The band are currently in the studio finishing the follow-up to 2008′s Songs In A&E, which will be released this autumn via Domino/Double Six.

In 2009, Spiritualized re-released their 1997 album Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. Last year, the band played that record in full at the Matt Groening-curated ATP festival.

Dubbed ‘space rock’, the band were formed in Rugby in 1990. They only have one remaining ever-present from forming to now – writer and singer Jason Pierce.

Spiritualized tickets are available online

England failed at the final hurdle in their Grand Slam attempt after being soundly beaten by Ireland.

Shaw, 37, told the Daily Telegraph: “In order to have beaten Ireland, we really needed to have raised our game to another level from the intensity we produced in Cardiff.”

He added: “I still believe, though, that if we get that right in New Zealand, there is no reason why we can’t go on to reach the final, as we did in 2007, and go one better this time.”

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Easter stands in as captain for the injured Mike Tindall, who himself stood in for the injured squad captain Lewis Moody.

Ireland will want to keep up their good record against the English in Dublin at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. England haven’t won in Dublin since 2003 – the last time they also won a Grand Slam.

“When the fixtures came out most people thought this would be the hardest game and I don’t think we’ll be disappointed,” Easter commented. “We realise after last week’s not-so-hot performance that it was a good kick up the backside in order to make sure we do produce the goods on Saturday. It is going to be a pretty easy game to captain in terms of the build-up because these guys will need no motivation to get up for the game. This is a bigger Test match than most”.

For fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, the encounter has refreshed memories of that Grand Slam match in Dublin seven years ago. “No one in the England camp underestimates how tough it’ll be to win there again. It’s a sensational end to the championship.”

Ireland have won 6 of the last 7 meetings in Dublin and England will in no way underestimate them on their quest for the Grand Slam.

Ireland vs England tickets are available online

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Ireland have brought in Andrew Trimble and Johnathan Sexton for the game in Dublin. Trimble’s inclusion on the wing results in Keith Earls moving to full-back and Luke Fitzgerald dropping out of the squad. Sexton comes into the fly-half role at the expense of Munster’s Ronan O’Gara, who moves to the replacements bench, despite the veteran numer 10′s good form. Eoin Reddan is named at scrum-half despite suffering concussion against Wales on Saturday.

Should Ireland beat England and Wales win heavily against France, England will miss out on the Six Nations title altogether, let alone their first Grand Slam title in eight years. England go to Dublin having lost six of their last seven meetings on Irish soil, but with their best chance of a Six Nations Grand Slam since 2003.

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Tindall had been standing in as skipper during the Six Nations for injured squad captain Lewis Moody and Nick Easter will captain the side on Saturday. 6ft 7in Matt Banahan comes in at centre to replace Tindall in what is a crucial match for England at the Aviva Stadium.

If England beat Ireland they will complete their first Grand Slam since 2003 when a team led by Martin Johnson won their final match at the old Lansdowne Road, which the Aviva Stadium has replaced. Unless Wales win heavily against France, England will still take the Six Nations title on points difference, if Ireland win.

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England will win the Grand Slam if they defeat Ireland, and Cueto, 31, will pull out all the stops to make sure that happens.

“You can count on one hand the times you get something tangible out of rugby,” Cueto told the official Six Nations website.

“I’ve never won anything in seven or eight years with England. I’m not getting any younger, so this is a massive opportunity on a personal level.

“When you get so little time together, that’s such a big factor. And that’s what we’ve had over the last 12-18 months, a clear sense of a squad of players.”

Ireland v England tickets are available now.

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Williams, who hinted that the match against France on Saturday would be his final Six Nations appearance, damaged knee ligaments in the win over Ireland last week.

A scan has revealed the injury is very serious, and Williams will have a fight on his hands to be fit for the World Cup.

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Martin Johnson’s team were expected to demolish a struggling Scotland side, but found it difficult to rack up the points.

They will hope to put in another winning performance against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, where victory will mean a first Grand Slam since 2003.

Ireland v England tickets are available now.

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England have four of the 12 shortlisted players in Toby Flood, Chris Ashton, James Haskell and Tom Palmer.

French captain Thierry Dusautoirand his team mate Maxime Medard are included. Others include Sam Warburton and James Hook for Wales and Fabio Semenzato and Andrea Masi for Italy.

