International Rugby

Scotland’s 20-36 victory in Rome against Italy last Saturday was their first in the 2016 RBS Six Nations. But for a team with a world-class coach in Vern Cotter—and one that was moments and a controversial refereeing decision away from a Rugby World Cup semi-final in 2015—Scotland are not fulfilling their potential.

The Scots’ problem so far this Six Nations is straightforward: inconsistency.

Scotland lost their opening Six Nations fixture 9-15 against England, and the most disappointing part of the result for the Scotland fans was that they were no worse than England except for the cutting edge in the final stages of attack.

RBS Six Nations Matchcentre stats show that Scotland dominated all of the key indicators other than turnovers and tries. Poor weather conditions at Murrayfield stifled Scotland’s play, but England still managed two tries.

Cotter’s post-match comments only cemented the what-if feeling that has been around Scottish rugby for a decade. As per Iain Morrison of the Scotsman, the stoical Kiwi mused:

I think there was progress but we are frustrated and not particularly happy with our performance. We still need to be focused and show total concentration. Games at this level are tight affairs. We have to take it on the chin.

We have ways to get about the park and put teams under pressure. We managed to do that at times but we did not hold the pressure on for long enough.

It is disappointing not to score a try. There is more frustration than anything else because I know there is so much more that can come out of this side.

Scotland were much improved under the roof in Cardiff, offering significantly more in attack on Matchday 2, despite losing to Wales 27-23. But the Wales match also showcased Scotland’s inconsistency.

In particular, Finn Russell’s unpredictability from the key decision-making position of fly-half undergirds many of the team’s problems. A creative pivot one day, Russell is a liability the next.

Still, the Scotsman’s match report summed up an encouraging but fruitless performance at the Principality Stadium:

Scotland’s afternoon turned to ashes inside the space of just four minutes. It was cruel finale for the visitors but no one claims that elite sport has a heart.

The Scots will be wondering what they might have achieved had they produced this performance against England.

Similarly, after the Wales match, the BBC’s Tom English concluded: "This team is trapped in no-man's land. They're stuck in a place between the pitiful dog-days of old and a proper new dawn. They can see the light, but they just can't reach it. And it's excruciating."

Scotland got their much-needed win in Rome on Matchday 3 but were very reliant on Italy’s failings. The Azzurri scrum in particular is a lamentable imitation of its traditional strength, and Scotland twice let Italy back into the match after they gained a margin of comfort.

For instance, with five minutes remaining and Scotland leading 29-20, WP Nel’s needless yellow card (Scotland’s second of the second half) for a deliberate knock-on provided Italy with an opportunity that was unnecessarily conceded. As it was, an Italian handling error saved Scotland from a tough end to the match.

But then, with three minutes to go, Scotland gave a reminder of their talents (and inconsistency) with a Tommy Seymour try created by a delightful one-handed pass from Stuart Hogg.

Scotland should be doing much better than this. In Vern Cotter, they have one of the premier coaches in the world. The straight-talking New Zealander won the Top 14 with Clermont Auvergne as head coach and two Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders as forwards coach.

Scotland’s performance at last year’s World Cup showed what the team can do, but to challenge for titles, they need to back up good displays with positive results. Otherwise, despite flurries of excitement, they will continue to languish towards the bottom of the Six Nations table.

England’s biggest disappointment so far in the 2016 RBS Six Nations has been their discipline. Sound familiar?

Eddie Jones' team were much the better side against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday, and it was only England’s indiscipline that brought the visitors back into the game.

Speaking after the match, England captain Dylan Hartley told the BBC: “I'm sure there's plenty to work on, discipline being top of the list.” He was right.

England, who dominated throughout, had two men sent to the sin-bin, which begs the question how many they might lose to the yellow cards when they are put under sustained pressure by top-class opposition with their best players fit.

The first, James Haskell’s late and high tackle on Conor Murray (see video above), was a reckless cheap shot that cost England an almost immediate Irish try and swung the game in Ireland’s favour to lead 10-6. In so offending, the Wasps man became the most sin-binned player in the history of the Six Nations, with four yellows.

Haskell clearly didn’t learn from his similar experience in 2013 against the same opposition, when he feared his card would cost England the match.

