As the clock ticks towards this weekend's Six Nations matches, rugby is once more a hot topic and as such it is timely that Thurrock Nub News' occasional correspondent Ralph Henderson has produced his latest article considering the diminishing importance of home advantage and how the rising new stars can reignite the passion for the game.

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"GREAT teams are made of great individuals" - this is one of my favourite lines in sport and you need look no further than England's World Cup winning team of 2003 for evidence of its truth.

As head coach, I was lucky to work with a remarkable group of players. When I started as England's head coach in 1997, I was determined to break away from the stereotypes of English rugby. I wanted to play an all-court game that could get 70,000 England fans at Twickenham on their feet going nuts. This meant playing with relentless speed, keeping the ball alive and attacking the opposition with and without the ball." - Sir Clive Woodward.

Apart from being the only coach to lead a northern hemisphere team to World Cup glory, Clive Woodward was a brilliant rugby player. We know from first hand experience, having been on the receiving end of a beating by his Loughborough team in the Middlesex Sevens Preliminary Final at Upper Clapton in 1979!

The following year Woodward was scoring one of England's greatest tries in his England debut against Scotland. This silkiest of runners in the Jeremy Guscott style, soon became a British Lion, prior to a stellar coaching career. Although a fly- half by trade, he played out his International career at centre.

Recently we have all been lamenting the absence of excitement, innovation and real personalities in the game. Where were the likes of Shane Williams, Jason Robinson, Barry John or even a Gavin Henson?

Having lived through almost a year of "Lockdown", we were missing the social interactions and post-match analyses that are a huge part of the culture of sport. To top it all, we were forced to pay substantial sums of money to a variety of providers to watch a turgid diet of monotonous games in atmosphereless auditoria.

Then, almost miraculously, our prayers were answered! The first weekend of the Six Nations brought us fiercely contested encounters that went 'to the wire'. Scotland played with the passion their anthem demands and saw off the auld enemy at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years and Eddie went homeward 'to think again'.

France were on the march again. Even without the remarkable Romain Ntamack and Virimi Vakatawa, we witnessed the sublime skills of Antoine Dupont and his 'blind passes' as well as the fearless running of Damian Penaud.

Stuart Hogg is in the form of his life, Jonny May won the vertical long jump competition and Anthony Watson was back to his best. It is such a shame that Eddie Jones has been reluctant to promote the exhilarating talents Paolo Odogwu, Jacob Umaga and Marcus Smith to bring a thrilling new dimension to England's game!

While Wales struggled to find a system to play against 14 men, a new hero emerged; a callow fleet-footed paladin, Louis the fourteen, a lightning right winger, very much in the J. J. Williams mode.

Louis XIV of France was known as Louis the Great or 'The Sun King" and, he too, was a child prodigy, ascending to the French throne at the age of four! His reign of over 72 years (still four years ahead of our longest serving monarch, Elizabeth II) is the longest recorded in European history. Regarded as the greatest French King, Louis built not only a dynasty but also the beautiful palace of Versailles.

Now we look to the new generation and Louis Rees-Zammit to build a new dynasty of rugby and restore vibrancy and anticipation to the great citadels of sport. Just turned 20 this month, the youngster won his first cap against France last year and, when called upon to perform his initiation solo, sang " Angels", the Robbie Williams classic. Amazingly that song puts his youthfulness into perspective, having topped the charts three years before he was born!

Louis, whose nickname is "Rees-Lightning", after an even earlier song, is by no means the youngest player to play for Wales. That particular record is held by Tom Prydie who had played just seven minutes of senior rugby for the Ospreys when Warren Gatland called him into the Welsh squad at just 17. Prydie surpassed England's Matthew Tait as the youngest to play in the Six Nations, but luckily didn't suffer the same fate as Tait in his debut - lifted and carried by Gavin Henson as Wales lifted a "Grand Slam"!

Incidentally, there are records concerning Thurrock's youngest player. Mick Leckenby was 16. Sam Stanley made his debut on his 17th birthday. Brad Rettigan, Trevor Burge and John Magnusson were also 17 when they began their long, outstanding careers.

Louis Rees-Zammit is further evidence of the success of the Welsh Exiles system run by Gareth Davies (Thurrock youngster Blake Burns benefited from the system before graduating to Loughborough). Like Ross Moriarty and Alex Cuthbert, Louis is a product of Hartpury College. (Not Grange Hill as the other famous Zammo!) In recent years, the Gloucestershire University has witnessed a "tug of war" between national teams vying for allegiance from its alumni.

