The 2014 RBS Six Nations kicks off on February 1 and the BBC will bring rugby fans every moment of the tournament across all its platforms.
2013 was a vintage year for Welsh rugby union, with several members of their victorious Six Nations squad going on to play instrumental roles in the British and Irish Lions’ enthralling series victory over Australia in the summer.
Led by interim coach Rob Howley, Wales successfully defended their Six Nations crown with a thumping victory over England in the final round of fixtures as the Red Rose fell at the final hurdle for the second time in three years.
Two tries from Alex Cuthbert, 12 points for Leigh Halfpenny and eight from Dan Biggar saw the Red Dragons dismantle the Grand Slam-chasing English in an explosive encounter at the Millennium Stadium.
Currently the northern hemisphere’s best side, a status underlined by two successive Six Nations titles and a 2011 World Cup semi-final appearance, Wales will create history if they win for the third season in a row.
Head coach Warren Gatland is back at the helm after missing last year’s tournament due to Lions commitments.
Provided that injuries do not take a toll, and the internal political battles of Welsh rugby are kept aside, Wales should be able to build another successful campaign from a base of home wins against Italy, France and Scotland.
England’s Grand Slam hopes imploded spectacularly last year but they once again hold considerable title aspirations and appear to be Wales’ biggest title threat.
Despite several big names missing due to injury, there is considerable excitement for the young players head coach Stuart Lancaster has at his disposal.
However, the tournament schedule has not been kind to Lancaster with France and Scotland away being England’s opening two fixtures.
Along with Italy, the Scots are the only other side never to win a Six Nations title and it will be hard to see that sequence ending this season in their final international campaign before Vern Cotter takes over as their national boss.
Having let slip the opportunity of a lifetime by failing to see off world champions New Zealand in the autumn, Ireland prepare for the Six Nations knowing they will be lead for the last time by talisman Brian O’Driscoll, who retires at the end of the campaign.
Despite having lost 58 of their 69 championship games since 2000, Italy have slowly but surely improved with every passing Six Nations campaign, with last season’s highlight being their stunning win over the French in Rome.
It’s still hard to believe the star-studded Les Bleus finished bottom after recording just a solitary win and one draw from five games, and the pressure will lie heavy on the shoulders of head coach Philippe Saint-Andre to deliver this time around.
A new chapter in the history of one international rugby’s greatest competitions will be written over the course of five weekends this spring.
Captivating rugby union fans for decades, last year’s tournament was watched by 24.5m viewers in the UK, with a peak of 9.4m tuning in to BBC One for the deciding game between Wales and England.
The average audience for the BBC’s live coverage was 5.1m, the highest ever recorded in the 14-year history of the Six Nations.
BBC Sport will once again deliver complete coverage of Northern Hemisphere rugby union’s greatest annual showcase. Full details of how to follow the 2014 championship below.
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| SATURDAY 15th MARCH |
A super Saturday of international rugby kicks off in Rome as the final round of fixtures in the 2014 RBS 6 Nations begins with England’s trip to face Italy.
England are still in firm contention to lift the trophy come 7.00pm this evening and will need to score plenty of tries to overhaul Ireland’s points difference in case they win in Paris later this evening.
The away side have won all 19 matches they have played against the Italians, but certainly didn’t have it all their own way when they last played at the Stadio Olimpico.
Stuart Lancaster’s side had to survive a few scares before eventually prevailing 19-15 in snowy conditions two years ago.
That was only his second game in charge as England’s head coach, but his side are really starting to take shape ahead of the World Cup on home soil next year.
Jason Mohammad presents BBC One’s live coverage from 12.15pm alongside pundits Clive Woodward, Lewis Moody and Carlo Del Fava.
Match commentary comes from Alistair Bruce-Ball and Andy Robinson.
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While the penultimate game may be in effect a dead rubber, expect an incredible atmosphere in Cardiff as Wales aim to end their championship on a high against Scotland.