Danny Care’s yellow for killing the ball as Ireland looked odds-on to score was more understandable (see video below). The English defence was ragged, and sometimes the coach will not be too disappointed. No mention will be made here of the Harlequins man's daft yellow card against Ireland under Martin Johnson.

Elsewhere, Owen Farrell has been a notorious disciplinary offender in recent seasons, and he is becoming far more of a liability than Hartley, despite his captain’s well-publicised misdemeanours.

Farrell was guilty of two costly penalty infringements in the first half when England were deep in Irish territory. First, after a fine Anthony Watson aerial claim from George Ford’s pinpoint kick, Farrell’s sealing off at the ruck cost England possession and the field position gained by the move.

Discipline is not just avoiding late tackles and cheap shots, it's also about recognising the futility of offending and Farrell hasn’t learned that yet.

Later in the first half, a Farrell neck roll on Keith Earls let Ireland off the hook when their under-fire lineout was about to be tested five metres from their try line. Cheap-shot indiscipline at the ruck is being penalised more and more since the arrival of the in-play television match official (TMO) and rarely goes unnoticed either during the game or after it.

It’s senseless, and Farrell and England must kick the habit. On another day, he might have seen yellow.

Farrell, to take the most prominent example, has prior form here. With England threatening an unlikely comeback in the 2015 Rugby World Cup against Australia, all hopes were extinguished by his yellow card for taking out Matt Giteau without the ball with the score at 13-20 (see video above). He must curb his penchant for rugby felony.

Aside from yellow cards and Farrell, another worrying trend is that ex-captain Chris Robshaw is quietly becoming a serial offender at the ruck and maul.

Whether losing the leadership has impacted on Robshaw’s sense of impunity, England can scarcely afford to have both flankers walking a disciplinary tightrope. He too could have been sin-binned for being offside at an Irish driving maul 10 metres from the England line.

All this though comes after an internal statement from head coach Jones about improving discipline, as recorded by the Daily Mail in a feature on winger (and recent cherub) Jack Nowell. In it, the Exeter Chiefs man noted: “Our discipline hasn't been great and we know that as a squad that that needs to get a lot better.”

“We’ve talked a lot about discipline, and breakdown penalties, and we gave some dumb ones away which kept them in the game.” Thus spoke Stuart Lancaster, then England head coach, after the 2015 Rugby World Cup defeat to Wales, per Rugby World.

In the discipline department, despite the arrival of Jones, nothing has changed.

England and Wales will duke it out at Twickenham in Round 4 of the 2016 RBS Six Nations as a rematch of last year's World Cup collision promises to decide this year's title-winner.

Coach Warren Gatland leads an unbeaten Wales outfit to English headquarters, but Eddie Jones' England side boast a one-point advantage coming into their duel after winning all three of their matches with him in charge.

France are the only other nation in with a slim chance of winning the 2016 trophy, and they travel to Murrayfield for a meeting with Scotland, who are high on their first win of the tournament after beating Italy 36-20.

Reigning champions Ireland can't retain their championship, but a fourth-round fixture against Wooden Spoon favourites Italy could finally see coach Joe Schmidt's men grab a victory in Dublin.

We provide all the essential viewing details for the fourth-round fixture list, complete with a look ahead to the most promising matchups to come in the penultimate week of the 2016 RBS Six Nations.

Viewers can live stream matches broadcast on ITV via ITV Player, while matches on BBC One will be available to stream via the BBC Sport website.

Six Nations Stalwarts Meet New Breed at Twickenham 

Five months have passed since Wales sealed a 28-25 win at Twickenham to dash England's hopes of making it past the 2015 Rugby World Cup pool stage, but the dynamic of this fixture has shifted drastically since then.

Jones has been installed as Red Rose chief, and the initial signs look positive, with the jaded regime of predecessor Stuart Lancaster replaced by a new wave of up-and-coming Premiership stars.

Gatland's Wales team, by and large, have worked together for some years now, building a fluidity and familiarity that, while England may not yet possess, they make up for in irrepressible, up-and-coming talent.

That quality was evident in Saturday's 21-10 win over Ireland, after which Jones appeared to be in a prickly mood when asked about the performance of referee Wayne Barnes following several controversial decisions:

Nevertheless, England remain the only team in the tournament who are yet to drop a point, and the likes of Maro Itoje, Anthony Watson and Billy Vunipola are painting a pretty picture for the future.

