Six Nations: Ireland vs Wales

Both Ireland and Wales will be looking to build on their opening Six Nations wins last week when they square off in Dublin on Saturday.

Warren Gatland’s reigning Six Nations champions started their quest for a third successive title with a 23-15 win over Italy, while Ireland kicked off their campaign by beating Scotland with ease on Sunday.

Those Round One results simply add to the sense of occasion surrounding the Aviva Stadium affair, with both sets of players having enjoyed healthy rivalries within the PRO12 and built lasting friendships on the British and Irish Lions tour Down Under last year.

And all those factors, plus the passion of the Irish in Dublin and the way in which Joe Schmidt’s men have spoken of their desire to knock Wales off their perch, means flyhalf Rhys Priestland and co are expecting a no-holds barred encounter in two days’ time.

“There’s a buzz about the place and we’re ready to have the kitchen sink thrown at us from the way Ireland have been talking,” said Priestland.

“It’s going to be hostile out there and from listening to them you can tell there’s a lot of emotion. They are the rivals we know best because both countries have four teams in the PRO12 and come up against each other quite often. We are familiar with the way we both play.

“They are on a high and are desperate to stop us winning a third title. But we are desperate to win and it doesn’t matter what we’re up against, we will give our best because it means so much to play for Wales.”

Priestland spoke candidly about the need for improvement after the opening win over the Azzurri, with the Scarlets playmaker knowing that a similarly unsatisfying second half would likely lead to defeat in Dublin.

Ireland were superb in parts against the Scots and came within a whisker of a first win over New Zealand at the end of last year and Priestland is anticipating similar performance levels from Paul O’Connell and co at the weekend.

“We are looking to test ourselves against a very good Irish team who could have beaten the All Blacks last year. It’s a massive challenge,” added Priestland.

“We are under no illusions about how difficult it is going to be, the toughest challenge we will face in the Six Nations, maybe.

“Defensively, we are going to have to be at our best. We need to improve with the ball in hand from last week, but defences win you championships.”

Players to watch:

For Ireland: Rob Kearney will pose a threat from the back, and the experience of Brian O’Driscoll in midfield could prove decisive. Jonny Sexton will look to control matters and Jamie Heaslip will look to run over some Welsh defenders. Captain Paul O’Connell will be key in the line-outs and loosehead Cian Healy will set the tone at scrum-time.

For Wales: Leigh Halfpenny should provide a steady stream of points from the kicking tee, and if he can unleash wings Alex Cuthbert and George North it could be a long night for the Irish. Jamie Roberts will use his physicality to get over the gainline and bring other ball-carriers like Taulupe Faletau and Dan Lydiate into the game. The experienced Alun Wyn Jones will be the key man in the line-outs and props Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins will be expected to get the scrum going forward.

Head to head: Leigh Halfpenny and Rob Kearney are both threatening from the back, and in midfield the battle between Jamie Roberts and Gordon D’Arcy should be fierce. Taulupe Faletau and Jamie Heaslip are both dangerous runners off the back of the scrum whilst in the set-pieces the key duels will be between Alun Wyn Jones and Paul o’Connell in the line-outs and Cian Healy and Adam Jones in the scrums.

Recent results:
2013: Ireland won 30-22 in Cardiff
2012: Wales won 23-21 in Dublin
2011: Wales won 22-10 in Wellington
2011: Wales won 19-13 in Cardiff
2010: Ireland won 27-12 in Dublin
2009: Ireland won 17-15 in Cardiff
2008: Wales won 16-12 in Dublin
2007: Ireland won 19-9 in Cardiff
2006: Ireland won 31-5 in Dublin

Prediction: The teams appear to be very evenly matched, so we are backing Ireland to take a narrow win at home by less than three points.

Teams:

Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O’Driscoll, 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Paul O’Connell (captain), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Tommy O’Donnell, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Andrew Coombs, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams.

Date: Saturday, February 8
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14.30 (14,30 GMT)

Six Nations Round 4: Highlights

Scotland 18 – 28 Wales

Ireland 13 – 13 France

England 18 – 11 Italy

Six Nations Preview: England vs France

THE FACTS

This will be the one to watch this weekend, England the only team to have won all their games against France who are the only team to register a win.  These teams were both touted as the competition contenders before the start, England have lived up to that but sadly Les Bleus have not.

However doesn’t the thought of this match up and the competition history just seem like the typical French time to come out of nowhere and snatch a win! The French love to pop up when no one would give them a chance and against their hated foes England AT TWICKENHAM, there will be no better place to prove a point and gain some pride in the competition.

