Feb 28 2005
Archive for February 28th, 2005
Feb 28 2005
Weekend’s main match: Ireland V England
While the match itself may have been more similar to Sat.’s Scotland/Italy match than the free-flowing France/Wales match, it was still full of tension and drama.
Obviously I am not impartial, wanting Ireland to win, and because of that vested interest I may have found the match more enthralling than others.
It was not the prettiest of rugby matches, but O’Driscoll’s try was a wonderful move. Even better than that however, was Denis Hickie’s two tackles. He hit one English player, stopping him crossing the line, straight away got to his feet and put in another try-stopping tackle. Fabtastic, from an Irish pov.
Obviously then there was the issue of the English non-try, and whether or not the ref was correct. Well maybe he should’ve sent it up to the video ref, but then again, maybe he spotted something the camera’s didn’t. If I were English I think I would be upset, but then again there was an issue over the first try and whether O’Gara was held in the tackle for longer than he should have been, and so leaving a gap that the English made the most of.
I also felt that the English were infringing a lot in the Irish line-out, tackling jumpers while they were still in the air. None of the commentators mentioned it though, so maybe its just me.
All in all, a great, entertaining, tension filled match. And more importantly, a win for Ireland. Now we gotta up our game for France and then Wales.
Related posts
Feb 28 2005
Sat. rugby matches
Well that Scotland vs Italy match was pretty bad wasn’t it? Neither seemed to know what they wanted to do, far too scrappy and far too many mistakes made by both teams. Maybe if Italy had taken those few chances at the start it would have made a difference, but once the ball was moved to the backs everything just fell apart.
Still, gave me a chance to hear Flower of Scotland. I do like that anthem 
The final score was 18-10 to Scotland
France certainly got off to a bright start though didn’t they?
What a contrast between the two matches on Sat. Maybe it was because the first match was so bad, but the second match was just great. The first half flew by, with some wonderful moves by the French.
I wasn’t sure who to support. Part of me really wanted Wales to win, they’ve had some poor seasons lately and have been doing so well this year. But another part of me wanted France to win. We still have to play both, but if Wales are still winning I think they might be more dangerous to us. Obviously France, when playing that breath-taking style, are not easy to play, but for some reason I’m more apprehensive about us vs Wales.
After all that start to the second half was pretty fantastic. Two tries in five minutes. Impressive or what?
“Well if you did your penance watching Scotland and Italy, you’ve got your reward now”
-George Hamilton
And that second half shows that I am right to worry; Wales were fantastic. Two great tries, and some great defending. They never stopped, and in the end were well deserved winners.
Tags: 6nation2005, Flower of Scotland, rugby, Six NationsRelated posts
Feb 28 2005
Pan-Am or Prince Charles - how do you smile?
I read about this study a while back, and meant to blog about it but forgot, until Neil Gaiman brought it up on his blog. It is all about how the American smile is different to the British one. Course I’m wondering, how do other cultures smile?
“I see a bit of the full risorius in Tony Blair, but the American political elite cannot do it any more, which is a bit sad,�? he said. “They have lost that dignity. In blind tests George Bush’s smile emerged as cynical rather than pleasurable.�?
The genuineness of a good British smile is all in the eyes — Keltner has found that only 5% of people can fake a smile that uses this muscle. “
- from The Times
