The third weekend of the 2024 Six Nations Championship proved to be anything but boring, with every game providing some form of excitement and the table now looking very interesting as the tournament heads towards its final two rounds.
As always, there will be plenty for fans to discuss, and this short tactical analysis will highlight three talking points from the action, breaking down some of the tactics and providing analysis of what each team needs to look at if they are to either hold their positions, keep closing the gap or simply pull away from the foot of the table.
Wales show their mental strength – but now need to bring that in the first half
When looking at Wales’ performances across the Championship so far, the general theme has been one of inconsistency, with them having moments to celebrate and moments when they have been really disappointing.
That inconsistency has been highlighted clearly in the way that each of their matches has contained polar-opposite halves, with them often struggling in the first 40 minutes before coming back after the break looking fresh and ready to have a go. Against Scotland in their opener, they struggled for 40 minutes before looking like a different team and they did the same thing against Ireland at the weekend, albeit that they weren’t able to close the gap as much due to Ireland always having the ability to maintain the gap on the scoreboard between them.
It was also interesting to see it being largely the same players who were leading those efforts to get onto the front foot, with back rower Aaron Wainwright once again central to their attacking play with the ball in hand whilst full-back Cameron Winnett and fly-half Sam Costelow tried constantly to create opportunities for the visitors to get up the pitch and winger Rio Dyer cut inside to ensure that he could offer as big a test as possible for the Irish ranks.
Even though Ireland did win by a comfortable margin in the end, Wales showed that they have the potential to challenge those above them and to make life uncomfortable for them at times. Their aim now has to be translating their positive phases into an 80-minute performance, because the lack of consistency at the moment is seeing them constantly having to play catch-up, and starting games in a better manner could lead to them becoming more of a handful in the future.
Scotland’s defence is what currently holds them back
Whilst Scotland will celebrate the fact that they occupy second place in the Six Nations table after three rounds and the fact that they made history on Saturday by securing four consecutive Calcutta Cup victories for the first time since 1972, they will know that they are not the perfect side yet.
In attack, things have been going well, with them playing eye-catching rugby and making it very difficult for Wales, France and England to resist them, with clever passes and a desire to both carry well and to kick into open territory key features of their forward play. The fact that they have had plenty who have taken charge at different stages will also please them, with winger Duhan van der Merwe the latest to claim the spotlight after his stunning performance against England.
However, where they are still lacking quality at times is in defence, with all three of their matches indicating that this is their Achilles heel. Their second half performance against Wales saw them caught out and opened up by the home side too much, whilst they sat off France after the break and then conceded two tries against England due to players getting too narrow or gaps being left open.
There is a lot to like about Scotland at the moment and a number of reasons to praise them, and it is clear that they are a force to be reckoned with at the best of times. However, if they don’t address those defensive mistakes, then they will continually be held back and won’t quite reach the level that so many know them to be capable of, and that now needs to be what they focus on over the next two weeks ahead of their trip to Rome.
Italy show once again that they are not to be taken lightly
Under Kieran Crowley, Italy were a developing team who were undoubtedly moving in the right direction, and, whilst there were plenty of things that still weren’t quite right in their performances, there were some really nice things in their displays that demonstrated how they were capable of closing the gap that had emerged between themselves and the other five teams in the Championship.
The New Zealander was rightly lauded for his hard work in improving the side, and his successor Gonzalo Quesada has been tasked with continuing that work. The early signs of his time at the helm have been largely positive, with them giving England a hard time in Rome and almost edging France at the weekend, when they were only denied a famous win (which would have added to their triumph in Cardiff in 2022) by fly-half Paolo Garbisi hitting the post with his last-minute penalty kick.
Had they secured that win, there would not have been many who would have argued that it was undeserved, with them by far the better team on the day and showing a lot more unity and co-ordination than France did. It should be mentioned that the visitors were down to 14 players due to a red card for centre Jonathan Danty, but that was not the reason for France lacking composure and quality in Lille.
They did still lack some accuracy in areas of the game, but this was another match in which Italy showed that they really are starting to gain some momentum, and they will take so much pride and confidence from the way that they approached this encounter. Quite simply, they are not a team to underestimate at this moment in time.