Pyh\u00e4 pitk\u00e4 sivu Batman, t\u00e4st\u00e4 tulee kaunista! Aikoinaan meill\u00e4 oli tapana tehd\u00e4 omia kirjoituksia kaikista Six Nationsin peleist\u00e4, enimm\u00e4kseen iltap\u00e4ivien innoittamana pubissa katsomassa otteluita kavereiden kanssa! T\u00e4m\u00e4 sivu toimii jatkossa kaikkien n\u00e4iden Six Nations -pelien arkistona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\nJ\u00e4lleen yksi Six Nations -ottelu alkaa, ja jotta asiat olisivat viel\u00e4 mielenkiintoisempia, kahdessa vuotuisessa huippuottelussa on uudet valmennustiimit johdossa. Miten\nIrlanti ja Wales p\u00e4rj\u00e4\u00e4v\u00e4t uuden johdon alaisuudessa? Miten Englanti suoriutuu vahvan maailmanmestaruuden j\u00e4lkeen, joka muuttui paskaksi finaalissa? Ensinn\u00e4kin Wales is\u00e4nn\u00f6i\nItaliaa, ja rehellisesti sanottuna siit\u00e4 tuli yksi tylsimmist\u00e4 Six Nations -otteluista aikoihin. Italialaiset jatkoivat s\u00e4\u00e4litt\u00e4v\u00e4\u00e4 vierasottelumuotoaan, eiv\u00e4tk\u00e4 he tarjonneet mit\u00e4\u00e4n haastetta.\nWalesin joukkueelle, joka ker\u00e4si pisteit\u00e4 l\u00e4hes ensimm\u00e4isest\u00e4 minuutista viimeiseen minuuttiin. Asiat muuttuivat paljon mielenkiintoisemmiksi seuraavassa ottelussa, ja jos vain Skotlanti\nolisi pystynyt pit\u00e4m\u00e4\u00e4n pallon hallussaan silloin, kun se olisi ollut t\u00e4rkeint\u00e4, he olisivat voineet saada hyvin ansaitun, joskaan ei kovin harvinaisen voiton irlantilaisista. Irlanti itse oli melko huono\nja n\u00e4kev\u00e4t t\u00e4m\u00e4n vain vankilasta vapautumisena. Skotlanti niin l\u00e4hell\u00e4 mutta niin kaukana taas kerran. Ensimm\u00e4isen viikonlopun viimeisess\u00e4 ottelussa MM-kisojen kakkonen Englanti matkusti...\nRanskaan. Todelliseen Six Nations -tyyliin se osoittautui t\u00e4ysin kahden puoliajan peliksi. Ranska oli fantastinen ensimm\u00e4isell\u00e4 puoliajalla ja pelasi samalla tyylill\u00e4 kuin Walesia vastaan.\nviime vuonna, rakensi vankan johdon. Toisella puoliajalla Englanti tuli takaisin peliin mukaan, Ranska hiukan horjui ja pisteet tulivat tasoihin. Mutta ei tarpeeksi Englannilta\nn\u00e4k\u00f6kulmasta, ja Ranska otti ansaitun voiton. Kun Irlanti, Englanti on pois pelist\u00e4, Walesia ei ole testattu ja Ranska n\u00e4ytt\u00e4\u00e4 paremmalta kuin aikoihin, kaikki on valmistautumassa...\n2. kierrokselle ensi viikonloppuna.\n
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\nSix Nationsin 2. viikko ja valtava myrsky vaikuttivat varmasti paljon pelien laatuun. Wales sai loistavan alun viikolla 1.\nmutta kuten aina, voi olla vaikeaa ja luultavasti ep\u00e4viisasta arvioida joukkuetta, joka on saanut tuloksen Italiaa vastaan. Irlannin vieraana t\u00e4ll\u00e4 viikolla walesilaiset n\u00e4yttiv\u00e4t melko hampaattomilta.\nja h\u00e4visiv\u00e4t reilusti. Irlanti esitti paljon paremman esityksen kuin Skotlantia vastaan, eik\u00e4 sit\u00e4 vastaan kannata ly\u00f6d\u00e4 vetoa, ett\u00e4 he saavuttavat Grand Slamin. Skotlanti Englanti pelasi\nkauhean pelin kauheissa olosuhteissa, ja Englanti voitti vain rangaistuspotkukilpailun. Ehdottomasti parempi suoritus kuin Ranskaa vastaan, mutta silti kaukana siit\u00e4.\nMM-tasosta. Loppuottelussa Ranska pelasi paljon parempaa Italiaa vastaan, ja my\u00f6nnett\u00e4k\u00f6\u00f6n, ett\u00e4 he eiv\u00e4t voi olla paljon huonompia kuin ensimm\u00e4isell\u00e4 viikolla Walesia vastaan.\nAinakin t\u00e4ll\u00e4 viikolla he onnistuivat saamaan pisteit\u00e4 taululle. Viikon 2 p\u00e4\u00e4tteeksi Irlannilla ja Ranskalla on siis viel\u00e4 mahdollisuus Grand Slamiin!\n
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\nVuoden 2020 Six Nationsin 3. kierros, ja turnauksen sekoittumista vaaditaan yh\u00e4 useammin. J\u00e4lleen kerran Italia ei onnistunut rekister\u00f6im\u00e4\u00e4n ainuttakaan pistett\u00e4,\nt\u00e4ll\u00e4 kertaa pahemman kerran kotonaan Skotlannille. Peli oli kohtuullisen l\u00e4hell\u00e4 toisiaan suurilta osin, mutta Italia ei vain n\u00e4ytt\u00e4nyt miss\u00e4\u00e4n vaiheessa silt\u00e4, ett\u00e4 se olisi p\u00e4\u00e4ssyt l\u00e4pi. Kokonaisuutena\nei mik\u00e4\u00e4n loistava mainos Six Nationsille. Toisaalta Wales ja Ranska pelasivat my\u00f6hemmin samana p\u00e4iv\u00e4n\u00e4 aivan loistavan ottelun. Walesilaiset pyrkiv\u00e4t rakentamaan vauhtia...\nhaastamaan Six Nationsin mestaruutta, tiesiv\u00e4t, ett\u00e4 t\u00e4m\u00e4 oli pakollinen voitto, ja samalla romuttivat Ranskan grand slam -toiveet. Seurasi ottelu, jossa Ranska laukoi j\u00e4lleen ennen kuin Wales venyi voittoon.\nWales oli l\u00e4hell\u00e4 toista voittoa ranskalaisista... mutta ei t\u00e4ll\u00e4 kertaa. Monien puolueettomien mielest\u00e4 ranskalaiset vain sinnitteliv\u00e4t, ja walesilaiset kiusasivat tuomaria kuin joukko muita.\nvalittavat jalkapalloilijat tarpeeksi k\u00e4\u00e4nt\u00e4\u00e4kseen keskiverto puolueettoman fanin heit\u00e4 vastaan. Viikonlopun viimeinen ottelu oli j\u00e4lleen yksi kova juttu, kun Irlanti vieraili Englannin vieraana ja pelasi todellisen raadollisen ottelun. Jos ei olisi ollut paria\nIrlantilaiset olisivat yh\u00e4 mukana grand slam -kisassa, mutta Englanti k\u00e4ytti jokaisen virheen hyv\u00e4kseen ja oli lopulta ansaittu voittaja.\n
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\nT\u00e4m\u00e4 on virallisesti Six Nationsin historian pisin kierros turnauksessa, josta tulee my\u00f6s sen pisin turnaus. Muistaako kukaan edes alkua\nmaaliskuun alkua, jolloin kaksi ensimm\u00e4ist\u00e4 peli\u00e4 pelattiin? Joka tapauksessa Englanti raapi niukan voiton kotonaan walesilaisille, jotka tekiv\u00e4t huikean comebackin toisella puoliajalla. Tuo\npit\u00e4\u00e4 Englannin mukana vuoden 2020 Six Nationsissa. Toisessa ottelussa ennen Covid-19-taukoa Skotlanti pelasi kotonaan Ranskaa vastaan, joka on yksi heid\u00e4n parhaista pelaajistaan.\nparhaita Six Nations -esityksi\u00e4 vuosiin. Viime viikolla pelatussa viimeisess\u00e4 ottelussa Irlanti piti mestaruushaaveensa elossa bonuspistevoitolla italialaisista. Sama\nj\u00e4lleen ensi viikolla Ranskaa vastaan, he voivat nostaa mestaruuden riippumatta siit\u00e4, mit\u00e4 Englannin ottelussa tapahtuu.\n
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Se oli odottamisen arvoista! Mik\u00e4 tapa p\u00e4\u00e4tt\u00e4\u00e4 historian pisin Six Nations -turnaus. Skotlanti oli loistava walesilaista joukkuetta vastaan, joka n\u00e4ytt\u00e4\u00e4 olevan aivan sekaisin, mutta se oli vasta alkua. Englanti oli osunut ja h\u00e4vinnyt, mutta lopulta se onnistui Italian vieraana varmistamaan tarvitsemansa bonuspistevoiton, jotta turnauksen viimeinen ottelu olisi mielenkiintoinen. Ja siit\u00e4 eteenp\u00e4in asiat meniv\u00e4t hieman sekaviksi. Muistan kuitenkin sen, ett\u00e4 Six Nations ratkaistiin vasta viimeisen ottelun viimeisill\u00e4 minuuteilla, ja t\u00e4m\u00e4 on jotakin, mit\u00e4 otamme vastaan jokaisessa Six Nationsissa. Toivotaan vain, ett\u00e4 vuoden 2021 Six Nationsissa pelataan hieman tasokkaammin, kun pelit pelataan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nLa 01st Feb 14:15 - Wales 42 - 0 Italia (BBC)
\nLa 01. helmikuuta 16:45 - Irlanti 19 - 12 Skotlanti (ITV) (ITV)
\nSu 02. helmikuuta 15:00 - Ranska 24 - 17 Englanti (BBC)
\nLa 08. helmikuuta 14:15 - Irlanti 24 - 14 Wales (ITV) (ITV)
\nLa 08. helmikuuta 16:45 - Skotlanti 6 - 13 Englanti (BBC)
\nSu 09.2. 15:00 - Ranska 35 - 22 Italia (BBC)
\nLa 22.2. 14:15 - Italia 0 - 17 Skotlanti (ITV)
\nLa 22. helmikuuta 16:45 - Wales 23 - 27 Ranska (BBC)
\nSu 23.2. 15:00 - Englanti 24 - 12 Irlanti (ITV)
\nLa 07. maaliskuuta 16:45 - Englanti 33 - 30 Wales (ITV) (ITV)
\nSu 08 maaliskuu 15:00 - Skotlanti 28 - 17 Ranska (BBC)
\nLa 24.10. 14:15 - Irlanti 50 - 17 Italia (ITV) (ITV)
\nLa 31. lokakuuta 14:15 - Wales 10 - 14 Skotlanti (BBC)
\nLa 31. lokakuuta 16:45 - Italia 5 - 34 Englanti (ITV)
\nLa 31. lokakuuta 20:05 - Ranska 35 - 27 Irlanti (BBC)
