Six Nations 2014 General Discussion

BoarHunter wrote: »

Plisson is a very promising out half. He has already put Morné Steyn on the bench ( of course Steyn deserves some rest after the 4 Nations but you would have expected him having more game time ). Good hands, clever distribution and runs good lines with a good boot as well. really looking forward to see him at this level.
Bonneval is a talent as well just as his father was back in the 80s in the bleu Jersey. Good attacking full back with speed and great lines. He will be a good contender to Dulin Jersey.
Burban is a work horse. A very physical flanker who tackles hard and is often first to arrive in the ruck zone.

Good to hear about a promising player coming through at 10. It seems to be an area where France has been lacking in recent years.

I think it could be an exciting game between Ireland and France, surely we can't have a draw for the third year in a row. If you could beat England and Wales along the way that would be appreciated Bonne chance!

I don't mind Walsh at all but would like to have Owens a bit more. Far and away the best ref IMO.

Scotland Preliminary Six Nations squad:

Forwards: John Beattie (Montpellier), Kelly Brown (Saracens), Geoff Cross, David Denton, Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford (all Edinburgh Rugby), Chris Fusaro (Glasgow Warriors), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), Ryan Grant, Jonny Gray (both Glasgow Warriors), Richie Gray (Castres), Jim Hamilton (Montpellier), Robert Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Lawson (Newcastle Falcons), Kieran Low (London Irish), Moray Low, Pat MacArthur (both Glasgow Warriors), Ross Rennie (Edinburgh Rugby) Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), Tim Swinson and Ryan Wilson (both Glasgow Warriors).

Backs: Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh Rugby), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Max Evans (Castres), Dougie Fife (Edinburgh Rugby), Stuart Hogg, Ruaridh Jackson, Sean Lamont (all Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh Rugby), Sean Maitland (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Duncan Taylor (Saracens), Greig Tonks (Edinburgh Rugby) and Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors).

stpaddy99 wrote: »

englands year I think sadly, hopefully they lose in scotland though which sends us to twickers looking for blood

I don't know where England are better than us in the squad really. Having Tuilagi back if he makes it for some of the games will make a big difference.

See very little chance of them losing in Scotland though.

danthefan wrote: »

Ahhhh the wild optimism of a boards.ie rugby poll.

If we ignore the fact that we have been playing with no consistency over the past few years, and look solely at the players that are available and their respective coaches, as well as the home/away dynamic, there isn't really much reason not to be optimistic. We have a relatively clean bill of health, some very good players, and a proven coach who's shown glimpses of where he's hoping to bring the team.

Tox56 wrote: »

Leaving aside the people who will vote for Ireland even in the event of a mass extermination that killed off every professional rugby player in the country, it's hardly shocking that England and France are hoovering up the votes. There's a reason nobody has won the championship 3 times in a row.

What is the reason?

Wales's wins in the last two years don't make them less likely to win this year. If I flip a coin three times, the odds for each side are 50/50 each time. Whether I got heads the first two times doesn't make it less likely to get heads the third time.

Tox56 wrote: »

Because it's hard to sustain that level of performance and hope that other nations don't catch up, I'm thinking France will actually pose a threat this year (bit of a shot in the dark but they love a post Lions year), and although I wouldn't suggest Welsh players won't want it, will they have the same sort of hunger as the English players, away from home, with the element of revenge thrown in? Injuries have hit them hard and they're the hunted now, really for the first time (even last year they were behind the game from the start after the Ireland match) and I think the other teams are getting it together (I haven't even mentioned Ireland yet, who Wales also have away from home).

I'm not suggesting Wales don't have as good a chance as anyone, but there's plenty of logic in backing other teams ahead of them

Ah fair enough I see where you're coming from. I don't know if the fact that they won for the last two years is a reason not to back them though.

The one thing the Welsh has going for them is consistency, at least against the European sides. They are working with the same squad, and it is still quite youthful, and have an effective coach. So I don't know if there's much reason to assume their performance will dip. And the fact that nobody has won the championship three times in a row before might be a motivating factor, tbh.

I honestly don't know enough about the French to say whether they're in with a good shout. As was pointed out, they have won the championship every year following a Lions tournament since the professional era began, but I wonder if French rugby was generally more competitive over that time than it has been over the past few years.