There is a long list of outstanding players being developed including Jonny May and Ellis Genge for England. Seb Negri, Callum Braley and Jake Polledri have opted for Italy and Billy Burns started for Ireland last week. Harry Randall has recently opted for England even though he is a former Wales age group captain and his brother Jake is the youngest player ever to play for the Scarlets!

Long-serving Thurrock captain Reece Durrance was a Hartpury teammate of Alex Cuthbert, while former youth fly-half, Dan Cole, extended his education there before moving to Bishop's Stortford.

Louis Rees-Zammit has lit up the Six Nations this year. He plays with a freedom that allows the generous expression of his skills. A natural finisher with a sensational turn of pace, he side-steps in the style of his childhood hero, Shane Williams, while displaying the cadence and rapidity of arguably the fastest of all, J. J. Williams (although Ken Jones, Eric Liddell and Keith Fielding might have disagreed).

He has certainly emulated the "chip and chase" technique that was perfected by J.J. in the seventies. His tries against Ireland and Scotland were superb finishes in the Jonny May mould, while his "assist" for Liam Williams was more in the Chris Ashton style of suddenly appearing in midfield. When Wales were struggling late on in the Scotland game, his covering was "top- drawer" as he relieved the pressure with a remarkable seventy metre clearance.

Off the field he reveals a level-headedness and maturity which he attributes to his strong family unit. A Manchester United fan, he like one of his heroes, Marcus Rashford, is a champion of charities. Aware of the acute problems of young people during the Covid crisis, he is an ambassador for the Sporting Minds charity.

[I]"There is a full house of almost 50,000 in the Tokyo Stadium tonight to watch Wales, my team, take on New Zealand, my country, at the World Cup. It is one of the great rivalries in the sport and in any other context, it would be a moment to savour. Sadly,this is a case of wrong place, wrong time. They call it a final, but it's the Bronze Medal final. The real final is being played tomorrow, an hour's drive down the road in Yokohama, and by the time South Africa and England take the field, my post-Wales life will already be a day old." – Warren Gatland. [.L]

In Wales Gatland has been revered and virtually canonised. Almost winning the 2011 World Cup before the controversial ending off of his captain, Sam Warburton in the semi-final against France, cemented his place in Welsh folklore as well as vilifying the referee and adding a new verse to the Beach Boys' Rugby anthem," Sloop John B ".

"Alain Rolland's a wicked man,

Points the finger every time he can.

He don't give a damn about Leigh Halfpenny and me (Halfpenny and me)

He shows the red card! He shows the red ca--ard;

With Sam on the field,we'd have won that World Cup!

Believe it! Believe it! "

Everybody knew what to expect from Gatland's teams. They were big, talented players who spent weeks becoming the fittest on their trips to Spala in Cryotherapyland, Poland. His players were young, hungry with a few talented mavericks like Gavin Henson and Mike Phillips, but players with "Je ne said quoi " like Shane Williams. His style was called Warren all and the Shaun Edwards-constructed defence, built around the impregnable Jamie Roberts was rarely breached.

With the disastrous loss of Gatland and Edwards, the new incumbent, Wayne Pivac struggled with his new agenda and his position looked precarious. Critics struggled with Pivac's methods and wondered about the culture he was trying to establish.

In the autumn, there appeared little direction and seemed lacking in inspiration. We always knew about the creativity of Stephen Jones and knew that the addition of Gethin Jenkins would stiffen the resolve, but then on a bitter, Murrayfield day there was the flowering of a rare talent and as Jonathan Davies observed: "A star was born." !

This was a truly great game to warm the spirit and the outcome on a "knife-edge" until the final whistle. Stuart Hogg was in scintillating form, something observed by former Thurrock headteacher, choirmaster and quiz inquisitor Bob Williams;

"An interesting statistic came up in last week's match build-up. Apparently during the England V Scotland game, Stuart Hogg became the player to have made most metres in the history of the Six Nations, 3,091 Who held the record before him? "Have a go at it. You get one clue - He is not Welsh!

Even with 14 men Stuart Hogg reclaimed the lead by handing off Owen Watkin before scuttling on an outside arc to the corner. That other Scottish genius, Finn Russell kicked a superb conversion, but even the best efforts of Scotland's twin kapellmeisters were not enough to have their final word.

That privilege went to the emerging maestro, Rees-Zammit who chipped over the defence a la J. J. Williams before accelerating past a helpless Duhan van der Merwe and frustrated Hogg. To have outpaced Hogg is remarkable in itself, but to finish with such aplomb is very special and immediately vindicated Jonathan Davies' epithet.

