Stuart Barnes’s Big Game: Wales v Scotland

Wales’s slide from the top tier of international teams gathered momentum with a lacklustre performance at Twickenham. England were not that good but for all bar 20 minutes. Wales were that bad. Muscle and mean defensive mentality has become the leading edge of their game but Wales’s players remain at their best playing attacking rugby.

Martyn Williams is a glorious link and Jamie Roberts and James Hook are capable of causing endless problems to the best teams while Stephen Jones is never afraid to stand flat and in the firing line. The scrum is good and should be much better still this weekend. They are overwhelming favourites to beat Scotland this weekend but the Welsh players will need to cut out the stupid mistakes that undermined them in London. In the 10 minutes Alun Wyn Jones was sitting out his sin-bin sentence, Wales leaked 17 unanswered points. The Welsh management didn’t hold back in their criticism but teams frequently play with one man down and rarely concede so much. Shouldn’t the defensive system of Shaun Edwards be subjected to more scrutiny than it has so far?

Scotland are not the ideal test of Edwards’ defence. Phil Godman has been dropped and Dan Parks recalled in the merry-go-round of two substitute internationals taking their turn to play and be dropped. Chris Paterson is not the ideal answer but Scotland have a few decent full back options and he kicks goals, while bringing experience in the position.

They have a superior balance to their attack with Rory Lamont adding more bite alongside his brother Sean, who caused genuine problems for France from the wing. Andy Robinson has moved him into the centre to get him more involved. It’s logical but it doesn’t always work.

What must work if Scotland are to win is their back row for whom Johnnie Beattie was excellent in Edinburgh. With Robinson running the side this comes as no great shock. The man knows his back row. Robinson will be delighted to have Euan Murray back from his self-imposed Sunday exile. Scotland would like nothing more than Murray’s inspiration as a changing-room presence, but in the likely absence of divinity, they will have to make do with...

Wales V Scotland Hospitality

Six Nations Hospitality

'Mrs Thatcher won Grand Slam for Scotland'

David Sole leads the Scotland team off the pitch at Murrayfield after their 13-7 Calcutta Cup win over England in the Five Nations rugby tournament, March 1990.

Long regarded as a hate figure among Scottish rugby supporters, Moore has voiced his inflammatory views his new autobiography Beware the Dog.

The former England and British Lions hooker believes the Scottish victory in the Five Nations decider was fuelled not by superior skills and tactics, but by hatred over the imposition of the poll tax by Margaret Thatcher's government, as well as anti-English fervour.

Moore, 48, said the nationalistic fervour got to his fellow players and contributed to the Scots winning 13-7. He wrote: "Scotland's tactics were simple. They would use their home crowd to pressure us throughout the game.

"Allied to these tactics, the easily generated anti-English fervour was reinforced by genuine political antipathy felt by the country towards the Thatcher government, particularly as it had been trialling its new system of local rates, known as the poll tax, north of the border."

Moore told of his torment at having to mix with gloating Scotland fans at a rugby function in Edinburgh the week after the game. "For every second of the experience, and I exaggerate not, at the back of my mind was repeated the phrase, 'I would rather die than allow the Scottish to do this to me again'," he said.

He takes several other swipes at Scotland in the book, saying he has just two Scottish friends, and claiming the Scots were obsessed with labelling the English arrogant. He also expresses dislike for the English anthem Swing Low Sweet Chariot, but still prefers it to Flower of Scotland. Roy Comfort, chairman of the Forum of Scottish Rugby Supporters, said: "It is just Brian being a bit of a sore loser. England came with one of their best teams for years, expecting victory."

Jim Telfer, forwards coach, rejected the Thatcher theory, saying: "There was enough edge without any politics. They were going for a Grand Slam and we were going for a Grand Slam. They must have known that with people like Finlay Calder and David Sole that we were not going to just lie down."

He added: "I think Brian likes reaction. He likes to give this view as a pitbull terrier. He speaks his mind but he is quite arrogant."


Scotland V France Hospitality


Wales V Scotland Hospitality


Italy V Scotland Hospitality

Will Greenwood’s big warning for Wales

WORLD CUP-WINNER Will Greenwood has delivered a double whammy to Wales’ top stars, declaring they are facing Twickenham defeat and potential Heineken Cup wipe-out.

Greenwood, scourge of Wales’s teams as a player at the start of this millennium, reckons Martin Johnson’s new-look England will prove too strong for Warren Gatland’s men at Twickenham.

And he also predicted the Ospreys stars who make up the bulk of Gatland’s team have to take something from their Euro showdown in Clermont tomorrow.

Failure to do that, he warns, could lead to Clermont and Leicester grabbing the top-two spots in Pool Three and the Ospreys joining the Blues, Scarlets and Dragons on the Euro sidelines.

Greenwood’s warning of a double dose of trouble for Welsh rugby will fire up the likes of Ryan Jones, Shane Williams, Lee Byrne, Adam Jones, James Hook and Alun Wyn Jones ahead of a pivotal moment of their season.

