Lancaster's young English side get off to a winning start in Scotland

 Charlie Hodgson showed he still has quick reactions as he charged down Dan Parks' kick and gathered the ball to score England's only try

In a frantic start to the match, Dan Parks put up a high ball from the kick-off and Dave Strettle was put in to touch. Jim Hamilton then charged through England’s defensive line.

George Clancy awarded England a penalty after Lee Jones was scythed down by Strettle’s strong tackle and good work at the breakdown from Brad Barritt. England kicked to the corner, but nothing came of it.

A series of scrappy phases and handling errors followed.

Ben Foden fielded a kick well and counter-attacked with serious pace, and then Richie Gray went off his feet at the ruck to give Owen Farrell his first attempt at goal in a senior England shirt. Unfortunately, Farrell could not make a dream start to his international career as he pushed the kick to the right of the posts.

England looked to throw the ball wide, but a poor pass from Charlie Hodgson put pressure on his outside colleagues. Mouritz Botha could have put Chris Ashton in for a likely score, however, the pass was too high and the ball flew in to touch.

A disagreement between Captain Chris Robshaw and Scotland scrum-half Chris Cusiter sparked some excitement around Murrayfield as both teams fronted up to each other with some choice words.

Charlie Hodgson put up a huge kick in to the night air and the chase was convincing from England as Strettle took advantage of Scottish miss-communication to take possession. Referee Clancy awarded England a penalty just outside of the 22 and the young Saracen Farrell made no mistake with his second attempt as he opened the scoring with a confident strike at goal, Scotland 0 England 3

Scotland finally put some phases together and put enough pressure on England to force Robshaw off his feet in front of the posts. Dan Parks levelled the scores, Scotland 3 England 3

The Scottish crowd exploded with noise when Max Evans broke away after Foden’s kick failed to make touch. Evans chipped ahead and Hodgson made a mess of calling a mark, luckily Tom Croft was on hand to provide support.

Scottish ball came slowly and Parks’ back moves looked predictable. On turnover ball, Barritt looked to spread the ball wide, but he was called back for a forward pass.

Clancy came back for a scrum to England because of advantage and in a bizarre move; Chris Ashton was given the ball at first receiver. He was hunted down by the eager Cusiter and his forwards won a penalty for Scotland. Parks slotted the attempt at goal to put his team in to the lead, Scotland 6 England 3

Andy Robinson’s men started to look well drilled before half-time; they held possession well and looked to set Parks up for a drop-goal. However, some forwards got in the way and the platform had to be re-made for the Cardiff fly-half. A handling error brought about Clancy’s whistle for half time.

Half time: Scotland 6 England 3

Second Half

The Murrayfield crowd were silenced just thirty seconds after half-time when Hodgson charged-down Park’s attempted clearance kick and dotted down. The TMO confirmed the grounding of the ball and Clancy awarded the try. Farrell stepped up and slotted the conversion to put England in to a four point lead, Scotland 6 England 10

David Denton showed some pace and carrying strength when he found himself on the left wing, however, he was brought down by an excellent tackle from Foden who managed to sweep the agile number eight in to touch.

England made a scintillating counter-attack as Hodgson released Ashton down the left-wing. The ball was re-cycled and Hodgson floated a cross-kick intended for Strettle who collected the ball ahead of Richie Gray, but the winger gave away a penalty for holding on when he was tackled.

Gray made a rampaging run right in to England’s 22; however, Alasdair Strokosch was unable to collect the Glasgow giant’s offload. From the resulting scrum, Lancaster’s men were back peddling, but Ross Ford was penalised for not rolling away at the breakdown. This allowed England to clear their lines.

With twenty minutes to go, Scotland found space on the left-wing and Lee Jones chipped ahead. The covering wing Ashton was lucky as the ball bounced in to his hands and he cleared the ball in to touch.

 The Scots piled on the pressure and with advantage in hand, Greg Laidlaw chipped ahead and beat Ben Youngs to the ball. A length TMO decision followed and the try was not awarded to Laidlaw.  Advantage was deemed to be over so England cleared their lines.

The onslaught was not over, flanker Ross Rennie made a break on the outside shoulder of substitute Matt Stephens and looked to draw Foden and release Laidlaw or Mike Blair. Rennie was indecisive and Foden managed to stop the pass getting away.

England survived another attack on their line when obstruction was called against Scotland.

A few minutes later, youngster and debutant Farrell had a long attempt at goal from a penalty, but his kick fell just short of the crossbar.

England forced a turnover and Farrell kicked the ball deep in to the Scottish 22. Tom Croft’s kick chase was outstanding for a back-row forward late in the game.

