Ireland are the favourites to win the 2017 tournament but face competition from England, with Scotland an outside betRobert Kitson Ireland. Hard to see them folding at home to England on the final weekend with a potential title and Lions tour berths up for grabs. Related: Eddie Jones has match fitness problems in England pack for France opener Related: Wales ask to play all Six Nations home games under closed Cardiff roof Continue reading...
When Les Bleus face England at Twickenham, imagine a pack with terrifying power and a clever set of midfield backs, running instinctively brilliant linesHere are some names to conjure with: Serge Blanco, Denis Charvet, Philippe Sella, Didier Codorniou, Jean-Baptiste Lafond. Here are some more: Jean-Pierre Rives, Walter Spanghero, Gérard Cholley, Robert Paparemborde, Jean-Pierre Bastiat. All retired players from a distant era, perhaps, but simply writing them down is enough to make you want to rise instantly from your desk, sing La Marseillaise at full volume and launch a hunt for a live cockerel.For those of us from the opposite side of the Channel there was never any doubt about the most breathless fixture in the old Five Nations. True, whenever...
The trip to New Zealand, despite the schedule, can restore faith and the Six Nations is shaping up nicely but with the professional era now more than 20 years old, the sport’s administrators must show conviction in the next 12 monthsThe most pertinent rugby quote of 2016, inevitably, came from Eddie Jones. “There’s only pressure when you don’t know what you’re doing,” murmured England’s head coach shortly before guiding his adopted country to their 13th Test victory of a perfect calendar year. As a short, sharp Twitter-friendly summation of how and why the Australian guru has turned English fortunes around, it was inch-perfect.What would England’s national cricket and football teams do for a milligram of Jones’s self-assurance right now? Maybe...
Ireland’s latest bruising win shows they are the real deal, England’s set-piece strength will be key against Australia, and New Zealand are human after allWhen Ireland beat New Zealand on 5 November, and the All Blacks returned the favour two weeks later in Dublin, there was a sense that the two best teams in the world were slugging it out. But in that second game, Ireland were not just beaten, but beaten up, left bruised and bloodied by the brutal All Blacks. They were forced into three early changes, with Johnny Sexton and Robbie Henshaw ruled out of the clash with Australia. Simon Zebo had a knock, and CJ Stander overcame a head injury. On matchday morn, Sean O’Brien joined...
Elliot Daly in the spotlight for England, Ireland face a test of their consistency from the Wallabies and can Italy capitalise on Springboks upset?On one hand, Eddie Jones’s decision to stick with Elliot Daly on the wing again makes sense – he was excellent against Fiji, singled out for praise by the head coach, has the necessary pace and is willing to go looking for the ball. On the other, Semesa Rokoduguni’s omission seems harsh: before last Saturday Daly had not started on the wing since March 2013 and you cannot help but wonder how his overlooked Wasps club-mate Christian Wade might feel. But Daly’s versatility is clearly valued by Jones and giving him more game time there feels like...