{"id":267630,"date":"2026-01-28T03:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T03:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/267630\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T03:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T03:40:07","slug":"so-much-at-stake-and-six-nations-just-the-start-in-massive-year-for-rugby-union-six-nations-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/267630\/","title":{"rendered":"So much at stake and Six Nations just the start in \u2018massive year for rugby union\u2019 | Six Nations 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the surface it was business at usual at this year\u2019s Six Nations<\/a> launch in a chilly Edinburgh. Had the city\u2019s most famous literary sleuth poked his nose into the venue at the top of the Royal Mile, Inspector Rebus would have clocked the usual suspects: head coaches trying not to divulge any secrets, captains quietly studying their opposite numbers and content creators seeking to \u201cjazz up\u201d their tournament previews.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s booby prize went to the \u201cinfluencer\u201d who asked Caelan Doris, Ireland\u2019s captain, whether or not he liked Fabien Galthi\u00e9\u2019s thick-rimmed glasses. It was almost on a par with the Breakdown\u2019s all-time classic: the day someone asked Rob Baxter, Exeter\u2019s director of rugby, to pick his favourite motorway service station. \u201cTaunton Deane,\u201d came the instant reply. \u201cBecause it means we\u2019re almost home.\u201d Brilliant.<\/p>\n

Modern rugby, though, is a fast-changing environment. The championship\u2019s 143rd edition is imminent but at least one aspect will be different this year. The men\u2019s tournament has been trimmed by a week, with just one fallow week as opposed to two. It will demand stamina and require every coach to think about how to nurse senior players through five huge matches in six weekends.<\/p>\n

Even at World Cups the schedule is less onerous; at least one match tends to be against lower-ranked opposition which permits some rotation. The Six Nations does not allow such luxuries: one of its big selling points is that every game is massive deal and there is no such thing as a meaningless fixture.<\/p>\n

On paper it should favour nations with greater strength in depth. England and France both have massive player reserves to draw on; others not so much. Ireland are already on the brink of a propping emergency while Wales will also be praying their main men can stay fit for the duration.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, as England\u2019s head coach, Steve Borthwick, was quick to stress, the player welfare scenario is less clear-cut than it might initially appear: \u201cThe players are better physically prepared now than they used to be. I also think the medical and recovery facilities are better.\u201d Borthwick has never been a fan, either, of one-size-fits-all debates around how many matches players should play. \u201cThere\u2019s been a movement within rugby to talk simply about [game] limits. I\u2019m not a coach who wants to put limits on players. As a player I would have hated coaches saying: \u2018You can only do this\u2019. Says who? Show me the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can see where he is coming from but, equally, the game is less physically forgiving every year. Along with the expanding travel requirements. Take England as an example. In the coming two months alone they will lace up their boots in Spain (on a training camp), Scotland, Italy and France. This summer their touring itinerary is so fiendish their leading players will probably have to fly direct from South Africa to Argentina and miss the intervening game against Fiji which is to be played in the north of England.<\/p>\n

And in November, the reason for the concertinaed Six Nations will be revealed. For the concluding weeks of the inaugural Nations Championship, all the home nations will play significant games on four successive weekends, including an extra \u201cfinals weekend\u201d in London already being billed as the \u201cGlastonbury of Rugby\u201d. The great hope among officials is that a festival type \u201cshow\u201d over three days will attract \u201cevent\u201d fans who would not previously have bothered to attend a staid old Twickenham rugby international.<\/p>\n

The Six Nations head coaches, from left: Steve Tandy, Gregor Townsend, Steve Borthwick, Fabien Galthi\u00e9, Andy Farrell and Gonzalo Quesada. Photograph: Steve Welsh\/PA<\/p>\n

Which neatly sums up the crossroads at which rugby sits. It\u2019s only progress if the concept proves popular and the money rolls in. And if the players are not flogged to death in pursuit of those riches. Striking a happy balance between ancient and modern is crucial, which explains the euphoria among leading officials following the completion of a deal with ITV, estimated at \u00a390m, which ensures the Nations Championship games \u2013 as well as the Six Nations \u2013 will be available on free-to-air television.<\/p>\n

At a stroke, with YouTube highlights also part of the wider equation, it gives rugby a chance to be more visible and to show floating voters what a dynamic game it can now be. Had the majority of games vanished behind a paywall, as was a distinct possibility 12 months ago, it would have cut off that life-giving oxygen. Now there is an opportunity for rugby to reveal its most beguiling side more often to more viewers.<\/p>\n

Talking of which the Rugby Football Union has even inserted a fascinating line into their latest strategic plan. It not only calls on the national team to be consistent major title winners but also demands they \u201cdo so in a way that inspires future generations\u201d. While Borthwick is hardly going to instruct his forwards to start playing like the Harlem Globetrotters, he accepts that his side also need to do their bit. \u201cI do think there is a responsibility to connect with and inspire the next generation. I was at an under-13 kids\u2019 rugby game the other day and there were kids running round with black tape around their heads because they want to be Henry Pollock. We want superstars that the public connect with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interesting times. And as we speak talks are back on regarding a potentially unified global calendar. It will require the southern hemisphere to agree to shift the Rugby Championship to an earlier slot in the year but, if that happens, sources are suggesting it is possible the Six Nations window could be nudged forwards. Watch this space. The Six Nations chief executive, Tom Harrison, was not wrong on Monday when he described 2026 as \u201ca massive year for rugby union\u201d. How big remains to be seen but maybe that influencer was on to something. We\u2019ll know rugby\u2019s future is bright when trendsetters worldwide all start wearing Fabien Galthi\u00e9-style shades.<\/p>\n

This is an extract taken from our weekly rugby union email, the Breakdown. To sign up, just visit this page<\/a> and follow the instructions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the surface it was business at usual at this year\u2019s Six Nations launch in a chilly Edinburgh.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-267630","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}