How important is the 6 Nations Championship ??
This question has been one that has been debated at various stages in time, in the 1970’s when Wales won 4 Grand Slams I’m sure other countries wondered why they even bothered to turn up and likewise in the 1990’s when England won 3 Grand Slams and a Triple Crown in just 6 years.
Obviously the answer to this question really depends on which of the 6 Nations you support, or even play for. Italy proved with their win against France in this year’s tournament that the only way a team ranked 12th in the world can hope to improve is by playing against the teams ranked consistently inside the world’s top 10, as all the home nations are. Recently this question has once again become a relevant talking point, not as a result of the performances by any country in this tournament, but rather as a result of the domination of French club teams in the Heineken Cup. The recent cash injections of French club teams like Racing Metro 92 in Paris and Rugby Club Toulonnais in Toulon has seen players like world cup winners Francois Steyn and George Smith join the likes of great players such as like Rupeni Caucau playing for traditionally strong French sides like Stade Toulouse. French teams topped 4 of the 6 Heineken Cup groups this season and with the quality of overseas players that these teams can attract, it was rumoured that Perpignan paid Dan Carter £35, 000 per game when he signed for them in 2008 a game against one of these French sides is arguably a bigger challenge for opposing players than a 6 Nations International fixture.
Of course with the parochial nature of rugby fans there are individual rivalries within the 6 Nations that provide a special sort of intensity all of their own. Wales always want to win against England and some Welsh supporters have even said that loosing 4 games in the tournament is permissible if they beat England, the Stereophonics even wrote a song about it! Scotland and Ireland likewise always bring an extra passion to games against the auld enemy and in this year’s tournament French coach Marc Lievremont declared “We don’t like the English†so everybody expressly wants to beat England, except Italy who’s biggest game of the competition is probably against the French because so many of their players do or have represented French teams. England presumably want to beat everybody with equal measure and despite winning the Championship on Saturday captain Nick Easter was noticeably crestfallen by his teams failure to beat Ireland and complete a first Grand Slam since 2003. In a post match interview he said, “We won the kick off and I think that’s about the only time we were on topâ€. Admittedly England’s performance wasn’t as good as they had hoped for but Easter was so nonplussed by only winning the Championship that he ended his interview by saying he didn’t want to seem “ungracious†but he was disappointed. A Grand Slam is undoubtedly a special achievement for any team as only 36 have been accomplished since the inaugural Home Nations Championship in 1883 but winning 5 consecutive International rugby matches against all but the weakest teams is a noteworthy exploit.
Personally I am of the opinion that the current standard of International rugby in the Northern hemisphere is considerably lower than it is in the Southern hemisphere and the Autumn International series fixtures especially against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are a much sterner test and yard stick for the Home nations to measure themselves by.
Ultimately the importance of the 6 Nations Championship is dependent on it’s chronology and the circumstances of each individual country at the time. Chronology in terms of the Rugby World Cup is key to the importance of a 6 Nations Championship as bedding new players into an International team will usually take at least 1 season so for example the most recent tournament would have arguably have been too late to introduce new players and expect them to adapt to the pace and intensity of International rugby with a view toward them starting in this September’s World Cup. The proximity of the 6 Nations to the World Cup can also have an effect in terms of injuries, thankfully the most recent tournament saw just 1 serious injury to England captain Mike Tindall, he injured ankle ligaments but is expected to be fully fit in time for September’s World Cup.
The importance of the 6 Nations to each individual country, or even player is determined by how well, or poorly each country’s (or player’s) teams have performed in the Heineken Cup. This year just 2 English club sides qualified for the quarter- finals of the Heineken Cup so their victorious campaign must be advantageous heading towards a World Cup.
Not a single Welsh regional side made it out of the group phase of the Heineken Cup so it is difficult not to feel that the Welsh didn’t make the most of their 6 Nations campaign since their performances appeared distinctly flat despite them recording 3 wins.
No Italian teams qualified for the quarter finals either, but with a number of the Italian team playing for French clubs week in week out this may not be too detrimental to their development as players.
France’s performance in the 6 Nations would appear to indicate a potential problem caused by the money available for overseas talent who wish to play for French clubs, while 4 French teams have made the last 8 of the Heineken Cup but the French national team only managed the same number of wins in the 6 Nations as the Welsh did.
Just 1 Irish region made the knockout part of the Heineken Cup but their final game of the 6 Nations will surely provide them with a boost just in time for their World Cup build up.