Louis Rees-Zammit has been blessed with self-belief and an innate elan. But with that natural assurance comes a real sense of humility. Hopefully, he will keep the innocence and freedom of youth for a while yet. With the hyperbole and puffery comes great expectation.

This can be a positive force, as he is adamant that he still has much to learn. Much of the hysteria centres around his raw pace and this is a great coaching point for young aspiring players as well as their more experienced team-mates.

Natural speed is such an asset in most sports and is not necessarily diminished by age. Some of the great Olympic champions have won gold well into their thirties. When Don Harrigan, the former Saracens captain became Thurrock's first professional coach in the late seventies, he inherited a team of tricenarians.

He soon gave them the belief that they could all get faster. Every training session finished with a series of highly competitive 100 metre races, when everyone improved as they fought hard to try to beat Dennis Stone and John Poskett! Even Dennis realised that he could still be a "tour de force" at Sevens!

When Rees-Zammit first burst on to the scene, he'd never practised running. He thought he'd inherited his speed from his father who had played American Football. The Gloucester coaches convinced him that there is far more to sprinting than raw talent and harnessed technique to his natural rhythm.

Having retired from a life-time of teaching, I was privileged to spend a happy period working with some of Britain's finest athletes.

As a Director of Rugby at the time, I always tried to learn from them details about the mechanics of sprinting, especially from those who had played other sports: For example Jamie Baulch had played Touch Rugby for Wales; Derek Redmond, Sevens for England, while John Regis and Daley Thompson were outstanding footballers. Between them, I gathered that the big toe was key to balance and should be massaged before running! (I never knew when John Regis was joking! See Gotcha Oscar with Noel Edmunds).

What I did know was that he had been a double world champion and still held the British record of 19.87 for the 200 metres. There were several vital principles to maximising the use of the "fast-twitch fibres":

They were :

• Prepare well by manipulation, not forgetting the big toes.
• Warm up extensively.
• Build-up the speed after an explosive start.
• The aim is to sprint from a high carriage, using the hips to extend the stride.
• A strong upper body is helpful as you will need to "lift the knees and elbows in a pumping action"!
• Concentrate on rhythm and cadence-the best sprinters have a beautiful symmetry to their action.
• The objective is to increase the velocity through the number of rotations, rather than driving the feet into the ground with excessive power.
• Remember to practise different styles of running, as rugby requires running with a ball in one hand, two hands or no hands! Players are at their fastest when chasing as they are pumping both arms and have greater balance!

Interestingly, it was always thought that pulled hamstrings were the preserve of the sprinters in the team and that props didn't have hamstrings! The truth was that they had strong hamstrings as a result of continual scrummaging.

Another thing to be learned from athletics and cycling is the so called NORDIC HAMSTRING EXERCISE, which involves adopting a ski-Jump position, leaning forward, hands free towards a fence or wall! Repetition of this exercise strengthens the hamstrings and reduces injury risk.

The best coaches study other sports assiduously as they seek marginal gains. Clive Woodward's first action as England coach was to provide every player with a lap-top so they could access data, improve their knowledge and communicate more easily their progress from the various programs. The range and variety of kicking skills came from his fascination with Aussie Rules while living in Australia!

The worrying thing for his opponents is that Gloucester's coaches believe this phenomenon can get even faster! He had never practised sprinting and although he had height and natural ability, his technique left a lot to be desired.

He owes much to his S&C coach Dan Tobin, who has placed a lot of emphasis on sharpness and acceleration. Then there is the significance of competition, racing against Jonny May, Ollie Theory and Charlie Sharpies at his club or Josh Adams, George North and Hallam Amos in the Welsh camp!

There is no doubt that rugby had lost much of its attraction throughout these torrid times. The Lockdown and absence of spectators didn't help, but it was the sheer grind and drudgery of the Autumn Nations Cup which proved the most damaging. With all the teams, with the occasional exception of France, playing a game plan over reliant on defence and kick-chase, the diet was pure drudgery. Turnovers from defensive pressure led to penalties. England were the best at this, so didn't need to attack. Only New Zealand and France didn't play that way.

In spite of their success, England began to look predictable as they "resorted to type". As South Africa had shown in the World Cup Final, England can be beaten if you match them physically. So too Scotland who brought such intensity and pressure to Twickenham that they dominated the game to complete their first win at H.Q. since 1983!

