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After round three of the Six Nations, here is this weekend’s roundup of the action and answers to all the key questions.
After round three of the Six Nations, here is this weekend’s roundup of the action and answers to all the key questions.
Who - the best player this weekend was easily Jamison Gibson Park. We have known for years what class the 33-year-old has, but he was absolutely outstanding on Saturday. He treated Twickenham like his school training pitch, sniping at every chance he got, scoring a try from a tap penalty. He ran the English defence ragged. He set the tone for the rest of his side in their record win in Twickenham. Clearly, being dropped by Farrell in round 2 lit a fire inside him, which led to the best performance of his test career. An honourable mention does go to Thomas Ramos for France, who was once again excellent, even despite a late position change. He is so classy in his play and is instrumental to France.
What - now the best moment this weekend might be an unusual pick for some fans reading. It’s not the French flair for Ramos’s try for France or Graham’s try from the quick kick off. It is Stuart McClocksey chasing down Marcus Smith in the last ten minutes. It summed up the reason Ireland were so much better than England, they wanted it more. For the giant of a centre moving his 110-kilo frame to hunt down Smith after his intercept and then drag him into touch is a moment of true grit and determination. No matter how good you are determination and pure effort to win is always needed no matter how good you are.
Where - The Principality atmosphere resembled its reputation this weekend for the first time in a while as the Welsh team gave their fans something to shout about once again. With two tries within the first twenty minutes, fans will have really started to believe, and they made their voices heard, even though they sadly couldn’t get their team over the line in the end. It was how we as rugby fans remember and want to hear the Principality sounding.
When - At half-time during the Wales vs Scotland game, the majority of fans would have wanted Wales to finally get a Six Nations win in Cardiff for the first time since 2022. Then against Scotland, after such a big win against England last week it would have thrown up so many questions in this year’s championship, and we all love an upset. At 17-5 and with the crowd behind them, there was a real chance they could have got over the line with a win. Realistically, they should have won if it wasn’t for the switch off from the kick off that caused Darcy Graham’s try and allowed Scotland right back in the game.
Why – are France dominant this year? The French have gone three from three and in all games seem comfortable at half-time. They have great foundations of a strong defence and a very smart kicking game. Where they. Have seemingly mastered capitalising on loose balls or what coaches are calling ‘crumbs, where, after an aerial contest, the ball is not caught on the full and is attempted to be tapped back. A great example of this is Louis Bielle-Barrey’s first try where DuPont catches Lynagh’s slap back and chips in behind for the winger to score. Whilst other sides have focused on the aerial game, France have the players who can create stuff out of nothing seen for the second try as Gailleton breaks the line to provide for Ramos. Then, even when they are put in tough positions, they have Dupont who decides to run down the blind side, fending off three forwards and sending LBB into space. No other side has the amount of game-breaking players who have the platform to do whatever they want.