from Owen Farrell, later followed by an excellent try from Manu Tuilagi, justifying his selection by gaining serious ground every time he was in possession. Saint-Andre then elected to take off Domingo, Parra and Trinh-Duc, a contentious decision which arguably cost France the game. Ultimately though, England that not only were they willing to switch up the tactics on the move against a resurgent French side, but that they have great strength in depth, being able to call upon top players as the game goes on. Credit has to go to Chris Robshaw, who is flourishing as England captain, leading by example and proving to be an inspirational choice by Lancaster.  With remaining games against Italy and Wales, England are now very much in contention with a chance for the grand slam.

Finally, a Scotland side who have looked strong and exciting to watch this Six Nations met an Ireland team on the slide. However, Ireland dominated the first half, with Scotland looking woeful. However new fly-half Paddy Jackson missed a series of kicks, so Ireland led merely 3-0 at half-time.  Three minutes into the second half, Gilroy went over to make the score 8-0 but Jackson missed the conversion. However, an incredible Scottish defense led on the front foot by Jim Hamilton and a series of cheap penalties conceded by Ireland turned the game on its head. Laidlaw kicked all four Scottish penalties to make the score 12-8 and turned the game around in incredible style. Scotland are once again proving to be an excellent counter-attacking team, using their defense as a strong base for attacking and forcing the opponent into mistakes. Whilst England are strong favourites for the title, Scotland should stand in good stead for a strong finish to the Six Nations; a breath of fresh air for Scottish fans used to being candidates for the wooden spoon. France in comparison, are looking increasingly likely to pick up the wooden spoon, sitting rooted to the bottom of the table with 0 points.

RBS Six Nations 2013 – Round two

photo credit: [RBSsixnations.com]

In contrast to the opening week of the Six Nations, the quality of the second round was unusually poor given the fixtures. Scotland entertained a resurgent Italy, the home team not performing badly themselves in the first week. An out of all-sorts France hosted an equally poor Wales side under Rob Howley, and the two favourites for the grand slam of Ireland and England, clashed at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The final scores for round two are as follows:

Scotland 34 – 10 Italy

France 6 – 16 Wales

Ireland 6 – 12 England

The first match of round two was at Murrayfield where Scotland hosted an Italian side who had previously defeated France in Rome. The game began in a scrappy fashion and continued to be throughout, much of the Italian’s hard work the week before being undone by silly handling errors, forwards appearing in the back lines and handing Scotland cheap penalties. They truly looked a different team to the previous week, reverting back to their typical sloppy backs performance, which was a real shame to see. I’d have like to have seen them give Scotland a tough game. Scotland on the other hand are looking to be dark horses for the Six Nations win, providing England trip up in their remaining fixtures; their counter-attacking play, which we saw shades of against England was truly potent and put Italy to the sword. It was great to see Scotland playing running rugby, having confidence in their abilities to play the ball along the back line instead of kicking for field position and taking penalties.

Next, Wales travelled to France, win both sides really needing a win after round one losses and dwindling confidence amongst the fans. France persisted with Fofana, a natural centre, playing on the wing, and Michalak, a scrum-half, playing at fly-half. It did not work well at all. France were poor, really poor, and their backs game which is usually the most dangerous weapon in the Six Nations was blunt. Handling errors, poor passes, flat attacking lines, not-flat defensive lines; they had it all and were a mess.  One has to question the tactics of the French coach and any France fan will be begging Philippe Saint Andre to drop Michalak next time round. Wales, despite the media whirlwind and hype after defeating France, were also very poor in my opinion. There’s nothing to get excited about if you’re a Wales fan, France were just worse. The positives being for the away team being that they picked up much needed points away from home, which is a great result regardless, and Halfpenny and Biggar look fantastic. The rest of the team looks unbalanced and needs some minor tweaking. The difference between the two sides in this respect is that Wales look like they could rescue their Six Nations with some changes to the team and tactics, and France look like they just might get the wooden spoon, with a difficult game at Twickenham next round.

