Fancy a Sixway? Six Nations Player Ratings

Firstly, I promise that I will write articles that are more interesting than this over the course of the Six Nations tournament.

You have to understand, though, that I am an unhealthily passionate Scotland fan. As such, I am usually too worked up about our matches to write anything objectively for at least 3 days. So I thought why not do some player performance ratings immediately after each match (yes, I intend to watch them all, by hook or by crook but most probably by I-Player). That way, at least you will be able to find out at a glance how each game went, and who you should abuse come the next encounter.

A plus point of this system is that it reviews every player's performance. That means that those who may have missed out on due praise will get it from me. Similarly, those who had a mare will be highlighted for the world and his dog to see.

I'll do a man of the match, team of the week, and probably also use the ratings to evaluate the performance of each team at the end of proceedings.

Wales 19-26 England

Wales

7- Hook: Fullback does not suit him much, but neither does 10 until he's used to it.
5- Stoddard
6- J Davies
5- Roberts: Chronically underused in attack, once again. Gatland, world class!
6- Williams
5- Jones: Knock early on may have contributed. Missed a few kicks
4- Phillips: Terrible second half. Lost all confidence, forgot how to pass and offload.
4- Powell
6- Lydiate: Quite impressive; mobile, but not that physical
7- Warburton : Good showing, proving once more that Martyn Williams is indeed expendable
5- AW Jones
8- B Davies: Very strong showing from the big man
5- Mitchell: Did well, but yellow card lowers his grade
6- Rees
5- James
Subs – Ryan Jones came on for the injured Powell and gave more go forward, Peel and Byrne made no difference.

England

7- Foden: Didn't live up to his trash talk, but ran well enough
8- Ashton : Does the little things, like support running, consistently well and easily
4- Tindall: Slow, ponderous and frankly useless throughout
3- Hape: A terrible showing. Butchered at least three great attacks. Cowardly
7- Cueto
9- Flood: How to game manage while still running with the ball. Take note Dan
6- Youngs
8- Easter: Actually a far better player than he should be
7- Wood: Solid debut, but Lydiate was a soft opposition in the tight
6- Haskell
8- Palmer: Ran an injury-deprived lineout confidently
7- Deacon: A grafter, but a good one. Loses a point by default due to yellow card, but grafters will concede penalties.
7- Cole
9- Hartley: Great way to shut Gatland up
4- Sheridan: Ineffective at scrum time or in contact
Subs - Not worth mentioning

Man of the Match: Toby Flood (England)

Italy 11- 13 Ireland

Italy

8- McLean: Excellent showing. Finally looked let off the leash
7- Masi
6- Canale
7- Scarbi: Did well as a crash ball runner in midfield. Good outing, even if no-one else recognised it.
6- Mi. Bergamasco
4- Burton: Didn't do much of anything. Can he though?
5- Gori (Injured)
7- Parisse
8- Zanni: Great workrate, excellent linout performance and strong carrying. Underrated and overlooked by most
6- Sole
7- Geldenhuys: Again, underrated. The massive South African has been solid in every appearance
6- Dellape
7- Castrogiovanni: Scrum was solid. All three front rowers did well.
6- Ghiraldini
7- Perugini
Subs – Canavosio replaced Gori early, and effectively. Lo Cicero threw himself about.

Ireland

6- Fitzgerald: His ideas didn;t always work, but he has the necessary vision for fullback
5- McFadden
6- O’Driscoll: Could have provided a try to McFadden if his weak hand pass was a little better.
3- D’Arcy: Had a shocking game. I would drop him; he certainly dropped enough in Rome
4- Earls: Muffled and impatient
6- Sexton: Had one good burst forward in a game with not many
6- O’Leary: Did a decent job
6- O’Brien
5- Leamy
7- Wallace: Good ball carrying as usual. Still got the legs to run around midfield
5- O’Connell
8- O’Callaghan: A safe pair of hands in a misfunctioning lineout, and tireless elsewhere.
7- Ross: Looked like an actual prop i.e. the opposite of Marcus Horan.
5- Best
5- Healy
Subs – O’Gara kicked the winner (hardly difficult), Reddan did decently

Man of the Match: Alessandro Zanni (Italy)

France 34-21 Scotland

France

7- Traille: Didn't look as slow and ponderous as usual. Worked well in the centre later on
7- Huget
8- Rougerie: I'm giving him an extra point for playing an reasonably new position with unfamiliar players.
6- Mermoz: Seems to have shoulders made of glass, sadly
9- Medard: Dang-er-ous
8- Trinh-Duc: The pass through his legs to set up the last try is worth an 8 in itself
7- Parra
8- Harinordoquy: Always involved, and still a strong ball carrier
6- Dusautoir: Strangely uninvolved at times
5- Bonnaire: Not sure exactly what makes him better than any other top French flanker
7- Nallet: Great burst to set up the final try, and solid effort
6- Pierre
8- Mas: Destructive in the scrum, so much so that he brought himself back on to have more fun
9- Servat: Destructive everywhere. He is a perfect cube of a man who is so hard to tackle
9- Domingo: Absolutely humiliated Euan Murray.
Subs – Front rower changes late blunted the scrum, Poitrenaud was decent.

Scotland

5- Southwell: Didn't run with the ball in hand once
6- Walker
8- Ansbro: Very strong showing. Ran hard with directness, and fought well.
4- De Luca: The opposite of Ansbro; it showed that he has been injured. Mistake in the tackle cost opening try
7- Evans: A typically slippery showing. He just never seems to actually break free.
5- Parks: Couldn't get involved, but probably for the best. Not his type of game at all.
6- Lawson
7- Brown: Would much prefer him at blindside. Scored a muthafucking try.
6- Barclay
6- Hines: Evidently extra weight in the pack didn't work. Vernon would have given the team a true, athletic 8
7- Kellock: Scored another muthafucking try!
9- Gray: Great work. Didn't get tired at all, when by all rights he should have. Plus, carried often and effectively
3- Murray: Absolutely pawned in the scrum, owned. Tried hard but provided nothing at all in any phase.
8- Ford: I though he had a great game. Lineout throwing was solid, and he tackled like Gethin Jenkins all game
5- Jacobson: Would have liked to see the ball in his hands; he didn't carry once
Subs – Lamont was good (scored another muthafucking try), the rest made little difference. Blair matched Lawson's performance.

Man of the Match: Maxime Medard (France)

Team of the Weekend:

Luke McLean (ITL), Chris Ashton (ENG), Joe Ansbro (SCO), Alberto Scarbi (ITL), Maxime Medard (FRA), Toby Flood (ENG), Morgan Parra (FRA), Immanol Harinordoquy (FRA), Alessandro Zanni (ITL), Sam Warburton (WAL), Tom Palmer (ENG), Richie Gray (SCO), Nicolas Mas (FRA), Dylan Hartley (ENG), Thomas Domingo (FRA)

GM