Six Nations 2010: Grand Slam epic of 1990 still haunts England and Scotland

In an ideal world sport and politics, like oil and water, would never mix, but in truth they are often clanked together like magnets. Linked by passion, pride, ego, nationalism and self-esteem – sometimes you just cannot keep them apart.
There were other sub-plots. Scotland's brilliant madcap flanker John Jeffrey – JJ – insists to this day that the catalyst to the ill feeling off the pitch can be traced back to the streets of Glasgow seven months earlier when England and Scotland football supporters clashed horribly outside Hampden Park in scenes of violence that caused that oldest of all annual football fixtures to be cancelled, a situation that pertains.

Jeffrey argues that the tabloid press, deprived indefinitely of a football clash to hype up, turned their attention to the rugby. It is certainly another ingredient that needs to be added into the mix, but successful tabloid papers reflect existing emotions and mood.

A new mood of Scottish nationalism – although not necessarily independence – was afoot and Scotland's rugby folk were far from immune.

At the end of the 1989 season even the ultra-conservative Scottish Rugby Union, with the Princess Royal as their popular patron, decided that God Save the Queen was no longer a suitable anthem for their team and supporters.

For the 1990 Six Nations they switched Roy Williamson's folk ballad Flower of Scotland, which is dedicated to Scotland's victory at Bannockburn – Jeffrey had been humming it himself during the line-ups for years.

On the other hand, many cock-a-hoop England supporters, who had been starved of success and a team worth shouting for since 1980, arrived in Edinburgh on the Saturday morning wearing "England Grand Slam champions 1990" T-shirts.

Amid the politics and hype, however, lay a monumental rugby occasion. There was the famous long, slow, walk out by the Scotland team. It was the suggestion of captain David Sole, but it was by no means a new ploy.

The Lions of 1989 had tried it as a psychological tool against Australia, but it was clearly best utilised by the home team, whipping the home crowd into a frenzy by first delaying and then prolonging their entrance.

There were Scotland heroes aplenty that day but none bigger than the coach Jim Telfer, the man at the heart of two of Scotland's three Grand Slams, not to mention the Lions triumph in South Africa in 1997, when he again worked so well with Sir Ian McGeechan.

Telfer, a lump of granite from the Borders, 'beasted' his pack during arduous scrummaging and rucking sessions throughout the 1990 season, not least in the driving rain on the Wednesday before the England game.

His lasting memory of March 17, 1990 – his 50th birthday incidentally – is confined to a rugby moment in the first half when Finlay Calder blasted his way into the England defence and the entire Scotland pack pounced to produce perfect ruck ball.

"England were driven back and the crowd went wilder than I had ever heard them before. And I felt a shiver. Twenty years later I can close my eyes and still see it. The piece of perfection you dream about."

Everybody concerned has their own views of 1990 and you will probably read them all again this coming week, although possibly not from Calder. The Scotland flanker politely declined to contribute to a recent book surrounding the events of the game – feeling that Scotland need to be looking forward and not harking back to past battles won or lost.

Scotland V England Hospitality

Six Nations Hospitality

Ireland loss hurt but we're still chasing Six Nations title

Nick Easter admits England deserved to lose to Ireland, but has vowed to bounce back at Murrayfield next week.
We may have edged it in terms of possession but the Grand Slam holders scored three tries, we scored one. Fair enough.

In some ways, it felt harder having victory whisked away once we were in a winning position than if we’d been completely outclassed. Ireland know how to win, they took their chances and maybe that extra experience made all the difference.

There’s been plenty said about learning from mistakes and taking positives, but the only thing we can do now is raise ourselves and have a real go at Scotland and France in the remaining two games.

The Grand Slam has gone but there’s still a chance the RBS Six Nations title can be won. Losing Simon ‘Ol Man River’ Shaw so early against Ireland was a big blow of course, but Leicester’s Louis Deacon had a good game as his replacement lock.

You’ll always suffer when you lose someone with the experience and nous of Shawsie in big games, but that’s rugby, the next bloke comes on and you get on with it.

I personally would have loved to have gone straight back into action again as I’m desperate to work off the frustration of losing to Ireland, but common sense prevails. I guess you do need another window in the intense Six Nations programme.

Most players carry knocks and niggles through the season – you just get used to that – but the increase in the number of domestic games means many modern pros have little time to recover.

Saying that, England’s players will be heading out for a summer tour to Australia this summer and I doubt you’ll see too many wanting to opt out for a rest.

