To keep it a closed shop and prevent Georgia progressing. They'll eventually introduce a play off when Georgia have lost their current crop of players.
Italy 7 Wales 33
The scoreboard flatters Wales and cracks have been papered over again. I'm really fearful for the next four games after this performance.
Can't help feeling that if Georgia played in Spain or Portugal or another agreeable weekend break destination the Six Nations committee would be falling over themselves to introduce promotion and relegation.
Weird game, we were garbage in the first half and showed no invention to break Italy's, (admittedly awesome) defence down while they ran varied lines from deep to attack with momentum and ideas.
We were incredibly lucky to go in only four points down but after half time the Italians just seemed burnt out. The switch from Biggar to Sam Davies wasn't much of a catalyst because we barely seemed to give him the ball. AWJ was the first receiver most of the time. Davies did break through with some running late on but our entire back line was managing it by then.
I'm not going to bemoan a 26 point margin of victory and 33 unanswered points but today didn't tell us anything, well, apart from the fact that Sergio Parisse is a god amongst mortals but we already knew that.
Great afternoon, fantastic weekend and now the fear starts for next Saturday,
"Joost's tackle on Jonah that day - a front on tackle on the guy that was destroying every team in the world. Here comes a scrum-half, someone who is not meant to put in tackles like that, and tackles him front on.
"The team as a whole got so much inspiration from him for doing that. For us as a country it became an iconic day and it changed the way that we were viewed forever."
Great player, best scrumhalf I've ever seen live IMO and up there with Gareth Edwards for the best of all time. Surprisingly similar players, actually, my biggest memory of both is they were nonpareil at sniping around the ruck and collecting tries.
Relegating Italy would be doing them a major disservice. The big European unions haven't been particularly bothered about making them better.
Just the one slight surprise in England's Match-day 23 for game against Wales:
England: Mike Brown (Harlequins); Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs); Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Elliot Daly (Wasps); George Ford (Bath Rugby), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Dylan Hartley (captain, Northampton Saints), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Nathan Hughes (Wasps)
Replacements: Jamie George (Saracens), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Danny Care (Harlequins), Ben Te'o (Worcester Warriors), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)
The weren't joking about giving North and Biggar as much time as possible to prove their fitness (more the former, I'd imagine), the Wales team was meant to be announced an hour ago but no sign of it.
I hope it's still tight around the 60 minute mark when I imagine Sam Davies will get on, injuries notwithstanding. I fear we could have lost it by then though.
Happy to see changes in the front row. I'm more concerned about the last 20, when England will have brought on Te'o and Haskell and we're struggling to last the pace.
We're generally very strong finishers though, even if other teams' fitness and conditioning work has caught up with ours.
There will obviously be the disadvantage of a day less turnaround time but we'll have Roberts and Faletau to bring on to counter the two players you mention. Obviously the fitness of the latter may be questionable but so is Haskell's and Toby is ten times the player.
Italy: E Padovani; A Esposito, T Benvenuti, L McLean, G Venditti; C Canna, E Gori; A Lovotti, L Ghiraldini, L Cittadini; M Fuser, D Van Schalkwyk; M Mbanda, S Favaro, S Parisse.
Replacements: O Gega, S Panico, D Chistolini, G Biagi, A Steyn, G Bronzini, T Allan, M Campagnaro
Ireland: R Kearney; K Earls, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, S Zebo; P Jackson, C Murray; C Healy, R Best (capt), T Furlong; D Ryan, D Toner; CJ Stander, S O'Brien, J Heaslip.
Replacements: N Scannell, J McGrath, J Ryan, U Dillane, J van der Flier, K Marmion, I Keatley, C Gilroy.
Americas championship #2 is underway. USA 29-23 Uruguay in San Antonio last weekend. Home to Brazil in Austin next week, then at Canada, Chile, and something resembling Argentina.
Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, Tommy Seymour, Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw; Allan Dell, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, John Barclay, Josh Strauss, Hamish Watson.
Replacements: Ross Ford, Gordon Reid, Simon Berghan, Tim Swinson, John Hardie, Alistair Price, Duncan Weir, Mark Bennett.
France: Scott Spedding, Noa Nakaitaci, Gael Fickou, Remi Lamerat, Virimi Vakatawa, Camille Lopez, Baptiste Serin; Cyril Baille, Guilhem Guirado (capt), Uini Atonio, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Yoann Maestri, Loann Goujon, Kevin Gourdon, Louis Picamoles.
Replacements: Christopher Tolofua, Rabah Slimani, Xavier Chiocci, Julien Le Devedec, Damien Chouly, Maxime Machenaud, Jean-Marc Doussain, Yoann Huget.
Lots of rugby on TV tonight but surprisingly the Glasgow Scarlets game isn't on.
Munster Dragons on the red button
Wales England U20s on BBC 2 Wales
Ulster Edinburgh on BBC 2 Ulster and Alba
I'm watching the U20s. There's a minute's silence for Joost at the match, impeccably observed, and there will be at all the Six Nations games this weekend.
Comment