Wales entered the tournament chasing an unprecedented third straight title, but soon saw their bid for back-to-back Grand Slams quashed as they lost to Ireland on the second weekend.
Last week’s defeat to England in a pulsating test match at Twickenham saw their chances of the Six Nations trophy dashed all together.
However, Welsh fans will fancy chances of victory in this match though, given the fact that the Scots have only ever managed one victory at the Millennium Stadium.
Gabby Logan presents live coverage from Cardiff alongside studio guests Shane Williams, Andy Nicol and Martyn Williams.
Match commentary will be provided by Andrew Cotter, Jonathan Davies and Chris Paterson.
Welsh language coverage is available on S4C.
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After 14 games across five weekends, the destiny of the 2014 RBS 6 Nations title comes down to the result of the final match as Ireland travel to face the French at the Stade de France.
With Ireland, England and France all on six points going into the final week, points difference will play a significant part in the outcome of the championship.
Ireland know that even a narrow victory over France in Paris would more than likely give them the title as they a better points difference over England.
This is set to be Brian O’Driscoll’s last ever Six Nations match and he will hope to crown his glittering career for Ireland with the biggest prize in Northern Hemisphere rugby.
Fittingly, O’Driscoll announced himself on the world stage with an historic hat-trick in Paris against the French way back in 2000 and has gone on to become a true legend of the sport.
Irish wins over France like that one 14 years ago have been thin on the ground, however, and they have won just one of their last 14 meetings in all competitions.
Remarkably, the last two matches between these sides have been drawn – 17-17 in Paris two years ago and 13-13 in Dublin 12 months ago.
Provided they win in Italy earlier, England fans will be watching the events in Paris with great interest.
John Inverdale introduces coverage of the championship’s final match from 4.35pm on BBC One, where he will be joined pitchside for expert analysis by Keith Wood, Jeremy Guscott and Thomas Castaignede.
Match commentary is led by Eddie Butler alongside Brian Moore and Phillip Matthews.
Press red following the BBC One transmission for the Six Nations Forum with on BBC Red Button, starting at 7.00pm.
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BBC Sport will be the only place to follow the entire 2014 RBS 6 Nations Championship across TV, radio, online and mobile.
Every game of this year’s tournament will be shown on BBC One with live coverage starting on the opening day as Wales take on Italy and France face England.
New for 2014, British and Irish Lions and Scotland legend Sir Ian McGeechan joins the BBC television team, bringing his wealth of expertise gained as both a player and a coach.
He joins the BBC’s vast team of experts who will all bring their unique and professional analysis and views across television, including another of rugby union’s knights – Sir Clive Woodward, plus BBC rugby regulars Jonathan Davies, Jeremy Guscott, Andy Nicol, Brian Moore, Keith Wood.
Also part of the pundity team will be Martyn Williams, Chris Paterson, Shane Williams, Phillip Matthews and Thomas Castaignede.
John Inverdale will head the BBC’s presentation team once again, alongside Gabby Logan, Jason Mohammed and Ross Harries.
Commentary duties for all 15 games will be lead by Eddie Butler and Andrew Cotter, while touchline reports come from Jill Douglas and Sonja McLaughlan.
On radio, 14 of the 15 matches will be covered live in their entirety on either BBC 5 live or 5 live Sports Extra.
Ian Robertson leads the commentary team alongside by Alastair Eykyn, Conor McNamara, Iain Carter and Gareth Lewis, with expert comments from Matt Dawson, Gavin Hastings, Rob Jones and Denis Hickie.
A Six Nations preview show ahead of the tournament will be broadcast on Radio 5 live on Thursday 30 January (19:30 – 21:00), where presenter Matt Dawson will be joined by a variety of special guests.
BBC Sport will provide comprehensive digital coverage across the entire Six Nations, including live streams of every match, available across four screens – PC, tablet, mobile and connected TV.
In addition, the BBC Sport website will provide Radio 5 live commentary, live text commentary, reports on every fixture, plus the latest news and analysis, while all content will also be available via the BBC Sport app for mobile and tablet devices.
