And Then There Were Two

After two rounds of matches, the RBS Six Nations has become a lot clearer. England and France are the last two standing in the quest for a Grand Slam, Italy have mixed the good with the bad and suffered their usual fate. Scotland has shown that as well as mixing it with France, they can give the Italians a run for their money when it comes to putting on a poor show. Wales have clearly taken a step backwards, though hardly surprising given their Autumn showing, and Ireland sits somewhere in the middle. We have shown glimpses where we can match the top two, but we have demonstrated that we are not as far away from the bottom tier as we would like to think.

What is quite refreshing is the sobering reality that maybe, just maybe, we are exactly where we deserve. We stuttered against Italy, and really the Azzurri should have closed the game out. All they needed was to gather the re-start, or at least defend better for the final two minutes. The move for O’Gara’s drop-goal was like playing Jonah Lomu rugby with New Zealand, with rucks substituting for mauls. The kick was sublime, and you could hear the Leinster folk almost choking on the lemon in their G&Ts to that their nemesis had won the day.

The French game was almost a sense of deja-vu, with Sean Cronin finger tips away from snatching a win. The game was again error strewn. This has become such a feature, one must wonder when is this is still poor luck. We were “unlucky” in this fixture four years ago, and how often have we fallen behind by a cricket score only to lose gallantly in Paris? That 1 win in 10 against the French, and one must concede that we are still some way off their level. They possess something that we are desperately searching for; game management. The French rarely fail to do what is needed. “Which French team will turn up?” is a mythical question notion, championed to death by Tom McGurk and co. In the past ten years, Wales have won the Grand Slam twice, Ireland once with the so-called “Golden Generation” and England have won the World Cup. Yet who has won the most matches in that time? The boys with the bad breath of course! They are the only team every season to a) want to play expansive rugby and b) have the personnel to do so. What makes the “unpredictable” is that it does not come off in every match. When it works, there can be spectacular results, and when it doesn’t, see France v Australia November Test 2010. What is comforting for their fans is that the game plan and philosophy is always attack minded, though this can also cause anxiety. Ireland’s first try came from the French running out from within their own 22. Highly unlikely Fitzgerald or Kearney would do the same. 100% certain Girv the Swerve would never even have thought of it, never mind try to copy it. Good old Girv, never let us down.

Back to Ireland, and to the rest of the Championship. Best case scenario is we win away in Edinburgh and Cardiff, and then deny England the Championship/Grand Slam, with a very outside chance of claiming silverware ourselves. Worst case scenario is losing to England, as well as one from Wales or Scotland. Losing all three seems even a little far fetched, even for the most pessimistic. The Scotland-Wales match was a turgid affair. When George Hook is so preoccupied with criticising Dan Parks, that he does not mention the Leinster legend that was Eddie Hekenui, then you know what kind of showing it was.

It now looks like we are back to our past ambitions for this season, where the most we can look to achieve is to deprive our nearest and dearest neighbours further opportunities to sing Sweet Chariot. The Guardian proclaimed after their win over Wales that the Grand Slam was eminently possible, and that their World Cup credentials were greatly boosted. True to form the English media are building their team up again, and their clash against the French will tell a lot about their standing, and the accuracy of The Guardian’s journalism