2023 Six Nations: Team of the Tournament

We’re 1 week on from Super Saturday and the conclusion of the 2023 Six Nations. And what an edition it was! We saw Jonathan Sexton overtake his predecessor Ronan O’Gara to become the new leading points scorer in tournament history in what is expected to be his last ever match in the competition. We saw Ireland win only their third Grand Slam in the Six Nations era (their fourth in the entire history of the tournament), despite playing the majority of a half of rugby with no recognised hooker. We saw France let loose against England in a timely reminder of how dangerous the are offensively, while England began life under Steve Borthwick and Wales began the second Warren Gatland era. Scotland gave fans hope by winning their opening 2 matches for the first time in the Six Nations, only to fall away against the Irish and French, while Italy looked better than they have in years, only to end with the Wooden Spoon. And over it all loomed the spectre of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France this Autumn…

And so it is time to bid farewell to the tournament by picking the 15 men who make my Team of the tournament. Let me know how my picks compare to yours!

So without further ado, my Team of the 2022 Six Nations is:

1) Pierre Schoeman: You can always tell when the Edinburgh loosehead has ball in hand from the entire Scottish crowd yelling “Schoe!” And they were doing it plenty this year, as the big man carried 60 times throughout the tournament, behind only Freddie Steward (62) and 11 more than the nearest front row (Ellis Genge). With 244 metres made and broken tackles, Schoeman played a huge role in getting the Scottish attack on the front foot.

2) Dan Sheehan: George Turner’s lineout issues cost him in the fight for this spot, and while Giacomo Nicotera did very well in this area, he did not have the same impact in the rest of the game as Sheehan. Sheehan is one of the new generation of hookers coming through: big and physical but with the pace and footwork to be a threat anywhere over the pitch and a poacher’s eye for the line. His second try against England highlighted exactly why he makes this list, and don’t be shocked to see him regularly competing for this spot.

3) Finlay Bealham: Was given a chance to start with Tadhg Furlong injured and Andrew Porter now considered a loosehead, and took the opportunity with both hands. Scrummaged well, carried hard and generally did such a great job that Furlong’s absence was barely felt. His role in assisting Hugo Keenan’s try against France put the shine on a fine highlights reel. A pity that he was ruled out of the later stages of the tournament through injury.

4 & 5) Thibaud Flament & Federico Ruzza: Honourable mentions here for Richie Gray, who played a key role in the Scottish lineout before injury, and Ollie Chessum, who thoroughly outplayed teammate Maro Itoje and was one of the few to emerge from the hammering against France with any credit. Thibaud Flament not just secured his spot in the French XV with his performances this year but added an extra dimension to their attack with his strong but dynamic running that allowed him to carry in wider channels, and his ability to keep the attack going with a deft offload, while his tries were also the joint-most among forwards, level with teammate Charles Ollivon. Meanwhile, Ruzza was at the centre of the Italian lineout—the most successful in the competition this season—with 39 lineouts won (more than double the tally of the next player) and a further 2 lineout steals (joint second, behind James Ryan – 5). But he was so much more than just a set piece specialist, with 28 carries for 139 metres with 6 broken tackles and 4 offloads helping to create a platform for the attack, and 55 tackles made leaving him joint-third among the Azzurri.

6) Sebastian Negri: He may not do the flashy work, but the Zimbabwe-born flanker will happily do the grunt work to allow the Italian flair players to flourish. You can always rely on him to go into contact hard, whether on offence (58 carries, 277 metres, 11 broken tackles) and defence (45 tackles, 4 dominant tackles). Does the hard work to create the platform for the backs, while also got a try for his efforts

7) Charles Ollivon: The former captain is looking back to his best. Made the third-most tackles of any French player (65 – joint-seventh most among all players) alongside 4 turnovers (2 of them in the tackle). In attack, he continued to show his quality in space, with 45 carries for 219 metres with 5 broken tackles and 5 offloads. His 3 tries were the joint-most among forwards, level with Thibaud Flament.

