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| Brian's still got it. Despite the silly face. |
In conclusion, England didn't win the Grand Slam, France are yet to sack Lievremont and Wales proved the theory that empty vessels make the most noise. Scotland were neither as good or bad as we had all hoped. And Italy managed to build on their historic victory over France by losing to Scotland. Peaks and troughs, I suppose.
So what have we learnt from the 2011 Six Nations? Here are some learning outcomes from this years tournament.
1. England need Riki Flutey to get fit fast!
While I wish to take nothing away from Mike Tindall, a man so committed to the game that he has cancelled his honeymoon, his skill set is one of a juggernaut rather than one of a graceful magician. After his re-call to the England set up, he has been playing well both for club and country. But he is a simple rugby player, and his lack of sparkle is a problem in a team which lacks real creativity beyond Flood.
Hape is in the team to act as the big-running, soft-handed, creative centre. England's very own Sonny Bill Williams. Problem is, he cant kick, rushes up in defence and tends to go very quiet in important games.
But then again, who else is there? The 33-man Elite Player Squad contains just THREE centres, (Tindall, Flutey and Hape) and looking around the Premiership, there is little real quality bursting through.
Matthew Tait is a much better player than the one taught a lesson by Gavin Henson back in 2006 (lets not forget, he was inches away from winning a World Cup), but he has hardly shone for Sale this year. Anthony Allen and Brad Barritt are hardly poor players, but can you really imagine them making Ma'a Nonu, Jean de Villiers et al, nervous before a game?
Given the recent rush for teams bringing back players from sepia-tinted days of old (Lehmann to Arsenal, Lewsey to Wasps) perhaps it isn't too late to bring back Will Greenwood? He still gets stuck in....
2. Warren Gatland needs to stop talking.
Oh Warren. You arrived to such fanfare back in 2007 and you delivered. Another Grand Slam, and Welsh rugby was looking forward to a return to the glory days of the '70s. You were on top of the tree, happily casting your wild and inaccurate opinions about other teams and players with gay abandon. And that was fine while you were winning. As David Haye proved, if you win, you are allowed to be a bit rude.
The problem, Warren, is that now you aren't winning and your team is virtually unrecognizable from the side that made the 2008 tournament such a joy to watch. Moving James Hook to 10 was only a success in that he didn't collapse under the pressure or play like Bergamasco did at scrum-half and Jamie Roberts is making a huge claim for the recall of Gavin Henson.
If you are to stay as Wales coach, pay more attention to your own team. There is some quality in there, but focusing on Dylan Hartley isn't going to win you any friends, or matches.
3. Brian O Driscoll has been sent from the future to save Irish rugby.
"O'Driscoll has 118 test caps, 112 for Ireland (75 as captain), and 6 for the British and Irish Lions.[2][4] During this time he has scored 44 tries for Ireland and 1 try for the Lions in 2001, making him the highest try scorer of all time in Irish Rugby.[2][5] He is 8th-highest try scorer in Rugby Union history, and the highest scoring centre of all time. He holds the Six Nations record for most tries scored with 25.[6][7] He has scored the most Heineken Cup tries (29) for an Irishman. O'Driscoll was chosen as Player of the Tournament in the 2006, 2007 and 2009 RBS Six Nations Championships.
Cheers Wikipedia, case closed.
4. Scotland are still quite rubbish.
Yes, they beat Italy. Yes, the scoreline against England did them a couple of favours. And yes, Max Evans and Sean Lamont are pretty good. But Scotland still insist on producing dire, dull, depressing rugby. For years, they have relied on the metronomic boot of Chris Paterson to keep them in matches. This hasn't really changed. For all the pre-tournament bluster, they lack the fundamentals to consistently punish teams. In Max Evans and Sean Lamont, there is hope. And youngster Rudriah Jackson (despite having a name more suited to the Scrabble Board) is more Gregor Townsend than he is Dan Parks, but the lack of stability in the scrum is severe worry for a country that prides itself on coal-face rugby.
Their match against Wales was one of the lowest quality games I have seen in a Six Nations.
On the plus side, Richie Grey is going to be world-class. You heard it here first. (well, you didn't, but it's what everyone else has said so its been replicated here for the look of professionalism.)
5. And the Six Nations Player of the Tournament is......... Andrea Masi?
Stadio Flaminio against France. But he would probably not be in the top 10 players of this years tournament had it not been for the sneaky sausages at the IRB changing the rules on public voting.
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In the misty days of old, voters cast votes on a selection of players who the organizers thought had stood out from the crowd. Yet, those Luddite ways have been thrown aside for a system where the Man of the Match from each game is automatically nominated, and you must chose from that collection. Anti-English sentiment was always going to deny either Ashton or Flood, but no Richie Grey, no Sergio Parisse, no Willam Servat (or in fact, ANY of the awesome French front row). The fact that he is the first Italian to win the award is refreshing, but to be honest, it's the wrong Italian. As these talking-heads will testify to.
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| Imagine them at Karaoke after a few bevvies |
As all good things must come to an end, so must all convoluted Six Nations blogs.Yet, fear not, oh literary traveler, as this is not the end of the Poorly Written Sports Blog. There will be plenty more to come, so keep a look-out!
I hope you have enjoyed this so far. I will be including more original video content (interview, match highlights and the like) with a mixture of local, national and international sports news. Rugby, of course, is the main sport for this blog, but other sports will make an appearance from time to time.
Stay Classy.
