Six Nations Final Round Preview (France v. Wales)

France v. Wales (Stade de France)

He may be small but he is a massive loss for Wales this weekend

As the curtain draws down on the Six Nations 2011 this will be the final match, played under a floodlit Paris. I'm really looking forward to this game and even more so if the Irish can do the business against England. Think about it, if Ireland can beat England and score a late try to take the score beyond 10 points then you would really back the Welsh here to give a mentally weakened France side a good go.

Unfortunately for Gatland, Shane Williams is ruled out with a knee injury and in his place comes in George North an 18 year old unproven winger. It baffles me why this is the case and he has left Stoddart on the bench. Moving on, a more positive inclusion is that of prop Adam Jones. Great to see him come back into the fold although it is a little premature given the injury crisis they find themselves in. That aside, I think they need him back.

Classic Lievermont again with regards to selection this week. After the embarrasing (by their standards) defeat to Italy, he has gone for a total of 5 changes. David Marty and Damien Traille will forge a new centre partnership at the expense of Rougerie and Jauzion. Brive wing Alexis Pallison is preferred to Yoann Huget. Domingo replaces Marconnet in the front row while in the backrow Chabal is replaced by Harinordoquay. I have wondered exactly why Huget has kept his place on the wing this long. French wingers are usually lethal and have a high strike rate but I haven't seen anything to suggest that Huget is upto that standard. Finally Chabal is replaced again by the obviously far better player in Imanol Harinordoquay while the inclusion of Tomas Domingo is also positive as he is one of the stand out loose heads in the competition. I would label the changes in the centre though as a sign of panic from Lievermont. For those of you who need help remembering who Alexis Pallison is, watch the video where Jerry Flannery shows him how to fly.

The two most attacking 10s go head to head in the competition (ball in hand) in this game. Trinh-Duc v. Hook is a key battle and I look forward to watching how that unfolds. Wales have a high penalty count and need to cut that out because Parra will punish them. The absence of Williams is big. He is there go to guy a lot of the time and sets up a lot of plays while he is on the pitch. France are unsure of themselves though and with the game being in Paris this is not necessarily a plus for them. They have disappointed their fans this year already and if they start to do it early on in this game then the French crowd can be quite a sour one when it wants to be. You can talk about an unreal French backlash following last weekend, but I just don't see where it is going to come from. Le Blues haven't lost 3 games in the Six Nations since 2001, I think its about to happen again.

RT Prediction: Wales

Look out for: Lievermonts head on the chopping block after all this

Six Nations Final Round Preview (Ireland v. England)

Ireland v. England (Aviva Stadium)

Matt Banahan practices his "reaching out to grab Drico as he runs past me" pose for this weekend

Its been the most talked about fixture of the tournament to date and its finally upon us. Can Ireland knock England off their perch and deprive them of a grand slam? Here's what I think.....

Kidney makes 2 changes to his starting line up this week. Luke Fitzgerald has been dropped from the match day squad in place of Andrew Trimble. Trimble takes up his position on the left wing leaving Keith Earls to switch to fullback. Sexton gets the nod ahead of O'Gara at outhalf while Eoin Reddan has recovered from the collision he took from the ball in the opening minutes of the Welsh game. (See below) Unfortunately Thomas O'Leary was ruled out due to an eye injury which he picked up in training. He would have been useful in this game as Ben Youngs is the main source of everything good about England (along with Toby Flood). O'Leary could have put manners on him according to Gerry Thornley and I share the same view.

England make one enforced change in the backs. Matt Banahan replaces Mike Tindall after he sustained an ankle injury against Scotland. You would wonder how that one change could affect the team? In my eyes, its a loss for England. They have replaced a mediocre centre with an average winger playing out of position. Not only that but Tindall is their captain and the loss of a captain is surely a factor in the build up to a game of this magnitude. Nick Easter (their very over rated number 8) takes the captains armband instead.

England haven't won a grand slam since 2003. Some people view that as a pressure the younger players of the team might not be able to handle. 8 years is nothing compared to 61 so in that regard I don't think it will bother them too much. It will however still be a great occasion for them as is any grand slam decider. Ireland have no silverware to play for unfortunately but they never need any extra motivation for the visit of the old enemy. This is Englands first time in the Aviva and Ireland have a chance to stop them winning a grand slam, sounds good to me.

