S3 E15: The Six Nations launch

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This is the BBC.

SPEAKER_2 (0:03)

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SPEAKER_3 (0:09)

You're listening to BBC Sounds.

SPEAKER_5 (0:22)

Nicky Robinson, what do you make of this place?

SPEAKER_6 (0:25)

Very trendy, isn't it? Very London docks, very cold as well. Luckily some of the rooms are quite warm.

Coffee's all right. Haven't seen any bacon baps yet though.

SPEAKER_5 (0:34)

Hi folks, hi everyone. This is the Scrum V podcast with Nicky Robinson, Sean Hawley and the BBC's rugby reporter, Gareth Griffiths, in Tobacco Dock. What a venue for the Six Nations launch. It's a massive warehouse that's been converted with the stripped back walls and iron beams everywhere across the place. It's the kind of place, as Nicky Robinson would say, that's very trendy, very sophisticated. It almost feels like a venue for a Bond party chase, but it's a hive of activity this morning because not only are the coaches of the Six Nations sides here, but there's the captains as well, and they're walking around in full kit with trainers, not boots, and it's freezing cold here.

So I'd imagine pretty soon, Alun Wyn Jones, Stuart Hogg will look for a jacket to warm up a little bit, but Sean Hawley, this tells you that the Six Nations is here.

SPEAKER_7 (1:28)

It is, it's got that feel, isn't it? There's a buzz already. Every man and his dog who writes or does a podcast or TV is here, and they're all ready to ask probably the same questions, and that's why as a player or a coach, you find these things a little bit frustrating. I know Alun Wyn Jones is gonna come and wanna get out of here as quickly as possible.

He's gonna be at his grumpiest, I hope he's calmed his hair, what's left of it, but you do sense that this is the start of the real thing, isn't it?

SPEAKER_5 (1:56)

So in the film industry, it's called a junket. Generally, they hold them in a hotel somewhere, the Dorchester in London, where the film start turns up, and you will see the clips of the stars with the poster of the film in the background. Well, here's very similar. So right in front of us is one room for the broadcasters. There's Sky News, ITV, BBC. There's foreign companies as well. The producer's pointing towards who?

Owen Farrell has just turned up. I can't see him, but yeah, he's here somewhere. And another man who's here is Gareth Griffiths, a regular listener to the Scrum Fight podcast. We'll know that this is a man who has dressed down Friday where he doesn't wear a tie.

And Gareth, you are the only man in this postcode wearing a tie today.

SPEAKER_2 (2:40)

What's happened to the world?

SPEAKER_8 (2:40)

Well, it's Wednesday, isn't it?

SPEAKER_6 (2:42)

I think we're driving the car, that's right. We'll give you the hat if you're fine, then.

SPEAKER_2 (2:47)

What's happened to the world?

SPEAKER_5 (2:48)

What's happened to the standards of professional journalism, Gareth? I don't know.

SPEAKER_8 (2:51)

Go back 10, 15 years, everyone was wearing a shirt and tie and now it's shirt, jeans. I just kind of bided.

SPEAKER_5 (2:56)

What are the questions to be asked today? Because you're the man in the hot seat today. We're going to be milling around recording the Scrum 5 TV show for Sunday, Scrum 5 Special. So you're the man doing the interviews.

Lucky and fortunate if you'd like, because hopefully you get the Welsh coaches and players early. Otherwise, you're going to be at interview number 25 or something.

SPEAKER_8 (3:17)

Well, exactly, and as Sean said, everyone's trying to think of a different question to ask. I suppose just from a bit of housekeeping from the Welsh point of view, we haven't heard from any sort of medical updates since we've started, since they joined together.

So just to see how fit the players are, Lewis, Rhys, Amit and everything like that. But then it's just about, especially in the Welsh perspective, it's about the tournament itself. Alun Wyn Jones got into his 14th Six Nations tournament.

Wayne Pivac, his first, this will be the first experience you had of this, because Warren Gatland and Rob Howley, who did a couple when Warren was away with the Lions, has been at this event. Only two coaches here last year, so it's a big change from the World Cup, Eddie Jones and Gregor Townsend. So new faces and new questions to answer for these guys.

SPEAKER_6 (3:55)

Can I just say, go on, Fabian Galtor. Who are you looking at?

SPEAKER_7 (3:59)

France have won it already. He's won the coach award.

SPEAKER_5 (4:02)