8) Caelan Doris: Was unlucky to miss out on a spot in my “Top 5 number 8s” article as he split his time in the national team between 6 and , but has now firmly established himself as the starting number for Ireland and a top 5 in the world at the position. Doris is at the heart of almost everything good for Ireland, carrying hard (54 carries for 275 metres, third most metres made among forwards) nd is able to keep play going with well-timed passes either during or just before contact, while also putting in a shift in defence (50 tackles, 5 turnovers won).

Quel 👏 plaquage 👏de folie! Antoine Dupont déploie une force incroyable pour éloigner Mack Hansen de la ligne d'ess… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
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Champions Cup France (@ChampionsCup_FR) February 13, 2023

9) Antoine Dupont: Honourable mention to Ben White, who took on the starting role for Scotland and was consistently reliable, but Dupont is on another level. While Ireland did well to nullify him, he showed in the rest of the games why he is regarded as one of the best players in the world. Controlled games with his ability to kick off both feet, while remaining both elusive and incredibly strong. May not have scored as many tries as we are used to seeing him score, but still finished with 4 assists and one of his own. His try-saving tackle when Mack Hansen looked certain to score will live long in the memory.

10) Finn Russell: The easy selection here would have been Sexton after leading his team to the Grand Slam, but that feels like giving into the fairytale story. Finn Russell is a magician. While not everything works out, he just smirks off the mistakes and goes again. But when it works, boy does it work, and with the team frequently putting him on the front foot, it was working this tournament, to the tune of 4 assists and key roles in many other tries. Scotland’s hopes lie in Russell and Gregor Townsend remaining on at least professional terms.

11) Mack Hansen: So I generally prefer to pick a left wing and a right wing, but while Ethan Dumortier impressed in his first Six Nations and Duhan van der Merwe continued to show his quality for Scotland, there were 2 clear standouts on the right wing who could not be ignored, so Mack Hansen gets the nod here. A great all-rounder, Hansen has the pace and ability in the air to excel at Test level, but his experience of having played 10 before moving to Ireland shows in his play, as he is frequently found coming off his wing and acting as another playmaker in wider areas to help Ireland expand their attack, while he also holds his own in defence and contributed 4 turnovers.

12) Sione Tuipulotu: Jonathan Danty’s impact on the final 2 rounds after returning from injury were almost enough to secure this spot, but he misses out to Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu. Secured his spot in the Scottish midfield and now we are starting to really see the best of him. Can carry and hit hard, but also has incredible subtlety, highlighted by a lovely grubber kick assist for centre partner Huw Jones against England—1 of 3 assists in the tournament this season.

13) Huw Jones: Could I really split up “Huwipulotu”? Not on this tournament’s performances! I was surprised to see Jones given the 13 shirt over Chris Harris, but his chemistry with Glasgow teammate Tuipulotu and (perhaps more importantly, Finn Russell) saw the Scot with the Welshest name ever excel. Made ground not just when in space but also through contact, finishing with 441 metres (sixth-most among all players) off just 39 carries, less than anyone above him, and with 15 tackles broken. His 4 tries left him joint-second in the tournament, level with Blair Kinghorn and behind just…

14) Damian Penaud: It’s crazy; Penaud is just 26, but needs just 12 more tries to equal Serge Blanco’s all-time record for France. The wing added 5 to his tally this tournament (the top try scorer) to highlight how clinical he is, while amassing 399 metres (seventh-most among all players), 25 broken tackles and an assist off just 28 carries. Don’t be shocked to see him pushing to be the top try scorer at RWC2023. Oh and for those wondering, Julian Savea’s 8 tries in RWC2015 are the most in a tournament (6 or 7 is the most common tally for a top scorer), so Penaud breaking the French try-scoring record by the end of the 2024 Six Nations is a distinct possibility.

15) Hugo Keenan: The model of consistency retains his place from the 2022 Team of the Tournament. Always seems to be exactly where he is needed in both attack and defence, continually dealing with the opposition kicking game, while his 54 carries this year saw him top the charts for metres made (564) along with 11 broken tackles, 2 tries and an assist.

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Top 5: Scrum Halves

Welcome back to my “Top 5” rugby series. This 13-article series has been inspired by countless conversations among friends or other fans over the years and will see me selecting my top 5 men’s rugby players who are currently playing at each position.

