Kaplan’s take on Six Nations

So the first weekend of the RBS Six Nations is done and the results more or less followed the script. I warned that the Scots would be a tough nut to crack for any of the visitors to Murrayfield and so it proved. The win was no fluke but the Irish left themselves with too much to do, trailing 21-8 at half-time. Ireland will do well to keep their campaign on track, but they certainly have the class and personnel to do it. The Scots have two incredibly difficult matches away from home this year – France and England – so I really doubt they will be able to win the whole thing.

England beat France, as expectedly. But it wasn’t easy. They were met with a fair amount of resistance in the form of some strong and accurate French defence and had to contend with keeping their own line intact from the big marauding French pack. My feeling is that the English effort lost momentum when they lost Jonny May to a yellow card midway through the first half and they had to play conservatively once they fell behind. Having said that, it wasn’t a bad performance at all and they still have all the guns to outshine the opposition this year.

Italy fought well to lead Wales 7-3 at half-time. It was never going to be enough, but I did expect more of them especially with only 40 minutes ahead of them .

I thought all the refs – Romain Poite, Angus Gardner and JP Doyle – acquitted themselves well notwithstanding the odd error.

This weekend I expect Ireland will bounce back to beat Italy by a few tries; Scotland will test the French at home and much will depend on how they cope with not only a powerful French pack (static penalties) but also the excellent carry of the pack and Baptiste Serin at halfback. I won’t discount their chances but I won’t be having a play on an unpredictable spread.

Lastly, Wales will fancy their chances at home against England. The more they can keep the ball in play but away from the set-piece, the better chance they will have of causing an upset. I fancy England to shade it though.

I think all three games are intriguing fixtures and well worth a watch as we warm up for Super Rugby.

I will be watching as much of the rugby as I can, and you are welcome to interact with me on my Twitter handle @refjk throughout the tournament.

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Jonathan Kaplan is a former international rugby referee who holds the South African record of 70 Test matches, including 18 in the Six Nations.