The NatWest 6 Nations has launched

Excitement is building for this year’s upcoming NatWest Six Nations, which kicks off on Saturday 3rd February with Wales hosting Scotland at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

NatWest are now the headline sponsor of the tournament, taking over from its parent brand RBS, who have sponsored the tournament for the previous 15 years. NatWest has a strong rugby heritage, and also sponsor the nationwide Schools Rugby Cup involving over 400 schools and 2000 fixtures.

6 Nations Preview

Teams will be looking to lay down a serious marker for next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan and given the use of the bonus point system again this year, spectators can expect another year of running rugby! This championship is expected to be one of the closest in recent memory, and key games could prove invaluable in the context of deciding a victor.

England

With only 1 loss in their previous 25 games, England will go into this year’s Six Nations as front-runners. Being the current holders, they will be hoping to become the first team to win the competition three successive years in a row and also avenge their loss to Ireland on the final day of last year’s championship which denied them the Grand Slam.

The trip up to Murrayfield and the clash with Ireland are expected to be pivotal for the outcome of the championship and could realistically go either way considering recent form!

France

As always, the French are predictably unpredictable. 2017 yielded mixed results for them, originating with an admirable 3rd in last year’s very competitive championship but culminating with five straight defeats and a disappointing draw to Japan to wrap up the year.

This resulted in the appointment of former Toulouse head coach, Jacques Brunel, as the national team head coach after Guy Novès was sacked on the back of these defeats. Only time will tell whether Brunel can turn France’s fortunes around given their poor form of late; however, we can be certain that the French are always capable of upsetting anyone on their day.

Ireland

St. Patrick’s Day this year couldn’t have come on a bigger occasion for the Irish as they face England at Twickenham in a potential Grand Slam-deciding showdown on the final day of the championship.

Their historic victory over the All Blacks in Chicago and triumph over England to deny them a record-breaking 19 successive test wins last year demonstrates Ireland’s ability to step up when it matters and makes them a serious contender for this year’s title.

With 11 Lions in the Irish ranks, and both Munster and Leinster sitting at 2nd in their respective conferences in the Guinness Pro 14, Ireland will be a serious force to be reckoned with in this year’s championship.
Italy

Italy head coach Conor O’Shea will be under considerable pressure to lift his team from the wooden spoon position, where they have resided for the previous 2 years.

O’Shea made headlines in last year’s tournament when his innovative utilisation of ruck laws left England stumped. Even though ruck laws have since been modified, there’s no doubt that England and the other nations will be wary of the Italians, especially when the latter’s results haven’t been going their way recently. Expect the unexpected.

Scotland

Scottish resurgence was a common theme throughout 2017 and they will no doubt be heading into the 2018 Six Nations as title contenders.

They came out of the Autumn Internationals with two impressive victories, where they put in a destructive performance against Australia as they ran in 8 tries. Their only defeat was a narrow one which came at the hands of the All Blacks as Stuart Hogg was tackled into touch just before the whitewash in the dying seconds of the match.

Despite the defeat, Scotland will come into the Six Nations with newfound confidence and will be a tough side to play especially at Murrayfield, which has developed into a fortress for the Scots.

Wales

There are a few reasons to be realistically optimistic for Wales this year. Even though the Scarlets are leading their conference in the Guinness Pro 14, no-one can deny that their national team has been under-performing despite showing glimpses of inspiration at times.

They are currently at the mercy of a mounting injury list, including key players such as test Lions Sam Warburton, Taulupe Faletau and George North.

Nevertheless, Wales have never been one for excuses and they will be hoping that their remaining fit Lions such as Dan Biggar and Jonathan Davies will be able to convert their exceptional club form onto the national stage.

Rugby is on the Rise

There is no doubt that rugby is on the rise across the world. The introduction of rugby 7s at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the success of previous Rugby World Cups has stimulated increased participation across younger generations.

Currently, there are approximately 300,000 registered players playing rugby union at least once a month in England. This has been supported by the RFU, who have recently invested £50 million into local communities across the country, including £2.4 million into the women’s game over a three-year period.

With rugby on the rise, there has been no better time to put your club in a strong position to ride the growth.

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