The scrum-half showed poise and purpose on his 100th cap to score two tries against Italy and bend the game to his will, and was rewarded with the Six Nations title for the fourth timeIt was a forgettable game, fitful and bloodless, but Ben Youngs will always remember it. It was his 100th Test, and one of his very best. He scored two tries, one at the start of the first half, the other at the start of the second, and won the fourth Six Nations title of his career. As Owen Farrell said afterwards, a hundred caps is a hell of an achievement for a man who’s still only 31-year-old. He’s only the second England player to do it,...
From France’s new stars to the architects of Scotland’s improvement, some gongs for an unfinished Six NationsThe Six Nations, like the rest of rugby throughout the world, has been suspended because of the coronavirus outbreak but, with no action to look forward to in the immediate future, it provides a moment to look back on the past couple of months, which have left the title a three-way contest. Continue reading...
The imminent financial turmoil is likely to exploited by those who already have most of the power and moneyYou may have heard about the 13‑year‑old schoolboy from Leeds called Oliver Cooper who, it has been reported, was sent home from school after selling precious squirts of hand sanitiser for 50p each. Cooper’s scheme was rumbled when he recklessly tried to sell a squirt to one of his teachers, although not before he had made £9: a windfall that, according to his mother, is being invested in “a multipack of Doritos” and “a kebab”.All good clean fun and on reflection almost certainly one of those stories that has been trumped up for the benefit of the gullible internet. But a reminder,...
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...