It’s been a long time coming, but the wait is finally over. The 2010 Six Nations championships will get underway this weekend with Ireland out to defend their Grand Slam title, Martin Johnson aiming to transform England’s fortunes starting with victory against Wales, and Scotland desperate to beat France at Murrayfield.
The action will kick off on Saturday afternoon with reigning champions Ireland facing, what should be, a very straight-forward challenge in the form of tournament underdogs Italy.
The Italians have been given very little hope of doing anything of note in this year’s tournament – particularly with their inspirational, talismanic captain Sergio Parisse out injured. The onus will now fall on naturalised Italian, Craig Gower, who, despite being a talented player, could face one or two tricky situations before the match even kicks off because he doesn’t speak the language.
Meanwhile, their opponents will be full of confidence after last year’s flawless Six Nations campaign. Although they don’t start this year’s championships as the overwhelming favourites, they certainly remain the team to beat. The loss of Jonathan Sexton for the opening match is a blow, but it shouldn’t make too much of a difference against Italy, particularly as his absence will be cushioned significantly with Ronan O’Gara coming into the fly-half position, instead.
Should Declan Kidney’s side secure their place in history with a consecutive Grand Slam victory, they will be the first team to do so since France in 1997 and 1998. It’s proved an increasingly rare feat, but the Irish supporters are optimistic history can be made this spring.
Later that afternoon, at 5pm, the match of the weekend will take place at the home of English rugby, Twickenham, as Wales make their way to HQ to take on Martin Johnson’s side.
The England head coach has named a strong, attacking line-up for the Six Nations opener following an uninspiring series of autumn internationals. Mathew Tait has been handed a surprise re-call in a bid to inject some much-needed flair; while the 2009 Six Nations joint-top try-scorer Riki Flutey is also in the starting XV. One hundred years ago, England beat Wales 11-6 in the first ever international at Twickenham. How the England fans would love a similar result to get their campaign off to the best possible start this time around, while also kick-starting a new era under Johnson at the same time.
Wales will be keen to spoil the Twickenham centenary party on Saturday afternoon, though, by inflicting their fourth consecutive Six Nations win over England. Head coach Warren Gatland must have breathed a huge sigh of relief as full-back Lee Byrne had his two-week ban overturned earlier this week. The Ospreys man was on the scoresheet when the two nations last met on the opening day of the championships in 2008 - an ominous sign for the England faithful. Byrne’s teammate James Hook is in at No.13 and is another of Gatland’s danger men as England know all too well. In the last two Tests against them, Hook has scored 38 points.
The final match of the weekend will kick off on Sunday afternoon at 3pm at Murrayfield - it promises to be an intriguing match between two rather unpredictable sides.
Scotland showed their guile and fighting spirit last autumn with a quite brilliant defensive performance against Australia to win the match 9-8. It’s expected that they will need to produce a similar display against a resurgent France side, who go into this year’s championships as the favourites. However, Andy Robinson won’t be concerned by the bookmakers’ odds and will ensure that his side are up for the battle. Co-captain Chris Cusiter has the potential to be the Scot’s player of the tournament, and it will be the scrum-half’s job to inspire his teammates to glory this weekend. It’s a huge ask, especially as Scotland have only beaten France once so far this century; but it mustn’t be forgotten that they are a side who can spring a surprise with the aid of their passionate, vocal fans in attendance.
Big things are expected of France this year – they certainly have the individuals to beat any side in the tournament. However, as to who head coach Marc Lievremont sticks with after this weekend is anyone’s guess – he has handed 70 players caps since joining in February 2008, including 33 debutants. Lievremont has named powerful centre Mathieu Bastareaud in his starting line-up - the 21-year-old has been handed a recall following a very troubled 2009; while wing Benjamin Fall will make only his second appearance for Les Blues.
France are looking for their first Six Nations title since 2007, and it could well be a two-horse between them and Ireland for this year’s coveted trophy. However, shocks are often commonplace in this tournament. With the exception of Italy, it would be dangerous to write off any of this year’s contenders to the Six Nations throne.
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