The 2010 Rugby Union Six Nations Championship - featuring, as ever, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France and Italy - gets underway this weekend.
Saturday sees Ireland take on Italy in this year's opening match, and then England take on Wales at Twickenham. On Sunday, Scotland face France at Murrayfield.
England - who have won this annual tournament more times than any other team, but haven't won it since 2003, the year they also became the only Northern Hemisphere team ever to win the World Cup - will face Wales in a retro kit.
This year is the centenary of international fixtures between England and Wales. The first, back in 1910, was an 11-6 victory for England. It is also the centenary of the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
So, just for this match, England will play in a kit similar to the one they wore against Wales in 1910. The kit (modelled below by England Danny Care) is gloriously all white, and will make happy those England fans who wish their team to play in all white all the time rather than, for example, in a white kit with red markings.
Even England's red rose badge is 1910-style.
England is the world's richest rugby nation and has more rugby players than any other nation and were undoubtedly the best team in the world in the early years of last decade, winning the World Cup in 2003. But their form has been poor in recent years. Will playing in a retro kit somehow improve their performance?
Danny Care back to England in retro kit
By Alex Spink
2/02/2010
2010 RUGBY UNION RBS 6 NATIONS
A bit of all white: England's Danny Care models the one-off retro kit that England will wear against Wales on Saturday, to mark 100 years of rugby matches between the two nations
Danny Care will today be recalled by England to face Wales - and given a special retro kit to wear.
Scrum-half Care has waited a year for his first Six Nations start after a freak fall on ice wrecked his hopes in 2009.
His chance finally arrives in a match which marks 100 years of international fixtures between England and Wales at Twickenham.
England are commemorating the centenary by wearing a one-off jersey inspired by the one they wore in the 1910 clash - a game they won 11-6. Manager Martin Johnson hopes the old-style look extends no further than the kit as he has picked a team with the future firmly in mind.
Coming into the back line are Care, Delon Armitage, Mat Tait and Riki Flutey - four of the country's most exciting rugby footballers.
Mark Cueto and Ugo Monye to the wings after filling in at full-back in the autumn, and Jonny Wilkinson pulls it all together at fly-half.
Nick Easter, who like Armitage and Flutey missed the November series through injury, returns at No.8. Simon Shaw and James Haskell have shaken off knee knocks.
Here are three of the England lads modelling England's normal kit, which they will go back to wearing after the game against Wales
An air of expectation now hangs over the England camp at the dawn of a new campaign and nobody is more excited than Care. "Every time you go to an England game you want to be starting," said the Harlequins star. "You want to be up there singing the national anthem and then start playing straight away.
"I started one game in the autumn and was on the bench for two, which was pretty frustrating. But I'm happy with my form at the moment. Results haven't been going for us (at Harlequins) recently but I'm happy with how I'm playing."
Wales full-back Lee Byrne should learn his fate today when his appeal is heard in Glasgow against his two-week ban.
Wales have delayed naming their team and trained with two teams yesterday - with and without Byrne.
"A lot of people are hopeful Lee will play a part in the game," said Shaun Edwards, Wales assistant coach.
"We are sure he will get a fair and proper hearing, and obviously we will go along with the adjudication."
England will step out against Wales in a new one-off Nike retro home kit to celebrate the RFU's Centenary year. Matching rugby tradition with modern-day Nike technology, it was inspired by England kits from the last 100 years.
The Centenary collection is available now at www.nikestore.com/rugby
ENGLAND'S PROBALE TEAM VS WALES ON SATURDAY
Delon Armitage ..............................London Irish
Ugo Monye ..........................................Harlequins
Mat Tait ..............................................................Sale
Riki Flutey........................................................Brive
Mark Cueto ......................................................Sale
Jonny Wilkinson ......................................Toulon
Danny Care ..........................................Harlequins
Tim Payne........................................................London Wasps
Dylan Hartley ..............................Northampton
David Wilson ..................................................Bath
Simon Shaw..................................................London Wasps
Steve Borthwick (capt) ........................Saracens
James Haskell ................................Stade Francais
Lewis Moody............................................Leicester
Nick Easter............................................Harlequins
mirror.co.uk
Saturday sees Ireland take on Italy in this year's opening match, and then England take on Wales at Twickenham. On Sunday, Scotland face France at Murrayfield.
