No to relegation, no to stadium roofs and no apology needed

We're two rounds into the 2022 Six Nations, so here are six takeaways from the action so far.

Time to stop the relegation talk

With every defeat that Italy suffer - they’re up to 34 now - the calls come out for them to be relegated and Georgia to be given their chance at the top level.

Unfortunately the reality is the only chance they would get is an opportunity to lose every game and go back down again.

Italy are some way short of the level of the other Six Nations contenders, but they are still a cut above the tier below- which bears the clumsy title of the Rugby Europe International Championship - and the simple fact is there is nowhere to slot them in.

Inclusion rather than exclusion must be the way forward and 2020’s Autumn Nations Cup offers a sound blueprint - promote Georgia and Romania into an eight-team tournament across two seeded pools with playoffs at the end to offer a fair mix of challenges and a winnable match.

The Six Nations carries so much history but evolution - from four to five then six teams - has been part of that history and nothing is set in stone.

Discipline is part of the game

The Six Nations and Rugby World Cup pick up a huge number of casual viewers who are so often left baffled by the stream of penalties that can decide matches.

“Don’t they know the rules?” is a constant complaint when a player is pinged for holding on to the ball on the ground or joining a ruck incorrectly.

It’s useful to have top referee Nigel Owens in the commentary box to explain what has happened. But what is even better is when an ex-international back-row forward such as Sam Warburton is there to heap praise on the player who has shown the strength and technique to leave his opponent with no choice but to concede a penalty.

Teams who give away penalties often end up losing the game, so it follows that teams who can force them find themselves on the winning side.

Rugby is an outdoor game

The first weekend’s matches were all rain-affected, and when Wales hosted Scotland at a rain-soaked Principality Stadium they weren’t even allowed to close the roof because of Covid rules.

It didn’t matter one bit. All the action was exciting, the weather added another random dimension and to the tension of the occasion, and surely no spectators could have claimed they were denied a thrilling spectacle by the conditions.

Injuries increasingly taking their toll

Wales started the Six Nations as defending champions but also 16-1 outsiders to retain their title, in large part due to the number of injuries they were carrying.

England then started the tournament without first-choice fly-half Owen Farrell, and Ireland suffered a similar loss before their second game against France, drifting from 11-10 to 2-1 after talisman Jonny Sexton was forced out of the game.

The excellent form of Marcus Smith as Farrell’s replacement has probably more than compensated for England’s injury loss but Wales and Ireland in particular are having a lack of depth in their squad exposed just a year out from the Rugby World Cup.

No apology needed from Luke Cowan-Dickie

In round one’s Calcutta Cup showdown a deliberate knock-on from England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie resulted in a penalty try for Scotland, who then kicked the winning penalty while the offending player was in the sin bin.

Cowan-Dickie took to Twitter the next day to apologise for his actions and for letting down his teammates and fans.

It was an honest, brave and no doubt well-intentioned thing to do, but I hope it is not something that catches on. Apologising for bad behaviour, off-the-field misdemeanours or social media gaffes is one thing, but what happens within the game is another.

We only have to look back at the abuse directed at Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final to remember that players are human and face unique pressures on a big stage in front of millions.

It’s a sad thing, but when a player holds his hands up it could strengthen the belief of those who think it’s okay to hold individuals to account, and in the case of England’s Euro stars, to do so in an unacceptable way.

And if you’re having just one bet ...

It’s what everyone wants - the surefire thing, the bet that never loses. And of course it doesn’t exist.

But if it’s five minutes to kick-off, you haven’t done your homework but you want just a small interest at a reasonable price - and as long as Italy aren’t playing - try backing the home team to win by one to 12 points.

It’s a bet that would have copped in three of the four matches not involving the Azzurri this year, at odds of between 6-4 and 2-1. And if you go back over the last two seasons, ten of the 20 matches not featuring Italy, would have produced a winner.

England against Scotland in round one and then Scotland in Cardiff in round two were both beaten as away favourites so home advantage can’t be ignored, and tight margins are a product of such a fiercely-contested tournament.

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