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It starts this Friday with France vs. Wales

The two favorites, Ireland and England will face each other in Dublin this Saturday.
Do you guys follow Rugby Union ? Who are your favorites for this tournament ? Personally it's my favorite sport to watch.

Of course, I'll be rooting for France even though they are probably the most annoying team in the world (huge underachievers)but I think Ireland might be up for a 2nd consecutive win.

Yes Ireland are in no doubt the favourites. The 6 nations championship
this year is a special one because of the Rugby World Cup this year also.
The 6 nations is a spring board for the RWC.

The 6 nations always throws up surprises and it can all hinge on injuries
to key players.

I have money on Ireland to win both the championship and the triple crown.

Of course Ireland are my favourite team and rugby too is my favourite sport.

France are indeed underperformers, they dont click as a team and are a team
of brilliant individuals.

I'm surprised there's not more people interested in this thread. I would have thought some of you from the UK would be posting.
Anyway the tournament starts tonight with France facing Wales.
These are the two starting XVs :

https://i.imgur.com/wvm5m38.png

French team looks more solid than it has lately. Except for Ntamack at 12 (too young, not physical enough), the coach isn't making any "experiment" this time.
I believe this team needs synergy and it's high time we find a starting 15 and work from there. Enough with the "coups", those guys play one good game, get praised way too much and then disappear. We need players used to the top level.
Anyway, it should be a close game. I'll go with France but not by much.

Is that even a question? The Irish lads are going to win the shit outta these games. France I believe is the next best team which has the potential but again I doubt the lads are taking a shite on this one.

Tough loss for France tonight, the first half Wales were not at the game
and after a few French handling errors in the second half Wales started
to believe in themselves again.

Just goes to show anything can happen in rugby and the slightest mistake
can turn the tables.

The simple handling error from Frances Huget allows George North in to
score a try, this sets Wales up for a strong second half.
Another gifter try for Wales after Ntamack throws a long looping pass wide
but North intercepts and runs clear to score.

The pass was actually from Vahaamahina.
I watched the game last night, it was soo French, I mean so frustrating.
France led 16-0 at the half and still managed to lose this one.
Since Wales wasn't playing defense in the first half we thought it'd be a good idea to give them the ball to score directly in the second half.
Two tries were given. One from Huget who decided to slide to his end zone and lose the ball instead of staying on his feet and kick the ball away.
And another one when we were about to score but thought "naaah too easy, here's the ball, you just have 80 meters to run and score now".

Seriously, this is how every game is for France, like we refuse to win!

I see Ireland as the favourites here although I personally prefer Rugby League over Rugby Union. It is faster, more explosive and has less interruptions like scrums and lineouts. But still a wonderful sport, especially the mentality of the players and their dedication is what caught my eye the first time I watched rugby. In football players pretend to be injured, in rugby they pretend they are not!

I used to play Rugby when I was a kid, hated it. My Dad made me go, I much prefer football :D
I think Ireland will win the Six Nations btw, obviously the England game could change that end result though.

Scotland beat Italy 33-20 (only) in the 2nd game.
Right now, England is leading in Dublin at half-time. I'm not that surprised actually.

Why? This is very surprising because it's on the home ground for the lads and they can't lose on this one! At this point, England is still leading but I hope that will be changed in a few minutes.

England had a bad 2018 season but when you look at the players they have, there is a looot of talent there. They're just playing at the level they should be playing, something they didn't do last year.

Game is not over though. These are two very good teams.

Well well, looks like a very hungry and physical England team won out
Today. Ireland couldnt natch them on speed and physicality, on the
day England were the better team and Ireland performed under par.

Its a big blow fir Ireland to retain the championship and my bet is void.

I thought the Wales vs France game was good, but wow, the England vs Ireland game yesterday was incredible. Both teams were fully up for it and it was a great battle on the pitch. That has got to be one of the biggest shock results in recent times.

Oh yes, plenty of action with some controversy thrown in. That match was
the 6 Nations flagship event really.
Im not sure about shock results, England and Ireland are closely matched
There are only small percentages in the difference between both over a
number of areas. We cannot rule out Wales either, they could do a job on
England to throw the championship wide open.

Round 2 starting tomorrow with Ireland v Scotland and finishing on Sunday
with England v France. Two big games and two must win games for both
Ireland and France.

