Absent stars level the playing field
There’s a full programme of Premiership matches each Six Nations weekend, barring the final one when the decks are cleared for the climax of the tournament.
That’s great news for fans, as teams having to play without their internationals levels the playing field for a few weeks, which adds to the excitement of the league, and gives more players the chance to show coaches how good they are.
Hopefully head coaches will take a similar line to the one who said to me that at the end of the tournament the returning stars will have to show that they deserve to get the shirt back.
Quite why the Six Nations feels the need to add in two rest weekends during what could be a five-week tournament remains one of life’s mysteries, and seems to be a bit precious, especially when the matches against Italy are unlikely to be the most competitive contests! Those same international players coped perfectly well with the crowded, and even more demanding, schedule at the RWC, but the Six Nations organsee isers march to their own peculiar tune.
Every year we seem to say that the Premiership is the most competitive ever, and it seems that once again that is the case, even before the Six Nations disruption. Predictions before the start of the season wouldn’t have had Bristol in eleventh place going into round 15, Sale in ninth, or Exeter seventh! I’m sure their fans don’t like it, but it’s absolutely fantastic for the league, and the old cliché, that any team can beat any other on their day, is proving spot on.
Over the coming weeks it will be fascinating to see how much the international absentees are missed, and which coaches have best built a squad that allows them to cope – with the salary cap demands.
Leicester and Saracens each had five players in the 29 that Eddie Jones retained when he made his Tuesday cull, and it might not be a coincidence that they both lost last weekend with their internationals away at England’s training camp.
League leaders Leicester are coming off back-to-back Premiership losses, and with what looks like a tough next six rounds it will be a real test of their title credentials.
Saracens seem to have an easier programme, with a rest week in there, and also Tigers at home. On the other side of the coin, Gloucester, Northampton and London Irish are all less affected by international losses, and need to take advantage of that.
The first two, however, have a rest weekend in there whereas Irish have to play in all six weekends: how will that affect things?
I’m less interested in the Six Nations than the affect it will have on the Premiership. I think we’re in for six fascinating weekends of club rugby.
What madness it is that the Six Nations organisers want cameras in the dressing rooms, and well done to Wayne Pivac and Eddie Jones for not going along with it. Ben Morel, the Six Nations chief executive, said that ‘giving (a) greater viewing experience’ is at the centre of what they want to do, but I it differently. This is just another sorry step along the road of reducing the sporting element of rugby in favour of ‘entertainment’ – what next, can a player at the bottom of a ruck shout ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here’, and the ref will blow up?
Equally sad is that the WRU had to take the decision to close the bars in the Principality Stadium after half-time, and sell weaker beer. One of the things that makes rugby great is that fans know how to behave, can have a few beers during the game, and mingle with away supporters without the fear of violence. Now it seems the WRU can’t trust its fans to behave properly what are the odds the troublemakers will simply get even more tanked up before they enter the ground?
This is the problem when the rugby becomes less important than ‘a good day out’, and when the ‘matchday experience’ becomes the focus. I don’t understand what was wrong with simply going to support your team, having a pie at half time, perhaps a couple of pints, chatting to the visitors’ supporters, and shaking their hands after the game, irrespective of whether your team won or lost!
“We’re in for six fascinating weekends of club rugby”