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\nOlen aina sanonut, ett\u00e4 rugbyn kaltaista peli\u00e4, jossa ensimm\u00e4inen ja toinen puoliaika jaetaan, ei tulla koskaan n\u00e4kem\u00e4\u00e4n. N\u00e4ytt\u00e4\u00e4 silt\u00e4, ett\u00e4 kun kerran peliss\u00e4 on kuvio.\non vakiintunut, se pysyy sellaisena, kunnes valmentajat saavat pelaajat kuriin. T\u00e4st\u00e4 ei tule n\u00e4kem\u00e4\u00e4n parempaa esimerkki\u00e4 kuin t\u00e4m\u00e4n vuoden ensimm\u00e4inen peli.\nSix Nations -kisassa, kun Wales matkusti Ranskaan. Ranska oli ensimm\u00e4isell\u00e4 puoliajalla majesteettinen, juoksi mielin m\u00e4\u00e4rin Walesin l\u00e4pi ja l\u00f6ysi kaikenlaisia aukkoja. Wales\noli sen sijaan surkea. Odota puoliaikaa, etk\u00e4 koskaan n\u00e4e peli\u00e4, jossa roolit olisivat k\u00e4\u00e4ntyneet enemm\u00e4n. Walesin l\u00f6yt\u00e4ess\u00e4 kunnon, Ranska romahti ja\nlopputulos 24-19 Walesille mairitteli Ranskaa. Uskomatonta ensimm\u00e4isen puoliajan j\u00e4lkeen! Skotlanti antoi kahdessa muussa ottelussa faneilleen toivoa viel\u00e4 paremmasta Six Nationsista kuin mit\u00e4 se oli.\nvuoden 2018 turnaukseen kovalla kotivoitolla Italiasta. Englanti puolestaan voitti viime vuoden voittajan ja grand slamin haltijan Irlannin ja sai samalla bonuspisteen.\nja asettuivat suosikeiksi t\u00e4m\u00e4n vuoden mestaruuden saamiseksi. En malta odottaa ensi viikkoa!\n
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\nSkotlanti, heid\u00e4n t\u00e4ytyy tehd\u00e4 faninsa hulluiksi?! Todella hyv\u00e4n alun j\u00e4lkeen heid\u00e4n faneilleen voisi antaa anteeksi, ett\u00e4 he luulivat, ett\u00e4 heill\u00e4 on hyv\u00e4t mahdollisuudet kotona Irlantia vastaan, joka ep\u00e4onnistui...\nEnglantia vastaan? Ei. He eiv\u00e4t koskaan p\u00e4\u00e4sseet edes l\u00e4hellek\u00e4\u00e4n vauhtiin, ja rehellisesti sanottuna se oli t\u00e4m\u00e4n vuoden Six Nationsin huonoin peli t\u00e4h\u00e4n menness\u00e4. Seuraavaksi\npaljon muuttunut Walesin joukkue matkusti Italiaan, jossa se teki todella kovaa ty\u00f6t\u00e4. Peli oli nipin napin toisella puoliajalla, jolloin n\u00e4ytti silt\u00e4, ett\u00e4 ylim\u00e4\u00e4r\u00e4inen kunto oli hyv\u00e4.\nWalesin joukkueen parempi kunto potkaisi lopulta vakuuttavaan 26-15-voittoon. Viikonlopun viimeinen peli oli kunnon vanhanaikainen sunnuntaipubip\u00e4iv\u00e4, jossa meit\u00e4 hemmoteltiin seuraavasti\nEnglannilta l\u00e4hes enn\u00e4tyksellisen suorituksen. Ranska pelasi Walesia vastaan huomattavasti enemm\u00e4n toisella kuin ensimm\u00e4isell\u00e4 puoliajalla. Valtavat m\u00e4\u00e4r\u00e4t tilaa\ntakana Englanti k\u00e4ytti hyv\u00e4kseen ja ker\u00e4si nopeasti bonuspisteit\u00e4. Ja kuten olen sanonut aiemminkin, n\u00e4ytt\u00e4\u00e4 silt\u00e4, ett\u00e4 puoliaika riitt\u00e4\u00e4 pelin muuttamiseen, mikseiv\u00e4t ranskalaiset pelaajat pystyneet siihen.\nitse n\u00e4hd\u00e4, mit\u00e4 oli tapahtumassa, kun Englanti jatkoi potkimista samoihin paikkoihin? Se oli helvetin selv\u00e4\u00e4 jopa kaikkein satunnaisimmillekin faneille, mutta kesti puoliaikaan asti, ennen kuin joku oli saanut\nsanansa ja ett\u00e4 peli edes hieman tiivistyi toisella puoliajalla. Silti 44 - 6 pisteet Englannille olivat ansaitut, ja rehellisesti sanottuna ne olisivat helposti voineet olla enemm\u00e4nkin. Tauko ensi viikolla\nsitten n\u00e4ytt\u00e4\u00e4 silt\u00e4, ett\u00e4 voi olla tittelin ratkaisija, kun Wales is\u00e4nn\u00f6i Englantia.\n
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\nVoiko kukaan pys\u00e4ytt\u00e4\u00e4 Walesia? He n\u00e4ytt\u00e4v\u00e4t aina tekev\u00e4n juuri tarpeeksi voittaakseen, ja t\u00e4ll\u00e4 viikolla Englanti sai kantap\u00e4\u00e4n kautta huomata, ett\u00e4 40 hyv\u00e4\u00e4 minuuttia joukkuetta vastaan on vaikeaa.\njoka n\u00e4ytt\u00e4\u00e4 unohtaneen, miten h\u00e4vit\u00e4, ei riit\u00e4! Kuten Italiaa ja Ranskaa vastaan, he eiv\u00e4t n\u00e4ytt\u00e4neet kovinkaan vakuuttavilta, mutta he ovat aina...\nT\u00e4ss\u00e4 tapauksessa toinen ponnistus antoi 21 pisteen ja 13 pisteen voiton. Ranskasta puheen ollen, he palasivat pisteiden tekoon (ja samaa voisi sanoa Skotlannista :)) todella hyv\u00e4ll\u00e4 27 - 19 kotivoitolla skotlantilaisista. Toisessa\nviikonlopun toisessa ottelussa Italia johti Irlantia vastaan puoliaikaan asti, mutta parempi kunto ratkaisi lopulta, ja irlantilaiset p\u00e4\u00e4siv\u00e4t juuri ja juuri voittoon.\n26 - 16 -voiton. Ensi viikon otteluiden pit\u00e4isi olla kaikki melko suoraviivaisia, mik\u00e4 tarkoittaa, ett\u00e4 meill\u00e4 on edess\u00e4mme loistava Six Nations -lauantai.\n16. maaliskuuta.\n
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\nKun Grand Slam -ottelu on viel\u00e4 n\u00e4k\u00f6piiriss\u00e4, Wales kuristi Skotlannin hengen t\u00e4ll\u00e4 viikolla. Todella hyv\u00e4ss\u00e4 peliss\u00e4 Wales hallitsi ensimm\u00e4ist\u00e4 puoliaikaa.\nja Skotlanti k\u00e4ytti kotietua ryhmitt\u00e4yty\u00e4kseen uudelleen toisella puoliajalla, mutta se ei riitt\u00e4nyt. Kuten sanoin jo aiemmin, Wales ei tunnu osaavan h\u00e4vit\u00e4, ja se p\u00e4\u00e4si voiton puolelle.\n18 pistett\u00e4 11:nneksi. Englanti puolestaan piti ohuet mestaruushaaveensa elossa j\u00e4lleen yhdell\u00e4 bonuspistevoitolla, ja se tuhosi hyvin heikomman joukkueen.\nItaliaa ensimm\u00e4isell\u00e4 puoliajalla ja vaikka se hieman hellitti, se voitti silti 57-14. Rehellisesti sanottuna italialaisille olisi voinut ja ehk\u00e4 pit\u00e4nyt k\u00e4yd\u00e4 viel\u00e4 huonommin. Loppuottelu\nviikonlopun viimeinen ottelu antoi meille j\u00e4lleen mahdollisuuden n\u00e4hd\u00e4 Ranskan kaksinapaisen joukkueen. H\u00e4pe\u00e4llist\u00e4 ensimm\u00e4isell\u00e4 puoliajalla, jossa he tuskin n\u00e4yttiv\u00e4t p\u00e4\u00e4sev\u00e4n ulos omasta 22:sta. Toisessa\npuoliajalla he ainakin yrittiv\u00e4t, mutta h\u00e4visiv\u00e4t silti 26-14 irlantilaisjoukkueelle, jolla on viel\u00e4 mahdollisuus Six Nationsin mestaruuteen, jos se voittaa Walesin viimeisess\u00e4 ottelussaan. Uskon, ett\u00e4\nett\u00e4 t\u00e4m\u00e4n vuoden Six Nations on tarjonnut meille enemm\u00e4n kahden puoliajan pelej\u00e4 kuin mik\u00e4\u00e4n muu, joten viimeisen kierroksen peleist\u00e4 pit\u00e4isi tulla mahtava Super Saturday.\n
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\nEn usko, ett\u00e4 olen koskaan katsonut koko p\u00e4iv\u00e4\u00e4 Six Nations -rugbya, johon sis\u00e4ltyi niin paljon tunteita, yl\u00e4- ja alam\u00e4ki\u00e4 ja se, mik\u00e4 olisi voinut olla kuollutta kumia.\njoka muuttui yhdeksi parhaista kansainv\u00e4lisen rugbyn peleist\u00e4 viime aikoina. Koko ottelu alkoi Italian paljon rohkeammalla esityksell\u00e4...\n(kotona tietenkin) kaksinapaisia ranskalaisia vastaan. Se ei silti riitt\u00e4nyt voittoon, ja yh\u00e4 useammat huusivat pudotusta\/ylent\u00e4mist\u00e4...\novatko Six Nationsin p\u00e4iv\u00e4t luetut? Toivottavasti ei, sill\u00e4 edistyst\u00e4 on tapahtunut, eik\u00e4 14-25-tappio ranskalaista joukkuetta vastaan, joka tuli paikalle, ole h\u00e4pe\u00e4ksi. Paikalle saapumisesta puheen ollen\nMit\u00e4 tapahtui irlantilaisille? P\u00e4iv\u00e4n dramaattisimmassa ottelussa, jonka olisi pit\u00e4nyt olla p\u00e4iv\u00e4n dramaattisin peli, Irlannin (Grand Slam -voittajat viime vuonna) piti pelata juhlia vastaan.\nWelshille. Eih\u00e4n n\u00e4in k\u00e4ynyt? Walesilaiset hallitsivat peli\u00e4 koko 80 minuutin ajan, eik\u00e4 draamaa ollut juuri lainkaan, kun he voittivat 25-7 ja p\u00e4\u00e4ttiv\u00e4t ottelun.\nGrand Slam ja p\u00e4iv\u00e4n viimeinen peli oli turha... tai niin ainakin luulimme. Se, mit\u00e4 seurasi, ei todellakaan voi kuvata sanoin, muuten kuin ett\u00e4\nk\u00e4yd\u00e4 l\u00e4pi, kuinka paljon kahden puoliajan peli kansainv\u00e4linen rugby voi olla. Sen sijaan suosittelen etsim\u00e4\u00e4n kohokohdat ja nauttimaan klassikosta! Minun puolestani meit\u00e4 oli noin 10 tuoppia\ntuossa vaiheessa ja olimme jo pitk\u00e4ll\u00e4 muutaman rommikolajuoman nauttimisessa vanhan miehen maljan nostamiseksi, joten mahdollisuus katsoa kohokohtia oli eritt\u00e4in tervetullut. T\u00e4ydellinen loppu\ntoiselle loistavalle Six Nations -turnaukselle.\n
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\nPe 01. helmikuuta 20:00 - Ranska 19 - 24 Wales (BBC)
\nLa 02. helmikuuta 14:15 - Skotlanti 33 - 20 Italia (BBC)
\nLa 02. helmikuuta 16:45 - Irlanti 20 - 32 Englanti (ITV)
\nLa 09.2. 14:15 - Skotlanti 13 - 22 Irlanti (BBC)
\nLa 09. helmikuuta 16:45 - Italia 15 - 26 Wales (ITV) (ITV)
\nSu 10.2. 15:00 - Englanti 44 - 8 Ranska (ITV)
