The Six Nations Championship is coming to a close with a massive game between Ireland and England on English soil.
While Brexit may have thrown a slight spanner in the works, Ireland's relationship with England is most definitely at one of the best places it has been in the last century or two (or the last 800 years but who's counting?).
That said, there's nothing that will make Ireland happier on Saint Patrick's Day than to secure a win against England in the Six Nations rugby championship as they take on their old foes in the English home ground of Twickenham.
Just to put it into context: Ireland has the potential to beat England (something we'll celebrate any day of the year) on English soil, at a game invented in England on March 17, Ireland's biggest and most patriotic day of the year. To say that Ireland is excited is an understatement and you can expect the Saint Patrick's Day revelries across the world to be even more extreme is there's an Irish win.
But what are the Six Nations and why is the win on Saint Patrick's Day so important? We have all the fast facts you need to know:
What are the Six Nations?
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. Over the course of several weekends from the start of February to mid-March, all countries will play each other once with home ground advantage changed up from year to year. Securing three points for a win, the country with the highest score at the end wins.
Who are the current holders of the Six Nations?
Ireland! We have already won the Six Nations 2018 with the results of the first four games meaning that we are the overall champs even if England manage to get it together and beat us today. There's no way for any team to gain enough points this weekend to beat us so we are the 2018 champs.
So why is the England v Ireland 2018 Six Nations game so important?
Any game taking place against England on Saint Patrick's Day was always going to be a matter of pride, no matter the position we were in right now and apart from the fact that we really do love beating England, the Grandslam and Triple Crown is still up for grabs.
What is the Six Nations Grandslam?
If a country beats all other countries in the championship in one year than they win the Grand Slam. We've seen off France, Italy, Scotland and Wales so far so there's only England left to defeat.
The Triple Crown will be an added bonus which means we saw off England, Wales and Scotland. As the Irish rugby team is an all-island team with players from the North and Republic who may bridge both gaps of a religious or political divide, Ireland is regarded as one of the home nations and also plays both the national anthem Amhrán na bhFiann and an additional traditional Irish rugby song "Ireland's Call" before each game.
What time is the England vs Ireland St. Patrick's Day game?
We are the second game of the day: Italy vs Scotland starts at 8:30am (EST), Ireland vs England 10:45am (EST), and Wales vs France 1:00pm (EST).
What are Ireland's chances of winning?
Honestly, we don't want to jinx it but we'd say they're pretty good!
Are you watching the Six Nations today? Let us know where in the comments section, below.
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