England and South Africa are the best at rigid, structured, set-piece rugby, but after these awful times we need more. Whatever happened to Eddie's all-court game which produced that wonderful semi-final victory over the All Blacks?

In these times of incarceration, we needed entertainment to salve our confinement and luckily , the professional clubs seized the opportunity. There is nothing better than watching somebody like Jonny May exploding laterally across the field searching for a gap. The ex Felsted boy, Max Malins, has excited everyone at Bristol and the fearless Paolo Odogwu has been incendiary on the Wasps wing. For some reason, the England coach has not seen fit to assess Odogwu's capabilities at the highest level. Perhaps he is saving him for the Wales encounter, although it seems more likely that the Gloucester team-mates will line up against each other.

The spectator sabbatical appears to be creating a situation where home advantage ceases to exist. Scotland's first victory at Twickenham for 38 years, the Welsh win at Murrayfield and French success at the Aviva served to confirm the trend.

Winning a substantial number of away games has usually determined championship outcomes at every level. This is particularly acute in the Six Nations on alternate years when three games are away. The exception to the rule tends to be when Italy are one of the away games and a "Grand Slam" seems possible.

Statistically home victories are the " stock in trade" of the Six Nations. There are many factors which have been considered over the years, but surely the most important is the intensity that the home team is able to harness as a result of the psychological impact of the supporters and the passion they demand.

The material and climatic conditions are less of a concern in this era of high stands and woven grass, although the swirling wind at "The Cake Tin" in Wellington still poses serious questions for kickers! Nevertheless, travel and dietary concerns have all but disappeared in modern times and most players will say they actually enjoy the experience of playing at the Principality Stadium and embracing the atmosphere (although the coach journey through the streets of Cardiff is still like" running the gauntlet".

At community level, away wins are still difficult. It would be good to believe that the days of residual odious smells and draughty, windowless, unswept changing rooms are no longer the norm, but few teams provide the most comfortable accommodation.

There are still idiosyncratic pitch conditions and climatic issues to adapt to such as the Brentwood slope or the prevailing wind at Southend. Players feel comfortable with familiar surroundings and perform better while under positive pressure from supporters.

At amateur level, the journey was something of an issue especially when long trips excluded some of the players who had to work on Saturday mornings. This resulted in weaker teams, loss of confidence and inevitably adverse results.

Perhaps the reluctance of fans to travel was the biggest factor. This is evidenced by the incredible cup success of Thurrock in the seventies and eighties!

Reaching the Essex Final on 10 occasions, the Eastern Counties six times as well as the latter stages of the National Cup (John Player and Pilkington) was truly remarkable when you consider that most games were played away from home.

The one exception, being the famous victory over London Irish, played at Oakfield in front of 2,500 partisans. The last 16 tie at Rosslyn Park witnessed a mass exodus from the town as fleets of coaches transported the faithful to Roehampton.

Therein lay the real secret of winning away. At Thurrock we always prospered from our amazing support. With rugby thriving in the schools there was an incredible player base. The club fielded eight teams most Saturdays and, in England, cup matches were on Sundays.

Hence most of the club's players and families provided support for the big games. At most venues our travelling support outnumbered and certainly outsang the opponents. This made the trips a great day out and, in truth, greatly anticipated.

Being the first rugby club to hire a train for the epic journey to Exeter 40 years ago was truly memorable. From a playing point of view, the support was the key to our prosperity.

Performing in front of your own supporters brings levels of pressure that improve execution and outcome. Confidence in ability grows. Hence the unrivalled accomplishments of Britain's Olympians in 2012.

Growing up in Wales, like many of my contemporaries I inherited the family paper round!

The Arctic conditions meant it was an unfortunate necessity but at least it kept you fit! There was one exception! In the summer of 1964, the Olympics were held in Tokyo. Hopefully again the postponed version will take place there this summer. With the time zone placing us behind Japan, (some would say we are always behind in Wales) the only way I could catch up with results from Japan was to read the papers I was delivering. I was so excited that the round took me twice as long as normal and I ended up sprinting through the school gates as the bell was ringing.

The Tokyo Games brought a cornucopia of medals for the GB Team, including gold in the Long Jump for Clive Beynon and John Mullen's future lecturer, the peerless Lynn Davies.

Lynn Davies attributed his victory over American favourite, Ralph Boston, was owing to confidence and the wet, miserable conditions similar to his everyday experience in Bridgend!

The story which fascinated me most was the one surrounding some of the female competitors: Three of the athletes were rooming together.

