French talks key to Six Nations going ahead
Uncertainty over Champions Cup and Six Nations means Pro14 and provincial rivalries set to take centre stage
THE IRFU and the provinces will be closely monitoring high-level talks in France over the coming days, with this season’s European Champions Cup and the Six Nations on the brink in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Tournament organisers EPCR will meet with the French clubs today and – on the back of advice from the French Sports Ministry last week – it is expected that the remaining two rounds of European action, which were set to begin next weekend, will be postponed. Attention will then turn to the fate of the 2021 Six Nations, with the French government, which has imposed a travel ban to the UK, concerned with the spread of a new strain of the virus. Six Nations chiefs have reiterated their commitment to staging the tournament as scheduled, but it will hinge on whether Les Bleus will get clearance to participate. The IRFU, the other participating unions and the French government will engage in talks this week in a bid to save the tournament. But French rugby federation president Bernard Laporte remains optimistic. He said: ‘I’m not that worried. It’s a puzzle, but I think we shouldn’t be alarmed about the Six Nations tournament.’
IT’S usually around this time of the year when the texts and Whats Apps start doing the rounds. ‘Are you heading to the Six Nations launch?,’ is usually the gist of it. On the third week of January – normally a Wednesday – media from all over Europe descend on London for the Championship curtain-raiser, with the head coach and captain from all the Six Nations sides paraded through an exhaustive barrage of media interviews. Journalists and broadcasters board red-eye flights to make it to the event for the early-morning kick-off, and then the bunfight for quotes begins.
‘You’d think such a doomsday scenario would not be on cards’
It’s a long day and a lot of toil for very little reward in the end. There’s no shortage of minders replete with headsets and clipboards in a stressed state, busily dragging coaches and players from room to room.
There is no shortage of awkwardness as the captains – clad from head to toe in full kit – are left loitering before photo calls, arms folded and making small talk before an endless stream of poses with the Six Nations trophy.
The party line is trotted out for most of the day and, if you’re lucky, there’s probably time to grab a quick beer in the airport bar before the wheels of the plane skid on the tarmac in Dublin Airport later that night.
Despite the best efforts of the organisers, it’s not the most glamorous gig on the beat, but it’s a necessity. And it signals the beginning of t he Six Nations as t he hype machine begins to move up the gears.
It remains to be seen if this years’s event will be taking place at all, however.
The French Sports Ministry will chair a high-level meeting this week, with a view to deciding if France should compete in this year’s competition amidst concerns over the spread of a new strain of the virus in the UK. The French government has already urged the Top14 clubs to withdraw from the third and fourth rounds of the European Champions and Challenge Cup competitions in the coming weeks. EPCR – the tournament organisers – are set to confirm the postponement of the remaining pool stage games today, casting this year’s tournament into doubt. It is hoped that those games will be rescheduled later in the year. Six Nations chiefs reiterated their belief that the Championship will run as planned in less than four weeks’ time. Meanwhile, Lions officials are busily working behind the scenes on a contingency plan to save next summer’s tour of South Africa. It all adds to the increasing uncertainty surrounding the rugby calendar at the moment. It’s all eerily similar to last March when games, leagues and tournaments began to fall like dominos across the globe as the full severity of Covid-19 was beginning to hit home.
Almost a year later, you would think such a doomsday scenario would not be on the cards again, given that vaccines are being rolled out around the world.
It has made any sort of longterm planning virtually impossible for tournament organisers in all jurisdictions. Take a look on the Pro14 website and you’ll see there are no fixtures currently nailed down after Round 11 – last weekend’s round of games – and with good reason too.
The final weekend of January and the first two weekends of February were pencilled in to play out the six postponed games that fell victim to recent Covid outbreaks, but the Pro14 may bring all of those games forward now, given the high probability that there will be a two-week gap in the season when the plug is inevitably pulled on the European Cup games today.
The Pro14 could well be the biggest show in the town in the coming months. Despite all the disruption, punters could be treated to one of the games of the season in the coming weeks.
Munster and Leinster were set to lock horns in Thomond Park on St Stephen’s Day, but the game got shelved after a Covid scare in Leo Cullen’s camp.
Even if the eagerlyanticipated derby had gone ahead, it was set to be a lowkey affair with both sides sending out weakened line-ups due to t he I RFU player management programme.
Now, Cullen and Johann van Graan are poised togo fullyloaded for this re scheduled meeting, which is set to be played in the coming weeks. And it is set to be a blockbuster affair.
Both provinces reaffirmed their status as the top dogs in the provincial pecking order last weekend. Leinster recovered from their wobble against Connacht with a ruthless 24-12 victory over Ulster at the RDS.
That bonus-point victory halved Ulster’s 10-point lead at the top of Conference A and, with two games in hand which are set to be played out in the coming weeks, the defending champions are gaining ground on their rivals. Despite a frantic late fight back from the hosts, Munster flexed their muscles in Galway with a dominant display. The 16-10 scoreline and the late assault from Connacht suggested a closer contest than what was actually the case. For 78 minutes, Munster were in the driving seat. The looming uncertainty over the Champions Cup and the Six Nations is a worry for fans, players and administrators alike, but the prospect of Leinster and Munster going head-to-head with all their stars would not be a bad consolation prize.