Six Nations victories alone won’t cure European blues, says Warren Gatland

The latest edition of the Six Nations Championship, Europe’s elite international competition, begins February 6 amid much soul-searching in northern hemisphere rugby union.

Last year’s Rugby World Cup was the first time no European side had made it into the semi-finals of the showpiece tournament, with the last four places filled by eventual champions New Zealand, runners-up Australia, South Africa and Argentina.

Given there had been calls for Argentina to be included in the Six Nations before they joined the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, the performance of the Pumas at the World Cup was a particularly salutary lesson for European rugby chiefs.

It was hard to imagine the way Argentina added to their traditionally forward-dominated approach with enterprising back-play had they become the seventh “European” nation rather than joining their fellow World Cup semi-finalists in the Rugby Championship.

Wales coach Warren Gatland said that if Europe wanted to get back on terms it might have to put Six Nations results in a more long-term perspective, with defeats viewed as part of a process towards building teams better able to compete on the global stage.

But Gatland, whose association with the Six Nations dates back to his first involvement as Ireland coach in 1998, knew that was easier said than done.

“There is no doubt there is some absolute quality in the Rugby Championship,” the New Zealander said Wednesday at the official launch of this year’s Six Nations.

“We have seen that and we can’t argue with that in terms of the World Cup.