In the July 2006 issue of Rugby World magazine, Gordon D’Arcy mused on the history of the Munster v Leinster rivalry over the years:

“Munster and Leinster matches about seven or eight years ago were just pure violence on the pitch. We had no respect for each other. There were punch-ups galore. There was little or no rugby played and whoever won invariably did so  by 9 – 6, or something like that.”

That is such an accurate picture, too.

In some ways you couldn’t have asked for a more thrilling match to decide the 2009 Six Nations Grand Slam. If Wales won by 13 points, the championship was theirs. If Ireland won, it was the Grand Slam. At the end of the day, goal kicking decided it, with Ireland’s Ronan O’Gara hitting a drop goal and Wales’ Stephen Jones missing a penalty attempt. We won’t tire of watching these highlights a few times over:

The 2009 vintage of the RBS 6 Nations wrapped up on the weekend with Ireland completing a truly historic Grand Slam, some 61 years in the waiting. Last year’s champions Wales tumbled down the table, finishing behind England (a somewhat surprising second place) and France, ahead of Scotland and Italy, this year’s holders of the Wooden Spoon.

With the Lions tour to South Africa around the corner, perhaps it would be interesting to cast an eye back over the Six Nations and see who stood out and who (apart from our French and Italian picks) might be potential Lions material. We may not have picked your favorites and we are sure to have missed out some, but here’s what we think:

England

England came under heavy criticism after winning only one of its first three matches in the 2009 campaign (and that against Italy). The light came on again against France, and England finished strong, ending up in second place with 16 tries and a +54 points differential.

Some standouts for England were:

• Delon Armitage – showed some great attacking flair and was solid in defence
• Tom Croft – a tower in the line-out and a workhorse around the park
• Riki Flutey – turned into a try-scoring machine
• Toby Flood – played very well indeed when called upon, making good decisions
• Joe Worsely – strong in defense, and can score too
• Danny Care – after making a silly mistake against Ireland, Care returned against Scotland with flair, making amends

Ireland

Sixty-one years is a long time to wait for a second Grand Slam, but Ireland finally got that monkey off its back with a thrilling win against Wales in the decider at Cardiff. Ireland shed its (undeserved) reputation as a choker, winning with a drop goal from Ronan O’Gara in the last minute. They weren’t overwhelming during every game, but wins are wins, and several players distinguished themselves.

Standouts for Ireland were:

• Tommy Bowe – again and again showed blistering pace
• Paul O’Connell – a great motivator and a power in the pack
• Luke Fitzgerald – still young and already a great center, scoring twice
• Brian O’Driscoll – BOD showed why he is still at the top
• Ronan O’Gara – ROG scared us at times with some shocking misses, but scored when it counted, to win it all

Scotland

Scotland struggled during the Six Nations, managing only one win against Italy. They scored only four tries during the tournament and relied heavily on the boot of Chris Paterson. There were sparks here and there, but they never seemed to ignite a fire.

Standouts for Scotland were:

• Thom Evans – showed some blistering pace and a super work rate in defense
• Alasdair Strokosch – no Scot tackled harder than Strokosch
• Chris Paterson – again, the boot of Paterson kept Scotland in games when nothing else was happening for them

Wales

Last year’s champions stumbled this year with France snuffing out the hope of a Grand Slam repeat, and Ireland taking it all in the final minutes at Cardiff. There was plenty of great play from Wales though, with the entire Six Nations championship riding on Stephen Jones’ penalty kick in the final seconds of of that last match.

Standouts for Wales were:

• Leigh Halfpenny – the youngster showed great speed and handling, scoring two tries and a penalty goal
• Lee Byrne – tough in defense and always a threat on offense
• Alun Wyn Jones – a workhorse all over the park and a good leader
• Shane Williams – where would Wales be without Shane Williams?

Italy

Poor old Italy, the Wooden Spoon holders again this campaign. Things didn’t start well against England with some questionable coaching decisions, and went downhill from there. Italy always play hard and are almost never a “given”, but the wheels fell off completely against France in their final match where they fell 8 – 50.

Standouts for Italy were:

• Sergio Parisse – always there for Italy, game in, game out and scored a well-deserved try against France
• Martin Castrogiovanni – sometimes out of favor, but a harder worker for Italy you will not find

France

France were hot and cold during this campaign, playing well to take out Wales, but completely falling apart against England. They ended up finishing third, just behind England and ahead of Wales. When things were hot, there was some very good play to be seen.

