Six Nations Championship

Scotland for 20 IRB World Junior Championships in Italy for winless Six Nations Championship

2011-05-30T03:49:00.000-07:00

Scotland for 20 IRB World Junior Championships in Italy on Monday set off a winless Six Nations Championship their results to learn more and develop friendly process with youth as a first tournament draw on inspiration Was about to put behind the team hope for is under Wallabies.

Peter Wright, a two weeks time with the team in South Africa a week before his inaugural stability in Varese, north of Milan where his Australian counterpart, with two joint training session for junior Wallabies before squaring to participate in To spend, are a challenge next Friday session includes 20 three-minute match.

Wright said: "It's a boost for us to be heading out to Italy promptly. It gives us a good opportunity to get used to the conditions we'll be playing in, and the time we'll spend with the Australians will be another helpful step towards making sure we're in exactly the right place come kick-off against the South Africans.

"It's about each and every member of the squad understanding their role, and coming together over the next four weeks to show just what it means to them to represent the nation."

Pool C schedule revealed Scotland face South Africa at Padova on 10th June Friday, England at Treviso on 24th June Tuesday and then Ireland at Rovigo on 18th June Saturday.

South Africa and England matches from both Sky Sports and the IRB's website (jwc / www.irb.com) will be screened live on.

Scotland and Ireland with England lost to Wright in this season of his youth acknowledged scale of challenge.

He added, "The quality of opposition in our pool is there for all to see, with a team (South Africa] who finished third in last year's competition and another two (England and Ireland] who showed in the Six Nations Championship that they're capable of causing anybody problems.

"(But] the message that lingers from the Six Nations is that we've got players with the skills and the (right] attitude.

We were hugely disappointed to not [get] better results, but there were plenty of things we can take forward into this tournament and hopefully do ourselves justice."

England team before start the Six Nations without a Grand Slam

2011-04-05T03:32:00.000-07:00

If you win it without a Six Nations Grand Slam before the Martin Johnson has told his England team that autumn represents considerable progress from the course have said yes.

His success in England involved a set-up, like in Dublin was the nature of their loss will not console. 24-8 Irish victory on paper has been rested, but it was more. If the display is too much weight Irish scoreboard, accurately reflect their dominance will.

England knew, or should have known, that their breakdown problems at the French against the first half and first 65 minutes of the game Scotland had given.

Whether the definition of the size of the problem before he went to pitch in Dublin only they know. Something given, and is disappointing, said forewarnings, is that he had failed badly in this area and almost beaten to punch in every contact situation.

The balance between enough people commit fast enough to keep the ball and your opponents if they win, depends on mood and situation to end.

SIX-NATIONS 2011 - Ireland vs Italy

2011-03-07T04:17:00.000-08:00

Hape joins London Irish

2011-02-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

After signing a two-year deal with London Irish,England centre Shontayne Hape announced that he will leave the Bath at the end of the season.

After making quick progress in union which has seen him win a regular place in England's starting line-up had now signed contract with Irish.

In the Six Nations on Saturday,the 29-year-old is expected to play for England having earned eight previous international caps.

London Irish coach Toby Booth said: "He is physically very intimidating and his ability to offload out of the tackle will trouble any defence."

"We have a lot of young talent coming through the club and the experience that Shontayne brings will also help them to develop further."

Hape represented New Zealand at rugby league and spent six seasons with the Bradford Bulls before joining Bath in 2008 on a three-year deal.

Stephen Ferris Discard of Scotland Six Nations game

2011-02-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

In Ireland's Six Nations game against Scotland,Stephen Ferris has been discard and his inclusion for remaining matches are also ambiguous.

A knee injury problem is still on with the Ulster flanker and will miss the game at Murrayfield next Sunday after undergoing another scan on the problem.

To check his fitness Ferris will undergo a further scan next Friday.On the reports it will be then consider whether to include him in squad or not.

Ospreys winger Tommy Bowe chances are opened as he seems to be perfect to face the Scots.

Bowe has resumed training and was included in the Ospreys panel for the Magners League game against Treviso.

Ireland will face Scotland on 27 February, followed by a trip to Wales on 12 March and a home match against England on 19 March.

England vs Italy Six Nations hottest news

2011-02-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

England had a great start to their Six Nations campaign at the Millennium arena last week when beating Wales, while Martin Johnson has been at pains to warn against satisfaction at Twickenham on Saturday.

By rights, this should be a contented match for England after their win in Cardiff, although Italy have got a strong forward pack and ran Ireland tremendously close in Rome last weekend before narrowly losing.

Johnson said: “If Italy come and play their best game and they are tough and their defence is strong, we will be in a game into the last quarter like we were last week. “I have no doubts about that. They don’t grant a lot of points, they are difficult at the breakdown. We are under no illusions.”

Six Nations: Ireland edge out Italy

2011-02-07T05:11:00.000-08:00

To avoid a first defeat by Italy in the RBS 6 Nations,Ireland needed a late drop-goal from Ronan O'Gara.

In the 76th minute through a try from Luke McLean,The Azzurri crept 11-10 ahead , and one of the championship's greatest upsets looked likely.

