Welcome back to a right proper 6 Nations. The Aviva on Saturday (aka Lansdowne Road) felt like we had exited a time capsule, two years having passed in a vacuum. Running rugby, no masks and people talking to strangers!
So obviously 2 years is a long time in rugby. Wales suffered the depletion and ageing of their squad, Eddie Jones played his new options like he’s a guaranteed job through the World Cup, and France and Ireland cranking up their fast handling games.
More importantly than all that, thanks to everyone for entering the F6NF, welcome to our new members, and welcome back the stalwarts who have been with us for many years. We are still counting the money, but rest assured you have done LauraLynn proud again this year.
Early Lead
John Dolan and Peter Pigot took the top spot with 54 points each, Ciaran Quigley and John Tarpey breathing down their necks with 53, Noel Stapleton and Shane Mc Groary on 51 and the diminutive Canadian John McCann hitting 50 points.
| Week 1 Leader Board | ||
| 1 | John Dolan | 54 |
| 2 | Peter Pigot | 54 |
| 3 | Ciarán Quigley | 53 |
| 4 | John Tarpey | 53 |
| 5 | Noel Stapleton | 51 |
| 6 | Shane McGroary | 51 |
| 7 | John McCann 1 | 50 |
| 8 | Johnny Sheehan | 48 |
| 9 | Keith Martin | 48 |
| 10 | Siobhan Scully | 48 |
| 11 | David O’Kelly | 47 |
| 12 | Julian D’Arcy | 47 |
| 13 | Dominic O’Kelly | 46 |
| 14 | James Fegan | 46 |
| 15 | Paul Waugh | 46 |
| 16 | Richie Joyce | 46 |
| 17 | Billy Murphy | 45 |
| 18 | Daniel Lyons | 45 |
| 19 | Gerard Loughran | 45 |
| 20 | Nigel Elliott | 45 |
| 21 | Paul Conway | 45 |
“It was only a matter of time” said Dolan from his ski lodge in the Alps. “I knew I’d get to the top of the table one day, I just had to get my algorithms right. I just hope I haven’t peaked too soon”.
“I think I may have peaked too soon” said Pigot.
Both are in line for the Kirby Engineering Pack Leader Award, to be decided on countback next week. The winner will receive a 20kV Sub Station Transformer, or the monetary equivalent.
How many of the top 21 will remain there by next week is open to question, and if that’s not you in there then you can find yourself on the Leaderboard
Next Week
Another mouthwatering round next week, when Wales sink or swim against Scotland in Cardiff, the leaders France and Ireland take their toughest test for a year or so in Paris and England run out as many tries as they can against Italy. How will you fare? Stay tuned for next week’s thrilling instalment.
