There was a curious quirk to the start of the Six Nations that relates to last year’s British and Irish Lions tour. On that trip to Australia, Andy Farrell named nine different players to start in his back three, but for the opening round of this year’s championship, not a single one of those individuals wore jerseys 11, 14 or 15 for their nation.
A couple were injured: Ireland’s Hugo Keenan and Mack Hansen. Two were benched: Darcy Graham of Scotland and England’s Marcus Smith. Duhan van der Merwe, Elliot Daly, James Lowe and Blair Kinghorn were all deemed surplus to requirements. Which leaves only Tommy Freeman as an outlier – an England starter against Wales, but at outside centre, as he extended his streak of scoring in seven consecutive Six Nations games.