It was a upset start to the campaign for a side hoping to be in the title mix, but there was nothing on show at the Stadio Flaminio to suggest they can win the Six Nations.

Brian O'Driscoll crossed in the 44th minute while Jonathan Sexton kicked five points, but it was otherwise a torrid afternoon for the 2009 champions.

Ireland were missing 12 Test players to injury, among them Jamie Heaslip and Tommy Bowe, yet still fielded a side averaging 35 caps per player.

Six Nations - Ferris to miss opener for Ireland

2011-01-31T05:04:00.000-08:00

Saturday's Six Nations championship will be miss out by Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris in Italy due to knee injury which add further worries to coach Declan Kidney's.

While helping Ulster reach the Heineken Cup quarter-finals last weekend Ferris went through a cartilage injury to his right knee and is suspicious for the February 13 clash against France, the Irish Rugby Football Union said in a statement.

The British and Irish Lion joins fellow backrower Jamie Heaslip and winger Tommy Bowe on the injury list for Saturday's match in Rome.

Alongside Ferris the other players who are set to miss at least two matches include John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Shane Horgan, Geordon Murphy, Andrew Trimble and Rob Kearney.

Horgan and Hayes to miss Italy game

2011-01-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

Ireland will be facing more difficulties in this year Six Nations Championship as three more players got injured named Jamie Heaslip, Shane Horgan, and John Hayes.

Irish trio will miss out the Six Nations Championship opener against Italy in Rome on 5 February.

It has been confirmed that Horgan and Hayes is expected to miss the clash with France a week later but Heaslip could return to face the French.

Horgan is currently facing knee injury,Horgan is going on with an groin injury while Heaslip is facing an ankle problem.

Andrew Trimble, Rob Kearney and Geordan Murphy had already been ruled out of the Italy game because of injury.

Johnnie Beattie set to miss first matches of Six Nations

2011-01-15T01:01:00.000-08:00

In the forthcoming RBS Six Nations Championship,GLASGOW coach Sean Lineen was happy yesterday as Johnnie Beattie returning to the Scotland team,but the player revealed himself that he is not completely fit to participate in the first matches of Six Nations Championship.

Gwent Dragons. Lineen said: "It's unfortunate and everyone feels for Johnnie, but it won't affect that (Scotland chances]. It's good that he's going to get games at a good standard with Ayr."

Beattie himself not feeling good when told this week that he was not available for this weekend's match with Wasps, but he was more upbeat yesterday. "It is unfortunate and you realise that human error occurs in all workplaces and ours is no different," he said. "I have to look forward, and it has been great at Ayr meeting up with a lot of guys I haven't seen since age-group days, and coaches I know pretty well.

"I was sitting at home with mum and dad digesting it this week when Andy Robinson (Scotland coach] called, and he helped to give me a plan of action, which was nice of him. That starts with these cup games for Ayr and there will probably be 'A' games as well, and then aiming for the second half of the (Six Nations] tournament."

Geordan Murphy could miss a upcoming Six Nations Championship

2011-01-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Ireland Geordan Murphy could miss a upcoming Six Nations Championship after his ankle injured on Saturday.

Captain Leicester Tigers was stretchered close of ten minutes from the end of the 27-19 defeat of Northampton.

Tigers boss Richard Cockerill said about injury, “He's gone over on his ankle and we'll assess it over the next couple of days.”

Murphy’s absence could make a big selection headache for Ireland coach Declan Kidney with first choice full return Rob Kearney already ruled out of the opening games.

The Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome on 5 February the injuries are beginning to heap up for Kidney.

As well as having to play game without Kearney and possibly Murphy, Jerry Flannery will also be missing for the first two games of the competition.

Jerry Flannery to miss start of Six Nations

2011-01-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

Jerry after being ruled out for up to six weeks due to a torn calf muscle seems to miss the start of Six Nations Championship.

The scan revealed the story that as a second half substitute for Munster against Ulster last week he sustained the injury.

The hooker had just returned to action after a calf injury to his other leg.

Flannery not only going to miss the start of Six Nations Championship but will miss rounds five and six of the Heineken Cup.

Meanwhile Flannery's Ireland team-mate Cian Healy has signed a new deal which will seem him continue to play in Ireland for another two seasons up to 2013.

Saracens coach Brendan Venter says Gavin Henson return to the Wales in Six Nations

2011-01-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

According to the Saracens director of rugby Brendan Venter, Gavin Henson instantly comeback to the Wales Six Nations Championship open on 4 Fed against an England.

At Wembley previous Sunday Henson over his 21- month self-imposed exile from rugby with a second-half cameo reveal in Saracens’ victory over Wasps.

According to the Venter that Henson 28 years old he would make his first start for Saracens on their trip to Sale in the Premiership on Sunday and declared that the 28 year-old was already in the right shape to make a swift return to the international stage. Venter said, “I thought Gavin did well off the bench against Wasps but having seen him now in training for the last two weeks, I can already tell he is ready to play for Wales again”.

Shane williams encourage to the six nations wales

2010-12-27T02:50:00.000-08:00

Shane Williams could give encourge to the coach Warren Gatland a Six Nations and be include for their player with England on 4 February.

