Rugby Six Nations 2017 & Round 4 Preview
Let’s break down what we have in store for Round Four.
The Six Nations Cup
It’s a tournament that is utterly lionized by the very definitions of blood, sweat, and grit. We are seeing an elite caliber of athletes that are laying every inch of their bodies on the line — now more than ever — to be immortalized with the legends before them.
In this iconic contest between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and Italy, these teams have been going toe-to-toe since February in what is looking like to be an absolute smasher of a tournament. We are already three rounds into the tournament, and have only two more rounds to go, with Round Four starting up on this Friday/Saturday.
Let’s break down what we have in store for Round Four.
This week is bound to be a big one folks!
England:
There is almost no doubt that the Red Roses are the front runners for this tournament. Having yet to lose a game, and sitting with the most points between the six nations, it will come as no surprise that this hungry England squad has a real shot of winning the tournament, and adding another grand slam (when one team manages to beat all other teams) to their resume.
With a young, determined Scotland squad coming to disrupt their chance at winning another successive grand slam, it will be interesting to see how poised England will become when dealing with ferocious Scotland team. Especially when you consider their slow start in the first half of the game against Italy in Round Two. We also saw a very lackluster performance against Italy by Owen Farrell, one of England’s key cognitive players.
It’s fair to say that England have been dominant in every facet of this tournament, but there have been periods within their three match-ups where they have been out-shined by other teams.
Be on the look-out for Elliot Daly, Ben T’eo, Danny Care, and Nathan Hughes going into Round Four this weekend.
Scotland:
This beyond awesome, impressive young Scotland squad is one that continues to stir up more excitement than most previous Scotland squads before them. They’re coming off a big 29–13 win over Wales in the last round, and having scored 20 unanswered points in the second half of the game gives plenty of momentum to the Thistles going into this weekend.
Brilliant, calm, and collected, this Round Four match-up against England is sure to be an absolute banger of game. Although Scotland is determined to make history, beating England at Twickenham, their home stadium, is no easy task..
In order to beat England — and claim the Six Nations title — Scotland is going to have to go into this weekend’s game with a more complete performance than they have managed so far in this Six Nations tournament.
Watch for Stuart Hogg, Tim Visser, Huw Jones, and Tommy Seymour going into Round Four this weekend.
Wales:
Despite the disappointing loss to Scotland in the last round of the tournament, the Red Dragons have still been putting out a solid performance throughout the entirety of the tournament. With a huge 33–7 win over Italy in Round one of the tournament, and also putting up a brave show despite losing to England 21–16, Wales is essentially playing for pride at this point.
By interim coach Rob Howley’s own admission, their hopes of winning the title are pretty much gone. It will be interesting to see what Wales can dish out with an opportunity to go out with a bang at home against Ireland.
If Wales is to suffer a loss against Ireland in Round Four, it will be the first time since 2007 that they suffer three successive defeats in the Six Nations Tournament.
Ireland:
Another huge front runner for the tournament, Ireland is only trailing one point behind England going into the fourth round. Having gained momentum from a 19–9 win over France in Round Three, the Shamrocks definitely hold the advantage when it comes to winning their next match-up against the Red Dragons.
With the likes of: Garry Ringrose, Johnny Sexton, Conor Murphy, and Robbie Henshaw, this confident, motivated Ireland squad is on the verge of obtaining 3 six nations titles in only 4 years. Be on the lookout for this sensational Irish side heading into the fourth and fifth rounds of the tournament.
Italy:
Currently sitting at the bottom of the table with no hope of winning the title, the Azzurris still managed to put up a good display against England in Round Three. They used a cheeky tactic against England in the first half of the game that exploited the intricacies of the laws in regards to rucking, and forming the offside line within a ruck.
It took England a while to get back on their feet. While they still won the game, it managed to throw a huge wrench in the Red Roses game plan. While Italy is in no contention for the title, these guys still know how to put on a show.
Their upcoming home game against France at the Stadio Olimpico should no doubt be an exciting game to watch going into final rounds of the tournament.
France:
Having gained momentum from beating Scotland in the Round Two of the tournament only to only suffer a devastating 19–9 loss to Ireland in Round Three, France has pretty much zero prospect of winning the title.
That said, one can still expect France to completely dominate over Italy in this weekends game; especially considering the fact that name and face is on the line this weekend.
This Round Four match-up for Les Blues against the Italian side should still prove itself to be an interesting game to watch, if only to watch the French side exploit Italy’s weaknesses.
Be on the lookout for: Camille Lopez, Noa Nakaitaci, and Mohamed Boughanmi going into this weekend’s game.
Predictions?
To put it briefly, Round Four of the tournament should pretty much sum up the winners and losers of Six Nations 2017. As far as it goes right now, my choices heading into the weekend would have to be Ireland, France, and England.
Pretty typical by any world standard, but we’ll see what happens!
For more information on match fixtures, results, and highlights, visit: www.rbs6nations.com or check out http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/38587100 for full TV & Radio coverage on BBC.
Tyler is the rugby contributor for theocho.ca. He is a firm believer in the power of sports bringing people together. A varsity athlete for the Algonquin College Men’s Varsity Rugby Team, Tyler carries a first-hand perspective on all the insane things happening in the world of sports today. You can follow him on Twitter @Tybeech_ or can check out his website Tybeech.com , where he posts blogs, pictures, and other cool stuff.