… or maybe I am just a rugby romantic.

THE PREDICTION

I am going to go out on a limb here and predict a France win and upset! It will be close though. France to win by 5 – 8 points.

THE BATTLES:

The prospect of the midfield battle is mouth watering to all rugby lovers. Englands Manu Tuilagi and Brad Barritt against France’s Mathieu Bastareaud and Wesley Fofana will be a huge clash. The powerful centres will be smashing holes left right and centre on Saturday.

Recent results:
2012: England won 24-22, Paris
2011: France won 19-12, Auckland (World Cup quarterfinal)
2011: England won 17-9, London
2010: France won 12-10, Paris
2009: England won 34-10, London
2008: England won 24-13, Paris
2007: England won 14-9, Paris (World Cup semifinal)
2007: France won 22-9, Marseille
2007: France won 21-15, London
2007: England won 26-18, London

THE TEAMS

England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Tom Wood, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 James Haskell, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 Danny Care, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.

France: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Benjamin Fall, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Yannick Nyanga, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Jocelino Suta, 20 Antonie Claassen, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Florian Fritz.

THE TIME AND PLACE

Date: Saturday, February 23
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 17.00 (17.00 GMT)

England stick to their guns for France

England coach Stuart Lancaster has chosen to stick with the 23 man squad that won 16-6 in Dublin two weeks ago as they welcome a woeful French side to Twickenham.

“We’ve had 30-plus guys pushing hard for selection this week which is what we want, We had to make some close calls but the team did very well in Ireland so we’ve gone with the same squad againstFrance. We are looking forward to getting back to Twickenham against what I am sure will be a highly motivated French” Said Lancaster

England Squad: Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Brad Barritt, Billy Twelvetrees, Mike Brown, Owen Farrell, Ben Youngs, Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw (captain), James Haskell, Geoff Parling, Joe Launchbury, Dan Cole, Tom Youngs, Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley, David Wilson, Mako Vunipola, Courtney Lawes  Thomas Waldrom, Danny Care, Toby Flood, Manu Tuilagi.

Ireland lose Henry for Six Nations

Ireland back row forward Chris Henry has been withdrawn from the Six Nations squad after sustaining a knee injury last weekend.

The Ulsterman has made two appearances off the bench for Ireland so far this Six Nations and has made good strides in his international game. He will be replaced my Munsterman Tommy O’Donnell for this weekend’s game against Scotland.

“Following an MRI scan today, it was confirmed to the Ireland medical team that back row Chris Henry suffered a cartilage tear to his right knee while playing last Friday, The injury will require surgery and will rule Henry out of playing for approximately four weeks.” read a statement from the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).

Other Irish injury worries include centre Dave McSharry (groin) who will be replaced my Ian Madigan in the squad.  Coach Declan Kidney will announce his match day 23 tomorrow.

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Sexton may miss Scotland showdown

Ireland’s fly half Jonathan Sexton’s return to rugby in time for their Six Nation s encounter with Scotland this weekend is doubtful.

Sexton left the field during the first half of last weekend’s loss to England and after being taken to hospital it has been confirmed that there is little chance of the future Lions pivot’s return to action.

Sexton was replaced by veteran Ronan O’Gara but the waning star struggled to take control in the 12-6 loss at home.

To add more misery, it has been confirmed the star winger Simon Zebo will miss the remainder of the Championship after fracturing a bone in his foot in the same match.

“Wing Simon Zebo is definitely ruled out for the remainder of the championship after fracturing his fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He underwent surgery on the injury today [Monday] with an expected eight to 10 week recovery period,” Kidney told AFP.

Other injury concern come in the form of centre Brian O’Driscoll (right ankle) and lock Donnacha Ryan (back), however no comment of their availability has been made yet.

MM

Six Nations Week 2 – Highlights

Here is all the action from week two of the Six Nations

Scotland 34 – 10 Italy

France 6 – 16 Wales

Ireland 6 – 12 England

Wales win in French arm wrestle

Wales achieved their first victory in 8 test matches yesterday when they downed France 16 – 6 in front of an icy crowd in Paris.

Both teams came into this match after losses in week 1 and needing a victory or their competition would effectively be over. The first half was an intense wrestling match with each team only scoring 6 points at half time.

Wales looked as if they just wanted it more, the French team that we love to watch playing was like a distant memory with mercurial fly half Freddie Michalak once again struggling for form on the biggest stage.

The game was hampered by severe turf problems especially at scrum time. The soggy pitch was being shredded and uprooted at the slightest step and resulted in wobbly scums throughout the match.