After his surgery on a separated shoulder suffered he's very miss to the championship. Williams 33 years old but the Ospreys wants that Williams play in their England Six Nations championship. He said, "We aren't ruling out a possible return for the Toulon game".

After Williams shoulder operation he went out for 3 months but he would miss the England Murrayfield to play Scotland on 12 February.

After Williams comeback has scored 51 endeavors in 75 in Wales Tests, Towers said, "Shane is five weeks post-op and is coming along well. He is working hard and doing two or three sessions per day, so we are rehabbing him as hard as we can. He's making good progress and we aren't ruling out a possible return for the Toulon game, which is in line with our original best case scenario, although he still has some way to go yet."

Italy v Ireland Tickets Available For Six Nations Opening Weekend

2010-12-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

In the opening weekend of the Six Nations Championships,Italy take on Ireland at home. At the Stadio Flaminio in Rome on the 5th February the match will take place.

Italy beat Fiji 24-16 in their last game, and Ireland only missed out on a win against South Africa in November by two points.Both teams have come out of the Autumn Internationals with promising results.

Paul O’Connell was sent off for his club Munster in their winning game on Sunday so Italy could miss him.

Six Nations tickets are available now online for a chance to see the all the exciting games of the championship, from the games in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and France.

Rob Kearney appears set to miss the RBS Six Nations Championship

2010-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

After undergoing surgery on the injury he sustained in the 38-18 defeat to New Zealand,Rob Kearney will be out for several months confirmed by The player's Magners League club Leinster.

For the Six Nations opener against Italy on February 5,Rob is still unlikely to be fit for the game even with a swift recovery.

It is a significant blow for both province and country, who have winger Luke Fitzgerald also sidelined until the new year with a knee problem and Brian O'Driscoll out with a broken jaw.

"After his surgery last week, Rob Kearney seems set to sit out the next few months on the sidelines," Leinster said.

flanker Bergamasco set to miss Six Nations

2010-11-26T02:32:00.000-08:00

Flanker Mauro Bergamasco of Italy's can miss the whole six nation after undergoing shoulder surgery on Thursday.

Earlier this month after the defeat from Argentina The Stade Francais player was ruled out although he tried to be fit for last Saturday's loss to Australia, doctors realised an operation was the only option.

Bergamasco participation in any of the games is in serious doubt as the Italian rugby federation said in a statement Bergamasco was likely to return in around four months and with the Six Nations finishing on March 19.

Shane Williams Inclusion To England Team Is Doubtful

2010-11-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

Shane Williams is struggling because he of his injury which he faced in the match against South Africa, so his inclusion to Six Nations is now doubtful

According to a reports a surgery will take place and he will not be able to play rugby for at least 10 weeks.

This injury will lead out him of the Ospreys' remaining Heineken Cup pool matches and the focus will be on his return in the Six Nations opener against England in Cardiff on February 4.

"It's a big blow," conceded Wales coach Warren Gatland, who has handed Newport Gwent Dragons wing Aled Brew the number 11 shirt against Fiji on Friday nigh

"We saw what Shane did when he was on in the first half against South Africa.
"He created a try, he got himself involved and I thought the mix between the wings (Williams and George North) was fantastic. He's a loss for us.

"The silver lining to this perhaps is that he gets a chance to do some training, to freshen up over the next few months, and fingers crossed he might be available for part of the Six Nations and then hopefully again for next year."

Six Nations Rugby Preview and Team News : England v New Zealand All

2010-11-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

Started England’s last international against the All Blacks a year ago,captain Lewis Moody and winger Mark Cueto only survive from the 15.

Moody, who has just recovered from an injury to lead the team out at Twickenham but the Bath flanker has dismissed worries about his match fitness.

He will skipper an England team that has five players making their Twickenham debuts on the international stage.

Chris Ashton, Ben Foden, Shontayne Hape, Courtney Laws and Ben Youngs are all being thrown in at the deep end, while prop Andrew Sheridan dons England colours against the new Tri-Nations champions after a 20-month injury nightmare.

Despite a surprise defeat to Australia in their final warm-up match ahead of their autumn tour in Hong Kong,All Blacks are still on a high and should readily work out a game plan to scupper England’s likely ploy to stifle their powerful backs.

Moody’s tussle with the equally resilient Richie McCaw should be one of the highlights of the clash but the tourists should have too much all-round strength for an England side still effectively displaying the ‘Under Construction’ banner.

throws shadow over Ryan Hones’ future with Wales

2010-10-09T00:54:00.000-07:00

YAN Jones had a huge question mark placed against his future as captain of Wales following the Ospreys chose to leave out of their starting line for their first big match of the Heineken Cup this afternoon at Toulon noon.Jones lost to international team-mate Jonathan Thomas in the battle for the No. 8 jersey at the Stade Felix Mayol, who spoke with Thomas for the role during the absence of injury to Jones indeed impressive this season.The Ospreys will mention that the absence mentioned above - caused by a knee problem - as the reason for their choice at the base of the scrum, but with Jones having made his comeback two weeks ago to replace Aironi cons, it will be bitterly disappointed to be named on the bench.And the decision casts significant doubt on whether he will continue as captain of Wales for the autumn international series when he can not win selection for the largest meetings at regional level.This was a "taste for the No. 8 position, there is no guarantee Jones will stay in his crib of choice for the rest of the Ospreys' Heineken Thomas red-letter matches, including the next one is next Friday when they welcome London Irish in the Liberty Stadium.

