6 Nations Championship 2021

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Thu Feb 04, 2021 10:39 pm

So it's that time of the year again, and although there won't be any fans attending, this should still be a great tournament.

TBH I can't see anybody out with England or France winning the title, but this event does have a habit of throwing up surprises, so I guess you never know. And the other question is can Italy finally notch a long-awaited victory, it's been a long time since they managed one, and if they don't pull their socks up soon, then their future participation must be in severe doubt.

Saturday

Italy-France

England-Scotland

Sunday

Wales-Ireland

Chester Perry · Post by **Chester Perry** » Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:02 pm

tiger76 wrote: ↑
Thu Feb 04, 2021 10:39 pm
So it's that time of the year again, and although there won't be any fans attending, this should still be a great tournament.

TBH I can't see anybody out with England or France winning the title, but this event does have a habit of throwing up surprises, so I guess you never know. And the other question is can Italy finally notch a long-awaited victory, it's been a long time since they managed one, and if they don't pull their socks up soon, then their future participation must be in severe doubt.

Saturday

Italy-France

England-Scotland

Sunday

Wales-Ireland

Wales surely have to get better

the length of time without playing will have a role in it too

Clarets4me · Post by **Clarets4me** » Fri Feb 05, 2021 9:57 am

Despite being without a number of players, England should be too strong for Scotland at home, so England by 15-20 points ....
France seem to have got their coaching act together, with Shaun Edwards as defence Coach, France by 20 or so in Rome ....
Wales v Ireland should be close .... Ireland to nick it by 5-10 points, given the lack of a crowd in Cardiff ...

I shall be placing precisely nothing on these forecasts with my Turf Accountant, given the fact that these are the first round of matches and the general glorious unpredictability of this Tournament ...

LeadBelly · Post by **LeadBelly** » Fri Feb 05, 2021 1:43 pm

I'm really looking forward to it especially as my interest in footy is at an all time low with all the diving/feigning injury/VAR & law controversies.

Normally the number of home games played by the 3 or 4 main contenders is a telling factor but it may be, like footy, home advantage is diminished this tournament.

England are bookies favourites for the tournament (11/10) followed by France 9/4 then Ireland, Wales, Scotland.
I may have a punt on Ireland, they have France and England at home and the old warriors may well get themselves up for another tornament.

For anybody interested in having a bash at Fantasy Rugby - there's a free Guinness 6 Nations game at https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/2021/02 ... asy-rugby/
It's free and fairly straight forward to play- adds a bit of interest to following the tournament.

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Fri Feb 05, 2021 7:44 pm

So the six nations time again .
As we all know it's been a strange year so what will happen i am not that sure .
1st England , really strong and have looked very good when i see them so i have to say they will win the six nations again.
2nd France, Not will push England but will just fall short close but not to be .
3rd Ireland, nothing special about them but will grind out results .
4th Scotland, will have their moments but too many of them .
5th Wales, Really lost thier way last year and another year of nothing with only one win .
6th Italy , well it had to be but at least they will get a bonus point playing Wales .

So for the start up tomorrow France will have too much for Italy and win by 18 points .
England also will maul their way to the line and run in 4 tries and should win by 15 points .
Sunday is the one i am looking forward to . As i have said Wales look way out of form can they turn this around without the fans behind them i doubt it , now will be close with the Irish winning by 7 points .

DomBFC1882 · Post by **DomBFC1882** » Fri Feb 05, 2021 7:46 pm

Come on England

Boss Hogg · Post by **Boss Hogg** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 10:14 am

Fairly confident of an England victory. I think England and France will be the strongest teams. Still don’t see an Italy victory in this year’s tournament.

Caballo · Post by **Caballo** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 12:43 pm

Think the defining factor may be that France have to go to Twickenham, even without the crowd (which let's be honest are too polite to be intimidating) winning there will be a tough ask.

conyoviejo · Post by **conyoviejo** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 1:01 pm

Hmmm.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:13 pm

Easy BP win for France as expected.

England-Scotland could be an upset, 3-0 to the Scots 25 minutes in, and England giving far too many penalties away, and just got a yellow.

box_of_frogs · Post by **box_of_frogs** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:16 pm

Sloppy from England so far.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:24 pm

box_of_frogs wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:16 pm
Sloppy from England so far.

