It’s the most wonderful time of the year, when Guinness suppliers cancel all employees’ annual leave, when dreary Saturdays are spent inside warm pubs, when Welshmen of all ages warm up the tonsils and when Landsdowne Road respects the kicker.
The Six Nations never fails to stir the passions, rivalries and clichés about the opposing team. From the intra-Celtic derbies to Le Crunch between France and England, the genius of the tournament lies in its simplicity; if you slip up you’re screwed, ensuring there are no easy matches – except Italy.
The 2019 edition has been the most hyped Six Nations in years, not only due to the latent World Cup implications but because of the sheer quality and form of the teams.
Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland all have serious claims to the throne – and as contractually obliged to mention, you never know which French team will show up.
There is a sense of destiny about Irish rugby at present that has the hallmarks of the legendary 2000-2003 England team.
With last year’s Grand Slam and the Australian series win, the legendary victory over the All Blacks in Dublin provided the perfect springboard to tackle this most momentous of years – creating expectations hitherto unseen on the Emerald Isle.
Joe Schmidt, Johnny Sexton, Conor Murray, Rory Best, Sean O’Brien and company have scaled almost all the summits in rugby this past ten years and yet the words quarter-final haunt Irish rugby most.
Another Six Nations title and this gorilla on their back can be approached with confidence.
If not for Ireland’s phenomenal success last year, Wales’ form would make them outright favourites. However, their nine-match winning streak has managed to sneak relatively under the radar as Warren Gatland has quietly been building squad depth over the past year to prepare for the demands of a World Cup year.
Wales versus England in Cardiff is always one of the highlights of the rugby calendar, with the partisan Welsh crowd at their most tuneful and passionate. It will take a lot to top their classic 2017 encounter under the roof.
This is Gatland’s last Six Nations before stepping down as Welsh coach. The wily operator will be desperate for one more title.
The rise of Scotland over the past few years has been a slow-burn tale of gradual improvement, borne out of the grief and frustration of their 2015 World Cup quarter-final exit (and it is still the loudest sporting event I have ever been to).
The likes of Finn Russell, whose outlandish and brilliant pass to Huw Jones against England last year achieved Scottish sporting immortality, veteran Greg Laidlaw and the utterly thrilling Stuart Hogg have the tools and the belief, if not the consistency (especially away from Murrayfield), to finally win a title this century.
Where to begin with England?
Eddie Jones. (Photo by David Rogers – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
Down in South Africa last year, it appeared that Eddie Jones was treading the well-worn path of his football doppelganger, Jose Mourinho, in rapidly outstaying his welcome in the third year.
Despite this, England hauled themselves up off the canvas, won the third Test and performed very well, if not at 2016 levels, in a close loss to the All Blacks and an inevitable shellacking of Australia in the Autumn Tests.
Questions about Jones’ training methods persist, and his best starting 15 is still as much of a mystery as it was this time last year, with the likes of Henry Slade and Chris Ashton coming in from the cold recently.
There’s nothing like a World Cup year to sharpen minds, however, and in the likes of Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje and Elliott Daly there is more than enough x-factor to blow away any opposition.
France’s November form saw them lose to Fiji by less than they deserved, an easy victory over Argentina and a close loss to South Africa.
In other words, an absolute mixed bag with no rhyme or reason – and as long as the clubs hold all the power in France, with the resultant absurdity of French players playing for their clubs during the Six Nations fallow weeks, this will probably continue.
As for Italy, I like Conor O’Shea and love Sergio Parisse, but they haven’t offered anything since the hilarity of the no-rucks Twickenham game two years ago.
I fear another listless year but the much-improved form of their two professional clubs, Zebre and Benetton, provides an ever-so-slight glimmer of hope.
So there you have it, my ramshackle guide to a tournament. I absolutely adore it which makes me temporarily forget some of the ghastly decisions and desires of much of modern rugby.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Not a bad win for Scotland but if theyre going to end matches leaking tries like that theyre going to be in for a rough ride for the rest of this tournament in the last fifteen minutes. Ten more minutes and they might have lost.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Arrogance? Maybe. I just prefer watching my own teams, I think youll find most kiwis, ozzies and saffers do, if they watch at all so think youre in the minority there pal. Not sure what planet youre on.
MH01
Guest
RC and SR are the most boring competitions in Rugby. I don’t watch rugby to see the same teams win year after year . You have to be a die hard Kiwi fan to still think this is enjoyable for the fans . As an Aussie , I much prefer to watch 6N, I’ve never had so much fun at rugby matches that I’ve had attending 6N matches , unlike RC fans , it’s not arrogance and sense of entitlement , its genuine generations of cultural tensions taken out on the sporting field ! And rugby unites them all, and everyone has a great time . If England played Ireland , at the same time that new New Zealand played Australia, I can tell you which one would get higher ratings..... and 99% would predict the outcome correctly. As for coaches and players - still very much kiwi arrogance there , many oz and SA players improve once they go NH, you need to stop saying NH v SH and say what you really mean, mighty NZ vrs the world. !!
