Rugby Union - Six Nation RBS 2009

It is that time of the year, where six nations prove their worth in the field of rugby. The 2009 RBS will be played out with the same teams as the big tournament starts off on the 7th February in the oval ground.

This tournament shall include teams of England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy. Ever since 5 teams became six in the year 2000, only 3 teams which are England, France, and Wales have great chances of winning. The other three teams have realistically very little chance of winning. Wales will be looking to defend their title.
Teams which will win all their matches will also collect the grand slam along with the prestigious Six Nation’s Rugby Trophy.

The tournament will begin on Saturday with first match between England vs. Italy on the 7th February 2009 and Ireland vs. France on the same day. The match scheduling is as follows:

England vs. Italy Sat 7th
Ireland vs. France sat 7th
Scotland vs. Wales Sun 8th
France vs. England 14th
Wales vs. England 14th
Italy vs. Ireland 15th
France vs. Wales 27th
Scotland vs. Italy 28th
Ireland vs. England  28th
Italy vs. Wales 14th Mar
Scotland vs. Italy Sat 14th Mar
England vs. France Sun 15th Mar
Italy vs. France Sat 21st Mar
England vs. Scotland Sat 21st Mar
Wales vs. Ireland Sat 21st Mar

Detailed Overview of the Teams

Wales: There is no argument that Wales are the clear favorites with none of their rival having improved their performance recently; their retaining the Championship is easy. With arguably the worlds best finisher in Williams, coupled with a strong team across the board, it would take a very good side to match the Dragons over 5 games. The match in France shall be the biggest threat to another Grand Slam title.

England & Martin Johnson are in desperate need of a positive campaign after being hammered in the November Internationals. Much will rest on the shoulders of Andy Goode, the fly-half recalled for his first game in over 2 years in the absence of both Danny Cipriani & Toby Flood.

They do have 3 home games this time around but must travel both to Wales & Ireland; they haven’t won in either country since they last won the tournament in 2003.

France:  They can win or lose to anyone on their day and that will never change. The home loss to England last year hurt Les Bleus, however, and they will be looking for revenge at Twickenham on day 4 match. With the pressure on coach Marc Livrement after consecutive defeats to South Africa & Australia, the notorious Parisian crowd may also work against the French if they do not try to take early leads in their home game

Ireland: They haven’t won this competition since 1985 and there is no reason to believe that the Shamrock is any better than their rivals this time. They do have one of the best fixture lists, with home games against England.

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