Amidst ever-stricter travel restrictions, it was uncertain whether the 2021 Six Nations would happen at all. Now, just three weeks into the tournament, it’s becoming clear that the sport, like everything else, is taking a significant hit in light of the pandemic. Specifically, controversy is catching, and it seems to be all that anyone can talk about.
Any tournament that sees the best teams going toe-to-toe is going to open a fair few doors, but reports emerging from this year’s matches are especially worrying. That might not be altogether surprising in a year where arenas are empty and anxiety is high, but in light of a particularly divisive England-Wales match, more attention is being paid to questionable tries than it is to the fact that Wales tallied their highest point score against England to date.
With more recent match suspensions coming to the fore it’s clear that the Six Nations is set to be a bumpy ride. Here, we’re going to take a quick look at a few things that have already happened to prove the impact of the pandemic on the tournament thus far.
The ‘eerie’ atmosphere of empty arenas
Usually bustling game atmospheres have this year been described as ‘eerie’ by BBC commentators. Far from playing to their best, teams are falling foul in the most obvious ways, and they aren’t the only ones. Fan reactions, too, are far from the usual jolly camaraderie, with Twitter followers over the weekend aiming particularly vitriolic abuse at referee Pascal Gauzere and presenter Sonia McLoughlan.
Game suspensions
Sunday’s planned Scotland-France match has been postponed due to sixteen positive Coronavirus tests in the French camp over the past ten days. According to the French Rugby Federation – “Following the RT-PCR tests carried out this Wednesday, February 24 in the evening, and the appearance of a positive case within the squad of players, the FFR medical committee met this morning and decided to suspend training this day.” This has come as a huge blow, especially as their performance so far has felt a bit like watching Scotland Rugby at its best. For the French team, this comes as yet another setback amidst accusations of inner breaches to covid policy across the tournament thus far.
Blame culture
Speaking of accusations, this year’s tournament also seems mired in the blame culture that’s largely setting the tone for every aspect of pandemic life this year. The French team has been especially under fire amidst accusations that Fabien Galthie breached the team bubble to watch his son play rugby. Other accusations have included players exiting their hotel to buy non-essential food, leaving fans asking whether suspensions and bonus points for competing teams are on the cards as the tournament progresses.
We all knew that the Six Nations would look different this year, but it was impossible to predict this level of disruption. Could Covid be the final whistle for rugby this season, or will the Six Nations major players prove us wrong with a Super Saturday worth waiting for?
