Latest news with #Oyonnax
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Are Scotland flattering to deceive? Or is this their level?
There was a sense of painful familiarity about Scotland's closing Six Nations performance in Paris, as they fell to a 35-16 defeat by champions France for their third loss of the tournament. They were so dangerous and so competitive for long spells, but a failure to turn pressure into points, coupled with a ropey third quarter against France's monstrous forward replacements, cost them dear. They trailed by three points on 42 minutes but the deficit was 19 come full-time as a fourth-place finish was confirmed. Consistently inconsistent has been a theme, with promising spells not converted into a complete 80-minute displays - and not for the first time. Should Scotland be delivering more? Or are mid-table finishes about right given what's at their disposal? France overpower Scotland to win Six Nations title 'Scotland bum cheek away from converting' in Paris Reaction, analysis & have your say Decisions went against Scotland throughout the championship. Pundits were taken aback when France hooker Peato Mauvaka's headbutt on Ben White was only punished with a yellow card while the hosts were 10-0 ahead in Paris. But ultimately, the Scots didn't capitalise against Ireland, England and France when the matches were in the balance and went on to suffer three defeats. When asked if Scotland deserved to finish higher than fourth, head coach Gregor Townsend was clear. "No, if we don't win when we have a lot of the game, that's where we are going to finish," he said. "It is a very tough competition. Teams can't play well every game; no-one won a Grand Slam. We are a quality side, it just didn't go our way this year." France are the benchmark just now. A thriving domestic league, a thriving youth setup, and a thriving grassroots scene. It's night and day from the situation in Scotland. "Look at our player participation numbers," said former Scotland forward Johnnie Beattie. "France have hundreds of thousands and we have around 20,000 adults. "That is not something Scottish fans will want to hear but when you look at numbers, that is where we are." We can quibble over the precise numbers, perhaps, but the thrust of Beattie's argument is unimpeachable. No more was the difference in depth exposed than after 46 minutes of play in Paris, when France head coach Fabien Galthie turned to his bench. Julien Marchand, Cyril Baille, Dorian Aldegheri, Emmanuel Meafou, Oscar Jegou and Anthony Jelonch were all sent on to turn the tide the home side's way. World-class back-rower and France captain Gregory Alldritt was removed from the fray, because he can be. It worked a treat. In contrast, Townsend left replacement prop Will Hurd on the bench and asked Zander Fagerson to play the full 80 minutes. Of those who were introduced, Ewan Ashman is plagued by line-out throwing issues; Ewan Johnson plies his trade in France's second tier with Oyonnax; and Marshall Sykes is not a guaranteed starter for struggling Edinburgh. The Scottish replacements left everything out on the pitch when they came on, but they are being asked to compete with a different level of player. It was a similar tale in the defeat by Ireland. Scotland were outthought and outmuscled at Murrayfield. Former Irish fly-half Ronan O'Gara said "it felt like a 40-point win" for Ireland that day, and he wasn't exaggerating. When push comes to shove, Scotland are a level below the northern hemisphere's elite sides. Because of that lack of depth, Scotland are forced to play in a manner that isn't conducive to grinding out Test match win after Test match win. Their gameplan in Paris was clear. Keep the ball alive, take risks, play with pace and width and get their talented backline involved as much as possible. "We played with some fantastic endeavour and were quite sharp on the ball, but we couldn't break through, get in behind and really stress them," former Scotland full-back Chris Paterson said. "Scotland played the right way, gave ourselves the best opportunity by keeping the ball alive, playing as quick as possible. It wasn't always accurate but it's the right way to go about it." Former Scotland prop Peter Wright echoed those thoughts: "I was pretty proud of the way Scotland played. They stuck at it, went out and tried to play the game that could have beaten France. "They had a go, moved the ball, played with width. [Blair] Kinghorn had one of his best games. [Duhan] van der Merwe and [Darcy] Graham looked dangerous." "[Finn] Russell will get a lot of criticism for certain things, but I thought he played pretty well and gave Scotland a chance. He varied the game enough to try and hurt the French." Townsend's side were not fixated on playing the percentages and relying on a solid set-piece, because this Scotland team cannot do that. They have magnificent moments in games, plays that take your breath away, but because of the high-risk strategy they rarely deliver for the duration of a match, let alone for multiple matches across a championship. Their first-half performance was excellent at Stade de France, but they were brushed aside as legs grew tired and mistakes were punished. Townsend's side have beaten Italy and the worst Welsh team for a generation in this tournament. That is it. Perhaps Wright summed it up best. "Ultimately, France are a better side," he said. "There are world-class players all over the pitch, they can bring real quality off the bench and that just adds to the tempo and physicality."
