Here are seven things we learned from round two of the Championship after another thrilling round of Six Nations 2024. Rugby fans worldwide are called to book Six Nations 2024 tickets from our online platform ticketing. co. Rugby fans can book Ireland Six Nations Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
Ireland has serious depth
Andy Farrell and his team faced a potentially dangerous match in the weekend’s last game. Ireland versus an Italy squad that had nearly defeated England in the first round. Ireland demonstrated their depth against an Italian team that was mostly made up of first-choice players. So it didn’t really matter that Farrell made six changes to his starting lineup and added six new players to the bench.
Even though James Lowe, a regular starter, won Player of the Match. A lot of the players who had the chance performed well. Finlay Bealham, a veteran tight end. Put forth a performance up front that will make the coaches question if he should start more games than Tadhg Furlong. Rugby fans can book Ireland Vs Wales Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
Meanwhile, Ryan Baird was as excellent and active at the lineout for Leinster as he has been all season, and James Ryan turned in another one of his stock standard high-quality performances. At number eight, Jack Conan put in a final, aggressive, and useful try-scoring performance. Though he had some early problems, Jack Crowley still seems like a natural fit for Ireland’s renowned number 10 jumper.
Craig Casey, his Munster half-back partner, was equally good inside. With a magnificent performance, Stuart McCloskey increased the pressure on the midfield selection dilemma, and Robbie Henshaw appears to be returning to his peak.
The two were excellent while Garry Ringrose was out and Bundee Aki was taking a break; the center depth is just absurd. It makes sense that the team that played Italy would be confident in their ability to defeat Wales in the third round. They were brutal, and if there was a bad performance during the 23 it was hard to see it.
Gonzalo Quesada has a challenging task ahead of him
Keeping with Sunday’s game, Ireland easily defeated Italy in round two, erasing any positive momentum Italy may have gained in the first round.
The Irish pack had open play since the Italian tight-five was simply not competitive in any aspect of the game. The Azzurri also didn’t look eager to fight for much territory.
There was only going to be one outcome against a squad that is so proficient at rapid and accurate ruck ball play. It needs to be fixed, regardless of whether the players’ poor execution or a coaching directive was the cause. During the majority of the fallow week, the Irish will likely be relaxing, but Gonzalo Quesada’s team will probably be working really hard to correct their errors and get the team back on track.
The coach will be disappointed to find himself in this precarious scenario the week before a game against a formidable French pack. But that is what he has to deal with. After becoming a true force to be reckoned with at both Stade Francais and the Jaguares. Quesada has gained a great deal of respect as a coach. However, this might be his biggest test to date.
Sin beginnings are still a problem in England
After two wins out of two in Six Nations 2024. Borthwick’s charges are headed in the right route, but despite their perfect win record. There are still issues.
Understandably, the Felix Jones-led defense is taking some time to settle in. Despite brief signs of improvement, the assault is faltering.
They have received three yellow cards in their first two games, which is cause for immediate alarm even though those two facets of the game will take time to resolve. Elliot Daly and Ethan Roots both richly deserved their respective yellow cards. But Ollie Chessum might feel terribly cheated by his 10-minute stint in the sin bin against Wales.
While Wales was unable to take advantage of Chessum and Roots’ sin-binning on Saturday. Ireland most definitely will, and possibly even France and Scotland as well.
Scotland must make the final adjustments
The same thing that we said after round one applies after round two. Gregor Townsend’s team needs to be more merciless when they have the opposition on the ropes. Though, to be honest, they never should have been in a situation where they would have required it. They did create a late opportunity to win the match back.
Scotland essentially sought to “Park the Bus,” and while Jose Mourhino may have had some success with the strategy. Scotland did not, as former Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman put it in his match assessment. Although France deserves praise for their comeback. They should have lost that match by a significant margin and are really fortunate to have left Murrayfield with a victory. They sat back and invited the pressure.
French Flair is still a very competitive Test series
In their first two games of the competition, the French were lethargic and worn out. Yet they still had just enough flare to win. Although it was accompanied by some dubious Scottish defense. Star winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s fantastic goal served as a sobering reminder that the French can still pull off an upset victory.
Not much happened from the scrum position. But Francois Cros had a fantastic carry. Nolann Le Garrec had a similarly amazing pass, and Bielle-Biarrey’s skill allowed them to capitalize. The French may not be at the peak of their game right now. But they demonstrated that they still possess some of that cliched “French flair” if they are in the lead late in the game.
Teams must facilitate officials’ decision-making
We were unable to ignore the big issue or the no-try call made in the game’s deciding play at Murrayfield. Many of his compatriots echoed John Barclay. A former back-rower for Scotland when he denounced the TMO call as the “most unfair decision” he had “ever seen.”
We can understand the conversation, for the most part, and conclude that the try was successful. Even though the TMO rules were carefully followed. Scotland must share some of the guilt because they made the officials’ decisions difficult. It brought back memories of South Africa’s unsuccessful attempt to drive across the line for a late score during their World Cup pool stage encounter against Ireland.
Many claimed that the Irish forwards had committed foul play before the ball was declared unplayable at the rear of the maul on that particular day.
To provide easier visuals for the referees to interrupt, Rassie Erasmus discussed how the Boks altered their strategy in several areas of the game. In this instance, Scotland would have been better off following suit.
Matthieu Jalibert, Damian Penaud, Yoram Moefana, and Thomas Ramos are all tucked up around the edges of the ruck during this attacking passage, just before Sam Skinner lunges for the line. This suggests that, had Scotland been willing to be more adventurous, which they have been incredibly successful at, there might have been some more space out wide, especially given their formidable backline. Even if they weren’t, they might have benefited more from a more measured and patient attack this close to the line.
Posolo Tuilagi Flopped
Posolo Tuilagi also flopped on top of the Scottish second-rower, tying Skinner up in a double tackle as he drove for the line. It implied that his grounding would not have much leeway for explanation.
This needs to extend to these kinds of scenarios when going for the line, much like players need to get lower in tackles and front-rowers need to show the proper body form in scrums to get favorable calls.
A Grand Slam is more and more likely
Although Sunday’s encounter was more like a practice session than a Test match, back-to-back Grand Slams now appear more feasible than ever. However, the Ireland camp may not be talking about it just yet.
It has long been questioned if Ireland can replace important players, but Sunday’s performance suggested such worries are a little out of date.
Their greatest task for this year appeared to be defeating France in their own home. They have many of their best players going into round three following a two-week vacation after decisively winning the job. Cardiff is never an easy place to travel, so they still have a very favorable schedule left.
However, this year, they will play Gatland’s troops in Dublin. After that, Farrell’s team faces a formidable England team at Twickenham, but they close the season in Dublin once more when the Scots play at the Aviva Stadium.
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