Lineout Calls of the Week – Six Nations Mid-Term Report

It’s been a fascinating opening two rounds of this year’s Six Nations, and already it’s proving to be as competitive as we thought it would. There are no nailed on certainties just yet, although Ireland do look to have taken early control of proceedings with only one genuinely challenging match left in their calendar against France, unless Italy continue to go from strength to strength and cause the upset of the tournament on Super Saturday in Rome.

There’s been plenty of drama, with Wales’ ongoing misery resulting in the seemingly inevitable departure of Head Coach Warren Gatland after their first two games. France, suddenly displaying a complete inability to hang on to a rugby ball at Twickenham, has blown the Championship wide open. Meanwhile, England, with their hardest opponents now out of the way, can realistically envisage a strong finish to their tournament and even the silverware if France and Italy can do them some favors. As we head into Calcutta Cup weekend, is Scotland’s initial promise about to disappear into the ether by Round 3 as it has a nasty habit of doing in recent years, or is a record 5th straight Cup win on the cards for the Scots as a consolation prize for a campaign that looks to inevitably run out of gas by Super Saturday and their date with France in Paris?

So much to ponder and so much to look forward to in a tournament that rarely disappoints. So here’s our mid-term look at this year’s Six Nations

In it to win it? Ireland look the dominant force so far, as they take the first tentative steps towards building a next gen squad.

You’d think that after Ireland’s first two performances, we’d be convinced that they look to be in the driver’s seat so far this tournament. As the French would say “en principe,” but with said saying comes a tinge of doubt. Ireland are getting the job done after two rounds and two wins, make no mistake, but they are not dominating any of the statistics. The only real area that they are head and shoulders above the opposition is in lineout steals and lineout takes, excuse the pun. Their kicking game has been decent but not spectacular, and they are not exactly carving up huge chunks of the pitch in comparison to countries like France, Scotland, or even England when it comes to line breaks.

What is perhaps most concerning is the fact that they lead the tournament so far in the missed tackle count, traditionally a bread and butter staple for the Men in Green. In short, Ireland’s stalwart defence is looking a bit porous so far at times this Six Nations, and we can’t figure out if it’s down to blatant lapses of concentration as in the opening game against England, or the fact that the likes of Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe and Ben White were able to find holes in it especially at the close of each half. Against a side like France and the likes of try scoring machines Damian Penaud, Antoine Dupont, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey despite their butter fingers at Twickenham, such lapses even with home advantage in Dublin could prove lethal.

Ireland should be fuming over the fact that after dominating England for much of the game in Round 1, they allowed the English back into the match and to finish by going home with a losing bonus point. With England having a potentially soft finish to their tournament should things go well for them against the Scots this weekend, that points difference could become crucial come Super Saturday at the end of the tournament. Especially if Ireland come unstuck against France in Round 4.

Nevertheless, enough of the doubt and more of the positives. It’s always hard to judge any of the teams on their opening performance, and therefore, we’ll give Ireland the benefit of the doubt regarding England. To be fair, for the most part, it was a pretty dominant display against the Scots and on the road to boot at Murrayfield. However, one also can’t deny that the loss of two of Scotland’s biggest threats, fly half Finn Russell and winger Darcy Graham for much of the match, definitely made things easier for Ireland.

The fly half debate continues to rage, though all the promise of youngster Sam Prendergast came to the fore against Scotland after a shaky start against England. We still remain in the Jack Crowley camp for the moment, though, and feel the Munsterman has a slightly more composed and measured approach to big games, given he has a bit more experience under his belt. Secondly, if Ireland are serious about getting past a World Cup quarter final, then having two World Class 10s will be essential. Develop Prendergast and even fast track the young lad, as he is already showing a skill set that would make his predecessor Johnny Sexton proud, but not at the expense of Crowley who is solid and dependable under pressure and has proven his worth.

As regular readers of this blog know, we also think the team desperately needs some provincial diversity in its ranks, rather than simply just being the Leinster A team. Hence, our delight in seeing young Calvin Nash from Munster also play such a prominent part in proceedings at Murrayfield, along with fellow Thomond Park stalwarts Tadgh Beirne and veteran warhorse Peter O’Mahony. We still think that looking ahead, a strong finish in this tournament even if it came without silverware but developed the young talent waiting in the wings and who will be needed for Australia in 2027, would be preferable to a Grand Slam won by the veterans. A little short-term humility, but invaluable experience gained would and should be more important for Ireland right now at this stage in their World Cup cycle. However, we’re not running the show, and the thought of being crowned Six Nations champions three years in a row would be hard to look away from for any management group.

