Well, it wasn’t the start to the 6 Nations that Ireland wanted. Although battling very heroically with 1 man down, Ireland lost to Wales, 21-16. It was a pretty good team perfomance, overall, but Ireland made too many mistakes and lost a match that they could have quite easily won. The game capped off what was a very exciting opening weekend of the 2021 Six Nations.
(I watched the match with my brother Colin, and it was also his birthday. I had a bit of excitement on the way to Colin’s house as the bus I was on was stopped by the Gards, who asked where everyone was going. I had been taking a few buses since the lockdown was introduced and this was the first time this had happened. I was able to explain about the support bubble but it was still pretty nerve-wracking. It’s never very pleasant being stopped and questioned by the Gardai (although their manner wasn’t too confrontational). When you’re doing something perfectly innocent and you’re made to feel guilty. It seemed to be more of a warning for people. I think one guy said that he was returning to Cavan after seeing his girlfriend! It will be great to get back to a time when you don’t have to explain your movements).
Ireland went into the match as favourites against an unfancied Wales. The Welsh have had a very difficult transitional period under their new coach, Wayne Pivac. Pivac was taking over from Warren Gatland, the most successful coach in Welsh rugby history, and 1 of the most successful coaches rugby had ever seen. When Pivac took over at the end of 2019, he was inheriting a team that had won the Grand Slam that year and were beaten semi-finalists in the World Cup.
Wales had a very poor 2020, winning only 3 of their 10 matches played, 2 wins against Italy and a win against Georgia. Although they went into the 2021 game against Ireland with the home advantage (Ireland hadn’t won in Cardiff in the 6 Nations since 2013) Wales were still the underdogs. But, at the end of the day, they managed to put Ireland away.
Ireland lost Peter O’Mahony at around 15 minutes into the game after a terrible moment of madness. He was sent off after hitting a Welsh player in the head. World Rugby have implemented a zero tolerance policy when it comes to blows to the head and O’Mahony paid the penalty. While the initial belief was that Ireland would be demoralised by being a man down, the loss seemed to galvanise and energise the side. Ireland actually scored the first try of the game, made by a brilliant break from Henshaw, and Ireland were actually leading Wales going into half-time.
The inevitable fatigue started to tell, though, in the second half and Ireland started making mistakes. Centre George North was able to capitalise on poor Ireland backline organisation and run in for a try and Wales added a second try later in the game. Ireland also lost 3 pivotal playmakers, when James Ryan and Jonny Sexton went off for possible concussion, and Conor Murray went off as well. Ireland had actually stolen possession at the death of the match but replacement outhalf (playing in his first 6 Nations match) BIlly Burns elected to go for the 22 and the ploy failed. Ireland lost the game but did manage to win a losing bonus point, which may prove to be important in what should be a very competitive 6 Nations.
While the bad news is that Ireland look set to be without Jonny Sexton, James Ryan and Peter O’Mahony for the game next week against a very strong looking French side, there are some positives to be taken from the game. Despite being a man down for most of the game, Ireland still had most of the position and there were some great performances, from Robbie Henshaw, CJ Stander and Tadhg Beirne in particular. Very few teams would manage to win a game with 14 men and Ireland did better than most, so there are some positives. They will have a very tough tournament, though.
The great excitement over the weekend came from Scotland’s shock win against England. The Scots had all the cards stacked against them going into the match. England were strong favourites going in to the match, having won the 6 Nations and the Autumn Nations Cup, in 2020, and were beaten finalists in the 2019 World Cup. Scotland had a very poor 2020 and went out in the pool stages of the 2019 World Cup. Plus the game was being played in Twickenham, where Scotland hadn’t won since 1983.
It’s 150 years since the first match was played between England and Scotland, making it the oldest international contest in rugby (there have been 139 tests with a few missed during the war years). The 1938 contest between the sides was also the first rugby match to be televised. Scotland managed to win both those contests and the 2021 side was able to repeat that feat.
England never seemed to turn up for the game and the Scots dominated throughout. They picked up the Calcutta Cup with pride.
(The Calcutta Cup has a very interesting history (I got this from Wikipedia). A contest between an English 20 and a Scottish 20 took place on Christmas Day 1872, in Calcutta (rugby teams had 20 players in those days). The contest led to the formation of a rugby club in Calctutta but the Indian climate was never going to be inducive to the game of rugby and the club soon disbanded (the fact that the club couldn’t maintain an open bar also didn’t help, lol). Wanting to keep the name of the club alive, the members withdrew the club’s money from the bank, 270 Rupees, melted the Rupees down and made them into a cup, which would be competed for every time England played Scotland).
France got the 6 Nations weekend rolling with a crushing defeat against Italy, 50-10. The defeat was the 24th consecutive match that Italy have lost in the 6 Nations, and the defeat has led to more discussion about implementing a relegation system in the 6 Nations and maybe including another team in Italy’s place, possibly Georgia, although they mightn’t fair much better. Italy have now been a part of the competition for 22 years and they have not made the improvements hoped for. They possibly might even have gotten worse.
It was a very exciting opening weekend of rugby and next weekend should be just as thrilling, with unexpected winners Wales and Scotland facing off and Ireland hosting a very strong French side. It’s great to have the 6 Nations back, one of the greatest sporting tournaments in the world!
There was some very sad news this week as the rugby world mourned the loss of the great John Pullin, the legendary English hooker, He was an icon of the game, his 42 caps were a then record for a hooker. He also gained 7 caps for the Lions, 3 against South Africa in 1968, and he played in all 4 tests in the legendary series win against the All Blacks, in 1971. As England captain he was the first European to lead his team to victory over all 3 of the Southern Hemisphere giants, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia within 18 months (although Australia weren’t quite that strong at the time).
But it’s one match in particular that he deserves special credit for and should forever give him a place in the hearts of rugby fans all over Ireland. In 1973, he led his team out at Landsdowne Rd, and got a standing ovation, the first and only time for an England side to be given this reception. Many in Ireland had been fearful that the match would not take place.
The previous year, both Scotland and Wales had refused to travel to Ireland due to the sectarian violence at the time (this was the height of the ‘Troubles’) and many feared that England would follow likewise. But Pullin refused to bow to the terrorists and brought his side over. The English team received a great reception and after losing the game, Pullin brought the house down at the after-match function when he proclaimed, ‘We may not be great but at least we turn up’.
Had the game not been played it could have had serious reprecussions for rugby in Ireland and possibly the 5 Nations tournament itself. Many in rugby owe him a debt of gratitude for his bravery. A true legend of the game, he will be missed. RIP
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