Eddie Jones will surely build his back row around his new No 8 but coach may regret not having tried a couple more rolls of the diceThe theory went that this was a conservative England team selected by Eddie Jones. That the number of matches before the World Cup is dwindling and this was the time to give fringe players a taste of the white heat of Six Nations battle. Jones was having none of it, but it cannot be denied that the most eye-catching performance of this ultimately predictable victory – England’s self-styled hunters eventually feasting on their Italian prey – was that of Sam Simmonds, the newest member of this side.Granted Simmonds’s selection was hardly a surprise, given...
Gregor Townsend left Greig Laidlaw on the bench, preferring the young Glasgow scrum-half, and by the time the steady old hand got on Scotland were 20-0 downOptimism does not come easy to the Scottish, not in the Six Nations, where their team has lost almost three times as many games as they have won. Their fans’ faith has been worn thin by all those fourth and fifth and sixth place finishes since they won the final Five Nations back in 1999. This year looked set to be a little different, though, after their fine performances in the autumn. They came to Cardiff with a slick team, a sharp coach and high hopes. These lasted 11 minutes, like some brief glimpse...
Eddie Jones can expect his toughest Six Nations yet, Ireland will threaten if they can improve away and Scotland need a winning startBidding for a third successive title, they are the team to beat having lost only once in 23 Tests under Eddie Jones. They often relied on their bench last season to compensate for slow starts, winning last year for the most part without being imperious. Injuries and suspensions have disrupted them again and, while they have the greatest strength in depth of any side in the tournament, Jones has yet to see the leadership qualities in his youngest recruits that would make him consider moving on such as Dylan Hartley and Mike Brown. England thrive on quick ball...
France have a back-row who makes even Maro Itoje appear sluggish, while another brilliant Leinster product can shineSekou Macalou (France): Pretty much everyone has given up on French rugby. Even when they are not sacking their national coach or having their national training centre raided by police investigating the alleged activities of Bernard Laporte, president of the French Federation, Les Bleus are still widely seen as a shambles. And yet, when it comes to promising young players, France possess two of the most dazzling diamonds in the tournament in the form of Matthieu Jalibert, their new 19-year-old whiz-kid of a fly-half, and Sekou Macalou, a 22-year-old back-row who makes even Maro Itoje appear sluggish. The gifted Jalibert has the full...
Eddie Jones’s side are well placed to chase down a third successive title, despite missing a number of LionsThe Six Nations launch was a story of the sick nations. Between them they had 57 players either doubtful or unavailable for at least the opening round, a figure that was added to the following day when the Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.England led the way with 14 absentees, followed by Ireland on 11 and Wales, together with Scotland, on 10. The new France coach, Jacques Brunel, is without nine players, although such is his rush to airbrush out his predecessor, Guy Novès, that he would probably have overlooked most of them, and...