While it will be the usual joy and the completion is likely to be a bit more even (apart from Italy) due to the progress of Scotland and (possibly Wales) this tournament will be severely impacted by the injuries each team are facing. I made this prediction before the Lions tour (see post #3 here http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... ns#p415258" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and am unhappy to see it come to fruition, the level of injuries is hugely concerning for all though

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/ ... ddie-jones" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As an Englishman I am happy that Wales and especially Ireland are at HQ, though somewhat anxious about Murrayfield

I'm looking forward to it but, as said, there really are a lot of injuries this season already. I guess that favours England to some degree as they probably have bigger squad depth than most.
In the past 5/6 years you can usually rule out Italy and one, or both, of Scotland and France but this year I think all bar Italy have a shout.

I'm still hoping to get a TW ticket for one of England's home games but tickets are getting harder to come by and ridiculously expensive so I'll probably end up in front of the tv for all the games.

My bookie has odds of: England 10/11, Ireland 13/8, then a big gap to Scotland 9/1, Wales 16/1, France 20/1 then Italy 1000/1.
France seems to be suffering the England football malaise of having rich clubs with loads of foreign highly paid players which is detracting from the development of home-grown players.

Looking forward to it, especially with the club I follow (London Irish) doing so badly.

Where's the Welsh chap Malwayne or similar? Remember him a couple of years ago belittling England and claiming South Africa would dominate world rugby for the next decade

Gutted to miss out on Ireland tickets. Will be the decider I think although it must surely be time for the French to step up again.

bedfords wrote:Where's the Welsh chap Malwayne or similar? Remember him a couple of years ago belittling England and claiming South Africa would dominate world rugby for the next decade

South Africa have not got a chance.....not with the current Government in place.

Their policy of 'quota's' is killing their team. It was interesting to go to the Rugby Museum at the V&A Waterfront in CPT....

Many of my SA mates are in despair of what his happening in SA rugby

Fair play for sticking up a post so early.... not that many RU fans on here generally but there is a small hard core of true believers... I think it's one of the best international competitions out there.

As mentioned above could be the most open competition for a while, with only Italy being ruled out really. England start as favourites and crucially have Twickenham fixtures against Wales and Ireland. That away match at Murrayfield though could be incendiary and very very tricky.... Scotland are much improved.

I have been promised a ticket for England v Ireland on the final Saturday which could be the decider..St Patrick's Day as well... - hoping that the Chelsea match gets shifted, so I can get to it (sorry)..

The Big Kick Off is this Saturday with England playing on Sunday.

hampsteadclaret wrote:I have been promised a ticket for England v Ireland on the final Saturday which could be the decider..St Patrick's Day as well

I’ve been promised a trip to the local pub! Hope I’ll be celebrating for more than one reason on Paddy’s Day... but if I am I may want to keep my head down on here for a while.

I like to have a small bet on each of the 6N games, just to add a bit of interest (though I hardly need that when it's England playing).
I usually do a "17 way winning margin" bet. For this weekend's games, pending team news nearer the time, I'm thinking of: Wales by 6-10 pts; France by 1-5 pts; England by 16-20 pts.
The bookies' par winning margins are : Wales by 2 pts, Ireland by 6pts, England by 21 pts. Odds may change nearer the time I guess depending on likely teams/latest injuries etc.
Not too many away victories usually (excepting in Rome) so Ireland being favourites to win in France is significant, we'll see.

Yer as we all know the first game is so important as lose that and if buts and maybe for your country .
England have to be Favs for sure but with the French you never know what you are going to get in any game .
As for Wales and Scotland can see both losing a couple of games , Italy will do well to win one really .
As for Ireland hummm all depends what the result is in France as if they win that it will come down to the last game in England which i think England will win with a Grand slam to boot .

C'mon Scotland!!!!

ClaretDiver wrote:South Africa have not got a chance.....not with the current Government in place.

Their policy of 'quota's' is killing their team. It was interesting to go to the Rugby Museum at the V&A Waterfront in CPT....

Many of my SA mates are in despair of what his happening in SA rugby

If South Africa win the 6 Nations, I will happily display my arris in the club shop window..

Scotland have won only 1 of their last 10 games v Wales and it was 2002 when they last won in Cardiff. So, despite Scotland's resurgence of late, it'll be a bit of an upset if they win on Saturday.
I'll be in front of my TV at 14.15 anyway and hope to see a good competitive game but I'm expecting a home win.
I think Scotland will find it very tough in Dublin 10th March too (and might even find it tough v England late in Feb up in Edinburgh).
Let's hope for some decent weather on match days anyway so that we might see some good passing moves from all the XVs.

I like the six nations, because it means Spring is on the way.

I always like Scotland. Perpetual underdogs.

I love the 6 Nations because of the unpredictability of it, with the usual exception of Italy !