With seven minutes left on the clock, England was awarded a penalty from approximately 35 metres out. Farrell composed himself and sent the ball through the posts, Scotland 6 England 13

Farrell nearly was caught out for a simple error after the ball was passed back in to the 22 from Lee Dickson. Farrell’s kick did not bounce before it made touch, but bizarrely Scotland opted to take the line-out quickly instead of on England’s 22 metre line. The Scots had one last chance when Farrell knocked on from the returning kick.

The clock ran past 80 and Scotland was awarded a penalty, with no time for the line-out, the Scots had to run the ball in hope of a converted try to draw. However, the ball was knocked out in to touch. The final whistle blew to the delight of Robshaw and his team.

Full time: Scotland 6 England 13

Man of the match: Brad Barritt, the Saracens centre was in fantastic defensive form and has shown he has the work rate and physicality needed at centre at international level.

Scotland still can not find a way to the try-line. England’s defence was outstanding and their discipline should be applauded. However, Lancaster’s squad will need to provide more in attack next week.

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Strong Italian performance could not prevent a French victory in the opening game of the Six Nations

 Italy's Sergio Parisse carried well, but he could not lead his side to back-to back victories over France in the Six Nations

Momentum went in Italy’s favour in the early stages; the first penalty went to the Azzurri after referee Nigel Owens penalised Nicolas Mas for not binding properly. Kristopher Burton kicked to the corner and the Italian set up a few phases of possession. Burton attempted a drop-goal, but it was charged down by a fast French blitz defence.

Italy ran through some good phases of possession and a clever kick to corner from Burton nearly gave Julien Malzieu serious cause for concern.

However, the Clermont winger managed to recover from the awkward bounce of the ball and stormed up the left-wing to the half-way line. Italy went offside after the ruck and the ever reliable Dimitri Yachvilli smashed over the long penalty.  

Once again, Burton kicked intelligently and then patient build-up play with the forwards led to Burton’s 40 metre drop-goal, he made the distance with ease. France 3 Italy 3

France ran a few phases and then Clermont’s Aurelien Rougerie delayed his run to perfection and cantered in past two defenders. Yachvilli added conversion to give France a 10-3 lead against the run of play.

Pascal Pape was penalised for not rolling away which gave Burton another attempt at goal. The fly-half was on target with the shot at goal. This closed the gap to four points after thirty minutes play.

France dominated a scrum in their own half and Louis Picamoles carried strongly off the back and Malzieu was put away down the left-wing. Malzieu handed off several players and forced his way to the line. Yachvilli couldn’t quite knock over the conversion from a tight angle. The try made the score 15-6 just before half-time.

Just before half-time, Italy could not take advantage from a line-out after a penalty because Sergio Parisse infringed during the set-piece.

The 1^st half closed with some confusion and some poor decisions form both sides, but Italy could be proud of their performance. Les Bleus showed their predatory instinct with two tries from two chances which helped them to a 15-6 lead at the break.

Second Half

Francois Trinh-Duc made an error with the kick-off which gave Italy a scrum on half-way. Italy forced a penalty; however, Burton did not quite have the distance to punish Trinh-Duc’s error.

Rougerie played the ball in the middle of a ruck and gave Nigel Owens no choice but to penalise the centre. Treviso’s Burton made no mistake with the attempt from straight in front of the posts which closed the gap to just six points  France 15 Italy 9

Strong carries from Picamoles and Malzieu took France in to the Italian half and Owens penalised Italy at the breakdown. Yachvilli just pushed the attempt at goal to the left of the uprights.

Minutes later, Yachvilli was given another shot at goal from just outside of the Italian 22. He made no mistake with the shorter kick and extended France’s lead back to nine points, France 18 Italy 9

France made easy work of a turnover as Francois Trinh-Duc chipped ahead of Martin Castrogiovanni and put in an impressive improvised kick ahead with the outside of his right foot. Rougerie used his knee and knocked the ball ahead again straight in to the grateful hands of Vincent Clerc who strolled over under the posts. Yachvilli added another simple kick to put his side in to a commanding lead, France 25 Italy 9

A trio of French forwards lazily retreated and were caught offside by Owens. Italian substitute Tobias Botes took advantage of the opportunity to kick for goal and opened his scoring account for Italy, France 25 Italy 12

With twenty minutes left, France showed the strength of their bench as they brought on Jean-Baptiste Poux and Morgan Parra to strengthen up the scrum and secure the win with the boot.

