England experience Six Nations dip as ‘leggy Lions’ feel the strain

One of the most interesting sequences in sport is threatening to repeat itself yet again. Every four years, during the Six (or Five) Nations season immediately following a British and Irish Lions tour, it is as if lead weights have been attached to the legs of one nation and restorative oxygen pumped into the dressing-rooms of the rest.

Spot the common theme in the following list of champions in post-Lions years since the late 1960s: France, Wales, no winner, Wales, Wales, France, Scotland, Scotland, Wales, France, France, France, France, Ireland. It is necessary to spool back 55 years to the icy early months of 1963 to find the last time England won a title in the wake of a Lions trip. Should Eddie Jones’s squad successfully defend the crown they have won for the last two seasons, they will be bucking a serious trend.

If it is entirely a coincidence, it is certainly a remarkable one. France have clearly profited in the past against opposing teams full of “leggy” Lions but for Wales, Ireland and Scotland to harvest seven titles in the years in question without England winning once suggests other factors must be involved. Either way, with Ireland potentially one big weekend win over Scotland away from clinching the 2018 championship a week early, the same old story could shortly be retold.

Latterly, without a doubt, the uncommonly relentless demands of the Premiership have played a part. Maro Itoje was a huge Test star in New Zealand last summer but it felt strange to see him playing four games for Saracens on the opening four weekends of an achingly long domestic season. Despite sitting out the Argentina Test in the autumn and enduring a lay-off over Christmas with a broken jaw, it should not be a total surprise he is not presently looking his freshest. His normally dynamic team-mate Mako Vunipola has also gone quiet. Other key English Lions such as Anthony Watson, Elliot Daly, Ben Te’o and Ben Youngs have had enforced injury absences; the best England forward has been Joe Launchbury, who was not chosen for the Lions adventure.



Source: theguardian

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