England may be the pre-tournament favourites, but France in Paris is a tricky first hurdle for Eddie Jones’s sideEngland’s World Cup seemed to be judged on the no-show in the final against South Africa, the manner in which they overwhelmed Australia and New Zealand in the previous rounds largely forgotten. They had one of the youngest teams in the tournament with Eddie Jones changing direction a year out from Japan and jettisoning some of his more seasoned players. The result was that they played with greater pace, if not invention, and at last had a complementary back row. Related: Andy Farrell at home with Ireland and prepares to lean on career mentors Related: Gregor Townsend says ‘door is open’ for...
England, Ireland and Wales are among the throng pushing to challenge New Zealand as the World Cup enters crunch timeNormal service has been resumed. After the surreal scenes of the All Blacks not being No 1 (Wales were, then Ireland!) they enter the quarter‑finals back at the top of the rankings, rated by the bookies as twice as likely to win the tournament as the second favourites. Don’t be so sure. It goes without saying they remain the best when on form, but that cancelled game might well be more of a hindrance to them than anyone, given that their last meaningful fixture will have been four weeks before their quarter‑final against Ireland. At least Italy would have been semi-meaningful....
High-class defence and rare stamina make Wales second in the world and leave their Six Nations rivals struggling in their wakeThere is no such thing as an accidental grand slam. Winning five games on the trot in testing conditions against reliably motivated opposition does not merely require skill and nerve but, crucially, rare stamina. Anyone questioning Wales’s status as true five-star champions underestimates the uniquely treacherous climb they have just completed.Yes, Six Nations slam dunks are more frequent than they used to be but this was widely predicted in advance to be the most dog-eat-dog championship of all time. A supposedly impregnable Ireland had just beaten the All Blacks, England began like a bullet train in Dublin and by half-time...
The winger showed off the skills to match his more obvious strength and speed and left Italy in his considerable wakeBlue is not the colour to wear at Twickenham. This was the 29th time England have hosted a Six Nations Test against Italy, France and Scotland and – surprise, surprise – it duly produced a 28th success for the red rose. Whether their opponents opt for navy, midnight, sapphire or cornflower, the prevailing pattern is generally the same. Related: Irrepressible Manu Tuilagi inspires England to thumping win over Italy Related: Wales stay on course for grand slam by holding off battling Scotland Continue reading...
England should finish strongly but Ireland and their rusty half-backs look as if they peaked last yearAs Warren Gatland says, they have forgotten how to lose and it is amazing the way they are able to ramp up their performance levels when they need to. That comes down to the coaching staff and their ability to manipulate their players’ emotions, get them to a point and keep them there. It’s 12 wins a row, they will be absolutely thrilled by that and I think the fallow week comes at the perfect time for them. I know Alun Wyn Jones said they wanted to play this week, they didn’t want to lose the momentum, but my question would be can they...