Finally, Sean O’Brien and Ronan O’Gara for Ireland, who will be looking to retain the award won by their team mate Tommy Bowe in 2010.

Six Nations tickets for the remaining games are available now.

The Leinster scrum-half was struck in the face with a clearance kick by Lee Byrne and replaced early in his team’s 19-13 loss to Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

Reddan is being monitored by Ireland’s medical staff, who remain hopeful he will take part in Saturday’s clash at the Aviva Stadium.

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“We haven’t banned anything and that includes talking about a Grand Slam,” said Johnson. “We’ve never said ‘don’t mention the Grand Slam’.

“We all know what is at stake now and what we want to do. We will be talking about how to beat Ireland.

“We go away to probably the toughest place to play right now in Europe.”

A win against the Irish in Dublin would mean England win their first Grand Slam since 2003, a year when Johnson was captain and a World Cup was won.

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Tindall, captaining England in the absence of Lewis Moody, injured his ankle during Sunday’s 22-16 victory over Scotland and was replaced at half-time.

England will be desperate for Tindall to be available to guide the team through Saturday’s vital match against Ireland, where a win would seal the Grand Slam.

If Tindall is ruled out of the Dublin clash, Nick Easter looks to be the likely candidate to take over the captaincy.

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Many Irish players have spoken of injustice after a controversial try was awarded to Wales on the way to their 19-13 win. Captain Brian O’Driscoll was infuriated by Mike Phillips’ crucial second-half try after an illegal quick line-out throw-in.

However, Kidney has asked his players to not dwell on the incident, and concentrate on their next match with England.

“Our job is to prepare for the next game. If we keep looking at the past we’ll never get anywhere,” said Kidney.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, that’s the test. This tests the team. I don’t think it will be hard to get this calibre of player ready for England.”

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England laboured to victory 22-16 against Scotland at Twickenham, and struggled to impose themselves on, what many perceived, weaker opponents.

A win against the Irish would guarantee a Grand Slam, which England have no achieved since John was captain in 2003.

Johnson said: “We’ve got lots to be better at. We know we can play a lot better than that.

“We’ll be in a fight (against Ireland) and we’ve got to make sure we are a bit smarter the next time we play.”

Ireland v England tickets are available now.

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After losing their opening Six Nations match to England, Wales have gone on to win three in a row. A win over France in their final game would secure second place, or possibly win them the Championship if England slip-up aginst Ireland.

Gatland acknowledged the  officials’ mistake in allowing Mike Phillips’ try, but believed that his team had enough of an advantage to win.

“I hope it puts things into perspective,” said the former Ireland coach. “I don’t think we’re as bad as people were making out.”

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France will look to put pressure on championship leaders England, who play Scotland on Sunday, while Italy are desperate to put some points on the board having been narrowly defeated by Wales and Ireland at home.

Italy coach Nick Mallett will roll the dice and makes seven changes including Carlo Festuccia,Luciano Orquera, Gonzalo Garcia and the highly-rated Tommaso Benvenuti coming in.

Les Bleus boss Marc Lievremont also makes changes but has surprised many by keeping faith with No.8 Sebastian Chabal.

Julien Bonnaire will play, while Maxime Medard also makes his comeback from injury. An injury to Dimitri Yachvili means Morgan Parra will renew half-back duties with Francois Trinh-Duc.

Italy v France tickets are available now.

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The Millennium Stadium is the scene of Ireland’s last Grand Slam victory in 2009, and they will hope to kick-start their campaign with a big win. Wales have only beaten Ireland at home once since 1983.

Ireland boss Declan Kidney has named an unchanged starting line-up. Ronan O’Gara continues at fly-half, needing just two more points to reach 1,000

Wales, second in the table on points difference, also have plenty to play for and will bo boosted by the return of fit-again Leigh Halfpenny and Jonathan Davies return in place of Morgan Stoddart and Stephen Jones who both drop to the bench. James Hook will play at fly-half.

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O’Driscoll and Roberts formed a mighty partnership in the 2009 tour of South Africa, but they will face each other from opposite sides at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

Wales will look to turn around their poor home form, having one just one of their last 12 games in Cardiff. Ireland will hope to build on the success of their last visit to the Millennium Stadium, when they secured the Grand Slam.

