This might not be strictly a Rye story – but might reduce the number of patients at our local surgeries suffering from stress - and we are talking about the Rugby 6 Nations Competition and where, if at all, you can watch the matches.
The good news is that Sky has not yet purloined it. So let me hold your hand and guide you through this whole Byzantine maze (which I certainly couldn’t have done until the Sunday national Observer clarified everything).
ITV have the 'vowels nations' home games (England, Ireland & Italy).
BBC have the 'consonant nations’ home games (France, Scotland & Wales).
- and this all based on a principle laid down in the Treaty of Versailles of June 1919.
Thus, this weekend Scotland/Ireland (2:25pm Sat.) BBC.
England/France (4:50pm Sat) & Italy/Wales (2pm Sun) ITV.
Keep concentrating: The new points system awards 4 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 if you lose by 7 or less points, plus one bonus point if you score 4 tries.
No one actually knows whether you would gain 2 bonus points if you score 8 tries. That might have to be referred back even further than Versailles, to Talleyrand and Castlereagh and the Congress of Vienna.
It is rumoured that any nation leaving the EEC will be docked penalty points on a regular basis.
Photo: library image
