General Chat

THE SIX NATIONS 2018 HAS NOW CONCLUDED!
Thank you to all the Rugby Gang and posters, and all who "tuned-in" to Radio Jem ;-) :-D <3

IRELAND GRAND SLAM WINNERS; WALES RUNNERS-UP!<3

FINAL ROUND RESULTS:
Italy 27 ~ Scotland 29 (Fun Participation with the Gang ~ pages 95-103)
Ireland 15 ~ England 24 (Match Day Participation ~ pages 103-111)
Wales 14 ~ France 13 (Radio Jem Fun Participation ~ pages 111-123)


PRE-RECORDED ;-) RADIO JEM “SIX NATIONS CELEBRATION ~ Page 95



~~~~~~ to EMYR ..... Page 123



THIS IS THE LATEST NEWS BOX
and will be edited for each Six Nations event / news item

*General Rugby News will still continue to be posted on the Rugby News Thread
https://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/general_chat/thread/1367431

RESERVED FOR PAGE NUMBER REFERENCE

Six Nations Schedule 2018 ~ Page 1
Squads ~ Page 1

Pre-Six Nations Injuries and Team News ~ Pages 1 & 2


ROUND 1: ALL TEAMS ANNOUNCED ~ Page 2

Round 1 Results & Championship Table Positions for the Mens, Under 20s and the Womens Six Nations Championship ~ page 26


****"OUR NIGE" (Nigel Owens) ~ THE MOST CAPPED RUGBY UNION REFEREE IN THE HISTORY OF THE SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP ~ page 11


ROUND 1 FUN RADIO JEM COMMENTARY:
"Pre-Match Live Special" pages 2-3
Wales v Scotland ~ pages 3-11
France v Ireland ~ pages 11 -18
Italy v England ~ pages 18 -26

Photographs of the Wales v Scotland Game ~ Page 18

GATLAND PRAISES LEIGH HALFPENNY! ~ Page 26
Wales Selection Dilemmas! ~ Page 26


* SOME VERY SAD NEWS (re FLY) ~ page 26



ROUND 2:

ROUND 2 TEAMS ANNOUNCED ~ Page 26
RADIO JEM BROADCASTING ANNOUNCEMENT :-( ~ Page 27 .... But The Good News is ..... The Cyprus Studio is open for business!:-D <3

ROUND 2 FUN RADIO JEM PARTICIPATION / COMMENTARY:
Ireland v Italy ~ pages 27-30
England v Wales ~ pages 30 -37
Scotland v France ~ pages 37 -46

ROUND 2 RESULTS & TABLES (Men, Under 20s and Women) ~ page 46

THE WELSH DRAGON IS BEREFT! ;-) ;-) ;-) ~ Page 46



ROUND 3:
ALL TEAMS ANNOUNCED FOR ROUND 3 ~ Page 47


ROUND 3 RESULTS and TABLES
Men ~ page 69
Under 20s ~ page 53
Women ~ page 69

Radio Jem ;-) Fun Commentary and Participation:
Scotland v England (Scotland Win The Calcutta Cup) ~ Pages 60 - 69
Ireland v Wales ~ Pages 53 - 60


** St David's Day "Welsh-Themed Special" on Radio Jem ~ from page 69 **

Jonathan Davies to the Rescue ~Page 70



Saturday and Sunday, March 10th and 11th
ROUND 4:

SIX NATIONS? Is it REALLY six nations? :-S :-D ~ Page 70

WALES<3 CAN STILL WIN THE SIX NATIONS! How? ... see page 71 (before today's Round 4 games begin! ;-)


ALL CHANGE for the WALES TEAM v ITALY ~ Page 70

All Teams Announced Page 70


ROUND 4 RESULTS & TABLE ~ Page 93

Radio Jem ;-) Round 4 Fun Participation:
France v England ~ Pages 71 - 80
Ireland v Scotland ~ Pages 80 - 86
Wales v Italy ~ Pages 87 - 93



ROUND 5
FINAL ROUND SCHEDULE (Sat March 17th) ~ Page 95

All Teams Announced for The Final Round ~ Page 94


*THE MEN'S SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018 HAVE CONCLUDED!
Final Round Results, Match Reports and Finishing Positions ~ Page 123

*UNDER 20s CHAMPIONSHIP HAS ALSO CONCLUDED ~ Final Round Results and Positions ~ Page 123


* WOMENS' SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP : Final Round Results and Positions Announced ~ Page 123

THE SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018


TELEVISION RIGHTS:
All games will be shared out between BBC and ITV (To be posted later)


FIXTURES (All times stated are GMT-UK Time)

ROUND 1:

Saturday February 3:
1.
WALES v SCOTLAND ...... Kick Off 2.15pm
2.
FRANCE v IRELAND ....... Kick Off 4.45pm

Sunday February 4
ITALY v ENGLAND .......... Kick Off 3.00pm



ROUND 2:

Saturday February 10th
1.
IRELAND v ITALY ................ Kick Off 2.15pm
2.
ENGLAND v WALES ........... Kick Off 4.45pm

Sunday February 11th
SCOTLAND v FRANCE ....... Kick Off 3.00pm


**NO GAMES WEEKEND OF FEBRUARY 18 & 19



ROUND 3:

Friday Evening, February 23
FRANCE v ITALY .................... Kick Off 8.00pm

Saturday February 24
1.
IRELAND v WALES ................. Kick Off 2.15pm
2.
SCOTLAND v ENGLAND ........ Kick Off 4.45pm



** NO GAMES THE WEEKEND OF MARCH 3 & 4



ROUND 4:

Saturday March 10
1.
IRELAND v SCOTLAND ............ Kick Off 2.15pm
2.
FRANCE v ENGLAND ............... Kick Off 4.45pm

Sunday March 11
WALES v ITALY ......................... Kick Off 3.00pm


ROUND 5:

Saturday March 17
1.
ITALY v SCOTLAND ............. Kick Off 12.30pm
2.
ENGLAND v IRELAND .......... Kick Off 2.45pm
3.
WALES v FRANCE ................ Kick Off 5.00pm


RADIO JEM PARTICIPATION TO BE ANNOUNCED NEARER THE TIME :-)

WALES SQUAD FOR THE SIX NATIONS 2018

Forwards:
