Six Nations' 'Drive To Survive' brings new tensions into focus

A Netflix crew are in Portugal with the Irish rugby squad.

TUNED IN: Jamison Gibson-Park speaks to media during Ireland rugby squad media conference at the Campus in Quinta da Lago, Portugal on Tuesday. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Ireland’s 2023 Guinness Six Nations preparations are coming under even greater scrutiny than usual with the presence of a Netflix camera crew at their warm-weather training camp in Portugal this week but there is understood to be some disconnect between the level of access expected on either side of the lens.

With the Six Nations now bankrolled by investment fund CVC and looking to raise rugby’s profile beyond its traditional base, the deal struck with Netflix to deliver a behind-the-scenes documentary on “Rugby’s Greatest Championship” akin to Formula One’s ground-breaking “Drive To Survive” series was seen by the competition’s organisers as something of a no-brainer.