Gerry Thornley / On Rugby: Last Wednesday in London the six coaches and six captains of the six countries in the Six Nations came together in the swanky surrounds of the Hurlingham club in London, complete with croquet and polo lawns.
So exclusive is it that according to my taxi driver there was supposedly a 10-year waiting list in recent times and despite offering over the odds an application for membership by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was rejected.
On a cold, crisp, sun-kissed day, there was more than a premature hint of spring in the air to go with the misplaced optimism. Granted, everybody is unbeaten, but that can't last. Come Sunday teatime, there'll already be three losers, barring draws. Come the end of the championship, there'll be wooden spoonists and at least two, possibly three countries who will be disappointed with their overall efforts.
Such statements are undoubtedly blindingly and bleedingly obvious. However, at times you feel a compelling need to make them, not least after watching last Wednesday's latest media feast. There they all were, the coaches dressed immaculately, the captains more casually (never more so than the slightly daft-as-a-brush Gareth Thomas), underlining the quality of their squads, expressing their hopes and aspirations for the campaign ahead, although perhaps not quite as effusively and confidently as a year ago.
Perhaps memories were fresh. Then, Matt Williams and John Kirwan were among the assembled coaches. At ease in front of the camera, one was a smooth-talking double for Bill Clinton, the other an Italianised All Blacks legend in an Armani suit and custom-made leather shoes.
Scotland, with a horrendous injury list, would have only two picks on the Lions and to the surprise of no one at that Six Nations launch, ultimately Scotland beat Italy in a wooden spoon decider. With Wales cutting a swathe to their first Grand Slam in 28 years, the next highest in the table were England. What were the Scots or Italians to do, finish above England? Yet Williams and Kirwan were sacked.
Pierre Berbizer and Frank Hadden, straight-faced and deliberate, don't do soundbites, and simply by dint of being newish appointments, are the coaches under the least pressure.
Bernard Laporte, it should be remembered, was possibly one more defeat away from the sack, but after autumn setbacks at home to Argentina and the All Blacks in 2004, then a desultory home win over Scotland and being let off the hook by England, France belatedly sprung to life in a home defeat to Wales before beating Ireland at Lansdowne Road and finishing the season in style against Italy.
After a successful autumn, Laporte now seems to be far more secure in his job. His selections reflect this, for he could experiment on a summer tour to Australia and South Africa without too much importance being attached to the results. For sure les Bleus are strong favourites to win the Six Nations with Ireland and England at home, but barring a spectacular fall from grace, Laporte looks to be very much in situ until France host the World Cup in 2007.
Mike Ruddock is almost as serenely placed as Graham Henry of the leading coaches, and even though Wales might struggle to obtain three wins out of five given their injury toll, last season's Grand Slam affords him the most breathing space of all.
Which leaves Andy Robinson and Eddie O'Sullivan, probably the coaches under the most pressure this season both in terms of results and performances.
Without the same sense of job security, they were not inclined to be as experimental as, say, Henry was in expanding his squad base by using all 35 players on the All Blacks' Grand Slam tour.
Both were mindful of the short-term need to obtain handsome home wins against Samoa and Romania, and opportunities to look at more players were lost. This is only Robinson's second Six Nations campaign, but he is tarred to a degree by being part of the Clive Woodward regime.
England expects and all that, and a reprise of last season's fourth place, or even third, especially if it came with an emphasis on forward domination, would probably not suffice for the old farts of the RFU.
Very sensitive to criticism of any kind, the pressure on O'Sullivan remains relative. He retains the loyalty of a core of influential power-brokers in the IRFU who have backed him to the hilt and long ago gave him the longest contract in world rugby, until the conclusion of the 2007-'08 season.
Mindful that this year's itinerary includes treks to Paris and London, expectations are not as high as a year ago when there was plenty of talk of a Grand Slam. A bar of three home wins and two good performances has generally been set for his fourth championship.
However, coming after Ireland's dismal autumn performances, the recent displays of Munster and Leinster in qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Heineken European Cup not only raised confidence, but also raised the bar for O'Sullivan.
And as important as results will be the way Ireland set about playing the game, for there is a broad feeling out there - not just in some sections of the press box and commentary boxes, but among a wide spectrum of former players, coaches and supporters - that a talented group of players have been hamstrung by restrictive coaching and man-management, and by an unwillingness to dare take risks on the pitch.
According to the IRB's Game Analysis of the 2005 championship, Ireland kicked the most and passed the least of all six countries.
Ireland's most convincing performance last season was the forward-orientated demolition of the Scottish pack, but realistically they are not going to do that against Europe's Big Two, much less the Southern Hemisphere big three. If Wales and Leinster, to name but two, can place an emphasis on avoiding unnecessary rucks and trench warfare by offloading before or out of the tackle more, why not Ireland? If Ireland go down, you sense the rugby public out there want at least to see them go down having had a go and given fuller rein to play.
gthornley@irish-times.ie
