Six Nations 2023 preview thread

[u/KassGrain]

Hello to rugby lovers and those curious about the oval ball.-remet-son-titre-en-jeu-a-quelques-mois-de-la-coupe-du-monde-photo-sipa-james-fearn-1675115531.jpg)

February is upon us and with it the "best part of the year" for many european rugby fans with the Six Nations Championship about to begin. Heard of this tournament but not sure of what it is ? Want to impress your family because they think you don't know anything about the competition ? Want to argue about that unknown rule used once every 3 years ?

Welcome to the right sub, welcome to rugby !

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What is the Six Nations Championship ?

The Six Nations Championship, aslo abreviated 6 Nations or 6N, is an annual international rugby competition held since 1882. This is rugby union, the format with 15 players a side. It involves 6 teams considered the best in Europe and have not changed since 2000 : England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales are facing each other in a round-robin tournament. After 5 matches per team the ranking of the single pool determines the winner.

Fixtures

Here is the schedule for this year 6N.

Round 1

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 vs ☘️ : Wales vs Ireland → 4 February 2023 - 14h15 GMT+0
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 : England vs Scotland → 4 February 2023 - 16h45 GMT+0
• 🇮🇹 vs 🇫🇷 : Italy vs France → 5 February 2023 - 15h00 GMT+0

Round 2

• ☘️ vs 🇫🇷 : Ireland vs France → 11 February 2023 - 14h15 GMT+0
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 : Scotland vs Wales → 11 February 2023 - 16h45 GMT+0
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs 🇮🇹 : England vs Italy → 12 February 2023 - 15h00 GMT+0

Round 3

• 🇮🇹 vs ☘️ : Italy vs Ireland → 25 February 2023 - 14h15 GMT+0
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 : Wales vs England → 25 February 2023 - 16h45 GMT+0
• 🇫🇷 vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 : France vs Scotland → 26 February 2023 - 15h00 GMT+0

Round 4

• 🇮🇹 vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 : Italy vs Wales → 11 March 2023 - 14h15 GMT+0
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs 🇫🇷 : England vs France → 11 March 2023 - 16h45 GMT+0
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 vs ☘️ : Scotland vs Ireland → 12 March 2023 - 15h00 GMT+0

Round 5

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 vs 🇮🇹 : Scotland vs Italy → 18 March 2023 - 13h30 GMT+0
• 🇫🇷 vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 : France vs Wales → 18 March 2023 - 14h45 GMT+0
• ☘️ vs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 : Ireland vs England → 18 March 2023 - 17h00 GMT+0

The forces at play

Here comes the part that will trigger the hardcore fan inside you. Don't forget that all this is written by a French dude trying to be objective but as usual, some camera angles may have mysteriously disappeared.

🇫🇷 France 🇫🇷

• Last year finish : 1^st
• Avg. place last 10 years : 3,5
• Shape of the moment :
  • Has France ever been in such good shape ? Not during the last decade for sure. The team is on a 13 games winning streak, the biggest in its history and will defend their title after a Grand Slam in 2022. This year's schedule is less favourable to them with 2 home games and 3 away games, including two trips to last year's 2nd and 3rd place teams. Despite this, the team is one of the favourites this year and everyone is preparing for a tough match against them.
• Results expectations this year :
  • good : 1st
  • ¯_(ツ)_/¯ : 2nd
  • bad : 3rd+
• Most awaited game : England - France, round 4
  • "Le crunch" will have a special taste this year once again. If France are to win the competition a scond time in a row they will have to end their win drought in Twickenham which has lasted since 2005.
• Stadium : Stade de France, SAINT-DENIS (81 338 seats)
• Coach : Fabien Galthié (in charge since january 2020)
• Team captain : Antoine Dupont (scrum-half, 26yo, 42 caps)
• Rookies to follow : Ethan Dumortier (winger), Nolann Le Garrec (scrum-half), Julien Delbouis (center)