I see Ireland bouncing back after last weeks defeat and I cannot see France
beating England based on Frances Jekyll and Hyde performance last week.

Agreed, no way can France win this one. I hear Itoje is out of the game but England has enough good players to replace him.

France loss should bet an easy bet just going off consistency but for the same reason I think Ireland can still win it overall despite that loss, England will have to maintain a high level of play to convince me overall

Are France any good these days? When I was a kid (I’m in my early 30’s) they were a good team. My Dad watches a lot of Rugby, I’m not a fan myself but I always watch good sport when it’s on TV.

I guess England are outright favourites to win it now after beating Ireland.

No they are terrible. I blame it on their national championship where there is a lot of money and into which they bring a lot of foreign players which means the young French players don't have much playing time and can't develop into good payers.

The National team is a mess, there are about 80 players that can play in it, noone knows who the best player is at each position, they're interchangeable.
If you take any top team like England, Ireland or the All Blacks, there is a clear hierarchy between players. In France, we have no idea who is better than who so we make experiments almost every game and in the end we don't have any team chemistry.
The potential is there though.

That is spot on, France also place a bigger emphasis on their
club teams which also leads to the above confusion.
They have brilliant players but all individual and not playing
as a team.


Absolutely, Ireland can still win but it is out of their hands now
the other KEY match is Wales v England, could be very close,
Injuries will always play a part though.

https://www.world.rugby/rankings/mru

I'm definitely rooting for France the next game, I'd really like to see them win it this year.
Think I might even place a bet on them, to take it home this year.

Really like the odds that I'm getting.

Well as a taste BET365 have them at 66/1 to win, nice odds but its for
a reason. They have another 2 challenging tests ahead, England and Ireland.

Interestingly they have wales ahead of Ireland...

England 4/6
Wales 11/4
Ireland 6/1

Did anyone watch the matches at the weekend?

France really didn't turn up to Twickenham, it was all over in
the first half with the intensity of England.

If they manage to keep their momentum going I cannot see
Wales being able to contain them.

Back to France, It could be worth putting a few $£€ on Italy
to beat them.

Ireland looked to be in control of their match against Scotland
but never got into top gear and failed to secure the bonus point
win, they were missing a few big name players.

I watched the games.
The French were humiliated. They should sack the coach after such a performance. Brunel has no idea what he's doing.
The back three consisted of players who were not playing at their usual position (Huget, Fickou and Penaud) and who are known to be terrible defenders. The English tactics was so easy : kick behind that backline ! They did that the whole game and nothing was done to fix the problem, except change Huget for Ramos.
As a result, four tries were scored on Penaud's side, the right side of defense. Johnny May scored three times in the first half.
We're lucky the English played at only 50% in the second half, they could have scored 70 points easily and I mean it.

Seriously, what do you expect from a team that plays with Lambey, Bamba (he plays in pro D2 for god's sakes !), Ntamack, Aldegheri, Alldritt, Bourgarit ?
Who the fuck are those guys ? I know a lot about French Rugby and those guys are more than average. They are under 23, have less than 5 caps each and most of them don't even start in their clubs.
French rugby has to stop expecting for a miracle, it will not happen ! You don't beat the All Blacks with a junior team, do you ?

I agree, i thought England would put up 60 points.

Brunel keeps changing the team, 10 changes for the England game
how does he expect go have consistency in a team if you keep changing
it around.

You could arguably say they performed better in their 1st match against
wales.

Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez are out of the group that will play Scotland this weekend. Apparently, they are punished for criticizing the coaching staff.
Well, that sucks since they are probably our only international-level players.
This is the starting 15 for Saturday.

15. Ramos ; 14. Huget, 13. Bastareaud, 12. Fickou, 11. Penaud ; 10. Ntamack, 9. Dupont ; 7. Iturria, 8. Picamoles, 6. Lauret ; 5. Lambey, 4. Vahaamahina ; 3. Bamba, 2. Guirado (cap.), 1. Poirot

I think we have a shot... if the Scots miss the bus.

Tough one to call, scotland are in 3rd behind Wales and ahead of Ireland
so they definitely have an eye on second spot.

I dont know where France are heading, such a pity, 2 losses from the first
Two games.....

Everyone needs/wants Wales to perform against England to open the
championship up a bit.

My thoughts on that XV (if anyone cares) :

15 Ramos : very good club player. Kicks very well... but he's too young, this is only his 2nd cap and his 1st start. And he's way too light. I guess it could work if he had good defensive wingers but Huget and Penaud are terrible. That back three is gonna get crushed once again.

