Nigel Owens slams ‘ridiculous’ Six Nations relegation talk as Georgia ‘would not really add anything’
Nigel Owens is fed up with the suggestion that the Six Nations should introduce relegation.
Former referee Nigel Owens is fed up with the suggestion that the Six Nations should introduce a promotion-relegation fixture following another disappointing campaign for Wales.
For a second year in a row, Wales have collected the Wooden Spoon finishing the Six Nations winless and falling to a 17th straight Test defeat.
This has once again raised suggestions that the premier Northern Hemisphere international tournament should introduce a form of promotion and relegation.
These suggestions were rife during Italy’s 36-match losing streak in the Championship between 2017 and 2021 with Georgia dominating the Rugby Europe Championship (REC).
Richard Cockerill leads calls for Georgia’s inclusion
The Lelos have won every single edition of the tournament since 2018, in fact, they have only failed to lift the REC title on one occasion since 2011.
Georgia’s dominance of the REC has led to calls from their head coach Richard Cockerill to introduce the relegation and promotion.
“If you are finishing bottom of the Six Nations why do you just get free rein to turn up next year and play?” said Cockerill after Lelos’ latest title.
“We want the opportunity to prove that we can compete, so surely that’s logical we get the opportunity to have a play-off.
“It would be the richest game in World Rugby – Georgia versus Wales at some point in the near future to see who plays in the Six Nations for the next tournament. That’s jeopardy, isn’t it? That would be a game people would want to watch.”
He is not the first to suggest relegation and promotion for the Six Nations with Sam Warburton doing the same back in 2021 before Italy ended their losing streak and maintained his position earlier this year.
Nigel Owens disagrees
However, Owens does not agree with those sentiments.
“I think some of the current discourse around where we find ourselves has been quite unhelpful, to be honest,” he wrote in his Wales Online column.
“In fact, one thing has really annoyed me in the last week, and that is the calls for Wales to face Georgia in a Six Nations promotion/ relegation match and potentially give up their place in the tournament.
“Let me make one thing perfectly clear – the Six Nations is not a tournament where promotion and relegation should happen. You simply can’t get rid of a team or have different sides coming in and out.”
He added: “I’m fed up of hearing people suggest it as an idea, to be honest. Whether they’re just saying it for attention or simply wanting to chuck a hand grenade into the conversation, I don’t know. But it just can’t happen.
“Of course, Georgia head coach Richard Cockerill is one of the people leading the calls. But imagine if he got the Welsh job, would he be calling for the same thing then? Too bloody right he wouldn’t!”
Best tournament outside the World Cup
The former referee believes that the Six Nations is only second to the Rugby World Cup in international and is the best annual Test tournament.
It’s not just the on-field action that makes the Championship special in Owens’ point of view but the passion of the supporters particularly when Wales play at the Principality in Cardiff.
“Cardiff is always heaving on a match day and it’s an atmosphere unlike no other regardless of the result. I don’t see how replacing a trip to Cardiff with a trip to Tbilisi is going to help the tournament as a whole. It’s not just a rugby game, it’s a whole event after all,” he wrote.
He continued: “The idea of demoting Wales and promoting Georgia, I think is ridiculous. I’m all for Georgia and the other emerging nations having an opportunity to play against the top nations in the summer or the autumn, but bringing them into the Six Nations is not the answer.”
“It’s a bit like saying we should get rid of Wales from the British & Irish Lions squad and have Georgian players come into it instead. Yes, the Georgians did beat Wales a few years ago now, but they have been beaten very comfortably by Italy more recently and I’m pretty sure they would not really add anything to the tournament that this Welsh side doesn’t already bring.
“The competition needs Wales in it, it’s as simple as that.”
READ MORE: Opinion: ‘Time to act’ for Wales after hitting new low in ‘train wreck’ Six Nations
