Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
The tournament, which I’d say is my favourite international rugby competition (mostly due to its variety), is all the more important this year in the run up to the World Cup. Last year’s champions France put in a very strong performance against a valiant Scottish side, whilst Italy and Ireland produced an underwhelming but close match and England proved themselves to be effective in attack by beating the Welsh.
The first match of the weekend (well, Friday evening) was England vs. Wales. The contest is always a tough and physical one and all the more so with it happening at the Millennium Stadium. England came away from the match victorious (for the first time in Cardiff since 2003), with the final score 19-26, showing a good continuation of their strong form in the Autumn Internationals. Wales, on the other hand, weren't really able to progress from where they left off in December and their opponents were just more clinical and aggressive in attack.
There were some really excellent showings from the men-in-white, particularly Toby Flood, Chris Ashton and Nick Easter (man-of-the-match Flood probably put in his greatest performance yet in an England shirt) with first-time captain Mike Tindall leading by example up front. The fact that the Welsh looked a little clueless should be reason for their fans to worry and with the next three England games at Twickenham, there’s some cause for English supporters to be optimistic.
Saturday’s first game was Italy’s match against Ireland in Rome. The usual impression that Italy are an easy team to defeat is rapidly fading and towards the end of the match (which Ireland won 11-13), it looked like they might be able to come away with a victory. I’d say that inexperience in closing out a game was all that stood in their way and that if they hadn’t mindlessly given away possession, Ronan O’Gara wouldn’t have been able to secure the Irish win. Neither of the teams put in truly great performances but there were occasional flashes of brilliance. Going forward, it’s hard to know what to expect from the Irish, but it should be noted that Italy are looking somewhat more dangerous than in the past.
The final match of the first weekend was France’s clash against Scotland early on Saturday evening. This was probably the most entertaining of the games from the first round, with both sides playing some exciting flowing rugby. Last year’s champions France were the deserving victors in Paris (34-21) but it wasn’t without a good fight from the Scots. Still, the French played some really marvelous attacking rugby and are just as much fun to watch as they were last year. It was hard to gauge how well these teams would perform based on their mixed Autumn campaigns and it looks like both will be impressive - if this form continues, I’d expect both France and Scotland to be threatening.
I’m glad that International rugby is back, as it always provides a great reason to sit in front of the TV with a couple of beers. The Six Nations tournament has kicked off in style, and I can’t wait to see the rest of it unfold.
You must log in to submit a comment.