With all of these lists, I am picking who I feel are the best 5 at each position, so there may be some surprises in there as I select the players who I feel are most appropriate to the position despite there being multiple ways to play many positions. I try to watch rugby from a broad range of leagues as well as plenty (or too much, depending how you ask) of Test matches, but I appreciate that I still have some blind spots, while a list like this is subjective; so while the majority of each article will be my list, I also set my good friend and occasional collaborator Phil the challenge to select his top 5, which I will include below. I’d also love to hear your picks, so go ahead and post them in the comments!

And so, having finally completed the pack last week, let’s look at the scrum halves.

Top 5

Antoine Dupont

One of the sport’s true superstars. France has a history of special players at scrum half (Galthié, Yachvili, Parra etc) but Dupont takes things to another level. A great passer of the ball and a fantastic tactical kicker, Dupont’s ability to find and exploit a gap means that he needs to be accounted for every second of the game, while his pace and elusiveness is coupled with unexpected strength for his size, and he knows just what line to run to be in the right place to keep any line break going and often take it to the line himself.

Aaron Smith

One of the purest passers of the ball I have ever seen. To have so many caps at scrum half for the All Blacks shows his quality, and it is exacerbated even more when you consider that the vast majority of those caps are starts, and that his career has been at the same time as TJ Perenara, who at his best would walk into most teams. Smith is also a great tactical kicker and uses his experience to ensure the All Blacks are playing in the right areas of the pitch.

Faf de Klerk

Such is the quality available to the Springboks they almost ended up with 2 names on this list, but in the end it was Faf de Klerk who just snuck on. While he may not have the running game of Cobus Reinach, de Klerk’s kicking game from 9 is up there with the very best, and he has made a career of moving the behemoths in the Springbok pack around the pitch, while he also fronts up in defence and proves a real nuisance of himself.

Nic White

White was originally nowhere near this list, but as time went on I saw him climbing his way up my rankings, and deservedly so. The type of player who you love if he’s on your team but otherwise hate due to his inability to shut up and the way he uses his experience to buy penalties. Another expert tactical kicker whose threat around the fringes of the breakdown is underrated, he is another solid defender, so much so that Australia look to use him in the defensive line. Exeter have never come close to replacing him since he returned to Australia.

Josh Cooney

Incredibly, 2 articles in my row I find myself picking a player who appears to be completely overlooked by the national team. While Conor Murray continues to get picked years after he made a positive difference, Cooney’s status as not a Leinster player (surely that’s the only reason) means that he is ignored time and time again, despite being arguably the best all-round scrum half in Ireland. runs great lines, passes and kicks well, and is also a Test-quality goal kicker—who has recently been in contact with a trained sniper to help him continue improving in this area. Eligible to switch international allegiances due to how long it has been since his last cap, will we see him gracing the Test arena for Scotland in the near future?

Phil’s top 5: Antoine Dupont, Faf de Klerk, Aaron Smith, Cobus Reinach, Nic White

Who makes your top 5?

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2021 Autumn Tests: Team of the Series

With the cancellation of the Barbarians’ match against Samoa, we are now 1 week on from the end of the Autumn Test series. A series that saw New Zealand lose 2 weeks on the bounce, Italy get their first win since the World Cup, Wales continue to struggle to beat teams despite a numerical disadvantage and France, Ireland and England suggesting that they will be the teams competing for the Six Nations title in a few months.

So with all the action out of the way, all that remains is for me to pick my Team of the Series. As always, this is just my personal opinion, so let me know if you think I missed someone. I’m also having to account for the fact that I saw many teams play 3 or 4 times and others just once, so I also have to consider consistency across multiple games compared to one solid performance. So without further ado, my Team of the 2021 Autumn Tests is:

1) Andrew Porter: He’s been bossing things for Ireland at tighthead in recent years, but with Tadhg Furlong back to his best, Porter has made the transition from tighthead to loosehead without any drop in quality. A great scrummager, this series also highlighted Porter’s ability both defensively and offensively in the loose, with some strong carries and impressive handling skills.

