IRELAND: No Backspace
A brief, incomprehensive preview of Ireland’s Six Nations 2020, written fast
Having muffed the entire last calendar year, Irish rugby returns to Europe feeling sorry for itself. The normal provincial success continues, but means nothing come the bitter dawn of the first weekend of February. It’s Six Nations time.
Daddy Faz is our new leader and he’s talked a lot of fan-service shite about how we’ll be a pure-running Irish team, ferocious and feral and flames for eyes. His actual vision for the side will get its first public airing this weekend. Many of the personnel are the same as the World Cup – too many, in a particular rather than strategic sense – but this still represents a period of major change.
Yet change is not to be feared. The history of Ireland at Rugby World Cups shows that a constant state of flux is, paradoxically, needed to maintain standards as well as develop them. 2019 was as clear an example as 2007 of the desiccated horror of trying to take a successful side that has just hit a peak and shield it from the passage of time. The only ways to stop a tiger changing daily are death and taxidermy.
And, so, we come to another paradox. Minimal changes of personnel at this time are not necessarily expressions of fear of that which is new. We could have bucked out everyone over the age of 30 – but we’re not picking the 2023 World Cup team in January 2020. We must be prepared to keep evolving in perpetuity. No need for do-something panic now.
This weekend’s team:
Spuds: Healy, Herring, Furlong, Henderson, Ryan, Stander, van der Flier, Doris
Gravy: Murray, Sexton, Stockdale, Aki, Ringrose, Conway, Larmour
Seconds: Kelleher, Kilcoyne, Porter, Toner, O’Mahony, Cooney, Ross Byrne, Henshaw
Johnny Sexton is the captain, and this is OK. He remains our best ten by a way and is one of a handful of nailed-on starters. If there is an issue with his captaincy, it’s not his age or his ability – it’s his captaincy. The key part of the job is dealing with the ref and, while he seems a charming and self-effacing man when in his civvies, game-day Johnny Sexton is an insufferable wanker. He makes enemies of the whistlers and, while recently he has tried smiling and coercion (and looked unnatural doing so), he’s only one perceived affront away from calling Romain Poîte a brainless snaildick. Contrast with your memories of perfect-son-in-law Sam Warburton and the issue is clear.
Conor Murray’s selection is a poor call. Conor of the past 12 months or so is not the champion player of the years prior. He’s not been bad, per se, and his imperiousness may still return. The issue is alternatives. John Cooney has been the most influential player in Europe this year.
Peter O’Mahony has been unshovellable shite for a year and the fact he made the Six Nations squad at all should have been questioned. Overall, his previous body of work makes that the right call – but picking him in a match-day 23 is frankly the wrong choice. The starting back row looks well-balanced, and chucking 21-year-old Doris straight in barely feels like a risk. However, Max Deegan or Jack O’Donoghue should be on the bench – with the choice of which made on a tactical and stylistic basis rather than trying to decide which of the two great athletes in great form best deserve the number 20 shirt.
Anyway, it’s just one weekend. The variable calls:
- which of four centres gets to play beside Ringrose?
- Larmour or Addison, or maybe both?
- the selected front rows look like our best six, but each of the calls could go either way – do we have a best front row, and do we even need a clear starting trio?
And so we will have room to breathe over the course of the tournament. A tournament we can win (we won’t, England will).
Now is the time for experimentation, to a point. But Andy Farrell does not get a free hit. Anything less than three wins is failure and, ultimately, we’re in it to win it.
Scotland by 50.
ENDS
Preview courtesy of EnzoM
WALES: The Dog That Didn’t Know Whether to be Under or Over
With apologies to Edmund Spenser:
One day they wrote his name upon the sheet,
But at night I came and washed it all away.
Again they wrote it in media and tweet
But in I crept, and made the twittering my prey.
Vain man! cried they, to wipe his name away
A frightening act, a cruel spine-tingler
To ensure Wayne Pivac forgets Aaron Shingler
Link to Squad for the 2020 Guinness Six Nations
Team to play Italy in Cardiff:
Leigh Halfpenny; Johnny McNicholl, George North, Hadleigh Parkes, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Dillon Lewis, Jake Ball, Alun Wyn Jones (capt), Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Rob Evans, Leon Brown, Cory Hill, Ross Moriarty, Rhys Webb, Jarrod Evans, Nick Tompkins.
Endings & Beginnings
As Wales sings Po Atarau / Now is the Hour to bid a fond farewell to Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards, and a jauntier ‘I’ll Bet you a Kangaroo’ to help Howley hop off, the mood in the Heimat is unexpectedly optimistic.
