England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and France once again to battle in the RBS Six Nations tournament starting on 2nd February 2013. England boss Stuart Lancaster is facing an anxious wait as Tom Johnson and Calum Clark were both injured in the weekend action for their respective clubs. Kvesic, Botha and Monye have all been called up as precautions.
Meanwhile Italy captain Sergio Parisse has called upon his teammates to ditch their tag as underachievers, the Italians have recorded just one win in each of the last three Six Nations tournaments. “The gap between us and the other teams is closing, but for the credibility of the team we need results”.
Wales crushed all before them in last year’s tournament but faced uncertainty during the autumn international campaign due to managerial confusion as current boss Rob Howley shared responsibilities with Warren Gatland. Wales lost four consecutive fixtures but Howley, now the sole man in charge, is confident the issues surrounding management are finished.
Aptly named Scotland coach Scott Johnson is not worried about his team being ‘the poor little boys on the block ‘ and is more concerned about ruining the party at Twickenham. Scotland face off against England at Twickenham on 2nd February.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney is hoping his young team deliver consistency and performances their talent deserves. Whilst talented they are not at a level where points can be taken for granted but with recent wins over Argentina and Fiji they will arrive full of confidence.
France will have to improve their rugby away from home if they are to leave any mark on this year’s tournament. France are one of the most inconsistent sides in world rugby and could quite easily beat the best and lose to the worst depending on whether the players fancy it or not.
France head coach Phillipe Saint-Andre is well aware of this, saying at the official launch of RBS Six Nations, “On our best day we can beat the best in the world – on our worst we can lose to anyone. It’s a big step this Six Nations because we have three away games. We did well in the autumn, but we were at home.”
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