We can’t afford a weak Six Nations

There was a ray of sunshine for the Lions this week when their preparations for the 2025 tour of Australia were given a boost.

It came with the announcement that the URC had finally been joined by the Premiership in bringing its final forward a week to give the Lions a modicum of preparation time before their departure.

Premiership intransigence on fixture schedules has been an obstacle for the Lions for almost 25 years, but at least they have finally seen the light. Before the 2017 and 2021 Lions tours the Premiership insisted on scheduling its final on the weekend before the opening tour match, causing significant logistical difficulties as jetlagged players joined them last-minute.

However, good news for the Lions has been offset by the bad news for the 2024 Six Nations that France's box-office captain, Antoine Dupont, is expected to miss the annual showpiece so that he can join the France Sevens squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Apparently, scrum-half Dupont is expected to play in the World Sevens Series, which runs from December through to early June, with tournaments held in Dubai, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Madrid.

An alternative view is that a player of Dupont's world-class ability should not need seven months to adapt to the abbreviated code, and that a two month switch to play in the Six Nations – leaving him five months of sevens preparations – is a reasonable compromise.

The Six Nations cannot afford to lose star quality, especially with the RFU diminishing it by excluding French-based players like Joe Marchant and Jack Willis from the England squad. Add the loss to sevens of Dupont, and possibly Damian Penaud and Sekou Macalou, from the France Six Nations squad, and it is not a good look for Europe's flagship rugby union event.