HIGHLIGHTS: Ireland, Wales play out Six Nations draw

O'Connell has officially retired from Rugby

I guess my point was more about entertainment Peter. As an all round experience, I don't think SH fixtures (generally, not exclusively) compare for atmosphere, occasion and the crack inside and outside the ground and like you, I've had fairly equal experience of both. If another measure of entertainment is how many trys we get to see, then my point about the stats make sense. Of course, if the aesthetics are what really floats your boat rather than the pure competition itself, then sure, go and watch NZ

sorry , Roberts is more than a crash-ball (a la Basterud). He was massive in defence - i think 20 tackles !!!! and he hit them hard - and gave a tlak also afterwards :) he was the main reason ireland could not break thru midfield!!! people just say that becoz of his size - another SBW like figure - but he has a few strings to his bow unlike some other players in the world stage.

Nah, double up for the next one- Im going a Grand slam for England. I'm dying to see if Eddie Jones can actually have a wider grin than the one after the SA match!

Roberts is there due to crash ball at 12 which came back in to vogue. For a good while it went off the scene when Nathan Grey, Henderson from Scotland and De Wet Barry finished as internationals. 'Away games against the easybeats (sorry Scotland and Italy… and France most of the time) and home games at Twickers against the other two main contenders.' Winning by just six points against Scotland doesn't help the English cause considering that last year the tournament was decided on points difference. Going to Twickenham wouldn't worry Wales.

and NZ doesn't have shíte weather? People have to stop lumping in a whole hemisphere as a collective in regards to individual team performance and development it's pretty baseless as an argument. Twickenham, Lansdowne Road and Murrayfield will never be covered. Murrayfield has only just had a proper pitch relaid due to worms. France are building a covered stadium but they've never owned a national Rugby stadium. Stade de France can't have undersoil heating due to the land it's on, have had a match cancelled, the location isn't great fan involvement, they're tied to a rental contract and the pitch is too soft for the wear it gets. I've been there in February during the evening and it's bitterly cold (more so than central Paris). ' Both England and France are in the doldrums internationally at the moment but I suspect that is as much down to the power struggles with their clubs for control of the game. It will be very interesting over the next few years to see how that pans out.' France are there due to having numpties as coaches for 8 years. Coaches given 4 year deals which is madness and they utilise this to chop and change the squad. No continuity for the players and led to rumours of rifts within the squad towards the management. It was clear that France had given up in the 6 Nations last year with their turgid play. They didn't even bother apart from the last match to throw out what the coaches were telling them and just go out and play. Flyhalfs have been burnt playing outside 9s who slow down the tempo which lets the opposition realign. France are at their best when they play a continuity game utilising direct offlloads to get in behind the defence then fire it wide off quick ruck ball. They hardly bothered to do that last year.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN !!

Well that's all part of why the rugby is often dour. Also why I think the UK is getting stronger and stronger at individual, indoor based or trained sports. Cycling, Athletics, track, Boxing, Tennis, Swimming etc. All sports where the majority of training and/ or competing can be done indoors where the conditions are consistent. People are getting tired of too many poor or inconsistent conditions and in general the elite sides just don't get the ground conditions that the SH do on a consistent basis to gain the type of excellence they need to compete. They should go to covered stadiums to at least make the 6N more attractive in terms of the quality but an obvious cost issue there, though perhaps we just really should believe that 60,000 people love turning out to a frozen Murrayfield to watch two sides banging at each other all day.

I agree with TM that this is England's best chance for a title. Away games against the easybeats (sorry Scotland and Italy... and France most of the time) and home games at Twickers against the other two main contenders. The conditions for this match were horrible being windy, wet and freezing, so teams had to play it fairly tight, mostly one ups against ferocious defence. The breakdown battles were a bloodbath, some massive cleanouts. I was surprised as to how few errors there were in the match. To be sure, it wasn't pretty rugby but the passion of the players and fans is awesome as a spectacle. I expected Wales to win, but imho I don't know how long it will take for Wales to realise Roberts is not a #12.

Oh please don't Bakkies. You'll only start them off on one of their "Well why don't they play in (their) summer months then?" diatribes. Let the deluded among the Southern Hemisphere countries think they are streets ahead of the Six Nations. They're really not, New Zealand excepted. Australia were run very close in the last world cup by both Scotland and Wales. Ireland have beaten both Australia and South Africa frequently in recent years. OK they haven't played IN South Africa for a while but they're going there this summer. Ireland even won a couple of games in Argentina a few years ago, something most other countries, the old Tri Nations included, find very difficult. Both England and France are in the doldrums internationally at the moment but I suspect that is as much down to the power struggles with their clubs for control of the game. It will be very interesting over the next few years to see how that pans out. Hopefully rugby won't go the way of soccer in which the international game plays second fiddle to the European club scene but I have my fears.

The conditions changed during the match it was fairly windy and wet out there. The handling and kicking was pretty good considering. Another storm hit the country yesterday.

yes I think Gavin Hastings has said it is England's to lose given the schedule. anyway it was the same old Wales who failed to score against 13 men. lot of hard running and going sideways. ireland at least had some direct running despite having smaller backs. got to wait till next week to see if teams correct their first game errors and get their systems working. am wondering if there is different reffing style this time around. quite a few high hits and marginal tip tackles in both this game and england game did not even attract the attention of the refs let alone the tv guy. apparenly one such call lost the game for Italy...

scoring tries against the traditionally top 2 teams in the world is a lot harder than against the lower ranked teams like italy and scotland. I lived in the uk and watched live 6n's games at twickenim, cardiff, and murreyfield. The atmosphere was fantastic , I did state it was popular did I not. The teams also show grit and fight and when I lived there actual animosity towards each other. That does not mean they play with much skill or it is anywhere as enjoyable to watch on tv. 6N's are second rung currently, the rwc proved that, as it has most of the time with 1 exception. See again in 4 years.

TM... iou one of those Scottish Pound! Maybe the Aussie coin that was on offer would've been better bet eh? Sadly, haven't watched the game as yet... but obviously know the result. I will hopefully get to it today.

Actually watch the game Peter? Bore you? Ever been in one of these stadiums for a 6N match or the pubs before and after? Might need to be careful with your stats to make your point. Since the start of the Championship, Australia have scored at an average try rate per game of 1.3 and 1.4 against NZ and SA respectively. In the same period, this fixture has seen Wales score at 1.75 and Ireland at 2. Of course, none of these figures can talk to skills, flair or enterprise effectively - which is why it's pointless using them like this.

Yeah true. If you watch the first ten minutes you would have been impressed, the ball moving fairly well by both teams. Then it's as though some reminder went up on the scoreboard.. And it turned back to the usual crash n bash one ups.

Another example of high skills, flair and enterprise that took the 6n's so far in the world cup. 1 try and 3 penalties a piece. It is very popular due to tribalism, history and tradition though.

Puts England even more in the box seat. Both have to play at Twickenham and with Italy nearly beating France England's two away matches look the easiest if there's such a thing.