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Six Nations a two-horse race between England and Ireland

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flashback This year’s Six Nations tournament is expected to be a battle between England and Ireland PHOTO: richard heathcote / getty images
flashback This year’s Six Nations tournament is expected to be a battle between England and Ireland PHOTO: richard heathcote / getty images

As an old and established tournament, the Six Nations – which begins on Saturday with Scotland hosting Ireland – tends to follow a pretty much set pattern.

This season, thanks to the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand lurking in midyear, the introduction of bonus points for tries scored and losing, and the crackdown on high tackles, the tournament is littered with variables.

Carlo del Fava, who has recently returned to Durban after years of playing for Italy, expects the prospects of going to New Zealand to spice up the play of the players from the four home unions (England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland).

“The media is talking about it but the coaches have been trying to play it down, saying it won’t be a distraction,” says the former Sharks lock. “But I’ve seen it first-hand when there’s a Lions tour. Guys play out of their skins and take on leadership roles.”

The bonus points experiment has generated a lot of talk with many of the traditionalists flat out against it in spite of the fact that the southern hemisphere have been using it since 1996.

“In the first two weeks it won’t make much of a difference,” says Del Fava. “You won’t see a drastic change in how teams play as they try to just win those games. But in the last two weekends there’ll be a massive change as teams work on their positions on the log.”

The crackdown on high tackles has seen a significant number of players being sent off in Europe, but will the referees’ zeal mean teams can lose games?

“Without a doubt, if you lose a critical player like a hooker, number eight, scrum half, fly half of full back you’ll be under extreme pressure.”

Looking at the rugby itself, Del Fava said it was difficult to look beyond England and Ireland as the teams who can win it. To that end, March 18, when the two meet in the final game of the tournament, looms as an important date as not only should the winner be settled, it could well be the day England – having won their last 14 games – beat the All Blacks’ record of 18 successive wins.

But Del Fava sees a dragon-sized banana peel lurking for the Poms in their second game of the tournament: “Playing Wales in Wales is a tough game for England because it’s very physical. The Welsh would rather lose a limb than lose to England so that will put them under pressure.

“Also, their first game will be without [experienced flanker] Chris Robshaw and the Vunipola brothers [Mako and Billy]. But it’s still going to be a showdown between England and Ireland for the title.”

Asked if there was one thing England’s Australian coach Eddie Jones had done particularly well to get them to where they are, Del Fava said it was in his recruitment of top-notch back-room staff.

Del Fava said the Irish, who halted the All Blacks’ winning streak by beating them for the first time in over a century last November, were better than people gave them credit for: “That’s because their players are centrally contracted so the Irish union has an absolute say in what happens with them.

“They once pulled Johnny Sexton from a French club game at half-time because he’d reached his quota of minutes played. He was kicking and screaming but they did it.”

Del Fava said he expected a lot more from Wales, who have flattered to deceive at home and folded on the road, under veteran lock Alun Wyn Jones’s captaincy. “He’s an animal, he’s super fit and he’s tactically astute as well.”

He was less enthused about Scotland, whose attractive style of rugby and the performances of their clubs in the European Championship have caught the eye. “They play well in some games but not the critical ones.”

The French got similar billing (“They don’t believe enough in themselves so they’ll need to have a good start [against England away] to do it.”).

As for the Italians, who are coached by Connor O’Shea, Mike Catt and Brendan Venter, he said they were well coached by the “ultrapositive” O’Shea and their defeat of the Springboks would have given them “massive belief”.

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