Six Nations Championship: Borthwick dropped from England rugby squad

2010-07-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

Steve Borthwick former's captain, who led England in the last Six Nations championship, has been left out of the 32 man elite squad for next season announced by national team manager Martin Johnson on Thursday.
The 30 year old Saracens lock captained the side in 20 Tests over two years until injury forced him to hand over to Lewis Moody for the final Six Nations game against France and the subsequent summer tour down under.
To the second string Saxons squad he is noe demoted where he is joined by wing Ugo Monye, centre Mathew Tait, lock Louis Deacon and hooker Lee Mears who are also discarded from the elite.
The uncapped Gloucester lock Dave Attwood takes Borthwick's place alongside the other three locks - Tom Palmer, Courtney Lawes and the evergreen 36 year old Simon Shaw.
Johnson said, "Leaving Steve Borthwick out was a very hard decision". "He's done a fantastic job for England over the last couple of years and it's the most difficult call we've had to make.
"It is very tough on Steve but it goes to show the depth of talent we've got in that area.
"We want to build on what we've done this summer and a southern hemisphere tour that was hugely beneficial and a actually positive experience for the pair.
"We were able to give lots of opportunities to players and expose them to a high level of rugby."
Leicester scrum half Ben Youngs and prop Dan Cole have been officially included among the elite after establishing themselves in the Test team during the tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Wasps' uncapped centre Dominic Waldouck has also been included at the expense of Tait along with Leeds' South African born flanker Hendre Fourie and Gloucester prop Paul Doran Jones.
Having taken over the captaincy from Borthwick, leading England to a 21-20 victory in the second Test against Australia in Sydney last month, Moody now looks likely to spearhead England's World Cup campaign in New Zealand next year.

Andy Robinson says Six Nations is more important to Scotland than World Cup

2010-05-27T02:15:00.000-07:00

It seems there has been a radical rethink at Murrayfield. In place of the system where everything revolved in four-year cycles around the Rugby World Cup, Andy Robinson, the Scotland head coach, has made it clear that the RBS Six Nations Championship is now his over-riding priority, and that even the autumn internationals play a greater role in his day-to-day thinking than the global challenge.

As part of that, he is looking at the summer tours as development projects, which is why he asked for — and got — a schedule for the rest of the decade that gives his team only one match a year against a southern hemisphere big gun, plus a couple of matches against lower-ranked opponents. Robinson is, however, also hoping that the organisers will be able to reinstate midweek matches during most of the trips, giving his squad five or six games against opponents ranging from provincial representatives to teams such as the Springboks, All Blacks or Wallabies.

“The key for me is Scotland getting the right number of matches against the southern hemisphere teams in the autumn and we have got that, playing two of them each year. The other important thing is to focus on the Six Nations. Those games are where we really need to improve and start winning regularly,” he said yesterday.

He is busy finalising the side that will take on Japan A next week — mainly players from the squad preparing to face Argentina next month but most of the Glasgow players are likely to be rested and he will have to call some in from the Scotland A team preparing for the IRB Nations Cup in Romania — but he was also keen to look

“I’m really focusing on the Six Nations and autumn internationals,” he said. “When we are there, the tours will be important, but not to the detriment of the other matches. This stage of the season you can lose the likes of Euan Murray, players who have had a hard season and need to rest or tidy up injuries. We are lucky this year that we don’t have many players who need to rest.

“The Six Nations is a tournament that we play every year. We will deal with the World Cup when we come to it, but it is only once every four years, we will peak towards the Six Nations every year and we are going to be judged on how we perform in it.”

There had been fears among some supporters that Scotland’s failure to land a major tour to a top-tier nation — along the lines of the three-match series that England, Ireland, France and Wales will all be embarking on during the next decade — was a demonstration of Scotland’s falling stock as a world power in rugby. In fact, it is all part the masterplan devised by Robinson and Graham Lowe, the performance director, to ensure a steady progression with the limited resources at their disposal.

“I’m really keen for the players to experience not just playing top-tier Test matches but to experience playing in places like Japan and America. That can help us grow as a team and develop that winning habit. At the end of this schedule we can look at where we are in terms of things like rankings and how many players we have developed and we will have a handle on what direction we will then want to go,” he added.

“Scotland have never played three-Test series against anybody, we do not think that is the right thing for us to do at the moment. We cannot let it get away from success in the Six Nations and the autumn Tests. The summer Tests are a building block.”

