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Writers from The Times and Sunday Times bring you all the best news and analysis from the Six Nations You can view a feed of posts at: http:timesonline.typepad.com/rugby/rss.xml

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March 13, 2008

Poll: do you think Wales will win the Grand Slam?

Wales will be crowned the Six Nations champions on Saturday night if they avoid defeat to France in Cardiff by more than 18 points.

But Warren Gatland, the coach, has rightly said that claiming the title on points difference would be similar to winning through the back door and is adamant that nothing less than the vanquishing of Wales's Gallic foes would be a satisfactory way to become champions.

All was going well for France until they lost at home to England and their victory over Italy in Paris last weekend was workmanline, but decidedly unspectacular. If there is one thing that French teams are traditionally, however, it is unpredictable.

What do you think, can Wales win the Grand Slam? Cast your vote below and please leave a comment.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Posted at 07:02 PM in Rugby | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0) | Email this post

March 12, 2008

Was Brian Ashton right to drop Jonny Wilkinson?

Axed for the first time since 1999, Jonny Wilkinson has been made the scapegoat for England's dreadful 15-9 defeat to Scotland last week in the Six Nations Championship. He wasn't the only one who had a shocker but Brian Ashton, the England coach, claimed it was because of Wilkinson's "inconsistency" that he got the chop. Danny Cipriani takes hold of the No 10 shirt.

During the Scotland match, Wilkinson became the highest points scorer in international rugby history. But that counted for nothing as Ashton made his one solitary change. But was he right? Is now the time to blood new players or is this Ashton making a point that nobody is bigger than the team? Should Jonny Wilkinson have been dropped?

Vote now and leave your comments below.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Posted at 07:25 AM in Rugby | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack (0) | Email this post

February 24, 2008

Who will win the RBS Six Nations Championship?

England's stunning victory over France in Paris has left this year's championship wide open. Wales, with a perfect record so far, must be odds-on for the title. But they must still play France and Ireland, neither of which are foregone conclusions. Ireland are currently second in the table, on the same points as France and England.

So who will win? Vote now.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Posted at 10:44 AM in Rugby | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | Email this post

February 11, 2008

Was Stephen Jones right about Jonny Wilkinson?

Jonny Wilkinson (AP)In the first of his brilliant weekly e-mails, The Rolling Maul, Stephen Jones predicted that King Jonny was ready to be overthrown.

"The greatness is declining," Jones argued. "If England could only find momentum and direction, then they may well conclude that different hands on the wheel are sorely needed. Well, are we choosing icons, or players?"

Stuart Barnes agreed with his colleague, saying Wilkinson is the problem not the solution and must be dropped.

Then what happens? Wilkinson plays a big part in England's two tries against Italy, passes the 1,000-points mark in international rugby and his replacement, the much-vaunted Danny Cipriani, fumbles his way through a jittery 13-minute cameo.   

So was Jones, The Sunday Times Rugby Correspondent of more than 20 years, too quick to write off England's World Cup winner? Or will he be proved right in the longer term? Get in your opinions now, and Jones himself will respond to the best of them in his next e-mail on Thursday, which you can sign up for here.

Each week The Rolling Maul offers lively debate, Jones's series on "What you need to know about rugby", seven days' news in one minute flat and the hero of the week.

And if that's not enough, it's FREE. And by a former Sports Writer of the Year. Sign up now.

Posted at 11:50 AM in Rugby, Stephen Jones | Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBack (0) | Email this post

Meet the team


  • Stuart Barnes is remembered as one of the most gifted players of his generation, representing Bath, England and the British Lions. Acclaimed for his autobiography, Smelling of Roses, he now commentates for Sky Sports and writes brilliantly incisive analyses for The Sunday Times
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      Stephen Jones has been Rugby Correspondent of The Sunday Times for more than 20 years and is one of the sport’s most influential commentators.
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          David Hands is the Rugby Correspondent of The Times. He has covered five World Cups, more than 400 international matches and written several successful books, working with Peter Wheeler and Rory Underwood on their autobiographies.
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              Owen Slot joined The Times in 2002 as Chief Sports Reporter and was named Sports Reporter of the Year for the third time later that year. He has had two novels published, The Finishing Line and The Proposal.
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                  Mark Souster has been a leading rugby writer and broadcaster for 17 years. He will follow Ireland's progress during the tournament and also present The Six Nations Podcast
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                      John Hopkins is Golf Correspondent of The Times and a former Rugby Correspondent for The Sunday Times. John has covered two Lions tours and four rugby World Cups. He will report from inside the Wales camp.
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