The 6 Nations is the greatest annual tournament in the world.
End of.
But is it coming at a bit of a sacrifice for our leagues that the faithful fan still turns out for every week when they can't afford tickets for the internationals?
Now if you're a fan of a lower table club then maybe this post is a little irrelevant. And if you are a fan of a higher table club which is doing well throughout the 6 Nations period then you may think I'm wrong too. But to be frank, that's half of the fun of doing these posts; to irritate someone somewhere.
So... where am I going with this.
Imagine you're a fan of Northampton, Leicester, Saracens, Bath etc... You have an abundance of quality players, plenty of which are internationals.
When the squad announcement is made you see 5 or 6 of your club's players being selected for their respective nation.
It feels great. You fill up with pride that one of your own is going out onto the world stage and prove why he plays, in your eyes, for the greatest club in the country, world, universe...
But then they scamper of to leafy Surrey for the England camp and you sit there thinking, 'wait, so if they're playing for them, then what about... oh bollocks'.
You turn up on the Saturday and you look at your club's line-up and you realise that it's much, much weaker than it usually is. You have players coming in that aren't tested as much or bench players that are good impact subs but only that. Then you look at the opposition, a club in the bottom three of the table, for example, and they have a fully fit, well gelled squad with maybe 1 or 2 players missing, if that. They come out, play like a team that know each other's ins and outs, play you round the park and present to you why your bench players were only just good enough for that. You then return home to see that your lads from the week before are walking out Murrayfield, Twickenham, The Aviva Stadium etc and they play like the little legends you know they are. So then you drink a beer to get over the 'surprising' loss to the team fighting relegation as you slip to 3rd or 4th and think, 'maybe this isn't such a good thing.'
Been there? Of course you have! It's gut-wrenching, frustrating but worst of all understandable. You take an extra large gulp of the good stuff, sit back and realise you have another month of unpredictable results which usually, with a full strength squad, you could bet your house on winning.
So, is this anyone's fault?
Well... it's hard to say really.
The players certainly aren't to blame as they've worked hard to get to the test stage. The management have picked the best men for the job. The RFUs have made sure the best players are available. The clubs have bought the best players for their clubs.
So surely it's not fair on the clubs who buy well?
Well... again it's hard to say.
It does give the lower league clubs a little bit more of a chance and certainly makes it more competitive.
You could also argue that the bigger clubs should be able to weather the storm and have the resources to keep on competing.
But in my eyes, a fan of a certain 'higher' club, it is something that maybe should be addressed.
For example, why doesn't the RFU start the season a little earlier and make the 6 Nations period a 'break' period? That way the players can patch up for the second half of the season and refuel. Then, when the 6 Nations finishes the break ends and the league gets back underway.
Everyone will say that they want their respective nation to win, no matter what. It's spine tingling hearing your national anthem being blasted out by 70,000 fans and seeing them win against a national rival. But we all, mostly, have a club we hold dearly too. And to see them become weak due players missing is horrible.
Is it impossible to have a 6 Nations without a weakened league and should it just be accepted or is there a way around it?
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