Friday start for Six Nations

2010-04-21T02:21:00.000-07:00

England and Wales will kick-off their 2011 RBS Six Nations Championship campaigns with a Friday night match in Cardiff.
The two rivals will kick-off next year's tournament at the Millennium Stadium on Friday February 4.
Two previous games have been played on Friday evening, with Wales losing 21-16 to France in Paris in 2009 and Les Bleus winning the fixture in Cardiff this year.
However this will be the first time that the championship has started on a Friday.
Defending champions France will kick-off their challenge on Saturday February 5 against Scotland, with a home game against Wales to round off their campaign on Saturday March 19.
England have three successive home games against Italy (February 12), France (February 26) and Scotland (March 13), before they finish up with a trip to Ireland.
Scotland host Wales and Ireland in rounds two and three and finish with another home game against Italy.
Wales visit Italy in round three and host Ireland two weeks later.

Six Nations Tickets are available online on GigSport.

Wales & England set for Friday Six Nations kick-off

2010-04-14T02:10:00.000-07:00

Wales and England will kick off the 2011 Six Nations in the Championship's first Friday night curtain-raiser.
The arch rivals will clash at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 4 February for the landmark fixture.
Six Nations games were traditionally played on Saturdays then latterly Sunday but controversial Friday night fixtures were introduced in 2009.
France hosted Wales in the Six Nations' first Friday fixture last year before the reverse game in Cardiff this year.
The full fixture list for the 2011 tournament is due to be announced at midday on Wednesday.
The Six Nations' organisers will confirm Wales are to play in their third Friday night game in successive seasons.

Wales lost 21-16 in Paris in February 2009 before a 26-20 defeat at the Millennium Stadium as Six Nations chiefs hoped to capitalise on the tradition of Friday night rugby in France.
But the Friday night project will be a new experience - although they have played in Paris late on Saturday nights.
The Six Nations' Friday night initiative has sparked complaints from both fans and players who would rather play on traditional weekend days.
Rugby fans have bemoaned the inconvenience of internationals on work days, citing travelling to games in time for kick-off as the major difficulty.
And Wales captain Ryan Jones has also publicly voiced his displeasure on playing on Fridays.
But Six Nations chiefs are keen to continue the ongoing Friday night experiment due to bumper television viewing figures and other commercial rewards.

TeleBest: the 2010 Six Nations dream team

2010-03-25T03:26:00.000-07:00

15 - CLEMENT POITRENAUD (France): The Toulouse star (centre) is still remembered for his defensive howler that gifted Wasps 2004 Heineken Cup glory, but he proved a mesmeric attacking force during France's march to the Grand Slam.

The RBS 6 Nations Championship is done and dusted for another season. By common consent, it was a disappointing tournament that offered scarce entertainment and too many ordinary matches, with one team - Grand Slam champions France - head and shoulders above the rest.
Here, PA Sport's rugby union correspondent Andrew Baldock identifies those players who rose above the mediocrity.

Scotland v France Tickets Six Nations 2010

2010-02-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

Scotland kick off their six nations campaign when they host France at Murrayfield on Sunday 7th February 2010 with the kick off at 3pm. Scotland finished 5th in the RBS Six Nations Championship in 2005 and will want to improve on that this year, France on the otherhand finished joint 2nd and will be looking to go one better this year and win the 6 Nations Championship for the first time since 2006.Buy Six Nations Tickets for Scotland v France via ticket exchange sites like GigSport. They both have cheap scotland v France Tickets available from around £30.

They are building for success, England yet to prove

2009-11-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

Likely without ever intending it, the most damning analysis of England’s performance at Twickenham on Saturday came not from any analyst or expert or writer with finely poisoned quill, it came from Rocky Elsom, the Australia captain.
When asked to what extent he and his team mates had to battle to keep out England, how much hard work and backs-against-the-wall stuff was required to defend their tryline, to stop England from going for the jugular, Elsom said that his team had to work very hard in defence, but he added: “I didn’t feel we were really stretched.”
England may have been going for the jugular, but, as Elsom attested, the home team did not clap eyes on it all day. England are again building, waiting, preparing for greater things, yet appear to remain stuck in a perpetual state of waiting, building and preparation.
There is a Groundhog Day feeling to the start of these autumn series at Twickenham. England start averagely, they perform honestly, valiantly but undazzlingly and then deliver the reminder that that was just the start. That was pretty much the form on Saturday. And it has been pretty much the history of the England team, yes, ever since 2003.
If you plotted a progress curve from that date, it would be flat. There appeared to be an upward turn towards the end of last season’s RBS Six Nations Championship but that seems a blip rather than a foundation from which further improvement may be made. It is all very well to draw a line in the sand and say, “from here we go forward”, but England, for once, need to build momentum and keep it.
Martin Johnson, the team manager, said: “That is the first game this side has played together and we will be better for it for next week.” And quite right, they should improve for Argentina on Saturday.
Yet there seemed less patience in the approach to building and rebuilding from Robbie Deans, the Wallabies coach. “If you look at our experienceacross the board, our cap count is not that high, either,” he said. “But it doesn’t really matter. People don’t really care how many caps you have or how old you are, they expect you to perform.”
Given a choice of the two, who would not prefer the Australian way? On Saturday they threw in a new centre partnership and they delivered on Day 1. And Will Genia, the scrum half, is so fresh to this game that he was buzzing afterwards, not about having beaten England but because he had met Jonny Wilkinson. “I’ll go home and tell my family, ‘I played against Jonny Wilkinson and shook his hand,’ ” he said.
It would, though, be preposterous not to recognise the unusual circumstances here. England’s injured army is astonishing in number. Australia may have established now that Genia and those centres, Digby Ioane and Quade Cooper, are international class, but England likewise made three significant gains last season and of those, Delon Armitage and Riki Flutey are injured, and only Tom Croft remains.
Three finds in one season is a decent haul. And remember that a year ago when Flutey made his debut, he did not exactly look the part. Shane Geraghty hardly looked the part on Saturday but if, by the end of the Six Nations, he and two other new faces have proved their worth at this level, then the pool grows ever deeper.
However, the issue with England and the team’s development is not so much who they play but how. With the bountiful resources at England’s command, the ability to survive the present injury crisis and find enough quality to make the necessary replacements should not be a blessed relief but a fact of life.It should be taken for granted.
In the 67th minute on Saturday, Matt Banahan took up the ball for England over the halfway line and there followed more than a minute of possession for the home side that went left, right, left, right, left, from one side of the pitch to the other until the ball was knocked on by Ayoola Erinle.
The ground that England made in that time was minimal. They got nearly as far as the Wallabies’ 22 and by the time Erinle had dropped it, they were pretty much back where they started. The reason that, as Elsom said, Australia were not exactly stretched was because England were playing such a straightforward game.
England can amass all the talent they like, three new good ’uns a year, but until they find a way of asking questions of opposition defences, they will not stretch them, they will remain where they are: in a perpetual state of building, perpetually preparing to achieve, but never actually getting it completed.