The first to arrive were the experienced Mary Rand and Ann Packer. These girls had brought with them a hammer and nails and banged a couple of nails into the wall of their room. When the third member arrived, it was a young athlete from Northern Ireland, Mary Peters. As she opened the door, she saw the nails and asked why her team- mates had hammered them into the wall.

"To hang our gold medals on!" they exclaimed.

They gave Mary Peters a hammer and nail and invited her to follow their lead. Mary was far too modest to accept the offer and declined. The rest is history.

The supreme confidence demonstrated by the two English girls certainly paid dividends, albeit in surprising ways. Mary Rand, married to Olympic oarsman Sydney Rand won silver in the Pentathlon behind Irena Press, but won a magnificent long jump gold beating the Pole Irena Kirszenstein. She nailed it, literally!

Ann Packer's story was even more dramatic. One of the favourites for the 400 metres she was edged out by Australian Betty Cuthbert. Her boyfriend and future husband, Robbie Brightwell missed out on a medal in the men's 400 metres. Bitterly disappointed, he persuaded his fiancée to enter the 800 metres. She was a complete novice at the event but amazingly reached the final. In an epic encounter, French favourite Maryvonne Dupureur, charged into a long lead. Packer reluctantly gave chase until coming around the final bend, her acceleration completely destroyed the Frenchwoman, racing to an unlikely gold and incredible World record .She too had nailed it!

Poor Mary Peters finished in fourth place.

Four years later in Mexico, Mary Peters had taken the hammer and nails donated by her champion friends. Once again she was too modest to risk the procedure in case of embarrassment. She finished in ninth place!

When Mary Peters travelled to Munich for the 1972 Olympics she had reached the veteran stage, aged 33. When she arrived in her quarters she remembered the nerve of her friends and somewhat reluctantly banged a nail into the wall! Miraculously she discovered an inner belief and gave the performance of her life. She defeated the home favourite, Heidi Rosendahl by a mere 10 points, but she was the Olympic champion.

Much more drama was to follow with the dreadful murder of Israeli athletes and, upon her return, she received a death threat telephoned to the BBC. "Mary Peters is a Protestant and has won a medal for Britain An attempt will be made on her life and it will be blamed on the IRA - her home will be going up in the near future."

This brave woman couldn't go back to her home in Belfast for three months, but turned down offers to move to the USA and Australia. Lady Mary Peters went on to win the highest honours in the land and her story has inspired generations for the last 50 years. Confidence in your abilities and self belief are the greatest assets!

One of the biggest disappointments of this era resides in the loss of camaraderie we all enjoy through our involvement in sport. It' s not just your clubmates that you miss, but the away supporters. It's that side of the pitch or that corner of the stand where for 80 minutes or so, the enemy congregate. They are only temporary enemies, for the duration of the game. You have to grudgingly accept that there is something special about the way in which a corner of your ground is suddenly transformed into a sea of "high fives" and triumphant fist pumping when you concede a try and everyone else just stares in silent disbelief except for Jeff who utters some profanity ,almost under his breath!

Never mind, it won't be long before he screams "Sack the juggler" after an unfortunate lapse by the Westcombe Park scrum-half!

When the Six Nations comes around you know you are in for at least two great awaydays. They are wonderful rites of passage for all fans. We have been lucky enough to go by train, bus, car, taxi, transit van, plane and even on foot. There is nothing better than when you can take your son and daughter to their first game. Trips with your team-mates are extra special, even though you might be supporting different sides.

It is the post-match esprit de corps which symbolises the rugby fraternity. Who can ever forget 3,000 fans of England and Wales congregating outside the "Gatekeeper" in Cardiff after the epic Welsh victory in 2019.

In torrential rain, the soaking masses repeatedly sang "Country Roads" throughout the night. Even Paul Smith joined in. Likewise, the whole of the Paris Metro reverberating as Les Bleus and Les Rouges pumped out Allouette and Calon Lan.

Whenever we are at home, I have great admiration for the opposition, because I know it requires a bit extra to be an away fan, a little more expensive, more planning and you literally have to go that extra mile to support your team.

I can't wait to return to those halcyon days of away trips. I can't wait to watch the likes of Stuart Hogg, Jonny May, Henry Slade, Garry Ringrose, Paolo Odogwu and maybe a Marcus Smith again. But above all else, I want to see how the new " Sun King" develops and I don't expect anything other than brilliance, because Louis the Fourteen is actually getting faster!