Wales v Ireland tickets are available now.

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Hook had played at centre in Wales’ last match, a 24-16 victory against Italy, where Stephen Jones started at Number 10. However, the return of Jonathan Davies from a hamstring injury allows Hook to move across to fly-half.

Hook’s move means Jones will start from the bench. Winger Morgan Stoddart also drops to the bench in favour for Leigh Halfpenny.

Tickets for Wales v Ireland are available now.

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France coach Marc Lievremont has decided to use the same squad of players that lost out to England in their last game. A run of eight straight wins in the Six Nations was brought to an end as Les Bleus were narrowly beaten by a Ben Foden inspired England. With England still to face Scotland and Ireland, France will hope for a slip up to give them some chance of winning back-to-back titles.

Italy are huge underdogs despite being at home. An impressive second half against Wales will give them some hope, but they need to produce something special to beat France. They will be desperate to take something from the match, although they may already be looking ahead to their final game against Scotland, a potential wooden spoon showdown.

Tickets for Italy v France are available now. The match takes place at the Stadio Flaminio, Rome, on March 12th. Kick off is at 2.30pm.

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England will be looking to continue their impressive run so far. Victories against Wales, Italy and France means a win against the Auld Enemy would leave England needing to defeat Ireland in their final game to achieve the Grand Slam, their first since 2003.

Scotland travel to Twickenham looking for a first away win over England in 28 years. The signs are not good for Andy Robinson’s men following two home defeats. Their final game with Italy may well end up being a straight fight to avoid the wooden spoon.

Tickets for England v Scotland are available now. The game takes place at Twickenham, London, on March 13th. Kick off is at 3pm.

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Wales and Ireland both have four points in this year’s championship, which is two less than England. But with Ireland still to play England, anything could happen.

Both teams have struggled during this year’s Six Nations. Ireland have been giving away far too many penalties and struggled to a win against Scotland in their last game. Before that they lost to France, despite scoring three tries to Les Bleus’ one.

Wales are also yet to hit top form, but will be boosted by the return of centre Jonathan Davies. Having not played against Italy in Wales’ last game because of a hamstring injury, Davies was kept in the squad as his centre pairing with James Roberts is seen as important to Welsh success. However, his return could force James Hook to the bench, as the argument over where to play the versatile Hook rages on.

Tickets for Wales v Ireland are available now. The match takes place at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Saturday March 12th. Kick off is at 5pm.

England beat France 17-9 in what many saw as the Championship decider last weekend, with Foden scoring the only try of the match.

Martin Johnson’s England are the only unbeaten team in the Championship, and will look to extend their run at Twickenham in the Calcutta Cup game against Scotland, taking place on Sunday March 13th. England then visit Ireland’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday March 19th for their final game.

Tickets for England v Scotland are available now.

Ahead of Ireland’s visit to the Miillennium Stadium, Wales fly-half Stephen Jones has suggested that Wales’ tactics will depend on who starts at number 10 for Ireland.

Ireland take on Wales at the Miillennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday March 12th.

Tickets for Wales v Ireland are available now.

Ireland did win the Grand Slam as recently as 2009 though, and will prove stubborn opposition, but a feeling pervades that the Scots are a rapidly improving side.

Certainly they will be boosted by the fact that coach Andy Robinson has signed a new contract to remain in charge until the end of 2015.

The match is shaping up to be a fascinating contest.

Scotland v Ireland tickets are on sale now from £39.

England have been made favorites for the tournament with France also hotly tipped to take the trophy home, all the teams will be hoping to get their campaign’s off to a good start and with the World Cup just around the corner it will be a great spectacle.

Find and compare Six Nations tickets for all the games, there is no doubt it will be a competition to remember.

England Rugby tickets are on sale now for all upcoming Six Nations games, including three matches at Twickenham Stadium. A guide to the cheapest England Rugby tickets currently available is displayed below for all of the country’s Six Nations fixtures:

Wales vs England tickets – Friday, 4th Feb, 2011 – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff -  Cheapest tickets priced at £82, for seats located in the middle tier of the Stadium.

