The 2014 RBS 6 Nations is upon us
The squads have been announced and the battle lines have been drawn – the 2014 RBS 6 Nations, the 120th edition of the Championship, is just 16 days away.
Warren Gatland’s Wales are bidding to become the first side in history to secure the RBS 6 Nations title three years in a row but all five of their rivals have devised plans to stop them in their tracks.
Stuart Lancaster’s England, runners-up for the last two years, boast a youthful exuberance and plenty of eye-catching talent while Ireland have the element of surprise with Joe Schmidt the only head coach to lead a side in his first Championship.
France are traditionally there or thereabouts in the first Championship that follows British & Irish Lions tours while Scott Johnson and Jacques Brunel will be looking for further signs of improvements from their Scotland and Italy sides respectively.
It’s defending champions Wales who lift the curtain on the 2014 RBS 6 Nations, welcoming Brunel’s Italy side to the Millennium Stadium where the Azzurri will be looking for their first win in Cardiff, having managed an 18-18 draw back in 2006.
Later on Saturday, February 1, Lancaster takes his men to Paris to face a France side itching to make up for last year’s disappointing Championship which saw them finish bottom of the table.
England have won six of their last eight clashes with France, including the last two RBS 6 Nations clashes but Les Bleus got the better of the Red Rose in the 2011 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals and will be looking to do so again.
Elsewhere on the first weekend of the Championship, Ireland host Scotland in Dublin where revenge will be on the menu for the Men in Green.
Ireland got off to the perfect start in last year’s Championship, coming away from the Millennium Stadium with a 30-22 victory but it was downhill from there for Declan Kidney’s troops.
It could have been far different however had they not come unstuck in Murrayfield in round three – creating a host of try-scoring chances but failing to take all but one and leaving Scotland to claim a 12-8 victory and with it the Centenary Quaich.
A close encounter is to be expected if the formbook is anything to go by – in their last eight meetings, both sides have won four matches a piece and on five on those occasions, there has been just a score in it.
Courtesy of RBS 6 Nations
Related Posts
« Grey High School (PE) Rugby Festival 2014 School Boys that Played SA Schools Rugby & Cricket 1974-2014 »
