France (archive)
- Mark Orlovac
- 20 Mar 07, 01:45 PM
London - So after five weekends of thrilling action, the dust has settled on another Six Nations campaign.
Before the tournament started, our team of 大象传媒 Six Nations bloggers sat down to select a combined team of the tournament and we did the same three games in.
Now hostilities have come to an end, the votes have been painstakingly counted and we can exclusively reveal what we think is our definitive starting XV.
Triple crown winners Ireland provide six of the team, with champions France and Italy having four players apiece.
Youngster David Strettle is England's only selection while Wales and Wooden Spoonists Scotland miss out altogether.
Six players from the original team have kept their places, and interestingly five of them are in the pack.
Let us know what you think of our selections, what we've got right, what we've got wrong, and let us know how your Six Nations XV would look.
Continue reading "Team of the Tournament"
- Rob Hodgetts
- 18 Mar 07, 10:31 AM
London - The 2007 Six Nations ended in controversial, joyous, heartbreaking or infuriating fashion depending on the colour of your shirt.
But there's no doubt it's been a cracker - maybe not for the actual quality of rugby but for the drama and suspense right up until the final match.
France, Ireland and England were all tied at the top of the table going into Saturday's finale, meaning every point scored, for or against, would be crucial in deciding the eventual winners.
Continue reading "Six Nations - the final verdict"
- Phil Harlow, 大象传媒 Sport journalist
- 13 Mar 07, 11:14 AM
London - As we count down to the , there are still four teams with a chance - mathematically speaking, at any rate - of winning the title.
If, like me, maths in not your strong point, pens, paper, a calculator and a protractor may well be required for what follows....
Continue reading "Our Six Nations permutations guide"
- Jim Stokes
- 13 Mar 07, 10:14 AM
Belfast 鈥 Now that my very temporary support of England (for very selfish reasons you understand) has quickly evaporated in the thermals above Twickenham, I can look forward to what should be a thrilling Six Nations finale.
While I didn鈥檛 honestly think , I was even less convinced that rolling to a Grand Slam.
But fair play to Brian Ashton鈥檚 boys - who took advantage of a French team that looked asleep for most of the game. So much so, they should have worn their pyjamas, particularly out in the three-quarters.
Continue reading "Possession the key on St Paddy's Day"
- James Standley
- 6 Mar 07, 02:09 PM
London - So Brian Ashton has gone back to the future for the Six Nations game with France on Sunday.
He has lost Jonny Wilkinson, Phil Vickery and Andy Farrell to injury but has still opted for radical surgery, with 10 changes in all.
Mike Catt, 35-years-young, must have thought he had exhausted his nine England lives but he is not only back at inside centre, he has also been installed as captain.
Catt has been enjoying a fine autumn to his career with London Irish over the past couple of years.
Continue reading "Catt's back as Ashton wields axe"
- James Standley
- 5 Mar 07, 10:15 AM
London - France have had to replace prop Sylvain Marconnet ahead of Sunday鈥檚 Six Nations game with England after .
Our sympathies go out to Marconnet, who will be out for up to four months after suffering what French team doctor Thierry Hermerel described as a 鈥渂ad break鈥.
But it has to be asked, 鈥榟e was doing what?鈥
I don鈥檛 want to accuse the French of being laissez faire, but surely all professional sportsmen have it written into their contracts that pastimes such as skiing are banned for exactly the reason Marconnet has so spectacularly illustrated?
Continue reading "Bad break for France"
- Sean Davies
- 28 Feb 07, 05:59 PM
Cardiff - There can only be one way to go after Super Saturday - the Six Nations must be expanded and taken to Spain.
Now we could have the worthy Argentina side playing from there, or we could allow the Spanish national team in to give Wales the chance of winning a game (I鈥檓 sure Scotland would throw the new boys a few tries to get them started).
But the basic plan is the only sober conclusion I can come to after witnessing Saturday鈥檚 eight-hour marathon feast from the depths of Finnegan鈥檚 genuine Irish bar in Valencia.
