Six Nations: What each team needs to fix ahead of the tournament run-in
With three rounds played and the Six Nations entering its final stages, the cream has risen to the top with France emerging as the tournament favourites.
The French could still, rather scarily, improve though, so we look at where each teams stands, what they need to fix and how they could fare in the final two weekends.
France
Fabien Galthie’s men have certainly shown themselves to be the most complete team in the competition. They have a fearsome pack which has a number of destructive carriers, as well as savvy breakdown exponents, who provide quick ball and turnover chances for their talented backline to feast upon. In Antoine Dupont, they have the world’s best player and he dictates play superbly, but he is not alone in terms of the decision-making process. Both Romain Ntamack and particularly Gael Fickou offer support in that facet, with Fickou also the defensive leader in the side.
They are looking very difficult to beat, so where can teams target to stop Les Bleus claiming a Grand Slam? Well, Scotland had some success at the set-piece, winning scrum penalties and stealing lineout ball, but neither of those areas have been especially strong for their next opponents, Wales and England. However, if there is one team that could get it right, it is the Red Rose, who have a powerful front five on paper, even if they have yet to truly fire.
Nevertheless, Galthie and his coaches will want to properly shore up their scrum and lineout as they have, under pressure, had the odd brain fade. It is still a young team and they have made the odd stupid mistake, which could cost them when it gets to the crunch moments. If either the Welsh or English do get on top up front then it will be interesting to see how this French team responds. So far over the past few matches, Galthie’s charges have done well, but that may alter in the cauldron of the Principality Stadium or when a Grand Slam is on the line. Either way, we will learn a lot about this France squad over the next two matches.
Ireland
In some ways, you have to feel for this Irish side. They are arguably playing better than they did when they last won the Grand Slam in 2018, but Andy Farrell’s men simply came up against an outstanding French team in Round Two. Ireland have a really effective game plan which generates quick ball, gets their playmakers in possession and challenges defences. With the likes of Tadhg Furlong operating as a dual threat on the gain line, mixing powerful carrying with dextrous handling, they are keeping opposition sides guessing and it is proving very difficult to stop.
To be honest, there wasn’t much between the teams in the game in Paris, which means they aren’t far from being among the world’s best, but Farrell would no doubt like them to get a bit more set-piece dominance, especially when they face England. Equally, when in control they have lacked a clinicalness at times, butchering chances late on against Wales and struggling to really put away an Italy outfit that were at least two men down for an hour.
There were also handling errors in the first half against France, while their discipline let them down as well, leading to several opportunities for Melvyn Jaminet to take shots at goal. It will therefore be interesting to see how they react against Eddie Jones’ charges if the English are able to put them under similar pressure in Round Four.
England
This is where you start to see a few more holes in the teams. Quite frankly, there are a number of areas which the Red Rose need to improve, from their attack to a few issues around their wide defence and set-piece. They have done some things well and to their credit managed to control field position in all three of their matches so far, but Jones’ side have certainly not taken advantage. While Marcus Smith has created openings, those opportunities have failed to result in dominance on the scoreboard, leading to tight matches against Scotland and Wales.
Outside of Smith, they have lacked a bit of spark and you wonder whether there is enough pace in the back three. Freddie Steward, Max Malins and Jack Nowell are all fine footballers but they don’t have the raw running talent of Adam Radwan or Ollie Hassell-Collins. Having one of those two in the outside channels would certainly give England a bit extra and provide the opposition with something else to think about.
They could also do with a gain line presence now that Billy Vunipola has been dropped and with Manu Tuilagi regularly on the sidelines. Alex Dombrandt has done a good job but he’s not quite as effective at close quarters than Vunipola and maybe the introduction of Alfie Barbeary alongside the Harlequins number eight in the back-row would give them a bit more go-forward. Ellis Genge has shown up well in his carrying, while Kyle Sinckler is always a useful player in the loose – despite not quite finding his form yet – and Maro Itoje is starting to take more responsibility with ball in hand, but their pack is not a truly effective unit at the moment.
The forwards equally need to improve in the set-piece having struggled in the lineout against Wales. They also haven’t been dominant at the scrum and they really must step it up if they are to challenge both Ireland and France in their final two matches.
Scotland
After the joy of the Calcutta Cup success, it’s all gone rather wrong for Scotland. But, to be perfectly honest, that first game hinted at a number of weaknesses which weren’t rectified for the matches with Wales and France. Immediately following the clash in Round One, England would have been frustrated to have lost that game, but looking back now they would be even more irritated.
