Jonathan Sexton warns against squeezing Six Nations

A number of Welsh players have also voiced concern and so too have England’s Joe Marler and George Ford.

Sexton has warned that any attempt to run the Six Nations off over five consecutive weekends would result in a higher volume of injuries and favour England due to the reigning champions’ greater strength in depth, writes Brendan O’Brien.

The prospect of tampering with the timeframe of the tournament by removing one or both of the ‘down’ weekends currently in place started with the English Premiership clubs who are looking to free up space at the business end of the domestic season.