6 Nations kick-off

The Excitement Builds: Six Nations Rugby Tournament 2025

The rugby world is buzzing with anticipation as the 2025 Six Nations Rugby Tournament approaches. This annual competition, which pits England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales against each other, is set to kick off on Friday, January 31 and run until March 15.

Ireland enters the tournament as the defending champions, having raised the cup in both 2024 and 2023. They atre looking to make history by winning three consecutive championships, a feat no team has achieved since the tournament expanded to include Italy in 2000. Their first challenge will be hosting England in Dublin on February 1, 2025.

The opening round of fixtures includes a much anticipated clash between France and Wales at the Stade de France, and Scotland hosting Italy in Edinburgh. These early matches will set the tone for what promises to be an exhilarating tournament.

The Six Nations is played in a round-robin format, with each team playing the other five once, resulting in a total of 15 matches. Teams earn four points for a win, two points for a draw, and bonus points for scoring four or more tries or losing by a margin of seven points or fewer1. The team with the most points at the end of the tournament will be crowned champions.

Anyone for bowls

Bowls, or lawn bowls, is a sport that seems straightforward at first glance—roll a ball towards a smaller ball, and whoever gets closest wins. But delve a little deeper, and you'll find a world of oddities.

First off, the bowls themselves aren't round. They're biased, meaning they have a weight on one side that makes them curve as they roll.

Then there's the terminology. Phrases like "jack high" (a situation where a bowl comes to rest at the same distance from the mat as the jack) or "rub of the green" (a reminder that, despite skill and strategy, sometimes the outcome is beyond our control due to imperfections in the green - to the uninitiated, they might sound more like a secret code than a game. And let's not forget the "kitty," which is not a pet cat but the small white ball everyone is aiming for. The origin of the term is a bit murky, but there are a few theories. One theory suggests that "kitty" is a diminutive form of "kit," which was an old English term for a small container or box. This makes sense, as the jack (or kitty) is a small object that serves as the target in the game

Bowls is one of the few sports where age is truly just a number. You might see an 90-year old trouncing a 20-something. It's a sport where experience and cunning can outdo youthful energy, leading to some unexpected and entertaining matchups.

Whether you're a player or a spectator, bowls offers a unique blend of skill, strategy, and perhaps..ruthlessness! Either way, it's ideal for the summertime, especially if you can have a cold drink and relax to the clack of the bowls. As Walter Raleigh was supposed to have said: "Time enough to play the game and thrash the Spaniards afterwards",,,Huzzah!