Six Nations 2016: Five things we learnt from the second round - six down to three, Sexton targeted, North returns
Following another enthralling weekend of action, here are five things we learned from the second round of the Six Nations
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Your support makes all the difference.And then there were three…
Despite it only being the second weekend of the Six Nations, there are now only three teams left that can realistically win the competition.
Ireland’s loss to France all but rules out a historic third title as the men in emerald green look to be missing the experience of Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell. They travel to Twickenham in the next round and while England haven’t set the world alight under Eddie Jones, they will go into the game as favourites.
Scotland and Italy, on the other hand, are without a win in this year’s tournament – meaning the Six Nations title will be contested by England, Wales and France.
He wasn’t gone long, but George North is back
Wales’ giant winger has been enduring the first real scoring drought of his career, both at club and country, but firmly put that in the past with a sensational try against Scotland.
The winger made 106 metres in the match and stepped past four would-be tacklers before touching down for the try. The performance was reminiscent of North on the 2013 Lions tour and Welsh fans will be hoping for more of the same in the coming weeks.
As the old saying goes - form is temporary, class is permanent - North showed that in abundance this weekend.
France don’t like Jonathan Sexton
Despite plying his trade for Racing Metro a couple of years ago, it seems that Johnny Sexton doesn’t have too many friends across the channel.
During the loss to France, Sexton was clearly targeted by the French pack – namely Yoann Maestri – who hit the fly-half from behind well after the ball had left Sexton’s hands.
Speaking after the game, Irish head coach Joe Schmidt told the BBC: “He knows what he’s going to get when he comes here. He was pretty knocked around by the end of the match.”
Maestri will face a nervy few days while the citing commissioner reviews the match and any acts of foul play he finds within.
England’s lack of discipline still present
England will be pleased with their work over in Rome, but the team collectively still gave away far too many penalties and against tougher opposition would have been punished.
Over the course of the match England gave away 13 penalties, one more than against Scotland on the opening weekend, and while Italy couldn’t translate those penalties into points, a team with a more proficient goal kicker – such as Wales or Ireland – and a stern defence would have kept clawing away at England’s scoreline.
Scotland just can’t seem to win
After being so close to reaching the World Cup semi-final, we all thought Scotland had finally turned a corner. They had finally progressed from the talented team Vern Cotter took over to a team that could challenge for honours – wrong.
Yes, Scotland have a number of players that have improved hugely under Cotter such as Stuart Hogg or John Hardie but the fact remains that they haven’t won a game away from home since 2010.
While everyone wants to see Italy and Scotland competing in the Six Nations, I fear that yet again their biggest match will be in the next round when they face each other and try to avoid the wooden spoon.
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