The second week of the 2024 Six Nations Championship may not have been quite as enthralling as the first round of matches was, with England v Wales being a very scrappy affair and Ireland v Italy noticeably one-sided, but that does not mean that there was a lack of talking points to pick out as the six teams head into the first break week of this year’s tournament.
As ever, this short tactical analysis will pick out three areas of discussion from the weekend’s action, highlighting key tactics that the teams used and providing analysis of any players who stood out.
A battle of the 13s at Murrayfield
France’s trip to Scotland was perhaps the most entertaining of the three games in Matchweek 2, but that does not mean that it was high on quality. In fact, it was largely the opposite, with both sides guilty of making mistakes in possession (due both to the wet conditions and to a lack of focus) and making it a nervous watch for both sets of fans.
However, there were a few things that did stand out, one of which was the battle between the two 13s on the field, with both Gaël Fickou and Huw Jones arguably their respective sides’ most effective players on the field. In the case of the former, he was at the heart of so much of their attacking and defensive play and showed an endless desire to be involved, whilst the latter’s well-documented agility and ability to change direction on the spot kept France guessing whenever he looked to progress up the field.
It was not a battle that many would have highlighted before the game, but it certainly became a key contest as the 80 minutes went on, with it looking likely that whichever of them could exert the stronger influence on proceedings would determine which of the two sides came out on top.
Ultimately, it was a contentious TMO decision that decided the outcome of the match, but Fickou’s speed and constant pressing ensured that the visitors got themselves into a winning position, whereas Jones tailed off in the second half along with the rest of the Scottish players, and that shows how winning this battle was key in the victory eventually going the way of the visitors.
England’s struggles show once again – but their resolve should not be doubted
It would be fair to say that England have not set the world alight in the Six Nations so far this year, with their performances against Italy and Wales appearing turgid and stale as they continue to find their rhythm following the mass player turnaround after the Rugby World Cup.
However, whilst it is abundantly clear that they have a long way to go before they can challenge for silverware once again, what should not be doubted is their resolve and ability to dig in when seemingly up against it, with both matches so far seeing them come from behind to secure wins which appeared unlikely at the time.
That in itself deserves a lot of credit and shows how, even when England are struggling to connect with each other, there is still a basic desire to scrap when needed and to do what is needed, and the fact that that has led to two wins from two so far will give them an enormous amount of confidence.
Therefore, whilst they do still need to refine a lot of their play, there are again signs that they have the capability of getting back to where they want to be in the longer term, and that mentality of never giving up will be something that they will need to hold onto as they continue to move through this period of squad and tactical transition.
Stuart McCloskey is a very underrated player in the Irish ranks
Ireland’s win against Italy may have been built on yet another whole team performance, with every player on the field contributing in some shape or form to their success, but that does not mean that there weren’t a few standout names who deserve to be highlighted for their efforts.
The likes of winger James Lowe and hooker Dan Sheehan are the obvious names to bring up here, but one player who perhaps won’t get the credit that he deserves is Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey. However, when watching Ireland at the weekend, there is no doubt that they would have struggled to play the same way without the Ulster centre, with his role being to enable quick passing sequences and to create spaces for his teammates to exploit, and he did it very well through his delayed offloads and clever timing with the ball in hand.
In many ways, he set the tempo for the way that the game went, and the fact that Lowe, Sheehan and others were able to flourish in the way that they did was because he was dragging opponents towards him and away from them. He might be behind Connacht’s Bundee Aki and Leinster duo Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose in the midfield pecking order, but he always turns up when called upon, as he did in this match, and that is why he is so highly valued by the rest of the team.