\nLa 23. helmikuuta 14:15 - Ranska 27 - 10 Skotlanti (BBC)
\nLa 23. helmikuuta 16:45 - Wales 21 - 13 Englanti (BBC)
\nSu 24.2. 15:00 - Italia 16 - 26 Irlanti (ITV) (ITV)
\nLa 09.3. 14:15 - Skotlanti 11 - 18 Wales (BBC)
\nLa 09. maaliskuuta 16:45 - Englanti 57 - 14 Italia (ITV)
\nSu 10.3. 15:00 - Irlanti 26 - 14 Ranska (ITV)
\nLa 16.3. 12:30 - Italia 14 - 25 Ranska (ITV) (ITV)
\nSat 16th Mar 14:45 – Wales 25 – 7 Ireland (BBC)
\nSat 16th Mar 17:00 – England 38 – 38 Scotland (ITV)
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\nGame of the week? Easy, Scotland vs Ireland in the Six Nations opener! Scotland got of to an absolute flyer in the first half but as they looked to tire from early in the second and the Irish pegged then back it was all\nset for the type of disapointment that the Scottish have gotten used to. Except something happened that doesn’t happen very often at elite level sport, Scotland regained the momentum and took the lead again, holding on for a first Six Nations\nwin over the Irish in a long time. Elsewhere the complacancy many English fans were worried about seemed to materialise and they were extremely lucky to get away with a 3 point victory over a French team that was very much\nold school French. The final game of the weekend saw Wales run out a pretty standard victory over the Italians in the second half having been given a scare in the first. Before the Six Nations started a lot of people were saying that \nthe Ireland England game in the last weekend was likely to be the decider, perhaps not anymore?\n
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\nAnother brilliant weekend of Six Nations rugby, 2 titanic games that could have gone either way and one game that brought in to question the idea of opening up the possibility of “relegation” from the Six Nations? After Italy ran out of steam against Wales\nthey were expected to put up strong resistance at home to Ireland, alas it never happened and they were destroyed with Ireland running in 9 tries in the process. Italy now have a trip to Twickenham to look forward to! The other games were much closer, Wales\nwere brilliant for 75 minutes of their game against England but just couldn’t hold on. It was a storming game to watch where the dominance switched from one team to the other. That result puts England on a record making 16 match winning run with Italy to come next.\nThe final match of the weekend saw France follow up their good performance against England with a win over a Scottish team that had shocked Ireland in the first week. Scotland were ravaged with head injuries during the game and it shows how far they have come in that\nit took 2 late penalties by the French to finally settle the match.\n
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\nScotland tank Wales, Ireland build on their demolition of Italy to beat France and England beat Italy in an unconvincing performance to make it 10 wins in a row and equal the Six Nations record.\n
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\nWales played a stormer to beat Ireland and give England the chance to secure back to back Six Nations titles which they duly did in a commanding performance against Scotland. For the first time in\nthis years tournament every element of the English game ticked in to place giving them a record breaking 11th straight victory in the tournament. In the other game France followed through on a routine victory\nover Italy which prompted yet more questions about Italy’s status in the Six Nations.\n
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\nNow that is how you sign out of a Six Nations tournament! With nothing more than second place to play for the last two games were two of the closest of the entire tournament, with France and Wales breaking the record for the longest game, it took a whole extra 20 minutes until France finally\nsnatched the win from a visibly shocked Welsh. That just left the Irish to upset the English in what was a hugely tense and close game, the 13 to 9 scoreline a fair reflection of went down on the pitch, so close to St Patricks day it just had to be! No record wins for the English, no back to back grand slams, the Irish delighted although it has to be said as a neutral\nit’s hard to understand WHY the English fans are so hated yet the Irish loved? You couldn’t slip a piece of paper in the gap between the levels of arrogance of both sets of fans (certainly where I was watching) so it’s a bit\nof a mystery? \n
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Sat 4th Feb 14:25 – Scotland 27 – 22 Ireland (BBC)
Sat 4th Feb 16:50 – England 19 – 16 France (ITV)
Sun 5th Feb 14:00 – Italy 7 – 33 Wales (ITV)
Sat 11th Feb 14:25 – Italy 10 – 63 Ireland (ITV)
Sat 11th Feb 16:50 – Wales 16 – 21 England (BBC)
Sun 12th Feb 15:00 – France 22 – 16 Scotland (BBC)
Sat 25th Feb 14:25 – Scotland 29 – 13 Wales (BBC)
Sat 25th Feb 16:50 – Ireland 10 – 9 France (ITV)
Sun 26th Feb 15:00 – England 36 – 15 Italy (ITV)
Fri 10th Mar 20:05 – Wales 22 – 9 Ireland (BBC)
Sat 11th Mar 13:30 – Italy 18 – 40 France (ITV)
Sat 11th Mar 16:00 – England 61 – 21 Scotland (ITV)
Sat 18th Mar 12:30 – Scotland 29 – 0 Italy (BBC)
Sat 18th Mar 14:25 – France 20 – 18 Wales (ITV)
Sat 18th Mar 17:00 – Ireland 13 – 9 England (ITV)
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\nThere is one golden rule in TV, if you need a pundit to tell you how exciting something is then there is every chance it’s just not that exciting. This was very true of the first week of the 2016 Six Nations. Those of us hoping for\na Northern Hemisphere backlash into exciting rugby after the World Cup shambles were left a little disapointed. Of course there were some highlights, Italy very nearly turning over France away from home and a very rare draw in the\nIreland vs Wales game but at the end of the day the first weekend was definitely a slow burner. At this stage the teams have more to lose than to win so hopefully next week things will pick up and we’ll see a little more running with the ball.\n
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\nWeek 2 and things started to heat up a bit. Despite a lack of free flowing rugby the French, Irish slug match resulted in a very close game with France just edging it depsite falling 6 points behind twice. Two first half injuries have cost Ireland\nany chance of winning the Six Nations having only 1 point from their first 2 games. France meanwhile are two for two, but far from convincing. The Wales vs Scotland game was far more entertaining, an early try for Wales seeming to get\nthings going, matched by a try from Scotland within 15 minutes. What followed was a see-saw affair before Scotland just seemed to run out of steam towards the end. The last game of the weekend looked like it might produce an upset with Italy taking an early\nlead but once England got ahead it was virtually one way traffic scoring some nice trys in the process.\n
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\nWeek 3 and the reason why Wales were strong favourites before this years Six Nations started finally comes to the fore. It also proved just how random the French team but the end result \nwas that next weeks game between Wales and England is very likely to be a tournament decider. In the other games Scotland finally got a well deserved Six Nations win coming out comfortable winners\nagainst an unusually lack lustre Italian team who normally play much better at home. The final game of the weekend saw England power past Ireland in what was a very close game until a couple of quick tries \nsettled the game in the second half.\n
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\nWeek 4 and it’s all over, I don’t think anybody saw that coming! In what is a polar opposite to last years last round nerves this years tournament has been sewn up early. A dominant first half performance by England over Wales\nwas enough to take them clear at the top of the table and with only France standing a chance of stopping them, their defeat to Scotland on Sunday was enough to hand England the Six Nations trophy. All that is left now is to see if they can\ncomplete the Grand Slam when the play France in Paris in their last game.\n
