Six Nations -Grand Slam showdown in Cardiff NEWS
It all comes down to the final game in Cardiff this weekend when England have the chance to win a record 14th Grand Slam against Wales who will fight tooth and nail to deny England and, perhaps, defend their Six Nations title.
Wales versus England matches are always special and never less than furious in terms of their intensity, but this week's showdown at the Millennium Stadium has an extra edge, a Grand Slam edge.
Simply put, should England win they will walk away with the Triple Crown, the Grand Slam and, of course, the Six Nations championship. If Wales win by six points or less England still take the championship but a Wales win by eight or more points means they will have defended their championship crown, provided they maintain their try scoring edge. If Wales win by seven points it all comes down to tries scored and they hold the edge in that department.
Wales are perhaps the favourites for Saturday's game reflecting their improved form and, more importantly, their experience in having been in this position before. England are still in a good position to take the championship though, even if their performances have dipped in recent weeks after starting the championship so well and after beating the world champion All Blacks last Autumn.
In terms of players the teams are well matched with some absorbing personal battles in store, one-on-one match-ups that could have a significant impact on deciding who travels to Australia with the British & Irish Lions this Summer.
The Cardiff showdown is the middle match on Saturday, but make no mistake it's THE game of the weekend and if the skill levels have appeared to dip in recent matches and the fast flowing, attacking rugby of the opening weekend is a flitting memory, the sheer drama and excitement of Saturday's game will make up for that. Winning is all important.
Looking back to last week's games Wales won an error strewn game at Murrayfield fairly comfortably, their scrum again showing surprising strength and ruthlessness. Leigh Halfpenny was, once more, composure personified notching 23 points. Conversely England played their worst game of the championship so far, edging a competitive Italian team 18-11 at Twickenham, courtesy of six penalties by Toby Flood.
England missed several clear cut try scoring opportunities in the game, a fact which doesn't bode well given that Wales haven't conceded a try in their last three matches. However, the theory that England may have had at least half on eye on this weekend's game is a reasonable one and everyone expects a much improved performance with the Grand Slam on the line.
Elsewhere with Italy taking on Ireland and France hosting Scotland the only things to play for are national and individual pride as well as potential seats on the plane to Australia. A good performance in the final international match before the Lions squad is selected could be the difference between travelling to Oz or spending the Summer on a less prestigious national tour, or even on the beach.
Ireland will feel unlucky to have allowed France back into the game last week, letting slip a 13-3 lead and they'll be acutely aware of the danger posed by an Italian team fired up by their narrow loss at Twickenham, where captain Sergio Parisse was colossal once more. If there is a better No.8 in world rugby he must be a mighty player.
The final game of this year's Six Nations is late on Saturday with Scotland looking to win their third game of the championship and France keen to avoid finishing bottom of the table. Scotland were scrappy against Wales and gave away far too many penalties to be truly competitive, whilst France may take heart from their second half comeback in Dublin.
Before the full BritEvents preview of this weekend's games its worthwhile returning to the issue of Lions selection. Sam Warburton's return to the Wales starting line-up and form will please coach warren Gatland who is an ardent fan of deploying an out-and-out open side flanker and not a converted No.6, such as Chris Robshaw, as good as he has been for England. The battle between the two respective skippers (Warburton is again captain with Ryan Jones injured) and No.7's will be key in securing possession and leading from the front. Both should tour but the winner of this battle will be the front runner for the Lions No.7 jersey.
Last week's games also saw others pencil their names more firmly into Gatland's plans, among them Welsh hooker Richard Hibbard and prop Adam Jones who seems to get stronger with each passing match. Their battle (with Gethin Jenkins) with the England front row this week will be key. Ireland's Rory Best is still in contention but is being pressed by the claims of Tom Youngs. Cian Healey had a decent match for Ireland as did England's Mako Vunipola, at least initially.
At lock the return of Alun Wyn-Jones is welcome for both Wales and the Lions. If he outshines England's pair of Joe Launchbury and lineout master Geoff Parling he could force himself back in to the Lions reckoning where Ireland's Donnacha Ryan seems a certain tourist and Scotland's Richie Gray, hamstring injury notwithstanding, is also in contention.
There's probably no fiercer competition than in the back row. Although we've discussed Warburton and Robshaw there are also England's Tom Wood and fit-again Tom Croft, Wales' Ryan Jones, Justin Tipuric and Toby Faletau, Ireland's Jamie Heaslip and Sean O'Brien and Scotland's Kelly Brown.
England's Danny Care picked the wrong time to have a bit of a nightmare leaving team mate Ben Youngs and Wales' Mike Phillips as favourites for the scrum-half spots. Ireland's Connor Murray deserves a mention too though.
