"Wretched kicking" - Four players who underperformed in the Six Nations this weekend

Rugby News
Sunday, 10 March 2024 at 20:26
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We examine five players who struggled to deliver during the fourth round of the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, while England, Ireland, and France secured wins.
Starting off the round on Saturday, Italy held on despite intense late pressure to secure their first Six Nations home win since 2013 as Scotland's title hopes were all but ended by an abject second-half collapse in Rome.
Next up, Marcus Smith kicked a last-gasp drop-goal as England stunned Ireland and ended their chance to win back-to-back Grand Slams in a Six Nations thriller at Twickenham.
Sunday's spectacle belonged to France, as they delivered a masterclass in attacking rugby, overpowering a valiant yet winless Wales side in Cardiff.
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#1. George Ford (England)

Telegraph 5/10: "Beautiful with ball in hand, wretched with the boot. Missing seven points felt crucial and kicking from hand was also not on the money."
Rugby World 5/10: "Put some nice width on the ball, particularly with the miss passes to a rampaging Ellis Genge in midfield. However, he was guilty of missing a very kickable penalty attempt in the first half and also had a drop goal charged down. Mixed bag."
RUCK 6.5/10: "A frustrating day personally for Ford, yet he would be delighted to see his side turn the fortunes around in the second half. Had his drop gaol attempt charged down and missed the 30th min pen from the Ireland 10m line. Ford was offside along with Ollie Chessum at 38 minutes, as England worked tirelessly to clear their lines. Missed another conversion after Furbank’s try, as Owen Farrell watched on in the Twickenham stands."
Planet Rugby 5/10: "Not his best display for his country as he battled on defence, especially when Aki ran in his channel, while he also had a forgetful day off the kicking tee, which nearly cost his team this match. Was eventually yanked off on the hour-mark, with Marcus Smith coming on to replace him."

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#2. Finn Russell (Scotland)

Scotland Rugby News: "The captain didn’t really get involved as much as he would have liked to during a second half when Scotland struggled. Had a part to play in the first half and did brilliantly before the third try but more needed from him as a leader."
Rugby Pass 5.5/10: "One of those frustrating days for the fly-half maestro, with several passes and offloads going to ground. His superb 50:22 kick created the position for Scotland’s third try but missed his first place-kick of the Championship when he nudged his conversion of Schoeman’s try wide, after 18 out of 18 up to that point. Kept trying to conjur something, but couldn’t regain control once Italy got in front."
Planet Rugby 6/10: "All good things come to an end, and today it was Russell’s 100% success rate off the tee this Six Nations as he failed to convert Pierre Schoeman’s try after knocking over 18/18 attempts this Championship. Masterful for most of the first half as he steered his side to a 22-16 lead. Kicked well out of hand for most of the game and did his utmost to orchestrate a winning score and if they were to get it, it was going to come from his magic."

#3. Peter O'Mahony (Ireland)

Ball.Ie 3/10: "Really struggled with the pace and intensity of this top quality test match. Needed to share the Ball carrying work and was a passenger for much of the game. Let others have engagements with the referee. Rightly carded and put his team under pressure by a yellow card that got England into the lead."
Rugby Pass 3/10: "O’Mahony – so often a figure of leadership and intensity on the field – had a surprisingly quiet game, blending into the background more than making his mark. Getting sin-binned for a 57th-minute professional foul didn’t help matters."
Telegraph 4/10: "There cannot have been many games where the Irish skipper looked so out of sorts; a mindless sin-bin capping it off."
Planet Rugby 4/10: "Admitted himself that his yellow card was not good enough and it proved very costly in the latter stages of the match. The skipper didn’t return to the pitch after his sin-binning."

#4. Keiron Assiratti (Wales)

Wales Online 4/10: "Had a torrid time at the set-piece against one of the most destructive scrummaging looseheads in the world in the shape of Cyrille Baille. Failed to make an impact in the loose, and was replaced just after half-time."
Rugby Pass 2/10: "Monstered in the scrum by Atonio, which is no shameful thing. Still, his struggles were apparent and he was subbed for Dillon Lewis shortly after half-time."
Planet Rugby 5/10: "France put plenty of pressure on Wales at scrum time, and Assiratti bore the brunt of the pressure at the set-piece. Did not make much of an impact in other areas, and was not surprising when he was yanked off in the 45th minute with Dillon Lewis coming on to replace him."
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