Six Nations lacking some star power as Europe’s top rugby teams reset in new World Cup cycle

One top player is trying to make it to the NFL. Another is preparing for the Olympic Games. Another is taking time out to protect his mental health.

Oh, and a few more are either no longer playing international rugby or have quit the game completely.

The Six Nations will lack some star power over the next two months as the northern hemisphere’s top rugby countries collide in the 130th edition.

It all kicks off on Friday with a blockbuster in Marseille between France and Ireland, Europe’s top two nations in the world ranking — at Nos. 4 and 2, respectively — and coming off the disappointment of failing to reach the Rugby World Cup final three months ago. Ireland again didn’t advance beyond the quarterfinals, losing to New Zealand, while host France was beaten in the quarters by eventual champion South Africa.

When the teams run out at Stade Velodrome, there will be some noticeable absentees.

Like Antoine Dupont, the France scrumhalf and, for many, the best player in the world. He is sitting out the Six Nations because he feels he needs time to adapt to the sevens format ahead of playing at the Olympics in Paris.

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As for defending champion Ireland, it’s the start of a new era without Jonathan Sexton, the team’s long-time captain and record point-scorer who retired after the World Cup. The team will be led by Peter O’Mahony — one of five newly appointed captains in this Six Nations — but will no doubt miss the excellence of Sexton, the master conductor.

Twenty-four hours later, England — with confidence restored perhaps after defying grisly pre-World Cup predictions by reaching the semifinals — will open its campaign against Italy without captain Owen Farrell, its most high-profile and scrutinized player. Farrell chose to take a break from the national team to “prioritize his and his family’s mental well-being,” a decision that highlighted the trauma that some players, coaches and even referees face in the glare of international rugby.

Later that Saturday, Wales hosts Scotland without its most explosive back, Louis Rees-Zammit, who shocked his rugby-mad country by announcing hours before the Welsh announced their squad that he was quitting the sport to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL. With 14 tries in 31 internationals, the winger was one of the players Warren Gatland hoped to build his new-look team around.

Not anymore.

The start of a new World Cup cycle can often throw up these storylines, with teams maybe resetting under a new coach — as is the case with Italy, now led by Gonzalo Quesada — or a new captain or a much-changed set of players.

It makes picking a potential tournament winner that bit harder, though it may be hard to stop the victor in the France-Ireland curtainraiser from going all the way.

The Irish have three home matches after that, with the only other road game coming against England in Round 4. It’s a mixed schedule for the team coached by Andy Farrell, whose recent hiring as the British and Irish Lions coach for the 2025 tour of Australia means he won’t be involved in next year’s Six Nations.

The French also have three home games, welcoming Italy in Round 3 and England in Round 5, and it remains to be seen if playing its home matches away from the Stade de France in Paris — the venue is out of bounds while undergoing modifications for the Olympics — has any effect.

Scotland’s boys in blue are dangerous outsiders once again, having surprised in finishing third last year — only to fail to get out of its admittedly tough World Cup pool that contained Ireland and the Springboks.

Who knows what to expect of the Welsh, not only shorn of Rees-Zammit but also without a slew of long-time stars such as Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny — all of whom have quit international rugby since the last Six Nations.

And England supporters will be demanding more after placing fifth, third and fourth in the last three Six Nations, a paltry return for the world’s richest union.

The old competition has been given some welcome publicity in the lead-up to the opening weekend, with streaming service Netflix having released “Six Nations: Full Contact” — a fly-on-the-wall documentary of the 2023 tournament — this week.

That edition was laced with pre-World Cup narrative, whereas it feels like there’s a blank canvas this time round. It makes what’s about to unfold all the more interesting.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby