Sports Then and Now

England

England may go into the tournament with low confidence if their recent run of defeats continues. Despite that, they have a very strong squad and their admirably reliable kicker Owen Farrell provides outstanding leadership from anywhere on the pitch, be it in the centre or at fly half. Farrell will look to push his side to victory next spring after a disappointing outing in this year’s tournament with England finishing fifth overall.

Exciting duo Elliot Daly and Jonny May bring a touch of flair to the side and their form in the tournament, along with the team fixing their recent defensive frailties, will have a big impact on England’s success this time out. England rugby could use a lift after some disappointing results and the Six Nations is the perfect opportunity to return to the top.

Ireland

Irish rugby is in a healthy state at the moment as evidenced by some impressive performances recently, most notably a victory against New Zealand in a friendly, only their second ever win against the All Blacks. A glorious grand slam win of this year’s Six Nations, in which they defeated all five opponents, has resulted in them being the huge favourites in the next tournament. The Irish are currently ranked number two in the rankings.

Hugely experienced full back Rob Kearney has been imperative to that recent success. The most decorated player in Ireland’s history, Kearney has over 80 caps for his country and provides the experienced knowhow crucial to being a successful number 15.

Scotland

A possible dark horse for the tournament, Scotland’s rugby team is on the up. After a spell in the doldrums, the resurgence was full throttle in this year’s Six Nations with wins over Italy, France and a very impressive defeat of England, where flanker Hamish Watson helped them dominate the breakdown on their way to a brilliant victory. The Scots also beat Canada and Argentina over the summer and head into 2019 full of confidence.

The Six Nations will see them defend the Calcutta Cup, a trophy competed between only England and Scotland when they meet in the Six Nations. Scotland’s victory resulted in them winning the trophy for the first time since 2008.

Wales

The Welsh have always been there or thereabouts but never quite reached the very top of international rugby. In this year’s competition their results were mixed, beating Italy, France and Scotland but losing to England and Ireland.

Star lock Alun Wyn Jones will be integral to the squad again next year and at 32 years old is playing arguably the best rugby of his career, with over 100 caps for his country. If they are to have any success next year then the Welsh must start scoring more points, in their last 12 games they have only managed to score over 30 twice.

Italy

The Italians last performance in the Six Nations was to say the least, underwhelming. They lost all five of their games in a whitewash. The boys in blue have an unfortunate knack of tiring and fading out of games and will need to be 100% focused if they are going to do well next year. On their day they can be a joy to watch. One beacon of hope for them is the electric full back Matteo Minozzi. He provides the pace and scores a lot of tries. Minozzi also shows great quality in defence and is brave in the tackle.

France

After a dour few years the French have recaptured the attacking flair that made them such a joy to watch. Guilhem Guirado has been a figurehead for them since taking the captain’s armband in 2015 and the experienced hooker has shown fantastic leadership qualities ever since.

Les Bleus do have a tendency to crumble under pressure and will be looking to remedy that unwanted trait and improve on this year’s outing but, if Guirado can rally his troops then a focused French side could be a real test for any nation.