Italy v England Rome, 15th March 2014

England went to Rome needing to win, and win by a large margin, if they were to put pressure on Ireland who were playing in Paris later on. Realistically they had to be aiming to win by at least sixty points to overcome Ireland’s superior points difference, bearing in mind the latter could win by at least two scores against a French team who have been less than impressive.

In the event they managed an 11-52 victory, which was a good performance but not a great one. Sir Clive Woodward has a point when he says that substitutions may be detracting from the team’s performance – whatever the substitute brings to the game, he does not have the feeling of how his opposite number and the opposing team have been playing, and the weak points he may have noticed, even subconsciously. That England missed out on a Grand Slam because of a poor last five minutes against France (and a number of mistakes in the previous ten minutes as well) and should have been able to score another three tries in the last ten against Italy does raise a question; are England fit enough? Thirteen players played every possible minute of the Six Nations, and captain Chris Robshaw was the only Englishman to do this. Now, it’s not as if he doesn’t get through a lot of work in a game – so if he can, why not others?

This may sound a bit churlish, given the great improvement in the England side over the last couple of years, but finishing second again is not good enough if you are looking to win a Rugby World Cup in eighteen months time. England tour New Zealand in the summer, which will be an invaluable experience for this young team, and then face all three of the southern hemisphere powers in the autumn. I think it would be fair to say they are heading in the right direction, but are not the finished article yet.

So, while we are at it, what of the other teams in this year’s Championship?

We should start with Ireland, the deserved Champions. Their only defeat was a narrow one away to England, and they had to win their final game in Paris, which as has been said earlier, they don’t do that often. The last time, BOD scored three tries, and it was fitting that he ended his international career with another victory here. France were not the same sorry bunch we had seen up to now, but they still did lack the defensive organisation of a top side. Ireland have quite an old team, and BOD will be missed; when they play to their strengths (and they are good at doing this) they can be a match for anyone in world rugby, but whether they can consistently win against top flight opposition remains a question.

Wales were disappointing. They have some of the best players in the Home Nations, but they are showing signs of turning into the rugby equivalents of cricket’s “flat track bully” – very impressive against weak opposition like Italy, France (at the time) and a fourteen man Scotland, but unable to cope with a team they cannot overwhelm with “Warrenball”, such as Ireland and England. Perhaps a change of emphasis will see them return to their best.

It has become a cliché to talk of France’s variable form, but they do seem to be getting a bit worse overall, for no particular clearly discernible reason. They showed against Ireland that they can still summon the passion, and their players are always capable of a bit of individual brilliance as England found out, but their defensive organisation is pretty shoddy by international standards. However, if they could get some consistency going between coaches and players, they might produce a turn-around very quickly; the players are there.

Which is unfortunately not the case for Italy and Scotland, who have to make the best of what they’ve got from a very small pool of players regularly playing rugby at a high level. Italy were targeting two wins this year, and ended up with none. No one is quite sure who else they thought they might beat apart from Scotland – but their pack aren’t bad.

Scotland finished the competition with pure farce, their only world-class player getting himself pointlessly sent off early on against Wales and slipping to a record defeat. To be honest, they hadn’t been much better in the rest of the tournament, and were jumping around as if they had won the competition after their only victory, a last gasp one by a single point against Italy. An occasional year in which they win more than one game in the Six Nations cannot mask the fact that Scottish rugby needs a change; they got the structure wrong, and now need to do something about it.

Italy 11-52 England

Ireland win the Six Nations Championship 2014.

THE ROME RUGBY STADIUM BUFFET

Ready made fried dishes:

Fried Peppermint/
Basil Leaves and Battered Caper Flowers

Baby Saffron Suppli

Red Onion Rings served with a Chilli Pepper

Preserve Buffalo Mozzarella
Juniper Smoked Delicacies with Pesto, Cherry Tomatoes
and Blue Berry Jam

Black Bread Crostoncini
with Wild Fennel Scented Robiola Cheese

Wafer Cones filled with Whipped Cream
Goats Cheese and Bronte's Pistachios

Mortadella

Lariano Bread with Porchetta Cubes on Skewars

Selection of Breads, Crunchy Baguettes,
Deep Genoese Pizza, Crunchy Olive
Oil Pizza, Walnut Bread

Red Potato Cake with Cured Ham
and Norcia Black Truffle

Parma Ham with Sesame Grissini

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Omasum Soup with Grated Pecorino
and Lariano Fried Bread Crumbs

Cheese and Pepper Ravioli with Crunchy
Artichoke and Mint Leaves

Poached Eggswith Parmisan Mousse and Spices

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Spelt Lasagne with Chicory and Cheese

Orange Braised Salmon in a Rice Ring

Pinto Bean Soup with Clams and Mussels Sage Scented
Capocollo Rolled in San Casciano's Bacon

Coda Alla Vaccinara
with Chilli Pepper Crostini Fresh

Ricotta Cheese and Assorted Preserves

Cedar Potato Salad with Paprika
Peppered Octopus

Anchovy and Capers Salads

Gratin Nests of Spinach and Chard

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Profiterole with Choclate and Caramel Sauce

Hazelnut Mousse with Coffee Sauce

Nutulla Sponge Rolls with Icing Sugar

Deep Fried Baby Cream Puffs

Tozzetti Cookies and Custard

Zuppa Inglese

Whipped Cream Filled Maritozzi

Selection of Fresh Fruit

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Prosecco Collalbrigo

Pinot Grigio Della Venezie Collalbrigo

Cabernet Sauvignon Veneto Collalbrigo

Peroni Beer