Six Nations Championship: South Africa 28 New Zealand 19

2009-08-10T04:42:00.000-07:00

South Africa held off a furious second-half rally from New Zealand to win their Tri-Nations opener in Bloemfontein.

The All Blacks recovered from a 17-3 deficit early in the second half to get within four points, but the Springboks sealed the deal when Jaque Fourie went over eight minutes from time to make it 25-16.
The All Blacks took the lead through Stephen Donald's early penalty, but South Africa came roaring back with 17 unanswered points.
Frans Steyn levelled the scores with a penalty, and South Africa should have led in the 11th minute when Ruan Pienaar struck the post with another penalty kick.
He would miss one more before finally making it 6-3 in the 16th minute.
It had been a tense, tight opening, marked by the odd scuffle, but the Springboks blew it open in the 24th minute when Jean de Villiers tossed the ball out for Pienaar to run in the first try.
However, Pienaar's wayward kicking continued as he missed the conversion.
The All Blacks looked for an instant response, but an impressive move ended with a forward pass.
An injury to Pienaar saw kicking duties passed to Frans Steyn who made a penalty to put his country 14-3 up. Pienaar would try one more time before the break, but missed again, making it 11 points he left on the table in the first half.
Morne Steyn took over the kicking in the second half as Pienaar's evening came to an end, and he nailed his first attempt to make it 17-3 two minutes after the break.
However, the All Blacks finally came to life as Conrad Smith launched a superb run, slicing through the defence to go over. Donald converted the try and moments later kicked a penalty as New Zealand closed the gap.
South Africa looked rattled, but another penalty from Morne Steyn in the 56th minute helped settle the nerves.
But Donald's penalty after 64 minutes cut the gap back to four, 20-16, heading into the final quarter of an hour.
But as nails were frantically being bitten around Vodacom Park, Piri Weepu's wayward pass was recovered by the Springboks and Fourie went over to punish the error.
Morne Steyn's missed conversion allowed the All Blacks to stay in it thanks to another penalty from Donald, but Steyn made no mistake the next time, with his kick three minutes from time ending the All Black challenge.

Ireland have named a 36-man Training squad

2009-07-17T03:42:00.001-07:00

Ireland Training squad consists of players that were involved in the summer tours to North America and the Churchill Cup during May and June as well as several senior players who were not included for the summer tours.

Ireland have named a 36-man squad for the first of three summer training camps, which gets underway in Belfast next week.

The camp begins on July 26 in Northern Ireland, lasting for three days, with the other two sessions taking place in August and September.

There have been no players who toured South Africa with the British & Irish Lions over the earlier part of the summer named in the squad, whilst players recovering from injuries have also been overlooked.

IRB announces referees for Lions tour

2009-04-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

The International Rugby Board have named the referees for the British & Irish Lions' Test series against South Africa this summer.

Bryce Lawrence of New Zealand will take charge of the first Test in Durban on June 20 while France's Christophe Berdos will take over a week later in Pretoria.

Completing the series will be Stuart Dickinson of Australia for the third Test in Johannesburg on July 4.

The trio will form a neutral Test panel that will also include specialist assistant referee Vinny Munro from New Zealand.

IRB referee manager Paddy O’Brien said: "We met with the Lions and South Africa team management last month.

"All were in favour of the appointment of neutral match officials for the Test series.

"Bryce, Christophe and Stuart are all highly experienced members of the IRB’s high performance referee panel with nearly 80 internationals between them."

Six Nations 2008 Rugby Highlights.

