Six Nations

[Magrat Garlick]

will obviously beat the Argie/SA select XV that trade under "Italy"

I'm puzzled about Italian rugby. There's media interest (Six Nations matches are covered on RAI, I think, and there's quite a bit of coverage in La Gazzetta), yet the national team has had no serious success, and the players aren't even Italian.

Then you've got the winter sports where Italian athletes does have success, and which they don't seem to care about, even though they have the Olympics on home soil this winter.

Odd.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I'm puzzled about Italian rugby. There's media interest (Six Nations matches are covered on RAI, I think, and there's quite a bit of coverage in La Gazzetta), yet the national team has had no serious success, and the players aren't even Italian.

Then you've got the winter sports where Italian athletes does have success, and which they don't seem to care about, even though they have the Olympics on home soil this winter.

Odd.

I don't pretend to be any kind of an expert on Italian sporting preferences, but maybe Rugger does well thru its similarity to (Association) Football? I guess also team sports tend to generate more of a tribal following than solo sports like skiing or skating.

Dunno, just guessing!

BTW, Rugby get any sort of coverage in Norway?

 

[Blaze]

France all the way for me.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

I don't pretend to be any kind of an expert on Italian sporting preferences, but maybe Rugger does well thru its similarity to (Association) Football? I guess also team sports tend to generate more of a tribal following than solo sports like skiing or skating.

That's true - I think Norway's one of very few countries where individual sports have a following on a level with team sports (and that's only because we can't play football half the year and have to take what's on the TV). If you look at http://www.sportitalia.com, rugby has its own section, while "winter sports" is brought together under one (I suppose that doesn't say much, though). Maybe it's just me getting frustrated at the lack of coverage surrounding Italy's first win at the European speed skating championships, which Enrico Fabris celebrated this year in front of me and 6-7,000 others - he probably got more cheers from the crowd here than he'll ever get in Italy

BTW, Rugby get any sort of coverage in Norway?

Yeah, we had two pages in Aftenposten (our Times - complete with shift to tabloid) on Magnus Lund when he got selected. Which is everything we've had since the RWC, I think.

 

[Chubb]

Frankly, I love the Italian rugby team because they remind me excessively of Zimbabwe. So I support them in the Six Nations because I nailed my rugby colours to the Silver Fern a long time ago. So, go Mirco, Mauro, Alessandro and Sergio- Italy's Flowers, Goodwin and Streak., can't forget Lo Cicero and Castrogiovanni either.

Seriously, they aren't that bad, they have an excellent pack and driving maul but no real imagination or flair. They'll probably get the wooden spoon, but they might beat Scotland.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Yeah, we had two pages in Aftenposten (our Times - complete with shift to tabloid) on Magnus Lund when he got selected. Which is everything we've had since the RWC, I think.

Nice to see patriotism extends to the second generation in Scandinavia too!

Looking at the IRB's site I see Norway are ranked a heady 90th in the world, between The Bahamas & Nigeria. Your Union does look to have a half-decent website tho:

http://www.rugby.no/

My Norwegian isn't what it might be, but it looks like Magnus is the headline grabber there too.

 

[simmy]

Dan Carter and Matt Giteau are playmakers.. something Wilkonson is not very good at

They both are far better attacking players and their kicking will develop ( Carters is pretty good at the moment anyway )

By 2007 Wilkonson will be at least the 3rd if not 4th or 5th best fly half in the world

England.. esp c.2003 didnt really need a playmaker... the backs would run off the forward advances. Now however with Jono out the team... Wilkinson is perhaps not as needed as he once was.

By this I mean... England currently are playing well with Hodgson at 10. If Hodgson has been playing there in 2003, we simply would not have won the World Cup.

England should win the six nations, with only really France causing problems.




Carter currently is better than Wilkinson.. the way that man plays is incredible.

 

[BoyBrumby]

England XXII

How depressing? Groin-grabbingly, ball-achingly conservative & predictable. About as close as Robbo has got to a positive move is playing Matt Stevens ahead of Jules White, who's v much a specialist scrummager.

Cohen, Tindall & Noon tho? 3 identitical slabs of muscle to piddle away space & eff up any break Charlie H may happen to make. We could possibly accomodate Tindall at outside centre, but all three just shows such a limited scope of ambition for our game. Hell, why not go the whole hog & start Andy Goode at 10 too? He has a better kicking game than Hodgson & plan A is clearly to roll over the top of the Taffs...

