With injuries inevitable, coaches need to know who their next cab off the rank is in each key position and Ireland have the system best placed to succeedWhen the Six Nations starts we’ll all enjoy picking and poking over team selection and tactics, how the benches have been used and how the coaches have drawn on all their nous to get the results they need. But one thing you won’t hear much about may end up being one of the most important factors of all in deciding the championship – the depth chart.Every nation will have a spreadsheet with each position on it and then the first choice, second choice, third choice and so on. Often it’s also colour-coded red,...
Away wins are likely to be rare, drop goals less so and the women’s competition looks to be between England and FranceDiscounting matches against Italy, there were two away wins last year, both by Ireland. Twelve months before that just one, by England. On both occasions the side best equipped to win on their travels took the title so expect away victories to be at a premium again. Related: England set to start Manu Tuilagi in Dublin after Ben Te'o injury Continue reading...
Injuries muddy the selection waters for Ireland game as Eddie Jones looks to resolve questions over England’s best teamWhat had been looking like the toughest selection of Eddie Jones’s three-year England tenure has once again been hijacked by events. The unavailability of Ben Te’o for the opening Six Nations Test has not merely blown a sizeable hole in the coach’s midfield strategy but dispelled any notion that, at last, England have uncovered the secret of keeping their best players fit.With Brad Shields and Joe Cokanasiga also unavailable to feature, the first England team announcement of the calendar year on Thursday is no longer quite as hard to predict as it might have been. That said, Jones still has some major...