Six nations Week 2

The second week of the six nations and the championship has finally sparked into life. The Wales, Scotland match was brilliant. Thrown away by Scotland but brilliant none the less. France, Ireland was a great display by the French. The Irish look like a side suffering from a slight grand slam hangover.

The game that really was a let down to what was an excellent weekend was England against Italy. Italy have nothing to be ashamed of as they are a side who know their limitations and play to them. They have a tough pack who disrupt ball. England on the other hand look awful. The forwards look comfortable , in a good way. The problem is out in the back line. Every back from Wilkinson to Tait, are decent players however put them together and they look awful.

It is a safety first back line. That having the ball kicked to them causes problems no one takes the ball into the tackle. The option provided seems to be kick the ball in the air. How to fix this? The coaching staff need to let go. The backs are running without inspiration the only way to get it back is to run with the ball and accept errors will occur but don't let that stop the ball being run .

Six Nations Blog

First weekend in the six nations championship. It was very strange the standard of rugby was generally quite poor with mistakes being made. The biggest culprits were Wales not least Wyn Jones the trip that got him sent to the sin bin was endemic of a larger problem. Ball was wasted and turned over the game was won by England on mistakes. The Irish walked a game against Italy again at a canter again not a performance to thrill spectators. France played Scotland again winning at a canter. Hopefully week 2 will give us a better idea of what to expect this week.

The Ruck and Roll Years

On the BBC website at the moment there is a feature called the ruck and roll years. It is a news, rugby union montage.

All I can say is that it is fantastic and more importantly it is a great way to get perspective on the game of rugby union. It should be required watching for every young player in an academy. It shows there is more to rugby union than what people lift in the gym. Decent skill levels have and always be the lifeblood of this game and always will be.