Rob Evans (Scarlets) (20 Caps)
Wyn Jones (Scarlets (5 Caps)
Nicky Smith (Ospreys) (16 Caps)
Scott Baldwin (Ospreys) (34 Caps)
Elliot Dee (Dragons) (2 Caps)
Ken Owens (Scarlets) (52 Caps)
Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (26 Caps)
Samson Lee (Scarlets) (34 Caps)
Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues) (2 Caps)
Adam Beard (Ospreys) (2 Caps)
Bradley Davies (Ospreys) (57 Caps)
Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues) (3 Caps)
Cory Hill (Dragons) (10 Caps)
Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (113 Caps) (CAPT)
James Davies (Scarlets) (*Uncapped)
Taulupe Faletau (Bath) (70 Caps)
Ellis Jenkins (Cardiff Blues) (5 Caps)
Ross Moriarty (Gloucester) (17 Caps)
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) (7 Caps)
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) (13 Caps)
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) (52 Caps)

Backs:
Aled Davies (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (27 Caps)
Rhys Webb (Ospreys) (31 Caps)
Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues) (11 Caps)
Dan Biggar (Ospreys) (60 Caps)
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Rhys Priestland (Bath) (50 Caps)
Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets) (1 Cap)
Owen Watkin (Ospreys) (2 Caps)
Owen Williams (Gloucester) (3 Caps)
Scott Williams (Scarlets) (51 Caps)
Josh Adams (Worcester Warriors) (*Uncapped)
Hallam Amos (Dragons) (15 Caps)
Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues) (47 Caps)
Steff Evans (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets) (74 Caps)
George North (Northampton Saints) (69 Caps)
Liam Williams (Saracens) (45 Caps)

ENGLAND NEWS:

Following his success in reinvigorating the England Rugby Union side, England's Head Coach EDDIE JONES has had his contract with ENGLAND RUGBY UNION extended for another 2 years.

The Australian,who previously coached Japan, had originally signed up until 2019. Eddie will now stay with England until 2021.

Full Story
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/eddie-jones-new-england-contract-extension-2021-rugby-world-cup-2019-a8163481.html

MORE ENGLAND NEWS

JAMES HASKELL, Flanker for Wasps and England, is to miss the start of the Six Nations Championship this year. This follows a dangerous high tackle on Harlequins (and Wales) Centre JAMIE ROBERTS during Saturday's European Champions Cup defeat.

He has been suspended until Monday February 12th
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42722330



ALSO MISSING THE START OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR FRANCE:
MATHIEU BASTAREAUD
He gets a 3 week ban for a homophobic remark

Full story plus the France Squad
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42721276

SCOTLAND NEWS

JOHN BARCLAY RETAINS THE SCOTLAND CAPTAINCY
but GREIG LAIDLAW is expected to return from injury

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/rugby/580689/john-barclay-stays-captain-greig-laidlaw-returns-6-nations/

THE SIX NATIONS SQUADS 2018

SCOTLAND
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-union/six-nations/six-nations-uncapped-quartet-named-in-scotland-squad-1-4662521

IRELAND
https://www.sportsjoe.ie/rugby/ireland-squad-six-nations-147581

ENGLAND (To Be Announced)

WALES (posted earlier)

FRANCE (posted earlier)

ITALY (Not found)

WALES NEWS:

Wales' Centre Jonathan Davies will be missing the Six Nations Championship this year due to injury needing an operation, but the Davies Family will still be represented .... as his brother JAMES gets the call up!

James is a Flanker with Llanelli based SCARLETS.
He has represented Wales Sevens and was part of the Great Britain squad that played in the Rugby Sevens tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics.


http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/what-makes-james-davies-different-14161898

ENGLAND SIX NATIONS SQUAD TO FACE ITALY

Backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins), Nathan Earle (Saracens), Harry Mallinder (Northampton), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Danny Care (Harlequins), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Leicester), Jonathan Joseph (Bath), Alex Lozowski (Saracens),Jack Nowell (Exeter), Henry Slade (Exeter), Ben Te'o (Worcester) Marcus Smith (Harlequins) **, Ben Youngs (Leicester)

Forwards
Gary Graham (Newcastle), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Launchbury (Wasps)Zach Mercer (Bath), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Sam Simmonds (Exeter), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), Lewis Boyce (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Tom Dunn (Bath), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)