I played at Blackburn RUFC, back in the day, and I still have many good friends there, although some haven't been quite so keen to discuss t'Rovers lately as they once were, strange that ! The Secretary runs a prediction competition every year for the 6 Nations, there were 91 entrants last year.
The 1st XV Coach came 86th, and I finished well below MrsClarets4me, who with all due respect, wouldn't know Fran Cotton from Ferne Cotton, and my 82 year old Dad, who last played when studs were nailed into boots, and a try was worth 3 points !!!

Bring it on !!

England: Injuries mounting, historically poor post lions
Ireland : Have to play France and England away
Wales : Injury crisis without Englands' depth, too many players on the lions tour
Scotland: Have to travel to Wales and Ireland
France : Should be in the box seat with no lions hangover and a kind fixture roster, however they're imploding off the field
Italy : Meh!!

I'd obviously love England to win it, though a grand slam is probably out of anybodies reach this year. If it has to be somebody else then Id quite like it to be Scotland, though I feel their whole championship will hinge on keeping Hogg fit.

How would you go about buying tickets?

If you look at England's injuries it's not affected the first choice team that much.

We will have the 1st choice front row and the 1st or 2nd choice locks playing in Italy and it's mainly squad players that are injured but if we get any more injuries we are stuffed!

The fixtures have been kind to us too and although Ireland look to be getting stronger and stronger with some cracking young players they have some hard away matches and historically they are not great playing away from home! I think the grand slam is out of reach for all teams and it could be a fight for the six nations champions on the last day of the championship with England at home to Ireland which will be exciting.

The biggest issue is the back row, especially losing both Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes in the number 8 position. There is quite a big drop off after those two. The good news is that in my opinion and many in the game is that we have the best group of 18 to 22 year olds playing in the back row in the world but I'm not sure many of them will be ready for the next world cup.

Twickenham holds 82,000....once Corporate Hospitality, Debenture Holders and Visiting RFU's are taken into account, most of the rest of the tickets are allocated through member Rugby Clubs. Locally, you need to be a full member of either Burnley, Colne & Nelson, Rossendale, Blackburn or Keighley Rugby Clubs..
The Club usually asks members to apply for tickets by the end of September the previous year, with payment in full, and they then send off their request to the RFU. The member Club are then allocated a number of tickets, usually scaled down, and they are then distributed among members who applied. Tickets start at £65 and go up to £105 for the 6 Nations.
Some tickets find their way to the " Secondary " market, " Stub-hub " etc, but the RFU can and do heavily sanction Clubs whose members sell tickets on for a profit. Each ticket is printed with the name of the Club to whom it was issued, and the applicant's name...

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/oldeltham ... 82949.html

RE "getting tickets". Tickets for watching England at TW for 6N and in the autumn internationals is getting harder and more expensive.
There's a broad explanation at https://www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/Common ... ge/Index/1
and https://www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/Common ... ge/Index/3

Ive been a member of "first XV" for 10+ years now and it certainly helps but there's an annual fee (you get info e-mails + money off merchandise etc as benefits) and I think they are nowadays limiting the number of new members. You can usually get tickets OK for England games v ,say, Samoa or Fiji or Argentina etc but for 6N and ,say, NZ,Oz, SA, it's still down to a ballot.

You can join a local club and get the opportunity of a ballot ticket.

Otherwise you are, unfortunately, paying a small fortune to "hospitality" companies /touts (or getting a freebie via some "client" if you work in the right industry).

Always a good day out though, especially with a few well-chosen mates.

It's generally easier for Wales home games (except v England)- just register with RFU http://www.wru.co.uk/eng/home.php

So teams have been announced, and we are ready to get underway with Italy promising they have another ruse or two to test players understanding of the rulebook - do they really?.

I always find it is interesting how the first fixtures in this competition can define the tournament for a team. Cardiff with the lid on will be a test for Scotland and no one knows which France Ireland will meet in St Dennis, we just hope it is a good one

The famous six nations checklist has been updated for 2018 so you can blend in with the braying knobheads who ruin the atmosphere in pubs all over the land at this time of year.

Best of luck everyone.

I've been on hundreds of rugby matches (club mostly bit plenty of Internationals) & usually been in the pub before and after, have heard/seen hardly any of those.
I did once have a couple of cotton trader shirts though, a long time ago when they were good quality cotton- lasted ages.

quoon - you missed one - everyone else hates the English - even the Guardian have picked up on it

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/ ... ion-rivals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(did notice I fell into the HQ trap and I have been associated with one other of those, but only one strangely)

I'm looking forward to the 2 6N games on Saturday. I've been trying to get plenty of exercise during this week because I'll not be moving from in front of the TV from 12.29 until c 18.30 on Saturday (except maybe for a p and a brew between games).
As per above, I'll be having a small punt on Wales to win by 6-10 points, France by 1-5 points. Not sure weather I'll bet on Clarets v Citeh though.