England by 20.

J Lewsey (Wasps); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), J Noon (Newcastle), M Tindall (Gloucester), B Cohen (Northampton); C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), H Ellis (Leicester); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), S Thompson (Northampton), M Stevens (Bath); S Borthwick (Bath), D Grewcock (Bath); J Worsley (Wasps), L Moody (Leicester), M Corry (capt, Leicester).

Replacements: L Mears (Bath), J White (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), L Dallaglio (Wasps), M Dawson (Wasps), A Goode (Leicester), T Voyce (Wasps).

 

[Smudge]

I do hope Berbizier (incidentally, a halfback that I admired for his nuggety play) slowly gets rid of all the Kiwis in the Italy team. It's a short-term solution that Kirwan unfortunately turned into a long-term one - it does nothing for your domestic games if imports come in and take national team spots.

 

[Tim]

Oh dear god, is it time for the Six Nations again?

 

[Anna]

How depressing? Groin-grabbingly, ball-achingly conservative & predictable. About as close as Robbo has got to a positive move is playing Matt Stevens ahead of Jules White, who's v much a specialist scrummager.

Cohen, Tindall & Noon tho? 3 identitical slabs of muscle to piddle away space & eff up any break Charlie H may happen to make. We could possibly accomodate Tindall at outside centre, but all three just shows such a limited scope of ambition for our game. Hell, why not go the whole hog & start Andy Goode at 10 too? He has a better kicking game than Hodgson & plan A is clearly to roll over the top of the Taffs...

England by 20.

J Lewsey (Wasps); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), J Noon (Newcastle), M Tindall (Gloucester), B Cohen (Northampton); C Hodgson (Sale Sharks), H Ellis (Leicester); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), S Thompson (Northampton), M Stevens (Bath); S Borthwick (Bath), D Grewcock (Bath); J Worsley (Wasps), L Moody (Leicester), M Corry (capt, Leicester).

Replacements: L Mears (Bath), J White (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), L Dallaglio (Wasps), M Dawson (Wasps), A Goode (Leicester), T Voyce (Wasps).

I agree with you on the Stevens front- wooo Bath boy done good Tis just a bit of a pain for the Bath pack.....4 on international duty Anyway, Tindall & Noon....that's a joke....

 

[Smudge]

Oh dear god, is it time for the Six Nations again?

Your cure for insomnia has arrived, sir.

 

[Anna]

 

[Anna]

Wales have the worst hair-dos in the 6 nations.
The evidence:

Although Paul Griffin of Italy (hmmm, I doubt he really is) comes close:

 

[luckyeddie]

Oh dear god, is it time for the Six Nations again?

Best thing about puffs rugby is it reminds me of one brilliant song by Marillion.


(plays Garden Party for the first time in years)

"Rugger is the tops - a game for men...."

"I'm rucking, I'm..... (voice fades into distance)

 

[Blaze]

English rugby is so boring. I have go the rugby channel now so I am able to watch some of rugby's version of the Champions League and I am yet to sit through a single match yet. I now can see why England have no flair at Test level.

Will be interested to see if the 6 nations is the same. Hopefully not, France ought to give me some form of entertainment.

 

[Anna]

English rugby is so boring. I have go the rugby channel now so I am able to watch some of rugby's version of the Champions League and I am yet to sit through a single match yet. I now can see why England have no flair at Test level.

Will be interested to see if the 6 nations is the same. Hopefully not, France ought to give me some form of entertainment.

By all accounts Bath v Wasps was a pretty awesome match. Agreed, it can be boring but it does have its great moments.

Anyway, the usual thing goes for France....which team will turn up?

 

[Anna]

Woo hoo!!!! 47-13 Nice. Matt Stevens = MOTM. Hell yeah! Bath boys kicked butt, although my heart goes out to Gareth Delve who had to pull out in the 1/2 hour before with a torn hamstring....life has been cruel to that poor guy. Anyway, will say more on this match when I get back from nets

 

[Pothas]

Brilliantly powerfull performance by England, great to see Wales being squashed so emphaticly

 

[Blaze]

Looks like it will be a pretty predictable 6 Nations.