#six-nations

#six-nations

The English can scent blood in the Irish water this week, and if the travelling pack weren't aware of the perception that they're in for a difficult day, then they should just take a look at what's been coming out of Fleet St.

After what felt like 40 days and 40 nights of darkness and rain, the sun came out in Dublin. Cold, yes, and a grey day by kick-off but bright enough to throw light on an Ireland side scrambling for their footing, and a bullish Italy one looking to break new ground. Never having won a Six Nations game in Dublin might be the sort of statistic to weigh you down.

In one of sport's weirder coincidences, England are about to play must-win games against Scotland in both rugby and cricket on the same day. The forecast 3C temperatures for the Calcutta Cup encounter may be cooler than in Kolkata appropriately the venue for the T20 World Cup group fixture but a white-hot contest inside a chilly Murrayfield can be absolutely guaranteed.

At the beginning, the 33yearold says, the big thing was, always, physically can she do it? Will she be able to keep up with the men's game? What happens if she gets knocked over? Is her rugby knowledge there? How will players and fans react to her? That sexism is still there at points, but people now just want to see a game being well refereed. There was no such acceptance at the start of her career in 2015.

There have been so many world-class players to have represented the six countries since Italy's inclusion to the championship in 2000. Success also comes into the equation, and longevity and influence. In many ways, these are linked, yet it was important to also recognise the outstanding individual contributions of those even if their sides were not title winners. Balancing, say, the achievements of the great England team at the start of the 2000s with the later achievements of Wales, France and Ireland is tricky.

On the surface it was business at usual at this year's Six Nations launch in a chilly Edinburgh. Had the city's most famous literary sleuth poked his nose into the venue at the top of the Royal Mile, Inspector Rebus would have clocked the usual suspects: head coaches trying not to divulge any secrets, captains quietly studying their opposite numbers and content creators seeking to jazz up their tournament previews.

Binning an unwritten law that was never worth the paper it wasn't written on, could be a game-changer Unwritten rules are hypocritical for obvious reasons. Nobody can see them. Verbal questions are different. Anyone can ask them.

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I was in Carton House when I got the call that dad had been knocked off his bike and taken by ambulance to hospital in Limerick where his condition was critical. It was Tuesday February 7, 2023. The previous Saturday I'd started the first game of that season's Six Nations and was due to start the following Saturday against France. In my world, everything was going well.