Scotland next up for Ireland in Murrayfield by Frank Quinn
- Updated: 04/02/2025
UP to 2024 we would have rated England ahead of Scotland – England were third in the 2023 RWC. Scotland now have the jump on England due to rugby improvements and player additions at the end of 2024. They are scoring tries and winning matches like the victory over Italy as we beat England. Our game is on a Sunday, so both of us share the extra recovery day. We have moved on, we are consistent, we expect to win, we want to win, home or away – with our 2025 6N coach and squad.
Simon may have a couple of highly rated injured players coming back and the replacements made a big difference at the Aviva as we took off in the third quarter as the replacements slotted in. Each of the Replacements brings in a different game and his own style and he is fresh off the bench after a warm up. At the post game press conference the coach said it was a grind and they had to make adjustments. He allowed himself a bit of leeway and he was honest in his assessment – it is fair to say he told the match story as it was – a grind. You just have to grin and bear the late burst of scores by England to make the scoreboard look good – don’t begrudge them that.
Simon’s selection for the Murrayfield game will be eagerly awaited and he can build in a down week before we play Wales in Cardiff on the 22nd February. This is followed by the French game at the Aviva after a 2nd down week on the 8th March. Player and match management will be a crucial part of the preparations. We always talk of fresh and fit players bringing a new dimension to the rugby plan for the game.
We finish off by playing Italy in Rome on Super Saturday 15th March
In summary then – we were all impressed by France beating Wales and keeping them scoreless. They have some very brilliant individuals and they scored tries – their movement is super – at times I thought they had 25 players on the park – they were all over the place – backs and Forwards, The familiar Aldritt, Dupont and Ramos were outstanding. They play England next at Twickenham -wait and see. Wales can salvage something with a good performance against Italy in Rome, the Gatland magic is not working so far in 2025.
Speculation any further is useless but it is hard to ignore the fixture on the 8th March, our home game at the Aviva against the favourites France at 2.15 PM. it certainly qualifies for ” The Match of the Day “and hopefully our big win of the 2025 6N and our championship.
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