Jonathan Davies: Composure of James leaves Jenkins with dilemma
What a professional and what a potential superstar
Published: 18 March 2007
My country might forgive me - or perhaps not - if I first give to mention to the epic ending of the race for the Six Nations' Championship. Before last night's thriller, we truly had been through a thriller.
Poor Ireland must have believed they had won it - and might believe they should have won it. But to my mind they didn't lose this championship - and indeed France did not win it - when Elvis Vermeulen crashed over the line. No, they will think back to that one minute of madness at Croke Park when Vincent Clerc won a match Les Bleus never should have been allowed to.
Not to say this final day was irrelevant. On the contrary it was an absolute cracker, the best day of the seven weeks by far; a day when we finally received everything the thrill-seeker had hoped for. Regardless where the silverware ended up, the pin-up was inevitably going to be James Hook. We of the three-feathered persuasion have always said how good this lad is and I hope the rest of the world now pay heed.
My one abiding memory of this man-of-the-match winning display was when he bounced the ball off the floor and looked directly in the referee's eyes when Mr Rolland was playing Wales a penalty advantage as the clock ran down. The youngster, defying his seemed deficit in experience, had the maturity and tactical nous to see through what must have been the overload of adrenalin and realise what the three points would mean for his team. That was just a little thing among a whole 80 minutes of big things.
Amazingly, Hook actually said afterwards that he was "a bit disappointed" with some of his goal-kicking. What a professional and what a potential superstar. He has given Gareth Jenkins one hell of a dilemma who he picks at fly-half when Stephen Jones - his captain, don't forget, comes back from injury.
But few people in Wales were thinking about that last night after a victory that saved their season. They were too busy toasting Hook and a forward performance when they at last stepped up to the mark. The Welsh eight controlled the English pack in all areas - especially at the breakdown - and the only mystery was how they weren't further ahead at the break.
The French and Irish attacks would have definitely made England pay. And that's why they all but shared the Championship on points difference. The Irish backline were simply magnificent in feeding off the scraps of possession in the first half and keeping the green dander up against an, up to then, confident Italian XV.
Even though Pierre Berbizier's men were put to the sword yesterday, they can still take so much credit for the way they performed in this campaign. In relative terms, they have made greater strides than any other nation. Their pack is certainly a match - and in most cases superior - to any other northern hemisphere set of forwards and the World Cup quarter-finals must now be the very least of their ambitions.
Scotland should take heart from certain parts of their showing yesterday, as well as their close defeat to Ireland and their triumph over Wales. They are probably just where Frank Hadden, their coach, would have expected them to be and so, for that matter, is France. Bernard Laporte has introduced some discipline into the whole French set-up and if anyone is going to deny New Zealand in the autumn then they just may be the ones.
But what of the defending champions? They were beaten, and beaten badly, here yesterday. But Brian Ashton can still take his positives from this Six Nations. In fact. every one of the nations can. This old tournament just keeps on producing.
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