A strong driving maul put severe pressure on the Italians and Quintin Geldenhuys was shown a yellow card by Owens. Debutant Fofana managed to find his way to the try-line without much attention from Italian defenders. Parra did not add the extras, but the French held a convincing lead, France 30 Italy 12

Italy looked to finish with a flourish, a cross-kick out to Parisse stretched the French defence, but a knock-on a few phases later prevented the Italians from earning a consolation try. A few phases later Parra kicked the ball in to the stands to end the game.

The French absorbed plenty of Italian pressure, but ultimately had too much power and quality out wide for the Azzurri.

Full time: France 30 Italy 12. Man of the Match: Julien Malzieu, the winger always looked threatening and took his chance well.

Six Nations 2012 Preview

Who can lead their side to victory in the RBS Six Nations?

England

The disappointing World Cup in New Zealand brought about an overhaul of the Senior EPS squad and management team. Stuart Lancaster takes charge of his first senior international game against Scotland this weekend.

The squad chosen shows an attempt to blood youth on to the international stage. Some fear the lack of experience could be a serious issue, however, for once; the England squad has been picked on form and not on reputation.  

This has led to the selection of young talented players who have been in tremendous form for their clubs. Saracens currently sit second in the Premiership and have a sizable contingent in the new squad.

Owen Farrell has been pulling the strings for the Watford club with maturity beyond his years. His goal-kicking will be vital, it is likely that England will not be able to rely on a solid platform throughout the tournament and chances with the boot will have to be taken.

Outside him, Brad Barritt has developed in to a hard-hitting centre; he could well be a long-term replacement for the discarded Mike Tindal.  Dave Strettle, another club mate is chosen on the left wing, he has been selected for being one of the best players in the Premiership beating would-be-tacklers with his excellent footwork.

In the forwards, experience has been replaced by players in form with good work efforts.  The side is captained by Harlequins’ Chris Robshaw, Quins have been sensational at times this season and it is refreshing to see Robshaw’s leadership being rewarded. His back-row colleagues are seasoned Saxon Phil Dowson and Tom Croft.

Many argue that Dowson should have plenty of England caps to his name, but the Northampton man has plied his trade in the Saxons and for his club and now should kick-on to the senior stage. Croft is one of the few senior members in the squad, his experience with Leicester, England and the British and Irish Lions will be a key attribute for Lancaster’s side. Croft provides an additional line-out option and will be on hand to try and win turnover ball.

The front-row combination of Alex Corbisiero, Dylan Hartley and Dan Cole will be under severe pressure against Scotland. Hartley is considered an experienced player now and he needs to set the example on and off the pitch. Cole did not have a convincing World Cup, but he has great potential.

Matt Stephens will feel disappointed not to be starting; however, he will be a vital addition to the team from the bench. Corbisiero needs to lay down a marker because his appearances so far in the national jersey have been fairly average.

Prediction: 4th Lancaster’s side are not title contenders. However, they are looking to build towards the 2015 World Cup which will be held on home soil.  England faces testing away trips to Murrayfield, the Stadio Flaminio and the Stade de France, securing three victories will be enough to define Lancaster’s trial caretaking period as a success.

France

Les Bleus were the surprise package in New Zealand, they did not perform well in the pool stages and the squad quarrelled with Coach Marc Lièvremont during training and over game plans.

Lièvremont’s side managed to graft their way to the final past a dismal English side in the quarter-finals and then they managed a narrow 9-8 victory over Wales in which the controversial red-card issued to Sam Warburton may have cost Wales the game.

The final did not set the rugby world alight, but the French nearly pinched the Webb-Ellis Trophy from the hosts as they lost 7-8 in Auckland.

Former Gloucester, Sale and Toulon coach Philippe-Saint-Andre steps in to become the new head coach, he brings a lot of experience with him and he has a good eye for young talent.

Wesley Fofana, 24, is due to win his first cap for France this Saturday against Italy in Paris. The Clermont centre has been in fine form for his club, he has helped up to second in the Top 14. In doing so, he has scored three tires and been a key playmaker all over the pitch.

The remainder of the back three need no introduction; Vincent Clerc and Aurelien Rougerie are synonymous with Six Nations, Heineken Cup and Top 14 try-scoring. Between them they have 128 French caps and 53 tries. Teams will have to kick at the right times and right in to the corners as inaccurate kicking will be counter-attacked by two of the best in the business.

The French are blessed with kickers spread all over their squad. Dimitri Yachvilli starts against Italy; the Biarritz scrum-half is usually metronomic with the boot and has excellent game management skills are a real asset. Francois Trinh-Duc starts against the Azzurri at fly-half, the Montpellier playmaker is preferred to Lionel Beauxis, who sits on the bench.

