RUGBY
Friday game for Six Nations
Posted Fri, 18 Apr 2008

The 2009 Six Nations Championship will feature a Friday match for the first time when reigning Grand Slam champions Wales face France, officials announced on Thursday.

Wales, who a month ago sealed the title and Grand Slam with victory over France in Cardiff, will kick-off at 9pm local time (8pm GMT) on February 27 against Les Bleus at Paris's Stade de France.

Visiting fans in particular are likely to be unhappy with an evening kick-off which threatens to make their journeys to the French capital inconvenient.

"Travelling to France is always a tough proposition and playing on a Friday night will be interesting, but it won't faze us," Gatland said.

"We will prepare in the same professional way as we do for any other game and we are lucky to have an impressive band of travelling supporters who can help bring a home atmosphere to any away fixture," the New Zealander added.

Friday night matches, which featured in last year's World Cup in France, are an increasingly common feature of French rugby and this has been taken into account by Six Nations organisers.

Wales, whose first season under new coach Gatland went better than even their most loyal fans could have hoped, begin the defence of their title away to Scotland at Murrayfield on February 8.

England, under new manager and World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, kick-off the Six Nations at home to Italy on February 7.

Wales follow before England face Ireland at Croke Park — they lost 43-13 on their one previous visit last year — host France and then finish at home to Scotland in a Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham.

Ireland, who will also have a new coach following Eddie O'Sullivan's recent resignation, start against France, with Scotland visiting Paris a week after hosting Wales.

As was the case this year, all the matches in the final round of the competition will be played on the same Saturday with Wales wrapping up the event against Ireland at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Ahead of the the Six Nations, Wales have two Tests away to South Africa in June coming before they again face the Springboks, as well as New Zealand and Australia in November.

"We have a gruelling trip to the home of the World Champions this summer and further tough games against top Southern Hemisphere opposition to look forward to in the Autumn, before we have any hope of being able to assess our chances of defending the title," said Gatland.

"The fixture list is pretty much the flip side of the one that treated us so well this year, it offers us different challenges with three games on the road.

"But we are given the opportunity to go to both Scotland and Italy where the players will feel they didn't get their performance right in 2007 and we'll have the chance to put that right."

The 2008 edition ended in dramatic fashion last month with Wales clinching the Grand Slam at home to France and Six Nations chairman Jacques Laurans said in a statement Thursday: "The 2008 RBS 6 Nations Championship concluded recently on yet another high note.

"The atmosphere in Cardiff was electric and I am convinced that next year's Championship will be equally as dramatic.

"Once again, the Championship brought huge TV audiences in all its countries and we are looking forward to even more exciting matches and unpredictable results," he added.

Scotland captain Mike Blair said he felt the fixture list had done his side a favour: "It's always good to begin the championship at home as it gives you the better chance of starting with a win and then looking to build momentum.

"We do then face a tight six-day turnaround to face France in Paris so the balance between training and rest will be important that week.

"Following that, we have successive home games at Murrayfield against Italy and Ireland and I believe that could stand us in good stead for our final game of the Championship as we seek to retain the Calcutta Cup against England at Twickenham," the scrumhalf added.

AFP