The Six Nations is over. For Scotland anyway..... England play France shortly and then it will be totally over. We pretty much triumphed this afternoon in that we don't leave the 2010 Six Nations with the wooden spoon. Three cheers!! I would have felt nauseous if we had finished last in the table because I think it would have by no means been deserved. Scotland have often languished near the foot of the Six Nations table for the past few years. It was eleven years ago that we last won the competition. It was still the Five Nations then. Believe me, most years we have deserved to be propping up the table.
This year we didn't. We've been fairly 'unlucky' I suppose. We could (and should!) have won against Wales. That knocked our confidence against Italy and maybe we could have won against England although I missed that game actually. Either way, those games were well within our reach. Against France we had no hope really (They are going for the Grand Slam this evening deservedly) and I would have said the same for our game against Ireland.
You could tell that Ireland were desperate to win this game. It was their last game at Croke Park before moving back to the newly renovated Lansdowne Road (Aviva) so they wanted to leave there on a winning note. They came out of the gate all guns blazing but were playing too fast even for themselves! I got tired just watching the first half of the game. It was exhausting! I can't even imagine what the players were feeling like...... although I am thinking 'jelly legs' at the moment.
Scotland just stuck together and played good, connected rugby. It was a great game to watch.... probably better for the neutral. It was a little too tense for me. Especially when Dan Parks had a penalty to kick in the last minute of the game to take the lead! Of course he made it. Of course! I didn't doubt it!! :-) Dan Parks has really been the stand out player for me in the this Six Nations. I think three Man Of The Match awards say it all really. He really has just pulled it out of the bag. I do think he is wonderful.
So, we ended up beating Ireland 20-23. Marvellous! This meant that we climbed above Italy who had beaten us. Sorry Italy...... better luck next time. Enjoy that wooden spoon.
A couple of things I loved today. One was how jolly they made Flower of Scotland. I'm seriously struggling to think of a time that I have heard it better. The arrangement of it was so upbeat and cheerful..... you know considering that it is about defeating the English in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1341 which I'm confident was a fairly gruesome affair. The second was the dry remarks of one of the commentators. I've looked to see if I could find out who the commentators were but no such luck. Some of those comments I will never forget. They have been locked in my memory forever. So, so funny!
I'm so glad that Scotland finally got something for their Six Nations endeavours.... but I am definitely glad that we did not come away with that dreaded wooden spoon!
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