6 nations week1

currently on a train, so missing todays games of week2. will try and catch up tomorrow...

Anyway week1 summary:
France v Italy
the French played well enough to confirm their status as tournament frontrunners. Italy looked better than expected, and demonstrated some inventiveness, but the French played well as a team - and looked like they were enjoying it. distinctly different to the RWC and Lievrement's reign.
they were, mostly, consistent and looked to be playing good attacking rugby that wasn't affected too badly by brain meltdowns of the sort we all know and love from the french rugby teams. Still placing france as top of the 6 nations, but Italy may be looking at a 4-5 position.

Wales v Ireland
Ireland looked distinctly overrated. Wales, without their first choice frontrow, looked dominant, attacking, and their backs were very very sharp (and large, George North is a hugely talented monster, NZ should buy him - I'm sure his grandmother was born in NZ...).
Although all the pundits are talking up Ireland, I'm going to say they will be mid-low (3-5) int he final rankings. Wales are the only team who can beat France.

England v Scotland
FFS. For a team who had so much ball, how many times could one bunch of idiots drop it when there's a chance of scoring. Line-breaks, good running, all let down by basic errors of ball handling and badly organised rucks/mauls. Fckn Scotland. Dan Parks had a shocker, and has gone back to retirement. Normally a superb place kicker, things were not going his way. It seems unfair to blame him for the result, since the rest of the teams inability to do anything well certainly didn't help.
England looked better than normal, and appeared to have forwards who thought the ball should go to the backs. Weird. Lancaster seems to be working some kinda of magic to the team, so either sense will prevail with the English Rugby Union and he'll be out on his arse, or a miracle of stone-rolling proportions will occur, and he'll get the permanent job. Of course if he does, no-one in the RFU will support him, and they'll undermine every decision. So either way, business as usual.

B