As Les Bleus chase a first grand slam in 12 years, more questions than answers exist for France, England and IrelandAnd so the Six Nations has the last tango it wanted. A packed Stade de France and a primetime television audience, a grand slam up for grabs and enough pre-match talking points to wallpaper the Louvre. Can France be stopped? Are England capable of being party-poopers? Is there any chance of Ireland sneaking up on the blindside? Regardless of the answers, “Super Saturday” will be lively.On the evidence of the penultimate weekend’s three games, France should be feeling quietly confident as they eye a first grand slam for 12 years. Continue reading...
The Ireland captain and talisman left his mark eventually despite being a peripheral figure for much of the gameAs the final whistle blew on a bruising and barnstorming and brilliant evening’s entertainment, Ireland’s players wreathed each other in hugs: their ordeal finally at an end, their conquest complete. Johnny Sexton, their captain and talisman, was not among them. He had been withdrawn with a few seconds left on the clock, presumably to grant him one last valedictory ovation from a Twickenham crowd that may never see him in action again.This is the sort of treatment Sexton should probably start getting used to over the coming months. Earlier in the week he finally ended months of speculation by revealing that his...
England showed pride and resilience after Charlie Ewels’ early red card to push Ireland all the way before falling to a 32-15 lossSo it wasn’t one of the great victories. But it may just go down as one of the great defeats. The game should have been as good as over before it had even really started, cut short by a red card after Charlie Ewels’ reckless tackle on James Ryan.The crowd didn’t like it, and booed long and loudly after Mathieu Raynal made the decision. But of course the referee was right. The fans’ frustration overwhelmed everything they’ve learned in the last few years about the long-term consequences of those kinds of collisions. But really, all that knowledge about...
The Six Nations leaders were pushed all the way by Wales’s rejigged pack and their bitterest enemies will have taken noteAnother step negotiated by New France, as they progress to their own World Cup next year – and, before that, a date with their bitterest enemy, everyone’s bitterest enemy in rugby’s small world, England in Paris next weekend.Another successful step there, and a grand slam will be theirs, a first since 2010, a first title since 2010, a dozen years, long and barren. That said, this notion that France are in a different class to les autres suffered a few cracks. Continue reading...
The danger of head injuries is clear, but enforcing regulations can lead to a farce such as that seen in Ireland v ItalyEveryone who enjoys rugby union will have winced at some stage over the weekend. For many it will have been the moment when Italy’s admirable captain, Michele Lamaro, discovered his team would, by the dispiriting letter of the law, have to soldier on with 13 men for an hour against one of the world’s top sides. Alternatively, it might have been the footage of a staggering Tomas Francis rejoining the fray at Twickenham having exhibited precisely the kind of ataxia symptoms that should see players permanently removed.Or maybe it was the frequent long stoppages in both games. Or...