2009-02-10T23:19:00.001-08:00

2009 RBS Rugby Union Six Nations Championship

2009-02-10T01:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the RBS Six Nations Championships, which is Europe’s top Rugby competition. It will take place from Saturday 7th February 2009 and conclude on Saturday 21st March 2009. For rugby fans the Championship warms up the winter months often with some of the most pulsating competitive matches imaginable.
The competing Nations are England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France and Italy. For the last five years the championship has been divided between Wales and France, with Wales being the current Champions who won the Grand Slam in 2008 under new coach Warren Gatland.

for further information visit 6nationsrugby.net.

If you want to watch live Six Nations Championship then Click to buy six nations championship tickets

Rugby Six Nations Championship - Records

2009-02-10T00:18:00.000-08:00

Major team records Six nations champions:

Most points in a season: 229, England 2001

Most tries in a season: 29, England 2001

Biggest win: 80-23, England v Italy 2001

Most tries in a match: 12, Scotland v Wales 1887

Individual records:

Most tries in a match:

05 - George Lindsay SCO v WAL, 1887

Most conversions in a match:

09 - Jonny Wilkinson ENG v ITA, 2001

Most penalties in a match:

07 - Simon Hodgkinson ENG v WAL, 199107 - Rob Andrew ENG v SCO, 1995

07 - Jonny Wilkinson ENG v FRA, 1999

07 - Neil Jenkins WAL v ITA, 200007 - Gerald Merceron FRA v ITA, 2002

07 - Chris Paterson SCO v WAL, 2007

Get more info at Rugby Six Nations championship

Six Nations Rugby Championship - Results

2009-02-10T00:12:00.000-08:00

Overall England has the most Home Nations, Five Nations, and Six Nations tournament victories with 25 (excluding 10 shared victories). Next is Wales with 24 (excluding 11 shared). The only country not to have won the competition is Italy, with no wins from its nine tournaments.

more information

Six Nations Championship - Current venues

2009-02-10T00:02:00.000-08:00

The 2008 Rugby 6 Nations matches were held in the following stadiums:

England: Twickenham, London
France: Stade de France, Saint-Denis (near Paris) Ireland: Croke Park, Dublin
Italy: Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Scotland: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Wales: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Croke Park is not the normal home of Irish rugby; it is the flagship stadium of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), which until 2005 prohibited its venues from being used for soccer or rugby. Ireland's traditional home, Lansdowne Road, will be unavailable during 2007 or 2008 due to the construction of a completely new stadium on the site of what had become an increasingly run-down structure. The all-Ireland governing body for rugby union, the Irish Rugby Football Union, reached an agreement with the GAA to allow Ireland to play their 6 Nations fixtures at Croke Park in 2007. The agreement will most likely continue until the new Lansdowne Road opens, projected to be in time for the 2010 Six Nations.

Triple Crown Trophy

2009-02-09T23:50:00.000-08:00

Despite the history of the Triple Crown there had never been a permanent trophy produced until 2006.
The Trophy is a silver dish measuring 42cm wide and 5cm deep and weighing a hefty three kilos. The Trophy was produced by Hamilton and Inches of Edinburgh and took over four months to make.

Triple Crown history:

The new Triple Crown Trophy was presented for the first time in 2006
The Triple Crown has been won 59 times
The four Home Unions have been competing against each other for 125 years, since the first international between England and Wales in 1882
The Triple Crown was first won in 1893 when Wales became the first holders of the then mythical trophy

Looking for more details then follow this link Triple Crown Trophy

Six Nations Rugby Championship Trophy

2009-02-09T23:41:00.000-08:00

Each year, the RBS Six Nations Championship Trophy is presented to the winning team. Below are some interesting facts regarding the trophy:

The idea of a Trophy for the Six Nations Championship was first thought of by the Earl of Westmorland, and was first presented in 1993 to France (the winners that season). It is held in trust by the Six Nations Championship Trophy Trust.

The Trophy is made of 200 ounces of sterling silver and is insured for £55,000. It was designed by James Brent-Ward, a silversmith designer, and made by eight craftsmen at the London silversmith firm William Comyns. The inside of the Trophy was originally silver, but it became so tarnished from repeated fillings with champagne that it has been lined with 22 carat gold to protect it.

There are fifteen sides to the Trophy, representing each player, and three handles representing each official ie the referee and two touch judges. Around the wooden base of the Trophy is the emblem of each of the six national unions.

The handle, or finial, on the lid is interchangeable and represents the current champions. The current champions are Wales so at the moment the finial is the one decorated with Prince of Wales' feathers. The finials of the five challenging teams are kept in a hidden drawer in the plinth throughout the Championship.

The capacity of the Trophy is exactly five bottles of champagne, one for each of the original Five Nations, and the trophy has a lip at the rim, designed so that it is easy to drink from.

Six Nations Championship Trophy Trust

Six Nations Trophies

2009-02-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

Different Trophies are awarded to the different categories of winners of Six Nations Championship.

like:

1. Championship Trophy

2. Triple Crown Trophy

Several other trophies are contested within the main competition, mostly as long-standing fixtures between pairs of teams.

