Six Nations Rugby Tournament Starting Soon

The annual Six Nations tournament begins in February and sees England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy compete in what is usually a very close and hard fought tournament. Each team plays against the other teams once with home advantage alternating from year to year. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw with the team winning the most points crowned RBS Six Nations Champions. The 2012 competition promises to be an exciting tournament with a number of teams in with a great chance of winning. France are the pre-tournament favourites and quite rightly so after their performance in the 2011 World Cup where they were defeated narrowly by hosts New Zealand 8-7 in the final. They start their campaign against Italy in Paris on February the 4th and will be looking to avenge last year’s shock 22-21 defeat in Rome. Wales are 2nd favourites and have been playing superb rugby under coach Warren Gatland throughout 2011 and will be looking to continue that form this year. They too had a very good World Cup and were very unlucky to be edged out 8-9 in the semi finals against France. The Welsh have a few injuries to contend with and a tough start in Ireland on the 4th February but will hope a win in their crucial last match against France at the Millenium Stadium on March 17th will hand them the title. England on the other hand just didn’t get going last year. A disappointing World Cup came to an end in the Quarter-finals where they lost 12-19 to the French and the squad was plagued with off field disciplinary problems making it a tournament to forget. Coach Martin Johnson resigned shortly after the World Cup and has been replaced by Stuart Lancaster who has selected a youthful squad in an attempt to turn England’s fortunes around and get them playing the rugby they are capable of. They start their campaign with the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield on the 4th February and play France in Paris on the 11th March where they will look to avenge that World Cup defeat. Scotland have struggled to win games in recent times and in fact have only managed to win two of their last 10 Six Nations Matches but will be looking to turn things around this year. Andy Robinson’s men start at home to England on the 4th February and if the last Six Nations match at Murrayfield between the two is anything to go by it should be a great game, they drew 15-15 back in the 2010 tournament. The Irish always provide tough opposition particularly at home and could well go close to winning the tournament again this year. The 2009 season saw the Ireland team complete the Grand Slam and they finished runners up in 2010 so they can never be written off. Ireland begin their campaign at home to Wales on the 5th February. Italy are the outsiders of the six but are continually improving season after season and are beginning to cause problems for the other five. They have managed a couple of victories in recent tournaments beating Scotland 16-12 in 2010 and caused a huge shock last year when they defeated the French 22-21 so they may have a say when it comes to deciding the Six Nations Champions. A few records to keep an eye on as the tournament progresses - England currently hold the grand slam record with 12 wins followed by Wales with 10, France with 9, Scotland with 3 and Ireland with 2. The Triple Crown is up for grabs once again and England currently hold that record too with 23 Triple Crowns, followed by Wales with 19 and Scotland and Ireland with 10 each. There is nothing better than sampling the electric atmosphere of a live Rugby Union game so why not buy Six Nations Tickets for any of the 15 games and enjoy a fantastic day out. The tournament begins on the 4th February and runs through until the 17th March so you have plenty of opportunity to log on to the www.Sportsticketstore.co.uk, buy those tickets and see this fantastic sport live.

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