Sunday is, of course, Valentine’s Day and where better to spend it than the picturesque setting of one of the most romantic cities on the planet – Rome.
If you’re an England supporter then this could be used as the perfect excuse to whisk your partner off to the scenic capital city on Sunday afternoon, before taking a minor detour and taking your seats at the Stadio Flaminio to watch Martin Johnson’s side take on Italy in their second Six Nations match.
Ok, so your partner may not fully appreciate the sight of 30 overgrown, boisterous blokes wrestling for possession of an oval-shaped ball – heck, it could even lead to a divorce - but the important thing is, you will.
And it could also be the victory which inspires England’s lions to Six Nations glory.
Written off before the tournament had started by many and not even given the slightest hope of lifting the trophy, those who were quick to pre-judge England’s Six Nations chances may already be starting to get a little worried.
Admittedly, a victory against Italy is nothing to shout home about. After all, you could get odds of up to 1000-1 for the Azzurri to win the championships before the first match had even kicked off; but it would give England a vital ingredient of any trophy-winning side – momentum.
It was only when Johnson named his elite player squad for the Six Nations when some pundits realised they may have been slightly hasty with their predictions. The England head coach named a strong back line with some very exciting talent, and they duly delivered in the opening day victory against Wales at Twickenham.
Johnson had learned several lessons from the dour series of autumn internationals and spiced things up by bringing in some fresh blood. And against Italy this Sunday he will be able to call upon the services of 2009’s joint-top try-scorer Riki Flutey, who has now recovered from a bruised thigh.
Little things like this can make a huge difference in a Six Nations campaign; and with two wins out of two – presuming they triumph in Rome – England could be sitting at the top of the table come Sunday evening, before facing Ireland at home on February 27th on weekend three of the competition.
In a perfect world, the Six Nations campaign would end after the third match. Maybe then England fans could get a little more excited by the prospect of winning their first championship since 2003.
However, the daunting sight of away matches against Scotland and then France on the final weekend of the 2010 Six Nations still looms large and refuses to go away, and that could be where this year’s championships are won and lost.
But in the meantime, while England are still in contention, there is still hope.
There will certainly be no love lost between the two sides this Sunday despite the significance of the day, and although the Six Nations can’t be won in the second match, it can be lost, and England should run out winners against the Italians to give themselves not only increased momentum, but increased hope of lifting the trophy next month.
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