First match about to start with France playing Italy. Followed by reigning champions England against a much improved Scotland playing for the Calcutta cup.
Great start. Good flowing rugby ball to hand, one end of the pitch to the other resulting in an early try for France. None of that boring kick every ball South Africa won the World Cup with. Allez le Bleu...
Another kick and follow with some great handling from France results in another try. 24-3. Already getting away from Italy after just 30mins.
Forward pass denies Italy a try. Great running from the Italians who clearly aren't giving up yet. Fantastic stuff. Rugby is just the best team sport ever.
I watched up to the disallowed try and then gave up. Why are Italy even in the championship? They rarely win, even at home. England vs the Jocks, though, could be tasty.
That's not really fair. Italy have been playing some good rugby despite what the 31-3 current scoreline suggests. edit, France scored again as I was typing. 38-3 Italy have been unfortunate to catch France on a good day. There has been talk of replacing Italy with Georgia but Italy aren't going to improve without regular first tier rugby. Just look at how Argentina have improved since being involved in the Southern Hemisphere Championship. edit, France score again while I'm trying to defend Italy. 45-3 with 20 mins to go. I clearly don't know what I'm talking about.
The Boks already play in the Southern Hemisphere Championships. Georgia are the only real choice to replace Italy but it's doubtful they would have done any better today against France on top form. A return to a five nations championship would just deprive us of 5 games with one side having to sit out each weekend. 50-10 final score does not help Italy's case but I just don't see any alternative but to hope they become more competitive eventually. Don't forget people were writing off Scotland as a tier one team for a decade or so until their recent revival. I think they have a real chance of an upset this afternoon despite not winning at Twickenham since 1983. France have stamped their place as a legitimate contender this year if they can solve their usual inconsistency problems.
Boks should play in Europe, better time zones. Italy have had plenty of time to improve, but I don't think they will. Jocks may do well this afternoon, I'm lining up the drinks in case....I just hope England don't just kick it away as usual.
Yes, all that needless kicking is really frustrating. Such a shame the Boks won the World Cup playing like that. I'd hoped that part of the game had been consigned to the past with the recent rise of the more flowing attacking game. Need to trust our backs with a bit more ball in hand. Our forwards have been strong for years.
South Africa is a long way away to play matches. On carbon footprint alone I would be against that plus there is the problem of playing in the heat of an African Summer one week then coming back to play in the cold and wet the next. Rugby should be played in soft wet mud not bone dry knee scraping conditions. Bad enough to hit the ground hard on the occasional frosty day without playing inthose conditions regularly. I still remember ripping my knees open playing on frosty ground and then reopening the wounds every weekend for the rest of that season.
Here we go then. Let's hope it's as entertaining as last year's Calcutta Cup. Where's @The Scotsman when you need him? Not too busy under the yoke of his better half's chore list I hope. Will it be Bannockburn or Culloden?
Ha, that'll stop the kicking if we get a few more chargedowns like that. Lucky escape for Alba there.
Poor start from England. Too many penalties given away and a few ball handling errors. Going to be a tough game at this rate.
Better play from England in the last 10 mins of the half. Managed to convert more possession and pressure in Scottish territory into 6 points. Unlucky to be yellow carded for the high tackle as the Scottish player was ducking out of the tackle but no doubt about that trip to give England the man advantage for the start of the 2nd. 6-8 slightly flattering for England but hopefully a stronger half to come. Scotland have to be disappointed to only be 2 points ahead.
FFS. England finally put a bit of pressure on Scotland deep in their half and then kick away possession again.
Arggggh, keep the bloody ball in hand. Went from running at Scotland in their 22 yard zone to kicking away possession and ending up right back in their own 22. I'm starting to root for Scotland now. England don't deserve to win this.
