The win marked Italy’s first six nations win over Les Bleus and only their eighth since joining the Championship 11 years ago.

Italy, inspired by Mirco Bergamasco, fought back from an 18-6 deficit to take all the points, and South African Mallet believes his team desereved the win

“We looked like a really good rugby team, everyone contributed to this win. I am really proud of my players and what they have done for Italian rugby supporters, who week in, week out support this team and have been fantastic.”

Six Nations tickets for the remaining games are available now.

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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Lawes was one of England’s star performers during the recent Autumn Internationals, but has been out injured for almost two months.

Tom Croft has not played for England since injuring his shoulder against South Africa in the autumn and is now confirmed to be fully fit, whilst recent indications have shown that Toby Flood will be ready to take part in this weekend’s game.

England vs Scotland tickets are on sale now for the fixture at Twickenham Stadium in London on Sunday 13th March. Fans can watch England v Scotland live streaming online.

Both teams won two out of three of their Autumn Internationals, with Scotland pulling off an impressive win over South Africa, meaning that a close game can be expected to start the championship.

In the following weekend’s matches Scotland will take on Wales, who are arguably the strongest team in the contest, meaning they need a win over France to give them momentum.

Six Nations tickets are available online now for the biggest international Rugby event of the year.

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.

The South Africans come to Twickenham to try and take their run of wins against England to seven. However the England team are looking very strong after two convincing victories over Samoa and old rivals Australia in their last two matches. With some people comparing their form to that of the World Cup winning squad of 2003, Twickenham expects another strong display over the Springboks.

With an huge atmosphere and big rivalry, this clash will sure to be a sell-out, so be quick to compare and buy last minute tickets online at tixdaq.com, and don’t miss the chance to witness this fascinating display of Rugby.

However South Africa have beaten England in the last 6 games, so it remains to be seen if the table can be turned at Twickenham this weekend.

England vs South Africa tickets are available to compare and buy online now.

Wales will host South Africa on Saturday 13th November at Cardiff Millennium Stadium whilst on the same day, England will take on Australia at Twickenham Stadium in London. Scotland vs New Zealand will also take place on Saturday at Murrayfield Stadium.

Wales vs South Africa tickets start trading at £47, and there are over 1,500 still available from various ticket outlets.

England vs Australia tickets start at £60, and despite being entirely sold out from primary vendors, are still available from fan-to-fan ticket exchange websites.

Scotland vs New Zealand tickets are still available at face value, with prices starting at £48.

Compare all Autumn Internationals tickets and find the cheapest available.

England welcome the Aussies to Twickenham on November 13th 2010 for an Autumn International, and the match will show what kind of shape the countries are in for the forthcoming 2011 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. Neither team is expected to treat the match as ‘just another game’.

There are over 2500 England v Australia tickets on sale now for the match, and prices begin at £84 for Upper Tier seats from GetMeIn. Lower tier seats close to the pitch are available from £108 from Seatwave.

They face a South Africa side at the Millennium Stadium on June 5th 2010, and it will be a closer tie than it might have been a few years ago. The last time Wales beat the Springboks was in a 29-19 victory at the same venue in 1999, and the holders of the Rugby World Cup are never an easy prospect.

However, South Africa have made it clear their priority lies with the forthcoming Tri-Nations tournament, and coach Peter de Villiers has openly suggested he will name an experimental lineup. This looks as good an opportunity as any for Wales to overturn that eleven year losing streak.

Compare and buy Wales v South Africa tickets online now!

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)

Compare and buy Six Nations Championship live online.

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.

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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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.

This weekend sees the culmination of the Autumn Internationals as far as the northern hemisphere nations are concerned.

There is a prestige friendly on December 5^th when a Barbarians invitational XV takes on New Zealand at Twickenham but for Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy their last matches before the Six Nations Championship take place this weekend – England’s programme ended in defeat against the All Blacks last Saturday.

There are two particularly mouth-watering matches taking place. In Marseille at the Stade Velodrome, France take on New Zealand in a fixture that has always had something about it. Twice France have eliminated the All Blacks from the World Cup yet they have also suffered some massive defeats to them on home soil. France’s tour of New Zealand in the summer yielded a victory and a narrow defeat and the home side will be take significant encouragement from that.

At Croke Park in Dublin, the best of both hemispheres clash as Ireland take on South Africa. The reigning Six Nations champions face the Tri-Nations champions in what is something of an unofficial world championship though the Springboks will be keen to point out that it is they that are actually the World Cup holders. Ireland snuck a last minute draw against Australia two weeks ago and know they will have to up their game against South Africa even if the tourists have massively underperformed so far in Europe.