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\nEngland secure a first Grand Slam since 2003, Scotland continue to impress but lose narrowly away to Ireland and Wales produce the most one sided\ncontest of the whole Six Nations by demolishing a lack lustre Italy on Welsh soil. Overall then English fans will be delighted with how the 2016\nSix Nations went but I feel for the neutral who will feel a bit let down after the drama of the 2015 tournament.\n
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Sat 6th Feb 14:25 – France 23 – 21 Italy (BBC)
Sat 6th Feb 16:50 – Scotland 9 – 15 England (BBC)
Sun 7th Feb 15:00 – Ireland 16 – 16 Wales (ITV)
Sat 13th Feb 14:25 – France 10 – 9 Ireland (BBC)
Sat 13th Feb 16:50 – Wales 27 – 23 Scotland (BBC)
Sun 14th Feb 14:00 – Italy 9 – 40 England (ITV)
Fri 26th Feb 20:05 – Wales 19 – 10 France (BBC)
Sat 27th Feb 14:25 – Italy 20 – 36 Scotland (ITV)
Sat 27th Feb 16:50 – England 21 – 10 Ireland (ITV)
Sat 12th Mar 13:30 – Ireland 58 – 15 Italy (ITV)
Sat 12th Mar 16:00 – England 25 – 21 Wales (ITV)
Sun 13th Mar 15:00 – Scotland 29 – 18 France (BBC)
Sat 19th Mar 14:30 – Wales 67 – 14 Italy (BBC)
Sat 19th Mar 17:00 – Ireland 35 – 25 Scotland (ITV)
Sat 19th Mar 20:00 – France 21 – 31 England (BBC)
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\nGreat start to the tournament, Wales ran out of steam in the second half against England. The score in the Italy Ireland match flattered Ireland a little bit and then Scotland put up one hell of a\nfight away to France. It looks like it’s going to be a really competitive Six Nations, Ireland and England will be the early favourites but that can all change next week with Wales or Scotland likely to come right back into the frame.\n
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\nWhat can you say about Scotland? Narrowly beaten by France and now narrowly beaten by Wales. Have they improved? Of course they have but they are just left in the unfortunate position of being the nearly men, if only they could convert more of\ntheir try scoring positions they’d be right up there. In the other games England did what was expected of them at home to Italy, all be it after a very sticky start. Ireland were once again rock solid, not spectacular but they ground down a French team that\njust never seem to get it right away from home. No doubt what is going to be the game of the 3rd weekend of Six Nations action, Ireland vs England looks like being a championship decider. \n
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\nSo much for Ireland vs England being a championship decider, after this weeks games it looks like we are in for another “decider” in round 4 when Wales play Ireland. Round 3 was a bit of a disappointment in this \nyears Six Nations. Whilst England failed to turn up in Ireland (what happened to the running rugby of previous games?), Ireland did a workman like job on them, France proved what a true Yo-Yo team they are, this time under performing at home\nto gift Wales a shot at the Six Nations title. Wales took full advantage of what was on offer. By far the best game of the weekend was Scotland versus Italy, I’m not sure how many people would have thought\nthat before the games started? Kudos to Italy for what is only their second ever away win in the Six Nations tournament, only the most die hard Scot would argue it wasn’t well deserved as once again Scotland failed to make the most of\ntheir opportunities. \n
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\nIt looks like nobody actually wants to win this years Six Nations! By beating Ireland ( and well beaten at that) Wales have opened up thee championship giving themselves, England and Ireland a chance of\ntaking the trophy in the last round of games. All things being equal it looks like the 2015 Six Nations is going to go down to points difference. \n
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\nThe best last day of a Six Nations in recent history? We had it all and who’d have thought that a disallowed try by Scotland would prove to be so pivotal in deciding who would take home the trophy? The day\nstarted with the best Welsh team in history (seriously Welsh BBC pundits, you need to take a step back) annihilating Italy to put themselves right in with a chance. The Ireland did the business against Scotland, their best performance\nof this years competition by the way. And that set us up for a grand stand finale at Twickenham, and one of the best England France encounters I can ever remember. Kudos to both teams. The end result was\nIreland taking the trophy for the second year in a row, England 2nd and Wales 3rd, all teams finishing on the same number of points. Similar again next year boys would be spot on.\n
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\nFri 6th Feb 20:05\tWales\t16 – 21 \tEngland\t
\t\nSat 7th Feb\t14:30\tItaly\t 3 – 26 \tIreland\t
\t\nSat 7th Feb 17:00\tFrance\t 15 – 8 \tScotland\t
\t\nSat 14th Feb 14:30\tEngland\t 47 – 17 \tItaly\t
\t\nSat 14th Feb 17:00\tIreland\t 18 – 11 \tFrance\t
\t\nSun 15th Feb 15:00\tScotland 23 – 26 \tWales\t
\t\nSat 28th Feb 14:30\tScotland 19 – 22 \tItaly\t
\t\nSat 28th Feb 17:00\tFrance\t 13 – 20 \t\tWales\t
\t\nSun 01st Mar 15:00\tIreland\t19 – 9 \tEngland\t
\t\nSat 14th Mar 14:30\tWales\t 23 – 16 \tIreland\t
\t\nSat 14th Mar 17:00\tEngland\t 25 – 13 \tScotland\t
\t\nSun 15th Mar 15:00\tItaly\t 0 – 29 \tFrance\t
\t\nSat 21st Mar 12:30\tItaly\t 20 – 61 \tWales\t
\t\nSat 21st Mar 14:30\tScotland\t 10 – 40 \tIreland\t
\t\nSat 21st Mar 17:00\tEngland\t 55 – 35 \tFrance\t
\t\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nA decent start to the Six Nations this year with the undoubted star game being France vs England, a true game of 2 halves and one that just\ngoes to show how close games can be at this level. In the other games Wales and Ireland had similar games, slow to start but once they got going they\nwere both clear winners over Italy and Scotland respectively. Here are video highlights of all the games:-\n
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\nI think we can all agree that Ireland vs Wales didn’t really live up to the build up, I was expecting an extremely tight almost title deciding game. Instead the Welsh barely turned up and in the battle of brains over brawn the brains won out comfortably. I’m going to be careful not to say too much though because I went overboard on Wales last year and was made to look a right tit! The other 2 games were pretty much standard and this week was always going to be the most predictable with England and France taking comfortable wins over Scotland and Italy. Six Nations 2014 Round 2 video highlights are below:\n
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\nI was away on a ship that advertised as having a local pub. Unfortunately the pub only became a pub when there wasn’t a music quiz on for the geriatrics so I missed all of these games! Gutted.\n
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\nIreland destroy Italy, nothing much new in that because Italy have to be one of the worst away teams I think I’ve ever seen, the difference between their home and away performances is something to behold. Other than\nthat there was a very tight game between France and Scotland that the French just edged (another team very poor away from home) and finally England beat Wales to secure a Triple Crown and maintain their hopes of lifting the\nSix Nations trophy. The final day of matches should prove to be a cracker with England hoping to generate a cricket score against Italy (a whole different prospect with the Italians at home) in order to put pressure on\nIreland who travel to France in the last game of the day. Whilst Ireland are in pole position on points scored it could still go either way.\n