Wayne Pivac seems to have seamlessly sewn himself into Warren’s catsuit, sorry tracksuit, and the players have gone through the four stages of post-RWC grief faster than a Greased-Zammit down a slippurly slurp℠.
Rather than the sour reek of sweaty anxiety, there’s the fresh morning air of new dawns and bright horizons. Players appear well-rested and happy to be in the new coaching set-up, and the injuries are not casting long shadows over the squad, even though some top players and Handsome Legends are missing.
But…
It’s in times like these that Wales can turn in some honking performances, especially in their opening 6N encounters at home, when all the optimism and expectation dissolves into blunt, turgid attack and weak, chaotic defence. Home cheers fade into murmurings about the bloody roof being open. Or closed.
But fair’s fair, a good old underdogging seems inappropriate, so like a Frankfurter in a bap I will settle for some in-between dogging followed by complete fantasy with my forecasts.
Saturday’s Match vs Italy
Wales have opted for a solid start, fielding an experienced line-up and just one new cap. We’ve flirted with North at 13 before and not much happened, good or bad. These days George is a more seasoned and moderate player, no longer the impetuous young buck throwing homophobes over his shoulder for fun. George has never been great positionally, but I hope his experience and maturity nails the position down for the duration of the Championship.
McNicholl is the only first-capper and Halfpenny’s selection at 15 is a wise move, so we should see some exciting counterattacking running from our Welsh Johnny. Let’s hope it doesn’t lead to a lot of turnovers because his teammates can’t keep up.
Wales are likely to creak in the scrum, but lineouts should be efficient enough with Tipuric and Wainwright doing a lot of the leaping at the tail. As great as it is to see Faletau back, I’m not getting carried away as it is still a long way back to his 2015 Lions Tour form and fitness.
Ball will no doubt go about his ball-carrying like a pig snouts truffle, but he makes some hard yards and plenty of tackles. AWJ will hopefully be his niggly, majestic self and lead from the front.
Prediction: a stuttering 23-11 Wales victory.
Round 2. Away to Ireland
Our first away match is against Ireland, and the Irish look like tournament favourites with both a strong team littered with in-form players, and the desire to lay to rest their World Cup ghosts and memories.
Unfortunately, Scotland seem determined to undermine their own chances in the opener against Ireland, so Wales will be up against a green wave of Grand Slam expectation.
Prediction: a brave effort but a narrow 29-23 Welsh defeat.
Fantasy Rugby 1. Home to France
I think France are really fed-up of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against Wales, and this will be a big match for them. Time to unburden some true Welsh pessimism and imagine the worst.
After a bruising encounter in Dublin, Faletau leaves for an early Bath with another broken arm-bone. North and Halfpenny haven’t recovered from their HIAs and Greased-Zammit starts on the wing with Welsh Johnny switching to full back. Pivac has his full ‘Welsh Way’ moment and picks Willowy Shingler at 6, drafts Owen Williams into inside centre to replace a stolid Mr. Glue, with Bury my Heart at Watkin’s Knee selected at OC.
Big Dan Biggar spends the entire match kicking grubbers into the French in-goal area for Zammit to chase like a spaniel. France score five breakaway tries and Owen Williams reveals his wonky temperament by being red carded for scramming Fickou in the face during a touchline tussle.
Prediction: Wales lose 13-49 and Barry John calls for Pivac to be replaced by Rob Howley
Fantasy Rugby 2. The Miracle in Twickenham
After the madness in Cardiff, normal service is resumed and Wales return to full strength, except for Faletau. Halfpenny and North are recalled, and Liam starts on the wing. Wainwright replaces Shingles, and a fired-up Moriarty comes in at 8.
England are marching towards a Slam after victories over France, Scotland, and the BIG ONE against Ireland. Eddie is basking in a contract extension until 2027, making him the best paid coach in RU history.
After 60 minutes England are winning comfortably without stretching away. Pivac plays his joker and turns to his Dragons on the bench. Dee for Owens, Brown for Lewis, Hill for Ball, and squad replacement Tyler Morgan for wee Georgie North.
My-oh-my, what a comeback. A brace from Brown and a classic outside break from Morgan brings the score back to within one point. Greased-Zammit enters the fray while England are camped on the Welsh 5-metre line with 5 minutes to go.
A re-set scrum and Dee strikes against the head! Tomos feeds Biggar who feigns a touch-kick but slips a pass to Morgan. A step sends Billy V into Row C, creating space to free Zammit! Zammit scorches the length of the field to score like a Welsh Andy Hancock – in half the time.
