Six Nations awaits fate as tournament chiefs talk to French officials

Six Nations chiefs will meet officials from the French Ministry of Sport today to discuss the prospects of a tournament due to start early next month but in some doubt due to rising Covid-19 numbers and the suspension of the Champions and Challenge Cups.

French authorities made a formal request to the Ligue Nationale de Rugby yesterday, asking that the two rounds of European fixtures due to be played over the next two weekends be put on ice in order to help stem the highly-transmissable UK variant of the coronavirus.

EPCR duly confirmed that the tournaments were to be paused.

The sports ministry asked specifically that French teams hold off on games against UK opposition at home and away until early February at the earliest. The Six Nations is due to begin on February 6 although France open with a trip to Rome. 

How the Covid picture progresses throughout Europe in the intervening weeks will determine subsequent events but the fixture list does appear to give some breathing space with France not due to face British opposition until Scotland pitch up in Paris at the end of next month.

Their first trip to the UK isn’t due until mid-March with Twickenham the destination although a trip to Ireland on February 14 hardly looks inviting given the escalating Covid numbers here.

Bernard Laporte, president of the French union (FFR) said on Sunday that he expected this year’s Six Nations to go ahead as planned. “I believe that we should not be alarmed for the Six Nations Tournament,” the former ‘les Bleus’ coach told RMC Sport Radio.

“It will be played, with a health protocol dictated by the government, and linked to this mutant virus. Everything went well in the autumn, so will the upcoming tournament, I’m no more worried than that.”

Laporte’s reference to the Autumn Nations Cup overlooks the fact that Fiji suffered from major Covid outbreaks and with the result that their three games, against France, Italy, and Scotland, were called off.

The rest of the tournament did proceed as planned, however, and Fabien Galthié has already gone and announced his squad for the tournament.

The French coach’s 37-man selection landed shortly after news of the Champions Cup’s temporary halt. Out-half Romain Ntamack misses out with a broken jaw but it does include youngsters such as Racing 92 winger Donovan Taofifuena who has six tries in nine league games this season.