Wales Ireland a game of two halves as the old cliché goes. Ireland ran out to a 3-23 half-time lead and got out to 3-30 early in the second half before Wales started to play. It was always going to be to little to late as even when down players Ireland were ferocious in defence guarding their line as if their lives depended on it. So we had the final score of 22-30.
Both our featured player watch men performed well. Irish wing Simon Zebo bagged a try in the first 10 minutes and was involved in a lot of play, unlike many wings he had several assists in turnovers at the break down. He was also a key component in the second Irish try with some neat football skills followed by clever hands to take the ball forward and set up the ruck which lead to the try. How did we rate him? We would score him with a 8/10 for the 1st half and 6/10 for the second.
Welsh second row Andrew Coombs wearing the number four shirt had a very busy first cap and although his first carry ended with a knock on he did feature well with several strong carries over the gain line, some important tackles but a silly penalty in front of the posts gifted Ireland three points. A pleasing first cap with us scoring him 6/10 first half and 7/10 second.
Next up for Ireland will be England a stiff task given their performance against Scotland. Meanwhile Wales have to travel to buoyant France and we cannot see them getting a win there unless France implode.
England v Scotland
England Scotland although a big win for England 38-18. This was a keen contest at times and we were pleased that both our picks did their credentials no harm.
For England Joe Launchbury continued his form from the autumn internationals with several good carries, some crunching tackles and plenty of assists Tom Youngs high tackle denied him a good try and he was a key component in the Parling score. We scored him 7/10 for his work in both halves.
For Scotland Johnnie Beattie definitely brought his form from the French Top 14, although he fought an uphill battle he was all around the field, with some strong surges with ball in hand and good work both in turnovers and assists. He did get done for a high tackle but that was more bad technique than malicious. We scored him 8/10 first half and 6/10 the second as all the work slowed him down.
Italy V France
Sunday and our last two guys took to the field. What a weekend we had with running rugby in both Saturday games and now to top it all a real ding dong game in the Olympic Stadium Rome Italy with Italy winning 23-18. Sheer passion from the Italians was matched by erratic play from the French. Our man Wesley Fofana was played out on the wing and although he did some stalwart work he did not get into the game as much as he would had he played in the centre. We will score him lowest of all our guys with a 4/10. Adrian Masi however had a big influence on the game as he stood in the 10 slot in defence and could often be seen tackling like an extra back row. He also linked well in midfield. So we gave him a 7/10 score.
So our overall view of our men was all bar Wesley had an impact on their games and all those in contention for a Lions slot did their claims no harm at all. On our chart Simon Zebo, Joe Launchbury and Johnnie Beattie were all level with 7/10.
Round two
Next weekend and Scotland Italy should be a tough ask for the Scots, if they can compete up front then they now have enough to win it. France Wales, Wales have a mountain to climb as the French will be smarting and should play with more passion at home. We cannot see France losing two on the trot. Ireland England is the toughest to call. Head says Ireland to win at home but just something says that if all are fit then England have the depth of squad to force and upset. So being brave we will go for an England away win!
Any other views on the player comments or our predictions?