Monday 22 February 2016 17:28, UK
Stuart Barnes looks ahead to England v Ireland, the Jaguares' impact in Super Rugby and reflects on the problems at his former club Bath...
1. There probably won't be a column centimetre dedicated to this game in this week's newspapers but the most significant match of the forthcoming weekend is not going to take place in London, Rome or in Cardiff on Friday night.
The short term is understandably all about the Six Nations from the perspective of European rugby but it is in Bloemfontein that we should be focusing. For there the Jaguares will play their first Super Rugby match.
The core of the World Cup semi-finalist Argentina team has returned from Europe to represent Super Rugby's newest team, a team with a difference. This is a Test team in all but name.
The potential benefit for the rapidly improving South American nation is vast, not just in fast-tracking Argentina's Test team but in improving the profile of the sport. In theory the time they will spend together training and playing should be a gigantic advantage come Test match time.
The one imponderable is whether the extra ounce of adrenaline that comes from stepping up a level and mixing with the assorted best from one's country will dissipate and Test matches will feel like just another game, albeit one with anthems....thinking of the emotional reaction to the Pumas when their anthem strikes up, I suspect they'll handle the overly familiar nature of being a Jaguar for a few months before metamorphosing into Pumas.
Has the rugby world handed Argentina a massive international advantage? Friday in Bloemfontein could be the day the world order changed.
2. The rugby world won't change in Cardiff later that day but it will probably shake beneath the feet of the assorted Welsh and Frenchmen who clash in the third round of the Six Nations.
Both teams can win the title; France can win the Grand Slam...in theory. In practice it will take a terrible performance for Wales not to turn the French dream into the nightmare they have been inflicting on the rest of us.
If ever the importance of differentiating between performance and results has been obvious it is the manner of the French performances. They have been sluggish in the extreme, lucky in that Ireland's on-field injuries conflated with their long-term list of absentees... they have, in a word, been poor.
Two defeats and a need to rethink their style would be better for France than a few fluky Paris-based wins. The best thing for Les Bleus would be a heavy defeat.
As for Wales, winning the Six Nations off the back of pure power has been good in the narrow analysis but achieved nothing at global level. Warren Gatland came close pre-Six Nations to admitting results are not everything in the greater scheme of things... but don't expect the greater scheme of things to figure high on Friday's equation.
3. Given the extent of the injury list don't expect Ireland, either, to throw caution to the wind. Rather Joe Schmidt might think the only way he can beat England is by closing down the game at Twickenham, slowing the pace and keeping it within the confines of the breakdown fringes where Ireland defend tremendously.
Cue the promised extra pace of Eddie Jones' England team. Not a bad start to the new regime nor a great one, this is the opportunity for England to take the next step having beaten Europe's weakest two sides.
A win and people will be talking Grand Slams, defeat and some will be saying, 'what's different to the last regime?' Yep, this fixture has some heft behind it.
4. All those hopes for Scotland and so far two defeats. If they lose to Italy it will be 10 straight losses in the Six Nations. Even I, a great advocate of performance over results, can see that there's something of a deficit column in big Vern's strike rate.
It won't be easy. Italy have taken a few strides in the right direction since the World Cup but maybe the battering given them by England in the last 25 minutes might have dampened their enthusiasm for the scrap.
5. Super Rugby often takes time to hit its stride but it should start with a bang this year.
The champions, the Highlanders, kick it off against the Blues on Friday. The major question before this game is whether my old mate, Fitz, is going to tip Auckland Blues for big things yet again?
After that the Brumbies and Hurricanes should provide the match of the weekend down under. It is going to be a great weekend for the global fan of the game.
I'll have to record the match in Bloemfontein as I am in Cardiff for the Wales game; that traffic jam on the bridge and through the tunnels at Newport are a pair of monsters. It'll be an early start and a cup of tea at my mum's - Joyce's place - en route.
6. Looking backwards now - "What the hell is going on at Bath, Stuart?" My lovely wife Lesley seems to be asking the same question every weekend. She remembers the days of serial trophy-winning with a fondness for that era and an enduring affection for our old club.
This season - so full of hope before it kicked off - is turning into one of the worst in the club's recent history. I wouldn't offer a thesis explaining the problems in these few words but I'll tell you money alone is not the answer. And for that, even Bath fans should be grateful.
7. On a more cheerful note, I thought Friday night's Guinness PRO12 match between Glasgow and Munster was the best game I have seen in the league this season. Both teams played some adventurous rugby, some patient rugby and best of all, some intelligent rugby.
Both teams have work to do if they are to make the play-offs but neither side should be discounted. I reckon Glasgow will defend their title successfully if they make the last four. They have a great squad and an outstanding coach.
8. A word of praise for Treviso. After 24 straight losses they have won their past two PRO12 games against the pride of East Wales, the Dragons and Blues. The battle for the Italian Champions Cup spot is back on with a vengeance.
9. While Treviso were beating the Dragons, Zebre were unable to stop the Connacht juggernaut. Fifty-one points on the road and another five points; praise is due to Pat Lam who has mixed and matched Irish and overseas talent to splendid effect.
The Champions Cup beckons - at the very least for the table-topping Galway team and their tremendously enthusiastic supporters.
10. And finally, Andy Goode... he suffered a ton of rugby 'banter' when the news broke that Dean Richards was signing the fly-half of the extended waistline to help Newcastle.
A lot of people were pretty disrespectful of Goode's talents and achievements. They will have to think again now as Newcastle keep winning.
Goode might not be the thinnest fly-half in the Premiership but he's one of the brightest. Rugby brains trumping brawn, it's a good tale for our times.
It is no shock that Richards is the man who defied the English opinion and brought his one-time Tiger 10 to Newcastle. There's another full waistline with an even bigger rugby brain.... enough from me, I am off to raid the fridge.