BBC News
14-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Johnson replaces Gray on Scotland bench in France
Oyonnax lock Ewan Johnson has been named as a late replacement for Jonny Gray on the Scotland bench to face France in their final match of this season's Six Nations in 30-year-old Gray misses his chance to earn an 81st cap because of a knee born in England with a Welsh mother and Scottish father but who also qualifies for France through residency, made his international debut last year and will earn his fifth cap should he come off the bench on playing in the French second tier, the 25-year-old has agreed a two-year contract to join Top 14 club Bayonne this summer.
The Guardian
29-01-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Henry Slade confident England have fixed defence after sloppy autumn
Henry Slade believes England have taken significant strides to fix their defensive frailties on the basis that 'we know what we're doing', with the players adopting a more hands-on approach following a disappointing autumn. Slade is the first senior player to admit England had difficulties getting up to speed during a 'rushed' transition to the defensive system employed by Joe El-Abd, who was parachuted into the setup for the November international series after the shock resignation of Felix Jones. Jones had implemented an ultra‑aggressive blitz system when he took up the role of defence coach a year ago and it was blossoming by the summer, only for the Irishman to quit Steve Borthwick's regime. During the autumn, England players seemed confused, some sticking by Jones's principles in what the squad refer to as 'the Hammer' while others appeared less committed to the all‑or‑nothing approach. Since then, El-Abd has returned to Oyonnax as he continues his job‑share arrangement until the end of the season but he has been putting the squad through their paces at England's training camp in Girona before their Six Nations opener against Ireland on Saturday. Slade believes there is 'a lot more clarity' with the players taking a degree of ownership. 'There's been a lot more emphasis on players also helping out with reviewing it and leading it as well, and I think that's only helped us,' Slade said. 'Joe has his own ideas and what he wants to do and there has been definite input from some of us as players in terms of how we do it as well. 'We have had a lot of good conversations with each other and it feels like everyone is on the same page. We know what we are doing. That's a real step forward. Him [Joe] having that extra bit of time is only going to be good because it was pretty rushed the last time he came in. I definitely feel there's a lot more clarity on that front. 'When you run up that Hammer, there's so many moving parts to it and everything's got to be right on to get it right. There's a lot of small areas where if one thing's not right everything else suffers. What you saw in there wasn't just one thing that wasn't making things happen. Every now and again there was something that wasn't quite right, which led to everything else, a knock-on effect. It's hard to say exactly what the problem was, because it was probably different most times.' Slade was tight-lipped as to precisely how England's defence will differ during the Six Nations but it is expected there will be less emphasis on blitzing, even if Borthwick wants his players to maintain aggressive line speed. Slade, who starred in England's last victory in Dublin in 2019, said: 'We're always trying to evolve the D and find ways to take it forwards and improve things. Obviously, I'm not going to say on record what we're doing, but we're definitely trying to do that. We still want to be aggressive and we still want to be in the opposition's face and putting skills under pressure and going hard. 'We've looked at a few areas where we could potentially evolve it and change a couple of bits. We still want to be going off the line and doing some damage there. What we were doing before was very hit or miss. We're still a line-speed team and we're still going after players, but hopefully we can give ourselves every opportunity to keep making these tackles and keep staying alive.' Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion England head to Dublin on the back of six defeats in their past eight matches but they did beat Ireland in the championship last year thanks to a last-gasp drop goal by Marcus Smith. Simon Easterby's team are clear favourites, however, with the England No 8 Ben Earl seeking to temper expectations. 'It is an opportunity to play against arguably the best team in the world, against some of the best players in the world in certain positions,' he said. 'We just can't wait to try to put into place some of the preparation we have been doing. 'We will know we will have prepared as well as we could and we know we are still on a journey of where we are as a team. But it would be really nice to win, for sure, but we will see what happens. We are going to try our best and we are not ignorant to the task in hand.'
