Expert Witness: Brian Liebenberg on the Six Nations finale

Adam Kyriacou

With a hiatus of some seven months and two weeks, the Six Nations finally gets the climax it richly deserves on Saturday, with France, Ireland and England all still in the running to become champions.

Former France centre Brian Liebenberg has kindly joined Expert Witness to take a look at the key matches, as it promises to be a Halloween to remember.

For those that may be hazy on the details of international rugby after the turmoil of those last seven months, the permutations for the title race are rather convoluted, with this guide a handy read ahead of the weekend.

French flair

Liebenberg believes that whilst England are the bookmakers’ favourites for the title, he has been more impressed by France’s Six Nations journey this season.

“France’s improvement has come from three very positive things happening almost simultaneously,” explained the former Stade Francais centre.

“Firstly, we have a highly professional coaching team in Fabien Galthie, Shaun Edwards and Raphael Ibanez that really understand winning at international level. They’re creating a vision and environment that allows players to thrive.

“Secondly, they’ve found a leader in Charles Ollivon who truly leads by personal example; a guy that is the last person off the training paddock and the first person on it, and a flanker that’s putting in world class performance after world class performance.

“Lastly, they’ve found a rich pool of emerging talent from the U20s programme such as Antoine Dupont, Cyril Baille and Romain Ntamack to fuse with some seasoned older internationals such as Gael Fickou, Bernard le Roux and Virimi Vakatawa.

“I cannot speak highly enough of the effect Ollivon and Dupont have had here. Dupont dominates everything around him; his rugby decisions are quicksilver, and he rarely makes a tactical error. He also enjoys an incredible work ethic and I believe he benefits hugely with having an international nine as a head coach to mentor him.

“Continuity has long been an issue for France at half-back and his partnership with Romain Ntamack is one forged at club level with Stade Toulousain and one that will serve France well for many years to come.

“Ollivon is one of the most organised and hard-working players I’ve come across in France. His fitness and flexibility are quite exceptional, something he puts down to his love of the game of squash, a sport he plays to national amateur level. He claims it helps him retain agility at the breakdown and based upon his performances, the French coaches have finally given up trying to discourage his love of his other sport!” chuckled Liebenberg.

“Elsewhere, Bernard le Roux’s move from flank to lock has transformed him from an average international back-row to a world class abrasive second-row. He’s been putting in some massive performances and his presence is crucial to the French tight game.

“The manner with which France are handling and attacking is quite thrilling. Since restart in Europe, 64% of all tries scored in the English Premiership, Europe and Top 14 have had one thing in common; they’ve been ‘no pass’ tries – by that I mean close range pick and goes, lineout mauls or similar. But the point remains that they’ve had very little handling in the build-up. France are bucking the trend here and their tries last weekend were all forged from handling and passing skill from broken field situations, and that shows just how dangerous the midfield combinations we have are.

“Are France a complete side? Maybe not – a linking openside would add a lot of value to their continuity and perhaps more depth is needed in the front-row, but with three years to go before we host the Rugby World Cup, I believe we’re in a good place,” concluded Liebenberg.

Ireland’s fall

“Ireland visit Paris in something of a slump compared to where they were two or three years ago,” he explained.

“With a small talent pool, players tend to grow old together through necessity and guys like Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray can’t be replaced overnight. They’re in a rebuilding phase, needing to find a balance of the new blood like Will Connors and Jacob Stockdale alongside the stalwarts like CJ Stander and Bundee Aki.

“The win last week versus Italy was as expected, based upon set-piece dominance and pragmatic hard rugby. There’s still a work in progress to find a settled midfield and the injuries they’ve picked up to emerging players like Garry Ringrose won’t help them create that stability.

“The visit to Paris will be a strong test for them; the stadium will be cold, silent and bare, something that no side enjoys. France, despite my view on their form, haven’t really been tested since their win against England in February, and if Ireland are to push for the title, it’s all about starting well and sticking to structure. France will become frustrated if they are given an arm wrestle, but I still don’t see how Ireland have the firepower to get the big win they need to secure their bonus point,” confirmed Liebenberg.

Covid the Barbarian

Elsewhere in Rome, England start their campaign from cold after the Barbarian/COVID fiasco last weekend. A win with bonus point is simply an expectation for Eddie Jones’ men and barring unlikely results either way in Paris, the Red Rose seem to be favourites for the title.

“26 consecutive losses tell you a lot about where Italy find themselves,” noted the former French midfielder.

“You have to now ask the big questions – when are they going to improve? What’s their rugby identity? Whilst their phase play has improved, they’ve never gotten to the position that people expect them to win, even at home. Depth is a massive problem for them still and I am afraid I don’t see them at the races here.

“England, under Eddie, are in a great place. There’s a calm air of professionalism, continuity and functionality around the squad and since the restart, the amount of high-quality players that have put their hands up to challenge the 31 that went to the Japan in 2019 is staggering.

“In the back-row alone, even the established trio of Sam Underhill, Billy Vunipola and Tom Curry aren’t sure of their place, as Ben Earl and Jack Willis have emerged to put huge pressure upon them. The options in every unit of the pack are deep, well identified and competitive.

“The only issue that England have is how to replace the injured Manu Tuilagi; it’s an irony that losing Manu’s huge presence in the centre actually alters other selections. As an example, the need for carrying in the props and flanks is magnified as there’s no like for like centre replacement for Tuilagi, although I have been impressed by Ollie Lawrence’s emergence and Henry Slade’s progress.

“But, given their riches, only a fool would bet against a bonus-point win for them in Rome and I am pretty confident in saying the title is theirs to lose,” he noted.

Identity crisis

“Wales will host Scotland in a dead match, but one they really need to win. They’re threadbare in terms of player options, low on confidence and again are struggling to find a rugby identity post Warren Gatland. Scotland – well it’s all eyes on Finn Russell, isn’t it?” quipped Liebenberg.

“The thing with Finn is nobody doubts his ability or genius. I would absolutely encourage him to continue what he’s doing, to be unpredictable, to try the miracle play. However on the other hand, I’d also caution him to learn to know WHEN to do those things. At the moment a lot of his rugby is 50/50 in terms of whether it come off or not. He needs to work on those decisions to reduce the risk/reward to 60/40 or even 70/30. By all means, express yourself, be the maverick you are, but also learn to reduce the percentages in your favour.

“It’s a tough one to call, but I’ll go with the Scots alongside wins for both France and England.”

We thank Brian for his time.

Brian Liebenberg was an intelligent and gifted centre in the colours of Stade Francais and France. Standing 6’2″ tall and weighing 105kgs, Liebenberg was a formidable presence, playing 12 times for France and scoring five tries.

by James While

 

England