Prediction: England 21-25 Wales
Fantasy Rugby 3. Highland Flings in Cardiff
After their surprise win against France, new Scottish Player-Coach Finn Russell selects the same team while captaining the side for the second time. Wales are also unchanged.
Both sides are committed to playing high-risk running rugby under a closed roof. Madness ensues, and the game ends 49-all, while breaking all records for the highest number of knock-ons ever recorded in an international rugby match. Finn invites both sides for a celebratory night out in Newport, where more pints are spilled than consumed. News comes in from Scotland that Toony and Hoggy have eloped. Jim Telfer’s neck explodes.
Preview courtesy of MisterIks
On the telly this week (SIX NATIONS!!!)
Friday 31st January
| Blues v Chiefs | 06:05 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Brumbies v Reds | 08:15 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Sharks v Bulls | 17:10 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Ireland U20 v Scotland U20 | 19:15 | YouTube / RTÉ TWO |
| Wales U20 v Italy U20 | 19:35 | S4C |
Saturday 1st February
| Sunwolves v Melbourne Rebels | 03:45 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Crusaders v Waratahs | 06:05 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Stormers v Hurricanes | 13:05 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Wales v Italy | 14:15 | BBC One / S4C |
| Cheetahs v Southern Kings | 15:00 | Freesports |
| Ireland v Scotland | 16:45 | ITV |
| France U20 v England U20 | 20:00 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Los Jaguares v Lions | 23:00 | Sky Sports Mix |
Sunday 2nd February
| France v England (women) | 12:30 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Exeter v Harlequins | 13:00 | BT Sport 2 |
| Wales v Italy (women) | 13:00 | BBC Two Wales |
| Ireland v Scotland (women) | 13:00 | BBC Alba / red button |
| France v England | 15:00 | BBC One |
Ovally Balls 
Not a regular Number 8 and the ball squeaks out.
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BB, really? It’s been seriously error strewn and had little on the way of jeopardy in terms of the result from the off.
Cant see how it’s a good game for the neutral, other than the fact england have lost I suppose.
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Um, Dupont? You wot?
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Marvellous. Haven’t laughed so much in ages
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Wot a silly sausage
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Finally!
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An Inverse Beauxis that’s known as.
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So was yesterday’s game between Ireland and Scotland. All games have had mistakes and errors. Some great tries scored (May’s two solo efforts).
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Unlucky England. Chuffed for France.
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Credit to England for the squeaky bum time.
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I’m terms of general play it was as one sided as Wales v Italy. One man stepped up and skewed the scoreboard somewhat but still.
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Ha, well played France and Jonny May.
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England did remarkably well to get within 7. France are ok. But yet again their performance drops way off after half time (60 mins).
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Itoje’s gone into a trance.
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Cant see how it’s a good game for the neutral, other than the fact england have lost I suppose.
Because France pitched up and shoved Eddie’s brutality up his arse, with a degree of brutal finesse. They stuck two fingers up his pre-match BS for 60 minutes and then hung on in quiet desperation (such an English way) for the last 20 when it looked like the dam wall would burst.
Lots of errors from both sides, England on attack and France with a set piece that went from comfortable to comical seemingly at the flick of a switch.
And it’s France v England, which the whole world knows is a grudge match. That’s why it was special.
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Fecked
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Well yes deebs exactly, it would be fun to watch for that reason, which is what I meant.
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Its going to be a long 6N.
I hope france can do it. I’d rather Scotland but one loss already means they are probably out of it. They’ll retain the Calcutta cup and get another couple of wins probably but france might have a sniff of taking on ireland and Wales at the top.
I hope we make a lot of changes and start again, target the Italy game and another home win but not worry too much. Find a 9, a new centre combination and an 8. Keep the young flanker in their positions, back ford at 10 and send Faz away for a while.
15 is a real problem it Watson isn’t fit. Even though EJ wont play him there anyway.
Desperately sad for furbank. Nightmare debut.
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Dova, EJ’s pre-match mouthing off deserved a response – and he got it on the field. But the contrasts between the sides and the expectation (mine anyway) that France would implode, especially after May’s mazy run made for great viewing. Not for England fans, obviously, but there was tension and theatre beyond the EJ issue.
I’ll leave it now because I don’t want to make an issue. Just my view as a neutral.
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Aye, May is a gem and great to watch. The clock and points difference never actually meant it was meaningful though.
Think ot was Yos that pointed out, nobody has ever come back from that points gap in the history of the tournament, 17 at half time. It got bigger before it got smaller. Was never going to happen.
