Another enthralling weekend of rugby saw Scotland boost their chances of a first-ever Six Nations title and Italy pile the pressure on England coach Steve Borthwick.
Dupont is human after all
Such are the impressively high standards set by Antoine Dupont, it is genuinely surprising to see the France captain make major errors.
The diminutive No 9, whose superb attacking attributes are complemented by strength worthy of an Olympic wrestler, had started the 50-40 defeat to Scotland so well when he ripped the ball from opposition skipper Sione Tuipulotu to spark France’s opening try by Louis Bielle-Biarrey in Edinburgh.
AFRICA PICKS: Six Nations round 4 wrap – title race goes to final weekend
But in a remarkable high-scoring match that saw Scotland dash reigning Six Nations champions’ France’s quest for a Grand Slam, mistakes by the 29-year-old Dupont led to two of the hosts’ tries.
Dupont’s loose pass was intercepted by Kyle Steyn and Tom Jordan scored Scotland’s seventh and final try of a superb display following an inexplicable Dupont forward pass behind his own tryline.
It was proof of one of sport’s enduring truths: even its best players can have an off-day.
“I made two costly mistakes,” said Dupont. “Maybe we should not focus on individual performance but maybe we need to think as a group about how to avoid getting into these situations.”
MORE: How Scottish Bravehearts fought back
Dreaded vote of confidence
England coach Steve Borthwick came into the Six Nations talking about a potential tournament – and even Grand Slam – decider against France in Paris on the last weekend.
Instead, he will be heading to the Stade de France with an increasingly tenuous grip on his job.
A thumping 48-7 victory over Wales in their opening match was a 12th win in a row.
What followed – three consecutive miserable defeats – left the RFU issuing a dreaded vote of mitigated confidence.
“After a 12-match winning run, these past three results have been hugely disappointing, and we feel that just as much as everyone else,” the RFU said in a statement.
“Steve and his coaching team are working tirelessly to make improvements, and we remain fully committed to supporting them and the players.”
ALSO: Crisis talks after England’s shock loss
With a trip to South Africa to come after their France clash, Borthwick’s men will need to put on a performance for the ages somewhere or they will slump to a five-match losing streak for the second time in his tenure.
Irish have work for Scots visit
Ireland will need to work hard in the week to improve on a “scrappy” 27-17 win over Wales or risk a buoyant Scotland tearing them to ribbons and ending their 11-match losing run against the hosts.
They were way off the almost flawless display in the 42-21 humbling of England, and their man of the match in that game Jamison Gibson-Park highlighted an area where they must show a less cavalier approach if they are to beat the Scots.
ALSO: Embarrassed Poms plummet down rankings
“We’re an attacking team and if teams give us space, we want to be able to attack it,” he said.
“As game drivers, we probably played a little bit more than we needed to, certainly in our own area and through the middle half of the pitch.”
– AFP
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
The post Three things we learned from Six Nations appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Another enthralling weekend of rugby saw Scotland boost their chances of a first-ever Six Nations title and Italy pile the pressure on England coach Steve Borthwick.
The post Three things we learned from Six Nations appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