Six Nations 2018: England name eight uncapped players in squad for Italy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42731062

MORE ENGLAND SIX NATIONS NEWS

BILLY VUNIPOLA is ruled out of the entire 2018 Championship after fracturing his forearm last weekend.

This is just the latest in a series of injuries that Billy has sustained over the last year.
He missed out on the British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in the summer due to a shoulder injury.

If that wasn't bad enough, then came knee surgery in September and he was then ruled out for almost four months.

His latest injury now looks likely to rule him out until April.


OTHER ENGLAND ABSENTEES FROM EDDIE JONES' ENGLAND SQUAD:
Jack Clifford, Matt Mullan, Nathan Hughes, Beno Obano and Ellis Genge also join Vunipola on the list of absentees.


SOME GOOD NEWS FOR ENGLAND FANS

MIKE BROWN:
Eddie Jones expects England's injured Full Back, Mike Brown, to be fit for England's Six Nations opener.
https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/rugby/eddie-jones-expects-injured-mike-brown-to-be-fit-for-englands-six-nations-opener-a3744771.html

WALES SIX NATIONS NEWS

RHYS PRIESTLAND

Bath Fly-Half, Rhys Priestland, has sustained a Hamstring injury which is likely to prevent him from featuring in this year's Six Nations Championship for Wales.

A statement from the WRU read: "Following further assessments and consultation with a specialist it has been concluded that due to the severity of Rhys Priestland's hamstring injury, he will remain at Bath Rugby for ongoing rehabilitation and will not link up with the Wales squad on Monday morning.

"It is envisaged that the injury will preclude him from taking an active part for the majority of the Championship hence this course of action has been deemed the most appropriate."

MORE WALES SIX NATIONS NEWS

LEIGH HALFPENNY

There has been a question mark over the fitness of WALES' Full Back and Kicker, Leigh Halfpenny, for this year's Six Nations Championship, following a pectoral injury sustained while playing for his club SCARLETS against Cardiff Blues on New Year's Eve.

The good news is that Leigh has recovered from that chest injury, but will remain on the bench when his club plays against his former club, TOULON, on Saturday.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42729080


FANS OF LEIGH WILL BE HOPING HE WILL HAVE HIS GOLDEN KICKING BOOTS ON FOR WALES <3

Not long now Jem :-D :-D ;-)

WALES NEWS

DAN BIGGAR INJURY FEAR!

Wales' First Choice Fly Half (10) Dan Biggar took a bad blow to his shoulder while playing an away game for his club OSPREYS v Clermont Auvergne, France.

Wales have already lost Bath Fly Half, RHYS PRIESTLAND, due to injury so this will be a huge worry for Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland so close to the opening of this year's Six Nations Championship.


ANOTHER WORRY FOR WALES ....
Saracens Back Rower, LIAM WILLIAMS, also failed a late fitness test on Saturday for their game v Northampton.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42762480


Wales have already lost their regular Captain- Flanker SAM WARBURTON and first choice 13, Centre Jonathan Davies, to injury.

I really hope there are no more casualties :-(

IRELAND NEWS

DAVE KILCOYNE has picked up a knee injury during his club MUNSTER's European Champions Cup win over Castres on Sunday.

Clubmate JAMES CRONIN called up to the Ireland Squad following this incident

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42777998

GOOD NEWS FOR SCOTLAND

THE HOGG IS BACK!!!!

Yes, Glasgow and Scotland's Full Back (15) Stuart Hogg has recovered from the hip injury that has kept him out of rugby for 2 months, and is joining Scotland's Six Nations Squad!

Stuart has said that Scotland can "do some damage" in this years Championship.
The way Scotland have been playing in recent years this is a distinct possibilty!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42761904

Love the six nations. Not long to go now. Good luck to your boys Jem. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ to Jem & Fly. :-) <3

~~~~~~~~ Thank You Hilary <3

ENGLAND NEWS:

HARLEQUINS TRIO SHOCKER!

Three Harlequins players are either in doubt or ruled out for England.

A question mark still remains regarding Full Back MIKE BROWN's fitness in time for England's opening game v Italy.
The 32 year old is still hampered by blurred vision.

Also, Brown's teammate, Tighthead (3) KYLE SINCKLER, has had to withdraw through injury and has been replaced by HENRY THOMAS (Bath)

Flanker CHRIS ROBSHAW has a back injury and is "borderline" to play.


Full Story
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42804034