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The odds-on favourites for an unprecedented Six Nations
By PA
The 2021 Guinness Six Nations Championship will be a tournament like no other in its history. Before a ball is passed or kicked, it is quite simply not going to be the Six Nations as anyone knows it.
The coronavirus pandemic has put paid to that, with games taking place behind closed doors as a result.
Titanic battles and age-old rivalries that would normally be settled in front of capacity crowds, will now be accompanied by eerie silences punctuated only by players’ verbal offerings and coaches shouting instructions.
Six Nations squads will be in their own protective bubbles, preparing in isolation away from the media pack familiar with thronging training bases from Dublin to Rome.
And all against a back-drop of hope that Covid-19 will not disrupt northern hemisphere rugby’s biggest event, as it has done the Heineken Champions Cup, Gallagher Premiership and Guinness PRO14 in recent weeks and months.
Rugby had a glimpse of its new environment during November and December when the Autumn Nations Cup took centre-stage.
England won it, as they did the 2020 Six Nations, which started in February and had a delayed conclusion in late October.
And it was perhaps not a coincidence that the best game – a gripping final between England and France – had the tournament’s only permitted crowd, albeit just 2,000 cheering on the teams at Twickenham.
English rugby headquarters will again be the venue for what could be the pivotal encounter of this season’s Six Nations.
England meet France on March 13, with bookmakers’ odds suggesting the title’s destiny effectively comes down to which team emerges victorious that early Saturday evening in south-west London.
It is difficult to envisage Eddie Jones’ England not putting together another full-scale assault on silverware.
Since the Australian was appointed in late 2015, England have won the Six Nations three times from five attempts, and they again look well-set.
If consistency counts for anything, then England appear a good furlong clear of the field, yet the Six Nations is rarely a one-horse race and a photo-finish cannot be discounted.
Current form guides suggest that France, enjoying a renaissance under head coach Fabien Galthie, could push England to the wire.
Galthie, whose coaching lieutenants are headed by imperious defence specialist Shaun Edwards, has steered Les Bleus out of the doldrums, with talent like Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack headlining the revival.
France beat England in their opening Six Nations game last year and took them to extra-time before seeing Nations Cup final hopes dashed just under eight weeks ago.
Everything points to an Anglo-French title tussle, although Ireland could have something to say about that, given the playing personnel at head coach Andy Farrell’s disposal.
Scotland continue to progress under Gregor Townsend’s direction, but Wales and their new head coach Wayne Pivac have got it all to do following a dismal 12-month period when they won just three Tests from 10 starts.
The wooden spoon again beckons for Italy, whose opening two games are against France and England, and it will be fascinating to see what odds might be offered on a repeat of last year’s Six Nations finishing positions – England, France, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy.
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Latest Comments
But he chose rightly or wrongly to play for Tonga. If he wanted to play for the ABs why didn’t he hold off?
Go to comments“A succession of recent ex-players going straight back into the game as coaches in their early 40’s would prob be enough to kill it stone-dead. Innovation would die a death.”
Would it? I do think one of the major differences between rugby and most other sports - which we’ve been overlooking - is the degree to which players are expected to lead team meetings & analysis sessions and the like. Someone like Owen Farrell has basically been an assistant coach already for ten years - and he’s been so under a variety of different head coaches with different expectations and playing styles.
“The most interesting ppl I have met in the game have all coached well into their sixties and they value the time and opportunity they have had to reflect and therefore innovate in the game. That’s based on their ability to compare and contrast between multiple eras.”
I don’t doubt that that’s true. But having interesting insights doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be the best able to inspire a team, or the best at managing the backroom staff.
“Wayne Smith winning the WWC in his mid sixties three years ago prob means nothing to you but it meant a lot to him. It took him back to the roots of is own coaching journey.”
I don’t doubt that! But I don’t think coaches should be hired on the basis that it means a lot to them.
“The likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Wayne Bennett and Andy Reid all have a tale to tell. You should open your ears and listen to it!”
I agree! Never have I ever suggested otherwise!
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