Personally I like touring – trying to win away from home is more satisfying – but with the World Cup just over a year away and no planned summer trip in 2011, a lot of guys will be keen to stay in the frame. The management will take a large squad and no doubt want to blood a few eager young guns, keeping everyone on their mettle.

Ireland V Wales Hospitality

Six Nations Hospitality

Six Nations 2010: France's Mathieu Bastareaud goes up against Brian O'Driscoll

At Murrayfield he confronted his demons and scored two tries, and now in Paris Mathieu Bastareaud will face the world's best centre – Brian O'Driscoll.
It will be a pivotal clash in probably the key game of the 2010 Six Nations. Bastareaud is beginning to make the headlines for the right reasons again, for which he and France are grateful.

O'Driscoll has reigned supreme for a decade since then, but you fancy Bastareaud is a worthy opponent and an individual capable of being the benchmark midfield player in the Six Nations well into this next decade. A changing of the guard possibly? O'Driscoll will resist, like all great players do, but the result should be a fascinating cameo within the bigger contest under the floodlights at Saint- Denis.

"He is only 21 but he is already a very complete player," said his co-centre, Yannick Jauzion, still no mean operator himself. "People see a young man of massive strength but they do not always understand his speed and the way he links with people. He has made a big impact already and it is still so early in his career."

"Mathieu is a wiser man. He has apologised to everybody who needed apologising to many times over. He cannot apologise any more, the incident is over. He can only play good rugby and conduct himself in the appropriate fashion. His abilities have always been evident and now he is a hungry man with points to prove, which is always good in a player."

Going forward Bastareaud is undoubtedly a force of nature if used correctly, although his defence has rarely been fully tested, something Ireland and O'Driscoll will look to exploit on Saturday afternoon.

It is his temperament, however, that will come under the sternest examination, the ability to make the appropriate call at the right time. Something that eluded him off the field last summer.

µ Lièvremont has named an unchanged 23-man squad for Saturday's game with Ireland although wings Aurelien Rougerie and Benjamin Fall and prop Luc Ducalcon face fitness tests.

Though his side got off to a successful start at Murrayfield, beating Scotland 18-9, Lièvremont accused Welsh referee Nigel Owens of denying his side a bigger victory.

"I have to pay tribute to the courage of the Scots but the referee's leniency with them and his extreme severity with our team was one of the reasons why the score was not higher," Lièvremont said.

"I feel sad because it's a bit recurring. We can't forget that last year in Dublin, there were 13 penalties against us and two against Ireland," he said, referring to France's 30-21 defeat at Croke Park in a game also controlled by Owens.

"We are going to polish up our report to Paddy O'Brien. Refereeing is a factor of the game we can't control but we'll still try to solve the problem."

France V Italy Hospitality

Six Nations Hospitality

Six Nations 2010: Scotland coach Andy Robinson rings the changes for Cardiff

It is a little early in the RBS Six Nations championship for a last throw of the dice, but Scotland coach Andy Robinson certainly took some radical steps when he chose his team to take on Wales in the Millennium Stadium this weekend.

Robinson came to Scotland with a reputation as a great coach but a poor selector. If his players can put last weekend's 18-9 defeat by France behind them with an inspired performance in Cardiff then that simplistic caricature will have to be redrawn. If not, it will only be reinforced.

The selection of Euan Murray, the devoutly Christian tighthead prop who ruled himself out of last Sunday's match on religious grounds, was probably the only change that most followers of Scottish rugby would have foreseen.

As well as which, on Robinson's advice, Parks has lately been working on getting the players around him moving with ball in hand – a shift of emphasis that has been obvious in the victories that have taken Glasgow to the top of the Magners League.

"We have to balance up the way we play," Robinson explained. "We've got to be able to play with the ball in hand, but understand the territorial game and get the balance right within that. At the weekend we played far too much rugby in our own half but most importantly we turned ball over inside our own half and we can't afford to do that against quality opposition.

"We didn't build pressure on France when we did get into their territory. When we did kick well we let them out of their half too easily, through their driving play, the box-kicks and their scrum dominance. Whenever we had possession inside our own half we were fighting and scrapping to keep it."

As Parks is set to join Cardiff Blues at the end of this season, he might have highlighted this weekend as a good one for a house-hunting expedition, but he was never going to turn down Robinson's invitation.