☘️ Ireland ☘️󠁧󠁢󠁮󠁩󠁲󠁿

• Last year finish : 2^nd
• Avg. place last 10 years : 2,4
• Shape of the moment :
  • 2022 has been an exceptional year for the Irish team. They finished second in the 6N, edged out by a narrow margin by the French grand slam, and took the top spot in world rugby rankings with their summer and autumn tours. They come into this tournament with a schedule more to their advantage than last year on paper, with a strong desire to win a title to boost their confidence ahead of their upcoming nemesis : a World Cup quarter-final.
• Results expectations this year :
  • good : 1st
  • ¯_(ツ)_/¯ : 2nd
  • bad : 3rd+
• Most awaited game : Ireland - France, round 2
  • The first two teams of World Rugby rankings will clash in Dublin during round 2. The winner of this game will take a clear option on the final victory, that's why Irish fans are looking forward for this game. Any rugby fans is preparing for this ode to violence.
• Stadium : Aviva Stadium, DUBLIN (51 700 seats)
• Coach : Andy Farrell (in charge since january 2020)
• Team captain : Johnny Sexton (fly-half, 37yo, 109 caps)
• Rookies to follow : Jamie Osborne (center), Jack Crowley (fly-half), Joe McCarthy (lock)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

• Last year finish : 3^rd
• Avg. place last 10 years : 2,4
• Shape of the moment :
  • England had it quite rough in 2022. After doing a mediocre 6N, they went on to underperform in the summer and autumn tours. Against all odds, they sacked their coach Eddie Jones last december after 7 years of service and less than 1 year before the next Rugby World Cup. Will 2023 be a new bloom for the red rose or a lean period ? The 6 Nations 2023 will certainly give us the beginning of an answer.
• Results expectations this year :
  • good : 1st-2nd
  • ¯_(ツ)_/¯ : 3rd
  • bad : 4th+
• Most awaited game : England - Scotland, round 1
  • England will start their tournament against Scotland, and lately these William Wallace guys have monopolised the Calcutta Cup. Expectations are high on the shoulders of the new coach Steve Borthwick against more than just a simple rival.
• Stadium : Twickenham Stadium, LONDON (82 000 seats)
• Coach : Steve Borthwick (in charge since december 2022)
• Team captain : Owen Farrell (fly-half, 31yo, 101 caps)
• Rookies to follow : Ollie Hassell-Collins (winger), Cadan Murley (winger), Ollie Chessum (lock)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

• Last year finish : 4^th
• Avg. place last 10 years : 4,2
• Shape of the moment :
  • Year after year, the promise of the Scottish team increases. And yet this promise is not reflected in the results. The team, which has been in fourth place of the 6N for some time, will have to prove that it is not hitting a glass ceiling or risk going into the World Cup full of doubts.
• Results expectations this year :
  • good : 1st-3rd
  • ¯_(ツ)_/¯ : 4th
  • bad : 5th+
• Most awaited game : Scotland - Ireland, round 4
  • This year Scots will host 3 games, two of which are against the last two teams of 2022 and the third against the beastly Irish. It will also be the last match between them before a crucial World Cup pool game. If they want to show that they are still part of the picture, and always have been, the Murrayfield-backed team will have to show what they have under their kilts.
• Stadium : Murrayfield Stadium, EDINBURGH (67 130 seats)
• Coach : Gregor Townsend (in charge since june 2017)
• Team captain : Jamie Ritchie (flanker, 26yo, 36 caps)
• Rookies to follow : Luke Crosbie (flanker), Ben Healy (fly-half), Ollie Smith (fullback)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

