Rugby 2023-24 World Cup Year!

Gatland seemed to just be sitting there , has he had his day?

Italy have played very well, good on em!!

Indeed, if the ball had not fallen off the tee at the end of the France game they’d have almost certainly won three games. Their U20’s are strong and they’ve a large population – surely they’ll go from strength to strength from here.
Wales however 😭😭😭
At least Scotland has curling – what do Wales have without rugby 😭😭😭

Gatland seemed to just be sitting there , has he had his day?

I’m not sure how much blame lies with Gatland – but who would replace him?

Oh my, ITV again 😡🤬

Is this the right time to congratulate Ireland on a great win?

#NotConfident

Yeah, I’m a little worried about this one.

what do Wales have without rugby

Something else to complain about.

Coal mining?

I’m not feeling more confident after that first half.

Good first half but……. Scotland had to work hard. Hope they can do a second half 🤞🤞

what do Wales have without rugby

Dych chi ddim yn mwynhau Cymraeg?

Seriously though, against all the odds for these islands, Wales still has its own language.

Good first half but……. Scotland had to work hard.

It actually reminds me a bit of the France game.  Ireland are showing more creativity than France did but still not getting much change out of the Scottish defense.

Of course, we all remember how that game ended…

Glad to see Larmour back in an Ireland jersey, really like him as a player.

I hope this is the year that Italy have finally arrived.  They’ve been showing so much potential for years only to keep throwing it all away.

Once the current generation retire/slow down I see Scotland as being the perinatal whipping boys.  Just not enough people playing rugby to be competitive over a long period of time.

Our only hope is that Wales’ woes continue so at least we’ll have some competition for the wooden spoon.

I wondered just for a second when Jones cantered in and we looked good on the restart… then we knocked on.

Good game though. Did you notice how long it was until the first scrum? Ages

Of course, we all remember how that game ended…

Four point loss?

Another good game for the neutral.  Hell of a defensive effort from Scotland!  Not sure what to expect from England France? Could be a close game, hopefully closer than last year 😳

Better team won, pleased we played for a lot more of the game this week though.

Sounded like potential end of international career for POM….35…..37 for Lions tour, maybe a step to far, but surely he’d be amongst the leading contenders for captain?

Looks like I’ll have to sneak out for half a Guinness then.

You don’t want to miss the biggest game of the 6N Caher.

Well played Ireland. Valiant defence from Scotland but you can’t do that for 80 mins. If they had nicked it in the end it would have been steal of the century.

France are too fast and too clever for England.   Could be a long night….

Yep – giving France turnover ball rarely ends well! Marcus Smith at fullback will ve a struggle for 70 minutes. What has Steward done to upset Bortheick?

That’s more like it.

Cracking game for a BestOfTheRest match.

Wow. Four minutes left and I’ve no idea who’ll win.

Harsh!

Jeez what a match.

England gave that away with two tries conceded from lost lineouts. Great game tho’

Good game. Really intense. I’d be gutted if that was the tournament decider but happy to see a good performance from England.

Been a really good tournament this year.

Last matches for Care, Tuilagi and Cole possibly? All have had great international careers.

England gave that away

Been a really good tournament this year.

I disagree 😄😄😄

Been a really good tournament this year.

I disagree 😄😄😄

I’m with a_a, miserable 6Nations this year. Some close games, with drama; but the quality of rugby has generally been poor. The points difference gives a good reflection of where the teams are.

Living half my life in Kerry it’s astonishing how much rugby is challenging the football GAA.
There are big, athletic lads down here who now want to play rugby.

Mixed feelings as a Wales supporter not surprised by “winning” the wooden spoon, but can’t say the team were robbed, they’re just not good enough rather than choking or underperforming.

Obviously jealous of Ireland success but feels a bit like the old English stereotype, team of public school boys, media going on about how opposition players wouldn’t get in the team, and arrogant fans assuming they have to just turn up to get WC and slams.

Me, an actual Dragons fan, bitter about success? (or just winning a single game?). Surely not 😉

can’t say the team were robbed, they’re just not good enough rather than choking or underperforming

This is the reason I can’t really be annoyed about it. The players are just not good enough. One of the commentators, I think it was Johnson kept banging on about simple errors, well yes they do keep making them. That will happen when a significant number of the team have played less than 15-20 games of pro rugby also these players are not physically up to it. It’s not something to be surprised or angry about. The system is broken, I am angry about that but the players are clearly putting the effort in.

As a tournament the 6N was dull until halfway through the France/Italy match. Once they started to believe they were away.

Crowley must be fuming back home in NZ; wondering were this spark was for the last few years.

The final table belied the performances of Wales. They kept battling even when so far behind, and it nearly came off. Scotland were the opposite; starting strong and then looking baffled in the 2nd half.

I always prefer to watch a match when you don’t know the outcome. That’s why I can’t be arsed watching the F1.

There’s definitely a really interesting story to be written comparing Irish, Welsh, and Scottish rugby and the interactions of culture, politics, class, and general infighting.

Looks like Wales are currently crippled by their own structure rather than a cultural problem (ie, not having a rugby culture like Scotland).  Structures can be changed much more easily than cultures. The danger is that the structure ends up killing the culture.

Ireland seems to have built a structure and are in the process of building on an existing culture.  Momentum has the potential to keep them at the top for some time to come.

Scotland is struggling to build a culture outside of the Borders.  The problem is that there just aren’t enough people living in the Borders.

With Italy in the ascendancy and Wales being forced into some soul searching I am actually most pessimistic about Scotland relevancy to the rugby world in the long term.

Given that this was supposed to be the 6N where Scotland would finally deliver and they ended up finishing 4th (should have been 5th but for the bonus points) I don’t really see much hope for the future.

I thought Wales were positive until the last game. They were clearly not very good, but they showed commitment and I thought even intelligence trying to unlock opponents.  It doesn’t feel that bad to lose like this.  Next year’s tournament will be important – we will expect progresss.