Monday, 17 March 2014

Pure agony: England players watch as their Six Nations dreams were shattered

By

Mike Dawes



PUBLISHED:


12:50, 16 March 2014




|
UPDATED:


16:26, 16 March 2014



England’s rugby players went through all the emotions as they watched the Six Nations title slip from their grasp.


Having done their bit earlier in the day by thrashing Italy 52-11 in Rome, England were relying on France to beat Ireland in Paris to win the first Six Nations title since 2011.


England’s players gathered at their hotel in Rome to watch the game in Paris, and the range of emotions was etched across their faces as France saw their late try chalked off for a forward pass.


VIDEO Scroll down to watch Stuart Lancaster’s post tournament reaction




Dressed to impress: England players watch the closing moments of the France vs Ireland game in their Rome hotel


Dressed to impress: England players watch the closing moments of the France vs Ireland game in their Rome hotel




Nervous wait: Mike Brown and Luther Burrell can hardly watch


Nervous wait: Mike Brown and Luther Burrell can hardly watch




Oh no! Brown and Burrell watch as France


Oh no! Brown and Burrell watch as France’s try is ruled out




All over: England players react as they watch Ireland clinch the Six Nations title


All over: England players react as they watch Ireland clinch the Six Nations title






But England coach Stuart Lancaster reflected with pride on England’s campaign, but identified the first quarter of the Championship opener in Paris as a source of regret.


The morning after Ireland sent Brian O’Driscoll into international retirement with a Six Nations title to cherish following a night of high drama at the Stade de France, Lancaster was left pondering the fine margins of success and failure.


A first Grand Slam for over a decade would have decorated his third Championship as head coach but for the individual brilliance of Gael Fickou, whose late try snatched a 26-24 victory for France six weeks ago.


Rather than the sublime footwork of Fickou, however, it was England conceding a first-quarter deficit of 16-3 that challenges the bright outlook Lancaster has adopted for an otherwise fine Six Nations.




They


They’ve done it: Ireland celebrate winning the Six Nations after beating France


When asked if he had any regrets, he responded: ‘Winning in France would have helped as a starting point.


‘You can always look back in hindsight at moments in games and at decisions that you felt went against you, missed opportunities.


‘I tend not to get drawn back to that extent. Instead I think about the development we’ve made as a group and all the positives of the performances.


‘But there’s no doubt about it, that first 20 minutes in France gave us a mountain to climb that ultimately cost us in the end.


‘Overall you look back at the games and what we could have done differently, but overall the positives are there for everyone to see.




Crowning moment: Brian O


Crowning moment: Brian O’Driscoll, celebrates in his final game before retirement


‘We scored 14 tries over the tournament, seven against Italy, and I’m hugely proud of what we’ve achieved.’


Ireland were crowned champions on points difference, despite England swamping Italy 52-11 in a seven-try rout at the Stadio Olimpico.


Only 11 points placed the Irish at the summit of the table and in private Lancaster must rue the failure to post bigger scores against Scotland in particular, but also against Wales and Italy.


Using points difference to settle the outcome contributed to a thrilling final day in a strong Six Nations, but can seem an arbitrary yardstick influenced by conditions and the erratic form of weaker teams. Lancaster, however, accepts the rule.




Doing their bit: Robshaw and Tom Wood celebrate their win over Italy


Doing their bit: Robshaw and Tom Wood celebrate their win over Italy


‘It’s worked pretty well – we all knew the score from the start,’ he said.


‘We knew we were first up on the last day and we knew we’d enter the game with a six-day turnaround.


‘Playing three away games makes it more challenging to try and win the Championship.


‘We have three at home next year so it’s a bit easier for us. The Championship works well and it was a pretty fitting climax.’


England, who finished runners-up for a third successive year, emptied their bench at the Stadio Olimpico, inviting criticism from Sir Clive Woodward who claimed the changes disrupted the team’s momentum.




Proud: Stuart Lancaster was pleased with England


Proud: Stuart Lancaster was pleased with England’s performances in the title




Try time: Brown scores his second try against Italy


Try time: Brown scores his second try against Italy


‘Whichever way you go you’ll be criticised. You do what you believe is right for the team,” Lancaster said.


‘All the substitutions that came on against Italy made a hugely positive impact on the game and we’re together as a group.’


England’s next assignment is their summer tour to New Zealand, on which Mike Brown will look to maintain the form that has made him probably the best full-back in Europe.


Brown was named man of the match against Italy – remarkably the third time he has taken the award in four games – and is the overwhelming favourite to be crowned player of the Championship.


