Features

Serge Betsen’s Predictions for 2017

Serge Betsen of France celebrates victory in Croke Park
Thanks very much to all the participants who voted for their favourite #TopMoment. Serge Betsen’s selection was excellent and proved very popular.

Thanks very much to all the participants who voted for their favourite #TopMoment. Serge Betsen’s selection was excellent and proved very popular.

We are now very proud to announce your favourite #TopMoment of the Championship is:   1) #TopMoment 3: England celebrate at the final whistle after securing the Grand Slam in the Stade de France- 69%

2) #TopMoment 1: Jonathan Sexton slots a late penalty to earn Ireland a draw against Wales in Round One – 16%

3) #TopMoment 2: Guilhem Guirado leads by example as France mount a late fightback in Wales in Round Three – 15%

We are also delighted to announce that the winner of the Tissot PRC 200 RBS 6 Nations Special Edition Quartz Chronograph is: Mrs Lindy Hine. Thanks again to all the participants.

The 2016 RBS 6 Nations may have only just finished but attention has already turned to 2017 and Tissot rugby legend Serge Betsen admits Grand Slam winners England will take some stopping.

Eddie Jones’s side won a first Grand Slam for England in 13 years in Paris on Super Saturday – having already sealed the overall title a week earlier in beating Wales.

Jones’ young team – the average age of the side is 24 – beat all comers in 2016 but benefited from a strong fixture list that opened up with clashes against Scotland and Italy before taking on Ireland and Wales at home.

With the likes of Maro Itoje and George Kruis leading the pack and Owen Farrell and George Ford pulling the strings in the back-line – Betsen has to begrudgingly concede that we could be entering a period of English dominance in the RBS 6 Nations.

“This England team is very strong – you must remember that before the World Cup we were all saying what a good young squad they had and were excited about the next generation,” he said.

“They have a team that can compete for many years up to the 2019 World Cup.

“And with Eddie Jones in charge it is going to be up to the rest of the countries to try and stop them.

“But this is the beauty of our sport, one year you can be top of the tree and win everything, the next you can fall away.”

Wales finished runners up in 2016 – only losing one game, which came at Twickenham against England when their comeback fell just short.

But next year Betsen is adamant that it will not be Warren Gatland’s side that pose the biggest threat to England.

“Ireland are a young team, more experienced after this Championship I think they are going to be more of a threat in 2017 than Wales,” he added.

“The Welsh team is a bit older and they need to think about how they are going to reinvent themselves.

“Scotland have got a real intensity about them under Vern Cotter and I believe they could be the secret contender next year.

“They will have gained real belief from their victories this year.”

France’s new era under Guy Novès started brightly with victories over Italy and Ireland but they finished off the campaign with three defeats in a row.

Against England in the Stade de France however, Les Bleus showed signs that they were coming together and Betsen is hopeful that future is bright.

“The showing against England was definitely France’s best performance of the Championship,” he added.

“They can be proud of that and hopefully it will build momentum for next year.

“2017 is a challenging campaign for France – because we will have three away games.

“There are some positives for France – Maxime Machenaud showed great character and consistency when he got his chance and he has the potential to be real leader for France.

“Yoann Maestri is still a top player that we can build around in the pack with young guys like Paul Jedrasiak gaining more experience.

“I am big fan of Wenceslas Lauret – he played most of this Championship but I think he is going to be a very important player for France moving forward.

“Then in the backs Wesley Fofana has real quality – he has actually been more effective on the wing than in the centres for France.

“While Virimi Vakatawa has reached a high level very quickly, but he will need to work hard because next year he will not be such a surprise to teams.”   We are now all looking forward to the RBS 6 Nations Championship 2017 and can’t wait to share with you the #TopMoments of the matches. See you soon and stay in touch with Tissot on www.uk.tissotshop.com or www.tissotwatches.com