The Six Nations is right around the corner, but it has even bigger implications this year with the British and Irish Lions tour on the horizon this summer.
Donning the famous red jersey is the highest honour in the British Isles, and the Six Nations prior to the tour can essentially make or break a player’s chances of joining the esteemed list of tourists.
This Championship has already given head coach Andy Farrell some sleepless nights, namely with almost bolted-on starters Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Furlong on the physio table before it’s even begun, but he will be keeping a keen eye on events throughout the next two months.
Here, Planet Rugby breaks down the key players who have a point to prove this Six Nations if they want to get into Farrell’s plans for the summer.
Huw Jones
The aforementioned injury to Tuipulotu does some serious damage to the Scotland backline already, but it now leaves partner-in-crime Huw Jones with a massive point to prove this Six Nations – that he can shine without him. For years now, ‘Huwipulotu’ has been at the very heart of Scotland’s attacking revolution, with the pair’s telepathic understanding of each other simply working wonders, but now Jones will have to go it alone.
There’s no doubting Jones is a sensational player, but in recent outings without the powerful number 12 next to him he has been a tad quieter – take Glasgow’s Champions Cup loss to Harlequins as an example of this – and that doesn’t bode well for his Lions chances. You’d think, with Tuipulotu fit, that Jones is in a better position to start at 13, but now he needs to show he can step out of the shadow and be Huw, not just one part of the ‘Huwipulotu’ double-act.
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Ollie Lawrence
The midfield will likely be decided when Ireland play Scotland, with Jones facing off against fellow front-runners Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw, but England man Ollie Lawrence could get himself into that conversation with a good campaign.
The Bath man has been limited to a role that simply doesn’t suit him at Test level, both in terms of his actual style of play and positionally, but if Steve Borthwick actually uses him in a way that works it could easily push him into the Lions conversation. Lawrence is such a powerful ball carrier, and would add a real point of difference to that 13 shirt should he get the nod, and that would certainly cause the Wallabies issues in the summer too.
Marcus Smith
You feel Marcus Smith already has one foot on the plane to Australia this summer – in what would be his second Lions tour – but if he has a good Six Nations he could very easily be the starting fly-half.
The big question mark hanging over Smith to date is if he can fully grab the bull by the horns and drag England over the line in tight games, but with reports in the English press suggesting he will start at fly-half again this Six Nations you’d hope the whole system is built for him to succeed. If he can get England winning big games again, Farrell will face some sleepless nights over his number 10 slot.
Jac Morgan
Again, he’s arguably already pushed himself into Farrell’s thoughts, but if he can help turn Wales around then he could easily be named skipper this summer. It’ll be a big ask to leapfrog Caelan Doris – Farrell’s chosen man with Ireland – but yet if he can leave his mark on the Welsh squad this Six Nations and get them winning again then there’s no reason he can’t do it for the Lions.
Scottish wingers
There is a genuine possibility that the Lions backline this summer could have a very Scottish feel about it, but wingers Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham probably have the best chance of featuring if they have a good Championship.
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Wing is an incredibly open spot for the Lions tour right now, even with the sheer number of players vying for a spot, but if they can get the Scottish attack purring once again it will boost their chances massively. When they get it right, this duo are simply unstoppable, so they need to get to that level.
Tightheads, tightheads, tightheads
As mentioned above, Furlong is once again out of action, which should prick the ears of Zander Fagerson and Will Stuart ahead of the summer. Fagerson is arguably ahead of Stuart at the time of writing, but both men will be looking to continue their impressive scrummaging form from the autumn this Six Nations in an attempt to leave a good impression.
One thing both men will need to show is work around the park too, which you get in bucketfuls with Furlong, but again they are showing serious improvements in this department.
Bolters
As always, there will be a few potential bolters looking to give their chances a boost this Six Nations, but the two most likely names this time around are Wales’ Dafydd Jenkins and England’s Asher Opoku-Fordjour.
Jenkins faces stern competition from the likes of Joe McCarthy, James Ryan and Maro Itoje to get himself on the plane, but his workhorse approach to the game is such a valuable thing to have and could do some serious damage to the Wallabies if called upon. He is also already showing major leadership skills, which could attract Farrell.
Onto Opoku-Fordjour, there is genuinely no reason he won’t get a call-up this summer – even if he is new to the Test arena. As mentioned above, there is a spot up for grabs at tighthead, and he has already shown he can mix it with the best in this department. Yes, the Six Nations will be a whole new kettle of fish for him to deal with, but if he performs to the level we know he can then Farrell could easily take a look at him. His ability to play both sides of the scrum is also a huge tick in his box too.
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