| Wood downbeat on Irish chances
Former Ireland captain and now RBS Six Nations rugby ambassador Keith
Wood believes Ireland will not improve on last year’s third-place
finish.
Wood said: “I think Ireland will finish third and that France will
win but I don’t think they will win the Grand Slam. I think this
will be a year when everyone beats at least one other.
“I love Six Nations rugby chiefly because of the different venues,
the atmosphere of every place you go, the nationalistic bias and also
its place in the calendar. It’s the perfect bridge between Christmas
and the coming of summer.”
And Wood revealed his own favourite Six Nations moment was Ireland’s
famous victory over England in October 2001.
He said: “That whole day for me was fantastic for two things in
particular. Jason Leonard being the first man to get to me to say congratulations
and then my mother somehow fighting her way through the crowds to grab
me from a barrier and almost yanking my head off.”
Wood also hopes the next few weeks will produce more thrilling open rugby.
He said: “I would like to see the game move on in Europe as New
Zealand have managed to do with their current team. I don’t want
suddenly to see 55-52 games or anything like that but I want to see freedom
of expression and invention as well as hardness and aggression.”
|
