Comments on: Rugby Predictions 2014

By: Don P

Don P — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 15:04:57 +0000

Oops, dunno what happened there…?

c’t’nued… depending on whether Ireland can repeat the AB performance rather that that v Oz. Do they have the confidence & belief? We’ll see.

In any event, the whole tourney is only relevant to an extent as all the teams don’t play each other on a H & A basis (as per the SH Ch’ship). It may not be practicable to implement the aforemantioned, but it would be a better yardstick to see where teams really stand (esp with 2015 looming).

By: Don P

Don P — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 14:54:53 +0000

grundy & ro

Of the potential threats, England have Ireland & Wales @ home & only France away, so in theory it could make their task ‘easier’ to win the 6N.

Wales on the other hand have 2 of their harder games away, as do Ireland.

However France have their likely hardest game at home (v England 1st up). If they can win that, then they could be hard to shift.

So it looks like England or France could decide the comp in the 1st round. However, it doesn’t always work out like that & for me, the coaches of both teams inhibit their players with a lack of all an round game, i.e. their inability to construct tries.

The term, ‘with good selection’, in England’s case, Thus seems a contradiction. If England continue to crab E to W with mid field cloggers who can’t straighten their attack & try to run over the top of or through people, then shuffling deck chairs could make it another long day at the office (like v Italy, SA, Oz & Wales last yr).

IMO France should concentrate on winning the breakdown & running the ball at every (or most) opportunity. It’s what they’re traditionally best at methinks & it seems more natural to them than most teams. However there’s St. Andre there for them whose likely to eff it up for them.

So, likely England… but perhaps only if they beat France 1st.

Also, maybe Joe Schmidt may spring a surprise or 2… depending if Ireland can repeat the AB perforamnce rather thgat that v O

By: ro

ro — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 11:15:05 +0000

Agree with England winning the six nations. Would love to see Leinster win the Heineken but alas I dont think they will. So will go for Clermont. The Pro 12 will be Ulsters. The Top 14, an outside bet, Stade Francaise. They winnin away from home which is unusual for a French team. The Premiership, Leicester. Championship, NZ (who else) and dont know enough to call the Super Rugby champs but would pick an outsider for a change!

By: grundy

grundy — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 23:24:33 +0000

Geat,
I have just been thinking about England’s attacking game after watching the sarries game where they managed to play a perfectly good offloading game with farrell and barritt.
If the coaches at England aren’t encouraging that and are obsessed with the bosh it up the middle game, then why don’t we just go back to the way Johnno played the game with tindall tuilagi banahan etc. Obviously not tindall but you see my point. If we are determined to play crap rugby smashing straight forward, why not pick massive people crashing straight forward than:
Joseph, wade, may, nowell, ashton, eastmond
A few of whom who have already been victims of the poor gameplan.

because asking these guys to play a boshing gameplan is just going to ruin them.

now ideally for me England would play like exeter but with Andy Farrell in the coaching set up I’m just not seeing it.

I don’t want England to play the backs like they have been, but if they are determined to why not just pick Banahan and co, at least it will leave nowell may and wade to play exciting rugby in the premiership

By: grundy

grundy — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 23:12:06 +0000

The result of the 6 nations depends very heavily on selection.

France with good selection will always be dangerous especially with the form bastareud is coming into.
England with good selection (Burrell and Nowell for starters) could add another tack to their game and if they can get a good backline they will be very difficult to beat.
Wales need to consider the same arguments they have every single year about their back row and their centres (sounds like every team really)
Scotland haven’t a hope so might as well select Henri Bergson
Italy need to work out whether they are trying to set an impassable world record for caps in the pack or trying to get better.
Ireland need to select someone who can remind them that every game matters not just the ones where everyone is expecting them to lose (ABs 13, AUS 11)

However, im going for England. (please pick Burrell and Nowell bomber)

By: grundy

grundy — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 23:07:17 +0000

With regards to sarries winning due to six nations call ups (or being less affected by it), I am convinced that they will top the league on points at the end of the season. But I do think Northampton could beat them in a 1 off game.

By: Don P

Don P — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 15:49:59 +0000

Jamie

We’ll see regds N’hampton, but been there b4 only 2 blow up. Not totally convinced about Mallinder.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 15:47:09 +0000

6N – no grand slam for anyone
1) Ireland
2) England
3) Wales
4) France
5) Scotland
6) Italy

England will remain really hard to beat, but lack of cutting edge means we won’t score enough points to win all our games and if teams are level on number of wins we won’t take it on points difference. I can’t see how the Welsh domestic turmoil can have no impact on the performance of the national team, with an ‘easy’ game first up there is the chance they could get on a roll. Ireland look the best all round side to me, but probably not consistent enough to get a GS this year.

By: Geat

Geat — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 11:28:23 +0000

I’m not sure there was much of a revenge factor going into the 2013 match? We won in 2010 and 2011 (twice, one of those a RWC warmup), Wales won the other 2011 warmup and in 2012. Our confidence was clearly on the wane ever since the Scotland game, and that shambles of an Italy game (which we could, and perhaps should, have lost) really sapped any we had left. I’m confident that if we’d won against the Azurri by a decent margin (e.g. 20+) we may not have beaten Wales, but we would have done enough to win the title.

If England can’t use a record loss to Wales as motivation, then we’re in trouble.

By: brighty

brighty — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 11:22:50 +0000

I’ve finally lost it Ben. Seeing Welsh rugby staring into the abyss and doing sod all about it has finally convinced me that we’re about to enter another 80s/90s period of total failure.

By: brighty

brighty — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 11:21:58 +0000

Typo – didn’t mean previous two years, meant three.

By: brighty

brighty — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 11:20:41 +0000

Geat – I think that the performance of our regions is different to the current mess. Some of us think that poor regional performance is the price we’ve paid for national success. Our focus, unlike say the English clubs, is that Wales be the best international team in the world (yeah, we’ve not achieved that, but that doesn’t mean it is not our goal). So we limit player matches, we pull players out of regions for national training, etc.

The problem now is that when we can no longer keep those players at the regions we lose one aspect of our success – look what’s happened to Lydiate this year, Gethin before him, etc. We can no longer manage those players to be optimal for national team so they suffer. The problem is only going to get worse.

I think England will be a tricky match but I don’t buy into the revenge aspect. England were supposedly out for revenge last year due to the wins from the previous two years, both of those contentious in their own way. England didn’t seem to be able to use any of that perceived injustice/ignominy when they played us last year so I do not see it as being a significant factor this year – it will be cancelled out, if it does exist, by Wales desire to make history. I just think England will beat us because it’s a) away b) we’re without key players c) the WRU mess is ruining preparation.