Loose Pass: Six Nations review as ‘combative’ Ireland will ‘take some beating’, and Netflix series critiqued

This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with documentaries, investment and Six Nations talking points…

Documentaries

Convinced to do so by at least some of the positive reviews (and wearing a sceptical eye, having read some of the negative ones), Loose Pass sat through Netflix’s Six Nations: Full Contact last week. Belatedly, also, the Whistleblowers documentary about the referees at the World Cup also got a look. The two are incomparable in terms of quality and insight.

It’s not entirely the makers’ fault that Full Contact doesn’t quite hit the notes: it seems to be trying to hit all of them and thus hitting none properly. The rugby stars come across as refreshingly normal and generally quite humble and honest people, which is great, but it has the added effect of making them somewhat dull in terms of screen entertainment. The sheer phlegmatism of many of the protagonists means that the histrionics which makes for, erm, such compelling viewing elsewhere, and which tends to draw newbies in to at least try and understand the sport, is almost completely absent.

Also absent – and this is the biggest problem – is the lack of direct rugby experiential input. Andrew Porter and Ellis Genge talk candidly and openly about their difficult pasts, which was a highlight, but we might also like to see how both feel directly after a heavy scrum session, what they’re aiming to do to an opposite number, how they feel when a scrum goes down, how they experience scrum penalties, techniques in a line-out, or something. There was plenty to see, but precious little to learn from, meaning newcomers might have got the impression that rugby players were a little dull, while experienced rugby watchers didn’t pick up much about the actual game, save a few artistic highlight reels.

The exception to the dullness is, of course, the potty-mouthed Kieran Crowley, but there also lies a problem: he’s gone now, while the World Cup that he, and all the other stars of the show are preparing for, is also gone. As is half the Welsh team – whose story could have been the story, so to speak – but the fall-out with the WRU proved to be too sensitive to film, and that was shut down. A big shame, it could have provided an excellent context to so much around the game, but the laundry was tumble-dried in-house.

And there, for now, is the other biggest problem. There were stories, and as Italy and Scotland’s disappointments piled up, you started to find yourself gripped by that emotion at least. But for much of the series, the impression was that the best and most relevant, and at times the most fun of it all, was still being tucked away somewhere the cameras couldn’t go. Which to be fair, is mostly how rugby players like it.

Whistleblowers was not about fun. Wayne Barnes reads out the death threats sent to his wife’s account. Not his, his wife’s! Jaco Peyper tells of how his daughter occasionally needs to be removed from school because other children are calling her the names their fathers called him at the weekend. Families, and what they have to endure to support, is starkly in focus.

And from that moment on, it’s compelling. You see the work, the fitness as well as the analysis. You see the disappointment. You see the togetherness of the officials as a team. You understand that while we all would love to be the guy having the Jonny Wilkinson moment, these guys have made it their target in life to facilitate such moments, to enable the best players in the world to achieve their dreams on the day and to enable players to give us the games we want to see.

Such an interesting thing to peak behind the curtain of what it’s like for international referees.

Angus Gardner ‘Shadow Reffing’ in preparation for the World Cup.#Whistleblowers pic.twitter.com/K8Fncs7oEx

— Tight Five Rugby (@TightFive_Rugby) February 1, 2024

And most of all, you feel the fear of the mistake, exactly the same fear players in Full Contact allude to, yet you know, mistakes for these guys will have consequences for their families, not just a rollocking in the video room later. Nations will be on their backs. There are no neutrals, no team-mates around them in the moment, no nation to come together around them as it would a player.

So the documentary focuses in a way on how these guys build together a proxy nation around themselves, a sort of referee-Land, to help each other out and support. It’s outstanding watching, and anybody who does not come away examining his or her conscience when it comes to referee interactions needs a different sort of examination, to be honest.

Not the solution

Loose Pass read last week with not a little concern about the rumoured investments heading into English rugby (others are also being mooted) from the near-infamous PIF fund of Saudi Arabia.

It would not be welcomed here as it has been reported on now. Not just on the grounds that investment from this fund comes hand-in-hand with a whole host of non-rugby related clouds which categorically need further examination, but also because it would simply perpetuate the unsustainable levels of money floating around, which have already driven several clubs to ruin trying to keep up.

Rugby in England and beyond needs a properly run and regulated financial model which enables the survival of all, as the sport is just not well enough to survive without all its current protagonists being competitive at either club or international level.

Silly amounts of money skewing the field further and flawing competition further will not help this. It is incumbent on the clubs, and possibly countries, involved and on the governing bodies of competitions to keep this at the forefront of all discussions, for the good of the game.

Six Nations notes

Ireland – business as usual in terms of result. At times less slick, at times more combative, but still pushing the line at every ruck and contact, competing at every second, refusing to be cowed. They’ll take some beating.

France – Looked tired more than anything. Dan Biggar and several other commentators have noted that the Top 14 players have not had time off as the Irish players did after the World Cup; that fatigue was very apparent at times.

Wales – As bad a first half as you could wish for, but the newbies and youngsters will gain confidence from the fightback. In a season when expectations are low, this is a good thing. Critical now is to take it and use it positively against England. As well as fixing the line-out.

Scotland – Still hot and cold. Teams – lest we forget, France are up next – will have watched the game and noted how poorly Scotland defended once Wales hit their groove and started taking the game to France with pace and rhythm. They will also have noted how discipline fell away and how Ben O’Keeffe started to get visibly irritated with Finn Russell’s constant questioning.

England – Not at it yet. Glimmers were there of a more expansive game and of the skill-set that up-and-coming players can bring, but there is a lot of work needs doing on shape and patience.

Italy – Really impressive, especially around the 10-12 axis which gave England’s rush defence a tough time with some excellent decision-making in distribution. But did not adapt once England worked it out. Work to do, but a lot of positives.

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