Six Nations - Round 4 Review

England humiliated, Italy and Scotland fall flat on their big day

Round 4 of the Six Nations served to confirm Ireland’s status as the No. 1 ranked side in the world, with France a close second. These two sides are several levels above the rest of the Six Nations and they proved this emphatically on the weekend.

Ireland lost four of their starting pack during a chaotic game at Murrayfield and still managed to win scrum penalties and the bulk of their lineout ball with an openside flanker throwing the ball in! They were dominant in the second half and now look forward to St Paddy’s weekend with the chance (certainty) of a Grand Slam against England.

England, wow! They were hopeless and got bullied by the huge French pack. A number of Englishmen may have played themselves out of their shirt, for good. France were brilliant and showed that they perhaps aren’t on the wane.

Italy had huge backing both in the stands and by bookmakers but they fluffed their lines. Italian coach Kieran Crowley moaned about the referee Damon Murphy post match, but Italy should have won this game and let themselves down on the day.

Italy 17 - 29 Wales

Italy were favourites for probably the first time in the Six Nations era but blew their chance with a poor performance in front of a passionate crowd in Rome. This was a wooden spoon decider and with the win Wales look to have avoided the dreaded title they last held in 2003.

The Italians will wonder how they lost this game. They made 795m in the carry as opposed to the 479m of Wales. The Welsh defence completed just 77% of their tackles but Italy could not convert, a problem Wales previously had in the competition. This role reversal was the defining feature of the match. Italy were also not helped by their two yellow cards either side of half time.

Italy will feel they could have done better for at least three of the Welsh tries, as the Dragons scored their first try bonus point in the competition.

For the first, the Italian right wing and fullback got into a mess and allowed the second bounce from a chip kick which was pounced on opportunistically by Rio Dyer. In the second, Liam Williams got the ball on the right wing and looked well covered but the lithe fullback somehow got through five defenders on the way to the tryline. For their bonus point try, veteran scrumhalf Rhys Webb exposed the lack of pillar defence at the ruck to run through the heart of the Italian defence before being reeled but had the presence of mind to offload to Taulupe Faletau to score a very soft try and take the game away form the Italians.

Kieran Crowley, the Azzurri coach, left his seat early at the end of the first half to confront the referee during half time and also delivered a withering verdict of the refereeing at the end of the game. He will go unpunished, as he is not South African.

England 10 - 53 France

This was an incredibly enjoyable watch for the second time on Sunday morning! England succumbed to their heaviest ever defeat at Twickenham as France ruthlessly exposed the gulf in class between the sides. Incredibly, this was just the second time France have won at Twickenham since the Six Nations started in 2000! England looked clueless and a number of players may have played themselves out of RWC consideration were it not for the lack of depth in the English ranks.

France should have no such concerns, as they proved that their defeat to Ireland was just a blip before they have a crack at a home RWC win in September. The French back five in the pack were superb. Thibaud Flament is already one of my favourite rugby players and his work on Saturday laid the foundation for this brilliant win. He scored two tries, gave a crucial offload to set up another and has the most tackles in the competition. Add that to five lineout takes, two line breaks and 39 metres gained from seven carries and he could feel aggrieved not to have won the MOTM award. Charles Ollivon (two tries) and Greg Alldritt were incredible on the day, and were well supported by Francois Cros as he deputises for the Antony Jelonch. One shudders to think that at the RWC they could be able to bring back Cameron Woki and blood Aussie expat Manu Meafou, the massive Toulouse lock.

It was noticeable how often France played close to the ruck, using powerful runners off 9 to dent the English defence. Their breakdown work was excellent on attack and defence and this led to a surfeit of quick ball which the English could not keep defending.

Antoine Dupont has been in a league of his own for a couple of years now and showed again on Saturday why. His 50:22 off his weaker foot which led to one of Flament’s tries was #incrediblescenes. The return of Jonathan Danty in the centre helped get France over the gainline and his defence was shuddering. Damien Penaud out wide is a try scoring machine and Thomas Ramos is becoming world class, with his brilliance off the tee and ability to be in the right place to score crucial tries too.

It is a well-worn cliché, but England REALLY need to go back to the drawing board this week as they prepare to go to Dublin to face Ireland. The Leicester template for success under Borthwick and Sinfield was based on kicking the leather off the ball for territory, a strong lineout and incredible defence. England still haven’t lost a lineout on their own throw but this is the only facet of their game that isn’t in need of improvement. They have the worst tackle completion in the competition and their attack looks pedestrian, with no clear plan and muddled thinking around who their 10 is. Farrell? Smith? Ford?? Smith’s little gallops before going into contact are comical.

I find it hilarious that England bring Dan Cole and Mako Vunipola off the bench. This just sums up their lack of depth in the front row, two slower props you are unlikely to find. No. 8 Alex Dombrandt endured another terrible game. He is a carthorse and is so weak in the carry, barely making any metres post contact. He is just not international level, and only thrives when Quins chuck it around on a dry field. Itoje was quiet AGAIN. I think I would rather have the Italian locks than him. Freddie Steward carried well from fullback but his lack of pace was exposed for two of France’s tries as he dawdled on the cross cover. The less said about Jack van Poortvliet the better. Whatever the question is, he is never the answer.

England cannot be that bad again and I expect some changes to personnel and a far more spirited performance in Dublin this weekend. If not, we could see a 60 for St Paddy’s Day, which would make for another great Sunday morning review.

Scotland 7 - 22 Ireland

Similar to Italy, Scotland would have fancied their chances of winning in Round 4, in front of a vociferous Murrayfield crowd on the occasion of Stuart Hogg’s 100th cap. These hopes would have been buoyed as they turned 7 - 8 at the break, and Ireland’s pack were dropping like flies. But they were schooled in the second half, their reserves being shown up as nowhere near test level, especially in the front row.

Scotland were physical on the day and Huw Jones scored his now almost mandatory try but their lack of nous in the second period was baffling. When Ireland lost their two hookers, openside Josh van der Flier threw in at the lineout, predominantly to the front and Scotland never contested?? Baffling! They also conceded two scrum penalties when their reserve props came on as they were buckled by Ireland’s front row of three props when Cian Healy moved to hooker to replace the injured Ronan Kelleher.

Duhan van der Merwe again showed why he plays for Scotland and not the Boks, and confirmed Rassie’s chirp from the Lions Tour “skop aan hom, hy’s kak!” The diminutive Mack Hansen took a box kick from Duhan who failed to get off the ground which led to Jack Conan’s try, where Duhan’s poor tackle technique effectively ushered Conan over the line and compounded his earlier error. Duhan was also not able to stop Hansen in the first half, despite being double his size as Hansen went over in the corner.

Ireland will have gained so much confidence form this win in adversity but have lost a number of key players, including Garry Ringrose, to concussion when he headbutted Blair Kinghorn’s hip late in the game.

Ireland will be licking their lips at the prospect of winning a Grand Slam at the Aviva against England this weekend. They will be overwhelming favourites but will the nerves get the better of them, especially if France can get the bonus point win over Wales in Paris in the game before?