A look-ahead to the opening weekend of what could be the greatest instalment of the greatest tournament
The Six Nations is always interesting; in a World Cup year, even more so. Curiosity levels will be going through the roof this time though, as rugby prepares to bring on surely its most hotly-anticipated tournament in decades. Wherever you look, there’s talking points galore with everything but lives at stake, so without further ado here’s a look at the opening round of fixtures – bon chance!
Wales v Ireland
It’s no secret that many believe Wales stole a march on England by welcoming back their former coach before the Red Rose gave Eddie Jones the boot. There is, however, much work for Warren Gatland to do, as this current squad of dragons isn’t entirely familiar to him. Ireland will be looking to carry on their awesome form from the second half of last year and show the world that not only can they dominate the Six Nations, but also that they’re set fair to finally banish their World Cup quarter-final curse… and then some.
England v Scotland
And so over to you, Steve Borthwick! At such short notice, it’s highly unlikely that the Webb Ellis Trophy will be heading back to Blighty this year, but the Six Nations? England have the players, that’s for sure, but a changing of the guard should’ve happened a lot sooner for things to gel in 2023. Scotland continue to improve exponentially and they’ll be super-confident of going all the way, making this the most intriguing of the first round fixtures – it is the Calcutta Cup, after all.
Italy v France
Nothing less than back-to-back grand slams will do for France if they want to show the rest that they’re the team to beat come the autumn. A crunch match against the Irish in Dublin looks every inch the deciding fixture, so a crushing victory against the traditional whipping boys would do nicely in the meantime – or who were the traditional whipping boys. For years the Six Nations must’ve seemed like Groundhog Day for Italy, but perhaps the tail-end of 2022 has ushered in a brave new era. There’s only one way to find out…
The Early Whistle 