Six Nations 2022 - Round 1 Verdict

With Round 1 of the 2022 Six Nations done and dusted, here is what I thought of it all: 

Ireland v Wales

I thought Ireland would be pretty damned impressive and so it proved. The most accomplished of all the teams this weekend, rock solid in defence and seemingly able to create line breaks at will. Although 29-5 was a relatively poor return, given their dominance, they do look like the team to beat and next week in Paris should be a humdinger. Wales, on the other hand, looked all over the place and were barely hanging on at times. Looks like this could be a difficult Six Nations for them.

Scotland v England

Difficult to know what to make of this one. With 64 minutes on the clock England looked, to me, as if they were in control of this match, 17-10 ahead, with the English forwards bossing things and Marcus Smith growing ever more influential. And then he was withdrawn by Eddie Jones along with Genge, Sinckler and Ludlam, all of whom were putting the squeeze on upfront, and the momentum almost immediately shifted to Scotland. Poor from Jones but well done to Finn Russell for making the most of the opportunity offered. The least said about Luke Cowan-Dickie’s aerial skills the better, but Jones lost this for England.

France v Italy

I had feared for Italy before this game but, whether it was the case of French rustiness on Sunday, or a touch of complacency, or the poor weather conditions, Italy were competitive and combative for pretty much the entire game. As is often the case with the Italians, however, the scoreboard did get away from them and France, although not at their best, never really looked in trouble and won comfortably enough in the end. France have a tough match against Ireland coming up while the Italians might just fancy their chances against England.

TF Team of Round 1:

15. Stuart Hogg 14. Andrew Conway 13. Gary Ringrose 12. Jonathan Danty 11. Gabin Villiere 10. Finn Russell 9. Jamie Gibson-Park 1. Ellis Genge 2. Ronan Kelleher 3. Tadgh Furlong 4. Tadgh Beirne 5. Paul Willemse 6. Lewis Ludlam 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Gregory Alldritt

Total Flanker – the older I get, the better I was