{"id":478271,"date":"2026-03-16T07:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/478271\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T07:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:59:08","slug":"still-crazy-chaotic-six-nations-showed-the-timeless-appeal-of-great-sporting-drama-six-nations-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/478271\/","title":{"rendered":"Still crazy: chaotic Six Nations showed the timeless appeal of great sporting drama | Six Nations 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

L\u2019\u00c9quipe\u2019s front page headline summed it up perfectly. \u201cSo Crazy\u201d did not just reflect Saturday night\u2019s dizzying blur of a game<\/a> in the Stade de France but pretty much the entire 2026 men\u2019s Six Nations championship. Wales beat Italy who defeated Scotland who beat France who beat Ireland who beat England who, you\u2019ve guessed it, beat Wales. Rugby, eh?<\/p>\n

And maybe that is the single biggest takeaway from the most extraordinary Six Nations<\/a> of them all. Never mind the players and the coaches, spare a thought for all those distractedly pouring orange juice on their cereal as they vainly try to rationalise six weeks of madness. The world\u2019s oldest championship still manages to refresh parts others cannot reach.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, amid the disheartening news stories about rugby players\u2019 brain health, precarious club finances and fanciful breakaway leagues, it is possible to overlook that timeless truth. But any sport that can leave all and sundry wanting more within moments of the tournament ending must be doing something right. And Saturday, with millions worldwide screaming at their TV screens, was exhilarating proof that Test rugby played at full throttle ranks among the planet\u2019s most compelling spectacles.<\/p>\n

Those of us who wondered aloud after round one whether a lack of jeopardy might become a looming issue could not be happier to be proved wrong, at least for now. Given France have now won back-to-back titles with the scope to add more if they can relearn how to defend properly, they will inevitably be the antepost favourites when 2027 finally rolls around.<\/p>\n

The glaring difference from six weeks ago, however, is that the rest of the field have all displayed genuine signs of improvement. Wales have earned their first Six Nations win<\/a> for three years, while Italy deservedly put away both England and Scotland in Rome. Ireland\u2019s last-day performance<\/a> was, in its way, every bit as impressive as their authoritative triumph at Twickenham while Scotland claimed a top-half finish with three eventful wins.<\/p>\n

And then there is England, who finally showed on Saturday night what can happen when they commit to playing some actual rugby. Among the most revealing snapshots was the 10-phase attacking set that ended with Tommy Freeman steaming over for his side\u2019s seventh try. Slick, purposeful, skilful, sharp \u2026 could this be the same team who were barely able to escape first gear against Scotland and Ireland?<\/p>\n

In fairness they were not the only squad who displayed a split personality. Ireland were barely at the Parisian races on the opening night, only to come thundering back into title contention. How on earth did Scotland lose in Rome<\/a> and then perform so brilliantly against England a week later? The explanation, as with France at Murrayfield, lay between the cauliflower ears. Rugby is a technical game but, vitally, is also still fundamentally shaped by emotion.<\/p>\n

Which just happens to be Andy Farrell\u2019s superstrength as a head coach and his contribution to Ireland\u2019s revival was pivotal again. Big Faz knew his older players would not physically benefit from playing five games inside six weeks and resting a few against Italy ensured their freshness for subsequent battles. Fair play, too, to Gregor Townsend, under serious pressure after his side\u2019s Roman washout<\/a> but still canny enough to conjure fabulous wins over England and France and, with some help from the officials, a comeback win in Wales.<\/p>\n

Kyle Steyn, scoring a try against France, was part of an improved Scotland team that won three consecutive Six Nations matches. Photograph: Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Saturday night\u2019s game in Paris\u00a0also had a good sprinkling of impactful refereeing decisions which Steve Borthwick will be raising with World Rugby. In particular he was unhappy when England had a last quarter penalty\u00a0advantage belatedly changed to a knock-on advantage just as Fin Smith was kicking away\u00a0the ball prior to the counterattack that preceded the record-breaking Louis Bielle-Biarrey\u2019s fourth try, a significant twist in a game full of them.<\/p>\n

There was also late confusion when Trevor Davison and Maro Itoje were penalised for a high tackle and a deliberate knock on respectively by the Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli, causing a delay prior to Thomas Ramos\u2019s all-important final kick. It was not hard to appreciate the angst felt by both England \u2013 who were pipped 33-31 by another last-gasp Ramos howitzer in Lyon two years ago \u2013 and Ireland, who would have snatched the title had the visitors clung on.<\/p>\n

But if they are totally honest with themselves, England will recognise that they and everyone else are hostages to a game of increasing extremes and ever-decreasing margins. The ability to think straight in the chaotic closing stages is also becoming ever more valuable: Jack van Poortvliet\u2019s ill-fated box kick with two minutes left swiftly followed by Henry Pollock\u2019s unwise attempted offload were both examples of small, isolated strategic misjudgments with big ramifications.<\/p>\n

Ramos and Bielle-Biarrey, furthermore, displayed a level of individual mastery with their goal-kicking and try-scoring that their visitors could not equal. France might be flawed champions in one or two respects \u2013 when was the last time any team conceded 96 points in their final two games and still hoisted the trophy? \u2013 but they had the sniper\u2019s aim and rapier pace for that not to matter.<\/p>\n

Add in the consistent excellence of Ireland\u2019s Stuart McCloskey \u2013 remember him chasing down England\u2019s startled Marcus Smith \u2013 Jamison Gibson-Park and Rob Baloucoune, the purring Scottish backline, Italy\u2019s anthem-roaring centurions, Rhys Carr\u00e9\u2019s prop idol try for Wales in Dublin and the entire Super Saturday smorgasbord, and audiences were spoilt for choice from beginning to end. The\u00a0highest aggregate try count in a championship season was another bonus, as was the conspicuous lack\u00a0of drab mismatches. All hail\u00a0the Six Nations, still crazy after\u00a0all\u00a0these years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"L\u2019\u00c9quipe\u2019s front page headline summed it up perfectly. \u201cSo Crazy\u201d did not just reflect Saturday night\u2019s dizzying blur…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-478271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}