Six Nations: What makes the tournament so special?

National World - LocalTV

The Six Nations is an enthralling rugby tournament that stems back over 100 years.  As the fierce competition rolls around annually, we’re looking into its rich history and what makes it so special with chats with a BBC Rugby Union correspondent, a Welsh rugby follower and Former England rugby player Ben Cohen.

Transcript

00:00 The Six Nations wasn't always played with six teams. It was the successor to the Home

00:07 Nations Championships, played from its debut year in 1883, which involved only four of

00:13 the countries we see play today. It then went on to be known as the Five Nations and from

00:18 the year 2000, what it is today. With such rich history and massive rivalries developed

00:23 over time by these teams, what makes it so special?

00:28 Yeah, I think for anyone in this part of the world, the Six Nations is so special. I think

00:31 for most rugby supporters growing up, your first memory of rugby is often the Six Nations.

00:37 I know the World Cup is where legends are made and broken and you know, there's an argument

00:42 you can only be a truly great team if you're in a Rugby World Cup. That comes around every

00:45 four years. The Six Nations is unique by the fact it comes around once a year. The rivalries,

00:52 the tradition, the history, everything about the Six Nations is incredibly special. I think

00:56 this year you've got four or five very, very good teams, especially Ireland and France,

01:01 the two best teams in the world. Scotland, Wales and England all maybe scrabbling for

01:04 the places. Italy resurgent. So yeah, it promises to be a special few months.

01:10 Rugby is viewed as a religion across Welsh history, with it being the nation's favourite

01:15 sport by quite a margin. So how are Wales fans feeling about their current team in the

01:21 latest tournament?

01:22 We were not, like I said, not expecting much from the Six Nations, but we've put on some

01:26 good performances so far. Really close games. We're only, what, a three point deficit or

01:30 something like that with two losses. It's not very common for rugby games to be that

01:35 close really, I would say. The Scotland game was one of the best games anyone's going to

01:41 watch in rugby. It was a game of two halves. Scotland showed their class and Wales showed

01:46 that that wasn't, that first half display wasn't Wales. Like there's more to this team,

01:51 this young team, that can go forward. And we looked like maybe should have beaten England

01:57 at times. There was a couple of opportunities to properly take it by the reins, but didn't

02:02 quite take it. But like I said, some good performances so far when we were really not

02:07 expecting much at all.

02:10 We also caught up with former England rugby icon Ben Cohen to give his thoughts on who

02:16 may come out on top this year.

02:20 A little bit probably where Ireland are at the moment, you know, hurting after that World

02:27 Cup and want to come out and win the Grand Slam, which they should challenge themselves

02:32 to do that. And I think they'll do incredibly well and win this year. England are in a complete

02:37 rebuilding phase. So everything that I've just spoke about, understanding that matrix

02:41 and stabbing yourself into that England team is what these guys now are on the journey

02:46 of.

02:47 A collection of voices that all share the same optimism and excitement for this historic

02:52 affair. The Six Nations continues to draw in millions to watch every year and the competition

02:58 continues to shine on the global stage. It's certainly an event to keep your eyes on.

03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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