Jones’ charges dominated a number of aspects of that encounter but they failed to take advantage and, to the Scots’ credit, they won the big moments in the second period to emerge 20-17 victorious. Gregor Townsend’s men have since failed to build on that triumph and struggled to break down the Welsh defence in Round Two before being completely outplayed by Les Bleus.
Quite simply, unlike the French, Irish and English – even if the latter haven’t found the right balance yet – they lack the destructive carriers to get them regularly across the gain line. Matt Fagerson did a tremendous job in their first game but, since his injury in the opening period of the second match, they have struggled for front foot ball.
They have two good sets of front-rows, who do contribute well in both the set-piece and the loose, and a second-row that has been effective at disrupting opposition lineouts, but they don’t have the power to match the top teams in the world. Scotland rely on work ethic, breakdown excellence on both sides of the ball and a fly-half who can create magic moments. They also have several talented outside backs and a previously stubborn rearguard, but defence coach Steve Tandy would not have been happy with what he saw against France.
On transition, while it can be difficult to get organised off turnover ball, they were far too slow to react and there was quite clearly more desire in the French ranks during the 80 minutes. That will be of most concern to Townsend and Tandy heading into the final two rounds where they will expect a vast improvement. It would also help if they could finish clear cut try-scoring chances, but there was more to that French defeat than just Stuart Hogg’s drop.
Wales
They are another team that, like Scotland, don’t have the power and athleticism of the top nations up front, but they have generally done a better job of covering it up and using other areas of their game to get on top. And while Wales don’t have too many effective carriers, they have always managed to find good defenders and superb breakdown operators that bring the big boys to floor quickly and efficiently, and duly disrupt opposition ball.
‘Rugby smarts’ is probably the phrase that epitomises the Welsh game and, when they are at their best, they are one of the most difficult teams to play against. Injuries, however, have hampered Wales significantly and being without the brains trust of Ken Owens, Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Josh Navidi has left them with big holes to fill.
Wales also, quite frankly, miss Shaun Edwards, with their defence nowhere near as effective since the departure of the Englishman to France. Although they did superbly well to stay in contention against England, it was, on several occasions, close to breaking point, while their efforts in Round One versus Ireland were pretty abysmal.
Head coach Wayne Pivac rectified that somewhat by ending the Josh Adams experiment at centre and, as a result, they have been far more solid since then, but France will test how much they have improved in their next game. You do rather worry for them in that clash, with Galthie’s men no doubt fancying their chances of dominating the set-piece and giving Dupont plenty of quick ball to work with.
Wales will always battle, and Tomos Williams and Dan Biggar will put them in the right positions if the forwards are indeed competitive, but they just haven’t had the cattle this year to defend their Six Nations title.
Italy
Where to start? Pretty much everything is a work-on for Kieran Crowley, but they have taken steps in the right direction in certain aspects of their game. The defence was arguably the big issue – it only took a few phases before it broke down under Franco Smith – but they have looked a better unit since the New Zealander took over. Their effort against Ireland was admirable and, despite the heavy defeat, it may actually prove beneficial in the long run, while the set-piece is starting to function better as well.
The scrum is, in the main, holding up – albeit the Ireland match was obviously a non-event in that respect – and they are improving at the breakdown. Italy are, however, an inexperienced team and particularly in the pack they are somewhat learning on the job, with the majority of their players being thrown into action without gaining the necessary qualifications through the club game.
However, in captain Michele Lamaro, they seem to have found their next talismanic leader, following in the footsteps of Sergio Parisse, while the backline certainly has the raw materials to be a threat if the forwards can get them quality ball, but they are behind their competitors in just too many areas at the moment. There is no facet of the game that Italy do better than any of the other teams in the Six Nations, but it is not to say that will still be the case five years down the line.
It is pretty gut-wrenching to watch Italy at the moment but there is ability in this current set-up and there is plenty of talent coming through the age-grade sides. At the moment patience is required, but there does come a point where they need to justify their place in the competition. Perhaps that will come against a forlorn Scottish outfit, who the Italians have had success against in the past. They have the advantage of playing at home and the Scots don’t necessarily have the sheer power up front to overwhelm the Azzurri. Of course, a win is unlikely but if they can get a losing bonus-point from either their next match or the clash with Wales, that will give them something to build on.