Wales face Australia in Cardiff in another attractive fixture with the Wallabies keen to erase memories of last weekend’s shock 9-8 defeat at Murrayfield. Their conquerors, Scotland, take on Argentina this weekend while Italy face the power and bulk of Samoa.

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The Springboks went down 24-23 to the Guinness Premiership leaders with former South Africa international Derek Hougaard slotting a late drop goal to win the match for the Watford-based club.

A crowd of 46,281 came to watch the occasion and they were not disappointed. The tourists team was by no means their strongest line-up but still featured the likes of Ruan Pienaar and CJ van der Linde.

But South Africa’s formidable pool of talent means that whatever XV they put out will be competitive and they led by 12 points going into half-time. A rousing second-half from Sarries though lifted the crowd and the dramatic finale was wildly celebrated by all those not in green and gold.

One lucky fan had reason to celebrate more than the others though as he went home with a cheque for £250,000 after winning a kicking competition at half-time

This latest setback for the Boks comes off the back of defeats to Leicester Tigers and France and coach Peter De Villiers will be hoping they can arrest this slump before they take on Ireland in two weekend’s time.

Ireland v South Africa tickets are still available to compare and buy online now.

World Champions South Africa will play against Saracens in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium on November 17 and it promises to be a entertaining occasion.

Saracens are currently flying high in the Guinness Premiership and will look forward with relish to testing themselves against the undisputed best international team in the world. Sarries also have a major South African influence in their playing and coaching staff as well as at boardroom level so there will be much pride at stake.

The Springbok’s have a hectic schedule at the end of an astonishing year in which they have won the Tri-Nations and seen off the challenge of a highly competitive British & Irish Lions team and will see this match as the perfect opportunity to tune themselves up for the final push.

Tickets for the match between Saracens and South Africa are still available and can be bought for the extremely reasonable price of £20.

World Champions South Africa succumbed to their third successive defeat when they lost by a point to Saracens at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Springboks went down 24-23 to the Guinness Premiership leaders with former South Africa international Derek Hougaard slotting a late drop goal to win the match for the Watford-based club.

A crowd of 46,281 came to watch the occasion and they were not disappointed. The tourists team was by no means their strongest line-up but still featured the likes of Ruan Pienaar and CJ van der Linde.

But South Africa’s formidable pool of talent means that whatever XV they put out will be competitive and they led by 12 points going into half-time. A rousing second-half from Sarries though lifted the crowd and the dramatic finale was wildly celebrated by all those not in green and gold.

One lucky fan had reason to celebrate more than the others though as he went home with a cheque for £250,000 after winning a kicking competition at half-time

This latest setback for the Boks comes off the back of defeats to Leicester Tigers and France and coach Peter De Villiers will be hoping they can arrest this slump before they take on Ireland in two weekend’s time.

Ireland v South Africa tickets are still available to compare and buy online now.

South Africa brought its usual physical game to France, and all France did was hold up a mirror; for every burst of power or speed, Les Bleus simply gave it back, knocking lumps out of the SA backline to allow Clerc to touch down for France’s try in the first half , a quick answer to Smit’s fortunate opening try.  Clerc’s speed rattled the Boks, with Habana lucky to escape a ban for kicking him on the ground and Steyn then sin-binned for trying to trip him up.  11-13 down at the break, France went ahead with two more penalties and South African discpline, already found wanting in the first half, faltered again with Kankowski in the sin-bin for handling the ball on the floor.  Morgan Parra couldn’t capitalise on SA’s indiscretion with a penalty, but struck again two minutes from full time to nail the scoreboard at 20-13, meaning SA didn’t pick up a single point in 40 minutes.

SA coach Peter de Villiers blamed the Boks’ under-par performance on the poor singing, claimed to be deliberate, of his country’s national anthem.  When it was pointed out that the singer was a Paris-based South African who had been chosen to sing the anthem by diplomats at the SA Embassy in Paris, it is not known whether he scratched around for another excuse.  Although magnanimously for him he did concede that “you can’t play the game without the ball. They won the contest on the floor and we lost too much ball in contact. They were the strongest side.”

SA plays Saracens on Tuesday in advance of Tests against Ireland and Italy.  Tickets for these games – and more – are available to buy and compare at tixdaq.com.

There were plenty of lessons learned this weekend. As a fan of rugby union’s defending world champions, it was a bit of a shock to my green-and-gold system to find others doing the teaching.

I’d never have guessed I’d be paying school fees to Leicester Tigers as a Springboks fan, but there you have it. Leicester 22 Boks 17. Read ‘em and weep.

Losing isn’t easily swallowed but sometimes fans can appreciate the work of others, even in the most bitter defeat.

Leicester Tigers taught me (and the Boks) a thing or two. I’m inclined to admire them for it, even when South Africa’s reputation has been dragged through the muck.

