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...
The quality may never have been higher and revenues dwarf those of the World Cup – no wonder South Africa wants to joinHuman beings have a troublesome relationship with statistics. Them and damned lies. The wise treat them with caution, but only a fool, alas, dismisses these numbers as worthless. The hysterical, meanwhile, react extravagantly to whatever they find at the end of their nose and co-opt whichever statistics support their hysteria.This Six Nations has been hailed already as the most competitive and deliciously anticipated in the history of the world, ever. “It says behind me: ‘Rugby’s Greatest Championship,’” said Eddie Jones last week, in front of the mandatory branding, “and I think it is that now by a country...
With Ireland strong, Scotland inconsistent and Wales hit by injuries, it feels as if the top five teams can all beat each otherTwickenham Stadium has a particular smell on a game day. It’s the fug of sweat and condensed breath when you’re pressed up close, sizzling sausages and onions, spilled beer, mud, waxed jackets and, when it’s raining, of wet wool. You used to catch gusts of cigar smoke, too, until they banned smoking. I never thought I would miss it particularly, but round about now anything that offers a hint of spring is welcome. After the past two years, when the Six Nations lost so much of its colour and fun while it was being played in empty stadiums,...
This manic and beguiling tournament gave little clue about what will happen next, least of all about Eddie Jones’ futureAutumn austerity turned into a spring splurge. It was as if players felt liberated outside their Covid bubble, prisoners of the pandemic running free. The disappointment was that there were no spectators to witness a Six Nations tournament where every team except Italy had its day and, for once, defences did not dominate.Wales went from fifth to first, confirmed as champions after France failed to beat Scotland on Friday night, swapping places with England who just 17 months ago looked rugby’s coming force. Now a panel is being convened by Twickenham to sift through the flotsam of a campaign which started...