With the countdown to the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations well underway, rugby fans can get their sporting fix with the return of Netflix documentary Six Nations: Full Contact. Box to Box, the production team behind the hit Netflix F1 documentary Drive to Survive, attempts to build upon the access of the first season with an even deeper dive into the highs, lows, and untold stories of the world’s most historic Championship. However, the bad news is – it’s already been cancelled at Netflix even before its aired. Fingers crossed another platform picks it up for a third season, as there’s a definite improvement since the first season.
The second season once again charts the drama and action amidst the build up to one of the most thrilling European sporting fixtures, with new coaches, new faces and new captains amongst the six teams. Each episode charts the major rivalries between the nations, the players and also the teams, as the competition for starting in key positions heats up. From Freddie Steward looking to claim his Test place at #15 to France newcomer Nolann le Garrec also aiming to cement his spot in the starting 23 match squad as following scrum-half Antoine Dupont’s departure in the wake of the Olympics.
While there were certainly limitations when it came to the first season – predominantly around the lack of access in camps and glossing over the unfolding crisis in Welsh rugby – it’s clear that the production team have tried to course correct for a stronger second outing. There’s an improved focus on the competition for key positions in teams, with a particularly interesting battle between Marcus Smith and George Ford for the England #10 fly-half jersey. “I’m not going to lie – I’m disappointed, gutted, upset. You sacrifice a lot of things because you want to play and you want to do well. When you don’t get that opportunity, it hurts” said George Ford, in a surprisingly honest and rare interview.
It’s also great to see much more from inside the buzz of the Italian camp, with the Cannone brothers and new manager Gonzalo Quesada stepping up in interviews, replacing the English speaking Stephen Varney. Their historic and emotive journey in the 2024 tournament was certainly a highlight of the series, due to it being the Azurri’s best performance since the 2013 tournament. The gripping episodes spotlighting their showdowns with France and Scotland were particular standouts, as they looked to shake off the curse of the wooden spoon.
Another strong element is the focus on George North’s journey as he faces an emotional milestone in his final Wales matches, as coach Warren Gatland attempts to overhaul the whole team. The experienced Welsh player opens up about his injuries, the sacrifices he’s made in his career and the disappointment of not being picked in an incredibly open and moving set of interviews.
However, there are still some unfortunate issues such as out of date appearances due to the shows schedule and formatting. For example, England’s ex defence coach Felix Jones and fitness guru Aled Walter – who both controversially left after just seven months in the role – are still featured quite prominently in the England segments. Also, some of the segments featuring the England team are straight up cringey, with Freddie Steward’s shorts being pulled down, Marcus Smith picking up a “G-wagon” and also an embarrassing golf outing ramping up the “lads lad lads” element. This portrayal of the team certainly paints the England squad in a certain light – do they not take the tournament as seriously as the other teams?
Verdict
With an excellent spotlight on the special Italian team and a number of surprisingly honest and open interviews with key players, Six Nations Full Contact season two is certainly a stronger instalment. It’s just a shame that the show still doesn’t do an in depth exploration of the key rivalries between nations, the various different cups up for grabs in the tournament and an explainer on why the Six Nations is such a beloved competition in the rugby calendar.
