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On the surface it was business at usual at this year’s Six Nations launch in a chilly Edinburgh. Had the city’s most famous literary sleuth poked his nose into the venue at the top of the Royal Mile, Inspector Rebus would have clocked the usual suspects: head coaches trying not to divulge any secrets, captains quietly studying their opposite numbers and content creators seeking to “jazz up” their tournament previews.
This year’s booby prize went to the “influencer” who asked Caelan Doris, Ireland’s captain, whether or not he liked Fabien Galthié’s thick-rimmed glasses. It was almost on a par with the Breakdown’s all-time classic: the day someone asked Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, to pick his favourite motorway service station. “Taunton Deane,” came the instant reply. “Because it means we’re almost home.” Brilliant.
Modern rugby, though, is a fast-changing environment. The championship’s 143rd edition is imminent but at least one aspect will be different this year. The men’s tournament has been trimmed by a week, with just one fallow week as opposed to two. It will demand stamina and require every coach to think about how to nurse senior players through five huge matches in six weekends.
Even at World Cups the schedule is less onerous; at least one match tends to be against lower-ranked opposition which permits some rotation. The Six Nations does not allow such luxuries: one of its big selling points is that every game is massive deal and there is no such thing as a meaningless fixture.
On paper it should favour nations with greater strength in depth. England and France both have massive player reserves to draw on; others not so much. Ireland are already on the brink of a propping emergency while Wales will also be praying their main men can stay fit for the duration.
On the other hand, as England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, was quick to stress, the player welfare scenario is less clear-cut than it might initially appear: “The players are better physically prepared now than they used to be. I also think the medical and recovery facilities are better.” Borthwick has never been a fan, either, of one-size-fits-all debates around how many matches players should play. “There’s been a movement within rugby to talk simply about [game] limits. I’m not a coach who wants to put limits on players. As a player I would have hated coaches saying: ‘You can only do this’. Says who? Show me the evidence.”
You can see where he is coming from but, equally, the game is less physically forgiving every year. Along with the expanding travel requirements. Take England as an example. In the coming two months alone they will lace up their boots in Spain (on a training camp), Scotland, Italy and France. This summer their touring itinerary is so fiendish their leading players will probably have to fly direct from South Africa to Argentina and miss the intervening game against Fiji which is to be played in the north of England.
And in November, the reason for the concertinaed Six Nations will be revealed. For the concluding weeks of the inaugural Nations Championship, all the home nations will play significant games on four successive weekends, including an extra “finals weekend” in London already being billed as the “Glastonbury of Rugby”. The great hope among officials is that a festival type “show” over three days will attract “event” fans who would not previously have bothered to attend a staid old Twickenham rugby international.
Which neatly sums up the crossroads at which rugby sits. It’s only progress if the concept proves popular and the money rolls in. And if the players are not flogged to death in pursuit of those riches. Striking a happy balance between ancient and modern is crucial, which explains the euphoria among leading officials following the completion of a deal with ITV, estimated at £90m, which ensures the Nations Championship games – as well as the Six Nations – will be available on free-to-air television.
At a stroke, with YouTube highlights also part of the wider equation, it gives rugby a chance to be more visible and to show floating voters what a dynamic game it can now be. Had the majority of games vanished behind a paywall, as was a distinct possibility 12 months ago, it would have cut off that life-giving oxygen. Now there is an opportunity for rugby to reveal its most beguiling side more often to more viewers.
Talking of which the Rugby Football Union has even inserted a fascinating line into their latest strategic plan. It not only calls on the national team to be consistent major title winners but also demands they “do so in a way that inspires future generations”. While Borthwick is hardly going to instruct his forwards to start playing like the Harlem Globetrotters, he accepts that his side also need to do their bit. “I do think there is a responsibility to connect with and inspire the next generation. I was at an under-13 kids’ rugby game the other day and there were kids running round with black tape around their heads because they want to be Henry Pollock. We want superstars that the public connect with.”
Interesting times. And as we speak talks are back on regarding a potentially unified global calendar. It will require the southern hemisphere to agree to shift the Rugby Championship to an earlier slot in the year but, if that happens, sources are suggesting it is possible the Six Nations window could be nudged forwards. Watch this space. The Six Nations chief executive, Tom Harrison, was not wrong on Monday when he described 2026 as “a massive year for rugby union”. How big remains to be seen but maybe that influencer was on to something. We’ll know rugby’s future is bright when trendsetters worldwide all start wearing Fabien Galthié-style shades.
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