A play-off final involving the winner of the Rugby Europe Championship could help to bring new fans to the sportLate on Saturday night in Edinburgh’s Old Town as we walked back to our hotel, the strains of a familiar tune floated past on the chill, gusty breeze. In the pub around the corner they were still having a grand old time and a loud rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was in full swing. Travelling revellers, fellowship, simple pleasures: if you were to bottle the essence of the Six Nations it was right there.The opening weekend of rugby was enjoyable, too, give or take the inclement weather. The grounds were sold out and the singing of the anthems was...
Gregor Townsend’s side continued their knack of winning close encounters in the Six Nations opener against EnglandIf a sign of a team’s progress is their ability to win close matches, Scotland are heading firmly in the right direction. This was hardly a conclusive statement of their Six Nations title credentials but it was not a bad start.It was a second successive victory over England for the first time since 1984 – they went on to win their second grand slam that year – and a third in five meetings with England. Continue reading...
Despite the Six Nations loss to Scotland, Eddie Jones’s side have the makings of a great team if they can learn key lessonsLast time England made the trip to this stadium was back in February 2020, their last away game before the world turned upside down. That was a tight, miserly game on a miserable wet, grey and windy day, and there were long stretches here when it felt as if they had picked the contest up right where they’d left it before the pandemic.The biggest difference was in the England team. Only five of this starting XV had been in that one: Elliot Daly, Tom Curry, Lewis Ludlam, Maro Itoje and Kyle Sinckler. One of them, Daly, was playing...
Conditions can be like nowhere else when the wind gets up but being booed is a mark of respect and should inspire the playersThere are myths about Murrayfield that we hear about every year. Some I agree with, some I don’t, but I can honestly say it is a stadium where the conditions can be like nowhere else. It is one of the hardest stadiums to play in because the shape of it means that when the wind gets inside the bowl it just doesn’t stop swirling.The key for England, then, is to get their preparation right. You can try to acclimatise in the warm-up and that does make a difference, but if the players have not got their mental...
Having won at Twickenham last year, much is expected of Gregor Townsend’s side in the Six Nations openerThis year just happens to be the 1,900th anniversary of the building of Hadrian’s Wall and it feels almost as long since English rugby fans headed north with so much apprehension. While the Calcutta Cup dates back “only” to 1879, Scotland have rarely been as fancied to retain the venerable trophy or inflict successive Six Nations defeats on their neighbours for the first time in 38 years.The weather is slightly ominous, too. While Met Office forecasts have improved since AD122, when the emperor Hadrian sought to protect the Roman empire by constructing a 73-mile barrier between the Tyne and the Solway Firth, some...