France are Grand-Slam candidates, they have dazzling backs and forwards who can put in the hard work and make a solid platform for quick-ball.  The French are captained by Thierry Dusetoir, a powerful tackler and expert around the fringes.

True servants to the dark art of front-row come in William Servat and Nicholas Mas. These two warriors will be vital to test other teams’ younger front-row contingents and force penalties at crucial stages in matches.

France should be equally strong in the line-out, Lionel Nallet and Pascal Pape are key jumpers and Servat will be sure to hit his target when needed.

Prediction: 1^st: Six Nations Champions and Grand Slam winners. The squad has not been completely reshuffled, experienced players remain and there are a few glimpses of fresh talent.  Paris is a strong home venue, away trips to Murrayfield and Cardiff will be difficult, but the French should be too strong for the two home nations.

Ireland

This will be the start of Ireland’s new era without their try guru and heroic leader Brian O’Driscoll. The Irish beat Australia 15-6 in the pool stages, however, Wales proved too strong in the quarter-finals as the men in green lost 10-22 in Wellington.

The Heineken Cup has seen fantastic performances from Ireland’s provinces; Munster, Leinster and Ulster have all progressed to the quarter-finals, a real sign of real quality in Irish rugby.

The burden of Heineken Cup performances now lies on Irish players’ heads.  Luckily, old-hands such as Paul O’Connell, Gordon D’Arcy and Donncha O’Callaghan remain. These key leaders along with will have to pull-together in order to cover in O’Driscoll’s absence.

Back-row options are a key talking point this season, Ireland have Stephen Ferris, Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip lining up against Wales this weekend.

Out of the trio, Heaslip has the most experience internationally, he can make yardage beyond the gain-line and knows his way to the try-line.

Ferris has been in tremendous form for Ulster of late having recovered from a troublesome knee injury last year.

O’Brien brings phenomenal physicality, the 17 stone, 6”2 Leinster man will look to cause damage in the loose and force turnovers against weaker, more agile opposing back-row.

The line-out will be reliable courtesy of O’Callaghan and O’Connell, the Munstermen are experts in set-piece play and will provide their side with quick, quality ball.

At halfback, Ireland has the luxury of choosing between Jonathan Sexton and Ronan O’Gara. Sexton is currently preferred in the No.10 shirt; however, O’Gara is an extremely useful player to have on the bench in tight games. His tactical kicking is still second-to-none and his composure was evident during two close Heineken Cup games in which he scored the winning drop-goals against Northampton and Castres.

Finally in the outside backs, Ireland have some solid centres in Gordon D'Arcy and Fergus McFadden. D'Arcy is a player of great experience with 63 caps to his name, whil McFadden has not had much of a chance to start for Ireland, now he has his opportunity.
Unfortunately, Keith Earls had to pull out of this weekend's game because his recently-born daughter is unwell.

Rob Kearney takes the high ball as well as any in full-back in the Championship and he is an elusive counter-attacking threat. Tommy Bowe is another proven try-scorer, the Ospreys winger has scored 19 tries for his country and he will be eager to add to his tally.

Prediction: 3^rd Ireland do have serious potential, however, away trips to the Stade de France and Twickenham could prove costly to their campaign hopes.

Italy

Last year’s shock of the tournament came courtesy of Italy as they stunned France in a nail-biting 22-21 victory at the Stadio Flaminio. Sadly the Italians did not carry the momentum forward to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand where they won just two games against Russia and the United States.

Forward power is undoubtedly Italy’s major asset; their scrum will definitely test a few of Europe’s finest workmen in the engine room.  Leicester’s Martin Castrogiovanni with 42 caps to his name will prove a real challenge in particular for England’s young front-row; the long-haired prop is an aggressive scrummager and knows club mate Dan Cole’s weaknesses.

The Stade-Français stalwart Sergio Parisse will undoubtedly catch the eye of the commentators and pundits because he stands out so significantly in an otherwise fairly mediocre team. Parisse is not only an immensely powerful runner and tackler, but he also fields kicks like a member of the back-three and has an uncanny ability to offload during the tackle to keep play alive.

Traditionally Italy struggles with goal-kicking, the Italians have let many close games in the Six Nations pass them by due to the lack of a specialist kicker.  The Mirco Bergamasco had taken the kicking duties on and off over the past few years, but there is no place for him in this year’s tournament because he has been struggling with a shoulder injury.

Prediction: 6^th, the Italians will produce some good rugby, however, they will struggle to grind out narrow games, many of the team are inexperienced and some of the warriors from previous campaigns are aging.

Scotland

This weekend Scotland takes on a young, inexperienced England side at Murrayfield. This is Scotland’s chance to make a stand in the tournament. Calcutta cup matches are always fought with passion and pride, this season is slightly different to normal.