England vs Italy tickets – Saturday, 12th Feb, 2011 – Twickenham Stadium, London – Cheapest tickets priced at £74 for upper tier seats.

England vs France tickets – Saturday, 26th Feb, 2011 – Twickenham Stadium, London – Cheapest tickets priced at £200.

England vs Scotland tickets – Sunday 13th March, 2011 – Twickenham Stadium, London – Cheapest tickets priced at £171 for upper tier seats.

Ireland vs England tickets – Saturday, 19th March, 2011 – Aviva Stadium, Dublin – Cheapest tickets currently available priced at £199.

France ran out as winners of the competition last year, but England boss Martin Johnson will have been encouraged by his team’s convincing performances in the recent Autumn International fixtures, and will surely believe that his side are in with a chance of victory this year.

Six Nations tickets are on sale now for all opening weekend fixtures, which also include France v Scotland and Italy v Ireland.

Both teams have come out of the Autumn Internationals with promising results, Italy beat Fiji 24-16 in their last game, and Ireland only missed out on a win against South Africa in November by two points.

Ireland may miss one of their players for the first game, as Paul O’Connell was sent off for his club Munster in their winning game on Sunday.

Six Nations tickets are available now online for a chance to see the all the exciting games of the championship, from the games in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and France.

With games across the UK and Ireland, and international fixtures in Paris and Rome, you can even make the game part of a weekend break, and get the cheapest deal by comparing Rugby tickets online.

Six Nations tickets are available now, and details of each fixture are shown below:

Wales vs England
Friday, 4th Feb, 2011
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Italy vs Ireland
Saturday, 5th Feb, 2011
Stadio Flaminio, Rome

France vs Scotland
Saturday, 5th Feb, 2011
Stade de France, Paris

Scotland vs Wales
Saturday, 12th Feb, 2011
Murrayfield, Edinburgh

England vs Italy
Saturday, 12th Feb, 2011
Twickenham Stadium, London

Ireland vs France
Sunday, 13th Feb, 2011
Aviva Stadium, Dublin

England vs France
Saturday, 26th Feb, 2011
Twickenham Stadium, London

Italy vs Wales
Saturday, 26th Feb, 2011
Stadio Flaminio, Rome

Wales vs Ireland
Saturday, 12th Mar, 2011
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Italy vs France
Saturday, 12th Mar, 2011
Stadio Flaminio, Rome

Scotland vs Italy
Saturday, 19th Mar, 2011
Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Ireland vs England
Saturday, 19th Mar, 2011
Aviva Stadium, Dublin

France vs Wales
Saturday, 19th Mar, 2011
Stade de France, Paris

Tickets for the championships are available for all the games across the UK and Ireland, as well as the games in Italy and France.

Rugby tickets make great Christmas presents for big Rugby fans, and with the games beginning so early in the new year you can extend you holidays a little bit longer.

Compare and buy Six Nations tickets online now.

The Six Nations will bring together Europe’s biggest Rugby Union teams, and always provides big games with old rivalries. So make sure you don’t miss the excitement and the opportunity to make Christmas special for that special fan.

Compare and buy Six Nations tickets online. See the fixture list below:

There are a number of permutations that need to come into play in order for France to concede the title. Ireland will need to defeat a plucky Scottish side in order to have any hope of retaining their title, and pray that England defeat the French. Those two results will have to recover a points difference of +50 in France’s favour, so Ireland will need to win by a large margin and hope England do the same.

Scotland, Wales and Italy will all hope to avoid bottom spot in the table with a win. Given that the Welsh and Italians face off at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday, at least one of them will drop points, which means that a Scotland win against the Irish would definitely lift them above one of the loser of the clash.

There are still a limited number of Six Nations Championship tickets for this exciting final round of fixtures, so check out Tixdaq.com now for the cheapest available tickets!

Compare and buy Six Nations Championship tickets online now!

Scotland scored their only points with the boot of Dan Parks, and Italy’s single try by Pablo Canavosio won them the game 16-12. Had they beaten Wales and Italy, it would have been a great first Six Nations tournament for Scotland coach Andy Robinson, but now they look set to finish bottom of the table for the first time since 2006. A recovery for the matches against against England and Ireland is vital for the Scots if they are to salvage anything from this season’s tournament.