Standouts for France were:

• Morgan Parra – a very young scrum half played very well, putting up 26 points and good delivery
• Imanol Harinordoquy – always worked hard, never backed off
• Sebastien Chabal – you can always count on Chabal
• Dimitri Szarzewski – a top-grade hooker who gives the opposition fits, and he scored a try

2009 Lions Possibles

We can’t pick everyone, or fill every spot, but of the standouts we noted above, we think these may be possibles for the upcoming Lions tour:

England – Armitage, Croft, Flutey, Worsely

Ireland – Bowe, O’Connell, O’Driscoll, Fitzgerald

Scotland – Evans, Strokosch, Paterson

Wales – Halfpenny, Williams, Byrne

…at least, that’s what we think… Ruggerbits

Ireland scored some great running tries against the Barbarians in May, 2008, eventually ending up winning 39 – 14:

A good effort by Scotland, with them leading at the half, fell short in their Round 4 match against Ireland. Scotland lost 22 – 15, which keeps Ireland’s hopes for a Grand Slam alive and well.

A good advert from O2, sponsors of Ireland Rugby (there’s that fella Keith Wood again):

It is never a waste of time to look back at some of the great moments in rugby history, is it? Are there any from Ireland, you ask? Of course there are, you cheeky bugger! This clip shows a few from more recent times (we won’t even have a look at RWC 2007). Thinking about it for a moment, if you had to name one of the best ever to wear a No.2 jersey, you would surely have to consider Keith Wood on the charge (that fella Fitzpatrick from New Zealand wasn’t too bad either). At any rate, looking at this clip isn’t time wasted:

Not a great day for Scotland A as Ireland A ran out 35 – 10 winners. This clip shows you the highlights (or lowlights if you are a Scots fan):

One of several amusing adverts that can be seen on Welsh TV regarding Wales’ opponents in the Six Nations. Does everyone in Wales think like this?

Another example of how not to tackle, but this time the danger is to the recipient, Rob Kearney of Ireland. Masi was lucky to escape with only a yellow card. No real message being sent to the players if you can pole-axe someone and get away with a yellow card.

More video highlights for you from the RBS Six Nations Round 2 clash between hosts Italy and a resurgent Ireland:

The Ireland pre-match, locker room motivational speech at the RBS Six Nations match v France in 2007. Warning: contains Rugby Language

It was a very physical clash in Rome between Italy and Ireland in Round 2 of the 2009 Six Nations. Ireland ended up winning handily, to sit atop the table after Round 2. This video clio shows some of the highlights.

The 2009 RBS Six Nations Championship begins on 7 February, and it’s time to take a look at how the teams are shaping up.

Next up: Ireland v France at Croke Park.

Prediction: Ireland! Ireland!

New coach Declan Kidney is taking over an Ireland team that had a terrible 2007 World Cup campaign and a disappointing 2008 RBS Six Nations, but they have the personnel to get the job done this time, if they remain healthy. Ireland host both England and France this year, and they can be tough to beat at home. Ireland has but one Grand Slam victory, and that was a very long time ago indeed. Perhaps this is their year? There are some very experienced players in the side, with a total of some 434 Six Nations caps. Player to watch: Ronan O’Gara, with 443 Six Nations points scored.

The Ireland squad:

France come into the Six Nations struggling this year having been beaten fairly easily by South Africa and Australia in the Autumn Tests. The French are known for the flair they can bring to their game, but coach Marc Lievremont seems to be having trouble coaxing it out of his players. France include at least nine uncapped players in their squad this year, and boast only some 166 Six Nations caps. Player to watch: Sebastien Chabal, the “Caveman” is always intense.

The France squad:

Ireland coach Declan Kidney has taken great pains recently to urge fans to be realistic in their expectations as his side prepare for this year’s Six Nations Championship.

The Irish failed to live up to expectations last year under former coach Eddie O’Sullivan with just two victories, over Italy and Scotland, and instead of Grand Slam glory they had to settle for fourth place in the Championship. But Kidney believes the team’s achievements should be saluted given the competition rugby faces from other sports in Ireland.

Kidney has said: “There’s never been such a good period in Irish rugby as the last six years. Ireland have won three Triple Crowns and were two seconds away from a championship. That would do me fine.”

It’s a tried and true technique: under-promise and over-deliver, and you’ll end up looking a genius.