Rugby

So Six Nations here we come...

Why do I feel so underwhelmed?

Because there aren't any southern hemisphere nations in it...

Can't put my finger on it by the matches feel like they are at the wrong time
Wales v England isn't until 12th March
Tomorrows games - France v Italy - meh.
Scotland v England - meh

No, that's not it. Surely there are enough SH players in the squads to make it almost a Rugby Championship spin-off?

Edited, as I was unfair on the Scots - everyone is equally guilty of the same!

@PQR agree regarding timing, though not “meh” on Scotland v England -Calcutta cup = blood & black eyes galore...if you’re into your Homo-sapien-on-Homo-sapien violence...ahem.

blood & black eyes galore

Marler and Hamilton have a bit of a beef to settle - The end of the Quins / Saracens game was messy.

Doesn't Hamilton just have a beef to settle with everyone?

Ah a northern hemisphere tournament!?

Now we might have a chance!

If we beat Scotland today, I will be surprised.

Italy looking pretty good against an inconsistent France. Not giving away as many penalties as usual, and look to be making the right decisions with ball in hand

Almost like they learnt soming from playing with the best in the WC.

Oh my god the French Italy game is boring...

Scrapy England game.

Craig ****ing Joubert again...

http://www.rugbydump.com/2016/02/4894/new-zealand-snatch-7s-victory-with-8-men-on-the-field#comments

Game on ... !

Two cracking tries..

Yeah.

I do think the rolling away penalties can be a bit harsh at times, but I guess it'll change in time as people learn to tackle better.

I had thought the Wales try was offside - but assumed there was a rule that I didn't know about

Yeah, the rolling away penalties seem to me a bit pointless. The number of times you get pinged for having an armed trapped under a prop or lock. And its not like it really makes difference half of the time.

Didn't think that Wales disserved the win. Scotland dominated for three quaters of the match despite their lineout shinanigans.

I disagree about Scotland dominating for 3/4 of the match. Had that been the case, they'd have scored more points/tries, which they didn't. TBH their last try was conceded when the match was already won and made the final score flattering.

Okay maybe not dominating but in control I think.
They managed to choose where to play and were good in defence forcing Wales to just kick it aimlessley. They dominated the ariel game making Biggar obsolete and playing with Seymour.
If they weren't kicking it so often they would have scored more points in that period in the second half.

Obviously all of this is relevant until the break by Wales (can't remember who) and then their two tries.
Was a shame about Hogg, thought that made a fair bit of difference?

Of course, all coming from a subdued but still potentially bias perspective. Made for a good game none the less aside from the line outs.

Yes, the Scotland kicking game was a lot more precise, but unfortunately didn't produce much in terms of points. Wales on the other hand were quite wayward, resulting in simple turnover ball, albeit with small gains in territory.
Seymour was very good - threatening with ball in hand.
Tom James made the break for Wales.
Scotland are building well and could well win all their remaining matches.

I'd be ok with picky rolling away penalties if the refs also started making people put the ball into the scrum straight. You don't need a hooker when it's rolled in behind his legs.

^ Agreed. And throwing into the line out - so many squint throws were let go. I found myself agreeing with both Brian and Eddie yesterday (shudders). Please IRB, or whatever you are called, stop all this before I agree with Stuart Barnes!

Why is iPlayer only showing some of the games??? This is frustrating...

Why is iPlayer only showing some of the games??? This is frustrating...

The games are split between BBC and ITV.

Look on the ITVplayer website for the other games:-

http://www.itv.com/hub/rugby-six-nations-2016/2a4295a0001

(The England game today was on ITV so it won't be up on that page yet.)