Article: The Original Rugby Championship - Six Nations 2016

Derm McCrum

Oh yes - that moment you've all been dreading has finally arrived. It's that time of year again where you have to put up with occasional NH posters like myself talking about sub-standard kick-infested rugby played on sodden, muddy pitches in front of delirious, frog-munching, haggis-eating, spud-chewing, leek-wearing, pasta-tossing, red-rose tinted fans. All in the name of having some craic, avoiding wooden spoons, taking Triple Crowns, Millennium Trophies, Garibaldi trophy's Calcutta Cups, and, of course, the venerable Championship title, or whisper it, possibly a Grand Slam. There's Ireland, having been hammered out of the European Cup knockout stages for the first time in 18 years, going for an historic third in a row Championship. There's Wales, pipped on the last day of the 2015 tournament, nearly made it in the RWC quarter-finals, with Gatland looking to add to the NH notches on his belt. There's a Vern Cotter-revived Scotland, looking to start their Championship with a bang in the oldest test rivalry - Calcutta Cup - against the regular foe - in Murrayfield. Guy Noves, multiple winner of T14 titles, heading up a new-look France minus Bastearaud, and possibly looking to improve on where they've been, who knows? Brunel as the competition's regular Don Quixote, heads into his last season as Italy tilt for another scalp, or possibly two. And the bould Eddie Jones, or EJ, as he is already affectionately known amongst the knowing Twickenham faithful, ready to take the Championship by storm and win England their first Grand Slam since 2003. And then the world. Meanwhile, there's Scotland first-up..... The bookmakers have spoken, and EJ is in the hot seat with England installed as 7/4 favourites, followed by Ireland and Wales on 11/4. France are on at 9/2. England are best on the Grand Slam at 4/1 - worth a punt? Edit: I shouldn't forget that the Women's 6 Nations and the U20's Six Nations also happens at the same time, so comments on these are also welcome. Last year's 6N champions: Women's - Ireland U20s - England. The line-up of men's matches, starting on 6 February, goes like this: Round 1 06/02/2016 14:25 France v Italy 06/02/2016 16:50 Scotland v England Murrayfield 07/02/2016 15:00 Ireland v Wales Lansdowne Road Round 2 13/02/2016 14:25 France v Ireland Stade de France 16:50 Wales v Scotland Principality Stadium 14/02/2016 14:00 Italy v England Stadio Olimpico Round 3 26/02/2016 20:05 Wales v France Principality Stadium 27/02/2016 14:25 Italy v Scotland Stadio Olimpico 27/02/2016 16:50 England v Ireland Twickenham Stadium Round 4 12/03/201613:30 Ireland v Italy Lansdowne Road 12/03/2016 16:00 England v Wales Twickenham Stadium 13/03/2016 15:00 Scotland v France Murrayfield Round 5 19/03/2016 14:30 Wales v Italy Principality Stadium 19/03/2016 17:00 Ireland v Scotland Lansdowne Road 19/03/2016 20:00 France v England Stade de France Comment as you like. Likely squads, team sheets, injury woes, play spot-the-kiwi, insightful predictions, and general blather can all be accommodated here. 
 
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MajorRage

Don't you mean the Rugby World Cup plate competition? 
 
(writing this a complete wind-up, but then I checked and if you swap Italy/Japan, it's exactly what it is)

MN5

C'mon Scotland, THIS is the year!!!!!

mariner4life

what channel is it on in Aus this year fullas?

KiwiMurph

For Aus I think it's on Bein Sports this year which is instead of Setanta I think?

MN5

Now that BOD has retired I think I'm ready for Ireland to be my second team again. Go the Celts!!!

mariner4life

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="KiwiMurph" data-cid="554463" data-time="1453866911">
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For Aus I think it's on Bein Sports this year which is instead of Setanta I think?
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</blockquote>
well, i guess I'm not watching it this year either. 
 
I think there are terribly timed replays on ESPN

Virgil

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="MN5" data-cid="554456" data-time="1453864568">
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C'mon Scotland, THIS is the year!!!!!
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To win a game?

MN5

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Virgil" data-cid="554469" data-time="1453867604">
To win a game?</blockquote> 
To win all their games, they're gonna do the Grand Slam, you read it here first.

Billy Tell

Looking very forward to this. I know the quality is not always as good as the 4N, but the centuries-old rivalries between the countries etc give it something extra. However, I think from a rugby point of view also an interesting tournament this year
 
?Can Scotland actually achieve something (which basically means finishing 4th or better for them, doing more than beating Italy, winning more than 1 game)
?How will France and England do under new coaches
?How good a coach is Schmidt really - he has lost his stalwart O'Connell, has a number of injuries, and the RWC fell apart vs Argentina
 
As always, every team (perhaps with the exception of Italy) has at least 1 Kiwi in their ranks, so a little of the local feel there too.

Disgusted of TW

England 23-man squad v Scotland
 
M Brown (Harlequins), A Goode (Saracens), J Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), A Watson (Bath), J Joseph (Bath), O Devoto (Bath), O Farrell (Saracens), G Ford (Bath), D Care (Harlequins), B Youngs (Leicester), J George (Saracens), D Hartley (Northampton, captain), J Marler (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Cole (Leicester), P Hill (Northampton), G Kruis (Saracens), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton), C Robshaw (Harlequins), J Haskell (Wasps), J Clifford (Harlequins), B Vunipola (Saracens).
 
