SO it’s the final weekend of the Six Nations championship and the match that everyone is talking about kicks-off at Twickenham at 2.45pm, when England will be out to stop unbeaten Ireland lift the Grand Slam.

And it’s on St. Patrick’s Day of all days! If that doesn’t motivate the men in green to then nothing will.

Mind you, England need to see out their under-performing campaign with a stunning finale to redeem themselves.

Who knows, perhaps they can finally produce that touch of magic that they are quite capable of and halt the Irish gallop to the Grand Slam.

Talking of Grand Slams there have been 37 in all since 1908 when France joined the affray while Ireland have only ever managed it twice, the first in 1948 and, more recently, in 2009.

In the other games this Saturday Italy take on Scotland in Rome and Wales host France at the Principality Stadium.

On the local front, Redingensians Rams take a break from league action this weekend to lick their wounds following last Saturday’s 25-19 loss at Cornish side Redruth, while it’s the rearranged `derby’ for my boys Reading who face Abbey at Rose Hill.

Both sides will be looking to address last weekend’s defeats with Abbey crushed by SCN league leaders Beaconsfield and Reading losing at home to Aylesbury.

Abbey, apparently, were by no means disgraced in their game at Beaconsfield, despite the scoreline and conceding six tries. They were competitive throughout and remained positive in their approach even when injuries to key players threatened to disrupt their rhythm.

As for Reading, they were in front at one time during the first half against Aylesbury before changing ends trailing 12-8 and, unfortunately, conceded two further converted tries and a penalty after the break as the visitors took control.

And, sad to relate, Berkshire Shire Hall also suffered defeat away to Risborough, 48-15, to compound a miserable afternoon for the Reading-based sides.

In fact, when was the last time all four Reading based sides lost on the same afternoon?

Anyway, so what about the local fixture line-up for this Saturday? Well, in line with Redingensians, it’s actually a weekend off for the majority of our clubs.

But if you want some action then it’s Abbey v Reading up there at Rose Hill (1pm) or Shire Hall v Phoenix at their Sonning Lane base (2pm).

That’s it for this week. See you on the touchline!