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Oh, dear! Right:
EJ must stop his playground psychology it’s embarrassing, humiliating and boosts the opponents.
Give a number of the senior players a rest or a final thankyou. Body language in senior players was awful from the start.
Get new boys in and help them learn start now, this minute, building a new squad.
Play players in their correct positions.
Bien jouee the French – much to savour and build on.
Chapeau to Sean Edwards – he’s got the players to believe in him and deliver in such a short time
My leg hurts!
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And EJ does as he does, wont ever change. Wont make people want to see England lose more than they already do though. I suspect he factors that in and has some weird belief its helpful somehow? I dont know but I agree he’s sometimes a less than likeable character.
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May almost won it for England but he was seriously guilty on the 2nd and 3rd France try.
He stopped running while Nige had not blown his whistle and he could/ should have caught Ollivon easily. On the third, he was not paying attention to Dupont .
England were mediocre and missing many players, so I wouldn’t read too much into France success. Too many caveats, a weak bench, wobbly line outs and creaky scrums in the 2nd half, poor management (when one lead 24/0, you don’t go for containment but for the jugular. And the BP. ). Letting England get a LBP was a mistake.
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Agreed Flair. They stopped playing and looked to manage too early which invited pressure, even if it took some May magic (and poor tackling) to get the scoreboard going.
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And before everybody forgets, England were a joy to watch during their demolition of NZ. The core of players is still there. They’re still talented. They miss a good 9, a decent 8, a fast 15 but the pack is there.
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Having said that it should be massively encouraging for them to have held out so well on their line so many times.
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Oh, and I wanted to add that the team that impressed me most this weekend was Wales – looked very organised and aware.
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I don’t see the reason to kick Nige up the arse whenever he ref’s a match. He sets a high standard, and was excellent today.
Bad day for the Celts. France get a massive Slam confidence boost, and England will be kicking themselves for that error-strewn and dozy first 50. Eddie needs to change the tape, because his grip on 6N rugby still seems naive.
I thought England turned the momentum of the game around at the scrum, and I was surprised they opted for the 3 points rather than 7 in that final play. A pushover or scrum penalty try at the death would have been a statement of intent for the rest of the tournament.
France are building and getting better game by game. It was great to hear how much the crowd were engaged and getting behind the team, seems like a corner has been turned.
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There is more to it than that I think, Flair.
England are at their best when they feel to be underdogs.
There is no on-pitch management as the game evolves – except via the water bottle carriers
Some of the guys played like zombies today – why? – and if t was expected – why select them?
Is the cupboard truly bare?
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Well I did say that 2 out of the 3 countries with stripey flags would win this weekend. Didn’t actually think I’d be proved right!
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And seeing as I insulted Spurs earlier, it’s a given that they are beating Man City.
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Dova
back ford at 10 and send Faz away for a while
As a neutral, and while I am well-documented as not being able to stand Faz, he is a very reliable point-kicker, and that’s gold. Sure, pick him in the centre though.
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Congrats France and Flair (and any other french posters) – looks like you could be the real deal, wouldn’t worry about the last 20 you just switched off (understandably) and switched back on when it mattered. Class from 1-23.
England – 2 Johnny May solo efforts doesn’t disguise a pathetic, error strewn and embarrassing performance all round. No heart and effort from most of the players and a few who don’t deserve to wear the shirt again.
Marler and Sinckler (big money contract gone to his head?) looked disinterested all game, Youngs missed a tackle on the first try, was done for pace on the 3rd and was generally slow, disorganised and kicked too long all game. Start Heinz and one of the young bucks (Randall or Mitchell) for Scotland please.
Turns out Eddie hasn’t learnt any lessons from 2018 – if you pick a good flanker at 8, he’s shit, if you pick a lock at flanker he’s shit and without ball carriers the whole pack and therefore backs look shit. If Manu is injured I’d like to see Dombrandt in for him, we have enough backs and he may be rough round the edges but this is the time to develop an alternative to Billy.
Farrell needs to be at 10 or benched – the Ford/Farrell axis doesn’t work without big carriers and gainline success (Ala 2018) and Ford is in better form at the moment.
Not sure if Ewels was even on the pitch.
Tough, tough debut for Furbank but that’s the step up – give him Scotland, put it down to debut nerves, and see what happens.
The trouble with 2018 was we stuck with it when it obviously wasnt working, I hope we don’t see that next week. I know it’s only one game but literally everything the fans and pundits predicted could happen, happened. Eddie needs reminding his ego is not big than the team, no matter how good we were in the semi final.
