Italy were a disappointment against Wales but even if they get back to their best they’ll only give Scotland a good run for their money. Its got the potential to be a fun game with lots of harum scarum rugby as both teams chuck the ball about.
France can still be mercurial and Wales have more mental steel than England but its hard not to see a France win by a good margin, but not a bigger margin than England’s loss to France. (And weren’t France great to watch?)
At the start of the week we were told than England now have nothing to lose and can relax and go for it so they picked Farrell, JVP and Dombrandt, so expect more of the plodding kicking game, if they get to see the ball. Should there be a rare occasion when the ball gets to Tuilagi he’ll just run at the opposition’s shoulders as usual and the ball will get turned over, then he’ll get injured. England’s potentially exciting back 3 are going to be on the back foot all the time.
I expect Ireland to pick England apart and get close to France’s score with the aim of beating it to throw down a marker, but live in hope I’m wrong.
As an aside, the old farts at Twickenham need the lions’ treatment for not offering Shaun Edwards a 4 year contract and not ditching Jones earlier, much earlier, and letting it get to the point where the world’s worst travelling team, France, went to the one time fortress Twickenham and gave England the spanking thy deserved.
philip
At 14:1 Wales are almost an attractive bet. To win the championship France have to get a bonus point and a big points difference. That could lead to some surprises.
Mind you, bookies’ odds do have some relationship with actual probability. You can get 100:1 on the double of Wales and England. England’s selection is so clearly damage limitation that 15:2 looks ungenerous.
The Meissen Bison
Ireland out of sight
And out of mind? Wouldn’t that be nice!
It rather seems as though Sunak’s Windsor Framework is the a reincarnation of May’s Brexit deal – cobbled together by remainer civil servants and their Brussels opposite numbers and marketed as a breakthrough by politicians who want the problem to go away and gloss over the pretty flagrant stitch-up.
Sunak thinks he has twenty MPs rebelling on this next week. I hope the little weasel’s wrong.
Jimmers
BiND.
100%.
I live on the Emerald Isle, and would usually be in the pub watching the games. Not today.
Bloke in North Dorset
In the end …
The final score flattered Scotland and they look a much weaker team with Hogg. Italy were sloppy and could easily have won that game.
France were enjoyable to watch and worthy winners and Wales showed some fight, but never really looked to be in it.
Fair play to England, they showed some spirit if not ability but those cards not withstanding that score always looked likely and is a reflection of the differences between the 2 teams. In the current climate of player welfare England can’t complain about two cards even if on another day they might both have been different.
Ireland worthy GS winners, the only shame is that the Ireland France game was at the start of the tournament and not the last game, it would have been a much better specatacle.
Italy were a disappointment against Wales but even if they get back to their best they’ll only give Scotland a good run for their money. Its got the potential to be a fun game with lots of harum scarum rugby as both teams chuck the ball about.
France can still be mercurial and Wales have more mental steel than England but its hard not to see a France win by a good margin, but not a bigger margin than England’s loss to France. (And weren’t France great to watch?)
At the start of the week we were told than England now have nothing to lose and can relax and go for it so they picked Farrell, JVP and Dombrandt, so expect more of the plodding kicking game, if they get to see the ball. Should there be a rare occasion when the ball gets to Tuilagi he’ll just run at the opposition’s shoulders as usual and the ball will get turned over, then he’ll get injured. England’s potentially exciting back 3 are going to be on the back foot all the time.
I expect Ireland to pick England apart and get close to France’s score with the aim of beating it to throw down a marker, but live in hope I’m wrong.
As an aside, the old farts at Twickenham need the lions’ treatment for not offering Shaun Edwards a 4 year contract and not ditching Jones earlier, much earlier, and letting it get to the point where the world’s worst travelling team, France, went to the one time fortress Twickenham and gave England the spanking thy deserved.
At 14:1 Wales are almost an attractive bet. To win the championship France have to get a bonus point and a big points difference. That could lead to some surprises.
Mind you, bookies’ odds do have some relationship with actual probability. You can get 100:1 on the double of Wales and England. England’s selection is so clearly damage limitation that 15:2 looks ungenerous.
Ireland out of sight
And out of mind? Wouldn’t that be nice!
It rather seems as though Sunak’s Windsor Framework is the a reincarnation of May’s Brexit deal – cobbled together by remainer civil servants and their Brussels opposite numbers and marketed as a breakthrough by politicians who want the problem to go away and gloss over the pretty flagrant stitch-up.
Sunak thinks he has twenty MPs rebelling on this next week. I hope the little weasel’s wrong.
BiND.
100%.
I live on the Emerald Isle, and would usually be in the pub watching the games. Not today.
In the end …
The final score flattered Scotland and they look a much weaker team with Hogg. Italy were sloppy and could easily have won that game.
France were enjoyable to watch and worthy winners and Wales showed some fight, but never really looked to be in it.
Fair play to England, they showed some spirit if not ability but those cards not withstanding that score always looked likely and is a reflection of the differences between the 2 teams. In the current climate of player welfare England can’t complain about two cards even if on another day they might both have been different.
Ireland worthy GS winners, the only shame is that the Ireland France game was at the start of the tournament and not the last game, it would have been a much better specatacle.