Taking revenge on teams who beat them in 2018, England have shown no mercy against Ireland and FranceThis Six Nations is starting to feel like a slasher flick, with England ticking off their victims one by one. They are taking bloody revenge on everyone who beat them in 2018, Ireland last weekend and now France. This was another pitiless performance.The idea France might surprise them, and everyone else, was shattered in the opening 60 seconds with a couple of nightmare tackles. Yoann Huget ran smack into both Vunipolas. He may as well have burst in on the Krays in the back room of the Blind Beggar. Then Guilhem Guirado was splattered by Courtney Lawes. Guirado coughed up the ball like...
France may shrug and move on, but at Twickenham their senior players let the side down allowing England to dominate proceedings from the startThe temptation is to throw arms skywards, to pronounce the death of a once-mighty rugby nation, but the truth is this feels all too familiar. Only France among rugby’s top nations are capable of this sort of implosion, just as they can on occasion come back from the dead.France are no more dead than they ever have been. They will shrug and move on to Paris to welcome Scotland but they are no closer either to giving us a sense of who they are. We thought there might be grounds for optimism in their recent outings, intermingling...
Specialist selected to leave Jack Nowell sitting on the sidelines after being trusted by Eddie Jones for the big one in DublinEddie Jones is the ultimate tinkerman. He does not make major changes when England lose but at the same time he always keeps things fresh, even when they have a performance like they did against Ireland. I can’t think of a single time he has named an unchanged team and so it comes as no surprise he has tweaked his side more than expected to play France.You have to feel for Jack Nowell. He was given a golden ticket against Ireland and anyone who is trusted like that must be extremely valuable. Now he has effectively got a match...
France have learned from their mistakes and beginnings of a team for tomorrow could be forged against England on SundayIn the aftermath of France’s second-half implosion against Wales, there was an explosion of a lazy stereotype with “typically French” uttered loin et large across TV, radio and social media to explain away the team’s performance.Having spent the past 18 months working in French rugby such pigeonholing sits uncomfortably. Surely no one can have been referring to an inability of French sportsmen and women to deliver when it matters? The current French football world champions, who won the most competitive tournament in the world, might disagree they bottled it for a start. It does not apply in French rugby, either. The...
Dusting down a video of the wing finishing off Twickenham’s greatest try could help Sunday’s deflated visitors turn a cornerEvery now and again sport goes through a glorious retro phase. Cricket is back where it used to be in the 1980s with West Indies smashing England in the Caribbean, while Wolves are once again a footballing force. England’s rugby men are also back in business, evoking memories of 2003 by taking Ireland to the cleaners in Dublin.It is a large part of what keeps every sports lover coming back: the romantic idea that, despite years of evidence to the contrary, the good times will one day return. The Six Nations relies heavily on precisely that emotion. That sense of fresh...