The 2021 6 Nations will be like no other that has come before it

When the 2020 edition of the 6 Nations got underway just over eleven months ago, the likes of the Aviva Stadium, Twickenham, and Murrayfield were full to the rafters. There was a lot of optimism in the air, the beer was flowing freely, and there was not a single face mask to be seen.

The 2019 World Cup hangover was over, and it was time for the six teams to start anew and look forward. However, nobody predicted what was to come – the tournament had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and England were not crowned champions until the end of October.

A Very Different Landscape Now

The 2021 6 Nations is set to be played in a very different landscape. For a tournament that relies on the atmosphere created by the supporters on the terraces, the silence that we all witnessed during the last round of the 2020 6 Nations as well as the Autumn Cup (that England also won), provided us with a bitter glimpse of what to expect this time around.

There can be no doubt that the 2021 6 Nations will be a lot poorer due to the lack of supporters in the stands. With Covid-19 rates increasing throughout the United Kingdom and curfews in both Italy and France, it does seem pretty unlikely that we will see fans for any of the fifteen matches.

There is also no guarantee that the tournament will finish when scheduled. The first round has been scheduled to start on the 6th of February but Roxana Maracineanu, the French Sports Minister, wants assurance that France’s visits to Ireland and England will be Covid-19 safe. If this cannot be guaranteed, then the French team will not be turning up to fulfil the fixtures.

There are many who are actually asking whether the tournament should even go ahead this year. This is a relevant question to ask when you consider that the Men’s U20s tournament as well as the Women’s version have been postponed. However, it seems that the Men’s version will still start at the beginning of February, and we can only assume that the reason for this is because of the money involved. This is the same reason why the Premier League are desperate to not postpone or cancel the season – there is simply too much money to lose in TV rights and advertisement.

Who Will Win the 2021 6 Nations?

When the 6 Nations rolls around each year, the buzz begins among pundits and fans alike. Who will win it this time? Will it be my team or yours? Rugby experts love to predict who they think will go on to lift the trophy in March, and there are many of us who like to place a little bet on the outcome as well. So, once again here we are. who are the bookies predicting to win the 2021 6 Nations?

Well, most rugby sites that you come across will have England as favourites to retain the title that they won back in October. When they lifted the 2020 6 Nations trophy, they became the first team to win the tournament after losing their opening game. England are also seen as the most likely side to win the Grand Slam, but most bookies believe that there will be no Grand Slam winners this year. We happen to agree with them.

According to several bookmakers, France are not too far behind England as title contenders, and Ireland are seen as third favourites to win. Wales are fourth favourites, Scotland fifth favourites, and if you were so inclined to put some money on Italy to lift the trophy you might as well just flush your money down the toilet – we are not trying to be harsh, that is just the reality of things!

So, for what it is worth, who would we put our money on? Well, we feel that England have a very good chance of winning since they play three of their five games at Twickenham, where they rarely lose. But will we be surprised by a shock result? We’ll have to wait for the games to finish to see!

A Look at the Squads

Fabien Galthie, the head coach of France, has named a mixture of class and upcoming talent in his squad, and he will be hoping that they will be able to replicate their run in the Autumn Nations Cup, where they made it to the final and gave England a very good game, despite losing to an Owen Farrell penalty in Extra Time. What made their performance so impressive that day was the fact that they were missing a lot of their best players due to an agreement with the Top 14 that every player could only play a maximum of three matches. However, there will be no issues this time around as Galthie has just three uncapped players in his 37-man squad – Georges-Henri Colombe Reazel, Donovan Taofifenua, and Julien Delbouis.

Eddie Jones and Wayne Pivac are yet to finalise their squads, but Jones will only be allowed to choose a 28-man squad for the whole Championship due to Covid-19 restrictions. When it comes to the England squad, it is predicted that Jones will pick all familiar faces, but he will be without Kyle Sinckler as he has been suspended for the first match against Scotland.

When it comes to Pivac’s Wales squad, there are eight uncapped players that could find themselves called up and this includes the likes of WillGriff John and Harry Randall. Captain Alun Wyn Jones is a doubt for the first game with a knee injury, but if he misses that against Ireland, he should be fit for the Round 2 match against Scotland.

Scotland boss, Gregor Townsend, will be without Fraser Brown, Alex Allan, and George Horne for the whole 6 Nations campaign. Brown has a neck injury that will see him miss three months, Allan is recovering from successful Achilles surgery, while Horne needs surgery on his foot. Despite these setbacks, Townsend is expected to name a squad that is not much different to the one he named for the Autumn Cup.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell before the Autumn Nations Cup match at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.

Andy Farrell’s Ireland had a pretty poor 2020 and they will be looking to put things right in this year’s 6 Nations. Due to the current pandemic, there has been no rugby matches played in Ireland for the last few weeks, so Farrell does not have many main injury issues to deal with – apart from Iain Henderson, who will miss the opening game. However, his players will more than likely be a bit rusty when they travel to Wales on the opening weekend.

Franco Smith’s men enter the 2021 6 Nations tournament on a run of 22 defeats in a row – their last win in this competition was a 22-19 win at Murrayfield in 2015. Smith will be hoping that his team will be able to win at least one game to put this barren run to bed, but we are not too confident. He is yet to pick his squad, but we are not expecting too many new faces. Although, there are many who are calling for Paolo Odogwu to be called up for the first time – it is safe to say that he would add quality to their squad.