The teams were eventually separated by a fantastic try off a Dan Biggar grubber kick setting up George North for a pick up and dive across the try line in the corner of the pitch.

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The scorers:

For France:
Pens: Michalak 2

For Wales:
Try: North
Con: Halfpenny
Pens: Halfpenny 3

Teams:

France: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Wesley Fofana, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Benjamin Fall, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles , 7 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Jocelino Suta, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Damian Chouly, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Florian Fritz.

Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ryan Jones (captain), 5 Ian Evans, 4 Andrew Coombs, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Scott Williams

Scotland smash Italy in Edinburgh

After the hype which surrounded the Italian side after a great victory over France last weekend, the Azurri simply fell apart in Edinburgh yesterday.

The Scots ran in four tries against the Italian tourists making the final score 34 – 10 at a typically grey and Murrayfield. Their best performer and ultimately man of the match was fullback Stuart Hogg who is putting his hand up for British and Irish Lions selection later this year.

The Speedy fullback scored a 90 meter interception try to sink the Azurri after a passage of play where Italy looked close to scoring. He was joined on the score board by centers Sean Lamont and Matt Scott as well as the “Flying Dutchman” Tim Visser.

The only Italian try came late in the game through flanker Alessandro Zanni, but at this point they were 24 points behind with just minutes left on the clock.

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The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries: Visser, Scott, Hogg, Lamont
Cons: Laidlaw 4
Pens: Laidlaw 2

For Italy:
Try: Zanni
Con: Burton
Pen: Orquera

Teams:

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown (captain), 6 Robert Harley, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 David Denton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Max Evans.

Italy: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovambattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Francesco Minto, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto De Marchi , 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Kristopher Burton, 23 Gonzalo Garcia.

This could be Italy’s year… seriously

I know it sounds crazy to say it after just one game and a history of disappointments in this competition, but after Italy’s 23 – 18 victory over France last weekend this year could be the first real chance for the Azzuri to win the Six Nations championship.

Since joining the competition in 2000 and being awarded the wooden spoon 9 times, Italy are finally showing some skill and ability to win games. While in the past no one could doubt the Azzuri’s determination and dedication, their players as a whole played more like soccer cast offs than actual rugby players.

Italy tallied up their second win over France in as many years at their home stadium in Rome and this will have a massive effect on their confidence going into their second match. This is where the year could really kick on for the Italians as they have received a favourable draw for the next two games.

This weekend Italy take on a hapless Scottish side at Murrayfeild , a team who were pretty much dominated by England last weekend. With Scotland looking to be the roll over team once again this year, Italy have a very good chance of winning an all-important away game this weekend.

If this should happen, taking the Azzurri to 4 points on the table (their joint highest ever points tally incidentally) it may just give them the burst they need to crack on and push for a top place finish.

After the Scots, Italy will return home to host a down in the dumps Wales, who by then would have lost to Ireland at home (week 1) and will have faced France in Paris (week 2) which you would expect France to win, leaving the Welsh with two losses from two.  So the on form Italy would be potentially be playing a Welsh team who haven’t won a convincing match in a year since the last Six Nations. More importantly than that, Italy will be the home team in said match.

Since moving from the Stadio Flamineo (capacity 32 000), which had the feel of a holiday camp for opposition teams, to Romes Stadio Olimpico (capacity 70 634) which has all the fittings to be a fortress for the Italians. There is no doubt that the Azurri have seemed to play with more passion and physicality since the move, lifted undoubtibly by double the amount of screaming fans.

Italy is not an easy place to go and win anymore. To add to this, the development by former coach Nick Mallet coupled with all the hard work of current coach Jaques Brunel and Italys inclusion in major rugby competitions like the European Cup and the Pro12 the Italians are starting to look like they could be a bit of a sleeping giant.

So if the above two matches play out as I predict, we would have Italy sitting on 6 points with two games in hand and being unbeaten in 2013. I know… I never thought I would write that sentence either!

That leaves Italy needing 1 win out of 2 remaining matches to win the tournament. Throughout its history, 8 points (4 victories) has proven to be enough to win the Six Nations, bar a miracle performance from a grand slam winning team.

In week 4, one would predict that Italy will lose to England at Twickenham, however if they can recover from that in time for the final match of the season at home against Ireland we could have a photo finish.

Ireland are playing some good rugby, but not great rugby. We will see how their extensive injury list effects them this year and you never know if it gets any worse and they lose a couple of key players the week 6 match up could go the way of the Azzuri creating a historic victory in the Six Nations.

It’s a long shot I know, but hey crazier things have happened!

Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

MM