With two rounds down in the Six Nations, the shocking truth is that OvallyBalls underdoggers have been proven right – or perhaps have so disheartened their national sides that the players lost the will to play.
Here is the state of the nations:
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | For | Against | Pts Diff | Bonus | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Bleus du mal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 39 | 20 | 1 | 9 |
| Smiling Green Machine | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 26 | 17 | 1 | 9 |
| Leeks | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 24 | 32 | 1 | 5 |
| Saracens | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Kiltie-wearers | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 32 | -14 | 2 | 2 |
| Pasta-scoffers | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 77 | -55 | 0 | 0 |
From this, we can observe several things. One is that the rankings should be based secondarily on the fewest points conceded, as it indicates a better defence. Any fool can score tries against a weaker defence. In the case of England, we can see that their attack and defence are equally great / rubbish [delete as appropriate]. And Scotland are the only side to have achieved two bonus points, although perhaps for the wrong reasons.
However, it’s still wide open for at least four teams. The remaining fixtures are as follows:
| 22/02 | Italy v Scotland | 14:15 |
| Wales v France | 16:45 | |
| 23/02 | England v Ireland | 15:00 |
| 07/03 | Ireland v Italy | 14:15 |
| England v Wales | 16:45 | |
| 08/03 | Scotland v France | 15:00 |
| 14/03 | Wales v Scotland | 14:15 |
| Italy v England | 16:45 | |
| France v Ireland | 20:00 |
The Super Saturday fixtures are, of course, being played in Heidelberg, so all true rugby fans should get their arses there.
My prediction is a narrow win for each of the home sides next weekend, which will bolster the excitement of the following rounds, except for Scottish fans, who will be gurning into their whiskey and cursing SuperSergio, homer refs and the professional era in general.
Meanwhile, this weekend we have Pro14 / English Premiership matches, if Dennis doesn’t menace all of them; Dragons v Treviso has already been cancelled.
Further Reading
TomPirracas has a better idea of how the Italy v Scotland match will go.
Chimpie is looking forward to this weekend’s ProWoo.
On the telly this week
Friday 14th February
| Blues 8 – 25 Crusaders | 06:05 | Sky Sports Action |
| Rebels 24 – 10 Waratahs | 08:15 | Sky Sports Action |
| Glasgow 56 – 24 Zebre | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Munster 68 – 3 Kings | 19:35 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Gloucester 15 – 26 Exeter | 19:45 | BT Sport 2 |
Saturday 15th February
| Sunwolves 17 – 43 Chiefs | 03:45 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Hurricanes 38 – 22 Sharks | 06:05 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Brumbies 22 – 23 Highlanders | 08:15 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Lions 30 – 33 Stormers | 13:05 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Leinster 35 – 12 Cheetahs | 14:30 | Free Sports |
| Leicester 18 – 9 Wasps | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
| Scarlets 9 – 14 Edinburgh | 15:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Ospreys 26 – 24 Ulster | 17:15 | S4C / Premier Sports 2 |
| Connacht 29 – 0 Cardiff | 19:35 | TG4 / Premier Sports 1 |
| Los Jaguares 43 – 27 Reds | 23:00 | Sky Sports Action |
Sunday 16th February
| Northampton v Bristol | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
Ovally Balls 
Lot of English angst. Try being a Scotland fan.
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What’s the weather forecast for London / Cardiff tomorrow?
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It’s like his ego means that because everyone’s been giving him shit for experimenting, he feels the need to “double down” just to prove a point.
This.
Little Eddie is very good at getting a side “up” for a game or tournament. Not good at managing a side/squad through years or developing players.
Plus, stubborn as hell and regards himself as unequivocally right.
Citation – his record with Aus and Japan
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England – Ireland is on Sunday, Chimpie. Or are you hoping to get some sightseeing in?
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Race realist is a type of racist though. I wasn’t trying to lessen the charge.
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well done – that’s my sunday ruined. thanks a bunch!
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I heard that it’s VERY bad in London, but legendary sunshine in Cardiff.
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And the roof’s going to be closed in Cardiff.
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Wait until after the Italy defeat.
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Tomp – that’s cruel………………….
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So is Quillete editor
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Eddie reminds me of Mourinho – 2 years good, 2 years ok, then ego driven spiral into oblivion, move to new team, repeat.
Does make you wonder how much of us getting to the final was despite rather than because of him.
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If we lose to Italy the entire team can get fired into the sun.
