2009 SIX NATIONS

INTRODUCTION

Welsh fans will explain the extra night tacked onto their weekend in the French capital to their spouses and bosses is anyone’s guess, but they will surely be there in their droves.

That match at the Stade de France could prove pivotal to this year’s championship. Wales are riding high after their Grand Slam last season, have the IRB World Player of the Year in winger Shane Williams, and were the only British side to beat one of the three southern hemisphere giants in the autumn.

Wales’ 21-18 win over Australia at the Millennium Stadium marked yet another step up in their progress under Gatland and gives them real momentum going into the Six Nations, for which they are clear favourites. And it is not all about the twinkle-toed Williams. They have his namesake Martyn on the flank who Gatland persuaded out of international retirement in possibly the masterstroke of last season, the inspirational Ryan

reins in the Emerald Isle.

One thing that has not changed is the appeal of the tournament. Lions tours and World Cups come once every four years but the Six Nations is with us every spring as rugby fans across Europe blow off the cobwebs and renew age-old friendships on their travels. The Six Nations is not just about what happens on the pitch, it is about late nights, a few beers, good food and fans of all countries mingling in some of Europe’s most iconic capital cities. The hangovers might be vast and seemingly incurable but they are usually worth it. Southern hemisphere rugby followers fed on a diet of the Tri-Nations look up over the equator in envy at the traditions and history of the 15-game bonanza.

And this year, of course, there is the lure of the Lions tour to South Africa during the summer, should the players need any extra motivation. Which is hardly likely.

There is one alteration this season with the first Friday night match of the tournament being played between France and Wales in Paris on 27 February. Quite how the

Above Cristiano Ronaldo leaps above the Chelsea defence to give Manchester United the lead in last year’s historic all-English final

Jones, more half-backs than you can shake a stick at, and talents like Gavin Henson to sprinkle even more stardust.

If they are to prevail in their match against Wales, the French must get their selection policy together. Last year Lievremont appeared to use the Six Nations as some sort of trial for the 2011 World Cup as he chopped and changed his side, but if his pin hits the right spot this time they could do some damage.

The disastrous (on and off the pitch) summer tour to New Zealand and the autumn internationals were not encouraging for the new-look England management team and they were dealt a heavy blow when the Wasps open-side flanker Tom Rees was ruled out for two months recently with a knee problem. With Michael Lipman and the emerging Steffon Armitage lining up behind Rees, the potential captain’s absence does not reduce the back row to the parlous state of some of the other positions in Johnson’s squad.

Injuries have not helped. Jonny Wilkinson is struggling to make the tournament whilst rival fly-half Danny Cipriani’s star has waned since the ankle injury he sustained at the end of last

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