6N: Six takeaways from round three of the 2025 Six Nations
Today at 11:22 AM
1. It could be you!
As the nice people at the National Lottery are quick to remind us. If Steve Borthwick has any sense, he will nick down the local newsagents and buy a wodge of tickets pronto. After a summer and Autumn when, without bad luck, England would have had no luck at all, events have turned turtle. When France visited Twickenham two weeks ago they left three clear cut try-scoring opportunities out on the field. When Scotland visited Twickenham last Saturday evening they left three conversions in the very same place. Any one of them would have sufficed and made a little bit of history with Scotland triumphing in five successive Calcutta Cups. Finn Russell missed one kick at goal throughout the entire 2024 Six Nations and now the Scotland skipper misses three in the space of one match. England were second best in almost every metric: Scotland enjoyed 58 percent of possession and 57 percent of territory. The visitors scored three tries to one, made nine line-breaks to two, beat 35 defenders to 10. England should never have won that game. Borthwick's luck has turned. At least for now.
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2. Fine margins …
It's a point well made by David Walshin The Sunday Times (English edition) and umpteen others on social media sites. When Duhan van der Merwe scored that late try he placed the ball just inside the five-metres line that indicates the front of a line-out. In the old days the player would leave the ball where he had scored. The referee would pick it up and walk straight back to the twenty-two so whoever was taking the conversion would know where to take it from. None of that happens now, perhaps because the ball is probably in row Z of the North Stand. Finn Russell took the conversion from, approximately, one metre inside the touchline. In other words, approximately, three metres further out than he needed to be. Some TV footage doing the rounds on ‘X’ seems to indicate that he did so at the behest of the referee Pierre Brousset with the shot clock ticking away in the background so Russell can't even argue his case. It's like a Hitchcock thriller with the bad guy being played by the French referee. Please don't jump on the conspiracy bandwagon, it was just a mistake. S’all.
Actually the ref pushed him out 2m 🫣 https://t.co/SUnPhXS7c1pic.twitter.com/DGXaC8nGTO
— Jamie Roberts (@Jamiehuwroberts) February 23, 2025
3. Betting on sports is for mugs
I hate betting firms with their insincere adverts fronted by geezer celebrities and their contempt for the poor mugs that are in deep and sinking fast. Anyhoo, I held my nose at the weekend and placed a £10 bet on Wales and Italy to both prevail because I honestly thought that both had a chance. I didn't think I would win, I just thought the odds were wrong because together I got over 200-1. The former came close, the game was 18-18 inside the final quarter before Ireland eased ahead and, even then, Wales had a try wiped off. Correctly, I would judge, but these things are rarely cut and dried. Especially in slow-mo. The other game was not so close, a hopelessly uncompetitive encounter in Rome, at least after the opening 20-30 minutes, France finishing with 11 tries. These two teams, France and Italy, drew last year in Lille in case you had forgotten. Anyway the net result is that I am £10 worse off rather than £2000 in the pink. Will I learn my lesson? Almost certainly not.
4. Wales will believe
I think Scotland currently fields a better team than Wales but, if you were in Franco Smith's shoes, which country would you hang your hat on long term? Wales will bounce back and, sooner or later, they will be competitive again. They already are, you could argue. The senior side made Ireland sweat on Saturday and, if you scrape the surface, Wales under-20s beat Ireland under-20s on Friday evening for the first time since 2017 after squeezing past Italy in round two. The adult men's team may not reach the dizzy heights of number one ranked team in the world, which they managed under Warren Gatland's first coaching spell, but they are a country whose national identity is too reliant on rugby to ever allow a temporary problem to morph into an existential crisis. They have a strong base of amateur club rugby that they can build upon and it's uncertain that Scotland can say the same. After their performance against Ireland, Wales will come to Murrayfield convinced that they can win. Which is not to say that they will do so. Just that with confidence restored and the best available players now on the park, Wales will believe. Scotland will need to be at their best.
5. Shane Williams' Law: Grab your chance when it comes
Wales were playing New Zealand in the 2003 Rugby World Cup pool stages and, thinking the task was hopeless, they fielded an experimental side with third choice scrummy Shane Williams on the wing. He did brilliantly, scored one try in the 53-37 defeat and caused the Kiwis no end of trouble with the ball in hand. Now French full-back Leo Barre has bounced into the public consciousness after a remarkable showing against Italy. The Stade Francais No 15, still only 22-years-old, was only there because Romain N'tamack was carded against Wales and missed the game in Rome. That led to regular full-back Tomos Ramos being pushed into the No 10 shirt, leaving a space at the back that Barre filled with some aplomb. He scored two of France's eleven tries and he earned an assist for one of Antoine Dupont's touchdowns. N'tamack will probably get his spot back for the big game against Ireland, with Ramos back at 15 and Barre stood down, but you never know?
6. Jamie Ritchie returns
Perhaps the flanker is feeling chipper because he is off to play rugby in the South of France and who can be anything but a little jealous of that? When he captained the side, I thought Ritchie was overly emotional, a benefit in some places but not when you have to appeal to match officials. He was the pick of the pack on Saturday. He has always been a good line-out operator, rangy and relatively slight to easy to hoist and Scotland have used him effectively at the sidelines with eight catches to date. He also sits second in the charts (behind Tom Curry) with four breakdown steals to his name for the Championship to date. The figures are especially impressive given Richie has only started two of the opening three games after being benched for Ireland. And the old dog has learned a new trick. Ritchie has been given the task of chasing down the box-kick and, where possible, getting a first hand to tap it back. He was in his element at Twickenham, especially when partnered with van der Merwe, and won a good few ‘rebounds’ to regain possession for Scotland. It’s good to see him back at his best.
The post 6N: Six takeaways from round three of the 2025 Six Nations appeared first on Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line.
