Round 4 – Saturday Match Previews Fixtures: England v Ireland, Twickenham Stadium, KO 14.15 Italy v Scotland, Parma, KO 16.45 The four teams are shown below. England v Ireland The big news – though it goes completely unmentioned in the team announcement and Scott Bemand’s comment – is the absence of Sam Monaghan from the
The conclusion of the men’s Guinness Six Nation’s tournament used to signal the end of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter international season. Now it serves as block-busting precursor to a women’s competition that grows in stature year-after-year. Thomas Lyte, the Royal silversmiths and goldsmiths, are at the heart of a tournament that boasts a trophy befitting
It’s not a new story, a national side’s fortunes can go up and down. At the Stoop In 2020 I recall Siwan Lillicrap looking distraught as she faced a battery of reporters, asking her opinion of the latest Welsh perfomance (7-66) – alternating in two languages. The neutral observer could only sympathise with her. The
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
France v Italy Les Bleues produced the victory a large and expectant crowd wanted, but one or two doubts remain. Italy still await their first win on French soil, but they finished well, crossing the line more than once. A central question must be: why did Sofia Stefan, the captain, insist on playing a slow
Ireland v Wales The most remarkable of all the results so far. Ireland played like souls possessed, to leave the Welsh looking distraught. Scott Bemand’s side showed a conviction and fluency we haven’t seen in a long while. Their last win, back in WXV3, was a hard-fought slog. This one – for most of the
Six Nations – Round Three England put on another breathtaking display in front of a packed house. The game began in the foulest weather, rain and wind making handling a chancy business. The Red Roses showed off their passing skills till Zoe Aldcroft, today’s captain, took her eyes off the ball and dropped it. Abbie
Round Three – Preview Sunday 14 April Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris, KO 12.30 (UK time) As usual, we have to fancy France’s chances at home in the capital, but Italy are finding some real form. There is more cohesion about their play than we have seen in recent seasons, partly helped by maintaining consistency in the
Saturday Matches Scotland v England, The Hive, Edinburgh, KO 14.15 Ireland v Cymru, Virgin Media Park (previously Musgrave Park), Cork, KO 16.45 Scotland We already know the attendance at the Hive, it’s 7,774; in other words for the first time a full house. It looks as though the SRU will have to extend the capacity
Sir Ian McGeechan has outlined his ideas (www.ruck.co.uk/sir-ian-mcgeecan-expects-the-six-nations-to-become-seven-very-soon-following-major-change/) of the way the men’s Six Nations should develop. At its simplest it is ‘bring in South Africa’. (btw, Ruck spell his name incorrectly in their heading) Before we try to assess similar changes for the women’s version, one or two details of his thinking. He is
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