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\nThe Six Nations 2014 ends with a dream result for the Irish and especially Brian O’Driscoll who ends his final game with a Six Nations trophy. It was one of those days that had to involve the pub\nand we were there for an early start to watch England destroy Italy. It’s just a shame that a few defensive slips and the decision to make so many replacements later on could have cost England an even bigger victory. Wales did show\nthem how it was done with a thumping victory over a Scottish team that looks like it’s going to need a lot of work. That just left the final game of the tournament, could Ireland get that ever so rare\nvictory away to France. Being St Patrick’s weekend we soon found out why so many tables had been reserved in the pub (yes, a pub where you couldn’t find a seat all day because people had reserved \ntables, won’t be going back there again!). Five minutes before kick-off the Irish hoards descended and we were treated to a game that could have gone either way, right up until the final minutes when\nFrance had a try disallowed on video ref evidence. It was a great day, topped of by winding up a few of our Irish cousins but it just goes to show what a great sport rugby is and what football fans\ncould learn from the rugby crowd. Congratulations Ireland.\n
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\nSat 1st Feb 14:30 Wales 23 – 15 Italy
\nSat 1st Feb 17:00 France 26 – 24 England
\nSun 2nd Feb 15:00 Ireland 28 – 6 Scotland
\nSat 8th Feb 14:30 Ireland 26 – 3 Wales
\nSat 8th Feb 17:00 Scotland 0 – 20 England
\nSun 9th Feb 15:00 France 30 – 10 Italy
\nFri 21st Feb 20:00 Wales 27 – 6 France
\nSat 22nd Feb 13:30 Italy 20 – 21 Scotland
\nSat 22nd Feb 16:00 England 13 – 10 Ireland
\nSat 8th Mar 14:30 Ireland 46 – 7 Italy
\nSat 8th Mar 17:00 Scotland 17 – 19 France
\nSun 9th Mar 15:00 England 29 – 18 Wales
\nSat 15th Mar 12:30 Italy 11 – 52 England
\nSat 15th Mar 14:45 Wales 51 – 3 Scotland
\nSat 15th Mar 17:00 France 20 – 22 Ireland
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nWell as far as starts to the Six Nations go I think most people would agree that the 2013 tournament would take some beating! To get the worst out of the way first the poorest game was definitely the England \nvs Scotland game. Scotland turned up with much hype over how close these games have been for the past 3 years but it was as easy a win for England at this level as you are ever likely to see. But don’t let that fool you into\nthinking it was a “bad” game, there was a lot of running rugby, the English centre was very impressive and compared to some games in previous tournaments it was a fantastic match! Just a shame that it couldn’t match up to\nWales against Ireland and Italy versus France. The Welsh, Irish game was the ultimate game of 2 halves. The Irish blitzed the first half and then seemed to enjoy sitting back in the second whilst Wales took lunking great chunks from their\nlead. Alas, it wasn’t enough to stop Wales creating a new losing streak record of 5 home games lost in a row. I said before the tournament I couldn’t see where the Welsh optimism after the Autumn internationals was coming from and I stick to that now. \nYes they did well in the second half but only after the Irish slowed to crawling pace. The Sunday game of Italy against France was the game of the weekend for me. I’d tipped France as favourites for the whole tourament before this game and how wrong could I be?!\nItaly deserved everything they got, it’s not worth writing about, if you didn’t see it hunt down the highlights on the web!<\/a>\n \nDo we blame the weather or was week 1 just an anomoly? Who knows but week 2 of the 2013 Six Nations was a shocker. England out battled and kicked a fairly tame Ireland, Italy did what they always do away from home and the Welsh returned to winning ways against the \nworst French performance I can remember in recent history. But I really can’t be bothered\nwriting too much about the actual quality of the rugby, instead just watch the rather short highlights. Ireland vs England<\/a>. Scotland vs Italy<\/a>. France vs Wales<\/a>.\n \nNot a lot of great rugby was played again this week but we there was plenty of gritty action and we got to welcome France to the 2013 Six Nations tournament. \nWales started to look good against an Italian team that are always a difficult opponent at home, if anything it looked as though\nthe Italians were suffering from not having their captain and usualy number 8 on the pitch but kudos to Wales for taking advantage. The Scotland vs Ireland game\nwas one of the most one sided games in Six Nations history! Posession and territory heavily dominated by Ireland but then Scotland won the kicking match and actually won the game! I think the Scottish commentary team were in shock!\nEngland vs France was all about France showing up and putting in any sort of a performance and for the majority of the game that’s exactly what they did. The first half was very tight and\nthen thanks to some dodgy substitutions England were given the opportunity to build a meaningful lead and ran out comfy winners. The biggest disappointment of the game was Chris Ashton again, I don’t know what it is with that bloke but he appears to be believing his own hype, constantly \nwinding up opponents with “footballer” style niggles and then generally being shit when he gets the ball. But anyway, week 3 done and it’s only England that have a chance at the Grand Slam although Wales and Scotland (yes Scotland) are still in with a chance of taking the Six Nations title.\n \nFrom the best first week things have been slowly slipping down hill ever since, the situation around the scrums has totally spoilt the game for me. Highlights of the games:- Scotland vs Wales<\/a> Ireland vs France<\/a> England vs Italy<\/a>\n \nWeek 5 from the 2013 Six Nations shall forever be known as the day when things went back to normal. Italy produced a storming home performance (to be fair to them on the back of a great away day versus England) to beat the Irish and spoil what may be Brian O’Driscoll’s last game for the Irish. Scotland were well beaten by the French who although picking up their\nfirst win of the tournament were unable to avoid the wooden spoon, something I’m sure which will delight the Italians. Finally we have the title decider and as we said earlier, things back to normal, an English international team froze completely and went rapidly from Grand Slam hopefulls to 15 blokes bumbling around a pitch looking lost. For rugby fans at least the last set of games\nproduced some good rugby with some tries because to be honest the previous 3 sets of fixtures had been dire as I’m sure will be reflected in the TV viewing figures when they get released. To attract new fans to rugby there has to be more of a flow to the game and it seems with how the rules are being \ninterpreted in the northern hemisphere at the moment that’s just not happening. Anyway, congratulations to Wales for turning around their tournament and running our deserved winners, I’m sure I called that back in week 1…(or maybe not ;))\n \nSat 2nd Feb 13\t13:30\tWales\t 22 – 30 \tIreland\t \nFor this years Six Nations I’m going to do something a little different with my weekly round ups. I’m going to try and sum up the whole weekends action in 1 word so to get things\nstarted I’d like to offer up the word “tight” for the first week of the 2012 Six Nations. Although being fair I could have quite easily used the word “crap” up until the point where\nthe Ireland Wales game kicked into life. France fail to seam roll Italy in quite the fashion everybody was expecting with France playing at home, Scotland vs England was the worst game\nof rugby I can remember watching in a long time. But all this was made up for when Ireland and Wales put together one of the best games of international rugby union in the last 10 years, only ending with a \nspectacular last minute win for Wales.\n \nFor this weeks “Word Of The Week” I think we are best off sticking with Cold! Just when you thought it couldn’t get any colder\nthan the Italy versus England game we found out that the France vs Ireland game was going to be postponed due to a frozen pitch, bad time all around.