Just before we reach the final fling of the Six Nations, let’s leap ahead and ask where fate will take us when it’s all over.
In the gap between this weekend’s excitement and the start of the World Cup in October there is an ocean of emptiness. Nations are being very coy about announcing any travel plans. At least Greg McWilliams has suggested Ireland will go on a very first summer tour, which is most encouraging.
But the arguments in Ireland centre not there but on the absence of contracts. After the drubbing the side took at Leicester, the complaints grow louder. When will the IRFU finally put sensible terms in place? Without them the players cannot possibly do justice to their undoubted talents. It’s quite unfair to ask them to perform in front of huge crowds, with untold millions around the world watching at home, then report in for work the next morning. This is where I question the use of Sundays for 6N matches.
It’s the same for Scotland, though Wales and Italy have started putting players on something closer to professional footing.
The irony of McWilliams’ statement is that his is the only team not to be moving on to New Zealand next autumn. But neither Scotland nor Wales have a tradition of off-season touring. Scotland broke their duck with a visit to South Africa two years ago. We can only hope that all of them will offer their squads meaningful competition over the summer.
The Leaders of the Pack
For France and England the position is different. Both had originally planned to make an early visit to Aotearoa, in an effort to get on terms with the all-conquering Black Ferns, and experience what it’s like to play in front of a Kiwi audience.
The view from the bridge is now quite different.
Playing the Black Ferns pre-RWC would benefit the hosts far more than the guests. Would Simon Middleton be concerned if his squad turned up there in October without a preliminary visit? I don’t think so.
The English management’s problem is knowing where to go to find the right sort of competition. Nowhere is obvious. Until recently they were happy to join Super Series in North America but at present even Canada, standing fourth in World Rankings, find it hard going against them. And Rugby Canada has been undergoing severe trials, with forced and unexpected changes of management at 7s and 15s level.
France are far more likely to pay a visit to Aotearoa, as Annick Hayraud has hinted. None of her wider squad has played there yet, except for Manae Feleu, who spent three years at school there on her way from the South Seas to France and the Grenoble team.
Rob Cain has been working tirelessly for three years now, travelling the length and breadth of the States to bring his Eagles squad up to the mark. There is still a long way to travel. The pack can perform admirably, but the backs lack authority.
Nor is Australia a sensible halfway house for the Red Roses to exercise their skills. The Wallaroos 15s squad has suffered long-term neglect. Fijiana Drua’s recent win over the once invincible NSW Waratahs in the final of the Super W was a reminder of the distance the national squad has to travel.
The Pac-4 fills a few gaps in four nations’ schedules, but all must surely be looking for more competition.
