It almost feels cheap at this stage to bring up the Covid-19 pandemic in relation to how it may affect professional sport as nations around the world look set for further restrictions and lockdowns.
With that said, despite all of the security measures being taken to ensure a zero-infection rate amongst the squads it will be interesting to see how a positive case will be dealt with.
Rugby like all other sports has not been impervious to the financial burden of the pandemic and as such any cancelled or rescheduled fixtures would have major repercussions on National Unions short- and long-term futures.
Another Space at The Top Table
The disparity between Rugby Union’s so called Big Ten (Six Nations and SANZAAR) and the rest of the Rugby World has long been a contentious debate when discussing the growth of the international game.
If there has been one positive to the current international climate for Rugby it has been the need to look at a global season whilst incorporating more teams into regular competition. First up is Georgia as they take on Scotland at BT Murrayfield at 7pm on Friday night.
For so long considered the seventh team of Europe, the Georgians have been knocking on the door of the European elite for some time. Regularly dominating the “B” Six Nations competition, the Eastern European powerhouse has been pushing for a seat at the top table.
Previous suggestions of a promotion and relegation system for the Six Nations has never gathered any real momentum as the financial implications for any of the current Six Nations team would be astronomical, the other consideration is that despite dominating the second tier of European Rugby the Georgians still remain as the seventh best team in Europe as was proven in their relatively recent loss at the hands of Italy.
With all of this said however a good showing at Murrayfield backed up by strong performances in the upcoming “Eight Nations” tournament in November and the calls for Georgia’s inclusion into the annual competition will only become louder.
Lions Places Up for Grabs
With several big Anglo-Irish fixtures coming up over the next six weeks, British and Irish Lions places are almost certainly up for grabs.
Coming off the back of highly disappointing Super Rugby Aotearoa tournament with his new side the Chiefs, Lions head coach Warren Gatland will be looking to prove that he remains one of International Rugby’s top coaches with a series win against World Champions South African next July and key to that is having a settled squad.
There is almost no doubt that the spine of the side has already been picked but what is going to be a tight and gruelling schedule squad depth is going to be imperative if the Lions are to pick up a first series win in South Africa since 1997.
Players such as Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, James Ryan, Gary Ringrose and Stuart Hogg bar injury are locks to make the squad with other veterans such as Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray and Jonathan Davies needing to find their form and prove that their experience could be beneficial to the squad.
Outside of the settled veterans there are a number of young stars coming through the ranks such as brothers Joe and Sam Simmonds fresh off the back of Exeter’s incredible Champions Cup victory with both hoping to be features in Eddie Jones’s squad this November.
For Ireland, the electric Jordan Larmour has picked up a serious shoulder injury ruling him out for four months however players such as James Lowe, Will Connors and Caelen Doris will all look to make their mark.
From Gatland’s old side Wales the highly exciting Bristol Flyhalf Callum Sheedy looks set to explode onto the international scene and should really elevate the attacking play of Wayne Pivac’s side, whilst north of the border Scotland’s Finn Russell who despite being in line to make his Fiftieth test needs to re-establish himself following his international absence due his suspension in the wake of his clash with head coach Gregor Townsend.
French Flair Burning Strong or Flickering?
France began the Six Nations like a bat out of hell with impressive victories over England, Italy and Wales before slipping up against Scotland at Murrayfield.
Following a return to the French flair of yesteryear, Fabian Galthie’s side look like they are building something special with a young group of superstars in the form of Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont and Charles Ollivon.
As hosts of the next World Cup in 2023 this young side will want to be in a position to challenge for the title, following what has been a rather dismal previous decade for the powerhouse nation.
For this to be the case they will need to show continued growth with two statement wins over Wales and Ireland.
The clash with Ireland being of significant importance as the men in Green have had their number over the previous few years and are the side standing between them and a potential Six Nations trophy in the unlikely event that England either slips up against Italy by either losing or winning with a low points differential.
In the big picture however, France need to prove that their early season form was not just a flash in the pan and that this group of players has what it takes to rebuild the trust that was lost with their passionate fan base.
Coaches on The Hot Seat?
Following the 2019 World Cup there was a multitude of changes in coaching staffs around the Six Nations with Ireland, France, Wales and Italy all getting new head coaches.
Starting with Ireland, Andy Farrell (father of current England captain Owen) was put in place to continue the work done by arguably Ireland’s greatest ever coach Joe Schmidt.
Despite another hugely disappointing World Cup for the men from the Emerald Isle, the work done by Schmidt in his decade with Irish Rugby, firstly with Leinster and then the national side is unmatched and reached a high when his side beat the All Blacks and rose to number one in the world rankings.
The key word here is continuity with Farrell not being asked to reinvent the wheel, many Irish fans have been left despondent with where the national side find themselves.
Starting the Six Nations with impressive wins over Scotland and Wales before once again being thumped by a powerful English side question marks have been raised as to whether Farrell is the right man for the job.
Clearly there is an element missing in the Irish game when they come up against the big physical sides such as England, South Africa and New Zealand that needs to be addressed over the next block of fixtures.
For Farrell wins over Italy and more importantly France will go a long way to regaining the faith of the Irish public before another trip to face England at Twickenham.
For Wales replacing Warren Gatland was always going to be a major challenge, having guided the side to two World Cup semi-finals as well as the Lions to a series win in Australia and a drawn series in New Zealand there is no doubt Gatland is a Welsh Rugby icon.
Wayne Pivac’s Scarlets sides played a highly entertaining brand of Rugby and were the antithesis to Gatland coached sides and the transition was never going to be smooth.
With that said three losses in a row against Six Nations rivals Ireland, England and France was not good enough especially with World Cup seedings just around the corner, Pivac could well find himself out of a job if Wales stumble against Scotland and Italy.
With this being said the emergence of Callum Sheedy at Bristol could mean that Wales have a number ten capable of playing the style of game that Pivac wants. The big question here is, are the Welsh public going to have the patience?
Franco Smith coached perhaps one of the more entertaining sides in South African Rugby in the form of the Cheetahs to some memorable victories.
However, the former South African international has his work cut out with perennial underachievers Italy. If the Six Nations had a relegation and promotion series, then the Italians would’ve been like a yoyo since their introduction into the competition.
Lacking any world class players outside of the aging Sergio Parisse, it is looking like another tough Autumn for the Italians who will be targeting a win over Fiji whilst aiming to be competitive against their Six Nations compatriots.
