What a weekend. What comes next?

A wise man once said the immortal lines "When you win, you win. When you lose, you think about it." This will be epitomised by several of the 6 nations teams in their post match rationalisation. England somehow obtained a second place in the tournament rankings. Wales blew their chance of a title at home, and Ireland coped with the pressure to land their first grand slam for 61 years. One Irish man in particular will certainly be trying not to think of what could have been, for Paddy Wallace almost was at the centre of Irish heartache when, after on being on the pitch for minutes, gave away a kickable penalty. Stephen Jones, normally so metronomic in his kicking duties, appeared to rush and subsequently missed the chance to break the Gaelic hearts.

So where next? Not only has the 6 nations finished on a knife edge, the premier league is hotting up. Manchester United appear to have swapped form with a reinvigorated Liverpool side who brushed Martin O'Neill’s Aston Villa aside with the guise of a magnificent team. Rafa Benitez has signed a £4m a year contract, and rumours suggest that Gerrard is on the cusp of a £140k p/week deal to commit his future to the Anfield establishment.

Looking forward, things will only get better. The climax of the premier league, a sun basked Royal Ascot and the 2 sporting events of the summer. The Ashes, and the Lions tour. Several players have stood up and been counted over the past few weeks, so my team now stands as the following:

1. Euan Murray
2. Matthew Rees
3. John Hayes
4. Paul O'Connell
5. Alan Wyn Jones
6. Tom Croft
7. Martin Williams
8. David Wallace
9. Mike Blair
10. Stephen Jones
11. Shane Williams
12. Riki Flutey
13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
14. Rob Kearney
15. Delon Armitage