Six Nations

This week we will be mostly concerning ourselves with all things Six Nations…

Welcome to Loose Pass – our weekly assortment of disjointed thoughts. This week we will be mostly concerning ourselves with all things Six Nations…

And so the Six Nations got off to a bang! Well, a small bang. A pop? Okay, a whimper.

As per usual, that fabled cloak of ancient rivalries and deep-seated grudges sat heavily on the shoulders of the chosen ones. All that hype and anticipation, and for what? Three forgettable matches pretty much devoid of verve.

This will come into sharp focus when the Super 14 kicks off this weekend, and fresh-legged gymnasts begin to strut their risk-free stuff on the firm pitches of the south.

But before those from below the equator begin to crow, the Six Nations is a nuanced beast and its glory has always lain in its back stories.

There was Alun-Wyn Jones, whose leg was surely thrust out in spite of himself, perhaps involuntarily flexed by the spirits of his contrymen put to their deaths by Edward Longshanks. Take that, saes! (Yeah, okay, we know the victim was a Kiwi…)

Then there was Steve Borthwick. How the hacks in the press box sank a little lower with each of his ball-snatching leaps in the line-out.

There was redemption for Mathew Tait – no longer must he answer questions about Gavin Henson.

And redemption, too, for Mathieu Bastareaud. But just where was the marking? Did the Scots believe he would bring himself down? A reasonable theory, given his track record when far from home, but it just didn't work for them (And is it just us, or does the big Frenchman look a little like this chap?)

And there was poor Aurélien Rougerie, full of heart and fire and love of country, falling at the first hurdle, earning points for effort if not for execution! You might say it was a performance mirrored by the Italians and the Scots.

And so we move on to the next round of glorious vignettes.

How will the great Brian O'Driscoll cope against big Bastareaud? Can Alun-Wyn Jones win back the love of his people? Will the return of Euan Murray frustrate the Welsh? Can Ronan O'Gara hang on to his jersey with Jonathan Sexton now fit and riding pine? And how with the missus react when we sneak off to watch Italy take on England on Valentine's Day?

——————————————————————————————————————-

It has been a while since England managed to score three tries in a match. Perhaps they were stung into action by this recent slight from Keith Barwell, the chairman of Northampton Saints.

“I went to the Rugby Writers' Dinner last month and they struggled to produce a five-minute video of England highlights,” he said. “They only scored one try in three matches in the autumn – so they had to repeat it 15 times.”

Ouch!

——————————————————————————————————————-

Hats off to Scotland stalwart Chris Paterson. He will become the 13th player to earn a 100th Test cap when he take to the field in Cardiff on Saturday.

Here's a list of rugby's illustrious centurions, and a few players who might be joining their ranks in the not too distant future.

139 – George Gregan (Australia)
119 – Jason Leonard (England, 114; British & Irish Lions, 5)
118 – Fabien Pelous (France)
111 – Philippe Sella (France)
110 – George Smith (Australia)
103 – Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland,97; British & Irish Lions, 5)
103 – Gareth Thomas (Wales, 100; British & Irish Lions, 3)
102 – Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 – Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
101 – David Campese (Australia)
101 – Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
100 – John Hayes Ireland (Ireland, 98; British & Irish Lions 2)

99 – Chris Paterson (Scotland)
96 – Ronan O'Gara (Ireland, 94; British & Irish Lions, 2)
96 – Martyn Williams (Wales, 92; British & Irish Lions, 4)
93 – John Smit (South Africa)
92 – Victor Matfield (South Africa)
92 – Malcolm O'Kelly (Ireland)
91 – Peter Stringer (Ireland)
90 – Stephen Jones (Wales, 86; British & Irish Lions, 4)

——————————————————————————————————————-

We thought it was just us being all Victor Meldrew, but it seems that quite a few people had a problem with the BBC's new SpiderCam.

Indeed, the corporation received no less than 169 complaints about the contraption following its use during England's win over Wales at Twickenham.

It's not such a bad addition, but cutting to overhead views mid-move is slightly disconcerting – you tend to lose track of where the play is taking place.

We'd say keep it, but just for replays. It shed some new light on the murky world of scrum engagement, and it could help stem the growing trend for forward passes and players setting off in pursuit of bombs from in front of the kicker.

That said, we wonder what prevision the Beeb has made to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Watch SpiderCam's French cousin's РAraign̩eCam? Рstarring role in last year's game between Wales and France in Paris.

And whilst we're on the subject of broadcasting, if you want to watch rugby in 3D, why not head to the match rather than the cinema?

——————————————————————————————————————-

Further evidence that the US producers where slightly out of the depth with rugby-related matters on the set of 'Invictus' comes from Zak Feaunati.

The former Samoa and Bath loose forward, who plays Jonah Lomu in the film, reports that he was asked, repeatedly, whether he wanted his stunt double to set in for the dangerous stuff. You know, the rugby.

His repeated answer?

'Well, I've been this professionally for 12 years so I don't think it will be a problem!”

——————————————————————————————————————-

We know that Wales's quest for silverware took a serious hit with defeat to England at Twickenham, but this is ridiculous!

We think someone might be in need of a new agent…

Compiled by Andy Jackson