Six Nations 2025

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 17-03-2025 08:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123273366#Comment_123273366

They're the ultimate goal alright. We've had it good in recent years, since 2009. It may well go back to when we'll celebrate Triple Crowns again.

Look at Scotland, they'd kill for a Triple Crown. We don't have huge player numbers, Connacht, Munster and Ulster aren't going great. Leinster buying the big foreign names to try and get over the line in the ERC. And if the U20s getting the wooden spoon becomes a trend.. Hopefully that's a once off.

I'm not going around hopping up and down because we won the TC. But 4 wins and that silverware was an ok return for how we played all tournament.

As a country we're fierce for getting notions. In 2002 we were all talking about 'why shouldn't we aim to win a football World Cup'. Look at the state of us now. We're a small country and GAA takes a lot of our good sports people.

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 17-03-2025 08:13PM

Scotland, haven't won one since 1990. They won the Championship in 1999 but beaten by England.

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 17-03-2025 08:16PM

Around 2011 when you could pick from Ferris, David Wallace (underrated I think), O'Brien and Heaslip for a backrow.

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 17-03-2025 08:19PM

Lenihan on Against the Head saying same about the provinces and 20s.

I never remember Ulster having such low input to the National team.

In the 80s such a strong rugby province.

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 17-03-2025 08:22PM

All those rugged Munster forwards we grew up watching, Moss Keane, Lenihan, Claw, Wood, Anthony Foley, Galwey, O'Connell.. etc

God we'd kill for those raw hardy men coming from Munster again. With as the Kiwis say 'Mungrel' in them. POM the last of them

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 17-03-2025 08:51PM

The bigger rugby nations, England, France, South Africa and New Zealand have ups and downs. But they are never as pronounced as the smaller rugby nations. They are protected by large playing numbers.

Ireland, Wales, Scotland and others don't have those player numbers. Wales won the Grand Slam in 2019! Look at them now.

We can't think that because we arrived at the top table around 2014, we'll stay there indefinitely. I think the older you are the more you've seen of how you can slip very quickly.

fonecrusher1 · 18-03-2025 10:26AM

I'm old enough to remember the grim days of Ireland limping through the 5 nations in the 90's and other than the occasional great & memorable win against England it wasn't exactly great times for us. I remember when winning the triple crown in the noughties was a big deal for us when we stepped away from the hard times of the 90's into a new era.

Having said that looking at our more recent form and the extraordinary run weve had over the last few years its a bitter pill to swallow to look at the triple crown with any sort of enthusiasim to be honest.

eagle eye · 18-03-2025 10:31AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123269211#Comment_123269211

Beating all the home nations in one six nations is a big deal.

moycullen14 · 18-03-2025 10:50AM

Anyone ever won a triple crown and come 3rd in the 6nations? Takes a bit of doing

pickarooney · 18-03-2025 10:59AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123274913#Comment_123274913

Off the top of my head it would have been impossible before bonus points and hasn't been done in the last 10 years.

phog · 18-03-2025 01:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123274913#Comment_123274913

It doesn't really, that's the reason why the 6Ns give the team that wins all their games and extra 3 BPs. It ensures that the team actually tops the table as a team that loses a game but gets more BPs in their wins/loss could be higher in the table than the team that dins all five games without BPs

Greengrass53 · 18-03-2025 02:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123274847#Comment_123274847

HOME nations.whose home is that?

eagle eye · 18-03-2025 02:57PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123275804#Comment_123275804

Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.

AlmightyCushion · 18-03-2025 03:15PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123274943#Comment_123274943

It would have happened this year without bonus points. England, France and us all lost 1 game. The three teams would have had 16 points and we would still finish third based on points difference.

AbusesToilets · 18-03-2025 03:30PM

What's the 1st tiebreaker, is it head to head or points difference?

Ben Bailey · 18-03-2025 03:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123275933#Comment_123275933

The Championship positions are decided as follows:

1. The Union with the highest number of Match Points will be placed first and the other Unions placed in descending order according to the Match Points awarded.

2. If two or more Unions finish the Championship with the same number of Match Points, they will be placed according to the difference between the total points scored and the total points conceded on the fields of play in all Matches.

3. If any such Unions also have the same points difference, they will be placed according to the number of tries (including penalty tries) scored by each Union in all Matches.

4. If any such Unions have also scored the same number of tries (including penalty tries), they will be placed equally.

There is no provision for 'head to head' results in the competition rules.

moycullen14 · 18-03-2025 04:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123275874#Comment_123275874

Yes, and would also have happened without Italy (old 5 nations).That's based on points difference, of course. I think the championship was deemed tied in those days.

pickarooney · 18-03-2025 04:31PM

The only similar instance I found was a 3 way tie back in the 50s.

