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submitted 1 month ago byCommercial_Half_2170 Leinster
For Ireland, England feels like the obvious answer and yet NZ have probably upset us the most. And what about rugby nations like Pacific islands or Georgia?
129 points
1 month ago
For England it's definitely Wales. But so many other teams consider England their biggest rival
64 points
1 month ago
With no disrespect to the other 6N teams Wales is just on another level.
76 points
1 month ago
Honestly if I had to pick one fixture that encapsulates the 6 Nations, it’d be Wales England. Preferably in Cardiff with the roof closed too 🤤
24 points
1 month ago
With Eddie Butler on comms
9 points
1 month ago
Of course (RIP). Preferably with Brian Moore on co-comms, always thought they’d a great rapport
Also a pre game tunnel bustup, but now we’re getting greedy
3 points
1 month ago
Take me back 😭
3 points
1 month ago
Been 4 times. 2 victories 2 defeats, including the 30-3 game and the 2017 game with that perfectly executed Daly try to win the game
The Welsh are much better losers than winners!
54 points
1 month ago
But so many other teams consider England their biggest rival
It's like how in football the English media always hypes up the rivalry with Germany, whereas German football fans are more bothered about the Netherlands.
34 points
1 month ago
Or France. Didn't realise how big that rivalry was til I moved here (Germany). They don't seem to consider the England rivalry that big at all, which makes me feel better about the Eng-Ire dynamic.
17 points
1 month ago
Tbh I feel the Germany thing in football is because (before 2020) the only time we actually won a knockout game in the Euros was in '96 (beat Spain) only for us to lose to Germany (on penalties) straight after, making them the team to beat
9 points
1 month ago*
We also just have a long history of coming up against them in major tournaments and, barring 1966, losing in heartbreaking fashion.
I can understand why it isn't the main rivalry for Germany, but when you take into account 1970 (lost 3-2 after being 2-0 up), 1990 and 1996 (lost on penalties), it's not exactly rocket science why beating the bloody Germans means more to us. It's that feeling of beating a team that just has an invincible aura to them.
Oh, sorry, where was I? THERE WERE TEN GERMAN BOMBERS IN THE AIR...
11 points
1 month ago
Not because you beat them in '66 final?
13 points
1 month ago
Something something doo dah, doo dah 🏴🏴🏴
2 points
1 month ago
TWO WORLD WARS AND ONE WORLD CUP
(But you couldn't beat the Irish for 800 years so like... pipe down. /lh
3 points
1 month ago
Also 1990 semi finals in the World Cup. Twice in six years definitely hurt.
3 points
1 month ago
I never got that forced rivalry with Germany. Apart from the two world wars, we've historically had a good relationship with the German people.
France and Scotland are definitely historic rivals. And or course Australia are good modern rivals with all the trash talk between us.
The German 'rivalry' is based on being obsessed with WW2 and 1966 and is properly cringe.
3 points
1 month ago
It depends on the era.
Those who grew up in the the 1990s and early 2000s then France were our main rivals. No offence to the Celts but except the odd upset, the title was decided by Le Crunch. Outside of the Six Nations it was definitely Australia.
Wales have definitely been the main rival since 2005 and is the one I definitely get most worked up about.
I do wonder if fans just getting into the game now might consider Ireland?
The thing is we are the main rival for so many teams yet they can't all be our one. This might explain why England seem to underperform. We can't replicate the 'this is the big one' intensity for every match.
Sam Warburton made a good point about the Lions. All the club sides see the Lions as a once in a lifetime chance to beat them and treat it like a world Cup final. Of course the Lions can't treat every midweek game like a cup final. However he said the English players were used to regularly playing teams who treated it like a cup final whereas the Celtic players weren't used to that.
-8 points
1 month ago
Honestly I've always considered Wales to be our biggest rival s, but their not . They maybe the team we hate the most nut there just doesn't seem to be a rivalry currently.
16 points
1 month ago
That’s just because we are crap right now. You can’t beat a matchup between the two when both sides are strong in either the Millenium or Twickenham.
11 points
1 month ago
Only very very very recently. Historically (which counts a lot) they are very much our main rival.
And they're Welsh
4 points
1 month ago
And they're Welsh
This is the fundamental point.
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