Pressure on Farrell

England v Wales

Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Date: Saturday, 25 February
Kick-off: 1600 GMT

With the news that Owen Farrell will play at fly half in place of the injured Charlie Hodgson on Saturday and with England wearing the rare tag of 'underdogs' at home, much attention has turned to how England will look to beat the Welsh.

I think the answer is pretty simple, and it won't be dissimilar to the way Scotland have played in the last few seasons - carry the ball through the middle with 2 big centres and kick for position.

If faults can be picked with the way the Wales team are playing at the moment, most criticism would be aimed at their lineout which has been far from secure so far in the tournament.  Ireland persistently disrupted Welsh ball in Dublin and Richie Gray had a field day against Huw Bennetts throwing in the last game against Scotland.

England will look to kick to touch to try and expose that potential weakness.  One huge benefit for the Wales team is the return of talismanic second row forward Alun Wyn-Jones to fold, a man who's presence alone will do huge amounts to settle the nerves of Ken Owens who starts at hooker for the first time in what will be his third cap.

The ever passionate Alun Wyn-Jones

returns to the Welsh team

Of course, to be able to pin the Welsh back like that, Farrell will have to be in very good kicking form.  Used to playing at 10 for Saracens, I doubt he will be phased by the positional change and his goal kicking has been sound following his performance in Rome.  However, thus far in the tournament, he hasn't been relied on a great deal to kick from hand.

With Sam Warburton back, Rhys Priestland in improved health and an in form Jamie Roberts, there will be plenty of Welsh arsenal firing at him on Saturday.

I suspect though that England will look to take the ball through a few phases before they kick to the corners when they can.  The re-introduction of Manu Tuilagi into the centre with equally physical Brad Barritt makes for an intriguing contest against the stalwart pairing of Roberts and Davies and should provide plenty of fireworks.

For Wales, aside form the lineout, they need to keep going as they have so far in the tournament.  The tag of 'favourites' at Twickenham will not sit well with them, and I'm sure Gatland and his men will be keen to ignore that pressure of the expectant.

It should be a cracker, but I can't see Wales losing.  They have only won 17 games away to England in the 5/6 Nations in 57 attempts, and never by more than 13 points.  Believe it or not, this is the best record away to England in the tournaments history and I see them adding to their win column.  By 10 points.

Scotland vs France Preview

Venue: Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Date: Sunday, 26 February
Kick-off: 1500 GMT

So after the first interval break, we steam ahead to the third round of the 2012 RBS 6 Nations and the middle weekend throws up some intriguing contests all over again.

On Sunday, the winless Scots take on the French who haven't played for 3 weeks since the Italy game in Paris because their match with the Irish was called off at the eleventh hour because of a frozen pitch.  Can we read anything into that? Probably not.  What it doesn't give Scotland is the match video that would have been so useful in the lead up to this weekend's game.

Their win over Italy was enough to blow some cobwebs away, but was not so demanding as to really push them.  Saint-Andre will have been pleased with the forwards display and the execution from the backs when the chances were there.  What is clear about that game is that Italy didn't perform to their potential, all the more obvious after seeing their performance against England in Rome.

The French will field the same side that was due to face Ireland last weekend. Dmitri Yachvili is still out with a back problem, so Morgan Parra will start with Francois Trinh-Duc at 10.  The consistency in team selection is so important for any team, but the French have no reason to change a winning formula.  they will come to Edinburgh as clear favourites, but they will need their wits about them against a Scotland team that has shown signs of promise over the last 2 rounds without getting the results.

For Scotland, their self-destructive tendencies have contributed to their losses so far.  Certainly in the case of the English game, they lost it rather than England winning it, butchering some chances that would have seen them win reasonably comfortably.

Look beyond that initial layer of frustration, and it is clear to see the positive elements of play that Andy Robinson and the players have been keen to focus on in the two week break.  The defence has been excellent for the most part, the lineout has been superior in both games and the back row play at the breakdown has been a step beyond where it was at the World Cup.

Despite only scoring 1 try, the creation of chances is there.  The first 80% is great, it's the final 20% that has let the team down.

Scotland have been excellent at many things, but they will have to be the bare minimum requirement as they face a French team that has the potential to make it a very uncomfortable afternoon for Scotland.  The French lineout will be very good and the new back row combination for Scotland will never have faced a unit of the likes of Picamoles, Harinordoquy and the rucking machine that is Thierry Dusautoir.

The team news for Scotland is significant and I think positive with changes at centre where Lamont has been moved out to 13 with the re-introduction of Graeme Morrison into the 12 position, meaning a very physical midfield and a drop down to the bench for Nick de Luca. The returning Ruaridh Jackson will have to wait for his return to the international fold as Laidlaw starts and Weir holds on to his place on the bench. Stuart Hogg gets his first start and displaces Rory Lamont from the full back position to take Max Evans' place on the wing. Crucially, there is a swap at scrum half where Cusiter will warm the bench and Blair starts. I think both have good impact from the bench and I expect to see the change after around 50 minutes.