You cannot have a performance like that and not see serious changes, if it doesn’t then something is wrong with the set up and staleness is setting in.
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Capping off a terrible 3 days for me, personally.
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Slade, there really don’t look to be any leaders developing on the pitch for England. Farrell just looks plain off message at the moment all round. I do have to say that I think Kruis might be the one, he always manages to look calm and focused. Youngs Ford Farrell as an axis looks weak, and all three look a bit cowed and shellshocked when things go against them ( Ford the least). Furbank recovered well from a nightmare start and deserves another chance, Daly needs a long rest.
Flair, harsh on May for Duponts break.
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Also Daly’s inability to field high balls is a problem that teams are now targeting regardless of position.
At international level, you can’t hide a weakness like that no matter what he adds to attack.
What I’d like to see against Scotland:
Make
George
Williams/Stuart
Itoje
Kruis
Curry
Underhill
Dombrandt
Heinz
Ford
May
Devoto
Manu (if fit) / Joseph (if not)
Thorley
Furbank (ideally Watson but assume he’s injured)
Genge
Cowan Dickie
Sinckler (benching might teach him lesson)
Lawes
Ludlam
Randall
Farrell
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I know I’m hammering a point but I can’t remember the last time Daly had a really good performance for England – even in the semi final he wasn’t one of the standouts.
I know Eddie likes him but I think he needs to be dropped and told he’s not being picked till he can catch a high ball/defend like an international back 3 player – May had that happen and he’s now one of our few world class players
Wing is one of our few areas of depth so let’s use it please.
Probably overreacting but that performance reeked of a team that hit its peak in that semi final (like Ireland when they beat the All Blacks) and we need to see some significant changes sooner rather than later, otherwise it’ll be a consistent descent down
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Why isn’t Dombrandt in the squad? You need a specialist at 8.
Also, I remember from a couple of Hcup games, another impressive back row , Van Ackerman (spelling?). Is he flanker or an 8?
Because Lawes is neither.
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Ruan Ackermann’s still South African for a bit, flair. He’s the coach Johan’s son.
Dombrandt’s a good club player at the moment. Too loose for international 8 play but worth a look now the Slam’s gone.
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I’d go with Hughes or Earl at 8. Both good physical types. Curry’s play was completely negated today. Lawes at 6 is just a weird throwback. And didn’t work as it didn’t work in 2018,
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We hit s peak in a cycle where we had good players. Not good enough to be as successful as wales or ireland in the 6N but had some highs and were competitive. Peaked for the world cup as Eddie was supposed to do but fell just short. He has done a great job and happy to see him start the rebuild if that’s what he does. If he just sticks and looks to the next game he might as well go now.
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Ackermann would be great but think its another year before he’s available sadly.
Dombrandt is rough round the edges but he will only get better and this is the time in the world cup cycle to make those kind of picks. Wouldn’t mind Simmonds getting another shot, he never disgraced himself and although he’s not a Billy style 8, he’s worth a punt if you bulk up on ball carriers elsewhere, or just adapt our play style a bit so we aren’t reliant on a power game that in turn depends on 2 massively injury prone players (Manu and Billy). It genuinely baffles me that we’ve built a game plan on 2 players with no direct like for like replacements who are known to spend months at a time injured.
Why not base one around the strengths of the bulk of your players (quick back rows, big locks/front rows, quick wings, good kick chase) rather than what we seem to have today.
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@Tom
No thank you to Hughes – proven flat track bully at international, but Earl worth a shot.
That’s what’s so frustrating – we picked a team with no 8, no ball carrying centre, a lock at flank and out of form 9 in 2018 and got schooled; how the fuck are we repeating the same mistake 2 years later?! How does an international coach not learn those lessons?
I back Eddie for what he’s done for us but if we don’t see major change and a turnaround leading to at least 2nd place in this 6N I can’t help but think it’s time for him to move on and for us to change direction and tactics. We have players that fit a certain style, pick a strategy and coach that fits them.
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Really? I guess 2016 seems a long time ago. Ww also finished second last and didn’t winnas many games overall.
Time flies. I’d rather have their records over the last 2 cycles then.
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Dov, England have the best win-loss record over the last 2 cycles.
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I think England still have a very good chance of winning the tournament. Could be a bit like Wales in 2013 when we got murdered in the first half of the first game by Ireland and then came back into in the second.
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I hadn’t realised that was Ollivon’s first start in a 6 Nations game.
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Our losses were worse.
Also. 5th place.
Okay. I was wrong.
The slams are everything though. They definitely win on that front
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Wales had a 5th place in 2017,
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