6 Nations with Spoilers

[Levo-Lon]

Go on then, where have Italy improved since they were introduced to the tournament?

I blame the beer ,i thought you were dissing England

I agree totally with the Italy point

 

[Levo-Lon]

Go on then.....I'll say it. I thought Ireland were lucky.

The first try was knocked on in the air. The TMO didn't even bother looking at that. Another was as a result of a turnover gifted by a refereeing error (Itoje was supposedly held up, despite having his hip on the ground).



The best team won the championship, certainly, and well played to them. However, they were more than just a little lucky today.

We have been poor this 6n

 

[AndyRM]

I blame the beer ,i thought you were dissing England

I agree totally with the Italy point

No problem! It would be too easy to diss England. They have been awful this tournament, particularly today. The luck of the Irish had nothing to do with it.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Agree @AndyRM ,looking like a fresh start time for England.
Nothing in this six has looked like a world class team for England, so we need to rebuild for 2019 if they want a sniff of that cup

 

[The Jogger]

The best answer Ireland could give Eddie Jones without even swearing..............................FY Eddie Jones

 

[AndyRM]

Agree @AndyRM ,looking like a fresh start time for England.
Nothing in this six has looked like a world class team for England, so we need to rebuild for 2019 if they want a sniff of that cup

Worryingly it could be the boot in the baws they need to motivate themselves for the WC.

 

[Fonze]

Today I thought Irelands defence was awesome !
The tmo was shite ..
Scotland were lucky ..
And Wales France game was great ..
Overall Ireland deserved to win GS, best team by far, I think Eddie Jones has took England as far as he could and now time for a change, fresh ideas, fresh impatece ..

 

[AndyRM]

I must have been watching a different Wales v France match. Scrappy at best.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

So England come 5th.
And probably deserved too.

So they do, what a shame

Still, if it wasn't for the refs and luck...

 

[MikeG]

Worryingly it could be the boot in the baws they need to motivate themselves for the WC.

It is going to be a hugely interesting tour of SA this winter.

We've been all over the Saffers for the last few years (and that's a collective northern hemisphere "we"). They've been awful. They might just be showing the first signs of a revival under a new coach, and we might be somewhere between taking this same group and trying to get their confidence back, and blooding a whole lot of youngsters. Either way, what looked like being a walk in the park 6 months ago now looks rather more of a challenge.

I think a lot of this current form is because of long term over-reliance on having the battering ram of Billy Vunipola (and let's not forget Tuigamala) leading the charge into the opposition lines. We really are very effective when we have that sort of go-forward. Unfortunately, that seems to be all we've got in terms of attacking options, and his (their) absence is showing up how one-tracked we are. The plan B isn't much of a plan.....in fact, it's somewhat akin to a headless chicken.

 

[AndyRM]

It is going to be a hugely interesting tour of SA this winter.

We've been all over the Saffers for the last few years (and that's a collective northern hemisphere "we"). They've been awful. They might just be showing the first signs of a revival under a new coach, and we might be somewhere between taking this same group and trying to get their confidence back, and blooding a whole lot of youngsters. Either way, what looked like being a walk in the park 6 months ago now looks rather more of a challenge.

I think a lot of this current form is because of long term over-reliance on having the battering ram of Billy Vunipola (and let's not forget Tuigamala) leading the charge into the opposition lines. We really are very effective when we have that sort of go-forward. Unfortunately, that seems to be all we've got in terms of attacking options, and his (their) absence is showing up how one-tracked we are. The plan B isn't much of a plan.....in fact, it's somewhat akin to a headless chicken.

Agree with pretty much all of that, but I'm not sure Tuigamala is going to be coaxed out of retirement. I reckon he'll have lost a few yards of pace if nothing else.

 

[J1888]

As an Ireland fan, I am delighted - thought we throroughly deserved the championship - finally hit that level of consistency that we missed over the last couple of championships.

One of my favourite moments from yesterday was 2 or 3 English players trying to stop Stander getting to the line...guy is unvelievably strong!!

 

[MikeG]

Agree with pretty much all of that, but I'm not sure Tuigamala is going to be coaxed out of retirement. I reckon he'll have lost a few yards of pace if nothing else.

Oops, yeah. Dammit, I meant Tuilagi.

 

[Lullabelle]

So glad Scotland beat Italy.

 

[AndyRM]

Team of the tournament, which I broadly agree with (though I'd have liked to see Huw Jones included):