A France side bolstered by Antoine Dupont begin their quest to deny Ireland an unprecedented third successive Six Nations title when they launch this year’s edition at home to Wales today.
Scrumhalf Dupont missed last year’s tournament to focus on rugby sevens in the buildup to the Paris Olympic Games and his decision paid off in style with a gold medal at the Stade de France.
In his absence, France finished second to Ireland.
Photo: AP
“We’ve got a lot of ambition for this tournament, we have the potential to win it and I’m excited about that,” Dupont said.
Under-pressure Wales coach Warren Gatland is well aware of Dupont’s quality.
“He’s incredibly quick and he’s powerful, he’s got great vision,” Gatland said. “He’s excellent in terms of staying on his feet and getting the ball away in contact.”
Welsh rugby is in crisis mode after a after a national record 12 straight defeats, including losses in all five of their Six Nations matches last year, but Gatland believes the situation could yet work in their favor at the Stade de France.
“We’ve spoken about the fact that ironically there is probably more pressure and expectation on them [France],” he said. “There is expectation from their fans.”
Ireland will pose a stern challenge to the chasing pack as they bid to become the first side to win the title three years in a row since the tournament was expanded to six teams in 2000.
Ireland are in an unusual position, with Simon Easterby in caretaker charge while head coach Andy Farrell is seconded to the British and Irish Lions for this year’s tour of Australia, but Easterby can call upon a seasoned squad led by captain Caelan Doris.
“He leads by example, but he’s also finding his own way to do things in his captaincy,” Easterby said of the Leinster player. “He’s definitely someone that when the big occasion comes, he steps up, and he’s proven that for Ireland and also, more recently, for Leinster.”
Ireland begin their title defense against England in Dublin tomorrow, with the visitors not having finished higher than third since being crowned Six Nations champions in 2020.
England won just five of their 12 Tests last year, but did defeat Ireland and new captain Maro Itoje believes Steve Borthwick’s men are on the verge of becoming title contenders again.
“If we play our stuff, if we are the team we believe we can be, we can win,” Itoje said. “There is not a team in this tournament that we can’t beat.”
“We know Ireland are a great team and the Aviva is a great place to play... These are the challenges that bring out the best out of myself and the team,” the 30-year-old lock said.
Scotland have become increasingly competitive under coach Gregor Townsend, but a side featuring gifted playmaker Finn Russell have sometimes sold themselves short, and they will likely need to overcome both France and Ireland if they are to win their first title of the Six Nations era.
Italy, their opponents at Murrayfield tomorrow, also helped deny Scotland a rare top-two finish with a shock 31-29 win in Rome last year.
“Losing out there is something that we were obviously very disappointed with,” Scotland’s Matt Fagerson said. “It derailed our tournament a bit.”
“Credit to Italy, they did really well at home last year, so hopefully we’re going to turn it around,” he said.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Italy’s entry into the tournament, with the Azzurri looking to build on two wins and a draw last year — their best Six Nations return — after a string of poor performances led to questions over their involvement.
“The most important thing for us is to keep improving, keep going in that direction,” Italy captain Michele Lamaro said. “There are a lot of expectations on us, now the other teams are looking at us differently.”
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