So, at the end of the ultimately unsatisfying 2006 RBS 6 Nations tournament, France have emerged as the slightly unconvincing champions, edging ahead of Triple Crown winners Ireland with a superior points difference.
And was the final weekend a good one for the tournament’s London-based players?
On the up:
- What a great few weeks it’s been for Thomas Castaignede (France, Saracens). Following his recall a few weeks ago, the experienced full-back has never passed up an opportunity to show his class. And during France’s snatched victory over Wales on Saturday, he demonstrated his worth repeatedly.
Going nowhere:
- The BBC made much use of the jutting chin and frustrated scowls of the one and only Lawrence Dallaglio (England, Wasps) during their coverage of the England-Ireland match. However, for the match’s entirety, Dallaglio’s frustrations were confined to the touchlines, as he never made it off the bench.
No London-based player featured in Scotland’s narrow victory over Italy.
So what insights have emerged from this year’s tournament? England head coach Andy Robinson and his band of fellow incompetents are vowing to stay on and further ruin England’s 2007 World Cup prospects. Italy are finally really starting to compete with the Northern Hemisphere’s best, and Scotland have shown that they are not just the tournament’s perennial whipping-boys. Wales have reverted to their standard level of disappointment, tempered by occasional glimpses of “false dawn”, and Ireland (as worthy Triple Crown winners) are definitely regaining the flair and passion that they promised several years ago.
Finally, tournament winners France are as unpredictable but ultimately classy as ever – they’ll continue to keep us guessing until the last minute for the World Cup next year.
Picture taken from e_mulvey’s Flickr photostream.
