Five big name players whose Six Nations form has dropped off massively
Rugby NewsSaturday, 12 February 2022 at 19:11
There’s an old age saying in rugby that form is temporary and class is permanent, a notion that this list of Six Nations stars will be hoping is true given their toils over the opening week or so of the campaign.
Several stars have sparkled during a thrilling start to the 2022 Six Nations, though there are a number of notable names currently out-of-sorts and failing to replicate their previous exploits.
We’ve picked out some of those struggling of late, here are five big name players whose form has dropped off massively:
#1. Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales)
Below par against Ireland and Scotland, the 21-year-old speedster appears to be suffering from a serious case of second season syndrome at the moment. The only act of note against the Scots this weekend came in the first half was when he was manhandled by tiny Darcy Graham when the Scot had no right to score.
#2. Finn Russell (Scotland)
The fly-half probably emerged from the Calcutta Cup match with too much praise, but it's safe to say Russell tumbled back down to earth with a bang in Cardiff. He was a disaster from start to finish against Wales. A kick-off straight into touch, a penalty kick missing touch, and finally the yellow card for a deliberate knock-on that ultimately cost his team any chance of keeping their Grand Slam hopes alive.
Scotland will NOT win a Six Nations with Russell playing fly-half.
#3. Tom Curry (England)
England’s first-time skipper delivered a typically industrious display without producing any showreel moments against Scotland. However, it was without a doubt his least impressive performance in an England shirt in some time. The weight of the captaincy is something Curry doesn't need right now with the flanker needing to raise his game against Italy.
#4. Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
Despite a much better performance last weekend, Ringrose mediocre form returned this weekend as he didn't impact the game against France in a meaningful way. His only noticeable moment was waving Antoine Dupont through for his second-minute try. The Leinster centre needs to establish some consistency to take his game to the next level.
#5. Freddie Steward
In his first away game, the fullback had the toughest game of his short England career against Scotland. Had some good moments and has all the ingredients to be outstanding, but sliced a kick and dropped a high ball under no pressure was very poor. Will be hoping to bounce back against Italy.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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