2) Peato Mauvaka: What a series for Mauvaka. The Toulouse hooker found himself a regular in the 23 due to Camille Chat’s injury, and an injury to clubmate Julien Marchand elevated him to the starting spot as the matches went on. And boy did he take his chances, with 5 tries in 3 games to highlight Les Bleus’ continued strength in depth at the position.

3) Tadhg Furlong: Like his teammate Andre Porter, Furlong is everything you could possibly hope to find in a prop. A superb scrummager, Furlong is a wrecking ball when carrying but with the handling skills and rugby IQ to find a pass to keep the ball moving.

4 & 5) Eben Etzebeth & Adam Beard: Etzebeth wins a spot in a third consecutive one of these, having also featured in my Team of the Lions Series and Team of the Rugby Championship. Initially coming onto the scene as an enforcer to replace Bakkies Botha, Etzebeth has become a fantastic leader and all-rounder, running some great lines when South Africa actually play attacking rugby to go with his excellence in the set piece and defence. Meanwhile, Adam Beard had the tough task of having to step up and be the leader in the second row after another injury to Alun Wyn Jones, providing some consistency at the position despite some variation in who partnered him.

6) Ellis Jenkins: The Welsh flanker made his long-awaited return to Test rugby after a horror injury on his last international appearance and showed us all what we’ve been missing with a series of fantastic performances. He carried well and really highlighted is leadership in the way he dealt with the officials, but really showed his quality with a series of impressive turnovers, often in key moments. Let’s hope that he can now stay injury-free!

7) Josh van der Flier: Probably one of the most underrated players in the Irish squad, van der Flier earned his place on this list with a series of strong appearances for an impressive Irish team. Ever reliable, he can make yards and keep the ball moving in attack, but in defence he just quietly goes about his business stopping the opposition while allowing those around him to receive the plaudits. Ireland would not be able to field 2 carriers in Caelan Doris and Jack Conan at 6 and 8 if it weren’t for the work that van der Flier puts in.

8) Aaron Wainwright: He initially seemed to struggle under Wayne Pivac, but Aaron Wainwright got a chance to start with a number of regular internationals missing and took his chance. He maybe lacks that extra half yard of pace to be one of those elite open field 8s or that extra 10kg of muscle to be a wrecking ball 8, but he is a solid all-rounder whose versatility should always keep him around the 23, if not in the starting line-up.

9) Antoine Dupont: He might not have stood out as much as in some matches, but this was another great series for Dupont. With the added burden of the captaincy in the absence of Charles Ollivon, and with a heavily rotated pack and changes at fly half, the Toulouse halfback was the model of consistency, while also showing off his range of attributes.

10) Romain Ntamack: What a difference 1 performance can make. Playing at 12 for much of the first 2 Tests, we saw solid but largely quiet performances from Ntamack as France lacked the physical runner they needed in midfield. However with a move to fly half in the second half, Ntamack began to look more like the young star we had see in recent years, but he saved the best ’til last with a magnificent performance in the win over New Zealand, with a well-taken try and a break from behind his own try line that will live long in the memory.

11) Monty Ioane: Probably a controversial one in here, given Italy’s results, but Ioane is one constant highlight for the Azzurri. Despite getting little space to work in, he continued to make metres going forward both in contact and by finding and exploiting any gaps, while he also covered back on a number of occasions and held his own against multiple opposition players to allow his team time to get back and secure the ball once he finally went to ground.

12) Damian de Allende: Does de Allende get the recognition he deserves? I don’t think so but he is here. The Munster centre is a true two-way player at 12, with his strong running often requiring more than one defender to bring us down, while defensively he creates a solid midfield pairing with Lukhanyo Am to stop the gain line being breached, and is near-impossible to move legally once he latches on over a tackled ball-carrier, allowing him to win crucial turnovers.

13) Garry Ringrose: Injury to Robbie Henshaw gave Andy Farrell the easiest of selections at centre in Bundee Aki and Ringrose, and the Leinster centre took his chance well. A solid all-rounder, Ringrose excels in a more open game than Ireland ad been playing, but with their more attacking mindset this Autumn, he got a chance to shine.

