England Victorious
When Toby Faletau crashed over with about two minutes to go at Twickenham, the panic stations were ringing. England have lost big leads to Wales before, but shipping an 18 point lead, requiring your opponent to score three unanswered tries and convert two of them, in the final seven minutes or so of a match would be a humiliating catastrophe unrivaled. And when George North and then Faletau both went over in the space of four minutes, England were rocking. It looked for all the world like Wales were going to pull off the impossible.
But then they didn't. And England could breathe again. They'd won the match, and with it, probably the Six Nations. In truth, even before France lost to Scotland, England needn't have worried too much about Les Blues. France have not shown their prowess during this tournament, securing tight victories over Italy and then a largely ineffective Ireland, before losing to Wales, and there was nothing to suggest that they'd be able to secure the significant margin of victory required over both Scotland and England to overturn England's superior points difference, even assuming that they could win their remaining matches. And in truth, even if the French had turned over Scotland, you still would have fancied England next week. As it is, Scotland pulled off an exceptional 29-18 win that gives them a really good chance at finishing third next week, should they beat Ireland, and as such, the tournament is England's.
And England deserved it on the strength of their overall performance against Wales. Eddie Jones' words before the match about penalizing the Welsh scrum proved crucial, as England scored with six penalties, three before half time and three after, as Watson's converted try made it 16-0 at half time and 19-0 shortly after. From there, only an England mistake let Wales back into the game, as nervous moments ensued following George Ford's charged down kick to make it 19-7. But even then, England looked in control and a couple more nailed on kicks from Farrell killed Welsh momentum and meant that England were even winning the second half 9-7, as they plundered the 18 point lead that made it look as though the match was over.
And in truth, even though Wales fought back, the Welsh were just not the better side on the day, and haven't been the better side all Championship. When it has mattered, England are the side that have been stronger, faster, and played the better rugby. They've deserved to win every match that they've played, including this one, whereas the Welsh against Ireland and today, simply didn't wake up until it was too late. They've been unconvincing and disappointing at points in this tournament and England deserve to win it.
And they have the tournament now, thanks to Scotland's impressive win. Scotland started very strongly, opening up an 18-5 first half lead after an early French try, followed by a couple of really poor kicks from Trinh-Duc had threatened to derail their return to form, but a converted try by the French right on half time meant that nervy moments were to come for the Scots, as they were pegged back to 21-18, midway through the second half. But an excellent late try from Tim Visser put the game to bed and the French never recovered from that, surrendering their chances the Six Nations with a whimper, rather than a bang. And for Scotland, this represents a return on the investment that looked like it might never come. Scotland have a much stronger side than usual, but defeat to England and Wales, (still the two strongest sides in the tournament) had threatened to curtail any attempts at having a good year. Nevertheless, if they can secure a result against Ireland next weekend and finish third, one point behind Wales (I'd suggest maybe even ahead of them but let's be honest, Wales are going to annihilate Italy) would represent a good tournament for the Scots.
And speaking of Ireland, they finally won a game in this Six Nations, showing their class as they put nine tries past a pathetic Italy side, in a game that is reminiscent of the Ireland side from the last two years, rather than the Ireland side of the last two months. It's been a really rough tournament for the Irish, but any chance at an upset and a wooden spoon was vanquished, and they'll be backing themselves to finish third behind England and Wales, which wouldn't be a good showing for them, but could at least salvage some dignity from this shocker of a Six Nations.
As for England, they're the winners and deservedly so. But they won't be resting on their laurels. There's only one thought on everyone's mind now. And it's not the first Six Nations win in five years, it's the Grand Slam. England have arguably the best opportunity that they've had in a long time to win the Grand Slam, as this is a French side that is right there for the taking. England are simply put, far superior to France and they should really go on and secure the perfect remedy to their dismal World Cup campaign.
Payet Magic, Arsenal Woeful
What a player Dimitri Payet is turning out to be. His sensational free kick against Manchester United, the highlight of another excellent all-round performance from him in which he could have had a penalty (very, very similar to the Benteke one last week tbf although I think that there was less contact and Payet went down earlier) and created some great chances for West Ham. Overall, West Ham will consider themselves desperately unlucky that United forced a replay as Martial's goal should clearly have been chalked off, as Randolph was impeded, leaving him no chance of saving the shot from Martial. But overall, if West Ham and United play as they have in recent weeks, or indeed as they did in this game, then I thoroughly expect West Ham to win the replay. And what a season they're having, the Hammers. Only two points off the top four, with a potential trophy on the way (they're certainly the strongest team left in the FA Cup), they could end up having an unbelievable season.
And speaking of teams having an unbelievable season...oh wait. No. Arsenal's season is entirely believable, since it's the exact same one that they've been having for the last decade. Scramble to finish in the top four, win no silverware (or occasionally the FA Cup), call it a good year, hit the repeat button. It's getting old and it's getting boring. The lack of mental strength and ambition from a club with arguably the most talent in the Premier League is absolutely frightening. Time and again, Arsenal as a club and their fans seem content with their situation, grumbling about injuries and claiming that they only need one player to mount a major title charge. Well once again, they were awful today, as Danny Welbeck missed an open goal in the dying minutes as they lost 2-1 to Watford and were knocked out of the FA Cup, effectively ending their chances at winning a trophy this season. Those chances will go from incredibly slim to slightly slimmer when they get knocked out of the Champions League by Barca on Wednesday, but really we were all expecting that months ago.
Of course Arsenal should still secure a top three finish. But to be quite honest, after a decade of watching his team bottle every attempt at a major trophy, with only a couple of FA Cups to show for it, and another defeat against poor opposition, is this really good enough for Arsenal? Since they beat Leicester, they've won one and drawn two of their seven games, and that includes two games against Championship opposition in Hull City. They're in freefall. And of course, because they're Arsenal, they will finish in the top four, but how long will they let Wenger keep finishing below where they should be finishing? The excuses are running out.
But credit HAS to go to Watford, who secured a cup semi-final place, and are having an excellent season. Premier League survival ensured early, and a cracking cup run? All Watford fans would have bitten your hand off for that at the start of the season, and they have a real shot at silverware. Good luck to them, I'd love to see them win the FA Cup (although frankly anyone but Everton/United would suit me at this point).
The Hard and Fast Section
- Bangladesh beat Oman. Surprise, surprise.
- Nadal is going to sue someone who accused him. Good.
- Harry Kane scored twice. Villa are awful. Easy.
- United get away with vile chanting. Of course.
- And Leicester are in action tonight against Newcastle. Tasty.
No comments:
Post a Comment