Donostia – The threat of the coronavirus will mark the Six Nations Tournament that starts tomorrow. The best rugby teams in Europe will challenge the covid and start the championship with the fear that the pandemic will force a postponement of the scheduled dates for the matches and, if the matches are postponed, the question of when a competition would end embedded in an international calendar saturated with events.
The championship has been in the air until very recently. The French Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu, even insinuated in January that the XV del Gallo should not face British players if the organization did not improve the protocol to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but this week she clarified that the competition could be played as It was planned, confirmed that teams visiting France should not remain in quarantine, and praised the regulations to avoid contagion drawn up by the French federation, which includes confining their players in a bubble to isolate them from anyone outside the team.
And it is that the best teams in Europe have been conspired to keep alive one of the great events of world rugby. The 2020 experience, in any case, does not invite optimism. The tournament was to have ended on March 14 and finally ended on October 31. This year, the women’s competition and the U-20 championship, which are usually played in parallel to the overall men’s tournament, have been postponed until April and July respectively so as not to coincide with the health emergency.
With this panorama, the strictly sports news has gone to the background, partly also because it was not so long ago that the European teams measured each other and the expectation for the competition has waned. And it is that a few weeks after finishing the last Six Nations Tournament of 2020, the same protagonists, plus Georgia, met again in the new Fall Nations Cup that ended with a final between England and France last year. 6th of December. The XV de la Rosa confirmed their triumph in the past Six Nations in this competition, and the French team, once again, had to settle for the runner-up. These two teams start as the main favorites to win this edition, which will begin today with the duel between Italy and France in Rome (3.15pm). Without an audience in the stands, the tournament will also lose its traditional festive character.
The dispute of the Calcutta Cup between England and Scotland (17.45) and the interesting match tomorrow between Wales and Ireland will close the day.
England and France England starts as the big favorite after winning the Six Nations in 2020, and also the Autumn Nations Cup after beating the Gauls in extremis in the final (22-19). XV de la Rosa, who accumulates eight consecutive wins, will have to visit Wales and Ireland, but will host France at Twickenham, as well as Scotland and Italy. Coach Eddie Jones will not be able to count on Mako Vunipola or Joe Marler in the front row – for “personal reasons” – and neither will second Joe Launchbury. In addition, the third Underhill and the Tuilagi El center will not be present at the tournament’s premiere. eight Sam Simmonds, player of the year for the European Professional Club Rugby, does not enter the Australian’s plans.
On the other hand, the young and surprising team of France, runner-up in the past Six Nations and the Fall Nations Cup, will try to climb the rung it still needs to win again a title it last won in 2010. Last year The French only lost to Scotland (28-17) and were already able to beat England (24-17), although this time they will have to visit the English. The coach Fabien Galthié, architect of the resurrection of the XV del Gallo, has included in his list the Basques Charles Ollivon and Teddy Thomas – tomorrow’s starters -, but will not have Thomas Ramos, Romain Ntamack or Virimi Vakatawa. The team will not present great news with respect to the one that played the Autumn Cup, and Dupont and Jalibert, as scrum and opening half, will be at the controls of the team.
Ireland and Wales Ireland and Wales face this edition as an opportunity to redeem themselves for their disappointing performance in 2020, but their performance is one of the great unknowns of this tournament. The replacement of Joe Schmidt by Andy Farrell at the helm of the XV of the Clover is proving more complicated than expected, and the same can be said of the replacement of Warren Gatland by Wayne Pivac in the XV of the Dragon.
The Irish, champions in 2018 and third in the last edition, have a demanding schedule that will force them to play at home against the two favorites and play the other games as visitors.
For their part, Wales, after being champions in 2019, were penultimate in 2020 with a single win against Italy, and were only able to beat the transalpine team and Georgia in the Autumn Cup. The XV of the Dragon will receive England and must visit France, but it does not seem difficult that, even so, he will improve his performance from the last tournament.
Escocia and Italy Scotland is still a pick on the rise. The XV del Trébol was fourth in 2020 with three victories and aims to stay away from the low zone. Gregor Townsend’s men will host Italy, Wales and Ireland, who also snatched third place in the Autumn Cup, and they are not giving up on giving a surprise away.
Finally, Italy, one more year, is the main candidate to take that symbolic wooden spoon that signals the team that it does not achieve any triumph. The only recent joy for the Alps was their December victory against Georgia, because they have not won a Six Nations game since 2015, against a Scotland team that today seems superior to the Italians.
All the doubts of this edition will begin to be resolved tomorrow.
The days
FIRST WORKING DAY
Italy-France (1)Tomorrow, 15.15
England-Scotland (2)Tomorrow, 17.45
Wales-IrelandSunday, 16.00
SECOND DAY
England-ItalySaturday 13 / II, 15.15
Scotland-WalesSaturday 13 / II, 17.45
Ireland-FranceSunday 14 / II, 16.00
THIRD DAY
Italy-IrelandSaturday 27 / II, 15.15
Wales-EnglandSaturday 27 / II, 17.45
France-ScotlandSunday 28 / II, 16.00
FOURTH DAY
Italy-WalesSaturday 13 / III, 15.15
England-FranceSaturday 13 / III, 17.45
Scotland-Ireland (3)Sunday 14 / III, 16.00
LAST DAY
Scotland-ItalySaturday 20 / III, 15.15
Ireland-England (4)Saturday 20 / III, 17.45
France-WalesSaturday 20 / III, 21.00
(1): Garibaldi Trophy. Italy won it in 2011 and 2013.
(2): Calcutta Cup. England won the last game 6-13. The English have won the trophy 71 times and the Scots 41 times.
(3): Centenary Quaich. The Irish took the last edition by 19-12.
(4): Millenium Trophy. XV de la Rosa has won 20 times, and Ireland thirteen.
Punctuation. The victory grants four points and the tie, two. The team that scores four or more trials receives a bonus point, and also the one that loses by seven points or less.
England starts as favorites along with a rising French team, which was runner-up in 2020 and will have to visit Twickenham
Ireland and Wales, champions of the 2018 and 2019 tournaments, will meet on the opening day of the competition