A busy day for all concerned at last weeks RBS 6 Nations launch, in the plush surrounds of The Hurlingham Club in London.

The coaches and captains spent around six hours with the media and here are the best quotes of the day

Sam Warburton

“Thanks for the chocolate Mike you are a legend ”

Warren Gatland Wales

”  We have selected a squad that rewards players form as well as picking a lot of experience, and that continuity is important to us. We are in a pretty good state and excited about where we are”.

Eddie Jones England

” I think the players are going to find it difficult, because sometimes if you play in the premiership here and you do well then you get selected for England and you are quite comfortable”,

“You’ve got to be hungry for success absolutely fanataical about wanting to be in a winning  England team”.

Vern Cotter Scotland

“Its important we believe we can compete for the title ,the World Cup is behind us, we move forward”

Jacques Brunel Italy

“” There are lots of new players and three who have shown they deserve a place in the squad to prepare for the first two games of the tournament”.

Guy Noves France 

“Every time we won a title at Toulouse we did it thanks to great performances from our forwards, who enabled our backs to shine. The last World Cup showed that the effective teams were also spectacular”

“Our ambition is to understand that that is the way the future of rugby is going, its also about showing the French public they can be proud of their team”.

Joe Schmidt Ireland
“To be as candid as I can I think a top half finish would be a good six nations for us. We start with Wales and France in a six day turnaround and then go to England. That could put us in a very tough position before weve even got our feet fully grounded in going forward”

 
My first encounter with Guy Noves was in February 1979 in an icy snowy swept Paris.

I was a nineteen year old watching Wales play France, at Parc des princes, and the man wearing the number 11 shirt for France that day was a certain Mr Guy Noves of Toulouse.

So, there we were, almost thirty seven years later , at the launch of the 2016 RBS 6 nations in the plush surroundings of the Hurlingham club.

The new France coach is looking lean and elegant in his dark suit, and over coffee we discuss the upcoming RBS six nations championship.

Guy Noves is Mr Toulouse, he played 189 times for them, and then went on to coach them f0r twenty two years, winning 4 European cups, 10 French championships and 3 Yves Du Manoir trophies.

Taking over the France team at the age of sixty one he joked ;

“I know I am a Grandad I have no time to lose”

“We are trying to prepare a French squad which will in a large part be with us for four years”

“We’ve started a game plan and looked at the compatibility of the players, and tried to go for the most coherent choice possible”

It appears that Noves is looking for his players to play “heads up” rugby  to scan and make decisions on the field, rather than the robotic structure we have seen in recent years.

Wesley Fofana is regarded as the one man France cannot do without

“Wesley is perhaps THE indispensable player of France, his qualities are such he is capable of using them at centre or on the wing, we will see what the better option is for him, depending on what problems we have “

It is evident that, despite injury problems, Francois Trinh Duc is an integral part of Noves’ plans.

“Francois is back playing for Montpellier after injury, he knows what we expect of him and he is part of our game plan and squad”

We talk about the youngest player in the France squad, uncapped twenty year old Camille Chat, from Racing 92,

“Camille will face the highest level but if we wait too long it might be too late we’ve had great feedback from his coaches”

The great French legend Jean Pierre Rives had this to say about Noves:

“Stade Toulousain is a true school of rugby, when you play there you are a “stadiste” for life”

Noves and his staff are going to succeed with France, I know that it will work, I want him to have fun and I think they are going to entertain us”

Sitting back in his chair Noves does not seem over excited at the prospect of his first 6 Nations tournament, maybe at his age he has seen it all, or maybe he realises the huge task he has in restoring France’ fortunes and reputation

Having spent time in his company, I feel sure that his French team will not lack effort or passion, also the players will know exactly where they stand, Noves will not suffer fools gladly that’s for sure.
 

One of the great names of French rugby, Beziers are currently in ProD2 and hoping for a return to the big time.

Here is my XV of French internationals who all  graced this magnificent club.

I have picked wine producer Richard Dourthe at centre on the proviso that he provides plenty of samples of his family’s produce.

15.  Julien Laharrague

14.  Jean Phillipe Grandclaude

13.  Richard Dourthe

12.  Cedric Debrosse

11.  Jack Cantoni

10.  Didier Camberabero

9.   Richard Astre

1.   Armand Vaquerin

2.   Alain Paco

3.   Cedric Soulette

4.   Alain Esteve

5.   Michel Palmie

6.   Yannick Nyanga

8.   Alain Carminati

7.   Pierre Lacans

It’s less than five days until the Six Nations starts, a tricky period to negotiate for us fans.

