The third round of the competition has thrown up any number of discussion points. Here are a few:
Discipline
Reports on England’s win in Edinburgh came under two headings: “Red Roses sweep to 8-try victory” and “England’s discipline a big worry”.
The usual follow-up to the second headline is: “When they come up against stronger opposition, they’ll pay for it”. That can mean only France and New Zealand. This view will be put to the test in Round Five with the match in Bordeaux. You might think that France almost deserve a win, otherwise it will be an unlucky 13th loss in a row to Perfidious Albion.
If the Red Roses lose to the Black Ferns in yet another World Cup final, true English folk can point the finger of blame at the Kiwi coach, John Mitchell, which is very convenient.
The one member of the management to voice an immediate post-match opinion was Lou Meadows. I found her response more reasoned than others’. Cards are such a common place these days (see below) that a match without a single one ranks as an oddity. The matter of player safety remains the first concern, but I fear the pace of the game alone means contact with the head is bound to remain a serious issue. It is well nigh impossible for every player to avoid punishable contacts. Other types of tackle have far less defence. The lifting of a leg beyond the horizontal is inherently dangerous. But we await the judges’ verdict on the current red card.
John Mitchell didn’t express himself as straightforwardly as Meadows. He said of Amy Cokayne: “I thought her first card was a little bit difficult.” ‘Difficult’ is an interesting choice of adjective; it hides what he really thinks about things.
Cards
There are few signs that the present method of discouraging infringements is working well. All too often we hear: ‘She’s putting her hand in her pocket…’ There must be a world record for the number shown in one game, but I’m not aware of it. I do know that in the recent Allianz Cup semi- final match between Saracens and Exeter Chiefs seven yellows were shown. I hope that helped to keep the spectators interested. Just imagine if they’d all been awarded against one team at the same moment.
Ups and downs
Discussion about the relative strengths of the six nations continues. A simple fact remains: any team making an advance means another one must show a retreat. The classic case was the Ireland-Wales game; the Greens all smiles, the Reds all distraught. ’Twas ever thus.
More generally, how do the teams match up this year? Are the gaps as wide as ever? For decades the six divided into two groups, England and France, and the other four.
Is the current position: 2 + 4, or 1 + 5, or 1 + 1 + 4? The keen observers at Squidge Rugby (@SquidgeRugby) posit a 1 + 5 league. They reckon France have fallen back far enough to belong to the second group. That’s quite a call. Theirs is essentially a Welsh viewpoint, and they don’t pull their punches. Fo example: “The WRU spent more on corporate jollies last year than women’s rugby. The money is there.” Phew!
And the Welsh team had been riding on a wave: two consecutive third places in the Championship. But not this year.
What is abundantly clear is that margins of victory are narrowing. After nine matches no team has mustered 50 points. The results in brief prove the point:
38-17, 18-20, 0-48, 5-15, 46-10, 21-27, 0-46, 36-5, 38-15.
That means: top total 48; two sides nilled. Margins: 21, 2, 48, 10, 36, 6, 46, 31, 23. Most of the wider margins involve England or France matches, as expected. But Ireland’s third round win over Wales is the 31 in the list.
For years now commenators (especially Kiwis) have stressed the advantage England drew from acquiring contracts way back in 2019. The big unknown was, and remains, how far and fast can sides improve once they are in place? There is one certainty: all six squads are fitter than they ever were. It’s becoming rarer for one team to exploit that advantage in the last quarter of a game.
And that brings in a related matter: the number of replacements permitted. World Rugby is still hesitating over a reduction from the vast number of eight. Many observers feel it really must come down. There are very few positions that make specialist substitutes a must, the front row above all. The male Springboks have taken matters to an extreme – seven forwards, one back on the bench!
Set Pieces
The set-scrum has lost some of its value. Now that the 9 can insert the ball straight into the second row, there’s less doubt about possession. The line-out is quite the opposite. It doesn’t need Edinburgh’s bad weather for the throw to be wonky or the jump ill-timed. At least that adds some welcome unpredictbility to the game.
New Faces Review
We need hardly look further than Aoife Wafer of Ireland. She has taken the championship by storm. Red scrum-caps are all the rage these days, but if you spot one on your screen, it’s highly likely to be Wafer marauding under it. And there’s a younger sister, Orla, following up behind.
The Round Four Fixtures
Saturday 20 April
England v Ireland, Twickenham, KO 14.15
Italy v Scotland, Parma, KO 16.45
Sunday 21 April
Wales v France, Cardiff Arms Park, KO 15.15
Ireland’s trip to west London will seem a few degrees less daunting after their performance in Cork.
Coming Targets
The simplified table looks like this:
England 15 points
France 14
Ireland 6
Italy 5
Scotland 4
Wales 1
Since the advent of WXV much depends on who can achieve a prized third place in the 6N; it qualifies them for WXV1. One approach:
Ireland have played France, but not England
Italy have played England and France
Scotland have played England and France
Wales have played England, but not France
So Italy and Scotland have the advantage of having already met the two leaders. A crunch match comes in Round 5, when Ireland host Scotland. But Italy may have the best chance: they host Scotland, then meet Wales way at the Principality Stadium. That choice of venue was a big statement by WRU. Given Wales’ performances thus far, they must wonder what sort of gate they can expect. Welsh supporters are already at their wit’s end about the men’s team. The Azzurre might well reap the advantage.
