Trust the French to blow everyone’s predictions out of the water. This was expected to be the most unpredictable of Six Nations where the only likelihood was that there would be no Grand Slam. But trying to predict the France rugby team is rather akin to trying to predict where Tiger Woods will be spending his Saturday night. It has become a cliché to say that it is a cliché to say that you never know which French team will turn up.
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The recent news of Rob Kearney’s injury and the devastating defeat in the Stade de France has taken the sheen off of what has been a fantastic 12 months for Irish Rugby. With naysayers predicting the fall of the ‘Golden Generation’, and forecasting a knock-on effect for the Rugby World Cup in 2011, what can we really conclude about the future of Irish rugby from the first two games of the Six Nations?

Kearney: Misses this weekend’s game with England
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England have been awarded the 2015 World Cup by the IRB. It will be England’s first time as sole hosts of the tournament, 24 years on from the last time the World Cup Final came to Twickenham in 1991, when the 4 Home Unions were co-hosts. Japan will host the 2019 World Cup, the first time the competition will have strayed outside the 8 traditional powers.
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England is likely to be chosen to host the Rugby World Cup in 2015, giving them a great chance to successfully defend their title on home soil.
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The race for the 2015 and 2019 rugby world cups has begun now that the deadline for bids has past, and the hosts of both tournaments will be announced on the 28th of July.
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Ireland’s epic win at the weekend has lifted a nation, as a first Grand Slam in 61 years temprorarily relieved Irish minds concerned about the recession, unemployment and today’s turbulent economy.
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This year’s Six Nations has witnessed two new pairings of brothers playing in the same Test team: Delon & Stefon Armitage (England), and Max & Thom Evans (Scotland).

This got me thinking about how many other brothers have donned the shirt and represented their country at international level. After a bit of research (and a morning well spent at work), it became clear that there was enough familial excellence to fill not one, but two complete teams. I have therefore selected the ‘Possibles’ vs the ‘Probables’.
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England are thrown a World Cup lifeline having been drawn in the same group as Argentina, rather than New Zealand, Australia or South Africa, although no group looks easy at the moment.
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