The Guinness 6 Nations is just around the corner and the tournament is shaping up to be a cracker, at least according to our scribe who gives six reasons to be excited about the 6 Nations.
International Rugby
While the Champions Cup has thrown up some classic fixtures in name, they haven’t exactly lived up to their billing with a ton of games being one-way traffic -just look at Toulouse and Bordeaux’s results in the pool phase.
The 6 Nations should see far fewer blowouts than we saw in the Champions Cup and I’m all about that. Italy, once the whipping boys of the ‘comp, have given a number of teams a huge scare in recent years with their narrow loss to the English in last year’s competition underscoring this. The ‘Scots are also able to mix it with the big boys, especially at Murrayfield. And while the Welsh may well struggle away from Cardiff, they should still prove dogged opposition at home.
We’re likely to get a number of hotly contested affairs over the five match weeks and that’s exactly what rugby fans want!
Mercurial Mavericks
Finn Russell, Marcus Smith, and Antoine Dupont have been tearing it up in their respective domestic leagues and in the Champions Cup and we can expect them to do the same for their nations.
Russell and Dupont have arguably been in the form of their careers for Bath and Toulouse respectively, with Dupont’s performance against the Sharks in the Champion’s Cup absolutely spectacular while Russell delivered a brilliant performance against the Sale Sharks in last weekend’s Gallagher Premiership clash.
Smith, who has been the quieter of the trio, is always a joy to watch in an England shirt as he is just so far away from the type of player Owen Farrell is. These three lads are sure to light up this year’s tournament.
Italian Improvements
The Azzurri were immaculate to watch last term and were fully deserving of all the praise they got following their fifth-place finish. They came pretty close to bettering that as well with a 13-13 draw against France and a three-point loss to the English stopping them from finishing higher. They did record wins against Wales and Scotland so they are definitely a side on the up.
The news gets even better for Italian fans in 2025 with Stephen Varney and Giosue Zilocchi available for this edition of the tournament. The Azzurri also have a kind enough fixtures list that sees them play Wales, France, and Ireland all at home. Expect the men from continental Europe to cause problems again this year.
Lions Spots on the Line
While this is of little interest to the French and Italian players, the home nations representatives have it all to play for with the Lions touring Australia in just a few months. Andy Farell – who is on sabbatical from Irish coaching duties to helm the Lions – will be running the rule over the fixtures looking to spot a bolter or to for the trip ‘down under’.
It’s not only fringe spots up for grabs though as there’s going to be an almighty battle for spots in the Lion’s second row and back. Finn Russell will also want to solidify his grip on the incumbent fly-half jersey with a solid showing for the ‘Scots.
Players tend to up their games during Lions tour years, especially when the home nations cup up against each other and they play directly with their positional rivals. Expect this added edge to contribute to some very fiery derbies this term.
Ireland v France
It’s definitely the best of the northern hemisphere international clashes and we should be in for fireworks at the Aviva come the fifth of May.
The recent head-to-head clashes between the sides have seen France win three and Ireland win two, with Ireland’s wins coming in the last two fixtures. These clashes have been narrow as well with the 2022 edition decided by six points and the 2021 edition decided by two points.
Both sides are stacked with talent and this should be one of the games of 2025.
England’s Young Guns
Steve Borthwick has decided to name a couple of young guns in his squad which is good news for English rugby fans, who had to watch their side bore their way to narrow losses and wins during last year’s 6 Nations campaign. There were signs that England would loosen things up in the future with their End of Year games being rather entertaining, especially their narrow loss to Australia.
Fin Baxter and Asher Opoku-Fordjour are exciting young front rowers while Oscar Beard and Fraser Dingwall will add some youthful zest to their midfield. There’s also Chandler Cunningham-Smith on the flank, who really impressed when he was given opportunities last term.
