England wing had the length of the pitch in front of him but a sidestep past Chris Farrell set him on his way to a memorable try – if only there had been a crowd at Twickenham to see itOh, but Jonny May scored a lovely try, one of the best anyone has seen here in years. It was a full‑tilt sprint from one end of the pitch to the other, the sort you dream about scoring when you’re a little kid with a head full of wild ideas. It had everything except a crowd to cheer it.And what a shame, because it would have been a tonic for everyone who saw it. It was one of those moments that...
Problems with scrum and lineout were punished ruthlessly by Jonny May as Ireland were manhandled out of the gameA first glimpse of a future without Ireland’s longstanding think tank at half-back, a first glimpse of a side that cannot quite summon the fury of recent times – and it reveals a work in progress with much still to accomplish. This England team were in the World Cup final a year ago and are Six Nations champions, but if that is the standard to which Ireland aspire, which it must be, Andy Farrell found much to ponder at Twickenham, his team manhandled out of this contest to a degree surely inconceivable to recent iterations in green.Much was familiar. Ireland made England...
The sport needs every week to be a super Saturday, not a one-off extravaganza, if it is to broaden its appealIf Super Saturday truly lives up to its billing it will be bittersweet. On the one hand, we have three teams still in with a genuine chance of winning the title and the real possibility of a feast of attacking rugby in pursuit of bonus points. If it does turn out that way, though, it leaves me asking why it doesn’t happen every week.If England and Ireland – less so the current France team because they are more built that way anyway – can flick the switch and approach these matches with an attacking mindset we may just have a...
Suddenly, if Ireland can get everything right, an improbable title is firmly back on the radarSo farewell, then, “Super Saturday”. Hello instead to “At Least There’s Still One Game On Saturday” which is not the catchy promotional slogan the Six Nations organisers ideally wanted. At least the pub and bar owners of Cardiff can breathe a sigh of relief. Even if the coronavirus situation in Wales ramps up significantly, the income raised from 70,000 thirsty rugby punters should insulate them for a while.Tournament officials will also be grateful for small mercies. Had the spreading virus taken hold in Europe a month earlier the entire championship would have been decimated. There would have been insufficient spare weekends to replay the games,...
Scotland’s win over France hands England a chance for the title – while Ireland wait in the wingsLeaving aside Manu Tuilagi’s red card and Joe Marler’s bizarre piece of handiwork England had reason to be quietly encouraged by their last Six Nations outing for the foreseeable future. They started well, imposed themselves up front and showed the kind of defensive appetite, in the face of a physical Welsh challenge, that distinguishes the best teams. If this was the last Twickenham hurrah for George Kruis and his long-time lineout guru Steve Borthwick, they went out in style; Tom Curry, Courtney Lawes, Maro Itoje, Kyle Sinckler, Ben Youngs and George Ford all had good games and the absence of Billy and Mako...