Players released J Beaumont (Sale Sharks), L Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), M Itoje (Saracens), M Kvesic (Gloucester), M Mullan (Wasps), H Thomas (Bath), E Daly (Wasps), S Hill (Exeter Chiefs), S Rokoduguni (Bath), M Yarde (Harlequins).

booboo

"Principality Stadium"? Since when? 
Will try and follow, but likely won't too closely, old age and family tend to restrict my rugby watching nowadays. But am interested this far out in potential 2017 Lions. So it's piqued my interest a touch more than normal.

booboo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="KiwiMurph" data-cid="554463" data-time="1453866911">
For Aus I think it's on Bein Sports this year which is instead of Setanta I think?</blockquote>
 
Well that's another reason I won't watch it.

Catogrande

Looking at that England squad, we'd better wrap Jospeh up in cotton wool as he's the only 13 option. We have four blokes covering 10+12 (Ford, Farrell, Devoto and Goode), Three covering 15 (Brown, Watson and Goode). Four covering 11/14 (Nowell (injured), Watson, Brown and Joseph), but if Joseph goes down we're bollocked. I would have liked to see Daly there instead of either Goode or Devoto, purely for a what if scenario if nothing else.
 
Eddy for all his talk about an out and out 7 has ditched the only out and out 7 in the squad - very disappointing as it seems to point to more attritional play. So in the back row we have three 6s and an 8 plus Lawes who can cover 6 at a pinch. I get that Eddy thinks we can turn Clifford into a 7 but that doesn't happen overnight.
 
I have to say I'm slightly underwhelmed.

SimonAdd

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
Looking at that England squad, we'd better wrap Jospeh up in cotton wool as he's the only 13 option. We have four blokes covering 10+12 (Ford, Farrell, Devoto and Goode), Three covering 15 (Brown, Watson and Goode). Four covering 11/14 (Nowell (injured), Watson, Brown and Joseph), but if Joseph goes down we're bollocked. I would have liked to see Daly there instead of either Goode or Devoto, purely for a what if scenario if nothing else. 
Eddy for all his talk about an out and out 7 has ditched the only out and out 7 in the squad - very disappointing as it seems to point to more attritional play. So in the back row we have three 6s and an 8 plus Lawes who can cover 6 at a pinch. I get that Eddy thinks we can turn Clifford into a 7 but that doesn't happen overnight. 
I have to say I'm slightly underwhelmed.</blockquote>Agreed. I know there's more to openside play than just jackaling, but given what happened against Australia in the world cup you would have though it would be an issue Eddie would address more boldly. 
Kvesic leads the premiership with 15 steals in 12 games played. Haskell and Robshaw have 4, Clifford 3.

Catogrande

Simon, did you read Austin Healey's interview re the selections? Echo's what we're thinking. Writing in the Torygraph:-
 
I really wanted to be excited by his first squad, but, like many, I have been left underwhelmed. These things take time of course, but I thought Eddie would go for it from the off.
<blockquote>
I would rather lose at Murrayfield seeing new blood, new style and a new-looking team than the same old safe options.
</blockquote>
Indeed he was quick to point out that many of the issues that dogged Stuart Lancaster at both inside centre and the back row remain.
<blockquote>
The overall balance of the midfield also looks wrong to me if they go with the George Ford and Owen Farrell combination. We have seen them play together before and it did not workâ€¦
If they go with Chris Robshaw, Haskell and Billy Vunipola where is your third line-out jumper?
Haskell can barely jump, you would need a couple of forklifts to get Vunipola off the ground and, while Robshaw can be lifted, he is not going to get that high.
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</blockquote>

antipodean

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Catogrande" data-cid="555291" data-time="1454146176">
<div>
 
If they go with Chris Robshaw, Haskell and Billy Vunipola where is your third line-out jumper?
 
Haskell can barely jump, you would need a couple of forklifts to get Vunipola off the ground and, while Robshaw can be lifted, he is not going to get that high.
<div> </div>
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</blockquote>
 
That looks like the Wallabies, but slow. Horribly unbalanced and giving away at other key facets of the game.
 
Dare I say it, his coaching career was made on the back of players like Finegan, Gregan, Larkham, Mortlock, George Smith and Joe Roff. Certainly not a bad coterie to base a gameplan around.

SimonAdd

I'm hoping that Eddie is just going with experience as a stopgap while he gets to know the players and brings the young blood through. 
But I can't help feeling that Itoje and Kvesic would be a better-balanced and more dynamic partnership on the flanks than Haskell and Robshaw, Devoto is a more varied 12 who would make more room for his outsides than Farrell, and George is a better ball-carrier with a more established set-piece partnership with Vunipola and Kruis than Hartley.

SimonAdd

Having said all that, I think Healey is a bit off the mark with the lineout. Robshaw and Haskell are decent enough jumpers - not true specialists like Croft, Wood or Itoje, but they'll do a job.

SimonAdd

Itoje having a stormer of a second half for Saracens vs Bath. Playing at lock but at 195cm and mobile with it, he looks like a blindside to me. Great carrying, big tackling, enormous work rate, 10 turnovers won this season and an genuine lineout option. Eddie has to look at him vs Italy, surely?

The Silver Fern

Article: The Original Rugby Championship - Six Nations 2016