NFL star Peyton Manning famously said that pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what you are doing.
During the Rugby World Cup, each of the teams set to take part in the Six Nations, which starts on Saturday, failed spectacularly to deal with the intense stress they were placed under. They all have a lot to prove.
One by one, the Six Nations teams imploded at the World Cup, starting with England’s failure to make the correct penalty call against Wales at Twickenham in the pool stages.
Ireland wilted under an intense first-half onslaught from Argentina at the quarter-final stage. Wales conceded yet another late try against South Africa at the same stage. And then there was defensively porous Scotland, who never recovered from several refereeing mistakes against Australia. France and Italy delivered campaigns that were barely mentioned in dispatches.
And yet when Australia met New Zealand in the final, under the most intense pressure that the game can exert, the trans-Tasman rivals produced one of the most open finals yet seen and a record score.
From the caviar of the southern hemisphere teams in the World Cup final four, the Six Nations looms like a sodden blancmange as dessert.
Six Nations 2016: Squads, fixtures, kick-off times (UAE) and team previews
The Six Nations this year is a huge drop in grade from the beautiful yet brutally effective rugby showcased by New Zealand, but whatever the tournament lacks this season in quality, the five rounds are likely to be as compelling as ever.
All four of the home unions have coaches from the southern hemisphere. New Zealand have contributed Warren Gatland to Wales, Vern Cotter to Scotland and Joe Schmidt to Ireland. Eddie Jones, England’s new coach, hails from Australia. France’s Guy Noves is the only coach of the six born in the country of the team he presides over.
All have their theories as to why their sides made poor decisions during the World Cup, but Gatland has been the most illuminating as to why the Six Nations sides can only play when freed from the burden of expectation.
“This tournament is over so quickly,” he said. “There is a lot of pressure on coaches and teams to get results and perform.
“It’s all about winning rather than the way that you play.
“Conversely, on the final weekend last year, we saw when the shackles came off and teams had to go out and play, we saw what we are capable of doing.
“If we were able to produce that on a more consistent basis, then I think we would compete more with the southern hemisphere.”
Over the next six weeks the pressure will be there, but it will be wrapped up in tribalism and rivalries that all of the players and coaches understand.
The matches will be staged in stadiums that hold cherished and bitter memories. They start with Italy’s daunting visit to the Stade De France amid heightened security due to last year’s Paris attacks, right through to France hosting England on March 19.
In between there will be rain-sodden pitches. There will be partisan fans who sing whether their teams are winning or losing.
There are records to put right, too. Scotland, for all their new-found cutting edge in attack, have not scored a try against England at Murrayfield since Simon Danielli touched down in 2004. Ireland bid to become the first team to win the title three years in a row. France need to climb out of the doldrums. Italy must show enough grit to silence talk of relegation and promotion. Wales are rated the best team in the tournament and are considered favourites. England once again quietly believe themselves to be so.
The Six Nations is a tournament like no other, and with buoyant crowds that packed in last season to the tune of a 96 per cent attendance rate and a huge social media presence, it is more popular than ever.
The players just need to do their bit and front up.
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