So on that note let’s hope, for what should be arguably their softest match of the tournament, a road trip to a hapless Wales this weekend, that we see a golden opportunity seized for the youngsters in Ireland’s future plans to lay down a marker. With that done, bring in the big guns once more for ”le Craic” which is no doubt what France vs Ireland is soon likely to be referred to alongside England and France’s “le Crunch”. Finish it all off with a solid mix of some youth and experience for the Super Saturday road trip to Rome and those increasingly wily and dangerous Italians. If Ireland can secure as many points as possible and avoid a potentially embarassing last hurdle stumble in the Eternal City which is likely to be rocking at that point if Italy have more than one Six Nations win in the bag, then Ireland should be able to reflect on five weekends of outstanding work and resulting success.

If Ireland’s final three rounds achieve at least some if not all of the above objectives then we think it’s safe to say that talk of Ireland being crowned Six Nations Champions for a third year in a row, can be made without a Gallic shrug and a bit of French ‘”en principe”.

France’s undoing at Twickenham has shown that the pre-tournament favorites and Antoine Dupont are actually human after all!

Can France still win the whole thing you ask after their Twickenham fumblefest? Absolutely! Sure there’s that annoying trip to Rome and those pesky Italians who have a habit of making France have to work twice as hard as they think they should on paper. Oh and let’s not forget that rather daunting trip to Fortress Aviva for “le Craic”. Can a desperate and potentially wounded Scotland also throw caution to the wind on Super Saturday at the Stade de France and put on a Braveheart display for the ages and against all odds?

So yes it’s not going to be easy but, let’s not forget that France, despite seeming to lather their entire team in Vaseline as a water repellent at Twickenham regardless of the complications that posed for their handling skills, possess some talent that on most Saturdays still appears to be from another planet. What is concerning is that France often comes unstuck on the road, especially if they have been rattled. There is no denying that the Twickenham horror show shook and unsettled the nerves. Put all that aside, though, and rewatch the highlights. The ambition in that game by France at times was breathtaking, the problem was it simply didn’t suit the conditions. We very much doubt they will make the same mistakes again.

However, there is also no denying that the once seemingly impregnable French defenses, so ably engineered by defense Coach Shaun Edwards, do seem to be creaking at the moment. Furthermore, the legendary English tactician has not been seen in as much evidence in the Coaching box of late as in previous years. Could this be a part of the problem? Admittedly the injuries affecting France particularly in their forward pack haven’t helped, and the loss of Romain Ntamack due to his sloppy red card against Wales, have meant the Toulouse axis of himself and Dupont was clearly lacking against England. We just don’t think that Mathieu Jallibert, gifted as he is as well as being in sync with his two Bordeaux danger men Damien Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, clicks with Dupont and French management the way they need to.

If they don’t use Jallibert, then we’d argue using Ramos at 10 despite his almost radar like boot, is a risk and takes away a degree of solidarity and security for France in the back line. Using Dupont disrupts France’s rhythmn even more, as evidenced against England. So, in short, until they get Ntamack back for the big one against Ireland, it’s probably safer to stay with Jallibert. If Jallibert has a blinder against Italy, then Coach Fabien Galthie who is suddenly the Man in the Hot Seat after Twickenham, is faced with a genuine dilemma for what will be France’s most important game of the tournament and a potential Championship decider.

However, we’d argue that despite all this talk of the Championship decider in Dublin for “le Craic,” there is the pressing problem of Italy to deal with first this weekend. France’s encounters with Italy over the last two years have been decidedly uncomfortable. They struggled to get past a determined Italy in 2023 with a narrow 29-24 win, and last year in Lille it was a draw which but for an errant kicking tee with the clock in the red would have seen Italy clinch an historic win, something they managed to do in 2011 and 2013. The scores have often been close, and for some reason, best known to themselves, France rarely play well against Italy. It will be fascinating to see if they can overcome their Azzurri bogey this weekend.