CalmaftertheGav · 18-03-2025 05:21PM

The only thing Ireland have in common with Wales & Scotland is the size and population of their country…let’s get that clear first, as rugby nations these two don’t belong in the same conversation as Ireland.

Whatever way you want to look at it Ireland totally belong in the category amongst the bigger nations. It’s funny you mention about their dips being “never as pronounce” when Ireland have never had a period as bad as France did until 2020 or as what England have had since 2021…England are still celebrating beating Fiji in 2023, says it all really.

Greengrass53 · 18-03-2025 05:43PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123275816#Comment_123275816

My home is ireland.The other 3 are not.

fonecrusher1 · 18-03-2025 05:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123276243#Comment_123276243

England went to the dogs a bit after the WC in 2003 as well. Naturally form dips when a load of key players retire. As we're going to find out over the next few years. (We're alreay finding out it seems …) England didn't win another 6N after 2003 until 2011. I hope we don't repeat that same sort of history. 😮

Getting everything ship shape in just 2 years seems like a very tall order right now.

CalmaftertheGav · 18-03-2025 06:41PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123276365#Comment_123276365

But you see that’s the difference between England and Ireland, Ireland consider winning 4 games out of 5 and winning the TC to be “going to the dogs”…England it’s finishing bottom half. Thats the difference in standards right there.

Well, we were in a worse place 4 years ago and a year later we were number 1 in the world…2 years is plenty of time.

breezy1985 · 18-03-2025 06:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123270105#Comment_123270105

Cork only have around the same number of hurling leagues in 150 years

Does that mean Cork give a sht about the league. Same goes for Juventus and the Coppa Italia.

Living in England I don't think I ever heard the words Triple Crown from a rugby fan. It only matters to teams that win nothing else and it's about time we adopted that mentality.

awec · 18-03-2025 07:11PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123276483#Comment_123276483

Living in England I don't think I ever heard the words Triple Crown from a rugby fan. It only matters to teams that win nothing else and it's about time we adopted that mentality.

We have adopted that mentality.

The Triple Crown is nothing to Ireland, we have outgrown the Mickey Mouse trophies.

breezy1985 · 18-03-2025 07:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123276539#Comment_123276539

That's true.

I was more referring to the poster and Irish fans like them who still tut when the rest of us don't give a shte about winning a Triple Crown

Paul Smeenus · 18-03-2025 07:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123276316#Comment_123276316

The most Irish response I ever read. The term has been around longer than you have. Don't like it, don't use it.

eagle eye · 18-03-2025 08:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123276316#Comment_123276316

For years upon years they have all been known as the home nations.

Anyway younger people are different these days. A triple crown was a big deal throughout the history of the nations tournaments.

Nowadays not with winning a championship is considered a massive failure. This on an island with a small population which loses gifted players to the national sport.

There's lots of provincial fans who have no connection with the grass roots of the game, they don't support a club.

You have the fans who hate each other, a soccer thing that was never acceptable in rugby and still isn't wanted by the huge majority of fans.

As time has moved on good things that have happened but there's plenty of bad things too.

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 18-03-2025 08:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123276483#Comment_123276483

No comparison with Cork GAA at all. Cork haven't been actively trying to win league titles since its inception. Irish rugby have been trying to win the TC since the 1870s.

It, the Triple Crown, is only devalued in the last few years. A lot of Irish have notions we'll be winning Slams and beating New Zealand regularly from now out.

England is a big rugby nation, huge player numbers their goals have been higher for years. The French only joined the championship before the second World War, the TC was the only show in town for 60 years or so. If you listen to old Bill Beaumont or Roger Uttley videos you'll see how important the TC was to England well into the 1990s.

The best comparison I'd have with Irish rugby since 2009 is Limerick hurling 2018 on. More than likely the latter will return to All Ireland wins every 35 years. Especially once JP goes. Limerick has so many sports and a small enough hurling base. Munster titles will be valued again, as TCs will to Ireland.

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 18-03-2025 08:27PM

If there was a soccer triple crown we'd be happy to win it. The main reason.. we so seldom beat England at anything. It's the same with a rugby TC.

England are a world power in most sports. Out of 10 World Cups they are the only Northern Hemisphere country to win one.

Any day we beat England in a team sport is a very good day. They're rarely bad.

With a poor, by their standards, team they were 3 min from beating SA in a 2023 RWC semi. Look at how they got to the WC final in 2007.

That's why the TC means something. You have to have some level of consistency to win it.

Oíche Na Gaoithe Móire · 18-03-2025 09:02PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123276243#Comment_123276243

As a rugby nation Wales don't belong with Ireland..

Wales 12 Grand Slams.

4 are 6 Nations Slams to our 3. Namely 2005, 2008, 2012, 2019.

Ireland 4 Grand Slams.

Are you for real?

Six Nations 2025

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