Formed 2004 ... Herts 7s U14 Runners-up 2005 ... North Herts U14 team, Herts Youth Games 2005 runners-up (coached by Letchworth)... Herts Superteams U14 Runners-up 2005 ... Herts SuperTeams "Fairplay" winners 2006 ... Rochford 10s U17 Champions 2006 ... East Midlands 10s U17 Runners-up 2007 ... East Midlands 10s U17 "Fairplay" winners 2007 ... National 10s U17 5th place and "Fairplay" winners 2007 ... Herts 7s U17 Plate runners-up 2007 ... National 7s U17 Plate winners 2007 ... RFU "President's XV" Award winners 2007 ... Herts Superteams winners 2007 ... Midlands 10s U18 Runners-up 2008 ... National 10s U18 4th place 2008 ... North Herts U11 team, Herts Youth Games 2008 runners-up (coached by Letchworth girls) ... London and SE 7s U18 Plate runners-up 2008 ... Herts 7s U18s runners-up 2008 ... National 7s U18s quarter-finalists 2008 ... Gloucester City 10s U18 Bowl runner-up (6th) 2009 ... Worthing 10s U18 Plate runner-up 2009 ... National 7s U18 Plate winners 2009... Worthing 10s U15 Plate winners 2010... Worthing 10s U18 Shield winners 2010... Herts 7s U15 and U18 Bowl runners-up 2010... National 7s U18 Plate runners-up 2010...

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Six nations 2011: Six from six for England

Position Nation Games Points Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference Tries
1  England 5 5 0 0 223 8 215 35 10
2  France 5 4 0 1 113 51 62 16 8
3  Ireland 5 2 0 3 74 70 4 12 4
4  Wales 5 2 0 3 64 72 -8 9 4
5  Italy 5 2 0 3 68 130 -62 8 4
6  Scotland 5 0 0 4 20 231 -211 3 0

And so its all over – and, frankly to no-one’s surprise, England have won their sixth successive title, and their fifth Grand Slam in six years.

It was an outcome never seriously in doubt. England were rarely pushed, which is actually the biggest concern because they were hardly faultless – especially the backline which in both televised games made way too many unforced errors. Trouble is that this hardly matters if you still win 89-0, but it would matter if the opposition was New Zealand…

Fortunately France look like they will be a test for England in the next year or so, if their young team can continue to develop… and if they can find someone who can kick. Really embarrassing is only word to describe the French kicking throughout the tournament.

Ireland and Wales have also new, young teams – and also showed great promise, though Wales’ loss of their coach mid-season was a remarkable (and unexplained) blow.

It was a blow perhaps not unrelated to their unexpected loss to Italy – but the fact is that Italy have now won six of their last 10 internationals, better than anyone in the tournament other than England and France. They are no longer the push-overs of the Six Nations – they have learnt how to win, and that confidence means that they are now a worry to everyone (except maybe England).

Scotland, on the other hand, are only learning how to lose. They have only won one of their last 18 internationals – and this Six Nations can only be described as a disaster. Every game lost, and four of the five by record margins. It is difficult to see how they can turn all this round – how much confidence can you have if you lose your games by an average of over 45 points per game!

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