Can England do it again?
Thirty-seven years it may well have been between England's two major international successes on the sporting stage, but surely there is only so much celebration that can be feasibly be done? London was brought to a standstill as three-quarters of a million lined the streets to catch a glimpse of Johnson, Wilkinson and co, the royal corgis ensured that their place would go down in history alongside Old Bill at Buckingham Palace and a tour of all Zurich rugby grounds concluded the celebrations. However, the champagne glasses and photo calls are a thing of the past as the Six Nations bandwagon rolls into town.
With an added incentive of beating the freshly crowned World Champions, Italy are the first to challenge England. Their only other wins in the Six Nations have come in Rome on the opening weekends of the championships against Scotland in 2000 and Wales in 2003, so are we to expect the Italians to produce the surprise of the tournament on the opening weekend? Despite the loss of Martin Johnson into the dusk of retirement and Jonny Wilkinson among others to injury, I suspect England should come through unscathed. Defeat to England on 15th February and a visit to the Stade de France six days later could leave the Italians on course for the wooden spoon. Undoubtedly they will view the visit of the Scots and their trip to the Millennium Stadium as their best chances of success.
Scotland, disappointing in Australia, will be eager to impress under the new leadership of Matt Williams. There is an air of confidence around Scottish rugby at the moment following the success of Edinburgh in the Heineken Cup. However, a young team will struggle especially since they are playing Ireland, Wales and Italy away - arguably their realistic opportunities to pick up points - leaving them with home ties against the Anglo-French powerhouses.
The Welsh, buoyed by encouraging performances against England and New Zealand in the World Cup, are rising to a peak in the turbulent nature of Welsh rugby - one minute high in celebration, the next in the depths of despair and melancholy. Despite being defeated in both these matches, Wales will hope that their new-found form of attacking expansive rugby could reap them rewards against some of the lesser European opposition. The change in Welsh club rugby over the last year, with the amalgamation of smaller clubs into larger regional outfits, can only have improved the standard of the game in the Valleys; evidence of this has been seen with Llanelli overcoming Northampton in the Heineken Cup and the Gwent Dragons defeating Stade Français.
Two years ago the Irish were seen as strong and realistic challengers to the superiority of France and England, though there is a feeling now that their surge in ability has faded somewhat. The Irish coach, Eddie O'Sullivan, has himself admitted that this campaign could indeed be a problem for his team because of injury worries. Brian O'Driscoll and Eric Miller could miss this week's opener against France, joining Geordan Murphy and Dennis Hickie on the injured list. A trip to France without the exciting O'Driscoll could cause the Irish some difficulties especially when faced with a French team full of explosive runners.
Having had their World Cup dreams drowned in the rain of Sydney, the French will undoubtedly be more than ready for this Six Nations campaign. The retirement of Fabien Galthié, the French fly-half, leaves the door open for Fabien Pelous, a second row, to regain his control at the helm having previously captained Les Bleus 15 times in 2000-2001. Bernard Laporte feels that Pelous has the qualities of leadership displayed by Johnson, a reflection of the respect in which he is held and the confidence that he exhibits. Since France have the advantage of playing both Ireland and England in the Stade de France, then there is a good chance the cockerel will be crowing by the end of the tournament.
Billed as the decider, the March 27th clash between France and England should in reality produce the champion. There is little to believe that either side will enter the match with anything less that four wins under their belt, resulting in a showdown for the title. Revenge for the semi-final loss in Sydney will be at the forefront of the French minds, let alone the chance to beat the World Champions. In Sydney Wilkinson, among others, quashed the threat of 21 year old Frédéric Michelak; however, the ability of Barkley, King or Grayson to do the same could be questioned.
Without questioning the leadership capabilities of Dallaglio, then the Six Nations could be one step too far for England, considering their extensive injury problems. Wilkinson, Catt, Moody, Dawson, Thompson, Abbott, Hodgson and White are all going to miss some, or if not all of the Six Nations, so whether a young side under pressure in Paris has what it takes to walk away victorious could indeed test England's strength in depth.
The champagne has been drunk, the photos have been taken, now let the rugby to do the talking again.
12th Feb 2004