There were many people who worried that the 2024 Six Nations would turn out to be a bit of a damp squib, with the Rugby World Cup captivating so many fans last year and there being a widespread fear that this year’s edition of Europe’s premier international competition would be a case of “after the Lord Mayor’s show”.
However, as things turned out, it was anything but that, with tight matches, surprise results and outstanding individual brilliance providing a spectacle that many have become fully engrossed by. It has provided plenty of questions and some answers too, and this tactical analysis will look at each of the six competing teams in turn to see what has been learnt about them and where they need to improve, if at all, ahead of the Autumn internationals.
Ireland (1st)
The key questions around Ireland going into this year’s Six Nations were whether they could achieve the first ever back-to-back Grand Slam in the tournament’s history and if they would be able to cope without their talisman of so many years in Johnny Sexton.
Whilst the answer to the first of those ended up as a definite no, the second was something that they needn’t have been too concerned about, with Jack Crowley demonstrating throughout the competition that he has the quality to replace Sexton and to ensure that Ireland as a team do not lose their rhythm. Couple that with the fact that their usual weapons in centre Bundee Aki, back rower Caelan Doris, winger James Lowe and hooker Dan Sheehan were all functioning at full capability too and it is clear to see why Ireland once again proved to be tough opposition.
As well as those stalwarts of the side though, there have been one or two really impressive performances from some newer players, with winger Calvin Nash one of those who has really caught the eye. He has been in really strong form for Munster this season and has translated that to the international stage really well, with him fitting into the Ireland DNA and giving them added pace on the other wing to match what they already have in Lowe.
It wasn’t a vintage tournament for them, with their pleasing start in France slowly ebbing away into a defeat at Twickenham and a sticky home display against Scotland, but they still managed to win another title and to further cement their reputation as one of the best national sides in the world. They will also have been pleased to have given head coach Andy Farrell a temporary farewell with another piece of silverware to add to his cabinet, with him taking a break from coaching them next year to focus on the British and Irish Lions’ tour to Australia.
France (2nd)
Like Ireland, France are a team that many had high hopes for and who many expected to be competing for another title as they continue to develop into one of the globe’s best national sides. However, the 2024 Six Nations will not go down as one of their finest and they were actually fortunate to not be sitting at the halfway stage with three defeats from three, with Ireland beating them, Scotland having a late try controversially disallowed which would have handed them a victory and Italy being the width of a post away from overcoming them too.
They did pick things up as the Championship went on, with the second half of their performance in Cardiff and the manner of their win against England indicating that they are still a strong side and not one to underestimate. However, there is absolutely no question of the fact that they were missing scrum-half Antoine Dupont this year, with his ability to dictate play and to control the tempo of their matches not as prevalent and France looking a little disconnected at times as a result.
This is not to say that there weren’t some really good individual displays, with centre Gaël Fickou rarely having a bad game and quite often leading from the front whilst Nolann Le Garrec has further indicated his individual quality. However, they would have hoped for a better overall package than they did manage to produce, and that will disappoint them when they reflect on the tournament as a whole.
England (3rd)
When putting together analysis of each team prior to the Championship getting underway, it was clear to see how a number of them were in a period of transition following the World Cup and were at the start of a new four-year cycle.
In England’s case, it has certainly shown, with plenty of inconsistency in their play as they showed some really positive signs but also did a lot that will have frustrated them and the fans and that will have no doubt led to more questions over how far they need to go before they can really challenge at the highest level once again.
What had got most people talking this year was the introduction of the new blitz defence tactics that new defence coach Felix Jones has been so keen to implement, and there were flashes of how it could benefit England in the long term as they try to grow into a more coherent side, with them successfully applying pressure at times and reaping the rewards from it.
However, what was also clear to see was that, when opposing sides managed to negate that pressure, England were left far too open and were badly exposed, and it was that that proved to be their downfall on a number of occasions.
Like every team, there were some really good individual performances, with back rower Ben Earl one who deserves to be pointed out and who might perhaps be an outside bet for Player of the Tournament. As well as him, scrum-half Alex Mitchell showed plenty of quality and brought his Northampton Saints form to the international stage to help his side get on the front foot, so there are things that England can build on when they reconvene in the future.
