Thrilling tournament lacks just one thing – an obvious winner
The Six Nations is never less than a riotous celebration of Europe’s rugby tribes, but this year should also be the most competitive in memory, writes Mick Cleary
Apicture that is worth a thousand words, that of Sergio Parisse and his
Azzurri teammates in Rome’s Colosseum, defiant, emboldened, ready for battle no matter the odds, captures the bristling sense of expectation ahead of what is shaping up to be the best Six Nations for years.
Of course, there are many absent friends as injury takes its toll, providing a sombre layer of cloud that ought not to be easily dispelled. Yet still the mood persists, that of an edgy, excited, expectant tribe of various colours setting out on their journeys round six of the great capitals of Europe.
Around 20,000 England supporters are heading to the Stadio Olimpico, a turnout that speaks not just of a travelogue expedition but of an eagerness to be witness to sporting drama. And even if there is little prospect of a first Italian victory over Eddie Jones’s team, who have one of the most impressive streaks in the history of the sport, 22 wins from 23 games, the sense of seeing England open their quest to be the first side to win a Five or Six Nations championship outright three times in a row is a compelling enough reason to be in attendance.
And even if there is a hint of the inevitable about events in Rome, the same cannot be said of tomorrow’s appetisers in Cardiff and Paris. There are pretenders to the throne with Scotland resurgent, Wales – invariably a nuisance – also in the mix while France are France, chumps of late with champs’ status lurking deep in their genes.
It is England and Ireland who lead the charge and may well be involved in the curtain call, too, with the two globally top-ranked Six Nations sides primed to meet at Twickenham on the final Saturday. There was a time a couple of decades ago when any pretournament assessment was confined to the relative merits of England and France – so much so that it was proposed the fixture list should be gerrymandered so that the pair would always be the final game on Super Saturday, a broadcaster’s dream scenario. Pop went that pompous notion.
The Six Nations has no need of such artifice. The tournament has its own dynamic, its own rhythms, unforgiving if you are a coach, exhilarating if you are a fan. The fixture list is condensed, with five rounds of games spread over seven weeks – and praise be to the Six Nations committee for resisting that daft, self-serving proposal from the Premiership clubs to squeeze the tournament even tighter – and those three blocks of games leave little recovery space.
That is why the opening weekend is such a scene-setter. Scotland’s credentials are put to immediate test at the Principality Stadium where they have not won in 16 years. The brio with which they dismissed Australia in November, scoring eight tries, has rightly sent a frisson through the Scottish game. But Murrayfield in November is one thing; Cardiff, with championship points at stake, usually quite another. Gregor Townsend has exhorted his men to break that mould. It is a pity that external forces have broken not just one but two of his front rows.
The tight scrummage is Scotland’s Achilles’ heel. They may well be able to absorb the
Eight tries in a win over Australia has sent a frisson through the Scottish game
discomfort but, with lock Richie Gray also hors de combat, their resources up front look stretched. If there were to be a Scotland victory then a fizzing surge of energy will course through the championship. Conversely, if a Scarlets-shaped Wales have transfused regional identity, with their sense of purpose and attack-minded attitudes, into another home win, then there is an immediate spillover into the meeting with England at Twickenham the following week.
Later tomorrow afternoon, France once again head out into the unknown. There is not a team in world rugby that carries with them such an air of uncertainty. This has little to do with any of that psychological baggage that they used to carry round with them but is rooted in off-field disarray that has seen head coach Guy Noves sacked and the offices of the head of the French federation, Bernard Laporte, raided.
There is no direction, no order. And yet, with talents such as 19-year-old Bordeaux fly-half Matthieu Jalibert, flanker Sekou Macalou and centre Geoffrey Doumayrou, there is scope for a French uprising. If they find even a semblance of cohesion under new coach Jacques Brunel then they might trouble the scorers.
It is a good time for Ireland to travel to Paris with the hosts yet to begin the process of forging that identity. Ireland are in a Joe Schmidt-wrought groove: welloiled and productive. We would all love to see more off-the-cuff rugby from them but their strategy is one that has brought dividends. Yet the layer of finesse has surely to come in this championship if it is to be of use in the World Cup.
Ireland have three home matches in a row after tomorrow and could be in pole position by the time they come to Twickenham. Conversely, Italy have three away fixtures after England, and two six-day turnarounds in the tournament with which to contend.
England have focused on a bracing start to their title defence. Even though they have selection issues in the back row and finding cover at loosehead prop, they are a well-established unit. Yet, for all their success, they are not a dominant force. They need to be more ruthless, more authoritative. Their scrum is far from being the power base it needs to be, their punch across the gain-line in midfield too intermittent.
There is plenty yet to come from Jones’s side. So, too, the other contenders. There is an absence of predictability. And, for that, as the 2018 Natwest Six Nations championship gets under way, we can all be thankful.
England need to be more ruthless and show more authority in their rugby