Reject this mad idea to shorten Six Nations

SO it seems the Six Nations will be further shortened from seven to six weeks, with just one fallow week in future seasons. But why? It’s a seemingly pointless exercise and seems directly opposed to the current demands for better player welfare and demands on the top players.

I don’t want or need the Six Nations to resemble the World Cup, or the latter stages thereof, with five games on the hoof every weekend. It doesn’t have to work like that. It would be a retrograde step.

The Six Nations, by dint of its excellence and happy circumstance, has got February and March pretty much to itself. For heaven’s sake use every last day to soak up the publicity and profile. Squeeze the juice from it a little harder.

TV and newspaper sports desks plan their weeks around the Six Nations, don’t give them an excuse to stray. Let the tournament simmer a little and let’s enjoy those two fallow weeks after rounds two and then three to savour what we have already seen and build the anticipation again. Commentators need a break to get their voices back, playing squads need to regroup, those with niggles need a little time.

And what of the poor fans travelling across Europe by plane, train and automobile? It’s an exhausting, sapping, liver destroying, wallet emptying, marriage wrecking exercise. The faithful need those two weeks’ time out just to get body and soul together. Most French fans face a 1,200km round trip from the south west for Les Blues home matches, let alone the away games.

So, let’s get real. It’s a shocking nonsense idea which needs to be binned asap.