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SIDELINES HERE COME THE GIRLS RUGBY FEVER AT THE CELTIC MANOR If you can’t get a seat for the 2009
Six Nations – and we all know how
hard it is to get your hands on the
prized tickets – As the home of the 2010 Ryder Cup,
The Celtic Manor Resort in the Usk
Valley, South Wales, has distinct
sporting pedigree already. Now,
visitors can enjoy rugby fever there
too as the resort celebrates the Just 30 minutes from Cardiff’s
Millennium Stadium, the resort is the
ideal place to stay if you have tickets
for the game, with transport to and
from the venue provided by Even if you’re not lucky enough to be going to the game, the big screens at Celtic Manor will still offer you the best views of all the Six Nations action. For real sport enthusiasts, a stay at Celtic Manor Resort offers a plethora of leisure options to enjoy before or after the big game. Golf is available on three championship courses, including The Twenty Ten – the first course ever built specifically to stage the Ryder Cup. With a fantastic winter special rate of �70, including a two-course meal after your round, there has never been a better time to enjoy The Twenty Ten Experience on one of the world’s most thrilling match-play courses. For bookings contact Reservations on +44 (0)1633 410 262 or email [email protected] England comfortably The main competition n 2009 FIXTURES n ELVS EXPLAINED Fri 6th Feb Ireland v France Dublin Sat 7th Feb England v Italy London Sun 8th Feb Scotland v Wales Edinburgh This year, the International Rugby Board gave their backing to 13 of the 23 ‘Experimental Law Variations’ proposed by a high-powered ‘project group’ consisting of former international coaches. Their decision means the new laws, including controversial regulations covering the line-out and the maul, will be trialled throughout the world from the beginning of August and feature in the Guinness Premiership, the Heineken Cup, the Six Nations Championship and the 2009 Lions series in South Africa. Once the evidence of their effect has been witnessed and analysed the Board will revisit the subject in November 2009 and formally decide whether to embed these laws into the official rules of rugby. It is believed that there is almost zero chance of the new laws being thrown out less than two years before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. Changes to be trialled worldwide include: players can defend a maul by pulling it down; introduction of an offside line five metres behind the hindmost feet of the scrum; no restriction on number of players who can be in a lineout from either side (minimum of two); the receiver in a lineout must stand two metres back from the lineout. There have also been ideas which have been rejected, or sent away for more experimentation at a later date. Sat 14th Feb Wales v England Cardiff Sat 14th Feb Italy v Ireland Rome Sun 15th Feb France v Scotland Paris Fri 27th Feb Ireland v England Dublin Sat 28th Feb France v Wales Toulouse Sat 28th Feb Scotland v Italy Edinburgh Sat Mar 14th Scotland v Ireland Edinburgh Sun Mar 15th Italy v Wales Venice Sun Mar 15th England v France London Sat Mar 21st Wales v Ireland Cardiff Sat Mar 21st England v Scotland London Sun Mar 22nd Italy v France Torino 14 / CLASSIC SPORTS SERIES |