In the forwards, Robinson's hand has been forced slightly with the injuries to Kelly Brown and Al Strokosch meaning John Barclay will get his first start of the tournament at blindside and Richie Vernon taking the supporting role on the bench.  Otherwise, the settled pack is unchanged from the Wales game.

Morrison returns to the Scottish midfield

The spotlight will be firmly focussed on the Scottish backline, who will be looking to move on from the Welsh debacle and finish some of the chances they know the team can create.  Lee Jones has yet to show his killer instinct, but may get to run a bit as the games with the French tend to open up a bit (remember last year when Scotland scored 3 tries in Paris?).  Stuart Hogg will have the chance to build on his impressive debut in Cardiff and will also benefit from broken play.

I can't help but think that it all just has to click for Scotland at some point.  Will it be this weekend?  Why not.  The French will look to spread the ball and as mentioned, they can be ruthless when their minds are in the game.  We have also seen them lose concentration and create opportunities for opposition teams (thinking specifically of the RWC where they lost to Tonga).

Scotland can do it, but they can't rely on lapses in French concentration to pull it off.  They will need to continue to create and carve out the opportunities thay have done to date but only convert them much better.  Only.

Scotland:
15. S Hogg, 14. R Lamont, 13. S Lamont, 12. G Morrison, 11. L Jones, 10. G Laidlaw, 9. M Blair, 1. A Jacobsen, 2. R Ford (c), 3. G Cross, 4. R Gray, 5. J Hamilton, 6. J Barclay, 7. R Rennie, 8. D Denton

Bench: 16. S Lawson, 17. E Kalman, 18. A Kellock, 19. R Vernon, 20. C Cusiter, 21. D Weir, 22. N de Luca

France:

15. M Medard, 14. V Clerc, 13. A Rougerie, 12. W Fofana, 11. J Malzieu, 10. F Trinh-Duc, 9. M Parra, 1. JB Poux, 2. D Szarzewski, 3. N Mas, 4. P Pape, 5. Y Maestri, 6. T Dusautoir (c), 7. I Harinordoquy, 8. L Picamoles

Bench: 16. W Servat, 17. V Debaty, 18. L Nallet, 19. J Bonnaire, 20. J Dupuy, 21. L Beauxis, 22. M Mermoz.

AVB On Shaky Ground At Chelsea

Andre Villas Boas has come under renewed criticism for his team selection following Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat in Napoli last night.  As well as Fernando Torres, he left out Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien from the starting 11, 3 of the most experienced and senior players in the changing room.

Was he trying to prove a point?  Is he trying to show he has control of the changing room by dropping stalwart players?  All this comes after a weekend where it was alleged that Dider Drogba gave the halftime talk, something AVB dismissed as ‘ridiculous’ and which has since been refuted by Drogba himself.  But there isn’t smoke without fire.

Andre Villa Boas is on very shaky ground at Chelsea

Chelsea have now won only 3 of the last 11 games, a record that doesn't sit well with players or the owner who are used to better, much better.  While AVB continues to concentrate the long term project he is developing at Chelsea, there is no doubt he is trying it at a club where the owner is notoriously impatient and who demands instant results. 

Some may argue that Abramovich would have already got rid of AVB by now, and that he must be persuaded in some way by the Portuguese man’s vision for the club.  In any case, if things continue as they are, surely the owners patience will crack and something will give.  The key point may be the return leg against Napoli at Stamford Bridge.  If Chelsea fail to go through, which is far from certain, that just may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

The Welsh Exodus Continues

It was announced today that Welsh loosehead prop Gethin Jenkins will be moving to French club Toulon from the Cardiff Blues.

In a statement in the Western Mail, he said "I definitely will not be with the Blues next season, and yes, I am going to France.  I was offered a deal by the Blues, but that was after talks were put off about an extension on several occasions.

"In the end, they said they couldn't pay me while I was fulfilling international commitments, and so I felt I had no choice. I had to think about my future, just like any player or anyone in any walk of life would do.

"I won't leave with any bitterness and I will give the Blues everything between now and the end of this season, just the same as I have always done. But after that, it will be time for me to have a fresh start and a new challenge."

Gethin Jenkins is to move to Toulon next season

Jenkins is the latest in a disturbingly long line of Welsh players to switch to cash rich French teams for more lucrative deals.  With the plans to impose a salary cap in Wales, it may mean that many more might follow.  So far, Mike Phillips, James Hook, Lee Byrne and Aled Brew have all moved or signed for French teams with rumours that second row talisman Alun Wyn-Jones is being pursued by Perpignan as well.