Calcutta Cup - England versus Scotland; contested annually since 1879.

Centenary Quaich - A quaich is a celtic drinking vessel, and is contested between Celtic neighbours Scotland and Ireland. It was first contested in 1989, and the two teams play for it annually.

Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy - Contested between France and Italy in memory of Giuseppe Garibaldi; first awarded in 2007.

Millennium Trophy - Presented to celebrate Dublin's millennium in 1988 the Millennium Trophy is contested between England and Ireland.

Grand Slam - All nations: awarded when one nation defeats the other five.

Rules of the RBS 6 Nations Championship

2009-02-09T23:00:00.000-08:00

The RBS 6 Nations Championship is contested each season over seven weekends during February, March and sometimes April by the international sides of France England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.

Each team plays the other five once per season with home advantage in alternate seasons (eg England hosted France in 2003, and so France host England in 2004), giving a total of 15 matches per Championship.

The RBS 6 Nations Championship Trophy is presented to the team who earn the most points during the season, with 2 points being awarded for a win, and 1 point for a drawn match.If two or more teams finish the Championship with the same number points, the winner is decided on match-points difference (subtracting match-points 'against' from match-points 'for' in all Championship matches). If there is still no winner, then it is awarded to the team who scored the most tries during the Championship.If after all this a winner still cannot be decided then the Championship is shared between the teams.

If in winning the Championship a team also wins all of their five matches, they are given the title of 'Grand Slam' winner.

There is also the title of 'Triple Crown' competed for each season, which is awarded if a team from the 4 Home Unions (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) beats each of the other 3 Home Unions.
For further information rbs6nations.com

Rugby Six Nations - History of Victories

2009-02-09T22:38:00.000-08:00

Played annually, the format of the Championship is simple: each team plays every other team once, with home field advantage alternating from one year to the next. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. Unlike most other rugby union competitions the bonus point system is not used.

Victory in every game results in a 'Grand Slam'. Back to back Grand Slams have been achieved on five occasions, by Wales in 1908/1909, by England in 1913/1914, 1923/1924 and 1991/1992 and France in 1997/1998. England holds the record for the number of Grand Slams won with 12, followed by Wales with 10, France with 8, Scotland with 3 and Ireland with 1.

Victory by any Home Nation over the other three Home Nations is a 'Triple Crown'. The Triple Crown has twice been won on four consecutive occasions, once by Wales in 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 and once by England in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998. England hold the record for the number of Triple Crowns won with 23, followed by Wales with 20, Scotland with 10 and Ireland with 9. Although this achievement has long been a feature of the tournament, it was not until 2006 that a physical trophy, commissioned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was awarded.

If a nation at the end of the tournament has lost every match it is said to have the Wooden Spoon.

In 2005 Wales won the Grand Slam, becoming the first team ever to win a Grand Slam playing more games away than at home.

In 2006, France won the competition on points difference over Ireland. Ireland received the consolation prize of the Triple Crown Trophy, presented for the first time that year. Italy once more collected the Wooden Spoon. For the first time since 2000, Scotland won the Calcutta Cup.

In 2007, France again won on points difference, after four teams had at least a mathematical chance of topping the table going into the final week. The Italians had their first away win of the tournament beating Scotland in Edinburgh. Scotland won the wooden spoon and Ireland won the Triple Crown for the second straight year and third time in four years.

In 2008 Wales won the Grand Slam with a 29-12 win against France in Cardiff, having only conceded two tries in the championship, beating England's previous record of four tries conceded.

Six Nations Championship - History

2009-02-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

In 1871, England and Scotland played the first rugby union international.After 12 years of occasional friendly matches between the teams, the inaugural Home International Championship, comprising England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales was played in 1883. England won the first series, along with a Triple Crown. Up until 1893, England and Scotland were the only champions, with Wales winning their first title that season. Ireland won their first title the following season. more wikipedia>>

Four becomes five
France did not join the fray until 1910 and, despite their later dominance, they struggled at first to achieve any notable success. They did however, coin the phrase 'five nations'. In their first four years of entry, the French won just one game - a one point victory over Scotland in 1911. more>>

Six Nations Rugby Chamionship

France were the first winners of the new trophy, followed by Wales and then England. Scotland's first success came in season 1998-99; Ireland have yet to win it. Scotland was the last nation to win the Five Nations Trophy as such because Italy joined the competition in 2000 and the tournament became known as the "Six Nations Championship". England were the first nation to win the trophy under the new format, winning the 200 competition. The importance of the competition has decreased slightly since the introduction of the Rugby World Cup, but the long-standing rivalries between teams mean that it remains a passionate and fiercely contested prize.

Six Nations - Introduction

2009-02-09T21:35:00.000-08:00

The 6 Nations Championship (referred to as RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons), known before 2000 as the Five Nations Championship, is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The winners of the 6 Nations are sometimes seen as being the European Champions.

more on six nations>>

Rugby fans desperately wait for this event every year from all the six nations i.e. England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Though the dates the match fixtures announced by the officials few months before the event start but the curious Rugby fans buy and book their Six Nations tickets for their favorite teams long before the schedule announcement.