England - who have won this annual tournament more times than any other team, but haven't won it since 2003, the year they also became the only Northern Hemisphere team ever to win the World Cup - will face Wales in a retro kit.
This year is the centenary of international fixtures between England and Wales. The first, back in 1910, was an 11-6 victory for England. It is also the centenary of the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
So, just for this match, England will play in a kit similar to the one they wore against Wales in 1910. The kit (modelled below by England Danny Care) is gloriously all white, and will make happy those England fans who wish their team to play in all white all the time rather than, for example, in a white kit with red markings.
Even England's red rose badge is 1910-style.
England is the world's richest rugby nation and has more rugby players than any other nation and were undoubtedly the best team in the world in the early years of last decade, winning the World Cup in 2003. But their form has been poor in recent years. Will playing in a retro kit somehow improve their performance?
Danny Care back to England in retro kit
By Alex Spink
2/02/2010
2010 RUGBY UNION RBS 6 NATIONS
A bit of all white: England's Danny Care models the one-off retro kit that England will wear against Wales on Saturday, to mark 100 years of rugby matches between the two nations
Danny Care will today be recalled by England to face Wales - and given a special retro kit to wear.
Scrum-half Care has waited a year for his first Six Nations start after a freak fall on ice wrecked his hopes in 2009.
His chance finally arrives in a match which marks 100 years of international fixtures between England and Wales at Twickenham.
England are commemorating the centenary by wearing a one-off jersey inspired by the one they wore in the 1910 clash - a game they won 11-6. Manager Martin Johnson hopes the old-style look extends no further than the kit as he has picked a team with the future firmly in mind.
Coming into the back line are Care, Delon Armitage, Mat Tait and Riki Flutey - four of the country's most exciting rugby footballers.
Mark Cueto and Ugo Monye to the wings after filling in at full-back in the autumn, and Jonny Wilkinson pulls it all together at fly-half.
Nick Easter, who like Armitage and Flutey missed the November series through injury, returns at No.8. Simon Shaw and James Haskell have shaken off knee knocks.
Here are three of the England lads modelling England's normal kit, which they will go back to wearing after the game against Wales
An air of expectation now hangs over the England camp at the dawn of a new campaign and nobody is more excited than Care. "Every time you go to an England game you want to be starting," said the Harlequins star. "You want to be up there singing the national anthem and then start playing straight away.
"I started one game in the autumn and was on the bench for two, which was pretty frustrating. But I'm happy with my form at the moment. Results haven't been going for us (at Harlequins) recently but I'm happy with how I'm playing."
Wales full-back Lee Byrne should learn his fate today when his appeal is heard in Glasgow against his two-week ban.
Wales have delayed naming their team and trained with two teams yesterday - with and without Byrne.
"A lot of people are hopeful Lee will play a part in the game," said Shaun Edwards, Wales assistant coach.
"We are sure he will get a fair and proper hearing, and obviously we will go along with the adjudication."
England will step out against Wales in a new one-off Nike retro home kit to celebrate the RFU's Centenary year. Matching rugby tradition with modern-day Nike technology, it was inspired by England kits from the last 100 years.
The Centenary collection is available now at www.nikestore.com/rugby
ENGLAND'S PROBALE TEAM VS WALES ON SATURDAY
Delon Armitage ..............................London Irish
Ugo Monye ..........................................Harlequins
Mat Tait ..............................................................Sale
Riki Flutey........................................................Brive
Mark Cueto ......................................................Sale
Jonny Wilkinson ......................................Toulon
Danny Care ..........................................Harlequins
Tim Payne........................................................London Wasps
Dylan Hartley ..............................Northampton
David Wilson ..................................................Bath
Simon Shaw..................................................London Wasps
Steve Borthwick (capt) ........................Saracens
James Haskell ................................Stade Francais
Lewis Moody............................................Leicester
Nick Easter............................................Harlequins
mirror.co.uk
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