Continue reading "Super Saturday from a skewed angle"
- Phil Harlow
- 27 Feb 07, 12:48 PM
After the pivotal third weekend, the is starting to look more settled.
France are the only team who can still achieve the Grand Slam, while Wales, with three straight defeats, are looking up at the rest of the sides.
Ireland are on course for a Triple Crown, but England took a big step backwards with their massive defeat in Dublin.
Italy showed they are a genuine force in the tournament with their first ever away win over a misfiring Scotland.
I've assessed the state of play with two weekends left to go.
Continue reading "Six Nations state of play"
- Bryn Palmer
- 25 Feb 07, 12:30 PM
So the dust is beginning to settle on the Six Nations' "Super Saturday" - three games, 163 points and 16 tries.
A good day to be a rugby union fan (although , and supporters may dispute that), the middle Saturday of the tournament was a real test of endurance.
Continue reading "How was "Super Saturday" for you?"
- Nick Mullins
- 23 Feb 07, 04:07 PM
Paris - I guess Wales will have a tougher French test to overcome when they run out at the Stade de France, but I hope they react with slightly less bemusement than the fans from Neath on the table next door this lunchtime, who struggled to decipher the bistro's rather unhelpful English menu.
This city is one of the gastronimical centres of the world - but I doubt chefs in the Place de la Republique will be rustling up too many dishes of "paving slabs on of top pepper sauce" for the red army this weekend.
A fortnight after trooping rather disconsolately away from Edinburgh, the fans are back out in force this weekend. It remains one of the enduring features of this grand old championship that no matter how badly your team might have let you down last time out, it'd be rude not to be with them again next time, especially when that next time is in Paris.
Continue reading "Welsh fans set Paris abuzz"
- Rob Hodgetts
- 15 Feb 07, 09:58 AM
London - I can't quite decide how I feel this morning. Not about life in general, though that's got me unusually stumped too, but about whether it's a good thing there's no this weekend.
By this time, we're normally upping the ante and starting to salivate over the weekend's clashes.
The teams have been named, the coaches and captains are in the process of delivering their final news conferences and we, the fans, are easing into our familiar pre-match routine of talking a load of old cobblers at each other until 30 seconds before kick-off.
Continue reading "Breaking the spell"
- Jim Stokes
- 11 Feb 07, 06:09 PM
Croke Park - I was one of the 82,000 or so spectators who witnessed Sunday鈥檚 historic Six Nations encounter as Ireland's dream was shattered by France.
See if you agree with my ratings for players on both sides.
Continue reading "Ireland v France player ratings"
- Jim Stokes
- 8 Feb 07, 03:39 PM
Dublin 鈥 La France, un accueil chaleureux au parc de Croke.
Gauls against Gaels at the cathedral of Irish sport where this weekend .
The French are certainly accustomed to what Dublin itself has to offer, and were well used to the concrete mausoleum that was with its shifting, swirling winds.
However, the little corner in the north of the city may surprise, or even shock the visitors. They鈥檒l enjoy themselves, but hopefully not too much on the green acreage around Jones鈥檚 Road!
Yes, Les Bleus do like to embrace their rugby in the purest sense, particularly on hard, perfect surfaces with wide open spaces like the one that will be offered on Sunday.
Continue reading "Why Ireland could be undone by Croker choker"
- Andrew Cotter
- 5 Feb 07, 08:22 AM
"He's impressive with ball in hand. No doubt about it," said my co-commentator Phillip Matthews before the Italy-France game. "But he does have a tendency to drift in and out of games."
I nodded wisely, but silently, since the object of our attention, was standing just a few feet away, looking like an enormous, brooding version of .
The criticism has been levelled at Chabal before and, for all his talents, Bernard Laporte has never really warmed to the giant, furry creature known affectionately by supporters of his club Sale, as 'Sea Bass'.
Incidentally, I know it's inspired by his own name, but could Chabal not have a nickname more suited to his terrifying form? It's like calling Martin Johnson 'The Monkfish'.
Continue reading "Sea Bass is the new French National dish"
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