In 2020 it was hard to get too much of a feel of how the international game is panning out because we were coming straight off the back of a World Cup which is a natural end cycle for so many teams, players, and coaches. Then we had all the chaos of Covid.
There was a long period without international rugby before the teams returned to action with limited preparation time for the finale to the 2020 Six Nations and the Autumn Nations Cup.
While it was clearly great to have rugby back, the standard overall was poor and it was difficult to get a true gauge of where each team was at with the bigger picture in mind.
I think we will find that out in the 2021 Six Nations. Each team will hopefully get the chance to play regular games and will all be in camp for a long time because of Covid.
What fascinates me is the different approaches we are likely to see. The biggest contrast is between England and Wales. Wales had a shocking first year under Wayne Pivac and we are yet to see the expansive approach Wayne wants in action. In fact, I’d argue we’re still unsure exactly what that approach is.
We do know, though, that the basic premise is a lot more focused on attack, on spreading the ball wide and benefitting from turnovers and offloading in the tackle. Wales under Pivac wants to use the ball.
England are seemingly at the other end of the spectrum. They seem to be happy to play without the ball, kick a lot, and hunt the opposition down by forcing them into making mistakes. They do that with supreme physicality, smashing the breakdown, and taking no prisoners in the tackle.
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