Originally Posted by Paace:
“Should the competition revert to the 5 nations and Italy be left out in the interests of fairness ?”
“Should the competition revert to the 5 nations and Italy be left out in the interests of fairness ?”
No. What should happen is promotion and relegation. But it can't. At least, not overnight.
At the moment the Six Nations is a closed shop between the six highest rugby markets in Europe. It also happens to be, at the moment, between the six best teams in Europe according to WR's rankings (Ie 3, En 4, Wa 5, Fr 7, Sc 10, It 14). However, Georgia are 15th and Romania 17th. If they get within sniffing distance of Italy's coefficient there should be a serious discussion about allowing these teams the opportunity to at least play the big boys.
Trouble is, rugby likes ring-fencing. The Pro12 and SupeRugby are both closed shops. The Premiership soon will be if the money men keep talking, and it took years of negotiations to allow Argentina the opportunity to play regular Tier 1 test rugby. So asking the likes of Italy and Scotland (and indeed, if they have a bad year, Wales or France) to slip down and play against Germany, Belgium or Moldova would be like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas.
Outside of money, the issue is structure and logistics. The European Nations Cup (Six Nations B) operates on a slightly different system to the Tier 1 tournament in that it is a 2-year season to allow the mostly amateur, less-organised countries to stage fixtures on a more fluid, ad-hoc basis within the IRB allotted test windows. There are 7 divisions spread over Tiers 2 and 3 with teams ranging from 7-time ENC champs Georgia to 93rd-ranked team Greece. Division 1A contains the usual suspects - Georgia, Russia, Portugal, Spain, Romania and surprise package Germany who, last time were at this level, got the wooden spoon which, when you think about it, is quite an achievement (if that's the right word) in a 6-team H&A 10-game tournament. (Just to give it some perspective in a week where points make prizes, their cumulative PD for that season was -403.)
Now I'm not saying it's right to have teams that can bring so little into the game commercially replace the likes of Italy and Scotland. For one thing it would kill the game in Italy stone dead, in a country where their footballers are gods and they struggle to put together two "regions" to "compete" in the Pro12. Anyone else remember Aironi? One wonders what Calvisano and Viadana are up to nowadays. Also it would be unfair to Scotland's history as one of the great 5/6N teams to have an empty Murrayfield half-heartedly cheer on the boys in dark blue running try after try past Portugal's relatively hapless amateurs.
But perhaps that sort of bitter medicine and the cold hand of relegation resting softly on the shoulders of the blazers at FIR, SRU, FFR and even WRU could be the impetus they need to up their game. Something needs to be done, because at the moment I cannot for the life of me see either Italy or Scotland challenging for the title. They seem more interested nowadays in avoiding the wooden spoon. When your entire season rests on trying NOT to lose one game, as opposed to trying to WIN some of the other four, something's up.
And the daft thing is, Scotland in particular have shown it CAN be done! Over the past decade, they've beaten Australia, South Africa, Ireland 4 times, Argentina 5 times....and there's not many teams that will hold the All Blacks to an 8pt lead. The ability, depth, talent and coaching is there somewhere inamongst the carcrash. Being a Scottish rugby fan nowadays must be like what it was like to be Welsh in the 80s and 90s -- frustrating, annoying and despairing. There's not even hope any more because they dare not dream because they know, 8 times out of 10, they'll be disappointed.
So should there be promotion and relegation? Of course - for sporting reasons, for the growth of the game, for the increased pressure and heightening of competition, for the aspirational aims of the lower-ranked teams.
Will there be? Not on your nelly. 6N is a closed shop. We've got 3 or 4 teams going through the motions every Spring now.
England ride on a crest of mediocre performances just good enough to win games but not championships. The early '00s seem so long ago, don't they? Jaded opposition audiences who need no additional reason to hate the men in white, opinion formers and fans are all spurred on by a circle-jerking old-boy broadsheet media and their unashamed cheerleaders at the BBC. And for what? Sweet FA. (Unless PD goes in their favour next week, in which case, slightly less than sweet FA) From an outsiders' perspective they focus more on World Cups and SH tours, and less on the 6N, seeing it as a pesky distraction from European Club Domination (which, as we've seen, is going well.....erm....)
Ireland turn up every year predicting great things yet somehow have only taken home the trophy twice in the 6N era, and only done the Slam once. They came dangerously close to "relegation" in '13, with a 1-1-3 record. There's an excellent article on Irish hubris on the Irish Independent website, if you can read it through the tears of laughter after seeing the headline about Gatland having the intellectual capacity of a tub of margarine.
France have gone backwards - from being a team to fear to being Les Fous - the jokers in the pack. The Stade De France is quickly becoming a white elephant - a place where matches are played in freezing temperatures to disinterested audiences who turn up for the sheer hell of it. No shape, no substance and completely unpredictable. How the hell they keep getting to World Cup finals is beyond me. Perhaps all teams should adapt a laissez-faire attitude. Seems to work.
And then there's the Welsh. The ULTIMATE frustration of a team. Everything that's wrong with rugby in one group of lads. Talented, immense, fit, strong and passionate, yet they lost to England. And can't beat Australia. And make grown, strong men cry into our pints of Brains. Maybe we put too much pressure and expectation on them. Maybe we believe Gatland's psuedo-bullsh*t. That's the trouble with religion - it's inconsistent. One minute you believe in a saviour, the next he's a vengeful smiter. Will that World Cup semi final be another flash in the pan, or can we sustain that ability?
Who knows. I didn't intend to write this much when I started out. But then, I thought it would be close against Ireland yesterday. My mate Justyn who, bless him, knows little-to-f-all about rugby, said Wales would win by 7. He got it spot on. Perhaps he should be here trying to bore you all to tears.
For me, I now have the unenviable task of supporting Scotland and France in an Irish bar in England next week. Wish me lwc!






they've no problem creating them, finishing them is another thing. Yet they mightn't even need to finish half the chances they create sat to win the championship