IT’S that time of year again when we dust off our livers after Burns Night and prepare to put them through the wringer in that phantasmagorical event we call the Six Nations.
It’s not just the inner organs that take a beating in February and March. No, it’s an emotional wringer that squeezes us dry, especially if, as happened last year, Scotland promise a lot but deliver not a jot.
Since the Italians joined the party, we have not won the Six Nations at all, and the days of Five Nations glory – you will recall that Scotland won the last “Five” in 1999 – seem a distant memory, thanks in no small part to those selfsame Italians who have had a habit of spoiling our parties. Need you be reminded of Murrayfield last year?
Traditionalists always thought that adding Italy and not having all the games start at the same time on a Saturday would kill the world’s best sporting tournament – as you well know, The Rucker is not given to understatement – but they were badly wrong.
Yes, it can be a pain travelling at strange times and staying in the pub all day before an evening kick-off – sense the irony there? – but for goodness’ sake, it’s the SIX NATIONS, people.
So we get our battered Barbours out, blow the cobwebs off our walking boots, get the kilts back from the dry cleaners where they were sent after Burns Night, and gird up our loins for a couple of months of sheer rugby heaven.
Obviously it’s about great rugby played between old friends and auld enemies, but the Six Nations is so much more than that – it’s a life-affirming ritual that hooks you when you’re young and never lets go, a part of your life that gives you splendid memories tha only glitter more as the years advance.
The same pubs will be visited in Edinburgh, Rome, Dublin and Cardiff, the same amount of drink will be consumed, the same stories will be told, with only slight embellishments, and in between there will be international rugby matches which will hopefully live up to expectations.
People will become legends, and that’s only the fans…hopefully some Scottish players will do so, too.
So here’s the good news. As a result of the success of our coverage of the Rugby World Cup, The National is going to put a special effort into covering the Six Nations this season, and that’s principally why The Rucker column was brought back to life.
We hope you have enjoyed the musing and ramblings of The Rucker and his many correspondents over the past few months, but one thing we want to do is to involve many more people.
Which is why this column is seeking two immediate contributions from you – your best Six or Five Nations stories, and first of all, your predictions for the outcome of the tournament and what you hope to see, and not just from Scotland.
Email your best thoughts to nationalrucker@gmail.com, please.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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