The Guinness Six Nations returns to centre stage this weekend with Ireland in Italy and Wales, just about, hosting England in Cardiff.

While in Ireland we have concerned ourselves with rehab news, and first starts in the competition for Ross Byrne and Craig Casey, across the Irish Sea the conversations have been far more existential.

The Welsh Rugby Union and the players eventually came to a truce in their negotiations over wages and restrictions on playing overseas and it is the latter issue that interests us most this morning.

The strength of the Irish provinces has been built on the restriction that if you want to play for Ireland you must do so at club level as well.

There have been exceptions, including Jonathon Sexton going to Paris but it has also stunted the career of crowd favourites including Simon Zebo.

Central contracts with the IRFU have been generous but not at the level that millionaire owners in France, Japan, and once upon a time in England, have been willing to pay.

Now the Welsh players have forced a change to their own restriction which was lifted after 60 caps but is now down to 25. This means that players at an earlier stage of their career will have the freedom to retain their red jersey but also sell themselves to the highest bidder in the global club game.

The winds of change are blowing over to England as well with manager Steve Borthwick supporting his players’ right to play overseas and remain partt of the England set-up.

The collapse of confidence in the club game in England through and post-Covid has been frightening. Worcester Warriors and Wasps went into liquidation and there are still fears over others.

Negotiations are taking place there with a view to a new player agreement in place after this year’s World Cup and it seems likely there will be greater freedom of movement without compromising the right to play for your country.

If that happens in England the pressure will mount here too.

The Irish club game has a greater hold over the sporting population here than in any country bar New Zealand, even in Wales where it was once the only show in town. If you are looking at a sold-out stadium for club games the chances are it will be in Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Belfast or Galway.

But part of that is that we have been and continue to be successful on the field of play. If Ross Byrne in a couple of years was to be playing for Toulouse, or Craig Casey for Racing 92, would there be the same strength in the Irish provinces to go consistently deep in the best of competitions?

And from a freedom of movement position, will players retain their commitment to staying at home when greater riches in a short career are available an hour away by plane?

So long as playing for Ireland remains dependent on playing at home, the lure will have a strong counterweight. But if Wales has wavered, and England’s domestic requirement also falls, then how long might that remain a tenable position?

It will be an interesting few years off as well as on the pitch.