He said: "I wouldn't say I was surprised, but I was obviously delighted to get the news this morning. I'm just happy and looking forward to the challenge on Saturday."

Toulon's Rory Lamont, who was ruled out of last week's selection by a niggling ankle injury, returns to the side on the left wing, taking the place of his brother Sean.

Sean, in turn, moves into the midfield, ousting Max Evans from the outside centre berth. Robinson explained that he wanted Sean's power as a line-breaker in a position where he might see more of the ball, although Sean's low opinion of his own distribution skills suggests that his wingers will be seeing much less of the thing.

Scotland's scrum creaked badly against France, and loosehead prop Alasdair Dickinson might consider himself lucky to keep his place as many of the side's problems seemed to have their origins on his side of the set-piece. Moray Low, in turn, might feel a little aggrieved to lose his place to Murray, although he took his leave of the side with some appreciative words from Robinson ringing in his ears.

Scotland V England Hospitality

Six Nations Hospitality

Declan Kidney's Irish rugby side just won’t quit - Six Nations Hospitality

There is nothing new in an Ireland team beating England these days; it’s almost common practice when you consider that Saturday’s win at Twickenham was the sixth for the Irish in their last seven encounters with the oldest enemy.

It was still sweet nonetheless. As Jamie Heaslip said in the tunnel afterwards, beating England at anything is sweet for any Irishman, be it rugby, table tennis or even tiddly winks.

How ironic then that Ireland now needs the same England team to do them a favor when they go to France on the final day of the season and for the final game of the campaign.

We will assume -- always a dangerous thing when any Irish side is concerned that Ireland will beat Wales on Saturday week and Scotland seven days later when they say goodbye to Croke Park.

Those two results would guarantee the Triple Crown for Declan Kidney’s team and second place at worst in the RBS Six Nations championship.

They were deserved Grand Slam winners a year ago, and the Triple Crown awarded for wins over England, Wales and Scotland would be the least they could expect this season.

To retain their championship, however, is going to be a tall order after the collapse in Paris just over a fortnight ago.

This Irish team, now very much Kidney’s Irish team, had other ideas, however, and they are definitely made of sterner stuff than the squad that found the self-destruct button so easily at the World Cup finals in France three years ago.

Where heads would have dropped in a previous regime, they were held high from start to finish at the spiritual home of the oval ball game last Saturday.

Panic never set into the Irish veins, not even when Jonny Wilkinson drop-kicked England into a three point lead with some eight minutes or so remaining on the clock.

In the past, recent and historic, Ireland would have sunk back into their own half of the field, such was the relentless pressure from the English pack at that stage of the game. But not this Irish team.

A brilliant relieving kick from substitute Ronan O’Gara, a man with his point to prove, worked the ball up the field, and Ireland eventually won the line-out that led to the scintillating match winning try from Tommy Bowe and a conversion from O’Gara.

England weren’t done at that stage and spent the final minutes camped on the Ireland line, so you can imagine the sense of relief when Heaslip emerged as the defensive hero from the final significant play of the night.

When the final whistle blew the Irish team and the huge traveling support went ballistic, and rightly so.

The win resurrects the season, and Ireland could still end up with the Championship if England can do them a favor and win in Paris just hours after they wrap up their season against the Scots on Saturday fortnight.

Whatever happens then, however, the lesson from London was clear -- this is an Irish team that can bounce back from adversity.

With the next World Cup just over a year away and trips to Australia and New Zealand to come this summer, that was a major message of intent from Twickenham.

Ireland V Wales Hospitality

Six Nations Hospitality

Rugby: Hines knows all about Italy's mystery man ahead of Six Nations clash

NATHAN HINES today delved into his rugby league background to provide inside track on one of the most controversial players to grace the RBS Six Nations.

Expected to gain a ninth cap at stand-off for Italy in Rome on Saturday is 31-year-old Australian-born Craig Gower, a virtual unknown in union circles before making his debut last summer – except to the likes of Hines, who was also born in Australia and came across Gower in the 13-a-side code there.

Hines was born in Wagga Wagga and moved to Scotland in 1998 where he took advantage of ancestry qualifications.

He said: "Craig was at Penrith Panthers when I was at the Bears and although he was a year younger I learned how he was being earmarked even as a teenager to become a Kangaroo. His breakthrough into top grade rugby league came early."

"Although he hasn't had heaps of 15-a-side experience and even less in the international arena he still has that rugby brain which enables him to see opportunities when they arise."