\nIn the games that did take place England eventually came out on top versus Italy despite the Italians leading at half-time due to 2 late tries. England had to thank another Charlie Hodgson charge down and the \nexcellent kicking skills of Owen Farrell for their win. Despite being poor in both games England are now 2 wins out of 2 but with more sterner challenges to come. In the other game \nWales took on Scotland and despite a brave effort by the Scotts ended up winning comfortably 27 points to 13. There was one major downer though and that was the injury to their winger and \narguably player of the tournament so far George North. The man mountain had to go off with ankle damage and it’s not clear yet whether he’ll play any further part in the 2012 Six Nations. \n \nThere is only 1 possible word that would fit this weeks Six Nations round-up, Irony<\/b>. The irony of an England team finally turning up and showing what they are capable off only then to lose. Really? Two weeks\nof utter rubbish that resulted in wins and then 1 weeks where we get entertaining, skilful, free flowing rugby and they lose! On the positive side for Wales it is going to take a \nvery good team to stop them doing the Grand Slam. Will the French be able to stop them, I have a sneaky feeling not. In the other games Scotland put in a real shift against the French and were unlucky to go down\n23 points to 17, a game that also saw a couple of nasty injuries. The first game of the weekend saw the usual Italian away team turn up, how a team can play so different home and away is anybodys guess? Either way they got \nsteam rolled by the Irish 42 points to 10. At least we got to see some great rugby this week, to be honest the first 2 weeks of the 2012 Six Nations were not exactly ball breaking excitement were they?\n \nSeeing as how we were treated to 3 fantastic games this weekend I think it would be rude to choose any other word than Awesome<\/b> (in a fake American accent) to describe what we saw. Things started off well\nwith a game that was supposed to be a Welsh annihilation of the Italians but it never really turned out like that. The Italian tackling in the first half was a thing of beauty, but it was no real\nsurprise to see them tire later on in the game and the Welsh run out clear 24 points to 3 winners. It was still a brilliant game and for 60 minutes it could have went either way. The same could be said of the\nIreland, Scotland game. When Scotland went 6 points up early doors I’m sure many Irish fans were worrying that their bogey team were going to haunt them once again. It wasn’t to be the case in the 2012 Six Nations though\nbecause a free running Ireland team were scoring tries where the Scottish were restricted behind the game line most of the time. After 80 minutes we’d all witnessed a real belter of a rugby match with the 32- 14 score somewhat\nflattering the Irish. Then finally we get to the game of the weekend. At last we see an English team not kicking the ball away at every opportunity. At last we get to see and English team playing the French at their own game.\nIt was one of the best games in the Six Nations for many a year, you’d be much better of finding a highlights video than reading about it, so that’s what I suggest you go and do! \n Lets end this years Six Nations with our final word….DRUNK. That sums up things perfectly. I can remember Italy getting a deserved win against the Scottish but from that point onwards things got a bit blurry. But apparently Wales won the Grand Slam and England one with ease against the Irish. Who’d have guessed it. Same again then next year lads ?! <\/p>\n\n\n\n \nI have an admission to make, I decided to kick of the 2011 Six Nations by having a few friends around the house so the memories of the Wales ?? England game might be a little jaded! OK, very jaded. I think it would be fair to sum it up as this though, England started well, invited Wales back into the game but just about deserved to hold on for 26-19 win, fair? Perhaps most importantly for fans of running rugby the 2011 Six Nations continued where the Autumn Internationals left off. Sure there was plenty of kicking away possession in the first half an hour but once both teams settled down we were treated to some great rugby and some cracking tries. The second admission is that the fuzzy head didn??t help things on the Saturday either. Italy vs Ireland was a belter for different reasons. Talk about close to an upset? The Ireland game was littered with errors and it helped give Italy a sound footing in the game, the Italians just love playing at home and they came oh so close to a first ever Six Nations win over Ireland with a try in the last 5 minutes. Ireland were dire, no other words for it and they can thank o??Gara for saving any blushes with a drop goal in the last couple of minutes to give them a ??closer than close?? 13 points to 11 victory. If only Italy would have converted the try. The final game of the first weekend saw Scotland taking on France. Passion, pace, running and impact ?? another great game of rugby. Scotland seems to have lifted themselves a level above recent Six Nations efforts and had France under plenty of pressure for a lot of this game. However the French class told in the end and despite a great effort by Scotland France ran out 34 -21 winners. Scotland should not be too downbeat, with a little bit more of a cutting edge they could have caused a massive upset. So what can we conclude from the first weekend of the 2011 Six Nations? Ireland look off their game, England can be still be sloppy but France look bang on form and perhaps ready for back to back grand slams? We??ll see. \n \nEngland vs Italy – England on top all the way through and a proper good old fashioned stuffing. In Ashton England have one of those rare talents that always seems\nto find himself in the right place at the right time. Strangely enough even though Italy were shocking at the line out all through the game it was actually the source of their\nconsolation try late on. It’s hard to understand how Italy can play so differently home and away in the Six Nations? England on this form will take some stopping. Scotland vs Wales was a much more competitive affair all around (not hard) and one that managed to throw the form book on the bonfire. After Scotlands\nperformance against France the previous week great things were expected of them, however them took massive steps back. Wales on the other hand were resurgent. As soon as Wales scored early this game never really seemed to be in doubt, even when they went down to 13 men Scotland failed to take any real advantage. Shane Williams is another of those\nplayers that has a real talent for being in the right place. Finally, Sunday gave us the game of the weekend with Ireland playing France in a very tight game. I think it would be fair to say that\neverything that happened in this game was down to Ireland in one way or another. When they were good they scored tries, when they were bad they gave away endless penalties. France were consistent throughout and kept themselves right in the game with some\nexcellent kicking, eventually running out 25-22 winners. An absolute cracking game to watch and one that Ireland could have easily of won with better discipline.\n \nThe third week of this years Six Nations could really have been the decisive set of games in terms of deciding an eventual winner. The weekend started of with Italy versus Wales and what a brilliant game it was. I sound like an old record\nbut Italy are so much better at home and there were none of the signs of weakness that the displayed against England in their last game. Wales struggled to build on their convincing win over the Scots but just about held out for a very hard fought victory (worth noting that\nif Italy could find a kicker they would have won this game!). Shortly afterwards it was the big decider, England vs France. Can I be honest here without appearing biased? England stuffed them! Other than some sloppy penalties England were far and away the more creative and direct team \nand it was every bit a deserved victory. Even more so considering some French students had gathered in the same pub as us – thank you fate, it’s not often I get to watch England win in the pub and I thank my lucky stars it was a day when the French were in town! The final game of the\nweekend saw Ireland travel the short distance to Scotland. Could Scotland get any worse than the previous game? Of course not, it was a much improved display that saw them lose by just 3 points to an Irish team that alough wasteful at times still look a force. After 3 games\nthe Six Nations is still poised with England ahead (3 victories out of 3) with Ireland, Wales and France all on 2 wins. With England still having to play Ireland it’s certainly not all over yet.