Irish open Grand Slam bid away to France

IRELAND, beaten in this season’s Grand Slam decider in Dublin, will not get a similar chance against either of the top-notch favourites in next season’s RBS Six Nations Championship.

The final action of the competition has been reserved for a Stade de France showdown between France and England on March 27, although Ireland have been allocated a special day to kick off their participation in the tournament.

The 2004 Championship will begin and end in Paris, and this season’s runners-up Ireland start the campaign with a Valentine’s Day pairing against France.

It will conclude with a Super Saturday on March 27, when all six nations will be in action, culminating with a 9.00pm local time (8.00pm Irish Time) tie between France and England. The Six Nations Committee has decided not to risk a repeat of last season when critics suggested the English/French encounter should have been left until last, instead of Ireland taking centre-stage on the final day.

As events transpired then, the organisers got it right, with both teams fighting it out for the Grand Slam decider. Still, believing that England and France are generally the strongest nations in the competition, the structure has now been set up differently.

Jacques Laurans, chairman of the Six Nations Committee said: “In planning the fixture schedule for 2004, our aim has been to build on the success of this year’s tournament, which was the most widely-viewed of recent times. Television audiences were up from 75 million to 95 million, with the Grand Slam-deciding final match attracting an audience share in Britain of more than 50%.”

“The 2004 Championship promises even greater interest, coming as it does hard on the heels of the Rugby World Cup. I suspect there may be a score or two to settle by the time the Six Nations comes along.”

Attendances at the 15 matches of the 2003 season averaged almost 58,000 or 96% capacity, meaning that one million people attended an RBS Six Nations game. In addition, the Tournament’s new website, launched just before this year’s first game, is attracting nearly three times as many users as its predecessor.

Commenting, John Feehan, Six Nations chief executive said: “We have seen some pleasing developments on the field. Italy, for instance, has shown real evidence of its continuing development and ability to compete fully in the competition, and this has been reflected by growing levels of support for their team.

Ireland follow up their away fixture to France with a match against Wales at Lansdowne Road on Sunday, February 22. They are away to England on March 6 but then enjoy home matches against Italy on March 20 and Scotland the following week.