Six Nations 2017: No complaints

I worked the first week of the championship and so missed Wales get off to a winning start against Italy. And for our second game against England I was actually across the border and attending a marriage preparation day (more on that at a later date). So I missed the Irish thumping the Italians and …

6 Nations 2016 Part 4: Too Little, Too Late

Today, with three matches remaining, the Six Nations Championship was pretty much resolved. The Scots upset the French, handing the title to England. It followed a tense game between Wales and England at Twickenham. In truth, England deserved the win having dominated for the majority of the game, but they still contrived to throw away …

6 Nations 2016 Part 3: A Quiet Friday Night In, Shouting at the TV

The Wales vs France match is traditionally the Friday night match and has thrown up some decent games over the years, but the 2016 installment will not go down as a classic. The first half was a tight, frustrating affair as Wales dominated but encountered strong French defence. Not helping was that Dan Biggar missed …

6 Nations 2016 Part 2: Power Prevails

I missed the France vs Ireland match but by all accounts I didn't miss much as France scored a late try to edge it 10-9. Wales faced Scotland in Cardiff and to the relief of a nation Dan Biggar had overcome injury to return. Wales got off to a great start as Gareth Davies ran …

6 Nations 2016 Part 1: Don’t you know who I am?

It's that time of year again! The Six Nations is far and away my favourite sports tournament and Wales got their campaign underway today in Dublin. It did not start well as the Irish built up an impressive 13-0 lead and things got worse when Dan Biggar had to retire from the field and Rhys …

6 Nations 2015 Part 5: Hyperbole justified

Since Italy joined the tournament the final day has become a big deal, three matches and often with the championship still to be decided. As is the way of things nowadays, branding is important and soSuper Saturday was born. To me it feels a bit hyperbolic and flashy, not really what rugby's about, but this …

6 Nations 2015 Part 4: Wide Open

For the second week in a row my pessimistic assessment of Wales' chances were proven wrong, which was nice because it meant my team won and it's also opened the tournament up. Had Ireland triumphed in Cardiff it would basically have been all over, and the Irish would have been the only real runner for …

Six Nations 2015 Part 3: So wrong, but feels so right

Nobody likes to be wrong. Well, not usually, but this weekend I was delighted to have made an error. At the end of my last post about the Six Nations, I predicted that France would defeat Wales, a decision which pained me greatly, as I wanted Wales to win. However, I felt that with the …

Six Nations 2015 Part 2: You, sir, are no gentleman

There's this old saying about the difference between rugby and football, usually spouted by slightly snooty rugby fans that says "Football is a gentleman's game played by ruffians, and rugby's a ruffian's game played by gentlemen". It comes from the idea that rugby is more physical but cleaner, with football being the preserve of thugs and …

Six Nations 2015 Part 1: I bet Gatland owns a white cat…

Yes, it's that time of year, those wonderful five weekends spread across February and March that hosts one of my favourite international sporting events. Yes, the 6 Nations are back. It all kicked off right here in Cardiff as Wales hosted England. As ever, I was hoping for a Welsh win and with the home …