Religion and Ethics Forum
General Category => Sports, Hobbies & Interests => Topic started by: SqueakyVoice on January 23, 2025, 01:19:00 PM
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Starts next weekend 1st Feb.
Current prediction
1 France
2 Eng 3 Ireland = Scots
5 Ita
6 Wales
- I'm optimistic for England, already has several players out/ injured...
(Now renamed, womens tests available on bbc. 1st round this weekend, England on Sunday.)
Back to predictions.
1 - England
2 - France
3 - Scotland
4 - Ireland
5 - Italy
6 - Wales
I think Wales need many more home matches for a chance, but that looks like a bridge too far. I don't think I've ever been impressed by Ireland either.
(P.s. With thanks to Jeremy)
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With the benefit of two weeks of competition, I predict
1 Ireland
2 France
3 England
4 Scotland
5 Italy
6 Wales
I think you were optimistic about England and pessimistic about Ireland even at the start.
With Ireland at home against France, I think we'll see a grand slam.
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Wales drop below Georgia on the rankings
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Gatland leaves as coach of Wales
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cpwrj451k95o
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Gatland leaves as coach of Wales
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cpwrj451k95o
That's both surprising and not surprising. He was odds on to leave at some point very soon but right in the middle of the 6N surprises me.
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That's both surprising and not surprising. He was odds on to leave at some point very soon but right in the middle of the 6N surprises me.
I'm surprised he lasted so long given that Wales have lost every game since the Autumn of 2023.
Smacks of either incompetence on the part of the Wales authorities, still being caught in the headlights of his earlier more successful period ... or ... frankly protracted negotiations about a severance package.
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I'm surprised he lasted so long given that Wales have lost every game since the Autumn of 2023.
Smacks of either incompetence on the part of the Wales authorities, still being caught in the headlights of his earlier more successful period ... or ... frankly protracted negotiations about a severance package.
He offered his resignation at the end of last year's Six Nations and they refused to accept it. There would have been no protracted negotiations about severance if they had accepted it, so I think incompetence rises to the top here.
That said, had he resigned, his successor would now be staring at the probability of a wooden spoon. The problems in Welsh rugby go far beyond the quality of the national coach.
To give some idea of how bad one of the problems is, here are the picks of four BBC pundits for a notional Lions team
From week one, Sam Warburton and John Barclay
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c391wzek3z7o
From week two, Chris Ashton and Joe Marler
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c99y84k089do
Only one of the four teams included a single Welshman. There is no Welsh talent coming through.
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With the benefit of two weeks of competition, I predict
1 Ireland
2 France
3 England
4 Scotland
5 Italy
6 Wales
Current non-predictions from Ugo MonyeIreland, A
France, C+
Italy, C
England C-
Scotland, D
Wales, U
From https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/feb/17/six-nations-rugby-union-england-wales-ireland-scotland (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/feb/17/six-nations-rugby-union-england-wales-ireland-scotland)
My current prediction is England will edge past Scotland and Italy. Just.
I suspect France won't Implode, but if you wanted you could just flip a coin to find out whether they will or won't.
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My current prediction is England will edge past Scotland and Italy. Just.
I suspect France won't Implode, but if you wanted you could just flip a coin to find out whether they will or won't.
England last two games plan seemed to be to 'let the better team lose'.
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England last two games plan seemed to be to 'let the better team lose'.
In that case they are executing perfectly.
Although I would argue that, in both cases, England was the better team on the day. This is evidenced by the fact that they won.
You may say "ah, but France would have been out of sight at half time if they hadn't dropped some critical passes". I would say that catching a ball thrown at you while running at speed is a fundamental part of the game and, if you can't do that, you do not deserve to win. Similarly, it is no secret that kicking the ball between the posts to score penalties in an important source of points and, when you fail to do that, you may find yourself losing.
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In that case they are executing perfectly.
Although I would argue that, in both cases, England was the better team on the day. This is evidenced by the fact that they won.
