The latest trend at the Netflix production team is sporting documentaries. We have seen some epic mini-documentary series, such as Drive to Survive (the Formula One documentary), Break Point (tennis) and Full Swing (golf) in recent years, and they have all been well received.

 

Now it’s the turn of Rugby Union, with the documentary series Full Contact. This is an eight-episode miniseries that follows the players, management and coaching staff of the teams in the 2023 edition of the competition. It was released just before the beginning of this year’s Six Nations tournament, which rugby betting sites have Ireland as firm favourites to win. Below, we take a deep dive into this series and see how it compares to the other recent Netflix sporting documentaries.

 

Synopsis

Full Contact centres exclusively on the 2023 Six Nations Championship, which was won by Ireland. The Six Nations is the oldest tournament in professional rugby, with the first one being held in 1883 (and originally called the Home Nations Championship).

 

We get a behind the scenes look at the camps of the six teams involved – England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. The producers at Netflix managed to secure exclusive footage of the players and coaching staff as they prepare for games and regale us with stories of rugby matches, injuries, camaraderie and more. For a sport like rugby, this is quite rare as teams are usually very restrictive when it comes to media access.

 

The series features interviews with the players and coaching staff together with in-game footage and highlights, and the usual fantastic musical score and production value that we have come to expect from Netflix. It has eight episodes in total, with each lasting between 35 and 45 minutes.

 

Episode list and overview

Full Contact features eight episodes, where each has a central theme and concentrates mainly on one team or matchup, with an average runtime of 42 minutes. The individual episodes are detailed below:

 

1. Let Battle Commence – Scotland preparing for their upcoming opener against England, who they hadn’t beaten for over a century.
2. Hard Knock Life – Interviews with Italian players, including Sebastian Negri, as they prepare for their match against England.
3. On the Edge – Build-up and preparation for France vs Italy.
4. The Second Coming – A look at the state of Welsh rugby and the return of a previous coach.
5. La Defense – France pushing forward after an uncertain start.
6. Pressure Cooker – Two of the teams with a losing record fighting to avoid the wooden spoon.
7. The Last Dance – Injuries and potential cuts for the Scottish team.
8. Agony or Ecstasy – The conclusion on Super Sunday to determine the outcome of the 2023 Six Nations Championship.

 

Full Contact review

So, what did we think of the series itself? I’m an avid sports fan but rugby is not my forte. Regardless, I found the documentary enjoyable. The editing, sound production, footage and production quality of Full Contact are fantastic and what you expect from a Netflix documentary. The drone footage is brilliant and the in-game footage is worked into the production in a way that’s entertaining.

 

It’s all slick, with immersive music that helps build up the tension before the games. The interviews are well crafted, and you get the usual bits of “off-the-camera” humour from the various ruby stars of the Six Nations teams. I like the structure of the episodes too, and how each one had a vague underlying theme and matchup. Even as a non-rugby fan, it was relatively easy to follow and understand what was happening.

 

I was able to get a sense of the camaraderie of the players and coaching staff, and what international competition meant for them – they clearly took great pride in playing for their home nation, which is something that is sadly lacking in modern sports.

 

However, the documentary wasn’t perfect, and I don’t think it met the higher standards set by Drive to Survive, Break Point and Full Swing. Some of it felt a little formulaic and as if we were just going through the motions. Also, because the documentary tried to feature all six teams from the competition, I never felt really attached to any of them, or that we got to learn anything but superficial information. Perhaps it could have been made more interesting by focusing on one team.

 

Full Contact – Overall a Good Watch

I would rate Full Contact as a good, solid sports documentary. Rugby fans will love it and it provides plenty of highlights from the tournament and an interesting insight into what goes on and how the teams and players prepare. However, I think it could have been better and it was just that – good, but nothing groundbreaking. It is a good addition to the Netflix library, and a nice way to introduce people to the sport of rugby. With a lot of new content on the platform, including the recent release of the Last Airbender, the series will face some stiff competition for views from those who are not regular fans of the sport.

 

If you’re expecting a revolutionary sporting documentary that pushes the boundaries of the genre, Full Contact is not it. Alternatively, if you just want an enjoyable watch and some sporting action together with player interviews, then we recommend giving it a go.