In such a rugby rich country as Wales, can the 4 professional outfits really afford to lose these players to foreign shores?  I think that with the newly agreed and imposed salary cap in place, it will only speed up the decision for top players to move away from their Welsh clubs.

With Welsh rugby on something of a high at the moment, I can’t help but feel that there is a risk of the club infrastructure that supports the national team so successfully being undermined by the exodus of top players and rolemodels.

Finding A Centre Of Excellence Isn't Easy

Despite two losses in the opening brace of games in the 6 Nations, extending their losing run to 4, Scotland have shown plenty signs of improvement in particular areas, not least the back row.  As is always the case after a World Cup there is a chance to purge the squad, blood new players and shake up a few systems and partnerships here and there.  Andy Robinson has taken that chance by giving debuts to the likes of Stuart Hogg, David Denton and Lee Jones amongst others, but there is one area of the line-up that has seen a lot of change over the years, but with the same players, and that’s at centre. 
 
Often seen as just the link men between the pivotal 9 and 10 positions and the 'flair' players out wide, centres are so much more and crucial to the success of any team.

Scotland's latest pairing of Sean Lamont and Nick de Luca has attracted a huge amount of criticism and in the case of de Luca particularly, that criticsim has been abusive and specifically targeted through social networking sites like Twitter.  This completely unacceptable behaviour from a condemned minority towards the player has led him to leave the site.  A sad reflection indeed on Scottish supporters as a whole, whether they like it or not, implicated by a cowardly few.

De Luca was singled out as one of those who contributed most to Scotland's self inflicted downfall at the beginning of the second half against Wales.  Sure, he had a couple of shaky handling moments and a rush of blood to the head which saw him off for 10 minutes, but he can hardly be held singularly accountable for the team's performance in that period.

Perhaps what both his and Lamont's plight has shone some light on is the lack of specific skill sets required to play at centre.  Perhaps the most underrated position on the field, centres are the linchpin around which everything good that happens to the  back unit as a whole happens, both in attack and defence.

There are generally two schools of thought on what a centre, particularly at 12, should be: creative or a big crash ball runner.  Both are successful in their own right provided the rest of the backline functions around the adopted centre role.  Wales' current backline is as big and physical as you are likely to see, with Jamie Roberts providing much of that brawn without necessarily having the best technical skills. On the other hand, there is England who have historically employed a more lightweight figure, with the option to kick. Mike Catt was very good at that, and Owen Farrell is the latest player to be installed in the role.

The last few years has seen the bigger ball carrying type of player the preffered pick by Andy Robinson and his predecessors with the likes of Graeme Morrison and Sean Lamont particularly used for their bulk.  Attempts have been made to mix Joe Ansbro, Nick de Luca and Max Evans to try and inject some pace and guile to create a balanced combination, but it can't be said that there has been a successful and consistent partnership there for Scotland for a very long time.

Morrison, Ansbro, De Luca, Evans and Lamont have all been tested

in different combinations for Scotland

If you look at recent history in the game, the greatest exponents of all at centre have had the full package; Tim Horan, Frank Bunce, Scott Hastings, Brian O'Driscoll, Ma'a Nonu, Tana Umaga - they can/could be relied upon to get their head down and run at their opposite man, have the pace to hit a gap and offload when the chance is there, kick it when it was on and they are all solid in defence.

Since Hastings, Scotland haven't really had someone who could tick all the boxes.  Alan Tait was fantastic in defence and could run all day, Gregor Townsend was run at 13 for a time and provided that creativity in midfield with Duncan Hodge at 10 the better kicker.  That isn't to forget Lineen, Jardine, Leslie and Henderson amongst many others over the last 2 decades.

With the team to play France this weekend due to be announced in the coming days, what should the starting centre pairing be?  Is it an opprtunity to try some new options and combinations?

I don't believe Lamont at 12 is right, he is definitely more effective out wide. Graeme Morrison is more of an out-and-out centre having played there at all levels for Scotland and school prior to that.  On the basis that both Ansbro and Evans will be available, would they be better suited, perhaps together?  What about putting a 10 at 12?  Ruaridh Jackson could be an option, albeit a risky one with little experience there.  What about Matt Scott, performing well for Edinburgh? Too inexperienced?

As I mentioned before, the depth of options is better than ever, but if anything it gives Andy Robinson too many toys to play with, unable to make his mind up.

The last time France visited Murrayfield, they were blown apart by Mathieu Basteraud, the huge centre who barrelled his way to 2 tries that day.  He is no longer in the French set up, but with the likely pairing of newcomer Wesley Fofana and old timer Aurelien Rougerie, Scotland will have their hands full.

Who would you pick?  Leave your thoughts below.