14 Huget : never been good, never will be. There was a time when people thought he was a decent player but that was because the other players around him were even worse

13 Bastareaud : put him at 8 for god's sake ! He is not fast or technical enough to play centre.

12 Fickou : too soft for international level.

11 Penaud : he is talented, not a good player yet but he will be. But please, he's a centre, not a winger.

10 Ntamack : every year the French coach decides to "break" a youngster during the Six Nations. Last year it was Belleau, two years ago it was Serin. They are thrown into a terrible team with way too many responsibilities and get trashed by the press afterwards because they failed. They usually never recover. He's too young, too light, give him time, come on !

9 Dupont : our most talented player by far but he still has to prove that he is the number one at this position. Same as the others, he's young, he should be a number 2, not a starter yet.

8 Picamoles : overrated. Big guy who can't do much with the ball, especially if he doesn't have any players to back him up when he charges.

7 Iturria : decent young player with potential but his real position is at lock. Young player, not playing where he should be = not good

6 Lauret : every team needs a player like him in defense. He's our McCaw or our Sam Cane... except these two are 10 times the player he is.

5 Lambey : lol. He doesn't even look like a rugby player. Very average, even at club level. No idea what he's doing here.

4 Vahaamahina : good club player who still has a lot to prove at international level. He waited a very long time before being a starter in this team, there's a reason for that. He still has to be much more regular.

3 Bamba : plays in French second division lol. Big dude, that's about it. Too young also.

2 Guirado : heart isn't enough to make you a good rugby player. Technically very weak.

1 Poirot : very average club player. Too light in scrums and brings nothing special in the game.

Interesting analysis, looks like there are a lot of players playing
out of position or are unproven in their position.

As I mentioned before, there are some top class players on the
team but the goal is to get a team unit working to a system.

Well apparently, Scotland has 20 players(!) out for injury : Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg, Huw Jones...

yes big losses! particularly Hogg.

Looking at the odds, Scotland are obviously favourites. France 2/5 with Scotland 9/4

I cannot believe there isn't more interest in this thread, there has
to be more members interested in Rugby and the Six Nations is the
biggest competition in the Northern Hemisphere.

France scire first with a beautiful display of counter attacking Rugby
started by Ramos.
Its 17 minutes in and its 10-0 to France and its France playing all the
Rugby at the moment.

I couldn't watch the game live yesterday, I just watched the replay now.
So we beat a Scotland B team at home... not much to say here.
Ntamack played a good game. Lauret made lots of tackles, as always.

Just read that Wales beat England at home. A bit of a surprise but it's a good thing for the tournament.

France is playing in Ireland tomorrow. They're gonna start the same players they did for the Scotland game, which means 8 players under 25 years old !
I believe we can lose this one by 40 points lol.

Is there any point in France being in it any more?
Oh sorry I meant Italy. So easy to get them mixed up.
No but seriously, I know I haven't a leg to stand on with England.
Someone please let me know when you do a World Cup thread?

5 seconds !
It's the time we have spent in Ireland's 22s in the first half lol (this is a real stat, I'm not joking).
We're down 19-0 at halftime, everything's going as expected !  ::)

Final score : 26-14
Thank you Ireland for not giving 100% in the second half and for letting us score twice in the last 3 minutes.
Now Wales will try to win the Grand Slam at home against the Irish next week. Interesting game for sure !

Damn, the Italians suck, maybe even more than the French.
They've been near the French goal line many times but still haven't scored a try. Way too many mistakes !
France leads 10-6 at halftime.

France beats Italy 25-14 in Rome.
The Italians were probably the better team but they missed too many opportunities to score, they made many handling errors.

Wales has done it !
It's a Grand Slam for them after an impressive win at home against Ireland this afternoon.
They may not have been the best team in the tournament (England ?) but you can't argue with a Grand Slam so congrats to them.

https://i.imgur.com/mPHDw87.png

Just posting to remind everyone the unpopular choices can be the best  8)

Wales now ranked 2nd in the world, tiny country but easily fights above its weight  :)    Ireland asking for the roof open knowing the weather would be awful, a desperate wildcard attempt to throw off a strong Welsh team is my only guess.    Bad idea when every Welshman has played in the rain for most of their lives, famously super rainy country  :P