\n \nHow many times have I written about Italy being a tough team at home tens, hundreds, thousands? It should come as no surprise then that\nwhen Bergamasco finally puts his kicking boots on they finally turn over one of the big teams. It should come as no surprise that this team would be the French this year either. I can’t tell you just how\ndelighted I was for the Italians, that 22-21 result (A well deserved hard fought one) has made their year already. The French on the other hand were dire. Not one of them could hold their head up after that display and say they gave 100%. Wales gave themselves\na slim chance of still lifting the Six Nations trophy with a dubious 19-13 win over Ireland. It was a very even game until a Scottish official made an almighty ballsup by allowing Wales to take a quick line-out with what was obviously the wrong ball. Not only that but he then confirmed without doubt that it was “the right ball”. Surely this sort of nonsense only happens in football? What\nit did show up though was just how irate team officials can get in rugby. Imagine how irate team\/club officials would get if there was ??20-??30 million riding on it. Those figures are not far from the mark in big promotion\/cup\/title football games. Respect is all well and good until somebody mistake causes a club to go under and lots of people\nto lose their jobs. Just a thought. Anyhoo back to the Rugby. England were nervous as hell against the Scots. Personally I think the Italy result had put doubts in their minds as well as giving the Scottish a boost. A gutsy performance from the Scots which saw them hold England until half time was perhaps worthy of a draw? England’s fitness seemed to tell in the second half and they just about managed a \n22 – 16 victory. Scotland have been so up and down in this years Six Nations, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if they got a good win in their last game. But the big question on everybody’s lips going in to the last week is…will England do the Grand Slam or will Ireland open it up for another team to lift the Six Nations trophy? \n \nThe final week of the 2011 Six Nations gave us a chance to see just what a massive impact home advantage is in the Six Nations. There were comfortable wins for Scotland, France and Ireland. Obviously most significant in these\nwas the Irish demolition of England. Within 10 minutes it was fairly clear to all but the most die hard English fans that the game was up and there would be no Grand Slam. It was a result that left the English needing some help from the French in order to take the Six Nations title. If Wales could have won \nby a big margin they could take the honours on the final day but it wasn’t to be. The French still smarting from the defeat by Italy the previous week were far from their best but still too strong for Wales. This only left the wooden spoon and completely true to form the Italians which had achieved the unthinkable only a week before were\nback to their away form worst. Scotland even managed to break their try scoring voodoo at home and ran in a couple. After this final weekend of the 2011 Six Nations that leaves England is the winners with Italy taking the Wooden Spoon. Bring on the World Cup I say!\n \nFri 4th Feb 19:45\tWales 19 – 26 England\t \nWhat a brilliant weekend of Rugby, I’ve got to admit that there was far more ball in hand rugby than what I was expecting. Of course just like\nevery first weekend of the Six Nations there were plenty of errors in each game but it all looks good for some free flowing rugby later on in the tournament. In the games\nIreland were a little stodgy against Italy who themselves battled hard. England were impressive against Wales although even the most die hard English fan would have to admit\nthe game was won when Wales were rightly down to 14 men. The importance of discipline in the international game shone through once again. The final game of the weekend\nsaw France looking dangerous against a solid Scottish team. It was nice to see France on their game from the very beginning of the Six Nations. Player of the weekend had to be\nMathieu Bastareaud, the 18 stone French center. He looked unstoppable and his second try against Scotland was awesome.\n \nAnother weekend of superb Rugby action. I’ll get what was by far the worst game of the weekend out of the way first, England vs Italy. After the excitement of Saturday and Englands improved form\nagainst Wales the previous week this one was a shocker. Italy were much improved but even so nothing could hide the total lack of ambition from an England team that were happy to kick the ball in a completely aimless fashion\ntime after time. France vs Ireland on the other hand was full of fast paced ball in hand Rugby. Well I say ball in hand but in Ireland’s case it was much more ball falling out of hand, I don’t think I can recall so many knock-ons \nfrom one team in a game. France were in top form and have surely got to be favourites for a grand slam with England being the only other possible Grand Slam nation. Bastareaud was in ominous form once again, showing a little more to his game including setting up a try\nand some hard hitting tackling. Ireland were below par for them but I doubt that even a top Ireland performance would have been good enough to beat a top French performance at the moment. That only leaves the game of the weekend and perhaps the best game the Six Nations has\never seen, Wales vs Scotland? It didn’t stop from the first minute, both teams full of ambition and Scotland playing out of their skins to build a sizable lead. Right up until the last 10 minutes. What followed can not be portrayed properly through words, the only thing I can\ndo is recommend in the strongest possible way that you find the highlights of this game and watch it! (BBC iPlayer will have it). One of the best 10 minutes of rugby I can ever remember watching and a prefect\nadvert for the 6 Nations. Not so much a player of the week this week, more a team of the week and I’m going to give that to Wales and Scotland jointly, if you didn’t see it then you really need to watch that game \ud83d\ude42 \n \nThe third week of Six Nations produced a mixed bag of rugby. The highlight had to be the Wales vs France game on the Friday, France put themselves\ninto a great position with a commanding lead in the first half but then seemed to completely relax in the second half. This gave Wales the chance to play\nthemselves into the game, a chance they weren’t shy in taking. It couldn’t possibly happen again could it? When Shane Williams went over for only minutes to go I bet there were\nplenty of Welsh fans that believed it could happen! Alas France held on for a deserved win by kicking the ball straight out from the restart (a lesson their for Scotland maybe?). The second\ngame saw Scotland play Italy. In a game that both teams see as their best chance for winning a game in the Six Nations this was always going to be a tight affair. Penalties were the order\nof the day with both side exchanging blows. It all game time to a frantic last few minutes in which Italy held on to secure a rare win in the Six Nations, the home crowd went nuts. To be fair to Italy their home form has been building and\nI don’t think many people would have been too shocked to see them win. Scotland always have a chance at home against England to avoid the wooden spoon. Talking of England, another sack of old shite. By far the most boring game\nof the weekend as they played out a dull as dishwater, take no chances game, against