Six Nations Preview
The Six Nations sees the return of international rugby and will see the top six nations in the northern hemisphere compete for the Six Nations title as they vie for the first tournament of 2021.
Every team in the Six Nations is at different points of their development as they look towards the 2023 World Cup in France. But this year’s tournament and the subsequent tournaments leading up to World Cup will be critical to gage of their progress.
England and France are this year’s front runners with both having aspirations of winning the Grand Slam and both looking forward to the World Cup in 2023. Whereas Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy are all at various stages of development and have had various success in their current systems with different expectations heading into the Six Nations.
England
England were impressive in the Autumn fixtures in which they won the maiden Nations Cup. England were assured in defence and were able to put their opponents under pressure and capitalise upon penalties. Eddie Jones’ side beat a weakened French side in the final of the Autumn Nations Cup and France will once again be stiff competition and England’s toughest challenge in the Six Nations.
England will be looking to build on the form of the Autumn Nations Cup to retain their Six Nations championship and enter the Championship as the favourites and will have circled the game against France as the crucial clash in this year’s tournament.
The biggest question surrounding England is the form of the Saracens players that have been selected in Eddie Jones’ 28-man squad. Saracens who were relegated from the Premiership due to illegal breaches of the salary cap have a number of players in the England squad. Some of these players have not played this season and the ones that have played in the championship this season have only one game. Players such as Owen Farrell, Billy and Mako Vunipola and Maro Itoje have not played frequently and from the backbone of Eddie Jones’ England.
If the Saracens players that have been included in the England squad are not up to their normal standards or are below par, then England may struggle. To compete with a young, strong French team, England need the key pieces of their team such as Farrell and Itoje to be on the top of their games.
France
A couple of years ago it seemed that the French national side were disarray with the frequent changing of coaches and what seemed to be political turmoil throughout the French set up. But that seems to be a distant memory now with the way that Fabian Galthie’s French side are preforming.
Much like England they impressed during the Autumn Nations Cup. It was their attacking flare and dominance that caught the eye. The young half-back pairing of Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack have established themselves as one of the best at their respective positions and some of the best young players in the world. This partnership will set France up for the years to come and will be the key to their success in the 2023 World Cup in France. This partnership has provided France with an attacking platform and gets key players such as Teddy Thomas, Gael Fickou and Brice Dulin involved in the game.
This France team is not one solely based upon the exciting backs they have at their disposal. Their pack is powerful and allows France to control and play the game at their pace. Players like Gregory Alldritt, Charles Ollivon and Bernard Le Roux provide France with a different aspect to their game.
This French team have changed their identity especially when it comes to the defensive side of the ball. The role of Shaun Edwards cannot be understated in the transformation of the French side. Edwards was the Welsh defence coach under Warren Gatland in which he made Wales one of the best defensive sides in the world. Edwards is well on the way to achieving a similar achievement with France. He has made France a defensively staunch and difficult to breakdown.
France also has great depth in their squad, Matthieu Jalibert is a great back up behind Romain Ntamack. The emergence of Jalibert means that France is not dramatically weakened if Ntamack is unable to play. They also have a strong back up at scrum-half in Baptiste Serin, providing France with great depth and quality off the bench.
Ireland
Ireland is a team in transition following the arrival of Andy Farrell and departure of Joe Schmidt. There are still lots of positive things surrounding this Ireland team. The pack still remains very strong with a strong set piece that provides Ireland with a strong base. C.J Stander, Peter O’Mahony and Cian Healey provide Ireland with international experience but also a control of the game.
Ireland utilises their kicking game to gain territory and to set up their exciting back division. Ireland relies on the likes of Jacob Stockdale, Gary Ringrose and Keith Earls to open the game up and take advantage of the great field position that the pack and kicking game provides them.
Ireland’s biggest problem coming into the Six Nations is the aging group of players in their squad. Key members of their squad such as Keith Earls, Cian Healey, Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton are aging and reaching the twilight years of their international careers. Murray and Sexton who have been pivotal to the success of Ireland throughout the years have not been up to their normal standard and have shown signs of wear and tear with injuries and poor form mounting. If they cannot perform to their usual high standard which has seen them win Grand Slam titles and the caps for the British and Irish Lions, then Ireland will need to find backups and replacements that will improve the team. As of yet, Ireland coach Andy Farrell has not been able to do so. This will be an area of concern for Ireland as they go into the Six Nations and beyond towards the World Cup.
Italy
Ever since Italy joined the Six Nations they have finished holding the wooden spoon and will most likely finish bottom of the pile again this year. But year upon year Italy have improved and have posed more of a threat to the other five nations in the tournament. The hiring of Conor O’shea was a shrewd one that helped the rugby set up in Italy immensely. O’shea developed the club system in Italy which have produced good played which have aided the development of the Italian team. Italy are now coached by South African Franco Smith, who has brought a physicality to Italy and has utilised players such as Jake Polledri and Sebastian Negri.
Over their time as a tier 1 nation Italy have developed talent that is now coming to the fore. Callum Braley, Stephen Varney, Jake Polledri and Johan Meyer all qualify to play for Italy through blood relation and residency and their introduction has raised the quality of the Italian side.
The biggest question surrounding this Italian team is whether the improvements will yield a win. Wins have been few and far between for Italy and they will be chasing another upset this year.
Scotland
The return of Finn Russell to the Scotland line-up adds an x-factor to Gregor Townsend’s team. With Russell absent, Scotland looked tame in attack. Russell adds attacking flare and unpredictability that puts the opposing defence on the back foot.
Scotland are not simply a one-man team; Stuart Hogg has always been a key part of Scotland’s backline. But key players such as Chris Harris, Huw Jones, Sean Maitland and the exciting young Cameron Redpath make Scotland an exciting and dangerous team that will cause many teams trouble when they are on the front foot.
The pack of Scotland provides the like of Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg with the platform to play the open attacking rugby that they want to play. The likes of Jonny Gray, Hamish Watson, and Zander Fagerson provide strong ball carrying options as well as forming a staunch defensive core that competes at the breakdown.
The key for Scotland is consistency. Scotland need to find a way to consistently perform and put together a full 80-minute performance. Scotland put together moments and flashes of brilliance but will need a full match if they are pull off a big win against England in the Calcutta Cup.
Wales
Wales were incredibly underwhelming in the Autumn Nations Cup winning only once in the tournament. In last year’s Six Nations, Wales were fluent in attack but deficient in defence however throughout the Autumn Nations Cup, Wales were poor in both their attacking and defensive play.
Wales will need to dramatically improve if they want to challenge the likes of France and England. Wales are still finding their feet under Wayne Pivac but as of yet have not been able to make any significant progress and will be under pressure to perform in this year’s tournament.
Wales still have a lot of talent and experience at their disposal with the likes of Dan Biggar, Alun Wyn Jones, George North, Leigh Halfpenny and Louia Rees Zammit in the squad. They will need to get the ball into their star player’s hands if they are to try and resurrect their lacklustre offense.
The pressure is already mounting of coach Wayne Pivac and he will need his team to perform to the calibre that his players are capable of. As Wales look to the World Cup in 2023, Pivac will need to find a formula that he and his coaching staff can develop upon.
This will more than likely be a difficult Six Nations for Welsh fans to watch but Wales’ performance will need to drastically improve regardless of results.
