Winning the Six Nations is noot about talent alone… Every Six Nations campaign reminds us of the same uncomfortable truth. Having exceptional players is not enough.
International rugby is not a talent show. It is a systems test. The difference between a team that flatters to deceive and a team that delivers, year after year, often sits off the pitch. It sits in leadership, coaching clarity, and the quality of the backroom environment.
France offers one of the clearest modern examples of how this works.
For decades, French rugby was a paradox. Endless depth, natural flair, physicality across the park, and yet performances that swung wildly from sublime to baffling. Selection felt inconsistent. Discipline wobbled. Structure appeared optional. The players were never the issue. The framework was.
What changed was not the existence of talent. It was how that talent was organised, trusted, and supported.
Strong head coaching is not about barking orders or reinventing the game. It is about creating a clear identity that players understand instantly. When players know exactly what the team stands for, what their role is, and how success is measured, performance becomes repeatable. France’s recent consistency has come from clarity. Defensive identity is clear. Attacking ambition is structured rather than chaotic. Selection choices make sense within a wider plan, even when individual decisions spark debate.
Equally important is the coaching staff around the head coach. Elite teams are no longer driven by one voice. They are driven by aligned expertise. Defence, attack, conditioning, analysis, psychology, and discipline all feed into one coherent message. When that alignment exists, players are not pulled in five directions. They are freed to play.
The influence of specialist coaching is especially visible in defence. Defence is not just about aggression. It is about spacing, trust, communication, and decision making under fatigue. When defensive systems are drilled properly, players look calmer, not tighter. They recover faster after mistakes and this is really key. They also concede fewer soft penalties. That calmness bleeds into attack. Confidence travels.
France’s occasional wobbles are often cited as proof that nothing has really changed. In reality, I believe that those wobbles prove the opposite. Every international side dips. What matters is how quickly they stabilise. France no longer collapse after a poor half or a controversial call. They adjust. That is a coaching hallmark.
The Six Nations is brutal because margins are tiny. One poor restart. One misread defensive pattern. One lapse in discipline. When those moments are repeated, they point to preparation and messaging rather than effort or passion. Players at this level all care. What varies is how well they are equipped.
This is where some nations quietly struggle. They are never short of commitment. They are often rich in individual quality. What they lack is cohesion across the coaching structure. When the vision is unclear, selection feels reactive. Some players are excluded for reasons that baffle a lot of us… Game plans shift week to week. Players hesitate for half a second, and at this level half a second is fatal.
France shows what happens when leadership is settled and trusted. Players buy in. Even our mega critical fans have bought in; singing “La Marseillaise acapella has replaced booing. Even criticism becomes background noise because the direction of travel is obvious.
Winning the Six Nations is not about finding better players. Every country already has them. It is about building an environment where those players can be consistently good, not occasionally brilliant.
That is not glamorous work. It does not trend on social media. But it is how championships are built.
Allez Les Chardons aujourd’hui… de tout coeur avec vous!