The fly-half spot seems a direct competition between England's Owen Farrell, who gained credit by missing the Italy game through injury, and Ireland's fit-again Jonny Sexton. The third fly-half could be anyone from Toby Flood, Dan Biggar or Paddy Jackson, who had a good game versus the French.
The battle for the centre spots is intense with England's Manu Tuilagi and Brad Barritt, Wales' Jamie Roberts, Ireland's Brian O'Dricoll (a potential captain) and Scotland's Sean Lamont front runners at the moment.
On the wings Wales' two huge wide men George North and Leighton Cuthbert appear favourites with England's Chris Ashton's star diminishing. The return to fitness for Ireland's Simon Zebo would give him a chance to press his claim and Scotland's Simon Visser has been impressive, as has England's Mike Brown.
At full-back Leigh Halfpenny is a shoo-in as Test starter but the selection of Scotland's Stuart Hogg has traction and Ireland's Rob Kearney remains a class operator.
In terms of the captain it would seem that it is a choice between Sam Warburton, Chris Robshaw, Jamie Heaslip or Brian O'Driscoll who has, of course, done the job before.
Of course coach Gatland will have his own favourite selections in mind based on long-term as well as recent form and there are nearly always a wild card selection or two, with which to surprise the rugby public - so watch this space.
Back to the Six Nations: -
Saturday 16 March
Italy v Ireland - 2.30pm ko at the Stadio Olimpico. Could this be Brian O'Driscoll's last Six Nations game. The emotional farewell he appeared to give the fans in the Aviva Stadium and their ovation for him at the end of the game against France certainly suggests so. He's been a towering presence for Ireland for many years and, at his peak, he was undoubtedly the world's best centre. He's still a class player able to perform at the highest level and coach Declan Kidney hopes to persuade BOD, as he's known, to continue playing in the green of Ireland. In terms of this game Ireland will be acutely aware that Italy have improved, as shown by their win over France and performance against England. They are a tough prospect in Rome and Ireland will need to be on top of their game to win. Jonny Sexton is fit to return as is Craig Gilroy although lock Donnacha Ryan remains a doubt after sustaining a shoulder injury against France. There are a number of Irish players looking to impress Lions coach Warren Gatland and I think they'll just edge an Italy team hungry to snatch their second championship win.
Wales v England - 5.30pm ko at the Millennium Stadium. This is a massive clash for both teams. England is hungry for it's first Grand Slam in a decade whilst Wales want desperately to defend their championship and de-rail their big neighbours hopes at the same time. This fixture always attracts the deepest passions and everything that is at stake only serves to give the game even more significance. Add to that the personal duels that will be fought by players trying their best to stand out in the mind of Lions coach Warren Gatland and you have a recipe foe a truly mouth-watering match-up. After the first week's games you could have been forgiven for looking ahead and thinking that this wouldn't have been much of a game - how wrong. After their worst performance of this year's Six Nations England have recalled their most effective half-back pairing of Owen Farrell and Ben Youngs. Its slightly harsh on Toby Flood who did what he needed to against Italy but Youngs was conspicuous by his absence last week as Danny Care had a shocker. Also back in the starting XV are prop Joe Marler and flanker Tom Croft. For Wales the absence of Ryan Jones means Justin Tipuric is recalled to the back row, nudging Warburton to the blindside spot. Surprisingly the recalled Gethin Jenkins is made skipper, meaning Wales have had three captains in the five Six Nations games this season. Who will win? The odds suggest a Wales win on Saturday but an England championship trophy. I agree.
France v Scotland - 8pm ko at the Stade de France. This has been an unbelievable championship for France and not in the way they would have wanted. They are bottom of the table with a single point courtesy of last week's draw in Dublin and the wooden spoon is a very real proposition for Philippe St Andre's team. Scotland, with two wins so far, have improved markedly but coach Scott Johnson feels they can still be better and that a win in Paris is possible. Injured second row Richie Gray is replaced by Grant Gilchrist whilst Alasdair Strokosch returns to the team. Johnson is acknowledged to have done a good job in his first season blooding several impressive young talents who should be fixtures in the team for years to come. St. Andre on the other hand is having his coaching pedigree questioned over the pond and he really needs a win going forward. Its perhaps true that, like the English football team and the Premier League, the national team is suffering from the presence of so many foreign players in their top league. The French rugby authorities must hope not because the decline of the England football team continues unabated - not a model to follow. Of course France are capable of turning things round quickly given the quality of their squad and with the prospect of finishing bottom in sight I fancy them to finish the championship on a winning high.
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