Weekend social invites have to be diplomatically declined, or at the very least postponed until  the “rest” weekends, or ideally until the end of March.

Now I count myself extremely fortunate that no one in my circle of family,or friends,has a birthday during the tournament, in fact there is one …. Me ! My birthday is on February 14th, and is always on, or around , a six nations weekend ….result !

I believe many years ago, when the six nations were only five, a family member arranged their wedding on the day of a Wales v England match, they were subsequently ostracised, never spoken of again, and I can no longer find their names on the family tree.

In Wales, even funerals have been carefully timed, and arranged, blood may be thicker than water , but you have to draw the line somewhere.

When I was young, the Five Nations lasted from January to April, there was only one game per weekend, it was brilliant, often starting in a wintery Cardiff  with wind, mud and pouring rain, and ending in a Cardiff Spring consisting of wind, mud and slightly warmer pouring rain.

One thing has never changed, that sense of anticipation as January passes by, I am excited even as I write this!  I am already calculating how all the other results have to go, should Wales lose to Ireland on the opening weekend.

For one who failed CSE Maths, this is a terrifying ordeal !

The tournament is now a highly commercialised well oiled machine, and things have changed immeasurably since my first match in 1974, and yes JJ Williams DID score that try Mr West.

No more standing in pouring rain two hours before kick off, getting drenched from above, and from behind with warmer Amber  liquid (and no it wasn’t fosters)

But I do miss some things , Bill McLaren, the singing at the Arms Park, Parc Des Princes, Merion Joseph refereeing in a V neck sweater, the Western Mail pull out supplements, the orangy sports echo, and rosettes.

So where ever you watch, stay safe, let’s hope for good weather and good company and of course good rugby.

Pilates is often classed, incorrectly, as women’s exercise.

You May therefore be surprised to learn that it was originally created for men.

Joseph Pilates was a boxer, and the legendary German heavyweight Max Schmelling was a regular at the founders New York studio.

A growing number of rugby players are now using Pilates as a way to improve coordination, mobility and flexibility, as well as for the prevention and recovery of injuries.

Wales and the All Blacks have incorporated Pilates into their training schedule, in an effort to gain the benefits that it undoubtedly offers.

Rugby demands rapid directional change, often at full pace, so an inflexible physique will hamper the movements required to achieve this.

Players are also required to deliver power from unbalanced body positions, at scrum and line out, and during tackling.

So as modern players get bigger, weights are an essential element of training , yet a body that has been bulked up in the gym can become rigid and restricted in its range of movement, and also leave it susceptible to injury.

Welsh international wing,Eli Walker ,has had endless problems with long term, and recurring hamstring injuries.

He turned to Pilates, focussing on the stabiliser muscles of the pelvis, the buttocks and the groin which goes a long way to preventing injuries of this nature.

Eli Walker

Adam  Kwasnicki, a physio and former England U18 coach says:

“From my experience as both a professional rugby player and physio, the majority of rugby players are lacking in both functional flexibility and core stability”

“Anyone who thinks Pilates is for girls, had obviously never tried it ”

So there you go, as summer approaches and fitness resolutions abound, you could do a lot worse than join a local Pilates class, if it’s good enough for the World Champions, then it might just be good enough for you.

Clive Ashby    England Scrum Half                      Aged 78

Norm Berryman   All Blacks Centre                    Aged 42

Jerry Collins   All Black                                           Aged 34

Brian Cox   Australian Scrum Half                       Aged 86

Jimmy Docherty   Scotland Centre                       Aged 83

Arthur Dorward   Scotland Scrum Half                Aged 90

John Elders   England Coach                                   Aged 84

Stan Hodgson MBE   England Hooker                  Aged 86

Phil Judd   England Prop                                          Aged 81

Mark Keyworth   Swansea/England Flanker        Aged 66

Jack Kyle OBE    Legendary Ireland Fly Half         Aged 88

Eduardo Lamborde   Argentina Centre                Aged 47

Trevor Lloyd   Wales & Lions Scrum Half            Aged 91

The One And Only  Jonah Lomu                             Aged 40

Sandi Magxala   Springbok Full Back                    Aged 73

Norman Mair   Scotland Hooker/Jouranlist        Aged 86

Abie Malan     Springbok Hooker                           Aged 78

Piet Malan      Springbok Flanker                           Aged 96

Jim McCarthy   Irish Grand Slam Winner 1948   Aged 90

Douglas Muir   Scotland Lock                                  Aged 89

Howard Norris   Wales & Lions Prop                     Aged 80

Martin Regan     England Fly Half                           Aged 85

Noel Turley      Ireland Flanker                                Aged 80

Ross Turnbull     Australia Prop/Team Manager   Aged 74

Gordon Stone    Australia Scrum Half                   Aged 100

CD Williams      Wales Flanker                                Aged 89

Ray Williams OBE   The worlds first full time proffesional rugby coach and WRU secretary     Aged 87

A dead leg received, after only 23 seconds of the Varsity match, forced Jamie Roberts into a half time withdrawal from the fray of the 134th showdown between the Blues.