14) Andrew Conway: The options that Ireland have in the back 3 are incredible, but Conway showed in these Tests that he will take some shifting. His elusiveness and his ability to score a try are well known (though he was happy to remind us with a hat-trick against Japan) but what he really showed in this game was how important he is to the Irish kicking game, not just challenging in the air, but the way he times his runs to perfection to stop the opposition making any ground after taking a kick.

15) Freddie Steward: The first couple of times I saw Steward play (England U20s) I was not impressed. But he’s developed well at Tigers and deserved his chance with the national team. And boy has he taken that chance, surely securing the 15 shirt for the coming years with his dominance in the air and a brilliant all-round game.

Six Nations 2021: Team of the Tournament

The Six Nations is over for another year and though it took a week longer than usual, we still managed to get through all the games. And what a tournament it was! England put in a big performance to defeat the French, but otherwise did everything they could to lose all fan support. Scotland pulled off 2 historic wins and yet still finished in the bottom half of the table. Meanwhile Wales came in off the back of an awful 2020 and yet crawled their way to a Triple Crown and came within a minute of the Grand Slam, winning the title a week later as France fell at home to the Scots.

Of course, there is only one way for me to cap off the competition: picking my Team of the Tournament. As always, I’d love to hear who you would pick, but without further ado, my Team of the 2020 Tri Nations is:

1) Cyril Baille: The general consensus used to be that a prop doesn’t reach their prime until their 30s, and while John Afoa may still be a great example of this, Cryril Baille is showing that this prime may now be coming earlier. The Toulouse loosehead is already a dominant scrummager, but the way that he gets involved around the park takes his performances to another level, with strong carries and reliable handling skills.

2) Julien Marchand: After years of being a superb back-up to Guilhem Guirado, it felt like this was finally the time for Camille Chat to dominate the French number 2 jersey. Instead, he finds himself now behind Julien Marchand, as one of the most dangerous hooker pairings in World Rugby. The Toulouse hooker is solid at the set piece and showed against Scotland how he could combine with Baille to dominate a tighthead, while throughout the tournament he showed his threat with ball in hand, combining with Antoine Dupont to make significant ground around the fringes.

3) Kyle Sinckler: Sinckler gets the spot here off the back of some strong displays, but the tighthead spot certainly wasn’t full of players clamouring for selection, while the fight for the starting spot between Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Porter proved costly for the Irish pair. Sinckler is a strong scrummager and physical defender, and hopefully a more attacking mentality for the English going forward can utilise him here too.

4) Iain Henderson: If you read my thoughts on the Irish second row last week, then you probably won’t be too surprised by my selections here. Henderson combines the physicality and set piece organisation of a lock with the engine and breakdown threat of a back row while also bringing plenty of leadership from his time captaining Ulster.

5) Tadhg Beirne: I was a massive fan of Beirne when he was at Scarlets due to his qualities, and now with a regular run of games in the Ireland XV he is showing that ability to the world. Equally capable of playing at lock or in the back row, I feel that he is still better suited as a lock as it opens up another spot in the back row for more tactical flexibility. After multiple Man of the Match awards in this year’s tournament, expect to see him as a regular in the Irish XV for the rest of this cycle.

6) Seb Negri: It was a tournament to forget for the Azzurri, but Seb Negri makes the list here by continuing to give a physical edge to the Italian attack despite the loss of Jake Polledri. The flanker continually gave 100% for the team and regularly looked one of their better players. Hopefully that effort will soon start translating into wins.

7) Hamish Watson: Anyone who says Watson is too lightweight to face the Springboks as part of the British and Irish Lions needs to watch him play more closely. The openside may not be the biggest guy on the park, but carries with such strength and determination you will often see him throwing players off and breaking the gain line when given the ball. Meanwhile in defence, he is a reliable tackler, and when you get him latched over the ball as a jackal, you’re not moving him until he completes the turnover or wins the penalty.

8) CJ Stander: Taulupe Faletau looked much better this season than he has in a couple of years and is unfortunate to just miss out here to Stander. The South African looked more mobile this year when carrying while still having a great impact around the park. Caelan Doris will be a great player for Ireland once back from injury, but Stander will be tough to replace.