Chester Perry wrote:quoon - you missed one - everyone else hates the English - even the Guardian have picked up on it

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/ ... ion-rivals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(did notice I fell into the HQ trap and I have been associated with one other of those, but only one strangely)

to be fair, even the english hate the some of the english!



i'm not arsed at all about the six nations but i'd prefer wales to win it - atmosphere and passion at their home games is something to behold.

quoonbeatz wrote:The famous six nations checklist has been updated for 2018 so you can blend in with the braying knobheads who ruin the atmosphere in pubs all over the land at this time of year.

Best of luck everyone.

That's just an Up The Clarets poster checklist isn't it?

Walton wrote:That's just an Up The Clarets poster checklist isn't it?

Nah, QB just nicks it off " The Poke ", without any acknowledgement or attribution ....

ontario claret wrote:I always like Scotland. Perpetual underdogs.

You mean they are always crap

It's difficult enough to get tickets for the annual Army v Navy game at HQ.

Trying to get one to watch a 6 Nations game for the real fan must be a nightmare.

Clarets4me wrote:Nah, QB just nicks it off " The Poke ", without any acknowledgement or attribution ....

@danny_mcmoomins actually. He updates it every year.

Really looking forward to this years tournament..going for Scotland.Ireland and England wins this weekend ..will catch up with the games after the Turf at Caldervale

Shouldn't HQ technically be Rugby School?

Well Scotland were totally crap - where was the organisation

Wales 34 Scotland 7

Noone saw that coming

Got tickets for England v Wales next week really looking forward to it my first time at Twickenham come on England

YES! Super Johnny Sexton!!!!

France pay the price for ill-discipline in the 1st half

Wexford_Claret wrote:YES! Super Johnny Sexton!!!!

I did think we blew it , hey what a drop goal i must say

Brilliant ending to the France vs Ireland game. The Irish did brilliantly to get Sexton into that situation...

whentheballmoves wrote:Brilliant ending to the France vs Ireland game. The Irish did brilliantly to get Sexton into that situation...

Both sides did amazing to not give the ref a reason to blow his whistle in over 40 phases of play with so much at stake - great drop goal but France should be kicking themselves about those silly penalties

Wales played well enough, did all the basics right & took their chances well. Scotland were very poor, it always seems to happen when people start to fancy them, they tend to play better when they're big underdogs. Last year there was some belief they'd test England at TW and it ended 61-21 to England.
Great play by Ireland just before and after the 80 minutes. They went through umpteen hard phases to slowly make ground and give Sexton that opportunity, still a great kick though. I had a bet on France to win by 1-5 points but was pleased to see Ireland get the win, they deserved it. Fair play to France though, they really stuck in there doggedly, made a shed-load of tackles & put their bodies in the way, very gutsy from them but, barring the try, not much creativity.
Hopefully England's game goes with form tomorrow and sets up a big game next week between England & Wales - starting just about as we're wrapping up our own Wales/England clash in Swansea.

Some very good and some slack from England - not sure we got enough points on the board there.

Ben Youngs out until Autumn at least I reckon - that looked a nasty one

Ireland and England still way ahead of the rest.

The only two who can beat The All Blacks one their day, although France always have that ability to do the sublime.

Enjoyed the England game. I wish rugby fans were a bit more passionate when we scored. It ruins it a bit for me. All polite applause.

Have England played?

They have Ian, I believe Scotland will start playing next week at home to France...

I could almost hear the strains of " We're on the march wi' Ally's army ", prior to kick-off in Cardiff yesterday !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOrbtGjAet0

England were a bit sloppy for a lot of the game, not aggressive enough in defence a few times & a few fairly aimless kicks. However, the good spells they had at the start of the game and the last 20 were enough to rack up 46 points.

I was really impressed by Simmonds, seen him play well for Exeter a couple of times but he looked really at home in an International. Well quick for a big lad.

Shame about the Youngs injury,but good to see new talent emerging,next week will be a much sterner test of England.

I thought it was a pretty good display by England but as Owen Farrell said after the match, there are a few things England will have to work on this week...Italy got at least one try that they shouldn't have done.

Ford and Farrell looked good [they usually do] and Simmonds was very impressive, what explosive pace he had for a number eight.
When England get ALL their players back off the treatment table, what strength in depth they will have..Eddie Jones is a lucky man.
I liked Sir Clive Woodward's suggestion, that despite the excellence of Mike Brown at full back, he would like to see Anthony Watson given a chance there because he would see far more of the ball than he does out on the wing - good idea.

Italy were not over-run..we scored a lot of points late on, and they played well.

That should be some game next week at Twickenham, when the Welsh turn up.

Looking forward to week two but why does Eddie have to give the Welsh extra motivation - going on about manipulating refs and targeting inexperienced players asking if they have the bottle - totally unnecessary and not rugby - like Jose in his special one days