6 Nations 2016 - 23 Under 23

Ok, some spots were thin pickings, especially in the half-back area, but the criteria for this side was that firstly the player has to be 23 or under, and secondly that they have to have been in their contry's 6 Nations squad. This side is based on the performance the players gave during the 6 Nations. If a player is in here that didn't see any game time, it is because we couldn't find anyone else to sub in for them. Having said that, that is a rare occasion, because most of this side shone for their country, and prove how bright future is for rugby in the Northern Hemisphere. Take a look.

6 Nations 2016 - Team of the Tournament

 Based solely on their performances in this year's 6 Nations tournament, this is our XV that, on current form, may just give the Kiwis a bit of a scare, although sometimes we've been forced to pick the best of a bad bunch.

3 Players That Eddie Jones Needs To Drop

It is highly unlikely that Eddie Jones will make 2 of these 3 changes, let alone all of them given his tendency to tinker lightly from week to week, but we feel these 3 changes would only improve England in the short and long term.

6 Nations 2016 - Team of the Week - Round 4

This weekend saw England wrap up the 6 Nations title with a largely good performance against Wales, and we also saw a crushing victory for Ireland and a good performance from the Scots as they beat the French. Let's look at our team of the week, starting with the front row.

England vs Wales - Hybrid Team - 6 Nations 2016

Below is our theoretical hybrid side of the upcoming starting XVs for the England vs Wales match. What do you make of it? Have we made any errors?

England vs Wales - Preview - 6 Nations 2016

In what will likely prove to be this year's crucial game, England host Wales for the first time since the Welsh dragon burned Twickenham to the ground in the World Cup. It goes without saying that both sides will be up for this one. So, to dissect the game we will be looking at the match-ups between the two sides and seeing where each team has the advantage and what they can do to win this match, starting with the back 3.

A glance into the England under Eddie Jones

England have made a promising start to this year’s RBS Six Nations under Eddie Jones, the first foreign head coach of the England Rugby Union team.  There were many disgruntled pundits and fans alike when Jones took up the position.  Many thought that we should not look overseas for a head coach with so much home-grown talent in the Premiership, however it seems as though this appointment was the right one, for now at least.

Talking Rugby In French - English to French Rugby Dictionary

Whether you're learning French, just moved there, on holiday during a game or even lucky enough to make the visit over for a 6 Nations match, it's always useful to know what the commentators or other fans are saying, so here are a few words/phrases you may want to learn before you head off.

6 Nations 2016 - Team of the Week - Round 2

In what was a relatively underwhelming week in terms of the quality of rugby that was played, we have endeavored to pick our best team. The Southern Hemisphere boys may well be shaking their heads in disgust at what they saw at the weekend, and rightly so, but we've selected a group of players that didn't destroy all hope for Nothern Hemisphere rugby, although the first two players we will mention played in one of the worst games to have graced television...

6 Nations 2016 - Key Men and Predictions

England:

With a change in head coach, how can England bounce back from a horribly disappointing World Cup campaign? Well, it starts with the right team selection, something Stuart Lancaster got so drastically wrong against Wales in the RWC. The future of English rugby is knocking on Eddie Jones’s door and he’d be foolish to ignore it. This isn’t suggesting that every youngster should start, but Beaumont will certainly be ready to play his part, and the likes of Itoje, Daly, Kvesic should all start given their form and the solutions they provide to England’s weaknesses in the World Cup. Our suggested starting lineup for the Scotland match suggests the direction Jones should go in, and if it wasn’t for Hartley being named captain we would very likely have seen Jamie George in that hooker spot. However, because the infamous New Zealand born Dylan Hartley is England’s captain, he will need to rise to the occasion and will be a key man for the men in white throughout this campaign. Any stupid penalties or any cards and the world gets to laugh at him and the England management. Good discipline will be so vital throughout this tournament.

Four Balls's England Team To Face Scotland

The Six Nations starts in just 4 days time, so to start off our coverage we've taken a look at the starting XV that Eddie Jones should pick for England's opener against Scotland. This would be one of the youngest and most inexperienced England sides of all time, but also one of the most exciting in recent history.

Four Balls Reviews - The Complete Rugby Union Compendium

When they say complete, boy do they mean it.

This book details every Test match ever played by the top 10 international sides, alongside the histories and statistics of the second and third tier nations. There is no better source of information out there about the game we know and love.

Australia vs Argentina - RWC 2015 Semi-Final Prediction

Before the quarter-finals, this would have been a no-brainer, Australia all the way. Their dismantling of England and their formidable defence against Wales showed that they are a side that can go all the way. But then along came Scotland and Australia played some of their worst rugby for a very long time.  

South Africa vs New Zealand - RWC 2015 Semi-Final Prediction

The first game of the all Southern-Hemisphere semi-finals is, given the nature of this World Cup so far, going to be a thrilling encounter. The best in the world come up against a side that lost their first game of the tournament to Japan, and yet we know it will be a hard-fought and close contest, as most South Africa vs New Zealand games are. The last three matches between the two sides have come within 10 poins, South Africa winning one of them, and on neutral ground in what is likely to be slightly favourable to the South Africans, you can be sure of a very close match. South Africa have had this match in their sights for 3 years, and both teams know almost everything about the other. It will be unforgettable.

Kenny Logan's Reaction To Australia vs Scotland

This was really poor from Logan to jump on Joubert's back immediately, he talks about reflecting on what had happened when hardly a minute had gone by and he had no time to gather the facts of to properly analyse what had just happened.

A Note On Australia vs Scotland Feat. Craig Joubert and THAT Incident

It's easy to say Australia should thank the ref for their place in the Semi-Finals of the Rugby World Cup, but Scotland should thank;

1) Foley for being terrible today, including his stupid kick that got charged down.

2) Slipper playing a moronic pass in the key pivot position which led to the intercept try. Why are Australian even putting a replacement prop in that position?

3) The non-existent defending at the ruck that led to the other Scottish try. Australia appeared to try their best to give Scotland some tries today.

RWC 2015 - Quarter-Final Previews and Predictions

Now, our prediction of England to win the World Cup may have gone slightly terribly wrong, but the rest of it looked OK in the grand scheme of things, including the Georgia victory over Tonga, although punting for France to top their group was another misjudgement. Still, onwards and upwards, let's have a look at what lies ahead in the Rugby World Cup.

 

Australia vs Scotland - RWC 2015 Quarter-Final Prediction

This one will be rather straightforward. The Australians showed how they can punish teams with good, quick ball against England, and then they went on to prove against Wales that even with 13 men they can prevent a team scoring. Scotland on the other hand are lucky to be here. They scraped past Samoa, and beat a fatigued Japan side that arguably deserved a spot in the quarter-finals more than the Scots. If Scotland's defence is as sloppy as it was against Samoa, this could be truly embarassing for Cotter and his men.

Ireland vs Argentina - RWC 2015 Quarter-Final Prediction

Argentina can win this. No Irish fan should think this is a straightforward match, not by any means. In Los Pumas, Ireland come up against the top point scorers of the pool stages, even though they were in the same group as New Zealand, a team they pushed very hard. Now, Ireland do have a few injury worries that we will go into later, but even a fully fit side would struggle against a side with the form of the Argentinians, who beat South Africa in the Rugby Championship leading into this World Cup.

New Zealand vs France - RWC Quarter-Final Prediction

Eight years on, same fixture, same location, surely it can't happen again, can it? Well, something needs to change from the the match against Ireland in order for Les Bleus to stand a chance. They were comprehensively beaten by a good Ireland side, and Saint-Andre has a lot on his plate if he is to turn this around.