It’s likely to be a dry track in Rome this Sunday for two teams who simply LOVE to run the ball. The difference this time around is that Italy are no longer the wild, impatient men of Six Nations rugby. They are measured and cautious with a capable forward pack, a bruising highly dynamic center pairing coupled to some electric backs, something France will have to contend with in equal measure. While most eyes are on Dublin regarding France next month, we’d argue the dustup in Rome has suddenly become France’s biggest game, and all talk of Dublin is irrelevant in terms of France’s focus till the job is done at the Stadio Olimpico.

England finally master the art of being on the right side of the scoreline in one point games!

Well, it’s been a long time coming, but you felt it was never far off. This is a good English team with plenty of potential. They simply needed to figure out how to fit all the talented pieces together. Something they finally managed to figure out at Twickenham against France. Admittedly, the atrocious weather helped to ensure that France’s legendary handling skills were made a mockery of, but by comparison, England looked comfortable in the wet and were able to make their passes stick.

It was a 50/50 game in terms of the statistics for the full 80 minutes, but England were far better judges of when to try the audacious and when it simply wasn’t on. Furthermore, they appeared to finally figure out the Smith squared equation. Essentially, when you have two playmakers as gifted as Northampton’s Finn Smith and Harlequins’ Marcus Smith, is it even possible to play the two of them on the pitch at the same time? Well, if events at Twickenham are anything to go by, yes, you can. We had the concern that Marcus Smith’s exceptional talents would be wasted at fullback even though it’s a position he is familiar with, despite him preferring the 10 jersey. What we noticed is that exactly the opposite happened, and if anything with the more traditional fly half skills of Finn Smith, Marcus’ talents were accentuated when wearing the 15 jersey.

How so we hear you ask? Watch the replay/highlights of the game, and we think you’ll see where we’re going with this. At 10, Marcus Smith attacks close to the line and builds up such a head of steam with his vision for space, that the rest of his teammates often fail to keep up with him leaving him isolated. At fullback, he has more time to create the type of space he does from deeper, giving the rest of his team time to fill in behind him and give him the support he needs. Finn Smith then becomes the central figure, allowing another set of moves to be orchestrated and get Marcus Smith back into the run of play and supported once more. It seemed to work exceptionally well against France and keep them guessing, as well as having to commit valuable defensive resources to two essential playmakers.

France made considerably more metres than England but were only half as effective with them not helped by some truly horrendous handling skills. There is no denying that England played a much more structured game and managed their opportunities more cohesively. It was a team performance as opposed to France’s, which looked more often than not like a collection of exceptionally talented loose canons.

England’s forward pack were immense and that back row led by the utterly fearless Tom Curry, who seems to have absolutely zero regard for his own personal welfare, and the relentless Ben Earl were a sight to behold at Twickenham. In short, it was an outstanding team peformance and one that if England can replicate it over the next three weekends against progressively easier opponents (at least on paper) then depending on how France and Ireland fare, they suddenly could find themselves in contention to lift the silverware on March 15th in Cardiff.

However, they first have to deny the Scots their fifth successive Calcutta Cup at Twickenham this Saturday. With Scotland’s danger men likely to be back in action, Finn Russell and Darcy Graham, and the motivation of getting yet another one over the “auld enemy” this could be the setback to England’s newfound and well justified sense of optimism. We have a hunch that England have finally found the recipe for success, and Scotland’s 4 year guardianship of the Calcutta Cup will come to a screeching halt this weekend. However, it’s only a hunch as the world’s oldest Test fixture and one steeped in history and emotion simply has no certainties associated with it. So, like everyone else this year, for England, it simply has to be one game at a time.

Is this weekend’s Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham the start or finish of Scotland’s Six Nations aspirations?

We hate to say it, we really do, but yes, we’re getting the same old sinking feeling we always get with Scotland every Six Nations as we head into the final three Rounds. Believe us, we would love to see the Men from Murrayfield hoist the trophy and genuinely believe they have the werewithal to do it. However, just like every year, the stars just don’t seem aligned in Scotland’s favor. The injury gods as always single Scotland out for special attention and that old bugbear of a lack of consistency week in week out coupled to missing a killer instinct for the full five rounds, leaves the Scots inevitably falling short of the mark, despite so much promise.

