WELL, no Grand Slam for us this year, and the lang streak o’ misery we call Scotland in the Six Nations continues once more.
Kevin McCusker summed up the feelings of many: “Same old same old... the usual unforced errors and headless chicken attempts at attacking the English line... wooden spoon again methinks, as the Italians looked good against France and were unlucky.
“Too many of the Scotland squad seem to be believing their own press from the World Cup.”
Alexander Morrison is so depressed he wants to change the whole of European rugby.
“I don’t know how you feel about it, but I think it’s time for a change in the Six Nations,” he wrote. “I would like to see a merger of the Six Nations (6N) and the European Nations Cup (ENC). The new format would be a promotion and relegation in a division-based structure with teams playing each other home and away.
“I would keep the current divisions, as is, in the ENC, but these divisions are played over one season instead of two, as current. I would promote Georgia, Romania, Russia and Spain and add the current 6N to them and divide into two divisions of five.
“So the set-up would look like this:
Division 1 (on current world standings): Wales, Ireland, France, England, Scotland
Division 2 (on current world standings): Italy, Georgia, Romania, Russia: Spain
Current ENC divisions 3 to 5 (minus Georgia, Romania, Russia and Spain)
“I know it looks like the old Five Nations at the beginning, but I can see Georgia, Romania, Russia improving over the years as they play the tier one and two nations year in and year out.
“You just have to look at Italy as an example, 2000 to 2010 whipping boys of the Six Nations, now they can beat Wales, Ireland, France and Scotland at least once a year.
“How do you think France fared on their entry to the Home Nations in 1910 and turning into the Five Nations? They didn’t win it until 1959 outright and have won the title every three or four years since.”
There’s serious food for thought in that proposal.
But why not a knockout European Nations Cup? The top eight – the current Six Nations plus Georgia and Romania as per world rankings – would join at the last 16 stage, giving the likes of Russia some experience against the better nations. Just a thought.
Anyway, we need cheering up, so here’s Johnny McNeill’s contribution: “At Scotland v France in 2014, my mate Carl and I were surrounded by about 100 Frenchmen and women all dressed in Napoleonic costumes.
“After the French scored their first try but missed the conversion, we scored two penalties to take us into a 6-5 lead. At which point I gestured to all the surrounding French support to sit down, putting my index finger to my lips and ‘shushing’ them!
“All in good banter of course which continued throughout the game. Imagine then at the final whistle a very frustrating 19-17 win for France – 100 Napoleons all ‘shushing’ Carl and me! Great craic!”
Now that’s the Six Nations spirit. Watch out Cardiff, the Scots are coming.
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