The 2010 Six Nations Championship – great occasions, variable rugby
by Mick Cleary | 03 March 2010 (09:21)
You might cast envious glances up north as the Six Nations championship eases past its half-way point, see vivid backdrops and hear throaty roars and, with a drink or two taken admittedly, figure that Europe in the grip of its worst winter in thirty years is not a bad place to be. Rugby is a big hit in the compensation stakes.
The Millennium Stadium, with roof closed ( for once, the right decision following torrential rain throughout the week ), was hopping on Friday night as kamikaze Wales hailed themselves up from the canvas and gave France a late fright. There were different scenes of delirium in Rome the following afternoon as Italy once again toppled Scotland, the fifth time they have managed to do so since the Five Nations brotherhood let them have a seat at top table in 2000.
And Twickenham ? Well, it takes something special for the barboured lot to get-on-down-and-shake-it, and currently Martin Johnson’s lot are not providing them with good reason to do so. It was the same again on Saturday against Ireland. It was a gritty, old-fashioned game in the rain, good winter rugby, one for the purists, with hand-to-hand slog and a changing scoreboard. Once again, Johnson’s mob came out on the wrong side of things, and rightly so given that Ireland outscored them three tries to one.
It was a terrific weekend of rugby, full of contrast, involvement and spectacle. It put a good few quid in the coffers of the various unions, a sight for envious eyes in various parts of the southern hemisphere. European rugby, despite the crippling effects of the recession, is in decent health. Sure, one or two clubs have got their difficulties, but no more than that. As I left Twickenham some two hours after the final whistle on Saturday evening, the place was still packed with fans doing what fans do – drinking and telling tall tales of what might have been.
But if the southern hemisphere might envy the cash-cow that is the Six Nations, they will have lost precious little sleep over the quality of play on offer. Sure, it’s been a engaging championship, one with intrigue and drama, invariably featuring Wales, but 18 months out from the Rugby World Cup, it has not thrown up any compelling evidence that Europe will be challenging the elite in New Zealand.
What of France, I hear you say ? Or Ireland ? Fair points of objection, save for the results the All Blacks posted last autumn. France are always a threat and more than any other team up this end of the world, do not seem fazed by the prospect of taking on the All Blacks in New Zealand. We all know who will be edgy and anxious when the tournament does kick-off next September.
France have promise, no more than that. They have two matches to clinch the Grand Slam, their fifth in 13 years. England may well have won the World Cup in 2003 but this past decade or so it is France who are the undisputed kings of European rugby.
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