9) Antoine Dupont: Is there a better scrum half in the world right now? Dupont seems able to do everything. He has pace, guile and elusiveness, while he always seems to pop up in the right spot to carry on (or finish off) attacks. Not only that, but unlike many young attacking 9s, he also has the cultured boot and tactical kicking game to put the team in the right areas on the pitch.

10) Matthieu Jalibert: Jalibert was my pick following the Autumn Nations Cup and just keeps hold of the spot here, ahead of Jonathan Sexton. He came into the tournament as aa starter courtesy of Romain Ntamack’s injury, but he quality of his play was such that he must surely be running his rival close now. Had he not suffered a head injury in the first half against Wales, I can’t help wonder if the Six Nations trophy would have gone to Les Bleus.

11) Duhan van der Merwe: He may not be the most reliable defensively, but the Edinburgh wing had a huge impact on matches when Scotland were going forwards. He has that strength to run over people out on the wing or even to crash through in midfield, but he also has the speed and athleticism to exploit any space given to him. I’ll be shocked if Warren Gatland doesn’t take him to South Africa after breaking Brian O’Driscoll’s record for defenders beaten in this year’s tournament.

12) Robbie Henshaw: My vote for player of the tournament. It doesn’t matter who you put around him or whether you play him at 12 or 13, you know that Henshaw will put in 100% effort from first whistle to last. Not only that, but he has such a broad range of skills that he can excel in defence, crashing up the middle or spreading the ball wide.

13) George North: I’ve been questioning how long North’s international career could continue with the quality of players now available to Wales on the wing, but a move to outside centre looks like it may have just extended his international career by a couple of years, and he even beats out Chris Harris for the spot in this XV. North has a great blend of pace and physicality that come in handy at a position where you will see such a variety of attacking play, but he has also adapted well to arguably the hardest position on the pitch to defend, while Wales look to be moving him around well in attack to create match-up nightmares or draw in defenders to release players like…

14) Louis Rees-Zammit: The Gloucester flier has the kind of pace that a former prop like me could only ever dream of… and he knows how to use it to get to the try line. Capable of also slotting in at 15 if required, he is capable under the high ball, and is not the defensive liability you may expect from many young attacking wingers.

15) Stuart Hogg: The Scottish captain is on fine form and will surely be wearing the 15 shirt in the first Lions Test. Hogg has the all-round game to act as a second playmaker, with a howitzer of a right boot to put his team in the right areas of the pitch. And you can always guarantee that the Exeter fullback will give 100% to the cause and wear his heart on his sleeve.

Six Nations 2021: Ireland v France

Round 2 of the 2021 Six Nations came to an end in Dublin on Sunday as Ireland hosted France. Ireland were missing 4 experienced players from Round 1 through injury and suspension, but after both Billy Burns and Matthieu Jalibert missed early kicks at goal, Billy Burns broke the deadlock on 20 minutes with a penalty. A few minutes later, France found themselves temporarily down to 14 after Bernard Le Roux was caught tripping Keith Earls as they chased an Irish kick downfield. The Irish kicked the penalty to touch and thought they had taken an immediate advantage of the extra man as the spread the ball wide on first phase to James Lowe, who powered through Brice Dulin’s tackle to score in the corner, only for a TMO referral to find that his toe had brushed the touchline before he touched down. This let off appeared to galvanise the French, who immediately went on the attack and a series of offloads brought them into the Irish 22. With the Irish defence in disarray, the ball was spread wide to Charles Ollivon, who was able to outpace CJ Stander as he tried to get across to cover and score the opening try. Jalibert kicked the conversion and then a penalty with Le Roux back on the pitch to take a halftime lead of 3-10.

