After the lord mayor's show? No, there's still plenty to like about the Six Nations. Here's five of them

After the lord mayor's show? No there's still plenty to like about the Six Nations. Here's five of them

ABSENTEEISM: Dupont is one of the finest players the sport has ever seen yet France have such riches at no.9 that he may not be missed as much as you might imagine with either Maxime Lucu or debutant, Racing 92’s exciting talent, Nolann Le Garrec, class acts.

1 - Relish the tournament format. 

No more Zombie-soothed misery, belting out plangent tunes to ease the agony of World Cup quarter-final dismissal, all-over-in-a flash as so many thousands discovered only the blink of an eye ago. In the Six Nations, there is a tomorrow and a tomorrow and a tomorrow and even another tomorrow with Ireland rounding off their five-match campaign with a game against Scotland in Dublin. Will there still be a championship on the line by that date in mid-March? Maybe so.