Having captained Wales and experienced the highs and lows of interntaional rugby, his reflections on the 2024 Autumn Nations Series and predictions for next year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations and British and Irish Lions tour carry serious weight.
Speaking with typical candour, Biggar dissected the recent action while offering a tantalising glimpse of what lies ahead.
Southerners edge the battle of the hemispheres
In Biggar’s assessment, the incoming teams – or, more specifically, the Rugby Championship sides – had the upper hand in the Autumn Nations Series just gone. “You’d have to say they edged it on the whole,” he begins. “Wales and England struggled; Ireland beat Argentina and Australia but were edged out by New Zealand first up. France looked the best of the northern hemisphere sides, with a superb win over New Zealand backed up by a strong performance against Argentina.”
Biggar puts much of the southern hemisphere sides’ success this autumn down to match readiness: “It’s the end of their season, so they’re battle-hardened and cohesive. Ireland, for example, looked a little short of real international-intensity matches when they faced New Zealand.”
Speaking of the All Blacks, Biggar was impressed by their showings after coming off second best to the Springboks in the Rugby Championship. “I thought they’d struggle a bit more than they did, but they almost played very un-New Zealand rugby: pressuring the opposition, playing a lot without the ball,” he says. “You’re so used to seeing New Zealand teams playing free-flowing rugby and dominating possession, but they turned the screw and played a bit more of a territory-based game and kicked an awful lot of penalty goals as well.”
Still, six European players made it into Biggar’s team of the series: Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France), Antoine Dupont (France), Emmanuel Meafou (France), Tom Jordan (Scotland), Marcus Smith (England) and Sione Tuipulotu.
Wales’ struggle for confidence
Wales’ campaign in November was a story of missed opportunities and mounting frustration. “The first 20 minutes against Fiji they looked strong, but they went backwards as the month went on,” rues the man who wore his country’s colours an astonishing 112 times. “When you don’t close out tight games, like against Fiji, and then face Australia and South Africa, it’s a struggle. It looked like a training match for the Springboks.”
However, Biggar dismissed narratives suggesting that Wales’ current level is accurately reflected by their recent performances. “They’re a better team than that. It’s about breaking the cycle. Sometimes you just need to find a way to win, no matter how. It becomes mentally draining when you’re not picking up results.”
How do you motivate a team on such a draining losing streak? “I think it comes down to the players,” he responds. “It’s hard when you’re losing every week. I spoke to a few of the lads and they were often saying, ‘We had a really good training week’. How many times can you say you’ve had a good training week but then go on the pitch on the weekend and end up getting beat?
“Sometimes it’s just about changing things up. It’s kind of like the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. You have to take a step back to see the wood for the trees and alter how you play a bit.
“There’s a feeling that this team is better than what it’s showing, and they will be frustrated about working their socks off and not getting the reward at the end of it. They’re not a team at the minute that will be competing for Grand Slams, or victories against South Africa and New Zealand, but they’re certainly not a zero from 12 team either.”
The importance of momentum
Ahead of a Guinness Six Nations that is now fast approaching, Biggar pinpoints Italy away as Wales’ pivotal game. “The opening game in Paris on a Friday night [31 January] will be tough for anyone, so Italy the week after is the game Wales must target to end this run. If they win there, the shackles could come off. That week will be massive for everyone involved.”
He hopes his old team will be bolstered by the much-needed return of a quartet of Grand Slam winners who have been crucial to Wales’ success in the past: Josh Adams, Taulupe Faletau, Liam Williams and Tomos Williams. “All of a sudden you’ve got some real ‘been there, done it’ guys coming back. Whatever happens, Wales need to get this Six Nations right – off the field, with personnel, tactics. Whatever happens between now and the opening night in Paris, which is a free hit as far as most people will be concerned, they need to make sure they allow themselves as much chance of getting that game against Italy right.”
Looking at the broader picture in the 2025 Championship, Biggar views France as favourites for a title they last won in 2022, following an undefeated Autumn Nations Series that included back-to-back victories against New Zealand and Argentina. But he also identifies Scotland as dark horses. “Scotland’s fixtures look good, starting with Italy and then with Ireland coming to Murrayfield a week later. The tournament is all about momentum. France are favourites, but Scotland could run them close.”