Very sloppy they need HT and to regroup, Scotland playing all the rugby so far.

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:29 pm

Down by two and the Scots have a player in thr bin

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:33 pm

Tribesmen wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:29 pm
Down by two and the Scots have a player in thr bin

Yes that last 5 minutes could be crucial, you can't imagine England will play as badly 2nd 40, and on balance Scotland should have a bigger lead at HT.

Bosscat · Post by **Bosscat** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:03 pm

tiger76 wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 06, 2021 5:33 pm
Yes that last 5 minutes could be crucial, you can't imagine England will play as badly 2nd 40, and on balance Scotland should have a bigger lead at HT.

Errrrrrrrr I think you will....

MrTopTier · Post by **MrTopTier** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:21 pm

Eddie Jones England are the equivalent of Jose’s Tottenham.

timshorts · Post by **timshorts** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:33 pm

MrTopTier wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:21 pm
Eddie Jones England are the equivalent of Jose’s Tottenham.

More like real madrid. More players than anyone else, more money than anyone else, the schedule is fixed in their favour, yet they still manage to lose key matches.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:46 pm

England were diabolical today, and if you give needless penalties away you won't win rugby matches, it's been a problem for a long while, and today it caught up with England.

The ones with the biggest cheer will be the French camp, there's now every chance for them to finally claim a Championship.

Eddie 'bigmouth' Jones has taken England backwards, and they never looked like crossing the try line today, indeed if Scotland had taken their chances they could have won by more.

timshorts · Post by **timshorts** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:07 pm

tiger76 wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 06, 2021 6:46 pm

The ones with the biggest cheer will be the French camp, there's now every chance for them to finally claim a Championship.

Somehow, whilst you are right that France now might win the championship, the can't claim the biggest cheer. The french think they can win it without England shooting themselves in the foot.
Almost every other major rugby nations fans will be cheering this - except the new Zealanders who don't give a s**'.
France will probably be happy that the English played Scotland like France played Scotland last year. Let's face it, France beat the two other title contenders last year, they beat the holders, but they handed the game to Scotland with a ridiculous red card that ultimately cost them the title they deserved.

CleggHall · Post by **CleggHall** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:07 pm

You can’t give away as many penalties as England do and still win games, concede territory and possession to the opposition.
A major problem under Eddie Jones.

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 9:40 am

Well not many did see a Scots win that's for sure .
I did laugh at my summing up fo the championships " Scotland will have their moments but not many " yer right baby .
England like this as you lose your first game and Slam gone , Triple crown gone and do you think they can now win the Championship , doubt it .

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 4:12 pm

Ireland 13-6 up early in the 2nd half at Cardiff, despite being a man down since the 14th minute, this could be a famous win for them, and a truly damaging defeat for Wales.

timshorts · Post by **timshorts** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 5:54 pm

There again, maybe not, but we did our best to help Ireland in the last 10 minutes, idiotic ally kicking the ball away from the half way line. Twice.
Thought Ireland 12 deserved man of the match. So many (more) players lost to injury though, on both sides. I doubt that we will have any joy in Scotland unless half of the walking wounded recover. That seems unlikely.
What the f was going on with the line-out?

LeadBelly · Post by **LeadBelly** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 6:27 pm

They lost but that was a terrific performance by Ireland, playing all that time with 14 and running Wales so close. Whilst not at their very best, I dont think Wales played that poorly it's just that Ireland's ball retention and effort was so outstanding.
Good game to watch for a neutral, enjoyed that much more than watching England's lame effort yesterday.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:37 pm

timshorts wrote: ↑
Sun Feb 07, 2021 5:54 pm
There again, maybe not, but we did our best to help Ireland in the last 10 minutes, idiotic ally kicking the ball away from the half way line. Twice.
Thought Ireland 12 deserved man of the match. So many (more) players lost to injury though, on both sides. I doubt that we will have any joy in Scotland unless half of the walking wounded recover. That seems unlikely.
What the f was going on with the line-out?

Wales did their level best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but they got over the line just, and that victory should give Wayne Pivac some much needed breathing space, Gatland was always going to be a tough act to follow, and Wales are in a transition phase, so results will be up and down for a while.

Murrayfield is never an easy place to visit at any time, but especially after they've just won at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years, if Wales get a result there they'll be doing well.