The other guy came off much worse, Oxford captain Henry Lamont was knocked unconscious and had to leave the field in the first minute.

Jamie Roberts was certainly the centre of attention, as 25,013 folk flocked to Twickenham to enjoy this historical pre Christmas rugby treat.

The Wales icon is undertaking a two year masters degree in medical science, and after spending the Michaelmas term at Queens College, he will now continue his studies, on a part time basis, as he returns to professional rugby with Harlequins.

The defeat as you can imagine did not sit well with the good doctor.

“The boys are pretty devastated and you could see some of the lads with tears in their eyes at the end. You can appreciate how much it means to them”

He went on to say, “It was a pretty disappointing day for us, but it has been a wonderful experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last few months, getting back to studying and to play in a match of this calibre was a huge honour”

“It’s a one off in my career, and I will will go in on Monday morning and start the Harlequins journey, and hopefully it is a special one”

As an aside Jamie was the first player onto the field to warm up and the first to applaud the victorious Cambridge women’s team as they performed their lap of honour.

A pretty decent bloke all round is our Jamie.

Fathers and sons who played international rugby.

Lloyd Williams has been put on the wing, following his cameo appearance against England in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

15.  Andy Farrell (Eng)

14   Lloyd Williams (Wal)

13   Will Greenwood  (Eng)

12   Tom Shanklin   (Wal)

11   Jim Shanklin   (Wal)

10   Owen Farrell   (Eng)

9    Brynmor Williams (Wal)

1   Tevita “David” Sio   (Western Samoa)

2   Uli Schmidt   (SA)

3   Scott Sio   (Aus)

4   Derek Quinnell   (Wal)

5   Craig Quinnell   (Wal)

6   Louis Schmid   (SA)

8   Scott Quinnell   (Wal)

7   Dick Greenwood   (Eng)

Many great Welsh players have left rugby union to join to join rugby league.

A few came back to end their playing days but the majority were never seen again in the union game.

Here is my Wales rugby league dream XIII, can you imagine being able to watch this side playing league, or union ? great great players, all of them.

Full Back        Jonathan Davies

Wing               Billy Boston

Centre             Alan  Bateman

Centre              Lewis Jones

Wing                 Clive Sullivan

Stand Off            David Watkins

Scrum Half          Kevin Ellis

Prop                       Jim Mills

Hooker                  Tommy Harris

Prop                       John Warlow

2nd Row               Colin Dixon

2nd Row               Paul Moriarty

Lock                      John Mantle

As the 2019 Varsity match approaches, I have selected two teams to play in the “Dream varsity match”.

Everyone one selected is an international player who took part in a Varsity match during their playing career

Some great names here, and an awful lot of great names have also been omitted

The referee for this match, the one and only Clive Norling, who graced the varsity match on more than one occasion.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY

15  Hugo Macneill (Ireland)

14 Simon Danielli (Scotland)

13 Brendan Mullin (Ireland)

12 Simon Halliday (England)

11 Joe Roff (Australia)

10 Stuart Barnes (England)

9 David Kirk (New Zealand)

1  Victor Obogu (England)

2 Anton Oliver (New Zealand)

3 Kevin Tkachuk (Canada)

4 Nick Mallett (South Africa)

5 Bill Calcraft (Australia)

6 Peter Dixon (England)

8 Dugald Macdonald (South Africa)

7 Tony Bucknall (England)

Cambridge University

15 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)

14 Gerald (TGR) Davies (Wales)

13 Mike Gibson (Ireland)

12 Jamie Roberts (Wales)

11 Tony Underwood (England & Easyjet)

10 Rob Andrew (England)

9 John Robbie (Ireland)

1 Roger Michaelson (Wales)

2 John Gwilliam (Wales)

3 Mickey Steele-Bodger (England)

4 Paul Ackford (England)

5 Brian Thomas (Wales)

6 Rob Wainwright (Scotland)

8 Eddie Butler (Wales)

7 Simon Holmes (Scotland)