Six Nations Digest

Other six nations news in brief

Robinson insists Scotland will meet Ireland head on

ANDY ROBINSON yesterday insisted fighting fire with fire was Scotland’s best chance of avoiding the wooden spoon in Saturday’s final Six Nations match at Croke Park.

Robinson’s side cannot afford to lose in Dublin this weekend if they are to stand any chance of escaping the ignominy of landing Test rugby’s most infamous booby prize.

Despite earning plenty of plaudits for their performances, Scotland have failed to win any of their Six Nations matches since Robinson took charge.

The former England and Edinburgh head coach therefore could be forgiven for abandoning his principles and simply try to spoil against an Ireland side who are odds-on favourites for yet another Triple Crown success this weekend in their final match at Croke Park.

But Robinson is adamant that to do so would be the surest route to damnation.

“The way to win away from home is to go out and take the opposition on,” he said. “If we sit back and watch Ireland play, they’ll be pretty devastating.

“We’ve got to take the game to Ireland, as we did against Wales.

“We did very well against Wales in our approach to the game.

“We’ve got to take the game to Ireland and challenge them to defend – more than the Irish are defending – on the back foot.”

He added: “If we weren’t creating chances then we’d have major problems and we’d have to look at the way we’re trying to play.

“We’ve got lots of improvements to be made but we’re on the right journey.”

Irish team keen on Maynooth venue

THE IRISH rugby team stay in various hotels for the duration of the Six Nations Championship. All quality abodes, naturally, but they do like to spread their love around.

Training-pitch facilities, a gym, a swimming pool and not too much public curiosity are some of the priorities. The final decision is taken by management and the senior players.

That’s why speculation has focused on Carton House, where the team has already stayed. The Killiney Castle, the Shelbourne, the Castletroy in Limerick, City West and the Glenview in Wicklow have been hotels of choice over the last number of years but the talk is that Carton House has already provided the outsized beds and all the needs – including a decent golf course or, in this case, two – of a professional rugby team.

O'Driscoll 13th on most-capped list

ON THE international caps honours list Australian scrumhalf George Gregan holds the record with 139 caps for his country, while France’s Philippe Sella is the most capped centre in the world with 111 caps, all earned between 1982 and 1995.

Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll also pops into the top ranking player group with 100 caps. Fittingly the outside centre is now in 13th place on the list as the number on the back of his shirt would suggest is just the perfect slot.

Ulster fans losing their patience

PATIENCE ABROAD seems to be running out regarding the refixed match involving Stade Français and Ulster. The original Heineken Cup match, which was the Parisian team’s home game, was set to be played on December 19th in Brussels but due to freezing weather was postponed and moved to Paris for the following day.

Ulster fans in Brussels are now concerned that the refund promised to them from Datasport/Stade Français is not coming. Many of the fans that bought tickets for the round-four game were unable to up tents and travel to another country at such short notice and presumably great expense. They are now asking three months on where is the refund?

** TOM PRYDIE, at 18 years and 27 days of age, will become the youngest player in Six Nations history when he lines out for Wales against Italy on Saturday. The previous youngest player in the Six Nations before this was Matthew Tait (England) two days before his 19th birthday.

Heaslip advised to cover-up

LAST SATURDAY Jamie Heaslip took his place in the Ireland team line-up for the anthems with his tracksuit top on. Many fans will remember the Irish number eight in some previous matches this season coming out pumped up and sweating in his shirt sleeves even on cold days.

Heaslip, however, has been advised to keep his tracksuit on because the bare-armed look is not part of the team uniform. You’d wonder if it would not be better to encourage players to have some individualism, not curb it. It hasn’t done Heaslip any harm.

** PERHAPS NOT wishing to come across like the IRB, who have just foisted a change of emphasis on the rule regarding the tackle area, the IRFU has launched an online survey “Your Game, Your Say”. The governing body is seeking to canvass opinions of players, administrators, coaches and supporters on the direction of rugby. “While we will be looking for this information to help us, ultimately the opinions we receive will go a long way to helping stakeholders enjoy rugby in a way that they feel is best,” says the IRFU. Check out the IRFU website.