Les Bleus started the second half on the front foot and almost had another try straight away as Julien Marchand broke into the 22, only for Antoine Dupont’s attempted wide pass from the base of a ruck to be blocked by the face of dummy runner Paul Willemse. This attack cost Ireland Billy Burns, who went off for a HIA that he failed, while just a minute later, Cian Healy and captain Iain Henderson clashed heads and were required to leave the pitch for their own assessments. With so much leadership off the pitch, the French were able to get themselves into the 22 again, and when Jalibert reversed the play back to the right, his wide pass drew in James Lowe, who was stepped inside by Dulin, with the fullback drawing the final Irish tackler and popping the ball off to the looping Damian Penaud to extend the lead, Jalibert missing the conversion. The Irish desperately needed the next score and got it almost immediately, winning a penalty from the restart and kicking the ball up tot the French 22. Replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher’s first action of the game was to throw into the lineout, and the ball was stolen but not cleanly, bouncing in the 5m channel, and the Irish hooker reacted fastest to collect the ball and scamper in unchallenged. Ross Byrne kicked the conversion and added a penalty with 15 minutes remaining, but the Irish could not make any further breakthrough and after Jalibert struck the post with a late attempt at goal, the game fizzled away to a 13-15 win for Les Bleus.

Ireland

I can imagine that many people were nervous as to how Ireland would perform in this match with Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray, James Ryan and Peter O’Mahony all missing. I would argue that the team actually performed better without them on the whole.

With Jamison Gibson-Park and Billy Burns controlling the game, the pace of the Irish attack was so much better, which allowed the Irish pack and midfield to get into the French early on, while Burns’ high bombs were putting Brice Dulin under incredible pressure. Unfortunately, the quality appeared to be missing on the bench, with Craig Casey not even trusted to come on while experienced and talented 9s like Kieran Marmion, John Cooney and Luke McGrath were all ignore. Similarly, Ross Byrne once again looked a passenger (and not in a good way) after replacing Burns and I think that it cost them. We all know what Sexton and Murray can do. Now is the time to leave them out for the rest of the tournament and look at other options, with one of the aforementioned 9s coming in to compete with Gibson-Park for the staring job and Ian Madigan coming in to replace Ross Byrne, as his ability to cover both 10 and 12 would allow him to either replace Burns or come in at centre to give the midfield a different shape late on.

At lock, I understand that James Ryan is the darling of Irish rugby, but he has always seemed to be a good workrate but little more, while this weekend’s pairing of Tadhg Beirne and Iain Henderson brought that and more. Capable of turning out at lock or 6, the pair brought dynamism with their carries, were dangerous at the breakdown and were also tireless workers in the tighter parts of the game, while Henderson certainly led by example from first minute to last.

Finally in the back row, I have always found O’Mahony to be a penalty risk if a referee is doing their job right, and while I’m not sure Rhys Ruddock was the right pick at 6, I would argue that Will Connors had a great impact in defence when he was brought on later in the game, while Caelan Doris will also provide a great carrying option once back.

France

I dare you to find me a better player in World rugby right now than Antoine Dupont. The Toulouse scrum half is a walking highlights reel! Every match, you can almost guarantee that if a player makes a break, he will be there on their shoulder to keep the attack going, while he has the pace and footwork to exploit the tiniest of gaps – and even highlighted in this match that he has a decent fend despite being one of the smaller players on the pitch.

Even when he’s not able to be so attacking, he’s still showing a range of skills, with a cultured boot – and the calmness to not rush under pressure – while his defence is also an underrate part of his game. And the scary thing is that at 24, he may not have even quite reached his peak yet, while he has a legitimate chance of starring at both the 2023 and 2027 Rugby World Cups. In the meantime, let’s just sit back and enjoy the show.

Lions Watch

Only the Irish to focus on here, and captain Iain Henderson put in a great performance all over the park, and was unlucky to not steal an attempted short lineout and long throw by the French on the own 5m line. Meanwhile, Hugo Keenan looked assured once again at the back and appears to be making the Irish 15 shirt his own, but will have to go a long way to beat out Stuart Hogg.

It wasn’t such a good day for James Lowe, who is currently getting limited chances to run at the defence like he would like to, and his disallowed try in a week where a number of wings shone for the Home Nations will hurt.

Eyes On: Italy v France – 6 Nations 2019

The 2019 Six Nations reached its final weekend, beginning with a bottom of the table clash between Italy and France. Bonus points in the earlier rounds meant that it was impossible for Italy to avoid the Wooden Spoon but there was still plenty of pride to play for. Italy took an early lead through a pair of Tommaso Allan penalties, before Antoine Dupont scored a try and Romain Ntamack gave France a 6-10 halftime lead. Yoann Huget scored early in the second half and though Tito Tebaldi kept things close with a try of his own, France held on for the win and a late score from Damian Penaud confirmed a 14-25 victory for Les Bleus and consigned Italy to another year without a Six Nations victory.

