The Rugby Union 6 nations torurnament just ended this paddy's day weekend . It started at the beginning of February , with England ,Ireland ,Scotland ,Wales , France and Italy all competing for the Cup . Ireland won every game they played in the tournament , ending with the Final between them and England on Saturday in Twickenham , the home of English rugby union . Because they won every match , they've won the grand slam trophy . They've only done that twice before ,1948 and 2009 . And also because they've won the home 3 nations ( England , Scotland , Wales ) they get the triple crown trophy as well <:-)
The final score was England 15 - Ireland 24 . <:-) Ireland deserved the win imo , they've been an unstoppable juggernaut in recent times . They've won 12 consecutive matches in a row , they are ranked second in the world now ....and let's not forget the historic win they had over the mighty New Zealand All Blacks in 2016 . The All Blacks are the current rugby world champions from 2015 . ( the next rugby World Cup tournament begins in 2019 in Japan ) I think this Ireland team are showing they mean business , they could be the next world champions .
Stand out moments from the Ireland vs England match on Saturday for me , was the try scored by Ireland's Jacob Stockdale ,a winger ,right on the 40 minute half time whistle . He slammed it down with one hand and went straight into the record books with the most tries scored in a six nations tournament. That was his 7 th try scored in the championship . The next moment that I'd pick was when Ireland's CJ stander , the fly half and kicker for the team ,slid along the ground with the ball in his hand , covered in England and Ireland players ,and went slamming into the padding on the goalpost to score a try ! Just outstanding ! England had their moments , Elliot Daly scored an epic try with a ball fed to him from Owen Farrell , the fly half for England . But it just wasn't enough on the day . England have won the most grand slams in the history of the 6 nations tournament, they can do much better than this . Let's see what they can do between now and the 2019 World Cup ...c'mon The Lions <:-)
Congratulations to Ireland though <:-) a well deserved win !
Some highlights ...
And I can't really start a thread on rugby union ,without talking about the tradition that is the New Zealand All Blacks war Haka ! It's something they do at the beginning of every match , and it's awesome ! In their culture this would have been done by Māori warriors to put the fear of god into their opponents and intimadate the opposition . Now it's done by the rugby team to intimadate their opposition . If you've never seen it , sit back and enjoy :) this is the best haka ive seen them do , and the response to it by the team from Wales is priceless .....
A compilation , just because I think the haka is awesome :D And if you want to do it well , you really do have to commit . These lads certainly do that ....
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aarcentral.com%2Fpics%2Frugby.jpg&hash=0788c285005700fdeaa80e92eb0bf45e947c09ad)
We had some of it on TV here. Really all it did was get in the way of the usual EPL broadcast
I can see that the awesomeness of our national obsession with rugby is lost on you heathens ::) Brilliant pic though BB Mike , I can just imagine Jeremy clarkson saying that , with his dry sense of humour :DD
And for what it's worth , just in case you don't know :-" America have a good national rugby union team called the American eagles . You've placed 15 in the world rankings , you've won Canada twice to qualify for the World Cup in 2019 , and you have some good players . Your captain Blaine Scully plays for the Cardiff Blues in wales . ( Wales have always had an awesome rugby team , he's quality to be picked by them )And you have another outstanding player who plays for New York athletic ,Nate Brakeley , definitely one to watch . You also have a similar tournament based on the six nations , can't remember off hand what it's called ....American championship ...something !
I'm definitely keeping an eye on how the American team develops between now and 2019 . It's exciting to see a rugby team from your neck of the wood actually developing into a contender. You even have a great coach , Gary Gold ....
https://www.usarugby.org/2017/10/gary-gold-appointed-mens-eagles-15s-head-coach/
If you don't enjoy your team play rugby , I do ;)
Danny care from the England team was gracious in defeat, making the comment that Ireland deserved to win. And he's echoing the sentiments of a lot of English fans. It's great to see though that the lads on the England Rugby team are already talking about rebuilding, the team captain commented, "it's now a test of our character of how we respond to this defeat."
https://www.sportsjoe.ie/rugby/england-star-dressing-room-ireland-154455
The England Rugby team are doing a tour in South Africa in summer against the springboks. It'll be interesting to see between now and then how they refocus there efforts in training to get back on form again.
Aye - well done to Ireland. Untouchable this year.
I was confused with how I felt about Scotland's final position. On the one hand, it's realistically above where I thought they could end up (especially after the first game against Wales), but pleasantly surprised where they finished (especially after the first game against Wales).
Highlights for me...
- Ireland Grand Slam - well deserved
- Scotland beating England (obviously)
- Italy's constant drive for tries. Seldom kicked for points and often kicked to touch...always looking for a try
Low lights...
- Scotland losing their opening game...it's always an uphill struggle after that first loss
- Scotland's away record still being poor
- TMOs getting the result wrong. Wales scored the try!!
- England showing how they were being coached...go for the win. When they were playing France, they needed 4 tries to be within a chance of the Championship and almost every penalty they got, they went for points. Just not interested. Compare that to Italy who were getting gubbed left, right and centre and who still went for tries. Shame on the England coaching staff or whomever was responsible for saying "Just go out and win...if we get 4 tries, it's a bonus" #nopassion
- Italy's performances looking worse than they deserve. They've got the right mindset - now concentrate on defence. Scoring tries is only half the battle...stopping leaking tries is the other half
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable tournament this year.
^ it's great reading through your highlights /low points of the competition. Glad you enjoyed the rugby.
I agree that Wales should have been awarded the try. But to be honest, even had they have been awarded it, and a successful conversion kick taken, they still would have been one point behind on the final score. They still would have lost, but I suppose it would have been an easier loss to know they came so close to winning, plus its only fair they were awarded that try :)
There's a controversy raging now about whether Bundee Aki should have been sent off for a penalty in the final. I didn't see it, but apparently he hit another player on the head, if he did, that definitely should have been an automatic sending off!
Well done on Scotland placing third O0 and you really weren't that far behind Wales... Next time eh! We had Matt Williams on the Irish panel on TV commentating on the matches :) Nice guy.
Yeah, England Rugby is uninspiring at the moment... Sigh. Bring back the glory days of Johnny Wilkinson I say! I've heard Eddie Jones coaches them to death, and they were tired a lot. He's definitely an acquired taste I think. One minute he's saying the Irish rugby squad are scum, the next he's heaping praise on Joe schmidt and the lads! Not sure he's the right man for England.