4 talking points from the 2020 Six Nations

Editor

England head coach Eddie Jones speaks to his team from the touchline during the Guinness Six Nations match at Twickenham Stadium, London.

The Six Nations is a competition that prides itself on creating long-lasting memories, but it is fair to say that the 2020 edition will be remembered for the wrong reasons.

The coronavirus pandemic led to the suspension of this year’s competition with just a handful of games still to play and the winner still unknown.

While those issues pale into insignificance given what is going on in the world, from a sporting perspective they are a pretty big deal.

Ireland’s penultimate match against Italy along with all three of the final round of fixtures have been postponed, with October being suggested as the most likely month they will be played.

England on the cusp of glory

Eddie Jones’ team must visit Italy in their final game and will be odds-on to record a bonus-point victory over the bottom of the table team.

England’s losing bonus-point in Paris looks like it could be crucial, particularly with Scotland recording an unexpected victory over France.

With points difference also in their favour, it would be a major surprise if England failed to claim this season’s Six Nations title.

Frustration for France after flying start

Victories over England, Italy and Wales put France in pole position to win the Six Nations for the first time since 2010.

Scrum-half Antoine Dupont has been their standout performer, benefiting from the team’s more structured style under coach Fabien Galthie.

However, the 23-year-old failed to reproduce that form against Scotland’s rugged defence and France now look set to miss out on the title.

Regardless of the final outcome, France do look much-improved and that certainly bodes well for future tournaments.

Scotland rediscover their mojo

Scotland were on course to live up to expectations after losing their opening two matches, but they bounced back in style to record successive victories.

They produced a dominant defensive display to shut-out Italy in Rome, before ending France’s Grand Slam hopes at Murrayfield.

Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie were hugely impressive in the back row, while prop Zander Fagerson seemed to be at the heart of every passage of play.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend still has plenty of work to do, but his team finally appears to be heading in the right direction.

Pivac struggling to make his mark

Wayne Pivac was always going to have a big job on his hands as Wayne Gatland’s replacement and that is how it has turned out.

The new Wales head coach has seen his side lose three out of four games as they have put up a miserable title defence.

Pivac has tried to implement a more free-flowing style despite Wales seemingly lacking the type of players needed to implement it successfully.

Staying in the top eight of the world rankings is vital for Wales’ hopes of success at France 2023 and the pressure is on Pivac to find a winning formula.