But Wales will be only concerned with what's happening in the here and now, and last year's Twickenham-toppling squad remains capable of causing a stir in English territory during Round 4.

Scintillating Scotland Look to Down Noves' Bleus

Scotland coach Vern Cotter finally saw his team get off the mark on Saturday, when his side produced one of their most captivating displays in recent memory to trump the Azzurri 36-20 in Rome.

After tries from flankers John Barclay and John Hardie put the Scots ahead at the Stadio Olimpico, Cotter will perhaps have been most encouraged to see his men finish with a flourish as Tommy Seymour scored in the 78th minute:

But France will present a different task altogether, and after seeing the unbeaten run of coach Guy Noves come to an end at the hands of Wales, Les Bleus will be fired up to get back on the victory trail in Edinburgh.

Noves' appointment heralded the promise of a new, revitalised France, but the truth is they're still exhibiting hesitance in their play, and Welsh utility James Hook helped illustrate their issues, per BBC Scrum V:

There's a chance fit-again fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc will start at Murrayfield in place of Jules Plisson, a decision that's likely to improve their back-line operations considerably.

That being said, Scotland continue to showcase a great deal of attacking fervour under Cotter, and the Italy result will have put wind in their sails as they hope to make it two wins from two.

A second-half resurgence saw England stride to a 21-10 win over Ireland on Saturday and extend their 100 per cent winning record in the 2016 RBS Six Nations as they returned to the top of the standings.

The Twickenham hosts were frustrated in the opening period and went in at the break with a 6-3 lead, but Anthony Watson and Mike Brown went over the whitewash to seal a convincing second half for coach Eddie Jones' side.

Ireland did well to hold off England's assault for the opening hour, but legs eventually tired as the travelling party deservedly came off second best in London. 

Ireland's hopes for a hat-trick of Six Nations titles now lay in rubble, but as Kicca's Ian Stafford noted, England have a Grand Slam in their sights after Saturday's win:

Fly-halves Owen Farrell and Jonny Sexton were called into action as the primary point sources in the first half, and a cagey affair unfolded as the two sides jostled for territory.

England No. 8 Billy Vunipola stood out throughout the fixture, however, and was unfortunate not to lead his side to the line in the first 40 minutes, his hulking frame causing a constant concern for the Irish.

Sexton was the first to fire over a penalty after just five minutes, but Farrell slotted two kicks of his own before the interval to ensure England had the slightest of leads at half-time.

BT Sport's Nick Mullins put Ireland's defensive graft into numbers at the halfway mark and sounded out strong praise for the barnstorming Vunipola:

Despite being under the screw for vast stretches of the game, it was Ireland who took the initiative in the second half, however, and Conor Murray reclaimed the lead for the visitors just five minutes after the restart.

England flanker James Haskell was sent to the bin for a high tackle in the 44th minute, and scrum-half Murray leapt over the line from the resulting lineout, with Sexton kicking the extras:

Ireland were happy to take a 10-6 lead before Farrell pulled the Red Rose back to within a single point after slotting his third penalty of the match, but the worst was yet to come for coach Joe Schmidt's side.

After playing through the phases, an overlap eventually opened up on the left flank for England, and Anthony Watson was alert to the space as he thrust England back into a 14-10 lead:

Irish stamina was wavering at this point, and the introduction of scrum-half Danny Care gave England another gear as they went for the jugular in front of a baying home audience.

This time it was Mike Brown who found space on the right wing before gliding over for a second try, and Bet365 illustrated just how quickly the tide turned in favour of the home team:

Ireland refused to let the game slip by, and Connacht centre Robbie Henshaw might have reduced the deficit with a break from 30 metres out, but he just lost control of the ball, and with that, the result went to England.

Care sat out the last nine minutes of the match in the bin after failing to roll away at the ruck, but Coach Jones will have been impressed with the resolve of his 14 remaining men as they saw out an 11-point win.

A third win of the tournament means England are a point clear at the top of the table, and they'll now enjoy a deserved week off before facing what looks likely to be a title decider against Wales.

Meanwhile, Ireland's frustrations continue, and the search for a first win of the competition goes on as Schmidt's reigning champions wave goodbye to their chances of a Six Nations title defence.