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dooomed
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When England win at a canter Eddie’ll be lauded as a genius and there’ll egged faces aplenty.
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He did a great job at the world cup, FFB. He’s amazing at tournaments – Aussie to the final in 2003, adviser to the Boks in 2007, Brighton 2015 and another final in 2015. The trouble is he seems to get his teams up for one really big game and then get work out a way to win the big one. It would’ve been interesting if South Africa had beaten NZ in the pool game. EJ seems to have planned for the NZ semi and then not come up with much else for the SA team they met in the final.
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Thinking about the potential method in Eddie’s apparent madness by picking JJ on the wing….Eddie likes to have a winger who comes inside and runs support lines – after all that’s what he meant when he said Nowell could play as a flanker (I think it was Squidge that pointed out Nowell runs flankeresque support lines). I noticed against France and Scotland Jonny May was playing this role, which really does not play to his strengths. JJ is really good at dancing around defenders in tight situations so he might be playing there for that reason.
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I remember JJ once having to move to the wing mid-game due to injury and he had a stormer. No worries abut him attacking there but if there’s one team you really want to have a back 3 comfortable with their positioning against, its Ireland.
Lawes at 6 is a disaster.
The bench is awful.
Ireland will have to be very bad to lose to that shower
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“might”
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Tomp – also, NZ picked a poor/strange XV to face England
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OT – you’re talking about the Toadmeister right? From Wikipedia:
In 2015, Young wrote an article for the Australian magazine Quadrant entitled “The fall of meritocracy”. In it he advocated what he termed “progressive eugenics.” Young proposed that when the technology for selecting embryos for high intelligence is mature, it should be provided “free of charge to parents on low incomes with below-average IQs.”
He seems like a nice chap.
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Exactly. A lock on the blindside when they had a perfectly decent pair of flankers who could do a fine job.
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BTW – FECKED!!!!
As you were.
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Toby Young’s an Oxford man. Or more a Thanks to his Dad He’s an Oxford man, which is more or less the same thing.
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NZ threw that game. 100% coaching error on their part.
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Against Italy I think.
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might be taking it a bit far.
99%
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I had it in my head it was Wales
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He scored a very good try and played well against Wales in 2015 on his recall. Never really burned us up since.
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Some poor tackling on that one.
I have in my head, one where he side steps someone around the half way line with no space at all and then burns everyone all the way to the line.
Must have been Italy.
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That’s 5 locks in the 23. 5! And 3 flankers.
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Still trying to get ma heid round it.
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This one, dov?
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@craigs
He’s one of them. The other is the founder Claire Lehmann, who started out by writing about Human Biodiversity (another apparently more tolerable term than Race Realism) but realised it was getting her nowhere. She’s rebranded it as Freedom as Speech and relaunched her writing as Quillette. As it is they’re obsessed with race and IQ and describe anyone who criticises it as “science deniers”.
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yep, that’s the one.
great try
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OT, does phrenology work? I don’t know* but in their many articles about it Quillette – the best a man can get – assure me in the many many articles they’ve published about it that it’s only free speech haters who won’t allow us to have this important, non-political, discussion.
* I do.
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Isn’t ‘race realism’ more about segregation of ‘races’ (they talk about ‘homelands’ a lot IIRC), whereas ‘human biodiversity’ is more straight up eugenics type nonsense?
I may be getting my racialisms muddled though.
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Jj was awesome in this game too. Check out the try from 3:25 onwards.
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OT
Triple physics this avo?
Who’s coming to Old Trafford for the test cricket??
I did all my ‘best’ degree revision to the test vs India in 1974…………………..
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Back to my earlier point re Slade and the SA flyer……
guys with great turns of speed and/or acceleration often lose that magic touch after a bad injury. It’s cruel and dreadful when someone does a Bracken to you……………………..
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Eddie the Tinkerman.
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@tomp
In their desire to promote free speech they have apparently censored their own articles on eugenics. I can’t think why
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That Joseph try against Wales looked very similar to the one Ireland scored last weekend.
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I read a few early days Quillette articles* but the one linked is pretty awful. Coleman Hughes writes for Quillette. He seems fairly sensible if heterodox so I wonder if he just ignores this stuff.
* literally haven’t read anything from them in about 2 years.
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I should also say that I have picture of Toby Young in every room of my house.
Right next to the CJ shrines.
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You. Monster!
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That’s enough to give a chap nightmares.
Might as well have gove wallpaper
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What has happened to CJ? Did he get elected to parliament or something?
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