England will play their first Sunday match at Twickenham in the Six Nations when they meet Italy in March after the Six Nations committee and the BBC hammered out a broadcasting deal yesterday.
All five rounds of the championship will feature a Sunday international, starting with Ireland's visit to Murrayfield and finishing with England's trip to Lansdowne Road on March 3o. It will not be lost on the England head coach Clive Woodward that two Grand Slam dreams ended on a Sunday in Cardiff and Edinburgh in 1999 and 2000 respectively.
Five countries will play two Sunday matches. Wales, whose five matches will all be played on Saturdays, are the exception but their match against England at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium will kick off at 5.30pm, a move which will infuriate traditionalists who are already smarting at the decision to play the tournament over seven weeks from this season instead of 10.
The BBC is paying £70m over three years for the rights to exclusively televise the Six Nations and it has insisted on a rescheduling of fixtures to ensure that every round includes a Sunday match.
Six Nations' commercial director John Feehan said that the committee was mindful of tradition when it negotiated the schedule with the BBC. "We have sought to retain the essential qualities and spirit of the championship," he stressed.
The Rugby Football Union has always been reluctant to stage internationals at Twickenham on Sundays because of the travelling problems faced by supporters, particularly those who live in the north of the country and who use public transport, but they had to go along with the majority on the committee.
Kick-off times for live television matches are a contentious issue in Wales. Llanelli start their Celtic league campaign against Munster at Stradey Park tonight at 7.05pm.
"It is far from ideal for our supporters who have to travel long distances," said the Llanelli coach Gareth Jenkins. "We have to get on with it because television provides the major part of the income generated by the game in Wales and they call the tune. Without that money, there would be no rugby at Stradey Park but I do feel for supporters."
Scotland face their first journey to South Africa for 43 years next summer with two Tests against the Springboks in Durban and Johannesburg announced yesterday.
The Scots, who played provincial opposition in South Africa in 1997, will be using the matches to warm up for the World Cup while the Springboks will be using them as preparation for the Tri-Nations.
Newport hope to register the South Africa full-back Percy Montgomery before the September 20 Heineken Cup deadline. The club's owner is in Cape Town speaking to Western Province officials in a bid to bring the 50-cap 27-year-old to Wales this month.
Six Nations schedule: Feb 15: Italy v Wales (1.30pm); England v France (4.0). Sunday Feb 16: Scotland v Ireland (3.0). Feb 22 Italy v Ireland (2.30); Wales v England (5.30). Feb 23: France v Scotland (2.0). March 8: Ireland v France (2.0); Scotland v Wales (4.0). March 9 England v Italy (2.0). March 22: Wales v Ireland (2.0); England v Scotland (4.0). March 23: Italy v France (2.0). March 29: France v Wales (1.0); Scotland v Italy (3.0). March 30: Ireland v England (2.0).
