- Mark Orlovac
- 18 Sep 07, 11:13 PM
London - Scotland made it two wins out of two with a comfortable enough over Romania at Murrayfield.
Frank Hadden's men rarely looked troubled but were a little scrappy and will need to improve their execution, especially at the breakdown, for the tougher tests that lie ahead.
See what you think of my player ratings and let us know what you thought of the Scotland display.
Continue reading "Scotland ratings v Romania"
- Bryn Palmer
- 18 Sep 07, 05:53 PM
Versailles - Out of despair and darkness, lucidity and light. Out of chaos and carnage, clarity and control.
That appeared to be the message from the on Tuesday, four days after their by South Africa, and 15 days after their arrival on French soil.
Better late than never, you might say. But from where has this new brains trust emerged, this new well of optimism sprung?
Continue reading "Over to you boys, says Ashton"
- Alastair Eykyn
- 18 Sep 07, 10:59 AM
Bordeaux - One of these next two paragraphs is a rational assessment of the World Cup campaign.
are a world class team. were the fortunate beneficiaries of a surfeit of turnover ball. Training is going well. It鈥檚 been tough, because northern hemisphere teams peak in January, not September. Ireland are not far away from putting it all together. Ireland will be better against the because they know their game. Ireland are playing high risk rugby which will bring dividends against major nations, but which is fraught with danger against others.
Or...
Continue reading "Irish eyes look like crying"
- Ben Dirs
- 18 Sep 07, 09:25 AM
Aix-en-Provence - 鈥淏en, France at this time of year is like a 35-year-old woman 鈥 blooming and ready for anything.鈥
An Englishman says that to you, and you laugh in his face. Manu, owner of the Web Bar in , says it to you and you want to grab him by the cheeks and plant a big kiss on his forehead.
Aaah, Saint-Emilion. Aaah, 35-year-old women. Add a couple of bottles of the local Grand Cru and an eggshell blue sky and you鈥檝e pretty much got the ingredients for the perfect afternoon.
Continue reading "French girls and heart Aix"
- John Beattie
- 18 Sep 07, 08:05 AM
Do you know, I think that this World Cup is hastening the end of the .
The premier northern hemisphere competition is being exposed for what many have suspected it to be for a while 鈥 protectionist.
The sooner we let , , and into regular elite competition on an annual basis, the better.
Continue reading "Beginning of the end for Six Nations?"