6 Nations Weekend Roundup
So this weekend we saw the 2022 Six Nations kick off and what did we learn about the title contenders? The one difference is the crowds were back and how we have missed them. The atmosphere is totally different and makes viewing the matches far more enjoyable. The fake crowd noise never quite did it for me and was more of an irritation.
Ireland were first into battle against Wales and what a disappointing game with Wales getting thrashed comprehensively. A 29-7 score line showed how dominant the Irish were as the 7 points scored by Wales came right at the end. I actually cannot find any positives for Wales from this result and hope they improve as surely they cannot get any worse.
source
How long before he becomes a walking cabbage and scary to think he isn't concerned. Every blow to his head is a worry and actually hate watching this happen as surely this is not right.
I think the biggest concern from this game was Johnny Sexton receiving another blow to the head. With all the news appearing these days of past players suffering from dementia due to the number of concussions received he is a prime candidate. I do fear for him in the next 10 years and think it is kind of reckless and selfish on his behalf that he is still playing. He had been warned by medical experts almost 3 years ago and yet here he is still throwing himself in harms way. Last year his Neurologist spoke about saying he believes Sexton has received more than 30 serious concussions over his career so far and is concerned. Why is everyone concerned and he isn't as surely player welfare has to come first.
Scotland played England in the second match of the weekend and secured a notable victory over the old enemy. This was the first time since 1984 the Scots managed to retain the Calcutta Cup having beaten England two times in a row. The 20-17 score line showed how close an affair this was and could have gone either way.
The fact England were missing many of their key players takes nothing away from the victory however as you have to beat whoever is on the field. What we have to take away from this result is Eddie Jones the England coach is not happy and expect to see a video published regarding the match officials. Rassie Erasmus did this last year and was slated by the English press so lets see what happens with this edition.
England have had the rub of the green for so long they don't really have grounds to complain and should be taking this one on the chin. The scrum is where they are saying they were unfairly treated and one has to question those thoughts. You are either dominant or you aren't making it a fair contest. England were not dominant at all with the lock pairings the weakest I have seen in many seasons. If you don't dominate your set pieces then you are in heaps of trouble.
The last match saw France take on Italy in Paris which was surprisingly close for 60 minutes of the match. The Italians did not look like a side that has averaged nearly 5 tries scored against them since their introduction to the 6 Nations. The 37-10 final score was somewhat flattering with the French having worn the Italians down constantly battering the advantage line. The wet weather with a constant drizzle may have helped the Italians more than the French as we all know how the French love to throw the ball around.
What the weekend results tell us is Ireland and France are the firm favorites for this 6 nations title. England will struggle along with Wales as they have to now come from behind. Somehow my money is firmly on France to lift the crown as they look as though they have the power up front to dominate most teams. The French messed up last year when they were firmly in control of the title so surely they cannot beat themselves again.
Next weekend France play Ireland at home and expect the French to win giving them the advantage. Scotland should beat Wales in Cardiff and England should beat the Italians in Rome.
Nothing better than hearing the roar of the crowd again 😎 this increases the excitement of the games of course. I'd like to see how Ireland ends up it looks like they have a solid team.
The roar of the crowd does make things more interesting as no atmosphere takes part of the game away and just not the same. I used to choose the games I attended to experience the different crowds.
The big discussion here is the way Sexton takes hits. If he angled his body differently the impact may not be to his head but he has got alot of slaps over the years. Some teams try to take him out early because he is a Roles Royce player. Like when the Kiwis spearheaded Brian O Driscoll on the Lions Tour of New Zealand. Take the strongest man out. Surprised Wales folded easily given they were champions last year.
I seriously fear for him come 10 years from now as he has to be one of the worst candidates for this around. So many players are finding out now with one guy under 40 not able to find his way home on a cycling training routine he had done for years. He was warned last year by his neuro surgeon and yet the guy is still playing. Over 30 concussions is serious as the guy I mentioned above had 18 serious ones over 14 years and he is a cabbage.
Jesus yeah. Some boxers as well are cabbages.
Over the past year we are seeing more rugby players suffering from this and the joke with the All Blacks is they need name tags to remember who their team mates are when they have meet ups after retiring. People took it as a joke and now realising they were being honest.
That was a cheap shot on Sexton quite clearly looking for the man and not the ball.
I think where England have a legitimate complaint with the ref is the lack of consistency at the scrum. Last play of the game, slap bang in front of the posts we had a clear call for a penalty on a similar infringement that had happened at the scrum in the opening 5 mins of the game. Seems like the ref bottled making the call which would have given us an easy shot at goal to tie the game.
Possibly as I need to see the last scrum again but could go either way as that is a lottery. If you are relying on the last set piece to draw then you don't deserve the points. I must admit I saw nothing wrong with the calls at the end as nothing jumped out being obvious. England were seriously lacking any oompf during the game and their forwards were shocking with little or no impact. England B would normally win this game let alone their A team and just wasn't impressed with the tight 5.
It certainly is a physical sport. Athletes definitely need to protect themselves more, but I fear the quest for glory trumps the pending risks to most people
I blame the Rugby Union as well as looking out for players welfare should be the priority. Making him captain is definitely not going to make him retire anytime soon and is selfish to his family as they are going to have to live with this.
I was obviously watching the irish game and was delighted to see them get the win. Especially as they were so poor and left so much out on the pitch. France will be a different story and we have rarely beaten them on French soil so that is going to be a very tough game. I would call it 55/45 in favor of france but it's anybody's game.
Great to see scotland beat england and that really opens up the championship. England are now up against it and i think that they will come third.
Next week will tell a lot and should decide the fate of the winners.
Not necessarily as the French have thrown it away before and wouldn't surprise me to see them losing a couple if the mind set is wrong. Still expect the French to clinch this match though and possibly lose to Wales or Scotland if they are not focused.
In the NRL we had a star player Boyd Cordner retired at 28 from rugby league in his prime because of repeated concussions. Probably a dozen big ones and in the season he retired he had a concussion once every three games he played.
I think the awareness of CTE throughout the NFL especially high profile cases like Junior Seau and Aaron Hernandez has really brought it out as a major issue in sports