James Stebbing

Six Nations

In his own words, 2020 was the toughest year of James Stebbing’s career to date. But, boy has he flourished. By facing up to the biggest challenge sport has faced since the Second World War, the Six Nations GC somehow managed to put on two international rugby tournaments despite countless challenges, including travel bans, players testing positive and aggrieved sponsors.

It was back in the spring that the Six Nations faced an inevitable postponement, with Stebbing subsequently spending the next nine months in crisis mode. This included hours of Zoom calls with doctors and the crafting of a detailed code of conduct for the players. However, his hard work paid off, first by concluding the Six Nations tournament in November and then by helping set up the Autumn Nations Cup at short notice.

Armchair fans have been derided in the past, but this year it was something to savour. And by giving rugby a glimpse of normality during a period of immense stress, fans should look no further than Stebbing as a person to thank.