The MAG Vietnam Vol 8 April 2017 | Page 8

Sport

By Bruce MacKenzie

Another enthralling Six Nations championship has come and gone . England have won back-to-back six nation titles and with the win over Scotland “ equaling ” New Zealand ' s run of 18 ( Tier 1 ) tests in a row . England however could not achieve the “ Grand Slam ” for the competition . On the St Patrick Day weekend clash they choked against a determined and physical Irish team in Dublin the final game of the competition , 13 – 9 . The game where only 1 try was scored by Iain Henderson . England did retain the Calcutta Cup over Scotland ; the cup first being competed for in 1879 . England has won just over half of the 123 matches , England have held the cup since 2009 . The cup itself is of Indian workmanship , decorated with cobras and an elephant .

The Scots lived up to their “ dark horse ” title during the competition with an early win over Ireland and a win over Wales in more than a decade . It was however short lived with the sound beating by the English side at Twickenhame by 61 – 21 .

The French were competitive throughout the completion without really showing their full team potential to threaten for the six nation ’ s title . The Azzurri again are wooden spooners for another year being routed in games against Ireland and Wales and Scotland . Time to take the “ blinkers off ”, either add a promotion relegation format with the winners of the European Rugby Championship competition , or include Georgia into the competition outright .

RBS Six Nations Championship

Last updated 18 March 2017 at 18:55 Rank Team P W D L For Against Bonus Pts

When England captain Dylan Hartley and team-mate James Haskell asked for clarification about Italy ' s tactics and

8 The MAG Vung Tau