Six Nations
E
ngland clinched the Grand Slam in Paris to end a
thirteen year wait for the triumph and lay to rest some
of the ghosts from their World Cup campaign. All the
teams came into came into the tournament looking to improve in
key areas for various reasons and Rugby Club Magazine takes a
look at how things went for each side.
England
England’s results could not have been better with five wins out
of five and as they look to build for the future establishing a base
to build upon was perhaps the main priority. There were plenty of
positives in this regard as well with Dylan Hartley, George Kruis,
Billy Vunipola and Owen Farrell all looking like they may be key
players for many years to come.
Hartley also looked to be a fine choice as captain whilst the
emergence of Maro Itoje should mean that England’s second row
has the talent and depth to be one of the best around. Add to this the
improvements made at the set-piece and breakdown and England
couldn’t have had a much better tournament. There is still plenty
of room for improvement however and tougher tests lie ahead for
Eddie Jones’ England side.
France
The appointment of Guy Novés led to the belief that France
would be returning to the free flowing, unpredictable style of
attacking rugby that they were once famed for. That did not quite
materialise as they struggled to create the space needed to set their
flair players free.
The relationship between club and international rugby made
it hard for a French side with a number of changes to gel and they
can take heart from the fact that their best performance came in
their final game. Add to that the return of Louis Picamoles and the
French probably have more potential to improve between now and
2017 than any other side.
Ireland
All of the sides came into this years’ tournament with the idea
that they were in transition and this was true for Ireland. Without
the retired Paul O’Co nnell and a number of other players through
injury it was always going to be difficult for them to retain their
title and so it proved.
There was nothing to choose between them and Wales in the
first game but disappointing results against France and England
meant that Ireland’s defence fell flat. Promising victories against
Italy and Scotland provided optimism for the future and they have
a real star in CJ Stander.
Italy
Coming into the tournament they were expected to struggle
and five defeats out of five tells its own story. They threw away
victory in the opening match against France and collapsed badly
against England after competing for much of the game.
They never really recovered from these defeats and it has to be
hoped that their imminent coaching change will make a difference.
The major positive for them was the centre pairing of Gonzalo
Garcia and Michele Campagnaro but they need to find more test
quality players if they are to progress and quieten the calls for
relegation to be introduced.
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