Six Nations 2021
- Thread starter Elpenor
- Start date
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
That’s an incredible stat.
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Yeah, I can't quite square the utter nail-biting excitement of the tournament and the scintillating rugby with the total lack of crowds, either. Thought the big, dead stadia would overwhelm the games themselves and lead to flat, uninspiring rugby. How fucking wrong I was.
littlebabyjesus
one of Maxwell's demons
I had the same worry for the cricket last summer. Was also wrong.
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
It’s often been said that the premier league teams don’t need money from attendances as Tv money is so lucrative. Maybe we should never have fans in stadia and just sell tv rights for all sports!
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Couple of interesting take homes for you stats fans out there:
Think this reflects the broader transition out of ultra defensive gameplans to all-out attack. Long may it continue!
- Wales scored more points than any other 6N winner bar England in 2000 and 2003
- but, with 103 we also conceded more points against than any other tournament winner. We're the first side to concede 11 tries and still take home the trophy.
Think this reflects the broader transition out of ultra defensive gameplans to all-out attack. Long may it continue!
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Not just us though, is it? IIRC France conceded a similar amount of points even with Edwards factored in, as did Scotland. England shipped loads and, Italy aside, only Ireland managed to keep the debit column respectable while (mostly) playing the type of rugby that the other teams appear to be transitioning away from.
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
I know you struggle to stomach Squidge but his analysis of the Wales France game was really interesting in terms of what Pivac and others are trying to do wrt attacking structures. Basically there's a shift towards making forwards and backs genuinely interchangeable, with the former grouping appearing out wide in the line and passing effectively to create width (see Adam Beard vs. England, for example) and incorporating an effective kicking game a la Tipuric vs France and then the latter grouping hitting rucks and supporting pick and drive when required. It's pretty interesting and quite revolutionary if executed effectively.
1927
Funnier than he thinks he is.
i actually really enjoy squidgy analyse of games.
Elpenor
Dancing as fast as I can
his voice was mega grating, I gave up.
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
A lot of people put it on three quarter speed, apparently, which makes it more intelligible and, if you're so inclined, less annoying
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Yeah, his analysis is superb but he is a little breakneck
bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
22 Welsh in the test squad plus Finn Russell for the shits and giggles. You read it here first!
starfish
No dialogue. Just plot.
I have a feeling Finn may have played himself out of the Test squad. Although i can see the other bit happening since it is Gatland in charge.
flypanam
Sausage to fortune
Isn't that what Team all Black were doing in their last period of dominance though? with forwards being ball players and backs being ball winners? I think you're right about Ireland though we seem to kept them Schmidt plan with a slight tweak in that we are looking to move the ball more. Not sure we're gonna change much until we get the game plan down. There is obviously an issue with how we play, how that get worked out, I can only hope that the summer tour to the pacific islands allows us to open up our game.
I think we'll also see some new voices added to the coaching ticket now that Richy murphy is moving on.
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bendeus
Bellend Tagline Generator
Yes, agreed. However, in Squidge's analysis he's claiming that the pod system is set up very differently. It's rugby knowledge way above my pay grade so I won't even bother to try and explain - have a gander if you can cope with the burbling.
mx wcfc
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I watched most of England v Scotland. As you say, open free flowing rugby and a pleasure to watch. It is a shame it was so one-sided though. Presumably it's only England and France that have professional leagues.
fucthest8
Cool people die horrible, preventable deaths.
Iirc only England is fully professional, France semi and the rest really not (did I imagine it or did some Scotland players have contracts?). That was last year though and I don't actually know if it's any different now - a swift Google doesn't tell me so, but I don't know, for instance, if all of the England players who got contracts last year all got them again this year, or were there more etc etc
Either way, yeah, its still very much a work in progress, but it is very much in progress now.
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Yes, my wanting to see England v France doesn't come from any particular knowledge, just saw that they beat Wales 53-0 yesterday. And as you say they're semi-professional.
Wales have to front up - Lillicrap
Skipper Siwan Lillicrap looks for positives after Wales are beaten 53-0 by France in their opening game of the 2021 Six Nations.
www.bbc.co.uk
fucthest8
Cool people die horrible, preventable deaths.
Yes, my wanting to see England v France doesn't come from any particular knowledge, just saw that they beat Wales 53-0 yesterday. And as you say they're semi-professional.
Wales have to front up - Lillicrap
Skipper Siwan Lillicrap looks for positives after Wales are beaten 53-0 by France in their opening game of the 2021 Six Nations.www.bbc.co.uk
France are definitely on the up. Their last game against England in the Autumn they only lost after a questionable refereeing decision in the last minutes.
Ireland were pretty decent last 6N
Covid seems to have done for Wales in the last year though, literally haven't played.
fucthest8
Cool people die horrible, preventable deaths.