‘New Zealand are the number one team in the world and we’re going to their back yard. It’s a great challenge for us,’ Brown said.


‘Now that this Six Nations is done and dusted, we’re excited about New Zealand. It will be great. We aspire to achieve what they’ve achieved and to be like them.


‘There’s a lot of confidence in the squad that we can push New Zealand.


‘We’re making strides with our attacking game and can make teams uncomfortable in defence and attack.’



 








Comments (95)


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TequiToo,


Toulouse, United Kingdom,


30 minutes ago


Frankly Ireland played the best rugby this Six Nations. It would have been a great injustice after that French ‘try’ if Ireland had lost. Vive O’Driscoll and I think England have the best chance of winning the World Cup in 2015





this little england,


somewhere, Guatemala,


2 hours ago


stuart lancaster out !





Forester69,


Cheltenham,


moments ago


Prat with no rugby brain





James Marshall,


hereford, United Kingdom,


4 hours ago


I do love the way every year England start winning and then every pundit who wants to earn a few quid writes how their going to win the World Cup . And agreed there were two other games on the weekend where Wales scored more points and Ireland and France was a far better game yet there is nothing on this site about it





red dragon,


london,


2 hours ago


Well said.





RachelHearton,


London, United Kingdom,


5 hours ago


England’s only loss was thanks to a moment of magic from a poor French side. Ireland’s only loss was a comprehensive defeat by England. England were consistently the best side in the Championship this season.


2 of 4 repliesSee all replies





Invictusbyhenley,


Exeter, United Kingdom,


1 hour ago


Sounds like you boys are getting a bit upset because a Doris knows more about rugby than you do!





Invictusbyhenley,


Exeter, United Kingdom,


1 hour ago


Sounds like you boys are getting a bit upset because a Doris knows more about rugby than you do!





Geta,


Wales, United Kingdom,


7 hours ago


England are rubbish, they couldn’t win the 6 nations if they were the only team in it!!


2 of 5 repliesSee all replies





Geta,


Wales, United Kingdom,


3 hours ago


30-3





Sam,


Sheffield,


46 minutes ago


30-3 was last year. How long are people like you going to bleat on about that one-off result? Oh yeah, we beat you 62-5 in 2007…





Millicent,


Cheltenham, United Kingdom,


7 hours ago


Hahahahahahaha Ireland are the best, sorry England…NOT!





Penderyn,


Attleborough, United Kingdom,


8 hours ago


Congratulations Ireland! You did deserve the 6 Nations Championship for your consistency throughout. Only a last-second drop goal by England denied you the Grand Slam. 2014 was an exciting Championship with ups and downs for everyone. Italy will plod on, showing promise but not achieving much. Where do Scotland go now? What is the answer to the French enigma? Will Wales find that magic touch again? England¿s series still left a lot to be desired. Three consecutive runners-up positions have all brought forth false hope. They should not get too excited and over-confident about their forthcoming New Zealand trip.





GHJ,


London,


8 hours ago


What a joke this site is. Irelad win and ardly a mention and all they talk about is England. I always remeber my games teacher teling me when I came 2nd,. A miss is as good as a mile!


2 of 7 repliesSee all replies





ingubidire,


Nottingham,


4 hours ago


And Ireland isn’t part of Britain (British and Irish Lions etc)





DAIG,


BRIDGEND,


4 hours ago


Keith please take note of the following :-


The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market[2][3] tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust.


So for Britain read England is that right Keith?





JD,


Chillapok,


21 hours ago


All over for another season, what did we learn? As an Irish fan, devastated but delighted in equal measure, BOD is gone but on a high – well done, if a 13 is found (Jared Payne) Ireland can keep going. England, take a bow, you guys will be one of, if not the favourites (home field advantage) in next years world cup, awesome young side and a great coach. Wales, on their day can beat anyone but maybe need a plan B, Scotland, new manager will bring new ideas and that is a good thing, France, what team turned up for the first 3 games? individually probably the most talented team in the tournament and Italy, well, lets see what happens next year. HC quarters in a few weeks, another sign off for BOD? :)





PICTON,


Ingleburn, United Kingdom,


23 hours ago


Both Ireland and England could now focus on winning the RWC





dicey,


cardiff,


8 hours ago


They’d be far better off concentrating on getting out of their Groups – England especially, way over-hyped with little or no substance. They will get found out.





ingubidire,


Nottingham,


4 hours ago


Wales just did



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Article source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/kumari-tilakawardane-future-mike-phillips-6704084


Pure agony: England players watch as their Six Nations dreams were shattered
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