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Wales will be encouraged from the second period of the match as no team has given France as close a match, and will hope to continue their form against an equally rejuvenated Ireland side in two weeks time.

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This makes the upcoming match between England and France even more crucial than it already was, as the championship opens up. Should England beat France at the Stade de France on they would be back in the race for the RBS Six Nations crown, while France and Ireland would also have had just the one defeat. Could it all go down to point difference on the final day?

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The game is near impossible to call. England are unbeaten after beginning brightly with a win over Wales, but stumbled past Italy in an all-round unconvincing performance. Jonny Wilkinson was singled out for criticism due to his inaccurate kicking, with many believing that Toby Flood should get the chance to impress having scored 18 points with his boot in his last game for Leicester, but coach Martin Johnson has elected to keep the team as it is.

Ireland make three changes. Jonathan Sexton replaces Ronan O’Gara at Fly Half, while they are forced into two other alterations. The suspended Jerry Flannery, banned for his ‘Cantona kick’, is replaced by Rory Best, while Rob Kearney’s injury means Geordan Murphy comes in.

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Ireland’s Jerry Flannery will play no further part in the 2010 RBS Six Nations Championship after he received a six-week ban for a challenge on France winger, Alexis Palisson.

The hooker made a wild hack at Palisson during Ireland’s 33-10 defeat at the Stade de France while the ball was in the Frenchman’s hand, presenting the disciplinary panel with no option other than to ban the player for an act more associated with the round ball than the oval ball.

Flannery was penalised at the time for his indiscretion though it was obvious that none of the officials got a clear view of the incident as – thanks to the microphone link to the man in the middle – the watching world could hear referee Wayne Barnes admonishing the Munster forward for a late shoulder charge rather than a kick.

The incident symbolised the Irish performance as a whole – positive work undone by ill-discipline and basic errors. Ireland had been awarded a penalty in the seconds before Flannery’s rush of blood only to see it reversed afterwards.

Ireland will need to pick themselves up after losing for the first time in 13 matches with the suspension of Flannery compounded by the almost certain short-term absence of Rob Kearney.

The British and Irish Lions full-back was having a typically inspired afternoon in Paris until he suffered medial ligament damage and was forced off the field, leaving a huge hole in both their defensive line and their counter-attacking capabilities

Declan Kidney’s team travel next to Twickenham to take on England. While the Red Rose is not exactly in full bloom at the moment, Martin Johnson has seen his men record two wins out of two and the 2003 world champions always provide stern opposition on their own patch.

Perhaps it is fortunate that there is a fortnight’s break to allow the dust to settle for both teams with England receiving much criticism for a lacklustre display in their 17-12 win over Italy.

Jonny Wilkinson had an uncharacteristically bad day at the office and while there were glimpses of the promised expansive running game from England, the propensity to kick the ball aimlessly undermined the dynamic threat of Matthew Tait, Rikki Flutey, Delon Armitage, Mark Cueto and Ugo Monye.

So there is much to ponder for both Kidney and Johnson before England and Ireland clash on 27^th February.

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France are the only team who seem to have established consistent form (both in terms of attack and defence), but there seems to be a second tier of contenders now emerging from the likes of Ireland, Wales and England.

We are under two weeks away from the third round of fixtures for the Six Nations and it’s shaping up to be crucial one in the race for the 2010 championship. Tickets for every single one of these fixtures are available through Tixdaq.com and prices start from just 44 pounds.

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With the two favourites winning their first fixtures (Ireland and France), this weekend is shaping up to be a crucial one as France vs. Ireland looms. In the other ties, England will be looking for victory away to Italy to cement their 2010 title credentials, while Wales and Scotland will be looking for their first victories this Saturday.

Tickets for all of this weekend’s games are available through Tixdaq.com and prices start from just 33 pounds.

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Ireland vs Italy kicks off on Saturday 6th February at Croke Park and tixdaq can reveal that tickets start from as low as 33 pounds.

Compare and buy RBS Six Nations tickets now! 

