Carrick Blake

Learning From The Lions: Argentina The Lions tour is one of the biggest events in the rugby calendar, and we were treated to an enthralling encounter in Dublin against the Pumas. Argentina became the first team to beat the Lions in …

The @lospumas and @lionsofficial served up an enthralling encounter on Friday.

The game gave a good indication of the Lions' desired style, especially in attack.

But it was the Pumas who were victorious, in part due to their control on chaos.

Enjoy :)

theanalysisguy.sport.blog/2025/06/24/l...

How NSW’s Physical Edge and Calm Execution Secured a Game 1 Win The biggest series in Rugby League got underway this weekend, with the Maroons and the Blues going to battle in Suncorp. It’s the 44th series between the two sides, and since 2020, the Queens…

The State of Origin series is a defining moment of the rugby league season. But how did the Blues claim the advantage in Suncorp Stadium?

From a variation in exit strategies and four well-taken scores, they seized the initiative.

Enjoy :)

theanalysisguy.sport.blog/2025/05/29/s...

@rugbynewsplus.bsky.social and @rugbykino.bsky.social are good ones. Kino has some decent lists made up.

No worries thanks for taking the time

Well I hope you have enjoyed this dive down the rabbit hole that was the 2025 Six Nations

From Super Pods to Flying Squirrels a tournament full of continual innovations.

While we also saw France nail their adaptation to the highly transitional arc that rugby is travelling down in impressive style!

However against Ireland we saw the side that had given us the Fox defence give us the Flying Squirrel in its final form

Whether this will catch on will be interesting to follow though the use of the leg, does offer a possible chance at improved outcomes

We first saw this in their game against France where under pressure 2 players went for the block rather than the intercept.

This makes sense trying to avoid yellows while disrupt a pass and leave just enough body in front to tackle the opponent.

Theme 6

While a lot of the thread above has looked at attack we have seen the Azzuri bringing more variety to the defensive side of the ball.

The Flying Squirrel edge defence becoming a last resort

Theme 5

One of the interesting aspects of the tournament, was Scotland's struggles after half time.

Far from their resounding come back 38-38 draw against England of years past the Scotland attack scored the lowest % of tries in the second half setting up some nervy finishes.

France showed much the same against Italy

Both sides working hard to set their pod and attacking with width off an edge

Tony Brown has truly changed how the game will look for the next 6 months at least!

Ireland showed it often against England setting the tone from round one

The first example shows how good connection in defence from England pushes them to an edge

But they can't stop Sheehan on the second example

Theme 4

The Super Pod has well and truly arrived

This is becoming a particularly potent weapon from kick return and is allowing teams to stretch and challenge defences with a flat pass cutting defenders and finding space.

This is a great example of his combination in the Centres for Italy

A well timed line on the outside of 13s shoulder helps him break the line with the wheels to finish.

Notice how his opposite number is forced to double D, allowing Menoncello too weaker shoulder and its try time.

Theme 3

Menoncello was my stand out player of the tournament, impressive on both sides of the ball especially physiclaly.

He came second for dominant tackles while he also commited 2 or more tacklers on over 70% of his tackles.

These all helped contribute to some great performances within the opponents 22

England were second at converting entries to tries while they were very mean in defence at the same time.

One worry maybe territorial control sitting 3rd for Avg Entries while they leaked more than all bar Italy.

One key part of their attacking foundations was their collision dominance.

Not even the French and their use of a 7-1 squad could usurp England.

This ability in the contact area is again a promising sign for an attack and should maintain their platform to play.

Theme 2

My second key take away was how efficient England have become under Steve Borthwick.

Only title winners France secured tries from line breaks at a better rate. While we don't know how many line breaks they made on OPTA, they were top for tackle evasion

Signs of an effective attack

While all this may lead you to think that the game is becoming a run from anywhere fest fear not.

The French also married it with an extremely pragmatic and switched on exit strategy

No side exited via the boot, as a percentage of total exits, than Les Bleus.

The more transitional game obviously suits a French side more suited to flair and high risk rugby.

This is clear in the offloading with 16% of France's tries - Ireland saw only 4% end in tries.

While this doesn't point to a quantity - it shows France's comfort and ability to spot a game-changer.

They also scored over a 1/4 of their tries starting from within their own half. This shows a boldness that enabled them to profit from the oppositions misfortune.

Ireland did get a few but, the vast majority relied on pressure from territory.

As the game becomes more transitional, can they adapt?

Firstly, it comes down to Les Bleus comfort in the chaos of transition. This is a chance for them to colour outside the lines, and exploit a more disjointed defence.

To underpin 20% of their tries came from turnover while Ireland didn't manage 1.

Theme Number One

We saw France win the title, overcoming defeat to England and putting on a resounding display in Dublin.

But what set France and Ireland in particular apart?

The Six Nations came to end last weekend and there is plenty to be learnt digging through the detail

From where the two title favourites, France and Ireland diverged, to the underpinnings of England's success.

So join me on this thread examining 6 themes that became prevalent during the 6 Nations

In the loose manner I follow football seems to me that they’ve still got their possession based hyper structured game while other sides are becoming more reliant on counter attacks and winning through more chaos.

Man City 🤝 Ireland

Both teams who’s dominance was unquestioned and seemingly coming unstuck due to a more transitional version of the sport?

In what was a truly great game Biarritz came back from 19 points to secure the win on the road against mid table rivals.

A clash of styles in attack and defence made for a fascinating game. While Biarritz's ability to adapt second half, particularly in maul defence was crucial.

Hope you enjoyed :)

We see Biarritz put all this together for their final try using layers and offloads to complete the come back.

The adjustment on the 1st pod is crucial enabling them to change picture forcing the defence to adapt.

They then stay on top impressively and keep the move flowing with offloads to score.

We see the same here.

Starting with a penalty that is taken quickly they break the oyonnax line.

While it only needs one offload to finish the job notice how close the support runners are and the work of 14 to adjust and make the final pass easy.

One of Biarritz's best weapons was their ability to keep the ball alive. In the clips below we saw their offload game to fruition - with an adventurous chip on the exit kick starting the move for their first try.

Notice that the support runners are flooding ready for the pass not just the ruck.

However Biarritz responded in the second half. Holding out these 2 mauls.

We see the change in Biarritz's 2 pod defence policy and while they give away a penalty at first they look more comfortable.

For the turnover they split Oyonnax's back shift and get on ball. A pivotal point in the game.