You may say "ah, but France would have been out of sight at half time if they hadn't dropped some critical passes". I would say that catching a ball thrown at you while running at speed is a fundamental part of the game and, if you can't do that, you do not deserve to win. Similarly, it is no secret that kicking the ball between the posts to score penalties in an important source of points and, when you fail to do that, you may find yourself losing.
Have to say that England's position would have looked very, very different if their last two matches had not resulted in grasping victory (or holding on due to a missed conversation in the case of the Scotland game). However their last two games should be very winnable, which could mean they end up second which would be a good result.
As an aside - one of the (many) things which frustrates me about the 6 nations is the stop/start approach to fixtures. You get two weekends worth of games, then it stope for two weeks, then one more game, and then another two week pause. By the time England play Italy on 9th March they will have played just one match in over a month! So you lose momentum (and frankly interest) in the tournament.
Surely it would be much better to play it over five consecutive weekends. And before people start bleating on about the need for breaks and rugby being a tough game, if NH sides want to aspire to do well in the world cup they need to be able to play every week for five weeks. Let's make the formatting of the 6 nations help them prepare.
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I agree with Prof D, the gaps just break up the flow. To be honest so far the play has overall been disappointing.
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Surely it would be much better to play it over five consecutive weekends.
I agree. I've no idea why they put the two furlough weekends in.
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And before people start bleating on about the need for breaks and rugby being a tough game, if NH sides want to aspire to do well in the world cup they need to be able to play every week for five weeks. Let's make the formatting of the 6 nations help them prepare.
If your side lacks strength in depth like Wales or Scotland and possibly Italy, you would probably very strongly prefer the current arrangement.
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Starts next weekend 1st Feb.
Current prediction
1 France
2 Eng 3 Ireland = Scots
5 Ita
6 Wales
- I'm optimistic for England, already has several players out/ injured...
Currently
1 France
2 England
3 Ireland
4 Scotland
5 Italy
6 Wales
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/six-nations/table (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/six-nations/table) For my predictions (correct at time of publishing). The top 3 will beat the bottom 3.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/mar/14/six-nations-to-remain-on-free-to-air-tv-until-2029-after-new-itv-and-bbc-deal
Good News!
As part of the new arrangement, ITV will have the rights to all five of England men’s matches and will show 10 fixtures a year
Now I'll get even more time to whinge about how bad ITV's coverage is.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/mar/14/six-nations-to-remain-on-free-to-air-tv-until-2029-after-new-itv-and-bbc-deal
Good News!
Now I'll get even more time to whinge about how bad ITV's coverage is.
At least it’s coverage.
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Mind you, if you arecWelsh, coverage is probably the last thing you want to
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Starts next weekend 1st Feb.
Current prediction
1 France
2 Eng 3 Ireland = Scots
5 Ita
6 Wales
- I'm optimistic for England, already has several players out/ injured...
Well done. You called it.
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Well done. You called it.
(Now renamed, womens tests available on bbc. 1st round this weekend, England on Sunday.)
Back to predictions.
1 - England
2 - France
3 - Scotland
4 - Ireland
5 - Italy
6 - Wales
I think Wales need many more home matches for a chance, but that looks like a bridge too far. I don't think I've ever been impressed by Ireland either.
(P.s. With thanks to Jeremy)
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Other predictions are available.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/mar/20/womens-six-nations-2025-team-by-team-guide-rugby-union (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/mar/20/womens-six-nations-2025-team-by-team-guide-rugby-union)
1- Eng
2 - Fra
3 - Ire
4 -Sco
5 - Ita
6 - Wal
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(Now renamed, womens tests available on bbc. 1st round this weekend, England on Sunday.)
Back to predictions.
1 - England
2 - France
3 - Scotland
4 - Ireland
5 - Italy
6 - Wales
I think Wales need many more home matches for a chance, but that looks like a bridge too far. I don't think I've ever been impressed by Ireland either.
(P.s. With thanks to Jeremy)
I think the first two are pretty much as you say barring a huge upset. I don't know enough about the other home nations to call the order for them.
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Idiotic decision at the time
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/other/rugby-france-hooker-mauvaka-gets-three-match-ban/ar-AA1BkanD