In their opener against Italy, they were decidedly sloppy at times and star fly half Finn Russell did not have his best game appearing almost careless on occasion. They simply kept letting Italy get back in the game and get their tails up. There were moments of absolute brilliance, and despite their lapses of concentration at times it was overall a dominant performance. However, much like Ireland’s opener against England, at times despite the scoreline, it didn’t feel overly convincing and certainly not up to the hype surrounding the build-up to their Six Nations campaign.

There is no denying that the loss of Captain and all star center Sione Tuipolutu, currently one of the best in Europe, was a bitter blow to their chances. Furthermore, Round 2 saw knocks to winger Darcy Graham and Finn Russell after only the first quarter, which saw them sit out the rest of the match with Graham off to the hospital. Fortunately it would appear that the all star duo will be back for the crucial Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham, but whether or not they will be able to last the full eighty minutes of what should be a punishing Test match remains to be seen. While Scotland has some notable replacements, most are lacking game time at this level, and for such a crucial game as the Calcutta Cup, it is a big step up.

Despite some of these setbacks and a bit of a lack of fizzle heading into the game with England, Scotland and their supporters can take heart in how they have stood up for the most part in the first two rounds. They’ve made more metres than any other team, have the most offloads and carries, have the second most efficient lineout after Ireland and the highest tackle percentage rate coupled with the least amount of missed tackles. However, in the breakdown and scrum battles, they are coming off very poorly, an area which England is dominating, and they will be keen to target on Saturday at Twickenham.

Scotland, even without the likes of Tuipolutu, Russell and Graham have some exceptionally dangerous players. Winger Duhan van der Merwe seems to revel in rubbing England’s face in the dirt out wide, Blair Kinghorn has brought his incredible skill set with him from Toulouse and Huw Jones is second in tries scored in the tournament to France’s outstanding Louis Bielle-Biarrey. Rory Darge is an absolute menace in the loose and has a handy eye for space and the ball handling skills and pace to use them.

In short, there is a lot to like about this Scotland team, and there is at least one massive performance left in them this Six Nations, either at Twickenham this weekend or Paris, come the final weekend. At least we’d like to think so. If the stretcher bearers can just leave them alone for the next month, and they memorise and repeat aloud the definition of consistency every morning when they wake up between now and March 15th, there will still be plenty of fight and entertainment left in this noble band of Celtic warriors.

Meanwhile in Rome…..the party continues!!!!!!!!!

We are having even more fun watching Italy in this Six Nations than we normally do. While many tend to see Italy simply as a points haul opportunity, we increasingly do not, and regard every one of Italy’s games now as one where a monumental upset lurks. In short, take the Azurri lightly at your peril these days. This is definitely a team on the up under the astute guidance of their Argentinian Head Coach Gonzalo Quesada. Quesada is clearly the first Coach to really get what makes Italian rugby work and how they can use it to their advantage. He seems to have taught them patience and a sense of composure at long last. Remember, how in days gone by Italy would just go full throttle chucking miracle passes around, losing their discipline and generally just trying to play too much rugby. It was all tremendously entertaining, but it lacked rhythm and structure and tripped them up time after time.

This past year, Italy have for want of a better word finally matured as a Test Rugby nation. The precision is there allied to their almost overpowering commitment to the jersey. They are finally working as a well drilled team playing for each other and understanding their respective roles and responsibilities as opposed to a spirited collection of passionate and skilled loose canons.

Their applied mindset has made them stand out in the statistics so far. Fullback Tommasso Allan is the tournament’s leading points scorer after two rounds. Lineout fan favorite Federico Ruzza leads the tournament in lineout takes, while back rower and Azzurri gladiator Sebastian Negri has the second highest tackle count after Ireland’s Josh van der Flier. Their scrum still continues to creak however, despite the fact that their front row forwards have been a genuine menace in broken play and Hooker Giacomo Nicotera excels at finding his targets when it comes to throwing lineout darts. Despite a lack of success at scrum time, Italy have shown genuine prowess at the breakdown, especially through the Cannone brothers, and the rest of their set piece work is solid and fairly reliable.