Learning the hard way

Injuries to Michele Campagnaro and Tommaso Castello led to Conor O’Shea handing a debut at 13 to 21-year-old Marco Zanon. The Benetton centre has come through the international ranks via the U20s and Emerging Italy team, however did not make his first Pro14 start until September.

That inexperience in professional rugby showed in this match. On one of his first touches of the ball, he tried to arc his run around the French defence but was unable to get to the outside and found himself being bundled into touch too easily. With the score at 6-10 he had the chance to put Italy ahead as he ran onto Allan’s grubber through, only for the ball to bounce off the post and evade his grasp. While the bounce of a rugby ball is always hard to predict, I think many more experienced players would have recognised the chance of the ball hitting the post and – knowing the space they had – slowed their run so that they could react to the ball coming off the post.

Unfortunately for Zanon, that was not the moment people will remember looking back as with the score at 14-20 with just 6 minutes left, Italy worked the ball out to him on the overlap about 7 metres out. While he made it to the line, as he went to ground he allowed Damian Penaud to dislodge the ball and force a knock-on over the line. While it was a great effort from Penaud, it was made easier for him as Zanon dived for the line with the ball in his right hand rather than switching it to his left hand to protect it.

He is not the first and he won’t be the last person to mess up with the game on the line, but this was a game that Italy could and possibly should have won but for his errors. Hopefully he will be able to put this setback behind him and learn from this match.

The kids are alright

France may have had their good and bad moments during this tournament, but one plus point for them has been the development of some of their younger talents.

Demba Bamba was a player I picked as one to watch this tournament. Despite not celebrating his 21^st birthday until the day after this match and not even playing in the Top 14 – he currently plays for Brive in Pro D2 but will be playing for Lyon next season – he did not look out of place on the senior international scene. He may have conceded a couple of penalties but this will improve with time, while he is already showing himself as a comfortable ball carrier.

Romain Ntamack has really grown into the tournament. Against Italy, he varied the attacking game well to keep the Italian defence guessing, while also controlling the game and knowing when to take a drop goal to keep the score ticking over. More importantly though, he also took on the role of goal kicker for this match and performed will, despite not even being the first choice kicker at his club. He will certainly have harder tests than against Italy, but this will be a great confidence boost for him and it is a sign that he is growing well into his role with the team.

Damian Penaud is developing into yet another great player on the wing for France. While it probably helped that he was not tested by the Italian kicking game in the same was as against England or Ireland, he looked very assured on the wing and seemed to be getting used to the position. He made a great covering tackle on Marco Zanon and was smart enough to target the ball rather than the player, dislodging it to save a vital try. In attack, his 98 metres made were the more than any other player on the pitch and it was his break that set up Antoine Dupont for his try, while his try in the final minutes secured the victory.

Dupont may not have had the perfect game as he occasionally struggled with forwards getting in his way at the breakdown, but this control of his pack is something that will develop as he continues to play with them… assuming the coaches don’t continue to overhaul the team every other match. He was one of the most exciting 9s in the tournament this year when given some space and his support line off Penaud that led to his try was typical of is playing style and I am sure we will see him getting over the try line plenty more times over the coming years.

The French Wolverine

While many of the younger players impressed in this match, one of the more experienced players also caught my eye. Maxime Médard has been in and out of the national team for years, but in this game I thought he really showed his quality.

Thomas Ramos has made the attack more exciting but has not been the safest defensively or in kick coverage, which is not what you want when you have attack-only Yoann Huget in the back three as well. Médard however was a calming influence at the back, tidying things up and generally making the right decision, while picking his moment to attack to create chaos, such as when he drew in Angelo Esposito and released Penaud with a simple pass to set up Dupont’s try.

With so many young players in the French back line at the moment, the coaches need to continue selecting Médard to increase their chances of success in Japan.

Eyes on the Ball

Thoughts from the world of sport and the Schmoedown

Tag: Antoine Dupont