Well, I couldn't watch last weekend, so I spent some of Friday catching up (had the day off) and was disappointed by the Ireland France game (disappointed that Ireland didn't play better), but loved the Italy Scotland match, cracking stuff, really entertaining.
Then onto finals weekend. Disappointment with Italy this time, didn't live up to the promise they showed in the first half of their game against England and all match vs Scotland (although some of Scotland's defence was poor, more on that in a mo) and pretty much caved in during the second half. The England France game was also a huge disappointment, one of those where it felt like the two teams just cancelled each other out, borne out by there being no score at all for the first 38 minutes (or something similar). It wasn't a bad game exactly and there were some standout moments, but it wasn't quite the thriller (and try fest) that I'd hoped for.
Surpise top game of the day was Scotland v Wales. Wales have been pretty dire, as mentioned above, also worth noting again that they are entirely non-professional. There have been some flashes though, passages when you can see what they might be capapble of. Against Scotland, a lot of it came together and they showed huge belief and heart, and that last minute try was thoroughly deserved. Possibly some not great refereering, but I hope that Wales came away from that feeling better about themselves.
Now, thoughts about the womens game in general. Firstly, I am really disappointed that more of the people who post on this thread aren't supporting it. Sure, it's got a long way to go, but that needs people to support it. Every game on the iPlayer for nowt and loads of open, running rugby, what's not to like?
In general terms the emphasis is very much on attack, which can lead to moments where you might find yourself thinking "ah, in the mens game that wouldn't have been a try" but then you need to give your head a wobble. Stop making comparisons and enjoy it as another way of playing rugby. Like sevens, you shouldn't compare the two. I'm sure there is a lot to be written about the differences in physicality - Emily Scarratt looks to be one of the tallest players in the game at 6 foot, seems like props are maybe 5'8" - but games never lack in agression. What they are refreshing free from is niggle and wankers - no Dan Biggar waving his fucking arms every time he thinks the ref missed something, no fucking Owen Farrell running in from miles away to wave his handbag, not one - not one - scrum half turning to the ref at every breakdown and putting their arms up, instead of whipping the ball out and getting the fuck on with playing.
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of stupid shoves, throwing the ball away (penalised), off-the ball incidents and general shithousery - and to be perfectly honest, I thought this part of the Six Nations was a better advert for the game as a result, Yes, it's got a long way to go and yes, it's hugely uneven still, but it feels to me like a better expresssion of rugby than the mens game without all the horrible ego and shitty behaviour that seems to be such a hallmark of the mens game these days.
Then onto finals weekend. Disappointment with Italy this time, didn't live up to the promise they showed in the first half of their game against England and all match vs Scotland (although some of Scotland's defence was poor, more on that in a mo) and pretty much caved in during the second half. The England France game was also a huge disappointment, one of those where it felt like the two teams just cancelled each other out, borne out by there being no score at all for the first 38 minutes (or something similar). It wasn't a bad game exactly and there were some standout moments, but it wasn't quite the thriller (and try fest) that I'd hoped for.
Surpise top game of the day was Scotland v Wales. Wales have been pretty dire, as mentioned above, also worth noting again that they are entirely non-professional. There have been some flashes though, passages when you can see what they might be capapble of. Against Scotland, a lot of it came together and they showed huge belief and heart, and that last minute try was thoroughly deserved. Possibly some not great refereering, but I hope that Wales came away from that feeling better about themselves.
Now, thoughts about the womens game in general. Firstly, I am really disappointed that more of the people who post on this thread aren't supporting it. Sure, it's got a long way to go, but that needs people to support it. Every game on the iPlayer for nowt and loads of open, running rugby, what's not to like?
In general terms the emphasis is very much on attack, which can lead to moments where you might find yourself thinking "ah, in the mens game that wouldn't have been a try" but then you need to give your head a wobble. Stop making comparisons and enjoy it as another way of playing rugby. Like sevens, you shouldn't compare the two. I'm sure there is a lot to be written about the differences in physicality - Emily Scarratt looks to be one of the tallest players in the game at 6 foot, seems like props are maybe 5'8" - but games never lack in agression. What they are refreshing free from is niggle and wankers - no Dan Biggar waving his fucking arms every time he thinks the ref missed something, no fucking Owen Farrell running in from miles away to wave his handbag, not one - not one - scrum half turning to the ref at every breakdown and putting their arms up, instead of whipping the ball out and getting the fuck on with playing.
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of stupid shoves, throwing the ball away (penalised), off-the ball incidents and general shithousery - and to be perfectly honest, I thought this part of the Six Nations was a better advert for the game as a result, Yes, it's got a long way to go and yes, it's hugely uneven still, but it feels to me like a better expresssion of rugby than the mens game without all the horrible ego and shitty behaviour that seems to be such a hallmark of the mens game these days.