I'm loving the switch of Earls to fullback. He has been Irelands most potent back in the last 2 games and his natural instinct from fullback is to run back the ball. Expect him to counter attack with speed and purpose which is something the team has lacked thus far in the tournament. In fairness to Sexton, he needed to be started. He deserves to be a cut a bit of slack. R'OG has been fantastic this season and Sexton hasn't reacted well to the pressure. He needs a confidence boost and Kidney has given him this in starting him. I'd like to have seen Sean O'Brien get a run at number 8. The mans a wrecking ball and at the minute, Jamie Heaslip is in the team on reputation alone. Apart from pop up on the wing to score a try against the French, he has been pretty anonymous since returning from his injury.

Should Ireland keep the penalty count to a minimum then I can see them winning this game. Toby Flood hasn't missed a kick all tournament (I think) and with Johnny Wilkinson sitting on the bench, he can't afford to. Flood has been one of Englands best players this year. He has been solid with the boot and great to spot a gap and bring his backline into the game.

Ireland usually have one good performance in them every tournament. We have seen it in drips and drabs so far. An 80 minute performance is required to beat England and I think it will come.

RT Prediction: Ireland


Look out for: Drico running rings around Banahan

Supa Dupa rugby round-up with Francois “The Patron saint of Biceps” Badenhorst

Woop woop Super Rugby showed up again this weekend and rocked my shit. Brace yourself children because I’m gonna give you the lowdown on what happened.
There was only game of footie played in NZed this weekend with Crusaders taking on the Brumbies of Australia in Nelson. The Crusaders ran out winners 52 – 10 in an emphatic statement of intent from the men in Red. The ‘Saders played out of their skins and made the Wallaby laden Brumbies look like a pack of jokers. It really was an exhibition of rugby; people learning to play rugby should be forced to watch this game as some kind of 1984 big brother style indoctrination technique. If I had to single out a couple players from this super team performance it would be winger Sean Maitland who gathered a 4 tries and the brothers Whitelock, Sam and George, who never seem to give less than 100%. In related news, The Crusaders – Sharks game will now be played at Twickenham in 2 weeks time. If you are London then I implore you to go watch that shit. It’s basically an All Black v Springbok test and should be an amazing occasion.
We move to Skippy the Kangaroo’s homeland, Australia. The Rebels faced the Sharks at home and were looking to topple the unbeaten Sharkies. The Sharks had an off day but still ran out 34-32 winners by sheer force of will and experience alone. They simply had too much nous for the Super Rugby new boys and kept their unbeaten record. In a major positive for the Rebels, Danny Cipriani showed his class and flipped Martin “I’m so English” Johnson the bird by playing very, very well. Hooker Bismarck Du Plessis was his typical robust self for the Sharks and looked like a man among children. The Western “use the” Force (Star Wars reference, AW YEAH) faced off against the Blues in Perth and the match ended in a draw, 22-22. The Force deserved a win and the Blues, who looked they were already on the plane home, were lucky to escape with the 2 points. The Force just can’t seem to get over the line in their games but they will be a real test for touring teams facing them at home. Force lock continued to stick his paw up for Wallaby selection by having the work rate of a honey bee on Ritalin. The Blues had very few standouts but cap’n Keven Mealumu did all he needed to do to make sure the Blues didn’t lose. 
The Cheetahs and the Lions played each other in a battle of the wooden spoon/teams with names relating to felines with both teams winless up until this stage. The Lions grabbed their first win in 19 games by outscoring the Cheetahs 25-20. I was flippen happy for the Lions as they really cleaned up their act this year and have been playing super positive rugby all year. Heinrich Brussow played his first game in over an year for the Cheetahs and showed all the signs of a guy that has not lost any of the talent that made him such a breakout star in 2009. Lions eighthman Warren Whiteley had a another blockbuster of a game and adds to South Africa’s ridiculous store of loosies. Over in Cape Town, The Stormers played this year’s surprise package the Highlanders. The ‘Landers wanted to build upon their historic win last week against the Bulls but were tackled into submission by the Stormers, losing 18-6. Now I know tackled into submission has been used before to describe a team but the Stormers nearly tackled some of the Highlanders players into a fucking coma. It was an amazing defensive display but another pedestrian attacking one. Hell, I might start campaigning for them to join the Guinness Premiership with the brand of boring rugby they’re playing these days. Francois Louw played really well and affected numerous turnovers. 
And that is that for this week guys. Live long and prosper.

