Ireland begin their historic Six Nations bid for back-to-back Grand Slams on Friday (local time) when they take on France in Marseille in a mouth-watering opening game.
Andy Farrell’s Ireland team and Fabien Galthie’s France team both stumbled in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, losing to New Zealand and eventual champions South Africa respectively.
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England were the only Six Nations team to reach the semi-finals.
While Irish and French fans are struggling to swallow the bitter pill of defeat at the World Cup, hosted by France, this year’s Six Nations will see a number of This will be a turning point where his face will be lost.
Ireland stalwart Johnny Sexton is retiring, while talismanic French skipper and scrum-half Antoine Dupont has opted to play rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics during the Six Nations. There is a high possibility that he will participate in two World Series seven-man tournaments.
Long-serving England captain Owen Farrell will also be absent, taking a break from international rugby to “prioritize his and his family’s mental health”.
Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg and Welsh stand-off Dan Biggar have retired, leaving Wales star winger Louis Rees-Zammit a potentially lucrative future in America’s National Football League. He chose to put his career first and turn his back on rugby.
Italy’s Michele Lamaro is the only remaining captain from last year’s Six Nations.
～Growth/Development～
It will be Andy Farrell’s final Six Nations before taking up an interim post as head coach of the British Irish Lions ahead of their 2025 tour of Australia.
“The upcoming Six Nations is an opportunity for us to grow and develop,” Farrell said, but he avoided major personnel changes during his post-Sexton time with Ireland, leaving only 33 players he took to the World Cup. Of these, 26 remained.
“The Six Nations is one of the biggest stages in world rugby and this year’s tournament will be fiercely contested.
“It’s not as tough as the opening weekend away to France, but it’s a challenge we have to approach with a positive mindset,” added the former rugby league legend, who has overseen 29 wins in the past 32 Tests. .
The Irish team has a solid and confident feel to it, but with Ross Byrne out with an arm injury, much will be expected from Munster’s Jack Crowley, who is seen as Sexton’s successor.
France were dealt a huge blow with the news that flanker Anthony Geronche, who served as stand-in captain at the World Cup when Dupont was injured, has been ruled out of the Six Nations with a knee injury.
Coach Galthie named talented No. 8 Gregory Aldritt as captain in an effort to restore the French team’s shock after being eliminated early by the Springboks at the World Cup.
“South Africa was tough, but we’ll digest it, analyze it and move on from there,” Aldritt said.
The Stade de France is gearing up for the Summer Olympics, with France playing three home games in Marseille, Lille and Lyon.
Wales and Ireland also have three home games, with Wales hosting Italy on the final weekend, Ireland playing Scotland and England away to France.
～Strong Scotland～
Gregor Townsend’s Scotland, who play France and England at home, finished third in last year’s Six Nations but were unable to break out of a tough group at the World Cup.
Full-back Blair Kinghorn, scrum-half Ben White and stand-off Finn Russell have all improved following moves to Toulouse, Toulon and Bath, respectively, and complement what looks like a strong squad.
In a tournament where winning momentum is important, much will depend on whether Scotland, with Russell named co-captain, can get off to a good start against Wales in Cardiff, a venue they have not won for more than 20 years.
Many observers did not expect England to be the Northern Hemisphere’s best-performing team at the World Cup, but the ever-realistic Steve Borthwick guided them to third place.
However, with Ben Youngs, Courtney Rhodes and Jonny May retiring after the tournament, there is a lot of attention on the possibility that Marcus Smith could hold the key to number 10 in Farrell’s absence.
Wales manager Warren Gatland is managing a significant turnover with 15 players from his World Cup squad absent, including injured flanker and skipper Jack Morgan. There are 12 players aiming to make their first Six Nations appearance.
“You fire us at your peril,” the New Zealander warned, adding: “I’m definitely thinking about the future.
“The Six Nations is a hugely important tournament for us, but it’s also about how we can give young people experience.
“Our average age is 25, which is very young. They will learn and grow from that.”
Italy, who replaced Kieran Crowley with former Racing Stade Français coach Gonzalo Quesada, were a huge disappointment at the World Cup.
Quesada needs key players like Lamaro, Paolo Garbisi and Ange Capozzo to take command in order to avoid the wooden spoon.