6n 2013: A Vintage Year?

The titlle may indicate a WUM but in previous years when Wales have won the championship it has been belittled due to France and England not really being up to scratch. So my question to all fans is with England coming into todays game with the slam still on does it mean that the championship have been a "vintage" one?

Secondly dont get me wrong we will and should enjoy the victory and the back to back championships but I hope im not alone among welsh fans in hoping we now truly set our standards higher and aim to start turning the SH narrow losses into victorys.....

I think it's been a very unusual one, when Ireland were 30-3 up early in the second half against Wales in Cardiff, I really don't think anyone would of believed Wales would of beaten England by a similar score to become the champions in the final week.

It's simply preposterous to think Wales could be champions and Ireland getting the wooden spoon after watching that first game where we were totally overwhelmed by Ireland.

The introduction of SH refs over the last twenty years has resulted in more grand slams than in the previous 50 years and has had huge bearing on some strange results over the years.

I can't claim to having watched every game this year or most in the past, but I have probably watched more games this year than I can remember due to the Lions coming, and I don't think I've ever watched a least impresive tournament. Nothing to fear from an Australian point of view!

Yes a vintage year, but i see the BBC are very quick to run this as an awful one just like they did last year,
Inverdale was fawning all over England on the first weekend dubbing it the best championship ever.

Every year is vintage for different reasons.

It was a pretty poor standard. But that's been the norm for the 6 Nations for years now. However the Welsh display today was top class. Italy have definitely improved. England, despite today, are better than they've been since their post '03 slump. Not sure about Scotland. I think they're pretty poor actually.

France and Ireland are dragged down by disastrous coaches. If they're replaced and those two sides bring their domestic rugby form to the national stage, we may have a really vintage 6 Nations next year. Hopefully with Wales, England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland all playing well. I don't think that's ever happened in the 6 Nations era. There's normally at least three completely awful teams who don't take much beating, dragging the standard down.

~A poor six nations with one great performance - Wales demolition of England

This 6Ns was concerning from the point of view we're all supposed to be competing with the southern hemisphere.

One thing is for sure, no-one will be losing sleep over it.

Gavindragon do you think England and France were up to scratch? I don't. England have steadily got worse since the Scotland game. France have been poor anyway.

No it wasn't a vintage 6 nations at all. First weekend was good but the quality dropped in subsequent weeks.

Of course you should set yourself higher standards but does the as long as we beat the English mantra get old? No.

Wales deserved to win the 6 nations. Well done.

Probably the lowest quality Six Nations I've seen. The only side that put in more than one good performance and showed some development was Italy, and even they demonstrated that without Parisse they're a fraction of the side.

Not a great tournament, some very poor performances, a few terrible performances by officials, one great game. The weather was a factor perhaps and the scrum and breakdown has been shown one again to be ruining this great game. Please, please let's have some sanity back in these key areas.

Beshocked no I am not saying it was a vintage year, it was more of a dig at people who in past years in 05 and 08 when we have won have devalued it because England or others were in transition period or whatever, and just wanted to point out that this year we came from an early defeat with England going for a GS and still won.

I actually think this year was better than last years championship and as for intensity that game yesterday was up there with anything the SH can produce IMO

It's been one of the poorest tournaments I've seen. Pretty sure there was a worse one between 2000-03 though, it was too one-sided back then.

I for one do not think any one, any one could say that this 6ns was a devalued 6ns. All teams was fully up to date with all their players, or most of their players playing for their country.

It as not been a spectacular tournament by any stretch of the imagination.

But the Wales v England game was the tournament decider and Wales won, and won well.

Wales was the best team on the day. And it had nothing to do with the ref. No complaints from me about the out come of the game.

Well I thought it was a fecking great tournament

Exciting. some good games. little vintage rugby

As a Welshman the best ever...until we dissembled England I had felt that to win would be hollow, no Slam is no glory. But what glory there is in coming back from the edge, no suggestions of devaluation from fans of a side that just can't figure out how to do what we do at will - 4 times out of 8 years.

No Slam? so what this is a much sweeter victory, like a phoenix we rose from the ashes of a meltdown which even affected the first game, then we went back to the drawing board and won 3 hard games on the road before destroying the form side at home to defend our Champion status.
Now yet again we have to kick on and i hope if the Welsh representation is right down under, we can put some of last summer behind us.