The Inkling Volume 3

Six Nations
By Georgina melia
After another year of waiting, my favourite tournament in the
sporting calendar is gracing our screens: the Six Nations. This is
one of the most highly competitive rugby events in the Northern
Hemisphere and is always one of the most entertaining sporting
events you’ll find. Over the next two months, we’ll see some truly
spectacular clashes between these nations with such long-standing
rivalries.
One weekend has already passed in its usual style of close scorelines,
walkaway wins and controversy. Never before has the Six
Nations been open to so many possible winners.
Let’s start with the first nation that quite literally kicked off the
championship: Wales. Wales struggled last year in the competition
losing three out of five of their matches leaving them tucked away in
fifth place and a definite point to prove. Wales also had a turbulent
Autumn International season but now with Warren Gatland back
after coaching the Lions, Wales may return to their former
successes. A strength of the Welsh side has always been their
experience on and off the bench however they are dealing with
some major injury concerns - Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau,
George North and Liam Williams just to a name a few. However, the
match against Scotland proved that this injury crisis did not faze
them – there were some standout performances from Leigh
Halfpenny, Aaron Shingler and Rhys Patchell, who are ones to
watch in the match against England. If Wales continue to give away
few penalties and stay creatively strong whilst keeping a sturdy
defence then they seem to have every chance of making it to the top
two.
Scotland have grown from strength to strength across the last few
years and now have a very creative and talented squad. However,
the Scotland side we saw against Wales was a hark back to their
performances from three or four years ago. I was very excited to
watch Scotland play, but was hugely disappointed at their complete
lack of discipline and shocking defending. Every time they received
possession or turned the ball over they simply wasted the
opportunity by making silly mistakes or not staying patient through
the phases. I had very high hopes for Scotland this championship
but they seriously need to up their game if they stand any chance of
making it to the middle of the table. It’s going to be quite the clash
against France as both teams have got points to prove. However if
Scotland play like they did last week then France should be feeling
quite confident! I thought Scotland were going to be ones to watch
this year but another loss against France would most likely see their
hopes of making the top two vanish.
Unlike last year, Ireland have only had to make one change to the
squad due to injury – prop James Cronin replaced his fellow
Munster teammate David Kilcoyne in their trip to le Stade de
France. Ireland have always been consistent in the tournament and
remain formidable opponents with a grand amount of experience.
The match against France was slow in the first half but proved a
real treat to rugby lovers in the second half. It felt unusual to see
Ireland without scoring a try but Johnny Sexton’s experience and
leadership was very clear in the 83rd minute. I hope to see more of
Ireland’s aerial battles against Italy. It will be more important for
Ireland to win that match – and get four tries for the bonus point –
since they only received four points for the narrow win against
France. Ireland have a dynamic and diverse team, making them
very dangerous and certainly never to be underestimated. This has
been the first time in quite a while where almost every team seems
to be in contention for the trophy.
The French side playing against Ireland in the second half was a
very interesting watch. I was disappointed for them in that match
because their defending against Ireland was very impressive: they
racked up to 41 phases and I really thought that France were going
to hold out and win the points. Many had doubts concerning France
as (in true French style) they sacked their coach just before the Six
Nations and replaced him with Guy Noves... which hasn’t had many
people excited. I think France have got good prospects for this
championship, and despite the loss they did gain one bonus point
for the loss being within seven points. I have no doubts that France
will be heading to Murrayfield with the hope - and belief - that they
can beat Scotland, and if they just stay disciplined and give away
less penalties then they have every chance to win, as I think the
match against Ireland was just a glimpse of what this French team
can do.
The Six Nations for Italy hasn’t been overly forgiving, and at the end
of the 2017 championship it seems questions were being asked
regarding their place in the tournament. Coach Conor O’Shea has
always said that the development of Italy would not happen
overnight, so perhaps this is the year that they could find
themselves out of sixth or fifth position - but the competition is
tough. Italy have always been a team that can catch you on the
break with well-timed interceptions but they struggle with
discipline, keeping defensively organised, and are prone to giving
away penalties because their passion for the sport can sometimes
leave them exposed. I hope to see Italy collecting more points from
penalties and keeping accuracy in line-outs as this is what helps
other teams to create more breathing space when points are so
close. Italy should take a lot of positives from the match against
England as clearly now they are much more aggressive in attack,
their fitness is significantly better and there’s a definite feel of
rejuvenation. It’s fair to say that the score line didn’t quite give
Italy’s performance justice. Italy’s second match sees them with the
mammoth task of heading to Dublin to take on Ireland. This is a
difficult match for any side and I must admit, I remain sceptical for
an Italian win at the Aviva stadium. I just hope that the Italians begin
to believe in themselves because they are certainly showing signs
of improvement.
Last, but certainly not least, England: the consecutive winners for
two years in a row. They certainly are a different team to the one we
saw three years ago in the World Cup. Eddie Jones has taken a risk,
bringing eight un-capped players onto the team and, whilst they
have proven to be talented, it may also be due to the sixteen injuries
England has suffered before the competition. Billy Vunipola is
certainly going to be missed but Sam Simmonds proved to be an
excellent choice, providing a pace the five-stone-heavier Vunipola
cannot. The front eight created a very strong and convincing scrum
and it was good to see very few penalties coming from said scrum.
It’s a shame that Elliot Daly will be missing at least some of this
tournament as he was a marvel to watch over the Autumn
Internationals, as well as during his performances for Wasps - he
has provided England with numerous tries. Watson was
spectacular against Italy with Brown and May providing excellent
pace. One of the highlights of the England squad is the Ford/Farrell
axis as they have proven highly-skilled at organising the game and
maintaining order – skills which were both rewarded with tries in
the last match.
England’s second clash against Wales is one of the most highly
anticipated – and competitive – fixtures in the entire competition
and with both teams almost equally matched in injuries, the
outcome is far from definite. However, neither team has been
defined by their injury list, making it incredibly difficult to judge. The
lack of Dan Biggar’s strategic play and kicking could perhaps prove
costly to Wales (but I would say that, I am an England fan after all!)
yet Leigh Halfpenny proved he was equally up to the job. England
have the home advantage, which will no doubt be a boost, but that
certainly hasn’t stopped Wales before. I have very high hopes for
England this year and I think their performance against Italy was
one of their best.
England have the capability to win the title for the third year in the
row, but the competition is fierce from all sides and every country
has the ability to lift that trophy – only time will tell…