AAt first glance, not much has changed during this year’s Men’s Six Nations Championship. As in 2023, Ireland and France occupy the top two spots on the table, with Wales and Italy in the bottom two and England and Scotland once again the meat in the club sandwich. Ireland had their worst defense for the third year running and oddly only winless Wells had more shots on goal than last year.
However, if this is not by all accounts an old-fashioned Six Nations tournament, the ancient tournament is undergoing a refreshing renaissance. Competition is fierce at the moment, with 10 of the 15 games being decided by no more than four points, including all three games in the final round. If Netflix can’t cobble together an award-winning series based on stunning Super Saturday footage alone, then it should ditch its wall-mounted cameras and walk away.
Because, if the ultimate definition of sporting appeal is waking up the next morning and wishing the game could start again immediately, then the 2024 Six Nations passes the time-honored test. Perhaps that was what organizers had in mind when they arranged for the Women’s Six Nations to begin this weekend. Regardless, the entertainment bar was suddenly set very high.
There’s nothing more exciting in rugby than France’s thrilling 33-31 win over England in Lyon and the 2019 Calcutta Cup draw 38-38 at Twickenham The game is filled with thrills and spills that are unbelievable. Nor were they more gripping than Italy’s agonizing draw with France – where the ball fell off the tee as Paolo Garbisi prepared to kick the winning kick – or Scotland’s performance against the same Controversy that nearly missed the match. Had Sam Skinner’s disallowed ‘try’ been awarded, the outcome of the game could have been very different.
What if England started and finished the game with a bang? It turns out that England actually had exactly the same number of shots as last season – 13 – but their intention to play a more varied game says a lot about what happened in the final two weeks. Not only do their supporters enjoy the game more, but most importantly, the players enjoy it more too.
Of course, they still have a long way to go to get to where Ireland are now. But England have had more attacks on each other than any other team throughout the season, 22 times, and despite trailing at half-time in all five games, things are looking much better. When Jamie George, their impressively honest captain, says he feels the days ahead are exciting, he’s not just referring to England’s Under-20 Six Nations win on Friday night Tournament champion.
Steve Borthwick clearly frees up the players mentally and encourages them to go out and maximize their talents. All you need to know about Borthwick’s desire to keep up this progress can be inferred from his decision to head to New Zealand this week on a scouting trip ahead of England’s summer tour. A belated nap in the armchair or a leisurely trip to the garden center are not for him.
However, despite Ireland’s back-to-back title win, the tournament’s best manager award should not go to Borthwick and Andy Farrell. Ireland were in fine form at the World Cup to retain their Six Nations title, and although there was no Grand Slam this time around, the most impressive transformation was the one quietly engineered by Italy’s Gonzalo Quesada.
It’s one thing to see Italy defeat a shattered Wales; it’s another thing to see Italy beat Wales. After a painful World Cup that saw them knock out Scotland, draw with France and narrowly lose to England, there’s a sense that the Azzurri are really on the verge of something more spectacular. Quesada, the former Argentina holding midfielder, has instilled a more balanced approach, with Benetton Treviso and Zebre improving, and stiff competition in Italy’s under-20 side heading into the top half over the next two years. The area is by no means out of reach. question.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case with Wells. The first wooden spoon since 2003 is actually a testament to the consistent work Warren Gatland has done over the years, but their current issues go far beyond the individual. It’s no wonder that new Wales chief executive Abbie Tierney rejected Gatland’s post-match request to resign. With the number of upper-level players in the Wells area dwindling, how many potential replacements would enjoy the role?
Sure, they held England close at Twickenham and had injured players returning, but even their remarkable second-half recovery against Scotland and Tommy Reiffel’s dogged resistance couldn’t overshadow what was elsewhere A widening rift. Without reliable set pieces and greater authority in the half-space, there is likely to be more trouble ahead.
From a Scotland perspective, all was not entirely rosy, despite the sweet rush of defeating England for the fourth consecutive season. As always, the issue is a psychological one, with Saturday’s match in Dublin the latest case study. A dysfunctional Ireland were once at a disadvantage, but Scotland made familiar little mistakes at crucial moments. The unfortunate defeat against France could have been avoided if they had shown more composure earlier in the game and, perhaps more importantly, Scotland Under-20s cannot buy victory at the moment.
France, on the other hand, should be stronger in 2025 with the return of Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack. While some of us underestimated the extent of our post-World Cup hangover, the ingredients are certainly still there. How long Fabien Galthié will be at the helm is another story, but never mind: the schedule for 2025 is set. England play Ireland away and France at home in their first two rounds, while Italy play two of their first three games in Rome. Can the Irish win the Triple Crown? In an uncertain world, we can still rely on the Six Nations to refresh parts of the table that other tournaments cannot.
