The news broke last Monday, the day after his jaw. France fly-half and World Rugby’s Breakthrough Men’s Player of the Year for 2019 Romain Ntamack needed an operation on a double fracture sustained during Toulouse’s Christmas weekend win over Bordeaux.

He will be out for six to eight weeks. Assuming the Six Nations goes ahead as scheduled and currently formatted, which is far from guaranteed given the current health and lockdown situations across competing countries, he will miss the tournament opener against Italy in Rome on February 6 and in all likelihood the trip to Dublin set to follo...