Six Nations Countdown:A buoyant Rory Best knows how fickle the game of rugby can be, writes John O'Sullivan

Rory Best is well aware that fate can be a fickle mistress. Lying on the turf at the RDS, severe pain shooting through his ankle, he initially feared the worst, his hopes of making the Ireland squad in the Six Nations Championship compromised by his present predicament.

The initial prognosis in the immediate aftermath of the incident that saw him leave Ulster's Magners Celtic League clash with Leinster on a stretcher for the nearby hospital looked bleak; many including the player suspecting that he might have suffered a fracture or break.

Last Sunday he played an hour of Ulster's Heineken European Cup match in Gloucester suffering no adverse effects and at lunch-time yesterday at the Killiney Castle spoke to the media ahead of an Ireland training session.

Later in the afternoon word filtered back to the hotel that Munster hooker Jerry Flannery had been handed an eight-week suspension by an ERC convened disciplinary committee, effectively ruling the Limerick man out of the Six Nations. Lady luck had reversed her favours.

Best was able to recall that fraught afternoon at the RDS with the equanimity of a player gratefully clutching a reprieve. "When I first went over on it, lying on the ground it was pretty sore and I thought it was something pretty serious.

"St Vincent's X-rayed me pretty quickly and did a great job. The X-ray was clear and by the time I got the MRI (scan) a couple of days later, the pain had eased significantly and I knew it wasn't anything major. It (the scan) was just to make sure that the ligaments were intact."

Best diligently attended to his rehabilitation and was buoyed by his inclusion in an extended Ireland squad. He knew that he would have to prove his fitness. He wasn't originally named in Ulster's match squad for last weekend's game but explained that he preferred to prove his fitness in three sessions during the week before his name was added.

"They (Ulster) didn't want to name me and then have to withdraw me. It was easier for me to be added in and I came through (the training) well. There were no reactions (after the Gloucester match) and I was able to train, do the rehab stuff on Monday and train on Tuesday (with the Irish squad). There has been no reaction since."

Best will now vie with Leinster hooker Bernard Jackman for the number two jersey for Ireland's opening Six Nations Championship match against Italy at Croke Park tomorrow week. The lessons alone of recent times would counsel him against taking anything for granted.

Best offered the following appraisal of Jackman.

"He has been playing very well. He's been getting around the pitch and carrying very well. The Leinster pack with Leo (Cullen, he was sitting next to Best at the time) in the middle of it have been going very well; as has their lineout. You have to concentrate on your own form."

Ulster's excellent performance at Kingsholm could not have been more perfectly timed for a couple of the team, Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble, both of whom will contend for a place in the Irish backline against Italy.

It's not just a one-off cameo for the duo as they have excelled individually in what has been a difficult season for Ulster. Best endorsed their claims.

"Tommy has played every minute for Ulster so far and done very well. He's certainly been one of our stand-out players in what hasn't been a stand-out season for us. He has kept his performance high and Andrew (Trimble) has been the same, since coming back from the World Cup.

"He has lifted us a bit in the Connacht game and others that we have nearly won. Those two boys in the back line have really fired us forward in that way. They're in good form, peaking at the minute which is the right time from their point of view. They have been the best in our back seven."

Best's thoughts then turn to his elder brother, Simon, whose medical problems at the World Cup have prevented him from returning to his rugby career as yet. Rory explained: "Simon's doing well. The next month or six weeks will tell a big tale. It's when you get to these sort of times (the Six Nations) that he finds tough. It was the same for him when we started the first pool game in the Heineken Cup."

Rory's own recent medical issues will have reinforced the importance of enjoying every minute and grasping every opportunity. Fate doesn't elaborate on future plans.

 RTÉ's Thomond figures highest of the season

RTÉ have announced that their television highlights package over the final weekend of the Heineken European Cup pool stages that centred on Munster's victory over Wasps at Thomond Park and Leinster's defeat by Leicester at Welford Road drew an average audience of 220,000.

The viewing figures peaked at 293,000 on the Saturday night programme, easily the highest of its coverage so far this season.

The previous Sunday night highlights of Munster's defeat in Clermont was watched by an average audience of 119,000, with Leinster's win over Toulouse the day before drawing an average of 88,000.

There was further good news for the national broadcaster with the confirmation that they have won the right to broadcast exclusive live coverage of all games in the RBS Six Nations Championships on television, radio and online between 2010 and 2013 inclusive.

This ensures that RTÉ will be able to broadcast the tournament exclusively live on their various media outlets for the next six years.

The new four-year term also grants RTÉ host broadcast rights for all of the Irish home matches between 2010 and 2013.