UR TV CAST

They have the ability to think on their feet and have a number of decision-makers in important positions. In a nutshell they make the right decisions under pressure, which is something the other countries have not been able to do as often.”If England are ranked two, Wales are sixth, although before Henry’s arrival from Auckland two years ago they looked as if they were heading for the slag- heap. Last season, England avenged the Wembley experience with a 46-12, five-tries-to-nil victory at Twickenham.In the autumn, Wales lost to the Boks in Cardiff after Henry had replaced Jenkins with Arwel Thomas. “We didn’t think it through to the finish,” the New Zealander said “We should have won.

There’s a considerable gap between the top five countries and the rest of us, but I think it will narrow in the near future. The Celtic nations are improving, but it would be nice to put it all together in one season.”Last year we played a lot of Tests and were tired. We were clinging on.”Overkill has been the week’s buzzword, what with the Professional Rugby Players’ Association growing in stature and militancy, and, with unfortunate timing, the European quarter-finals yesterday and today. “I just hope there are no injuries, no citings, no bullshit of any kind,” Woodward said. “I just want everyone to come out of it in one piece.”Playing the Leicester-Swansea tie six days before the Wales-England match is asking for trouble, and it is time the authorities stopped dancing to every tune played by television.

Staggered kick-off times have already devalued the Heineken Cup, and the point should be made that TV needs the game almost as much as the game needs the money.Outside of Wales, the biggest danger to England would appear to be France. After hammering Wales in Cardiff last season they lost the crunch match to England in Paris15-9, with Jonny Wilkinson kicking five penalties. They lost again at Stade de France, 27-25 to Ireland, who were inspired by a hat-trick of tries from Brian O’Driscoll. Not for the first time the French were given the bird by their own supporters.Oddly, France seemed to perform better away from their national stadium, where in recent seasons they have also been exposed by Wales and Scotland.

This impression was strengthened on New Zealand’s recent visit. The All Blacks won comfortably in the capital but their pack were murdered in Marseilles. If the French are on song, anything is possible, but they rarely seem capable of sustaining the momentum beyond a single chorus of the Marseillaise. As their clubs have shown in Europe, they are capable of extreme highs and lows.Scotland, who looked unconvincing in the defeat by the Wallabies at Murrayfield in the autumn, will be led by Andy Nicol, who regains the captaincy from Budge Pountney. The Northampton flanker takes over the vice-captaincy.”I would rather we started well than finished well,” Nicol said. Much will depend on the mercurial form of Gregor Townsend and whether the battered knees of their key line-out man, Scott Murray, stand up to the tests. Once again Ian McGeechan has to build from straw rather than bricks.”Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Allan Hosie, the Scot who is chairman of the Six Nations committee, said, referring to possible date changes to the championship in the future.