Five Key Takeaways From Round 2 Of The Guinness Six Nations Championship
Five Key Takeaways From Round 2 Of The Guinness Six Nations Championship
Round 2 of the Six Nations saw France falter, Ireland dominate, Wales struggle and Scotland face harsh truths. Here are the five biggest takeaways.
Round 2 of the Guinness Six Nations delivered drama, surprises and a few brutal reality checks.
France flirted with brilliance but fell into old habits, while Ireland continued its march toward history with clinical precision.
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In Cardiff, Warren Gatland’s second coming is looking increasingly untenable, yet Wales’ next generation offers a glimmer of hope.
Scotland, meanwhile, once again is facing hard truths about its standing in the rugby hierarchy.
As the tournament unfolds, the battle lines are drawn - who will rise, and who will be left behind?
Here are the five biggest takeaways from a gripping weekend of rugby:
Blasé Bleus Blushes
Ah, the same old French!
Remember those days? When you never knew exactly which French side was going to turn up? It could be a masterclass worth a spot in the Louvre, or it could be a performance a U13 side would put out on the first December evening match.
With the way it was going to be intriguing, which, if you were to take an optimistic viewing of the team's most recent escapade, it certainly was.
Yet, how a team captained by Antoine Dupont, backboned by the all-conquering trifecta of Toulouse, Bordeaux and La Rochelle, made the guts of 30 handling mistakes is this week’s great mystery.
Was it flamboyance or, dare we say, arrogance?
Taking a snapshot in time to all-world Hooker Peato Mauvaka’s decision to try a cool-dude flick out the back pass in the buildup to the opening try in the 29th minute, it is impossible not to believe that Les Bleus were feeling themselves a little too much, a point the ITV commentary team was quick to point out.
In that instance, through the sheer brilliance of Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, France did indeed score to save Mauvaka’s blushes.
What this moment highlights is exactly where France went wrong; nowhere to be seen was the tactical acumen for which their head coach, Fabian Galthie, is renowned.
Rarely, if ever, did they challenge 5-foot-9 fly-half Marcus Smith, who was playing out of position at fullback with a clever kicking plan. Instead, they opted to jouer, jouer, filled with the (correct) belief that player-for-player, they held the talent edge over their hosts.
What they did not account for was a steely, pragmatic and clinical edge from England.
Without taking too much away from Steve Borthwick’s side, which did what, to that point, they had struggled to do, and that is close out a victory.
Galthie’s men blew it and blew it big time, losing the chance to claim just a second Grand Slam in 15 years!
For a nation that holds the most potent domestic league and is spoken about as an all-time great side, this side has won one title since 2010.
Sure, they could upset the apple cart in Dublin and defeat an Irish side that is trending back toward its best form and sneak a title, but this French team is expected to be the undisputed king of Europe by the fans.
Unfortunately for French fans, the reality is far different to the concept of this French team.
To date, the team does not rank amongst the top sides in the game. The team does not have the accolades of South Africa, New Zealand or Ireland to back up its plaudits, nor does the team have the consistency to be considered a real player when the chips are down, especially when Dupont is not firing.
Clinical Ireland A Step Ahead
Leaning into the above, there is, without a shadow of a doubt, a world in which France disrupts Ireland through sheer brilliance in Round 4.
This idea, however, is more a possibility than a likelihood, given the direction in which Simon Easterby’s side is trending.
Starting slow by their standards against England in Round 1, questions were being asked if the issues of November were to be a true reflection of regression. This notion would quickly dispel when the final whistle blew in Dublin and Ireland had romped to a comprehensive bonus point victory.
Fast forward a week later, and the annual tetchy buildup to the clash with Scotland, and Ireland never looked fazed.
Marching to a comfortable victory without having to hit top gear, Ireland highlighted that its evolution into Ireland 2.0 under Andy Farrell (and Simon Easterby) is in full swing.
Possessing the most experienced squad in the tournament, while sprinkling in young talent spearheaded by Sam Prendergast, Ireland is doing what it has never done before - building for the future, while winning now.
By keeping senior players of the ilk of Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, Bundee Aki, Cian Healy and Iain Henderson involved in the squad, the Irish coaching staff is retaining the squad DNA.
In the same breath, they are blooding players in key positions, with Jack Crowley last season and Prendergast this year at the all-important 10 position.
Never before has Ireland headed to a World Cup with two playmakers in their prime, and if all goes well, the team should have three with this pair and Ciaran Frawley in the mix.
And it's not just in one position where the Irish squad is evolving. At hooker, Ireland has three locked-and-loaded starting options in Dan Sheehan, Ronan Kelleher and young Gus McCarthy, again all set to be in their prime in 2027.