England kick off their 2010 6 Nations campaign against Wales on February 6 at Twickenham Stadium. Martin Johnson’s England side will no doubt be looking for a home win against their Welsh rivals, but it will certainly not be an easy match. The following weekend, England travel to Rome to take on Italy on February 14. England are back on home turf on February 27 when they face Ireland at Twickenham. England take on Scotland at Murrayfield on March 13 before their final Six Nations match against the French at Stade de France in Paris on March 20.

Tixdaq can confirm that RBS Six Nations tickets are available for all of the England rugby matches for the forthcoming series.

February 6 – England v Wales – Twickenham Stadium, London
February 14 – Italy vs England – Stadio Flaminio, Rome
February 27 – England v Ireland – Twickenham Stadium, London
March 13 – Scotland v England – Murrayfield, Edinburgh
March 20 – France v England – Stade de France, Paris

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After an additional batch of 2010 RBS 6 Nations were released earlier this week, we can reveal that 20,789 Six Nations tickets are currently available on Tixdaq.com.

The 2010 Six Nations tournament kicks off on February 6 at Croke Park where Ireland will play host to Italy. This match will be followed by England v Wales at Twickenham later the same day. Below is a full list of the 2010 RBS 6 Nations fixtures and we can confirm that tickets are available for all of the matches.

February 6 – Ireland v Italy – Croke Park, Dublin
February 6 – England v Wales – Twickenham Stadium, London
February 7 – France v Scotland – Stade de France, Paris
February 13 – Wales v Scotland – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
February 13 – France v Ireland – Stade de France, Paris
February 14 – Italy v England – Stadio Flaminio, Rome
February 26 – Wales v France – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
February 27 – England v Ireland – Twickenham Stadium, London
February 27 – Italy vs Scotland – Stadio Flaminio, Rome
March 13 – Ireland v Wales – Croke Park, Dublin
March 13 – Scotland v England – Murrayfield, Edinburgh
March 14 – France v Italy – Stade de France, Paris
March 20 – Wales v Italy – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
March 20 – Ireland v Scotland – Croke Park, Dublin
March 20 – France v England – Stade de France, Paris

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Ireland’s talismanic captain has been named as the Rugby Union player of the decade by Rugby World magazine.

The UK-based publication named a 22 man squad – a first XV plus seven replacements – that they fell reflects the greatest exponents of the oval ball game throughout the noughties with O’Driscoll named as the sport’s premier player.

The dynamic centre has had a remarkable ten years in which he embarked on three British and Irish Lions tours – one as captain – led Ireland to their first Grand Slam since 1948 as well as lifting the Heineken Cup with Leinster in 2009.

There are several expected members in the selection such as England’s World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson, New Zealand’s mesmerising fly-half Dan Carter and South Africa’s long-serving leader John Smit.

Some of the more surprising choices include Argentina’s Agustin Pichot at scrum-half ahead of Fourie Du Preez – South Africa’s number nine only making the bench – while Schalk Burger and Doug Howlett have been overlooked completely.

Five members of the list – O’Driscoll, Shane Williams, Jonny Wilkinson, Gethin Jenkins and Yannick Jauzion – can be seen in 2010 Six Nations Championship that kicks off on February 6th. Tickets are available to compare and buy at tixdaq.com.

M Muliana (New Zealand); J Robinson (England), B O’Driscoll (Ireland), M Giteau (Australia); S Williams (Wales); D Carter (New Zealand), A Pichot (Argentina); G Jenkins (Wales), J Smit (South Africa), C Hayman (New Zealand), M Johnson (England, capt), V Matfield (South Africa), R Hill (England), R McCaw (New Zealand), S Parisse (Italy).

Replacements: R Roncero (Argentina), M Ledesma (Argentina), S Marconnet (France), JM Fernandez Lobbe (Argentina), F Du Preez (South Africa), J Wilkinson (England), Y Jauzion (France), JM Hernandez (Argentina)

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The air might be cold and the ground may be frozen solid but in a month’s time the 2010 Six Nations Championship will begin in earnest.

The first major international rugby tournament of the new decade will come to life on February 6th when defending champions Ireland take on traditional competition minnows Italy at Croke Park. With 2009 having been bedecked in green with both the international honours and domestic glory – in the shape of the Magners League and Heineken Cup – being bestowed on the Emerald Isle it remains to be seen if Declan Kidney’s men can remain on top of the tree.

