Big Daddy Rugby

This is quite simply too good not to post.

If you’ve been following the English press at all during the 6 Nations you’ll be aware that an English Grand Slam was an almost certainty after England beat Wales in Cardiff in their first game of the tournament.

It was a mere formality. The writing was on the wall.

I thought that that might be a tad premature. Just a touch.

But things only got worse after the wins against Italy, France and Scotland.

GRAND SLAM, GRAND SLAM, GRAND SLAM!!!

Well apparently Nike bought into the hype hook, line and sinker and went ahead and prepared a rather dull “Grand Slam Winners 2011″ video clip for England, which some dear soul has seen fit to leak to the world.

I thank you kind Sir/Madam.

Ireland?? Pfffftt…please….

Enjoy.

Tags: 6 Nations

So the Irish saved their best for last and once again stuck a spanner in the spokes of the English chariot as it made its way towards a first Grand Slam title since 2003.

I’m not entirely sure what this 6 Nations campaign has taught us about the Northern Hemispheres challenge for the Webb Ellis trophy later this year, other than the fact that all the teams seem to be rather inconsistent.

France started off with a bang against the Scots (who actually looked decent in that game) only to end up losing to Italy in Rome.

The Scots got drilled by the Welsh at home, but then almost managed to out-muscle the English in their own backyard.

England beating the French at Twickers and the Welsh in Cardiff were pretty solid efforts, but the heavy loss in Dublin should have brought them back down to earth with a bang.

Ireland quite honestly looked crap all tournament, but then magically clicked on Saturday to produce a performance that would have given most teams a run for their money.

Italy, although ending up with the Wooden Spoon, played the best I’ve seen them play. They were unlucky to lose to the Irish and managed to beat the French for the first time in their history.

And then there’s the plucky Welsh, who started off terribly with that loss in Cardiff, but then managed to string together 3 wins on the trot, only to surrender meekly to the French in the last game of the tournament.

It has made for entertaining viewing, but I don’t think that any of the Tri Nations teams will be overly fussed by what was on display.
I can’t see any of those sides beating the Kiwis, and if the Boks manage to get their selections right they should come out on top too.

The Aussies are a slightly different matter though, having lost their last 2 games to The Fatties, but seeing as this is a site for uniformed rugby views I’m going to take the position that the Southern Hemisphere will continue to school the North come crunch time in September.

The Chariot didn't look too flash after the game in Dublin

Tags: 6 Nations

Things are heating up quite nicely in the 6 Nations with the defending champs France taking on England’s fatties at Twickenham this weekend. With both teams still in the hunt for the all-conquering Grand Slam title it hasn’t taken long for the old mind games to begin.

French coach Marc Lièvremont set the tone yesterday by stating that they don’t like the English, and labelling them “an insular country who always drape themselves in the national flag, their hymns, their chants, their traditions”.
To further twist the knife he goes on to say “We appreciate our Italian cousins, with whom we share the same quality of life, we appreciate the Celts and their conviviality … among all these nations we have one huge thing in common: we don’t like the English.”

So, there you have it, the French don’t like the English. That’s hardly ground breaking news but I must admit it’s still pretty dam funny. It’s also refreshing to hear a coach / sportsperson break away from the tired old clichés that pass for interviews these days.
It’s certainly got the English press all flustered and one would imagine that Martin Johnson won’t really have to work too hard on his pre-match motivational speech now.

The thing is though if you’re going to “talk the talk” you better be able to “walk the walk” and if France lose on Saturday Lièvremont is going to take a pasting in the press, both at home and abroad.
Whilst I am enjoying watching this all unfold I must say I’m not convinced that it’s the best approach to take in the build up to a big game. It smacks of insecurity and of a worried coach resorting to trickery in the hope that it will give his team the edge. It’s a risky tactic to employ with a strong possibility that you’re motivating the opposition team more than your own.

One thing for certain though is that the French are now going to face an even more hostile Twickenham crowd than originally expected. Whether that fires them up or assists in cutting them down, we’ll have to wait until Saturday to see which French team pitches up.

Either way it should be a cracker of a game.

The French should brace themselves for at least 257 renditions of "Swing low sweet chariot'" on Saturday

Tags: 6 Nations