[Sport] 6 Nations 2014 - week 2

The second weekend of the 2014 6 nations has been and gone. How did Scotland get on this week against 'the auld enemy' in the Calcutta cup? What about Wales after last week's shaky start? Could France keep their form against Italy? Would I get to watch any of it live?

To answer the last question first, yes I would. I managed to watch most of the second half of Scotland-England in a pub in St Andrews once the lifesaving competition had finished for the day. There was a great atmosphere, although it was (unsurprisingly) a little quieter than when I watched the corresponding football game in the same pub. I also had to dissociate myself a little from my friend Alex who'd come up from Bristol for the competition, as he was wearing an England shirt.

From what I saw it was an old-fashioned, knock-down drag-out rugby match. The pitch was tearing up, it was wet and muddy, and good rucking was key. I also noticed that the Scotland players were very much playing a defensive game; they were standing there letting the England players take them on, rather than being aggressive and getting up in their faces. Partly I feel as a result of the conditions, but partly also because they were exhausted. Scotland were on the defensive for basically all of the 35 minutes that I watched, and the scoreboard and statistics suggested that that had been the case for most of the match. It was a whitewash by the white team, and once more Scotland lost to England at home. Oh for the days of 'Fortress Murrayfield'.

However, it has to be said that England played well. They were patient, probing for weaknesses and then seizing their chances when they saw a chink in the armour. There were a couple of very good tries scored, which given the conditions were particularly accomplished.

Mike Brown goes over the try line after evading the Scottish defence. It was pretty muddy out there. (Credit: sportsmole.co.uk)

In the week's other matches:

• Wales flopped against Ireland almost as badly as the Scots did. More so perhaps given that they're the reigning champions. They were steamrolled by a seemingly endless army of green shirts, and from the highlights I saw didn't really have a chance. Also there was a needless late, target hit to a try scorer's head that I hope someone gets suspended for.
• Italy-France really was a game of two halves. The first was a slow, turgid, penalty ridden affair where neither side really gained the upper hand. Then France ate something at halftime, and romped to a flattering win with a strong second half performance. Classic French rugby team there.

There's a week off now, before the middle week of the tournament sees Scotland take on Italy in what may well be the wooden spoon match. It's often a scrappy affair, but the Italians seem to be one of the few teams Scotland can actually score tries against. Lets hope that's true this year again.