All the things I admire in a team ironically did a quick swap – South Africa, the so-called world champions, were unsupportable. No fan could find anything praiseworthy in their play while the Tigers dispensed textbook lessons at a rate I’ve not witnessed, probably ever.

Leicester actually bullied the Boks. That was probably the most difficult thing to swallow. Real Tigers, they got a grip on the South Africans and never relented, showing an incredible ability to find trademark Bok skills to ‘supersize’ – and upstaging the World Champions at their own game, in every department.

Well and truly shown up, South Africa were not spared cross-examination. Time and time again, Bok scrums wilted, lineouts were robbed and ruckers raked right into the mud.

By half-time I hardly had the strength left for the cringe marathon the Springboks would put fans through in the second half.

Bok fan illusions popped like champagne corks in the Tigers changing rooms as South Africans were brought back to earth, swollen heads thoroughly deflated.

I’m happy I watched the game in the same way I’m happy I’ve burnt my fingers at the school of hard knocks. It was an amazing game – the tension in the final minutes was almost beyond Test match level and I’m sure to Tigers fans, this was their World Cup final.

Essential rugby viewing and force fed a bitter pill, Bok fans will not easily forget the sixth of November.

South Africa have also lost to France but they will be gunning for victory in Dublin when they take on the Six Nations ‘Grand Slammers’ Ireland at Croke Park on November 28 – tickets still available.

In amongst the heavyweight clashes between the premier rugby-playing nations of the northern and southern hemispheres is a gem of a match.

World Champions South Africa will play against Saracens in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium on November 17 and it promises to be an entertaining occasion.

Saracens are currently flying high in the Guinness Premiership and will look forward with relish to testing themselves against the undisputed best international team in the world. Sarries also have a major South African influence in their playing and coaching staff as well as at boardroom level so there will be much pride at stake.

The Springbok’s have a hectic schedule at the end of an astonishing year in which they have won the Tri-Nations and seen off the challenge of a highly competitive British & Irish Lions team and will see this match as the perfect opportunity to tune themselves up for the final push.

Tickets for the match between Saracens and South Africa are still available and can be bought for the extremely reasonable price of £20.

The hottest sports tickets on the market right now are for the autumn rugby internationals in November.

The cream of the southern hemisphere is landing in Europe to test themselves against the best that the Six Nations Championship can offer.

Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Samoa and, of course, World and Tri-Nations Champions South Africa will all be descending on our shores for some scintillating games of rugby.

Ireland v South Africa, Wales v New Zealand and England v Australia are the stand-

out fixtures of this jamboree but each and every game will be full of interest. Autumn rugby internationals tickets are still available so grab them while you can.

Undoubtedly, the biggest fixture on the bill is a repeat of last year’s World Cup Final. England will be looking to exact revenge on South Africa following the Springboks’ triumph in France last October. Martin Johnson will be looking to put last week’s defeat by Australia behind him with a victory over their bitter rivals. England kick-off against South Africa at 14:30 at Twickenham on Saturday and hundreds of tickets are still available. Tickets are can still be picked up at face value with prices ranging between £41 and £71. Meanwhile, similar tickets are being listed for as much as £500 on a number of online exchanges.

Wales will need to be on their very best form as they face New Zealand at The Millennium Stadium. The Welsh managed to defeat Canada last week, but the Kiwis will be seen as a much more daunting challenge. The All Blacks destroyed Ireland last week and are expected to sweep Wales aside. Elsewhere, Ireland take on Argentina and Scotland face Canada.

Tickets are still available for all of this weekend’s matches, some even at face value. Following the recent announcement by the RFU on fraudulent secondary ticket vendors, fans are urged to shop with caution and only buy from trusted websites.

Undoubtedly, the biggest fixture on the bill is a repeat of last year’s World Cup Final. England will be looking to exact revenge on South Africa following the Springboks’ triumph in France last October. Martin Johnson will be looking to put last week’s defeat by Australia behind him with a victory over their bitter rivals. England kick-off against South Africa at 14:30 at Twickenham on Saturday and hundreds of tickets are still available. Tickets are can still be picked up at face value with prices ranging between £41 and £71. Meanwhile, similar tickets are being listed for as much as £500 on a number of online exchanges.

Wales will need to be on their very best form as they face New Zealand at The Millennium Stadium. The Welsh managed to defeat Canada last week, but the Kiwis will be seen as a much more daunting challenge. The All Blacks destroyed Ireland last week and are expected to sweep Wales aside. Elsewhere, Ireland take on Argentina and Scotland face Canada.

Tickets are still available for all of this weekend’s matches, some even at face value. Following the recent announcement by the RFU on fraudulent secondary ticket vendors, fans are urged to shop with caution and only buy from trusted websites.