Ireland. Ireland won the game 3 tries to one and even though they had limited chances they looked to run the ball and take each one. A complete contrast to the English “pass sideways” or punt it play. It’ll be a good\nday when England finally wake up to the actually standard of rugby they are inflicting on their fans! When it comes to player of the week I’m going to give it to\nthe Welsh wing Shane Williams, the little man was an inspiration again against the French. \n \nI’m going to keep this really short, I’m still gutted by the total lack of progress being made by England, not to mention the post match England camp spin machine spewing nonsense. England play the most unwatchable Rugby of any international team I’ve watched in the last 20 years. This wouldn’t be so bad if they were playing \neffective Rugby, but as was proven against Scotland they are not. A 15-15 (no trys) score says more about that game than anything I ever could. Luckily fur us rugby fans we had the other 4 teams to provide some top class ENTERTAINING rugby. The Ireland Wales game was compelling to watch, for the second weekend in a row\nIreland seemed to be happy to sit back and pick apart their opposition at just the right time. The speed at which they were able to score was impressive and they ran out well deserved winners over the Welsh. Wales did have a bit of an off day but even at their best I don’t think they would\nhave had the right answers to stop the Irish who if they would have had their kicking boots on would have won be even more. In the final game of the weekend on Sunday France destroyed Italy. Well that’s how it started, but by mid way through the second half Italy woke up and and even managed to score a couple of well worked trys. Perhaps that had something to do with France experimenting with their subs but even\nso all credit must be given to Italy for never letting their heads go down. It was a 1000% more enjoyable watch than the Calcutta Cup game. Man of the weekend is big Lawrence Dallaglio for having the balls to speak his mind and express how disapointed he was, good on him. \n \nWhat a great end to the Six Nations Super Saturday was. I’ll be honest here, I spent a large part of the day in the pub so some of the details are a little hazy, especially about the England game but I’ll do my best to sum up what happened.\nThe first game of the day saw Wales take on Italy. Italy true to form were rubbish away from home, they always are! It was kept fairly close for the first half but as soon as the second half started Wales just blew them\naway with some decisive finishing. Next up was the game of the day for me, Ireland vs Scotland. From the first minute I got the impression that the Irish were only there for a party, turn up, beat Scotland, celebrate last game at Croke Park? Somebody obviously forgot to tell Scotland the script and the team\nwhich has been really unlucky this Six Nations actually got the luck in the last few minutes and a much deserved victory. I have never seen so many upset Irish lads in one pub. Johnny Sextant in particular came in for a lot of stick from his own fans. Last and for once not least it was England vs France at the\nStade de France. Hands up if you were fearing the worst? My hands up. I was expecting a kicking England game and not only a hammering but also a really dull game. It was a massive surprise but a very pleasant one. The changes Martin Johnson had made to the team worked wonders\nand England fans were treated to a great display of running rugby. It wasn’t quite enough on the night to beat the French who fair play to them have been far and away the team of the tournament. A well deserved Grand Slam for France, no Triple Crown for the Irish and at last an English performance worthy of the name. A great day of rugby all around and a very sore head on the Sunday.\n \nSat 6th Feb \t14:30\tIreland\t29 – 11 \tItaly\t Holy long pages Batman, this ones going to be a beauty! Back in the day we used to do our own write-ups from all the Six Nations games, mostly inspired by afternoons in the pub watching the matches with mates! This page will remain as the archive for all those Six Nations games.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"brand":[],"class_list":["post-1644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-old-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1644\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1644"},{"taxonomy":"brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livefooty.net\/fi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/brand?post=1644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 2 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 3 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 4 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 5 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n2013 Six Nations Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nSat 2nd Feb 13\t16:00\tEngland\t 38 – 18 \tScotland
\nSun 3rd Feb 13\t15:00\tItaly\t 23 – 18 \tFrance
\nSat 9th Feb 13\t14:30\tScotland\t 34 – 10 \tItaly
\nSat 9th Feb 13\t17:00\tFrance\t 6 – 16 \tWales
\nSun 10th Feb 13\t15:00\tIreland\t 6 – 12 \tEngland
\nSat 23rd Feb 13\t14:30\tItaly\t 9 – 26 \tWales
\nSat 23rd Feb 13\t17:00\tEngland\t 23 – 13 \tFrance
\nSun 24th Feb 13\t14:00\tScotland\t 12 – 8 \tIreland
\nSat 9th Mar 13\t14:30\tScotland\t 18 – 28 \tWales
\nSat 9th Mar 13\t17:00\tIreland\t 13 – 13 \tFrance
\nSun 10th Mar 13\t15:00\tEngland\t 18 – 11 \tItaly
\nSat 16th Mar 13\t14:30\tItaly\t 22 – 15 \tIreland
\nSat 16th Mar 13\t17:00\tWales\t 30 – 3 \tEngland
\nSat 16th Mar 13\t20:00\tFrance\t 23 – 16 \tScotland
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 1 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 2 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 3 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 4 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 5 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 1 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 2 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 3 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 4 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 5 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n2011 Six Nations Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nSat 5th Feb 14:30\tItaly 11 – 13 Ireland\t
\nSat 5th Feb 17:00\tFrance 34 – 21 Scotland
\nSat 12th Feb 14:30\tEngland 59 – 13 Italy
\nSat 12th Feb 17:00\tScotland 6 – 24 Wales
\nSun 13th Feb 15:00\tIreland 22 – 25 France
\nSat 26th Feb 14:30\tItaly 16 – 24 Wales
\nSat 26th Feb 17:00\tEngland 17 – 9 France
\nSun 27th Feb 15:00\tScotland 18 – 21 Ireland
\nSat 12th Mar 14:30\tItaly 22 – 21 France
\nSat 12th Mar 17:00\tWales 19 – 13 Ireland
\nSun 13th Mar 15:00\tEngland 22 – 16 Scotland
\nSat 19th Mar 14:30\tScotland 21 – 8 Italy
\nSat 19th Mar 17:00\tIreland 24 – 8 England
\nSat 19th Mar 19:45\tFrance 28 – 9 Wales
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 1 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 2 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 3 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 4 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSix Nations Week 5 Roundup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n2010 Six Nations Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nSat 6th Feb \t17:00\tEngland\t30 – 17 Wales\t
\nSun 7th Feb \t15:00\tScotland 9 – 18\tFrance\t
\nSat 13th Feb \t14:00\tWales 31 – 24 \tScotland\t
\n\nSat 13th Feb \t17:30\tFrance 33 – 10 Ireland\t
\nSun 14th Feb \t15:30\tItaly 17 – 12 England\t
\nFri 26th Feb \t20:00\tWales 20 – 26 \tFrance\t
\nSat 27th Feb \t14:30\tItaly 16 – 12\tScotland
\t\nSat 27th Feb \t16:00\tEngland\t16 -20 Ireland\t
\nSat 13th Mar \t14:30\tIreland\t 27 – 12 \tWales\t
\nSat 13th Mar \t17:00\tScotland\t15 – 15 \tEngland\t
\nSun 14th Mar \t15:30\tFrance\t 46 – 20 \tItaly\t
\nSat 20th Mar \t14:30\tWales\t 33 – 10 \tItaly\t
\n\nSat 20th Mar 17:00\tIreland\t 20 – 23 \tScotland\t
\nSat 20th Mar \t19:45\tFrance\t 12 – 10 \tEngland\t
\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"