Thoughts on the Six Nations

There has been an engrossing discussion on the sports pages of The Times between their two main rugby correspondents Stephen Jones and Stuart Barnes.

Jones argues that fans want wins,  Barnes disagrees, citing entertainment.

If Jones is correct why are the RFU ‘ bigging up’ the Twickenham experience with light shows and disco music?

Maybe because the fare is still dull, even though England have won both their games with multiple absentees (Owen Farrell, Marcus Smith, Olly Lawrence, Manu Tuilagi, George Martin and Tom Curry).

Scotland 16 France 20 was the pick of the matches with a dramatic denouement.

Was the Scottish last-minute “try” a try ?

The ball seemed grounded but in the melee you could not establish with any precision if a foot had stopped it.

Let the well-placed referee be the arbiter.

Predictably Ireland beat Italy 36-0 but it was no thrashing.

The smart money is now on Ireland but they still look inferior to the best southern hemisphere sides.