Hines returns to the Scotland squad after withdrawing from the team which visited Wales due to ankle damage. Although listed on the bench it is likely he will emerge at some stage for a 63rd Test appearance making him the most capped player in a squad that will have Hugo Southwell and Chris Cusiter turning out for the 50th time.

It is a landmark that Hines is particularly proud of and makes him suitably qualified to remark on just what the occasion will mean.

"Chris is captain and knows what it is like to lead the team out but that could be a new experience for Hugo this weekend.

"Although I'm obviously sorry Chris Paterson is out through injury it is good that Hugo's 50th appearance will seen him able to run on at the start.

"All the focus is on getting a win this weekend but that still shouldn't obscure two tremendous achievement. I'd like to think when you make that number of appearances you are recognised as having made a contribution although it is mainly later that you look back on things like that."

As for Hines being able to get insight through playing club rugby at Leinster who are chock-a-block with Irish internationalists, many of whom were in action against Italy at the start of the current series, he insists dialogue is always limited when it comes to exchanging notes.

"It's maybe strange but at Leinster there is rarely a lot of chat about the international scene although, when Scotland beat Australia last Autumn, that did merit a few 'well dones'.

Perhaps that is because Hines and his mates have been pre-occupied with their defence of the Heineken European Cup – they host Clermont Auvergne in the quarter-finals – while a recent 30-0 win over Munster was a highlight of his time in the Irish capital, so far.

The intensive schedule can take its toll, though, culminating in that ankle injury which provoked his absence from the Cardiff clash and opened a door for Jim Hamilton who retains his place.

"There was a time when I played when I maybe should have rested and against France I aggravated swelling in my ankle joints.

"It presented itself as a calf strain but as that subsided my ankle became sore.

"I learned my lesson from playing when I probably should have pulled out and I have now had two injections in my ankle so feel really good to go."

France V Italy Hospitality

Six Nations Hospitality

Shane Williams is one of rugby’s all-time greats

WING wizard Shane Williams today stands out on his own as the undisputed try king of Welsh rugby.
His scintillating late touchdown against France on Friday night saw him surpass the great Gareth Edwards as the leading Welsh try-scorer in the history of the Five Nations and Six Nations rugby championships.
Williams had drawn level with Edwards on 18 championship tries with the score that completed a remarkable comeback in the dramatic victory over Scotland two weeks earlier.
And on Friday, he went clear at the top of the Welsh list by sidestepping his way over for his 19th tournament touchdown.
“It’s a massive honour to surpass someone like Gareth Edwards, who is a true legend of the game,” said the Ospreys speedster as he reflected on his achievement.
While it took former scrum-half Edwards 45 championship games to notch his tally of 18 tries, Williams has gone one better in just 35 appearances.
“I just love scoring tries, full stop,” he said. “That’s what I’m here to do and that’s what I’ve enjoyed doing since I was a kid. You are the equivalent of the striker in football. I’m just a little bit greedy maybe.”
While his match-winning effort against Scotland might have been a case of him popping up in the right place at the right time to round off a team move, his record-breaking score on Friday was all his own work.
As he ran back to halfway, he raised his arm in salute to the crowd and the ovation he received in response spoke volumes for the admiration the Welsh public has for the Great Entertainer.
“If someone had told me the year after my debut that I would score this many tries, I would have looked at them silly because I wasn’t even involved in the Wales squad then,” he said.
“I want to continue scoring tries,” said Williams. “I want to get up with the likes of Campese.
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but what I will do is continue to work hard and get involved in games.
“The more often I get involved the probability goes up I can create something and score tries.”
It was just unfortunate that his record-breaking sizzler against France couldn’t have coincided with a Welsh victory.
“As far as I was concerned, it was all about beating France and everything else was just a bonus,” said Williams.
“So to lose the way we did was very frustrating and a real kick in the teeth.

“We are a nation that tries to play rugby and sometimes you get punished for doing that.

“We conceded two interception tries, one my fault, which really took the wind out of our sails.

“In fairness, France started very well and defended very well and made it very difficult for us. “It was all catch-up for us in the second half again.

“There’s a bit of deja vu about the way we’ve started the last three games.

“You’ve got to commend the guys for the way they came back.

While his team have been denied, there’s no denying Williams his place in the record books or his status as one of the all-time greats of the Welsh game.

Wales V Italy Hospitality

France V Italy Hospitality

Six Nations Hospitality