Six Nations: Will it go ahead as scheduled, what are the French concerns and could it be moved to a single venue?

Scotland are due to kick off their 2021 Guinness Six Nations campaign against England at Twickenham February 6.

Will the Six Nations take place as scheduled?

The organisers are desperate for the men’s Six Nations to stick to its original timetable. The championship is due to kick off on the first weekend in February and the opening round of fixtures includes England v Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday, February 6. Italy are scheduled to play France in Rome earlier that afternoon, with the other Round 1 match between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff due to take place the following day.

French concerns

Bernard Laporte, the head of France's rugby federation, is confident the Six Nations will take place despite his government's concerns.

The French government does not currently want its sporting teams to go abroad because of the pandemic. It is particularly anxious about the new more transmissible strain of coronavirus prevalent in the UK. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new variant was up to 70 per cent more transmissible than other variants. The French concerns are likely to lead to the suspension of rounds three and four of the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup scheduled for this weekend and next.

However, Bernard Laporte, the president of the French rugby federation, said that he was “not worried” and that “we shouldn’t be alarmed” about the men’s Six Nations. He told French radio at the weekend: “The Six Nations will be played - with health protocols imposed by the French government, adapted to the English variant of the virus. Like in the autumn, we will apply these. Rest assured that the Six Nations will go ahead. All will be fine.”

The Autumn Nations Cup went ahead with eight competing nations but Fiji were unable to play their three pool matches due to a Covid outbreak in their squad.

France’s first scheduled Six Nations match with a team from the UK is their home game against Scotland which is due to take place in Paris on February 28 in Round 3. Round 2 sees France travel to Dublin to take on Ireland on February 14.

England captain Owen Farrell smiles as England celebrate winning the Triple Crown last year. They went on to win the Six Nations.

Despite Laporte’s confidence, it is the French government who will have the final say on France’s participation.

Could the tournament go ahead without France?

Organisers are desperate to avoid this scenario because they feel it would compromise the integrity of the tournament.

Scotland take on England in last year's Women's Six Nations at Scotstoun. This year's tournament is expected to be postponed.

Could the tournament be played at a later date?

The Women’s Six Nations is set to be postponed, with organisers looking to reschedule the tournament for April. One idea mooted for the men’s Six Nations is to move it into the summer slot occupied by the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, should the latter fall through. The British government is currently advising anyone against travelling to South Africa, which recently became the first country in the continent to reach one million cases of Covid-19. The Lions are due to decide next month whether the tour will go ahead.

The problem with moving the Six Nations to July and August is that it creates issues with scheduling and broadcasters. BBC and ITV, which screen the tournament in the UK, already have so many other summer sporting commitments that it would lead to clashes.

One other reported alternative is to push the men’s Six Nations back a couple of weeks. This is more likely but would lead to a potential conflict with domestic leagues.

Could the tournament be played in one venue like the Champions League?

The delayed 2020 Champions League and Europa League were completed in the summer by playing the remaining knockout matches in one country. To get the tournaments finished before the new season began, Uefa condensed the fixture schedule and switched to a single-match, straight knockout format. The Champions League games took place in Lisbon while the Europa League matches were played in Germany.

The French newspaper La Provence has reported that Six Nations bosses were considering something similar, scheduling the entire tournament in one country across seven weeks.

It would cut down on travel and make it easier for teams to remain in a bio-secure bubble.

Is there any likelihood that fans will be at any of the games

A long shot. Speaking just before Christmas, Scottish Rugby Union chief Mark Dodson had not given up hope of having some fans at BT Murrayfield for Scotland’s scheduled Six Nations home matches against Wales on February 13, Ireland on March 14 and Italy on March 20. “Two of our three homes games are at the end of the Six Nations at the end of March so we’ve got more chance with them but it’s something we have to talk to government about,” he said.

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