[Sport] 6 Nations 2013 - opening week

This weekend is a big one for sport for me. Yesterday I competing at the Scottish Short Course Championships(link), and tonight I’ll be watching the climax of the NFL, the Superbowl. But this weekend has also been the opening weekend for the Rugby Union 6 Nations, a tournament that I look forward to every year.

I love watching rugby union. I was forced to play it whilst at school, which I didn’t enjoy, but I have fond memories of sitting down to watch the odd match here and there on television during my teenage years. Watching any rugby on TV meant the 5 nations (as it was at the time), and I remember watching some of the great players and wishing that rugby was as fun to play as it was to watch. Being a Scotland fan recent years have been lean ones, and watching the national team play has often been a painful experience. But I still wouldn’t miss the 6 nations for anything.

I can’t catch every match, but fortunately they’re all live on the BBC, which these days means that they’re all on iPlayer. So despite missing all of the games this weekend when they were on, I’ve been able to catch up.

The team captains for this year's 6 nations. If this weekend was anything to go by,

it's going to be a good year. (Credit: rbs6nations.com)

I’ll start with the Ireland-Wales match. This was really a match of two halves. Ireland ran amuck in the first half, and were beating Wales all over the field. There was some brilliant handling going on, as you’d expect from the Irish backs, and it was great to see Brian O’Driscoll back in the line-up. There was also the most ssuperb piece of skill from one of the wingers, who missed grabbing a pass but then simply back-heel flicked it up into the air where he could catch it! Not a big deal to a footballer maybe, but with a rugby ball and at speed it was amazing.

Then in the second half Ireland seemed to go to sleep, and it was Wales who were rampant. They managed to make it close, but in the end just couldn’t get on terms with the lead that Ireland had built up. Disappointing for Wales, who won the Grand Slam a couple of years ago, but they didn’t look as bad as the scoreline suggested. Ireland, on the other hand, look dangerous.

Somehow, Simon Zebo got the ball from here to in his hands. Superb skill, particularly with a rugby ball. (Credit: bbc.co.uk)

The third match of the weekend was Italy-France, and saw the big upset of the weekend. Italy beat France at home for the second time in a row, and to be honest they deserved it. When Italy were first introduced into the championship they were a joke, and repeatedly the whipping boys of the tournament. But they’ve been steadily improving, and since I went to university have regularly challenged Scotland for 5^th place, often achieving it.

This match saw the next step in their development, with a mature performance that dismantled France at times. Lacks of patience, emotional control, and fitness have often been their undoing in the past, but they showed all three this weekend. They hung in there when France took the lead, and showed great determination to pull through and win. They look like being a tough challenge for all of the other teams this year, particularly at home.

France, in contrast, looked lacklustre. They’ve often blown hot and cold, and it can be hard to predict which France is going to turn up on any given weekend. Is it going to be the sublimely skilful, decisive team, or the ponderous, sleepy, sloppy team? It’s almost impossible to predict, and can often change part way through a match. That was the case this weekend, but with more of the latter than the former. Disappointing.

This image says it all really. I'm very happy for Italy, but a bit worried for Scotland now! (Credit: the rugbyblog.co.uk)

That leaves the Calcutta Cup, which is one of my highlights of the competition. England-Scotland is always full of drama, and Scotland haven’t won at Twickenham for 30 years. Sadly that statistic will only get worse, as this year they were comprehensively beaten. Actually that’s unfair. Much like Wales Scotland’s performance was better than the final score indicates; they scored two tries, and very nearly had another. I can’t remember the last time that that happened against a decent team. Unfortunately though there were also the usual signs of poor handling, too many mistakes to give away silly penalties, and some impatience near the tryline.

Scotland are working with a new coach after Andy Robinson resigned in the Autumn, and it looks like he’s already made some changes for the good. The new lineup at scum- and fly-half has good potential I think, but needs some time to bed in.

The England team had an unfamiliar look to me.  There were a lot of faces that I didn’t recognise, but the style was the same as ever: strong, fast, and aggressive. They’re a good team, and have a great chance at a grand slam in my opinion.

Scotland played well, but just didn't have the strength or stamina to stop England. (Credit: telegraph.co.uk)

Three great matches to open this year’s 6 nations, and I’m already looking forward to the next set. I’ve got my fingers crossed that Scotland can avoid the wooden spoon this year for a change.