Finally, Ireland and England, the two favourites clashed in Dublin with all the hype surrounding this fixture as the most important, and quite reasonably so. Unfortunately, the weather killed the game; the pitch was rather reminiscent of a vegetable patch, the handling from both sides was mediocre at best due to the wet ball, and as a result the game devolved into a war of attrition at the rucks and scrums, with very little running rugby. England won the battle throughout, their forwards proving to be the more disciplined and having a considerably lower penalty count. Ireland were frustrated by this and it boiled over in frustration for the home side when Cian Healy cowardly stamped on Dan Cole’s ankle at the collapse of a maul; the Ireland prop having been correctly cited for the incident. Worryingly for Ireland, Simon Zebo was taken off injured early on and will potentially miss the rest of the Six Nations, with Jonathan Sexton looking to have pulled a hamstring and also had to be substituted. England, who hadn’t won in Ireland since 2003 looked a mature side considering their team is rather raw and this away win in Dublin will prove to be crucial come the end of the Six Nations, putting them in prime position for the grand slam.

RBS Six Nations 2013 – Round one

Photo Credit: [RBSsixnations.com]

The opening weekend of the Six Nations produced arguably one of the most dramatic opening weekends of the tournament’s history, with each game providing ample drama, worthy of a weekend of test matches. The final scores for round one are as follows:

Wales 22 – 30 Ireland

England 38 – 18 Scotland

Italy 23 – 18 France

Wales and Ireland opened proceedings with a strange game at the Millenium Stadium. Jonathan Davies believed Wales had ‘thought the game started at 2:30, not 1:30’ which was more or less spot on. The defending Grand Slam champions who endured a torrid time during the Autumn tests and went into this Six Nations off the back of seven straights losses, looked devoid of ideas and confidence. They started the first half poorly, and ended it diabolically. In contrast, Brian O’Driscoll who may have lost the captaincy for Ireland, showed no signs of aging, nor injury and produced a man-of-the-match performance to secure the win. It wasn’t easy for them in the end though; a combination of Irish lackadaisical play, and a spirited Welsh resistance helped them fight back from a 3-23 deficit at half-time to 22-30  by the end of the match. A loss is a loss though, and one wonders where the Howley-led Wales squad will go from here with tough games away at Italy and Scotland yet to come.

The England and Scotland game was rather a pleasant surprise for rugby fans with a high score being posted in a Scotland game. The away team have gathered a reputation for choking the life out of games and leeching off opponent’s mistakes, which would be effective if they managed to succeed regularly with this tactic. However, both teams played an open and expansive game, much to the pleasure of spectators. The score shows there was a large gulf between the teams, and whilst partly true, it was mainly a case of England being more clinical with their opportunities. Scotland showed promise of potentially having a very strong counter-attack game, one they should employ more often, scoring a try with runs from their own 22. England were almost surely going to score another try, before Scotland performed a magnificent break-away try, providing enough backs for the overlap, with Hogg, a forward chasing down the ball for a score. England however, were much more consistent, won more of the breakdowns at the ruck, and had far more clinical finishers in their arsenal, with Billy Twelvetrees having a magnificent debut capping it with a try.

Many thought the weekend’s drama was over, with a French domination of Italy sure to follow on Sunday. Despite this, it was arguably Sunday that produced the most breathtaking match in recent years, with Italy edging out strong favourites France 23-18 in a nail-biting final couple of minutes. France, who were welcoming back Michalak after 7 years away from the Six Nations, chose to play him at fly-half, despite him being a scrum-half. They also chose to play Fofana, a natural centre, on the wing. But it wasn’t this that lost them the game; Italy with a magnificent crowd behind them were stronger at the breakdowns, more efficient with their kicking and played a high line, preventing any French flair from being unleashed. In recent years, one could criticise the Italians for only playing a forward game, their backs usually letting them down with knock-ons, poor runs and the inability to tackle just to name a few issues, but this year they appear to have bought their game full-circle, with their backs providing (dare I say) a more dynamic game than the French backs. Scotland and Wales should be very worried.

Magnificent opening weekend and I hope we have more of this in the coming weeks.