Roar Guru
Joined December 2014
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The reason I clarify whether a team is a joy to watch or not is just to point out the different styles of rugby that different teams play.
It is not an attempt to denigrate teams who play a style of rugby that is considered less enjoyable to watch than others. Like you said, teams play to a game plan that gets the most out of their abilities.
In the first part of my preview of Wales (http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/12/25/2015-rugby-world-cup-preview-wales-part-i/), I make a similar point:
“Back in 2012 and 2013 (when Wales were winning Six Nations trophies), terms such as ‘pragmatic’ and ‘efficient’ were being used by the media to describe their style of play, whereas now it is considered ‘unimaginative’ or ‘over simplistic’.
What most people seem to forget about rugby is that a team doesn’t need to do anything complex to win games.
Once a team are executing a game plan which is well-coached, accurate, where every player has a clear understanding of their role, where the intensity levels are high enough (and in Wales’ case, where they are playing at a quick pace), and where very few errors are made, then they are very difficult to stop.”
2015 Rugby World Cup preview - Argentina
Its a little bit too difficult to predict at the moment.
Ireland and England have several key players to return from injury during the Championship.
Wales are a confidence team, so how they go in the first game will be a huge factor in determining how their tournament goes (although that could be said about any team).
It is difficult to know if France will bother this year (probably not, unless they change coach).
And it remains to be seen how much Italy and Scotland have improved under new coaches.
2015 Six Nations: Round 1 preview