Later that day sees the first real major clash of the tournament as England welcome Wales to Twickenham. The Welsh star has faded slightly in the last twelve months but they still retain a dynamic core of quality players throughout their first XV with the likes of Jamie Roberts, Mike Phillips and Shane Williams always a  major threat with ball in hand. England will be hoping to improve on an unsatisfactory Autumn but the return to the squad of Delon Armitage and Rikki Flutey as well as their first choice front row will no doubt bolster their challenge.

Scotland take on France in their opening match with Andy Robinson’s men boosted by a successful Autumn International series that included a famous win over Australia. The French, however, comprehensively beat world champions South Africa during the same period and are widely regarded as Ireland’s main challengers for the Six Nations crown.

Tickets for all the above matches are still available to compare and buy on tixdaq.com.

Compare and buy Six Nations Championship tickets online now.

The 2010 6 Nations championship kicks off on February 6 at Croke Park as Ireland play host to Italy. England’s opening match comes on the same day against their fierce rivals, Wales. The final game of the opening weekend sees Scotland take on France in Paris on February 7.

We can confirm that despite the incredible demand, there are still hundreds of Six Nations tickets to compare at Tixdaq for all of the fixtures – both in the UK and overseas.

Compare and buy RBS 6 Nations tickets now!

Folllowing the conclusion of the Autumn Internationals – with the exception of the Barbarians clash with New Zealand at Twickenham this weekend – the new IRB world rankings have been released and they have certainly raised a few eyebrows.

The main talking point is that England, despite a highly disappointing November campaign, actually climbed up the rankings to sixth spot in the word from a previous position of seventh.  They remain above Argentina – whom they narrowly beat at Twickenham but have overhauled a much-vaunted Wales side.

Wales were well beaten by Australia in their final game and were also dispatched by the All Blacks but it seems rather harsh that they have been demoted to eighth in the world.

Ireland recorded a dramatic 15-10 victory over world champions South Africa at Croke Park which has lifted them to fourth above France who were totally obliterated by a sensational New Zealand performance in Marseille.

The All Blacks claim the number one spot for the end of 2009 with the Springboks and the Wallabies second and third respectively.

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After a mixed bag of results in the Autumn Internationals the major teams from the northern hemisphere can now turn their attention to the 2010 Six Nations Championship.

The competition kicks off on the February 6th at Croke Prk when Ireland begin the defence of their crown with a home match against Italy. That same Saturday sees the first of several epic encounters as Wales travel to Twickenham to take on a stuttering England team that limped through November.

Scotland welcome France to Murrayfield the following day hoping to recreate the spirit and performance of their remarkable 9-8 win against Australia.

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Wales’ confidence of a back-to-back win against a faltering Australia – who lost 8-9 the previous weekend to Scotland – wewre dashed as a regrouped and revitalised Wallabies scythed through Welsh defences to score five times in the convincing 33-12 win.  Dogged kicking by Stephen Jones kept the home side barely in touch to reach 12-23 at half-time, but two more tries from the visitors sealed the game tight and banished memories of the Australian’s loss to Wales this time last year.

On a high from beating Australia last week, Scotland should have been on the front foot against Argentina, but despite controlling the first half of the game to lead 6-0 at the break, the Scots could not control their discipline, giving away two penalties to even the score at 6-6, and at 78′ Martin Rodriguez dropped into goal to take the game 9-6, leaving Scotland with a 19-year-long record of losses to the Pumas at home.

Elsewhere South Africa extended its run of disappointing results with a loss to Ireland at Croke Park.  The Springboks led 10-6 thanks to two tries at the break, in a match notable more for post-Lions tour niggling and some predictable gamesmanship from Schalk Burger.  Again the Springboks’ discipline was the death of them as Sexton slotted three more penalties for Ireland to take the match despite late pressure from South Africa.

The Autumn Internationals draw to a close but the rugby continues with the All Blacks vs. Barbarians on December 5th – tickets to this match are available to compare and buy at tixdaq.com.  And Ireland has just announced its Six Nations tickets as revealed earlier – and as favourites to take the 6N Title in 2010, fans will need to move fast to secure a ticket.

6 Nations tickets are available to compare and buy at tixdaq.com.