I'm from New Zealand. Generally this means we see all of these teams as our foes on the field and love to bag them during games. Kiwis find England especially irritating, France is often our bogey team in world cups, and now Ireland is the one to beat (used to be Aussie but they've been AWOL for some time now).
Putting all of that aside. I began watching this with a conformation bias, but actually was pleasantly surprised. Sure the actual rugby is nothing more than a highlights reel, but actually it was the backstories of the players that was engaging and somewhat heart warming. I found myself very much rooting for Scotland (my great grandparents would be delighted!), fascinated by the philosophical reflections of coach Galthié, chuckling at the banter in the England squad and sympathising with those senior players grappling with decisions to retire from the game they love.
It's a shame the focus was a bit more on just a couple of players and England's journey, rather than seeing the secret sauce behind Irelands success in recent years. But that said, it's great to see a positive spin on a great sport that hopefully is engaging a much wider audience as a result.
Looking forward to seeing how Gats rebuilding plan for Wales plays out in the new few seasons, and hopefully seeing a few of these lads on the field out here in NZ playing the ABs!
