The RBS 6 Nations - Media Launch

As dawn broke and the sun rose, South West London readied itself for the first International Rugby event of the year, the RBS 6 Nations Launch. The venue for the launch was the Hurlingham Club, a beautifully situated, luxurious venue, befitting of such a prestigious and historic tournament. From the home nations' press officers to journalists from all forms of media the club was filled with people, all eager to preview the 2015 tournament. As we all know the RBS 6 Nations remains one of the most hotly anticipated competitions of them all and in a World Cup Year, like everything rugby related, the anticipation is greater than ever before. 

Last year's Champions Ireland have been given the title of 'the favourites' going into the day however that title was something that 'was news' to Joe Schdmit as he shared; 

'Being labelled favourite or otherwise is something that we were unaware of until this morning. We've had a couple of days preparation and for us 'favourites' is a distraction because it is somebody's speculation of what might happen across 5 games.’

That said the upward trajectory of the Irish National side cannot be ignored and that is largely down to Joe's influence however the man himself made it all sound so easy when he said that his task of his side is simply to 'try to get a little bit better at what you are doing, each time that you do it’.  

The newest member the RBS 6 Nations family is Scotland's Head Coach Vern Cotter and I asked him what he was looking forward to from the tournament and crucially what his expectations are for his side; 

'First of all I'm slightly nervous, but really looking forward to it because I think that the players have a real desire to do well in this competition and to surprise a couple of teams. On a personal level I'm looking forward to this competition because it is going to be tough, we are going to find out a lot more about ourselves and that will help us moving forwards.'

Having not interviewed Vern before I was hugely impressed by him, when he speaks you listen, his nickname in France as revealed by Joe Schdmit is 'Les Yex des Glaces' - Eyes of Ice and he is a man that commands respect. For Scotland this tournament is about surprising and translating their resurgence in domestic competition into the National Circuit. Scotland want to 'play out of their shells' and ultimately gain results. 

From an Italian perspective Mr Italy himself Sergio Parisse took the lead. Italy's record in the competition isn't glittering however their focus is simple; 'to be as competitive as possible'. Sergio is one of the greats of the game and his fitness and presence is a huge boost for the entire side. Equally the introduction of physical and accurate fly half Kelly Haimona could be the making of them. In short, the desire for Italy is to play every game 'with the ambition of winning'. The Azzuri must not shy away, they must go for it and then see what happens. 

The first question addressed to France's Head Coach Philippe Saint-André was a simple one; what can we expect from France this Six Nations? His answer was delivered with a glint in his eye and a smile on his face; 'We don't know... to be honest I don't know!' Philippe shared that France will be looking to continue playing with tempo, he highlighted that he has 'a squad of young players that like to play with the ball in hand and attack games' and if they do that who knows what we will see from France this year, even with three games away from home.

Warren Gatland and Sam Warburton looked relaxed and confident as they discussed the forthcoming Championship, Warren openly said that Wales are 'in a healthy position' going into this tournament and that is a position that all involved with England Rugby will envy. The Welsh side are fairly settled in terms of the personnel in their squad so I asked Warren whether he would look to this tournament to test any combinations should injuries strike later in the year. His answer was clear 'this tournament is only about winning, there are points and a lot of prestige at stake.' In short that mean no!

Last but by no means least I turn the spotlight onto Chris Robshaw and Stuart Lancaster. From an English perspective it has been a tough few days with the injuries hitting the squad and I asked Stuart just how disruptive it is having such a full hospital wing; 

'It doesn't disrupt as much as you'd perceive from the outside, however clearly it does mean that you are slightly reactive rather than proactive in terms of your selection process. We've got a big squad and we've had a lot of players in camp over the past year, two years, so a lot of players are up to speed already which helps.'

England haven't truly delivered in the RBS 6 Nations for a number of years and Stuart was honest about how much of a driver this is for the squad; 

'I don’t think that anyone has a divine right to stamp any authority on the competition, you’ve got to earn the right to do it. We are frustrated that we haven’t nailed down that Championship win, we were very close last year, very close the year before and even in my first year in that interim role so it does burn inside us and we are motivated by that.' 

Round 1 of the RBS 6 Nations Championship starts in just over a week's time and those opening fixtures mean everything to the 6 teams in the competition. Momentum was highlighted by all of the nations as a critical success factor and at this point in time there aren't any thoughts about Triple Crowns, Championships or even Grand Slams instead the focus is on the here and now. 

Today's launch reminded me just how special this tournament is, it is the competition that captures hearts off of the home nations and ignites old rivalries and with a few days to go before the first whistle is blown I'm confidently predicting that the 2015 Championship will be one of the best competition's that we have seen, perhaps ever.