Fans can catch-up on full coverage of every match through BBC iPlayer for up to a week after the live game.
A special 15-minute preview programme – Inside 6 Nations – will be broadcast before each weekend of the tournament on the BBC News Channel, featuring interviews and the latest news and analysis.
BBC Sport will also feature action from the 2014 Women’s Six Nations throughout the spring, featuring live coverage of England v Ireland on Saturday, February 22, via the BBC Red Button and online with commentary from Sara Orchard.
Live commentary of England v Ireland and England v Wales (March 7) will also be available on 5 live Sports Extra with the full story of the women’s tournament including news and highlights being reported across the BBC Sport website and BBC One’s live Six Nations programming.
Commenting on the BBC’s extensive coverage, Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, said: “As we look forward to the first major sporting event of 2014, the Six Nations kicks off what is certain to be a fantastic year for BBC Sport.
“I am delighted that the BBC will once again deliver an event that unites the nation and thrills audiences of all ages and hope that rugby’s biggest annual competition continues to grow even more popular.”
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The BBC’s comprehensive nationwide coverage will be complemented by a vast array of local content for Welsh, Scottish and Irish viewers.
BBC Cymru Wales will have match commentary of the Welsh games on television, radio and online.
On television, BBC One Wales will screen every game live, while dedicated Welsh-language coverage of all Wales games will be available to watch on S4C (available across the UK on Freesat 120, Sky 134 & Virgin 166).
BBC Wales will also screen matches from the Under 20’s Six Nations, kicking off at Eirias Park in North Wales on Friday, January 31, at 7.00pm when Wales face Italy, followed on February 7 at 7.30pm with Ireland v Wales live from Athlone.
A brand-new series of the popular Scrum V Classics will coincide with this year’s Six Nations fixtures and will be broadcast on the Thursday or Friday prior to the Wales games on BBC Two Wales.
Contributors will include Colin Charvis, Adrian Hadley, Mike Rayer, Ryan Jones and Gerald Davies as they relive key games in past tournaments.
Scrum V Six Nations Specials will start Sunday, January 26, with Ross Harries and special guests as they dissect the action and break the news for the first four programmes, with Jason Mohammad presenting the last two editions.
BBC Radio Wales will be Wales’s Six Nations station with extensive coverage across the output including news and analysis, comedy, big-match build-up, live commentary and post-match phone-ins.
BBC Scotland and BBC Radio Scotland will have live coverage of all of Scotland’s games and a new 30-minute documentary reflecting on Scotland’s 1984 Grand Slam win will broadcast on BBC Two Scotland ahead of the tournament.
BBC Northern Ireland will have all of Ireland’s games live on BBC Radio Ulster with outside broadcasts from the home games at the Aviva Stadium.
BBC Newsline and the BBC Sport NI website will also have extensive preview and analysis of all Ireland’s games throughout the tournament.
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All TV times subject to change
Saturday 1st February WALES 23-15 ITALY Kick-off: 14:30 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff LIVE: 2.00pm-4.30pm BBC One FRANCE 26-24 ENGLAND Kick-off: 17:00 | Stade de France, Paris LIVE: 4.30pm-6.55pm BBC One Sunday 2nd February IRELAND 28-6 SCOTLAND Kick-off: 15:00 | Aviva Stadium, Dublin LIVE: 2.30pm-5.00pm BBC One Forum: 5.00pm-5.30pm BBC Red Button
Wales Italy match: referee’s error: it appeared to me that one of the most significant moments in the first half was not mentioned by the team at half time.
Wales winning 10-3 were about to concede atry under the posts when the referee blew for a forward pass. It seemed clear that the pass was okay but hit awelsh player and went forward. If Italy had scored at that point the likely score would have been 10-10. What a difference that would hav emade to the game.
Add to that the apparent error to give a penalty to wales in the second half as a scrum collapsed – I think Italy were very unfortunate and Wales very lucky.