England is a side with serious changes and disruption, whereas Andy Robinson has been building and improving his side over the last few seasons. Scotland were perhaps unlucky not to go through to the quarter-finals in New Zealand, but they need to be clinical and they will be peppering England’s half with high kicks from the off on Saturday. If Scotland can chase their kicks well, penalties will be awarded to them because England’s back-row has not played together before and there will be some confusion organisationally at the break down.

Chris Patterson will not be gracing the pitches of Europe in this season’s Six Nations as he announced his retirement from international rugby in December. Andy Robinson now looks for Dan Parks to carry the goal-kicking duties as his starting fly-half.

Scotland’s gritty forwards are summed up in the selection of Gloucester’s Jim Hamilton. ‘Big Jim’ is a fine line-out forward and really leads the driving maul well. Hamilton is partnered by Richie Gray, who is a more agile line-out expert who provides more subtlety in open-play.

Euan Murray, Ross Ford and Allan Jacobsen as a front-row unit have an average weight of nearly 115kg. These three have been fortunate to get plenty of game time together on the international scene

Prediction: 5^th Scotland have the potential to be a great side, at times their forward play is outstanding, however, they still can not score tries. With Dan Parks at fly-half it is unlikely that this trait will change, however, Andy Robinson is gambling with a pragmatic kicking game plan backed up by a strong, tight forward game.

Wales

Sam Warburton’s ‘spear-tackle’ in the semi-final against France may have cost Wales their first attempt at a World Cup final. They showed great promise in New Zealand and it is unfair to completely blame the red card for their loss to France. Wales had their chances to snatch a victory with only 14 men; however, they could not quite do enough to sneak in to the final.

Warburton hopes to fulfil his nation’s expectation, fuelling their campaign with the disappointment of the semi-final and their extreme training camp experiences in Poland.

Warren Gatland delayed the naming of his match-day squad to face Ireland because of injury concerns with several key players.

Gatland has plenty of fly-halves to choose from; he has selected Rhys Priestland as his starting No.10 even though the Scarlets playmaker has not been training all week.

The bench may be busy if Priestland is not fully fit or if he picks up another knock to his knee. Gatland has the versatile James Hook in reserve,  Hook will undoubtedly get some game time as he can cover fly-half, centre or full-back.

The back-three is another area where Wales have a wealth of talent. George North has continued to impress this season and he hopes to take the try-scoring mantle out of Shane Williams’ hands this season. 

Leigh Halfpenny starts full-back; his electric pace and nimble footwork will make him a dangerous man to kick to. He can also take pot-shots at goal from 50 metres out; this is another useful string to his bow.

The final member of the back-three is Alex Cuthbert.  The 21 year old Cardiff Blues winger makes his first start for Wales. He must make sure he does not let the occasion overwhelm him; he has performed well in the Pro 12 and Heineken Cup and has his chance to make his case for an international future.

Shane Williams is among the replacements so if youngsters North and Cuthbert can’t seem to find the try-line, the legendary Ospreys winger could be brought on for a short stint if Wales are desperate for a score in the closing stages.

In the scrum Wales will be slightly concerned. The reliable Adam Jones starts, however, Gethin Jenkins is injured. This means that Saracens’ Rhys Gill makes only his second start for his country. This will be an area that Ireland will look to exploit, but Gill will have Huw Bennett, who makes his 50^th appearance for Wales at hooker to bolster the scrum.

Bradley Davies and Ian Evans, partner up in the second-row in the absence of locks Luke Charteris and Alun Wyn Jones. The two injured set-piece experts will be missed this weekend; however, Bennett has other options in the line-out.

In the back-row Wales look once more to Ryan Jones on the blind-side, Jones is selected as another option in the line-out and while he is no longer the captain, he will have plenty of advice for his young back-row colleagues in Toby Faletau and Sam Warburton who captains the side.

Faletau’s work rate in the World Cup was exceptional. The Tongan-born Dragon did not miss a single tackle throughout the campaign, if Wales are to challenge this season he will have to find similar form. 

Finally Warburton makes up the final member of the back-row; he starts at open-side flanker and looks now to put the drama of the World Cup behind him with a convincing performance in the RBS Six Nations.

Prediction: 2nd Wales will show how much they have learned from the World Cup and how a team benefits from the blooding of youth encouraged by Warren Gatland. Injured players may need to hurry back from injury to push their claim for the championship.

My 2012 RBS Six Nations final standings prediction:  
1st. France (Grand Slam Winners) 
2nd. Wales 
3rd. Ireland 
4th. England 
5th. Scotland 
6th. Italy

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