But Greenwood is adamant that misery could be facing Welsh rugby, saying: “England have made themselves difficult to beat against Six Nations opponents. It’s England versus Wales at Twickenham on February 6, one of the days in the rugby calendar.

“I’m one of the biggest fans of Welsh rugby, but, as a proud Englishman, I think home advantage will prove decisive with England coming out on top.

“Wales’ second game of the Six Nations is against Scotland in Cardiff and it’s that encounter when Wales will look to get on a winning roll.”

England boss Johnson has strengthened his squad significantly after it was ravaged by injury for the autumn campaign, bringing in a number of younger players he hopes will pep up his team.

But Greenwood says that for Gatland’s Ospreys-based stars to go to Twickenham on a Euro high, they need to go for the jugular in France tomorrow to guarantee Welsh representation in the Heineken quarter-finals.

Scott Johnson’s side currently top Pool Three with 16 points, four ahead of Leicester and Clermont. But their rivals each have the comfort of a probable bonus-point victory to come over Italian minnows Viadana.

With French Championship leaders Clermont hosting the Ospreys at Stade Marcel Michelin, Greenwood insists Aurelien Rougerie and his team are in pole position to win the group.

“James is just so calm and assured. When it’s on to go from his 22, he is away. It’s an Australian sense of belief and purpose.

For upcoming sports information please visit Corporate Hospitality Events

Book your Six Nations Hospitality Six Nations Hospitality

David Young hoping Edinburgh can find right formula to extend stay in Europe

Win and European rugby should beckon. Lose, and it’s another season of concentrating on the Magners League, and another season where Scottish rugby has drawn a blank in the Heineken Cup. The equation is that simple and stark for Edinburgh when they play Ulster tonight.

What complicates things for the Scottish club is that the arithmetic is identical for their opponents, who go into the game level on points in the pool but with the advantage of having picked up a bonus point in losing the reverse fixture, where the teams drew the try count at one each.


Which means that the biggest game of the season so far sees David Young, the prop, retain his place after being drafted into the side last week to give Geoff Cross a rest. “It is a big vote of confidence,” Young said yesterday before the team flew to Belfast, the city where, coincidentally, he was born while his father was on an Army tour of duty to the city.

“I have had snippets of opportunities in the past. To be given a start in the must-win game against Cardiff last weekend was a great boost. You have got to earn your stripes, and though that may have taken a few months longer than I expected, the key thing is that I have been given this opportunity and have to continue the momentum,” he added.

The back row sees Alan MacDonald, capped by Scotland in November but who missed last week’s game with flu, come in as a straight like-for-like replacement for Rennie. It is a rare outing for him in his specialist role as openside flanker, but he says he is just delighted to be back in the side.

“Seven is probably my preferred position but I am not picky, it is more about how I can contribute to the team,” MacDonald said. “It is very exciting; I think everybody will relish the experience. I have won games there in the past, and lost games there too. It is always a difficult place to go.”

Moffat knows that it would be a huge boost to his side’s chances if they were not only to win, but also pick up a try bonus point, but yesterday he refused to heap pressure on the team by suggesting that they would go out with those four tries as a goal. “I was disappointed last week because at 18-6 up we should have kicked on and got that fourth try,” he said. “I would expect that if we found ourselves in the same position this week, we would keep going, but you can’t predict that. The important thing is to win.”

Book your Six Nations Hospitality Six Nations Hospitality

Where do Wales go from here (Six Nations 2010)?

WALES, today stand at a crossroads. What happens next, going into 2010, could prove to be the defining moment of his tenure as our coach.

Rugby union is the national sport of Wales and is considered a large part of national culture. Rugby is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the national body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) being formed in 1881. The national team play out of the WRU-owned Millennium Stadium, and compete annually in the Six Nations rugby, as well as having competed at every Rugby World Cup. Wales are ranked as a tier-1 nation by the International Rugby Board (IRB). The main domestic competition in Wales is the Mangers League, in which Wales have four sides in the competition which is also contested by Irish and Scottish clubs. Welsh teams also compete in the European Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. Wales also competes in the IRB 7's series and in 2009 won the World Championship.


The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked ninth in the IRB World Rankings as at 16 November 2009, and makes up one quarter of the British and Irish Lions rugby team. They annually take part in the Six Nations and participate in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years

Wales and Scotland once again competition of rugby in Six Nations
Corporatehospitalitygroup has provide this Six Nation Hospitality

Wales V Scotland Hospitality on Sat Feb 13, 2010 at 14:00

Welsh fans won’t be satisfied with spending their hard-earned money to witness the sort of ponderous, one-dimensional and uncreative showing we had on Saturday.

Rugby Hospitality: For this match sports hospitality is available form corporate hospitality group. Corporate hospitality introduce a variety of Corporate hospitality Packages. They provide 100% security and privacy to customer Information. You can reserve your rugby hospitality with confidance and with fear.


For upcoming sports information please visit Corporate Hospitality Events

Book your Six Nations Hospitality Six Nations Hospitality