The 2023 Six Nations Half Time Report

Wales’ campaign began in Cardiff with undoubtedly the toughest test in rugby right now – ranked number one in the world, Ireland. And, it wasn’t long before the contest was over as Carlson Doris and James Ryan scored tries in the first 10 minutes for The Shamrocks. From there it was a practice match for those in green with James Lowe and Josh Van Der Flier adding further tries either side of Liam Williams’ consolation one to give the Irish a routine bonus point win.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, Wales travelled to Edinburgh to face the Scots in what could only be described as a must win. The Welsh scrapped and battled hard but perhaps a lack of experience cost them dearly with the forward line making an inexcusable amount of unforced errors.

Maybe a harsh reality for both sets of fans given the circumstances; but this weekend’s match with England is set up to be the greatest Wooden Spoon match in Six Nation’s history. I don’t hold much hope, but history tells me that could be a good thing!

It’s been a disappointing start to the tournament for the French team, who entered with a lot of hope as reigning champions. We won an offensive bonus point in Italy, but this was not the prettiest nor the most spectacular victory.

Nevertheless ‘Le XV de France’ took their unbeaten run to 14 matches, until we played against Ireland a fortnight ago. A very intense match against the Wolfhounds, supported by a sea of green inside a packed Aviva Stadium!

We hope France will rediscover its french flair for the rest of the tournament and I strongly believe we are still playing for first place.

It’s been a strong start to this year’s Six Nations for the men in green. Despite the innate urge to downplay recent performances and temper expectations given the year that’s in it (IYKYK), it strangely feels like there’s more in this Irish side. For the most part they’ve been clinical in attack, commanding in defence and proficient at set piece, but it’s been a little stop-start during the opening two fixtures.

There have been some standout performers – Doris, Ringrose and Keenan to name a few – but perhaps most encouraging has been the performances of last minute stand-ins Finlay Bealham and a resurgent Conor Murray, as well as Ross Byrne’s assured cameo against the French. It certainly won’t be an easy run-in with an away trip to Murrayfield and a potential opportunity for England to spoil the party on Paddy’s weekend, but the hope and expectation will surely be a Grand Slam for Farrell, Sexton and co., albeit with one eye on a bigger and more elusive prize down the road in 2023.

It’s not often as a proud Scot that we get towards the half way point in the tournament P2 W2! I may not quite be at the level of excitement of designing ‘World Cup Winners’ t-shirts yet, but things are certainly looking good. It was great being at Twickenham for the Calcutta Cup.

We backed it up against Wales, something we rarely do! Fingers crossed for more signature Finn Russell poses with his player of the match medals over the next few weeks.

The opening two rounds of the Six Nations Championship have unfortunately reinforced the idea that England are a mid-table international team. Steve Borthwick is playing catch up and trying to compete in a tournament with teams who have been building for three and a half years.

Despite this, there have been positives; England’s first-half attack against Scotland, with CSM client Max Malins scoring two tries, showed glimpses of improved cohesion and fluidity, and their set-piece power game against Italy was dominant.

However, their defensive frailties in round 1, (exposed by our client Duhan van der Merwe!) and excessive-reliance on a ‘pressure-plus’ kicking game when they were on the front foot vs Italy, raises questions of the side’s credentials when competing against the top sides in test rugby.

Italy arrived at this edition of the Six Nations with confidence following a great tournament in 2022 where we put an end to what seemed an endless series of losses in the tournament, thanks to a thrilling win in Cardiff. In November we also beat Australia for the first time in our history.

So, during the first stage in Rome, when we were in pole position to beat France in the last action of the game, only those who had not been following our form closely were surprised.

The second-half performance at Twickenham was a good recovery after a poor start and the team is on a good path to preparing what will be the crucial game of this tournament for the Azzurri, Wales in Rome on March 11th.