Five takeaways from the Six Nations weekend

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The fourth round of the Six Nations produced victories for England, Wales and Ireland.

Here we examine five things we learned from another fascinating installment of the Championship.

Recovery red rose buds.

Losing in Dublin and England will still match their worst performance in the Six Nations, so announcing the end of a period of stalemate is premature, but they were magnificent against France. There were welcome nuances from the 2019 World Cup as they combined ferocity with ingenuity and in that kind of frame of mind even Fabien Galthie’s tournament favorites are left in the wake. It was a reminder that England have within them being an outstanding team, which makes their failed title defense even more difficult to accept.

‘Le Crunch’ delivers like no other

Eddie Jones sees an exciting rivalry throughout the run-up to the 2023 World Cup and he’s right. Is there a better matchup than England-France right now? Probably not. Wales could storm Paris and be crowned Grand Slam winner and this Six Nations has offered some exciting contests, but ‘Le Crunch’ has an intensity of its own. Since February last year, when France lashed out at their greatest foes, three fascinating encounters have seen the heavyweights go head-to-head. Two giant groups and baselines full of attack threats, it is a clash to show the sport at its best.

Free-to-air must stay

And as such, it’s a must-have accessory on terrestrial TV. The current free-to-air agreement expires with this Championship and Six Nations bosses are courting pay channels with Amazon Prime, Sky Sports and BT Sport circulating. The viewing figures so far in 2021 have been huge, offering a reminder that the BBC and ITV provide the best possible platform to screen the Championship and the game in general. Restricting access to captivating shows like England v France would affect reach at a time when rugby is struggling for relevance versus other sports and entertainment. Revenues need to be maximized for tournament bosses to face a tough decision in the coming weeks, with a hybrid model a likely outcome, but the massive audiences seen recently have been timely.

Louis running to the Lions pick

Louis Rees-Zammit only turned 20 last month and has played just eight games for Wales, but his surprising impact on international rugby shows no signs of slowing down. He has already scored five test attempts, the last of which was a ballet jump, a catch, a spin and a 70-meter sprint in Wales’ 48-7 win over Italy, including four touchdowns during this year’s Six Nations. season. At the current rate of progress for the Gloucester wing, it would be no surprise to see him go straight into Warren Gatland’s Lions Test XV against South Africa this summer.

Another false dawn

The dizzying Calcutta Cup win on the opening weekend ignited the Six Nations, but as evidence of a Scottish revival was another false prophet. Followed by losses to Wales and Ireland and their challenge for the title has followed the path of England. A 27-24 rollercoaster loss to the Irish exposed deficiencies in discipline and line-out and, with France as one of their two remaining opponents, they could be looking for a humble finish.



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