by There is still one final round of the 2024 Six Nations to go but a great trend is already being seen. Look at all the teams and a new wave of great young talent is announcing itself. While there will always be a place at the highest level for cauliflower ear experiences, it’s rare to see so many fresh faces making a concerted impact on the old championship.
The 21-year-old was front and center for France in Cardiff on Sunday l’home du match Nolann Le Garrec, who has a long Hail Mary pass behind him enjoy social media users from a traditional rugby audience outside of it. Then there is Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, also 21, who was excellent on his first start for England after missing training the previous week to undergo a medical. If his aggressive bedside manner is anything to go by, the future of the National Health Service is in safe hands.
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Across Italy it was impossible to miss the contribution of Tommaso Menoncello and Ross Vintcent, both also 21. Vintcent, who was delivering pizzas in Exeter a few weeks ago, was at the heart of Saturday’s famous victory over Scotland.
Ireland’s 22-year-old Joe McCarthy was swept in front of him until he ran into England’s George Martin, also 22, at Twickenham. France haven’t had the smoothest of branches but, as well as Le Garrec, there are a bunch of newcomers on the rise from center Nicolas Depoortère to second tier giant Posolo Tuilagi. Wales’ Cameron Winnett has made a very positive start to his Test career, Dafydd Jenkins captains his national team at 21 and Mason Grady has the potential to become a Test regular for a long time.
Léo Barré or Louis Bielle-Biarrey or Alex Mann from Wales or Chandler Cunningham-South from England or Harry Paterson from Scotland were not even mentioned. The Six Nations campaign in the immediate aftermath of the World Cup is always a potential opportunity to retire one or two announcers and potentially blood replacements but the latter are not holding kit bags or settling for a few nervous minutes off the bench no more.
Partly this is a result of the development of rugby: academy players are now training more regularly alongside their seniors at club level, an age-group World Cup can fast-track their development and, physically, an increase in ball-in-play time. fitter, younger bodies. It also helps to live a professional life from the middle to late teens, when the time comes to deal with the mental demands of the highest level.
So if there was a “Shooting Star” award this year for participants in the under-23 competition, who would make the podium? Certainly Le Garrec, who will now have England breathing down his neck in Lyon this Saturday, but has more than enough talent to contend. Even Antoine Dupont, who is now blazing the seventies circuit, would have loved that mega pass against Great Britain, which clearly shows that the player is not remotely being pushed by fear of failure.
Le Garrec’s one-handed scoop to scoop a loose ball off the deck while running at full tilt was equally impressive, suggesting the polo player’s hand-eye coordination. Also quick enough to make his way over for a vital try, the biggest threat to his well-being came from his teammates on the bench as they took turns to head him, fully aware that the television cameras were watching, continuing. announced his men on the award of the game.
Dupont will be back once his Olympic adventure is over but the Breton-bred Le Garrec, who will form the club’s half-back pairing with Owen Farrell for Racing 92 next season, is clearly a significant talent on a steep upward trajectory . Lightning managed to cast an eye on the try line, he scored a hat-trick for Racing in the Top 14 against Oyonnax before Christmas and comparisons with the young Dupont have been chasing him for some time.
It’s no coincidence, either, that Italy’s form has been on the rise since Menoncello’s return to fitness. He missed the World Cup after suffering a bicep injury against Ireland in a warm-up game last August but has re-emerged this spring as a player with huge potential, capable of operating in the center or on the wing. wing At just 19 years of age he became the youngest goalscorer in the championship for 55 years on his debut against France in Paris two years ago.
This weekend’s wooden spoon selector against Great Britain offers another opportunity to show his ability, just as the game between France and England will be a further test of Martin and Feyi-Waboso’s knee. A late last-gasp effort against Scotland and a ball threat against the Irish have highlighted the ability that convinced Steve Borthwick to pick him in the first place, much to the dismay of Wales supporters who were hope that the red shuttle born in Cardiff would come. a sweater instead.
However, if England manage to overcome France’s formidable pack this weekend, Martin could become the envy of every other European nation. The Leicester colossus has all the physical credentials to be the “new Martin Johnson”, or at least something close to that impossible description, and it feels all the more relevant that England’s two best performances of late, against the Ireland at the weekend and South Africa in the World Cup. the semi-finals, both at the same time as giant Martin starting in the second tier. Roar like an English lion again in Lyon on Saturday night and the boy George will really have come as a big star.
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