They now face their sternest Tests in the last three Rounds. France pay them a visit in Rome this Sunday, but based on recent contests between the two in the past, we very much doubt Italy is in awe of their Gallic visitors and are certainly more than capable of giving them the fright of their lives, especially when egged on by a delirious Stadio Olimpico. This, along with the Calcutta Cup, is likely to be one of the two best games of the weekend. After that, it’s a challenging trip to Twickenham, especially if England makes it two from two by getting a convincing win over the Scots. Finally it’s back to the Stadio Olimpico for one final hurrah against an Irish side potentially chasing either a Grand Slam or a massive points haul to clinch them a third consecutive title – a tough ask for the Italians even with home advantage. Just imagine the headlines, though, if they not only pull off a win against France but top it off with an unthinkable win against the defending Champions on the final Saturday and a possible third place finish. The papers would be literally burning off the presses!

Still, let’s bring ourselves back down to reality and the one thing we do know for sure. This will probably be one of Italy’s best Six Nations ever, and it is very unlikely that all they will have to show for their efforts is the Wooden Spoon. In all probability, though, the best possible outcome will be a fourth place finish, but it’s still onwards and upwards, and we can’t wait to watch them rise to the challenge!

And in Wales, how the mighty have fallen as the memory of Gatland and his Grand Slam glory days have now been consigned to history as a once proud nation becomes a mere shadow of its once legendary self!!!

We have found Wales’ journey into obscurity this past year agonisingly painful to watch. There are some genuinely committed and skilled players in this team who are desperately proud of the privilege of wearing the famous red jersey, perhaps none more so than inspirational and outstanding Captain Jac Morgan. Morgan puts in a 110% performance every game, no matter what the scoreboard says. You simply can’t fault the young man for just not giving up in what seems a desperately lost cause. Wales simply lack structure and purpose and dare we say it passion as a unit. There are some noble individual performances, but none of them seem welded together into any kind of cohesive shape. In short, Wales look like they only have the vaguest idea of what they are supposed to be doing as a team.

It was inevitable that as a result, the axe would fall on long-time Coach Warren Gatland’s head. The New Zealander who brought Wales so much success from 2008 to 2019 has fallen from dizzying heights. Welsh rugby as an entity from the national side to the club game is in tatters and is an appalling litany of incompetence and mismanagement. It was inevitable that on Gatland’s return to Wales since leaving after the 2019 World Cup that he would fall prey to being an easy target. There were few who could argue that he looked like he was actually enjoying his job since taking over again in 2022, and there didn’t really seem to be any conviction in his press conferences about Wales’ prospects. We’re great believers in once you’ve left somewhere on a high, it’s always a mistake to go back, and that definitely appeared to be the case with Gatland.

However, all that aside with or without Gatland, the crisis that Wales and Welsh rugby finds itself in is going take a lot more to fix than just the personnel in the Coaching Box. New interim Coach, Cardiff Blues headman Matt Sherratt may be able to put some torniquets on the national side to stop the short term hemorrhaging and possibly pick up an unlikely win against either Ireland, Scotland or England in the process, but it’s not a bet we fancy putting any money on.

Sadly, there is not much to say that’s overly positive about Wales and their prospects this Six Nations. The Wooden Spoon looks more than likely to rest with them again this year, despite the best efforts of the likes of Jac Morgan, Will Rowlands, Aaron Wainwright, Dan Edwards, and Tom Rogers. The latter pair of youngsters look exceptionally promising for the future, but lacking the Coaching direction they need they’re still just too green at this level, while some of the veterans look dare we say it slightly tired and jaded.

We hope there’s a win in there somewhere for this desperately proud and deserving rugby nation but can’t help get the feeling that 2025 is likely to be another year to forget for a brave but troubled Wales.

The Lineout’s Wild Card End of Tournament Standings

So two rounds in and we all pooled our pints and came up with how we think at this stage the standings will finish come March 15th. Take from it what you will and enjoy what promises to be a fascinating few weeks.

1. Ireland (but no Grand Slam)
2. France (if they beat Ireland and don’t have a wobble against Italy then they could still win it)
3. England (but on last week’s form could well end up second)
4. Italy (our wild card draw based on the outside chance of a big scalp somewhere between now and March 15th and a healthy points balance and Scotland succumbing to injuries and a lack of consistency when they need it most)
5. Scotland (injuries and a lack of consistency look set to trip them up this year, but if Italy fail to deliver our wild card then fourth and if they win the Calcutta Cup this weekend maybe even third)
6. Wales (just can’t see a miracle sadly)

Have fun and enjoy the last three rounds!