There was a lot of injuries today, and I suspect all the squads will be stretched to their limits over the next 7 weeks.

It's only the first weekend, but France look a class apart on the early viewing, OK they were only playing Italy, but they were so dominant, that it's hard to see anybody troubling them, and they will have learned harsh lessons from last year when they should have lifted the title, and could have even claimed the Grand Slam.

The welsh line-out was shambolic, and on another day that'll prove costly for them, but thanks to O'Mahony's recklessness, they managed to get over the line, and get that vital 1st win on the board.

This is one of the events that has really missed the fans, it's definitely lacking something being played to empty stadiums, but at least it's going ahead I suppose.

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:00 pm

Hard to put inro words but i would have left O'Mahony in Cardiff and tell him to swim home .................

kentonclaret · Post by **kentonclaret** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 4:11 pm

I must admit it did amuse me to see the players lining up for the National Anthems all spaced out 2 metres apart only to all pile on top of one another at the first ruck

Rugby Union is not compatible with social distancing.

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:03 pm

Afternoon all
Sorry a bit late as it's been a strange week with football .

Anyway first up today Engalnd v Italy .
Don't worry lighting will not strike twice , as th English will turn up today in a big way and win by 48 points 51-3
Scotland v Wales .
The Irish shot themsleves in the foot after 14 minutes againist Wales , now the Scots are on a high and will put them to the sword and run out 28-10 .
Ireland v France .
The Irish have to make changes and we look weak at best , I think things will go down hill for the Boys in Green as we will run out of steam in the 2nd half after leading in the first .
Hate to say this but 32-15 .

Now only called one game right last week so don't quote me .

Top Claret · Post by **Top Claret** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:11 pm

Disappointed to see certain England players taking the knee, hats off to the Italians though

ClaretDiver · Post by **ClaretDiver** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:19 pm

Wow....just wow!

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:19 pm

3 points to Italy did i say ..................

ClaretDiver · Post by **ClaretDiver** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:36 pm

That's that one out the window Tribesman!

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:41 pm

8-8 20 minutes in, and a try apiece, Italy giving as good as they're getting so far.

Big game of the weekend is Scotland-Wales, the winner in that will have genuine title credentials, and be on for a Triple Crown, and maybe even a Grand Slam.

timshorts · Post by **timshorts** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 3:03 pm

Sorry, but no chance Wales for grand slam. No chance they beat France. We've ridden our luck against France just too often and got away with it. They only need to pick a 67 year old farmer if he's called ntamck and we'll just roll over.

We can't do it with a bucketful hey of injuries any more than last year.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:17 pm

Stunning start by the Scots 17-3 up in the opening half hour, they could be dark horses for this tournament, they've been impressive so far.

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:18 pm

ClaretDiver wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:36 pm
That's that one out the window Tribesman!

Yer but England won easy enough , now the Scots are giving a Wales a good one at the moment 17-3.

Early days

ClaretDiver · Post by **ClaretDiver** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:24 pm

Tribesmen wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:18 pm
Yer but England won easy enough , now the Scots are giving a Wales a good one at the moment 17-3.

Early days

Top man, and 3 points for us aswell!!!

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:08 pm

Red card for the Scots, could be a gamechanger.

timshorts · Post by **timshorts** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:54 pm

tiger76 wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:08 pm
Red card for the Scots, could be a gamechanger.

Last weeks looked red all the way. This week's not so much. Letter of the rules, I suppose, but yellow would have seemed equitable, leaving an interesting last 20.

Too many mistakes by both teams for a serious challenge on the title. Tomorrow's game looks the most important of the competition by far with the two best looking teams going head to head.....

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 8:37 pm

timshorts wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:54 pm
Last weeks looked red all the way. This week's not so much. Letter of the rules, I suppose, but yellow would have seemed equitable, leaving an interesting last 20.

Too many mistakes by both teams for a serious challenge on the title. Tomorrow's game looks the most important of the competition by far with the two best looking teams going head to head.....

France should win , well think they should

LeadBelly · Post by **LeadBelly** » Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:00 pm

timshorts wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:54 pm
Last weeks looked red all the way. This week's not so much. Letter of the rules, I suppose, but yellow would have seemed equitable, leaving an interesting last 20.

Too many mistakes by both teams for a serious challenge on the title. Tomorrow's game looks the most important of the competition by far with the two best looking teams going head to head.....

