The Six Nations - with its emphasis on the art of the bosh and its aversion to offloads - has set out to be merely a competition whose excitement derives from tense and close games rather than from free-flowing attacking rugby. Sadly, given the severe limitations of everyone except England - and owing to the fact that England are quite good again - it has failed to meet such a humbling and conservative ambition.
We discussed a turgid Six Nations on our daily sports podcast, The Racket:
It isn't quite as bad for us Irish fans however. While the national team continue to treat offloads with an incurious scepticism, we have had the joyous spectacle of Schools Cup rugby to entertain us. Here is the proof:
The Greatest Try Never Scored?
The Leinster Senior Schools Cup final was won convincingly by Belvedere, but it could have been even more comprehensive, had this try not been (admittedly correctly) disallowed for a forward pass. The chip and chase and pass was by full-back Hugh O'Sullivan, with James McKeown touching down:
TRY - but it's disallowed!
McKeown finished an excellent move for @BelvoSports but the ball had gone forward! #LSSC https://t.co/B26nYKkMgl— eir Sport (@eirSport) March 13, 2016
That chip was breathtaking. We cannot wait to see exactly how that flair is curbed at professional level. Irish Times writer Gavin Cummiskey was suitably impressed:
Sometimes, Front-Rows Can Sprint
This stunning length-of-the-field try by Roscrea against Clongowes in the semi-final shows that in some rugby arenas, front-rows can be genuinely useful in the loose. It begins with an extraordinary break by the hooker Eoghan Magher, and ends in a loosehead offloading to tighthead to finish off a magical move:
Move of the match from today's @bankofireland #LSSC, @CCRoscrea with a great break leading to a well worked team try
Posted by Setanta Sports Ireland on Tuesday, March 1, 2016
The Finest 40 Minutes Of The Year
Belvedere had to navigate the challenge of Blackrock in the quarter-final, eventually requiring a replay to see off Brian O Driscoll's alma mater, winning 35-29. The game was televised on Setanta Sports, and it proved to be an incredible contest. Here are some of the highlights of an incredible first-half:
A superb @Belvederecolleg move has opened the scoring here in Donnybrook. #LSSC https://t.co/0WWhG4O9k0
— eir Sport (@eirSport) February 22, 2016
Conor Dean powers through @Belvederecolleg defence for the try! James McGowan scores his 2nd conversion of the day. https://t.co/yojaEwK3pH
— eir Sport (@eirSport) February 22, 2016
That pass 👏👏👏@Belvederecolleg are right back in it. #LLSC https://t.co/wGLsVjeJBd
— eir Sport (@eirSport) February 22, 2016
Try! @Belvederecolleg take the lead on the stroke of HT. Amazing display of rugby in this first half. #LSSC https://t.co/ix2at6HviL
— eir Sport (@eirSport) February 22, 2016
The Biggest Hit Of The Year
Despite the fact the pro game seemingly prides itself on its upper-arms race - the game's emphasis on strength and staggering size has left the game increasingly resembling oversized, hulking hadrons colliding on the field to turnover possession/explore the possibility of uncovering the Higgs Boson and solving the mysteries of the universe - the best hit of the year actually came at half-time in the clash between Fintan's and Wesley in the Vinnie Murray Cup.
With the Fintan's mascot struggling with tacklers, he was protected by the intrusion of this sideline spectator:
The Refereeing
To adopt a more serious tone for a moment, the referee in the quarter-final clash between Gonzaga and Roscrea showed more gumption than many of the Six Nations' referees, TMOs and citing commissioners. During the game, a Gonzaga player went down injured with a suspected head injury. When the referee heard the Gonzaga medic beginning to go through an HIA Assesment - which is not permitted in underage rugby - he ordered the player be removed from the pitch. He remained steadfast in the face of criticism. Watch below:
Leinster subsequently offered their full backing to the referee over the incident.
