One day, one room in the heart of Edinburgh, one gathering of the captains of the Six Nations teams, taking questions from the media.
But what to ask the six skippers, from France’s idolised scrum-half Antoine Dupont to beleagured Wales’s Dewi Lake?
“Who do you think will win the Six Nations?” seemed too obvious, with a risk of evasive action, even from these great warriors of the rugby field.
So we went with: “If you could pick a player from one of the other Six Nations teams and add him to your squad, who would it be, and why?”
Caelan Doris (Ireland)
“I’m sure everyone is saying Antoine Dupont,” says the Ireland back-rower, once we have got the commiserations for the injury that ruled him out of last year’s Lions tour out of the way.
France’s Antoine Dupont was a popular choice, but plenty of others were selected (Photo: AFP)Well, yes and no, Caelan. They ARE all saying that, but they are also each nominating someone else. It’s known as second-guessing!
“So I’ll give you a slightly different answer,” Doris says. “I’d go with Thibaud Flament. I’ve been very impressed with what he’s done with Toulouse in France over the last number of years.
“He’s a very good footballer, an unbelievable athlete, and he can cover second row and back row. So a bit of versatility there. We’re fortunate in Ireland that we’re well covered there too. But why not throw him in our mix.”
Doris adds the poignant detail that Flament, 28, is missing France’s opening Six Nations match against Ireland because it clashes with his wife’s fertility treatment – and you sense this has increased Doris’s warm feeling towards him.
Thibaud Flament would line up in Irish green if Caelan Doris had his way (Photo: Getty)As for Dupont, Doris says: “France play quite an unpredictable, attacking style of rugby. They try to keep the ball alive quite a bit, and he’s been central to that in the past. I describe him as one of those little fish you try and touch and they dart away. So defending him in twos and threes is going to be important.”
Jamie George (England)
A smile and half a grimace from George, who at 35 years old has been a fixture on the Six Nations block since 2016 and is covering here for England captain Maro Itoje.
“I hate that question, because you have to drop someone else!” he says. “I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll take Dan Sheehan from Ireland, and I’ll give myself the boot!”
No, no, Jamie – really, you can add, without taking away. But seeing as you’re on Sheehan, what are his qualities?
“I felt really lucky to have worked with him on last year’s Lions tour and watched him operate. He’s a young player, but equally he’s got a lot of experience of big games, for Leinster in the Champions Cup and for Ireland.
Jamie George would pick Dan Sheehan to replace himself in the England front row (Photo: Getty)“He is so very gifted, athletically, and his set-piece is brilliant. But mainly, his feel and understanding of the game impressed me a lot. He’s world-class.”
Sheehan loves to occupy the wide channels in Ireland’s system. Are you jealous of his pace?
“I am jealous of everyone’s pace at the minute,” says George, with another smile.
Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)
Scotland’s Australian-born centre is always chirpy, and he doesn’t miss a beat in plucking a prop from England to be a red rose among the thistles.
“I’ll take Ellis Genge,” says Tuipulotu. “For his play style, but also for his personality. He’s a good man off the field.”
You got to know him on the Lions tour?
“Yeah, a really good man. I got along with him a lot, to be honest – spent a lot of time with him off the field, and he’s just a funny bloke, a good personality.”
Sione Tuipulotu was impressed by Ellis Genge on last summer’s Lions tour (Photo: Getty)And his “play style” – how would you describe that?
“They call him ‘the rhino’, don’t they? He’s certainly been playing like that recently. So we’ll have to try and tame the big rhino.”
Dupont’s name crops up here, too, as the scrum-half played for his club Toulouse in a recent defeat away to Tuipulotu’s Glasgow. “I was actually really happy to see him back from injury,” Tuipulotu says. “It’s never good to see a player of his calibre out.”
Ah, that’s sweet. Or maybe “sweet as”.
Dewi Lake (Wales)
Now, the burning question here clearly was the future of Wales’s regional teams, with Lake already known to be quitting Ospreys for the English club Gloucester next season. But there’s space for that elsewhere.
Sticking with the programme here, the hooker says: “Antoine Dupont would be an easy answer at scrum-half.” Yes, that’s true, Dewi.
“But [Wales’s top scrum-half] Tommy Williams is pretty world-class himself.
“So I’ll go with [Charles] Ollivon.”
Frenchman Charls Ollivon gets the nod of approval from Wales’s Dewi Lake (Photo: Getty)It’s an intriguing pick. The former France captain with a fine try-scoring record missed the 2025 Six Nations with a knee injury. But Lake hasn’t forgotten him.
“He’s a massive ball-carrying threat. Defensively, he works hard, and he’s a leader in that French team, and he’s got experience of winning this competition – he knows what it takes. I think he’d be a good one to pick up.”
Michele Lamaro (Italy)
Fielding the question with commendable ease in English, the Italy skipper has a glance across the room to find his answer.
“Well, it’s tough, because there is a lot of talent in all the teams. But I would pick Caelan Doris. He is one of my favourite players in terms of not only leading his country, but also putting the performance in on the field, week in and week out – that’s his main thing.”
And what’s he like to play against, as one back-rower against another?
“It’s crazy,” says Lamaro. “At the moment, back row is the area that every team’s got one of their best players in.
“Caelan, in particular, is a very good ball carrier, and in defence, in the rucks – you know, he keeps showing how much of an intelligent player he is. Not only by playing with passion but also by playing very smart, at the very limit of the rules. It shows you how smart he’s working and how much he’s giving to his country.”
Antoine Dupont (France)
And finally, another man using a second language – but that’s not the only reason the great man takes 10 seconds to decide his answer.
“That’s a tough question,” says the 29-year-old No 9. “Remember that in last year’s Six Nations, we had the top try-scorer [Louis Bielle-Biarrey] and the top kicking player as well [Thomas Ramos] in our team. So it’s hard to find another one!”
Still, Antoine, we’d like you to give it a go.
Silence.
And, then, an answer – an opponent and a team-mate wrapped up in one electric package of a flying wing/full-back who plays for Italy and Toulouse.
“I would say Ange Capuozzo.”
Antoine Dupont is a fan of his Toulouse team-mate and Italy back Ange Capuozzo (Photo: Getty)That’s easy because he is a Toulouse player!
“Yeah, he’s also a very good player,” says Dupont. And he is half French.”
Making the transformation a little easier, we suppose. And what else do you like about Ange?
“Obviously his quality, he is fast with a good sidestep. But also he has a very high rugby IQ, so it’s a pleasure to play with him.”
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