As for reigning champions Ireland, he considers them a curious proposition going into 2025. “Ireland will be there or thereabouts. Although they’re clearly a very solid, experienced team, they’re going to be losing Andy Farrell for the tournament, and I think they’re nearing the end of that period with all their big, big players.
“The question is, can they hold on – and I mean this in the most respectful way – another year? Because I thought during the autumn they looked very pragmatic: they got over the line against Australia and Argentina as opposed to blowing them away like they have done in the last couple of years.”
The Lions: A summer of intrigue
Biggar’s excitement for the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia is palpable. With Andy Farrell and Joe Schmidt coaching the opposing Test teams, he expects a fascinating dynamic. “Andy’s a born winner; he knows what Lions rugby is about. Joe’s an exceptional coach, and he’s gradually built Australia back up. It’s got all the makings of a great tour.”
The Autumn Nations Series provided something of a relief for those invested in the tour, as Biggar notes. “I was slightly worried about it pre-Autumn Nations Series, if I’m honest, what with Australia coming off the back of that Rugby Championship where they shipped 60-odd points to Argentina. It was a really tough year for them, but they showed enough in November to suggest this will be a highly competitive. Hopefully, it will catapult them back up, because world rugby needs a strong Australian team.”
It is a tour that will see two coaches who have worked closely together in the past pitted against one another. “I know Joe relatively well. He’s a pretty hard taskmaster and has kept things on a pretty short leash, but look at his record there with Ireland and what he’s turned the Wallabies into – he’s clearly an exceptional coach,” says Biggar. “Andy’s a people person and from what I gather from speaking to the Irish guys, he’s a popular head coach, which is not always an easy thing to do when you’ve got to tell guys that they’re getting dropped.”
Rassie Erasmus: Rugby’s maverick genius
Discussing South Africa’s influential director of rugby, Biggar draws comparisons to two of football’s managerial icons. “He’s a bit like Jose Mourinho when he came to Chelsea: supremely confident in his ability and his team’s ability. He’s divisive, but his record speaks for itself.
“What Rassie has got is a clear presence and aura, and for me the Boks deserve all the plaudits they get. They’re by some distance the best team in the world, and they will be with the players and the teams they’ve got to choose from they’re going to take some beating over the next couple of years.
“It’s funny, when you’re successful, you can effectively get away with whatever you want: you can put seven forwards on the bench; you can have your winger throwing into a lineout; you can play the game differently and say things in the press that, when you’re not winning, you get slated for and called an idiot. But when you’re successful, everything he seems to be doing at the minute, whether it’s actions, tactics, press conferences just seem to be turning to gold.
“I know he’s a divisive figure, but I’m in the camp of I think he’s brilliant for the game, and his record is as good as anybody’s out there. How they’re evolving their attack and style of play away from just being a team that is going to pound you to death, is so impressive to see.
“The better player you are, the better coaches you need, and South Africa have got a lot of the best players in the world in their team.”
French emotions run high
What did Biggar make of the Matthieu Jalibert situation (the French fly-half left the camp after his non-selection (an issue which has now been publicly resolved)? “It’s so French, isn’t it?” he laughs, having himself lived in the country for over two years. “It’s funny because it’s probably huge news elsewhere, but in France everyone just sort of shrugged their shoulders as if to say, ‘This is the French way’.
“People tend to act a lot on emotion here, but when they decompress and take the emotion out of it a few days or a week later, they end up having sensible, calm conversations and getting to the bottom of things. That’s what it is like here and it’s brilliant.” Jalibert had lost his place as the starting fly-half to Thomas Ramos, more often a fullback, but Biggar rates the Toulouse man highly.
“I think Thomas Ramos is one of the best players in the world at the minute – be that at 10 or 15, it doesn’t matter because he’s that good – and by far the best goalkicker in the world by a stretch. That’s another reason why France will be right at the top of the Six Nations because they’ve got a kicker who you pretty much know every time he steps up to take a kick, he will bag you three or two points.
“I really like him as a bloke. He can be narky and horrible on the pitch, but that’s the kind of player I like anyway. I’m not that fussed on the pretty boys and the flash Harrys; I like the gnarly ones with a bit of edge to them. Thomas is definitely one of them, but I’ve got a huge amount of time for him, and he’s key for what France are doing.”
The 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations kicks off with France v Wales on Friday 31 January. See the full fixture list here.