However, there are also a lot of things that weren’t so good, and that is what they need to amend in order to become the team that many hope that they will be.
Scotland (4th)
Scotland are perhaps the first of the teams in the table who largely underperformed, with them demonstrating last year that they had really turned a corner and were starting to become a force to be reckoned with, but they struggled to make the same impact this time around and regressed slightly as a result.
The best way to describe their tournament is very up and down, with some moments of brilliance and them being on the end of some very bad luck at times (the France game really sticks out in that regard), but there were also some games when they lacked the confidence that they have been showing of late and so didn’t provide a full indication of their true qualities.
What was really noticeable was how big of a role centre Sione Tuipulotu plays in their system and how much they missed him in the closing stages of the Championship, with him last year forming a really strong partnership with Huw Jones in the midfield that helped Scotland to attack and defend with equal ability, and his ball-carrying power was not as easy to replace, despite the best efforts of Cameron Redpath and Stafford McDowall.
There has also been too big a reliance on kicking for territory at times, with it not being a bad option to have but not always working as Scotland would have hoped, and the fact that they at times lacked a back-up plan will not have helped them. Therefore, whilst there were some pleasing aspects to their displays, it was an overall strong showing from them and they will need to go away and look back over it in detail as they try to make it nothing more than a blip.
Italy (5th)
The fact that they managed to avoid the Wooden Spoon for the first time in nine years is in itself a huge success for Italy, but what really stood out was that it wasn’t just good fortune because they deserved to finish somewhere other than the bottom after the overall strength of their tournament, and it is clear that they will be a really difficult side to come up against with Gonzalo Quesada at the helm.
Before the matches had got underway, the former Argentina fly-half had made no secret of his desire to build on the foundations laid down by predecessor Kieran Crowley in attack, but that he wanted to ensure that his team didn’t sacrifice defensive solidity in the process, and his tactics reflected that with him asking his team to be creative and speedy in possession and to defend as a unit.
The players who really helped to make that possible were Tommaso Menoncello and Ignacio Brex, who typified the newfound energy that Italy were playing with as they carried well and constantly broke through gaps in opposing lines and then showed pace and desire to get back and to defend whenever it did look as though they would concede a try, with Brex in particular being another really strong contender for Player of the Tournament after two Player of the Match displays against Scotland and Wales.
They are definitely moving in the right direction at this moment in time, and Quesada has made a really good impression in his first matches in charge of them. When coupling this to the outstanding displays put together by Italy’s U20 team in their tournament, the future of Italian rugby looks bright, and it will be very interesting to see where they go from here.
Wales (6th)
The team who have disappointed the most this year have without a doubt been Wales, and it does seem tough to criticise them too heavily given that they are missing so many big names through injury, unavailability or retirement after the World Cup. Nevertheless, there are only so many times that that can be pointed out before performance levels come under scrutiny, and the simple fact is that, as has been pointed out in many a scout report during the tournament, they started off badly and then got progressively worse as the weeks went on.
What will be really frustrating for all connected to the team is that so many of their errors came not down to complicated game plans but to a general lack of accuracy, with passes not finding their intended targets, knock-ons being conceded and players not communicating with each other and therefore giving the ball away in cheap circumstances. This has been lamented by head coach Warren Gatland throughout the Championship, and it is simply something that has to get better if Wales are to come back from the disappointment that they will be feeling right now.
This is not to say that everything about them was bad, because, like every team, there were a few players who showed plenty of positive signs and who did work hard. Back rower Aaron Wainwright was one who really caught the eye in the middle of the field, with him probably being Wales’ best overall player, whilst versatile back Mason Grady showed what they were missing by not giving him more game time whenever he was on the pitch and flanker Alex Mann looks like another player with a really bright future. However, these moments of positivity were few and far between, and Wales simply never looked like dragging themselves away from the foot of the table.
There were reports at the weekend that Gatland had offered his resignation to the Welsh Rugby Union after their final match at home to Italy, but that it had been rejected by the latter, and that perhaps shows that the New Zealander feels responsible for the manner of their performances. However, it is not all down to him and everyone involved needs to share the blame, and there is a lot of work to do and some big decisions that need to be made if they are to recover from what will be seen by many as an abject failure.