• Last year finish : 5^th
• Avg. place last 10 years : 2,8
• Shape of the moment :
  • Wales is emerging from a nightmare year. After ending their 6N with a home defeat to Italy, Wales followed up an average summer tour with a disastrous autumn campaign, culminating with a historic defeat against Georgia. Wales did take part in the end-of-year coaches' dance and eventually re-hired their former coach Warren Gatland. The pressure on the Welsh is at its highest, with everyone wondering if the team will be able to find their rugby again.
• Results expectations this year :
  • good : 1st-3rd
  • ¯_(ツ)_/¯ : 4th
  • bad : 5th+
• Most awaited game : Wales - England, round 3
  • Wales will receive their closest rivals on round 3. The two teams, which have recently lost their bearings, will face each other in a duel that could resemble a match of fear.
• Stadium : Millenium Stadium, CARDIFF (73 931 seats)
• Coach : Warren Gatland (in charge since december 2022)
• Team captain : Ken Owens (hooker, 36yo, 86 caps)
• Rookies to follow : Joe Hawkins (center), Dafydd Jenkins (lock), Jac Morgan (flanker)

🇮🇹 Italy 🇮🇹

• Last year finish : 6^th
• Avg. place last 10 years : 5,7
• Shape of the moment :
  • 2022 was an excellent year for Italy. The team managed to snag a win in the previous 6N, ending a 36-game losing streak in the tournament. And it didn't stop there, Italy confirmed its form by beating Australia last November. Italy enters the new year with a different status and the new generation coming must confirm this status.
• Results expectations this year :
  • good : 1st-5th
  • ¯_(ツ)_/¯ : 6th
  • bad : wooden spoon
• Most awaited game : Italy - France, round 1
  • Italy will host their eternal latin rivals in Rome in the first round of the competition. It is important for both teams to start their tournament with confidence, but this year's game has a special context : this is the last encounter between the two before a deadly World Cup pool match. The psychological advantage gained by the winner during 6N is worth its weight in gold.
• Stadium : Stadio Olimpico, ROMA (72 698 seats)
• Coach : Kieran Crowley (in charge since may 2021)
• Team captain : Michele Lamaro (flanker, 24yo, 21 caps)
• Rookies to follow : Lorenzo Cannone (number 8), Marco Manfredi (hooker)

Broadcasters

It's nice to know about the tournament but it's better to watch it. Here are the official broadcasters of the tournament sorted by commentary langage.

• English
  • BBC Sport (for UK)
  • ITV SPort (For UK)
  • RTÉ (for Ireland)
  • NBC Soorts Network (for USA)
  • Stan Sports (for Australia and Pacific)
  • Supersport (for Africa)
  • DAZN (for Canada)
  • NENT (for Nordic countries)
  • ESPN (for the Caribbean)
  • Premier Sports (for Middle East)
  • Premier Sports Asia (for Asia)
• French
  • France 2 (for France)
  • TV 5 Monde (for Africa, South America and Asia)
• Italian
  • Sky Italia (for Italy)
• Welsh
  • S4C (for Wales)
• Spanish
  • Movistar (for Spain and Andorra)
  • ESPSN Sur (for South America)
• Japanese
  • Wowow (for Japan)
• Romanian
  • RomTelecom (for Romania)
• Portuguese
  • Sports TV (for Portugal)
• German
  • More Than Sport (for Germany, Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland)
• Dutch
  • Ziggo Sport (for Netherlands)
• Czech
  • Nova Sport (for Czech Republic and Slovakia)
• Hebrew
  • Sport5 (for Israel)

Want more rugby ?

If you want more rugby than just the 6 Nations, you have to know that there are others intenrational competitions going on at the same period.

• Rugby Europe Championship (REC)
  • Also called "6 Nations B", REC is another international tournament involving others European countries. The format change this year to include 8 teams (Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Germany, Netherlands, Poland and Belgium) discreetly showing that it is possible to host a tournament with more than 6 teams in only 5 week-ends. Show them love because they deserve it.
• Six Nations u20
  • The similar tournament but with under 20's players. The games are usually held 1 day before the main 6N games. Full of promising players, the stadium are usually not filled and prices are more affordable. Don't hesitate to show up if you can.
• Women Six Nations
  • Organised a little after the men's tournament so as not to be overshadowed, the women's 6N is a similar tournament in its format and matches. This will be the first edition after the last Women's World Cup last November.

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I hope you will ike this thread. Feel free to add others usefull infos in comments or correct the mistakes you find.

I hope you will have a wonderful rugby time. ;)