[Sport] 6 Nations 2014 - week 5

The final week of the 2014 6 Nations tournament was incredibly tense. Not necessarily because of close games it has to be said. Two of the three were blowouts, but the finale really made up for it as the momentum swung back and forth between the sides, and the final standings correspondingly went in favour of one team or another. I'll get to that eventually, but as usual I'll start with Scotland's performance.

Maybe I should really have said 'lack of performance'. Because Scotland-Wales was one of the blowout games. Going to the Millennium Stadium is always difficult for any team, particularly when the roof is closed, but Scotland might as well not have bothered. They didn't exactly help themselves either. The indiscipline that's been an issue all tournament, and which probably cost them the match against France, was on full display once more, with penalties given away all over the place. But the most heinous act was from Stuart Hogg, who was rightly given a red card (changed from the initial yellow) for a stupid, late hit to the head of Dan Biggar. With his elbow no less. I've praised Hogg before for his excellent play, and he's consistently been one of Scotland's better players. But there was absolutely no excuse for what he did in this game, and he should be treated harshly for it (he'd already blotted his copy book in my mind with a late hit on a try-scoring Welshman).

Stuart Hogg receives the only possible punishment that the referee could give. Initially a yellow card,

it was changed to a red after the referee saw a replay on the big screen. It was a ridiculous hit, and although I 

think Scotland would have lost anyway it didn't exactly help. (Credit: bbc.co.uk)

Wales had clearly regained their confidence this week, and their skill, strength, and speed was on full display. They steamrolled the Scots as if the players in blue were standing still. There were some quite frankly ludicrous displays of skill, particularly in offloads after contact. It's something that Wales have been very good at historically, possibly the best of the Northern Hemisphere teams. It reminds me somewhat of watching the Australia or New Zealand, and in fact Wales win was very reminiscent of the All Blacks

The match also highlighted something that I noticed some time ago - the Scottish side just isn't as big as the Welsh, Irish, French, or English squads. They look small and underfed in comparison. They also seem to be slower, and that's a poor combination. It's something the Italians suffer from as well I think, and is a contributing factor to the year-on-year table propping that both Scotland and Italy partake in. Or maybe it's just perception, reinforced by the fact that they always lose!

In Mike Brown I think England have found their next great player. He's a dominant force. (Credit: standard.co.uk)

With that out of the way, let's look at the other matches. Going into Saturday's games Ireland and England were tied on points, but Ireland had a massive points difference advantage. England needed to thrash Italy in order to force Ireland to win by more than a point, and they set about it with great gusto. Some well worked and well taken tries were the result, with Mike Brown again seeming to be everywhere at once. He's a great player, and has been a dominant force for England this tournament. Sadly for England they gave away an interception for a try late in the second half that really damaged their bid for the title; without it they would have put far more pressure Ireland.

As it was, Ireland merely had to win to take the title. But boy, did France make it hard for them. I managed to watch the second half of the match in the pub, and experience the slightly surreal situation of England supporters cheering for France! It went one way then the other, and I even learnt a new rule along the way (the base of the posts count as the try line). It even seemed as though France would spoil the party at one point, but fortunately for the green-shirted players the crucial pass was forward, and Ireland managed to cling on to win both the match and the championship.

Congratulations to Ireland on their well deserved 6 Nations 2014 victory. What a send-off

for Brian O'Driscoll! (Credit: telegraph.co.uk)

It's been an interesting 6 Nations this year. Ireland are deserving winners, but the same would have been true of England. They've been the most consistent two teams this year. As A Scotland supporter there were highs, lows, and resignation to more of the same. But it was a fun ride nonetheless.