Six Nations Final Round Preview (Scotland v. Italy)

Scotland v. Italy (Murrayfield)

Nick Mallet has made 6 changes to his side following the victory over France.... Thats right, I said 6 changes! Treviso's Albero Sgarbi replaces Gonzalo Garcia at centre while club team-mate Kris Burton takes Luciano Orquera's place at scrum half. Italian Flanker Paul Derbyshire will earn his first Six Nations start also. Leicester prop/cookie monster Martin Castrogiovanni is the only player in the front row to retain his spot with respect to the France game, with Leonardo Ghiraldini and Salvatore Perguini returning to the team. Lock Quintin Geldenhuys also gets the nod after being relegated to the replacements bench against Le Bleus. I could have made up half those names and you would be none the wiser. Anyway, that is not the point! The point is, WHY SIX CHANGES? Why indeed Sir Mallet? You beat the French and you drop 6 players? My only thinking on it is, that he is using this game as a warm up for the world cup.. It the last competitive game Italy will play before then and on that basis then Yes, there is method in his madness.

On the flip side, Scotland have made only one change to their line up after their "encouraging" loss to top of the table England. Geoff Cross has been named to start at tighthead prop with Kelly Brown retained at number 8 despite suffering concussion from the weekends game. 

This was always going to be a tough one to call in my opinion and at the back of my mind I was ever so slightly leaning towards the Italians. However, what I did not bank on was Italy beating France the previous week, which makes me wonder if lightning really can strike twice? Not to be putting Scotland on the same par with France or anything. France have just been sort of crap this year while Scotland have been consistently shit for quite some time now (with the exception of November, calm down, put away your bagpipes!) 

As much as I would like to see Italy win this one and carry on from their flash in the pan victory, I feel its going to be a big ask for them. To sum up their championship, they have played 3 games at home, won 1 and kept the other 2 very close. Then the game they played away to England was just a disaster from start to finish. Based on that, I'm gona say that they are not going to manage to beat Scotland in Murrayfield on Saturday. Scotland have yet to win a game and would shamefully pick up the wooden spoon should they lose. They actually have a better points difference than Italy, so a win will be more than enough to avoid last place. Please god the Italians will actually beat them, but I find it very hard to write off Scotland in this scenario. 

It should be a fantastic game though. Let the battle for the wooden spoon commence. 

RT Prediction: Cough* Scotland (There I said it) 

Look out for: Robinson doing his nut when Scotland fail to score from a 6 man over lap

P.S you'll notice the new facebook "like" button.....Need I go on?

Women are from venus and men are from ITALY

BIG shout out to Italy.... I have to admit, the way I dismissed Italy before their game with France this past weekend I deserve a kick in the balls. Italy....I am sorry! The way you went about the destruction of France was inspirational. Man of the Match had to be fullback Andrea Masi. I do believe it was the first game he played at fullback and he looked very assured under the high ball. Not only that but he attacked well and got his name on the score sheet with Italy's crucial try. Bergamasco also deserves acknowledgement for kicking 17 points however I did wonder if he had the mentality for the big occasion and I'd still question it (from a goal kicking point of view). A solid Italian victory and one to be proud of too. It will rightfully take its place in the history books, albeit against a France team with serious question marks over it! I see Lievermont has tinkered yet again this week for the visit of Wales, he must surely be feeling some pressure. I can't remember the last time France lost 2 games in the Six Nations not to mind 3. More on that game later in the week though.

Anyway.... I don't usually do match reviews so I won't, but I think this victory deserves a mention on my blog seeing as I so hastily wrote them off. Credit where credit is due, now as Andy Gray would say.... Take a bow............... (and Fuck off back to the kitchen love)

Final round Match previews on Friday