Argument for Eight Nations will grow if rugby gospel wants to be spread

Italy gave France a fright last weekend and, with a new chief at the helm, boosted talk of expanding the competition

GREAT ENTERTAINERS: Italy’s Tommaso Menoncello offloads to Ange Capuozzo. Pic: INPHO/Giuseppe Fama

Apparently it took Michelangelo a little over four years to paint the 343 figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He was in his mid-30s at the time and not entirely sure he was the right man for the job, given he was primarily a sculptor. “Every gesture I make is blind and aimless,” he lamented in a poem published in 1509. “I am not in the right place – I am not a painter.” 

SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

Your home for the latest news, views and analysis of this year's Six Nations Championship from our award winning sports team.

SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

Your home for the latest news, views and analysis of this year's Six Nations Championship from our award winning sports team.