Aye, I thought the red was harsh, yellow-yes but the head contact was minimal that I could see and no sign of intent (different to Mahoney last week).

Ireland performed really well with 14 last week so I think they'll give France a stiff test this afternoon, I'm going to have a small wager on Ireland by 1-5 points (having lost on yesterday's efforts where I went Wales by 6-10, England by 16-20).

At the mo, my bookie has France as favourites for the title at 10/11 but If Ireland win, that would really throw the Championship open. Wales the only side with 2 wins but they France away in the last round. As usual - 6N proving very hard to predict (other than the wooden spoon recipients).

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:06 pm

Hard to predict , you dont say .

I really think Wales have been bang average yet they have won twice , now palying v 14 helps i must say .

Still can't see how Ireland can win today if France turns up but what do i know .

Better open a bottle wine just to get the day rolling .

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:43 pm

Tribesmen wrote: ↑
Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:06 pm
Hard to predict , you dont say .

I really think Wales have been bang average yet they have won twice , now palying v 14 helps i must say .

Still can't see how Ireland can win today if France turns up but what do i know .

Better open a bottle wine just to get the day rolling .

It does look like being an unpredictable championship, and home advantage seems to count for little without fans.

I now Ireland have a terrific record in Dublin, but with no support, and the absence of Sexton, I've got to give France the edge by 5-10 points.

Wales have been average, however they have 2 wins on the board, with one of those a BP victory, so they will be gaining confidence that they can really challenge this year.

France do look a class apart from the rest though, and I find it hard to see past them winning the title, they really should have won it last year, but I can't see them blowing it again should the chance arise.

LeadBelly · Post by **LeadBelly** » Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:24 pm

Best quality game of the 6N so far was that; both teams played really well, was on a knife edge pretty much throughout. Ref was v good too, really enjoyed that as a neutral.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:32 pm

LeadBelly wrote: ↑
Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:24 pm
Best quality game of the 6N so far was that; both teams played really well, was on a knife edge pretty much throughout. Ref was v good too, really enjoyed that as a neutral.

Absorbing game and it kept me on the edge of my sofa right until the whistle, great ref as well, and I particularly liked that he addressed the French in their native language, this shows true respect and avoids any communication misunderstandings.

Big win for France that sets them up nicely for the rest of the tournament, as for Ireland yet another tale of what might have been sadly for them.

claretburns · Post by **claretburns** » Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:02 pm

So far 10 French players are ruled out of their game against Scotland this weekend due to Corona.

France have called up replacements and the squad are being tested every 24 hours to try and contain the outbreak but major doubts their game will go ahead this weekend.

Clarets4me · Post by **Clarets4me** » Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:18 pm

claretburns wrote: ↑
Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:02 pm
So far 10 French players are ruled out of their game against Scotland this weekend due to Corona.
France have called up replacements and the squad are being tested every 24 hours to try and contain the outbreak but major doubts their game will go ahead this weekend.

I believe there's some talk of postponing the game for a week, as there's a fallow weekend ( 6/7th March ) before the final six matches are played on the following two weekends ....

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:35 am

Find out tomorrow if the can the game , i would like it to be played to be honest .

timshorts · Post by **timshorts** » Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:12 pm

Tribesmen wrote: ↑
Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:35 am
Find out tomorrow if the can the game , i would like it to be played to be honest ..

They'd be daft to play it. There is no way of telling what other french squad players are presently asymptomatic. Just one of those playing and passing it on to a Scottish opponent will create havoc and retribution - not least from the sturgeon, who seems to have it in for sport - probably because a number of Scottish footballers have acted like dikks during various lockdowns.

tiger76 · Post by **tiger76** » Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:40 pm

timshorts wrote: ↑
Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:12 pm
They'd be daft to play it. There is no way of telling what other french squad players are presently asymptomatic. Just one of those playing and passing it on to a Scottish opponent will create havoc and retribution - not least from the sturgeon, who seems to have it in for sport - probably because a number of Scottish footballers have acted like dikks during various lockdowns.

If there is any doubt about transmission from the French squad, then the sensible option would be to wait a week, they can easily play it the week after as that's due to be a fallow week, I can totally understand why the Scots would want it to go ahead though, if it did they'd be facing a French reserve team in affect.