taylorman
Roar Guru
Never said I didnt watch it, I said there were too many lacklustre games, and all you (and Neil) seem to talk about here is crowds as though that is the measure of your rugby. Crowds dont play rugby, no matter how big they are. Heres what crowds mean...larger population. You lot watch, we play it. And we probably would have more watching in but there's too many playing for and coaching your lot. I think by the 1000 or so players from the SH in the north is more accurate validation of our rugby than you could ever cough up. Be good to see an xy graph correlating the number of imported professionals (players and coaches) versus the number of NH wins over SH sides. I think you'd see a very obvious trend. Lions 2005? No SH influence, Whitewash. Lions 2018, a SH coach, go figure, but still no cigar. And, a 30 million loss to the RFU? Thats great, clubs are only keeping their heads above water as well, and far less than they'll be paying our players so good to see you have your priorities right (as warped as they may be). Still waiting for the boats to come in with the refugees from your obviously over committed resources.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
What do you know about it, Taylorman? As you repeatedly make clear to anyone unfortunate enough to be in electronic earshot, you don't watch it. I'm sure the RC will continue to go from 'strength to strength' with dwindling crowds and general apathy, while you need a second mortgage to secure an Ireland-England ticket for Saturday. If only people would just like what you tell them to, eh mate?
Kashmir Pete
Roar Guru
fun read Andrew - many thanks. Cheers KP
Jacko
Guest
Yes the 3rd year in his 1st term as coach...then usually the 2nd year of his return term as coach...gees he wins titles in between tho.... yes Wales does look better and Scotland will hopefully learnt not to let the occasion get to them like last year....Scotland seem to win when least expected...that has to change if they want to win a big comp...Mind you they probably have the 4th ranked squad so i guess they are reaching expectation most of the time
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
Hmmm, seems despite the best efforts of the recent Lions fans, there are still some Kiwi's who struggle to have fun without 30 blokes in shorts running around for them for 80 minutes ....
CUW
Roar Rookie
they shud be playing lot more with the 2nd tier teams they are much like japan - who get beaten time after time and come up with a flash win once in a while. i wonder if they dropped Italy - could it become a home-n-away series? means 3 extra matches but then it will be much like the 4 nations AND sooo interesting - like the not Heineken cup matches :)
Andrew
Roar Guru
Yeah the Italy conundrum is a serious issue I feel. There were calls for relegation last couple of years and give maybe Georgia a go, but Italy beat Georgia in November which put those calls to bed, but as I said, Conor O'Shea is no mug and they've had good coaches before, but it's just not happening.
taylorman
Roar Guru
With italy looking up at them????
taylorman
Roar Guru
77...Yeah sure of which 38, half were italy matches. So 39 across the non italy matches, or 3.9. In a relatively light RC year with three less matches, 88 tries., or just over 7 a match. And unlike Italy Argie, with two wins, were at least competitive. Italy are a waste of space, and havent learnt a thing in the time in the comp. And oddly, not overly impacted by southern plaers or coaching. Odd that.
Andrew
Roar Guru
Not doubting his title credentials but the line does make specific reference to the fact he completely unravels in the third season wherever he goes, which is fact. Wales has more experience than Scotland of rising to the 6N occasion, I remember similar talk about Scotland being smokies last year and then they got blown away in the first match in Cardiff.
Andrew
Roar Guru
Like the 78 scored last year? (5.2 per game)
taylorman
Roar Guru
True, 6N is good if you like seeing big crowds.
Jacko
Guest
Hey Andrew thats a bit rough on Jose Mourinho.....The guy has a lot of titles to his name and has been coach of the year on at least 3 occasions...But as for the Rugby i think England will be far better than last year and will challenge for the title....Ireland are probably the favorites based on their win over the ABs and their form last year but Wales and Scotland in with more than just a long shot.......Looking forward to see if Wales are the real deal or whether its a bit of a false dawn....
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
Well, beats the tension of the empty stadiums I guess. At least they'll be lovely and warm.
mzilikazi
Roar Pro
Nice article, Andrew. Hope Ireland can carry on from where they were in November. England won't be happy in Dublin...big test for them. I actually think they are a bit overrated, all based on the AB's game. They did very well, but the AB's were no dynamic that day. Would not really see the WB win as anything other than a good enough team beating a very poorly coached a selected "mob" I can see England losing two games, and perhaps even four in a worst case scenario. Ireland do worry me a bit, in that they are perhaps too forward orientated. I just don't yet see them as being at the level of the AB's running on all cylinders. Wales and Scotland could be very hard to overcome, with Scotland the more "flaky" of the two. France.....anything could happen...and probably will !
taylorman
Roar Guru
Nah, too many rubbish games, Italy is a waste of space. Watch the 6N in between the first Super rugby games and its like stop start stop start. Sure theres the tension of the cold of the stadiums while oz and nz are hitting record 30’s and 40’s, we just might watch it for the ice alone. Just hope we see a few tries in games not involving Italy.????
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
Outside of the RWC, the best game day experience for players and fans alike of any rugby tournament in the world. Win, lose or draw, just ruddy love it. Bring, it, on.