In every position, the future looks bright for Ireland without the need for wholesale changes.
On the pitch, the game plan has shifted to a more energy-conserving quick strike play and defense-heavy strategy, taking what the Springboks did well under Jacques Nienaber and what Leinster is beginning to do well under the same coach.
This, combined with Ireland’s ability to go through phases and be ruthlessly efficient, in particular inside the 22m of the opposition, is a deadly combination.
From the set-piece, the magic of new attack coach Andrew Goodman is starting to become evident with intricate and subtle changes to tried and tested moves yielding positive results.
Of course, the naysayers will wait to be proven wrong on the World Cup front, and so they should. However, this writer would caution that every hoodoo comes to an end, and Irish Rugby has just one remaining. Before then is another shot at history - to become the only team to win three Six Nations in a row. On current form, the Irish are red-hot favorites to do it.
Untenable In The Vale?
You never want to be the guy to replace the guy, that we all know. But do you want to be the original guy who comes back and replaces the guy who replaced you?
Well, heck, how are we meant to know?
When it comes to Warren Gatland and Wales, bowing out as their greatest coach with a gate named after you at the stadium is about as good as it gets.
Four Six Nations Grand Slam titles and two World Cup semifinal appearances in his first tenure alongside an admittedly golden generation of players meant the Kiwi would never have to buy a beer again in his adopted homeland.
Alas, there always is a reason for a breakup, and unfortunately for the grizzly Kiwi, indications are that following a humbling opening two rounds of losses to France and Italy, his fate as Welsh head coach will be decided on Wednesday.
Sure, there are external factors hampering the Welsh game that are plain as day for all to see. Yet, the magic of Gatland was always to pull together a group that was greater than the sum of its parts.
This magic has dissipated with his side’s first loss at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome being what was the latest in the long run of lows (14 to be exact…on the bounce).
Throw in disgruntled former and current players, left-field selections and a spikey attitude toward his players in the media, and Round 2 felt like the filing of divorce papers between one of rugby’s greatest marriages.
Hiding In Plain Sight?
Transitioning from the dark timeline of the point above, all is certainly not lost for Welsh Rugby.
Few countries genuinely can claim to have the dyed-in-the-wool support of the Welsh national side. Welsh fans undoubtedly are as good as it gets when it comes to rugby, and they deserve better.
Sure, they do not have the depth of Ireland, England, France or the Southern Hemisphere’s big sides, but have they ever? No.
Dig beneath the surface, and there are shoots of potential daffodils once again sprouting.
One such player who feels destined to direct the team is 21-year-old fly-half Dan Edwards, who made an immediate impact against Italy in Round 2.
He is not alone, as names such as Max Llewellyn, Jac Morgan, Rio Dyer, Lewis Lloyd, Morgan Morse, Ioan Lloyd, Cam Winnett, Eddie James and several other youngsters have the potential to turn things around.
Guiding this crop of youngsters are veterans who still have plenty to give at scrumhalf.
Tomos Williams has been far and away his team’s best back through two rounds, Gareth Anscombe still can do a job and Rhys Carre, Ross Moriarty and Josh Adams are all viable options.
Sure, it’s going to take time, and there will be more difficulty along the way, but Wales will be back if the proper course is set by those in charge.
Scottish Reality
Kicking someone when they are down is never fair, so let me preface this segment by saying I am merely judging Scotland by how the team views itself.
No matter how much it is downplayed after the fact, Gregor Townsend’s Scotland has become a side that does its best work off the pitch.
Stacked to the gills with more talent than it has had since the 90s, this side has become a perennial underachiever.
In Round 2, the team slumped to an 11th successive defeat to Ireland, and with a trip to Dublin next season, this likely will become 12.
Sure, there was bad luck with the horrendous blow to Darcy Graham and Finn Russell, which forced the pair off early, but this can be no excuse for a side that openly fancies itself as a contender, and by the way, rightly it should, because what is the point of not?
The issue that has come in, is a lack of knowhow to get one step ahead of the pack rather than reacting.
Each season, Scotland tilts its plan for Ireland, only to find out that Ireland has the answers.
In Round 2, the concerning problem was that Scotland did not appear to have a discernible plan. Without a doubt, there was a plan in place, but it was either totally ineffective, or scrubbed off by their injuries.
Either way, it was a concerning look for Townsend’s side.
More worryingly for Scottish fans will be if they simply are happy to beat England again in Round 3, which certainly is not a given.
If this becomes the annual priority, then serious questions need to be asked about the long-term vision of a side that perhaps has the least talent coming through its underage pathways at the moment.
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