If you live in the United States, it’s easier than ever to catch the action because BBC America is covering a match each week. Setanta Sports is also covering the competition in the US as the network enters its last month on the air in the United States, but BBC America is available to a lot more US households as it is not a paid subscription channel.

If you’d rather give yourself a bit more control over the tournament’s outcome, you can play it yourself with the BBC’s online Six Nations game. The game is a very simple one you can play with your Web browser, but it is surprisingly addictive. Beware–you may be surprised to find yourself spending hours enjoying the various “drills” and trying to top your score in the simulated matches.  Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

While you wait for the tournament to start tomorrow, here are some highlights from its last two incarnations:

2009:

2008:

Instead of trying to capture McLaren’s contribution to the sport, we’ll just let him speak for himself here:

Considering that logic, the format of July’s two biggest three-match series in rugby league and rugby union might seem a bit odd to Americans. The British and Irish Lions tour culminates in a best-of-three test match series against the hosting nation, and the State of Origin interstate series is a best-of-three as well. This year, both series were “clinched” after two matches. On the Lions’ tour, South Africa won two in a row against the visitors while Queensland won the first two Origin matches against New South Wales. That left the final matches of both series with the derogatory “dead rubber” title. Competitors and fans were left with two matches that meant nothing to the series outcome.

One might ask: “Why bother playing them if they don’t matter?” The dead rubbers don’t matter to the series, sure, but have a look at these clips from the third matches of the two series and see if you think they didn’t matter:

British and Irish Lions match three:

State of Origin match three:

Dead rubbers indeed!

That “A” is a key letter in the team name, as it indicates that the side is Ireland’s second side and not the “true” side. That might imply that their matches don’t mean as much, but you wouldn’t so from looking at the Irish side as they won the tournament final 49-22 over their English counterparts, the England Saxons.

The contest between these representative sides brings to mind the broad variety in the names so many nations provide for their second-tier side. It can cause a bit of confusion, particularly given that at the club level many sides choose to refer to their first side as an “A” side and can thus misinterpret the “A” designator’s meaning at the national level. To help out any confused parties, here’s a list of prominent national second-level sides in rugby union with a brief explanation of each:

• “A” sides: In addition to Ireland, a number of other nations refer to their second side as the “A” side. Scotland, France, Italy, Wales, and Australia have all fielded “A” sides in recent years, though the latter two of these countries are not presently fielding an “A” side.
• England Saxons: The Saxons used to be referred to as England “A” (and previously as England “B,” to add to the confusion), but have been known as the Saxons since 2006.
• Junior All Blacks: Though the term “Junior All Blacks” might suggest an age-grade side, the Junior All Blacks are New Zealand’s second-grade side and do not have any age association.
• New Zealand Māori: Not technically a second-level side, New Zealand Māori can be mentioned on this list as a similar and unique national rugby union side. Players for the side are New Zealanders with at least one-sixteenth Māori heritage. Although the Junior All Blacks are New Zealand’s actual second-level side, the New Zealand Māori outfit has sometimes functioned as something similar to a second-tier New Zealand side by occasionally participating in tournaments such as the Churchill Cup and the Pacific Nations Cup in the Junior All Blacks’ stead.
• Emerging Springboks: Like the Junior All Blacks, the Emerging Springboks might sound like an age-grade side, but they are South Africa’s second-level representatives. Given that they earned a draw against the touring all-star British and Irish Lions yesterday, some might say they’ve already emerged!
• Argentina Jaguars: Like the Saxons, the Jaguars have a dedicated nickname that differs from their first-grade counterparts the Pumas.

In rugby league, officially-named second-tier national sides are featured less frequently, though there are some interesting representative sides such as:

• New Zealand Māori, which has the same eligibility requirements as the union version of the side,
• Indigenous Dreamtime, an Australian counterpart to the NZ Māori whose players are all at least one-sixteenth aboriginal in heritage, and the
• Prime Minister’s XIII, a side picked each year by the Australian Prime Minister to play against Papua New Guinea.

Hopefully that will help you keep track of all the monikers given to these second-string sides, which provide as much excitement as their first-grade versions in tournaments all over the globe each year.

Are any “A” sides missing from the list? Post a comment if so.

• The sides were locked at twenty-six points apiece after regulation, so two ten-minute extra periods were played.
• With the draw unbroken after extra time, the number of tries scored in the match was the next tiebreaker. This was moot, however, as each side had scored two tries during the match.
• each side nominated five kickers to attempt one placekick at goal each from the 22-meter line in front of the posts.
• After each side made four goals, the kicking competition went into “sudden-death” mode (wherein the first side to miss a goal loses, so long as the other side made a goal in the same round) with a new set of kickers. In the third round of this segment, Cardiff flanker Martyn Williams pushed an attempt wide to end the marathon and send Leicester into the final to be played in a couple of weeks.

The format was unpopular with many given that it forced players specializing in things other than goalkicking to do as much with the match at stake, but it was still exciting. Aside from the tense finish, the match also served to answer a few fans’ curiosity regarding how a tie is resolved in a knockout match after extra time.

Or did it? Actually, even though the format seen last weekend is used in the Heineken Cup, the format will be reconsidered next year. Further, other competitions don’t do it the same way, so seeing the shoot-out last weekend actually tells very little about how the matter is settled throughout the sport.

If you’ve read this far, we assume you’re interested in hearing how all of the competitions settle a draw in playoff situations where a winner must be determined, so here’s a partial list of competitions and their tiebreaking methods:

• The Guinness Premiership (England’s top domestic competition) has a similar format as the Heineken Cup, but the kicks vary in placement by round with some in front of the posts, some 15 meters from the left and right touch lines, and some 5 meters from each touch line.
• In the Super 14 (featuring top sides from New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa), two formats are used, on for the semifinals and one for the finals. In the semis, the sides play two ten-minute extra time periods, after which the deadlock is broken by number of tries scored in the semifinal. After that, though, the similarities with the Heineken Cup and Guiness Premiership end, as the winner is decided by who finished higher during the regular season. The final works the same for the most part, except that the championship is shared as a draw after two periods of extra time if the scored are still level.
• The Magners League (featuring top sides from Ireland, Wales, and Scotland) doesn’t have to deal with the issue, as they don’t have knockout matches and determine their winner after the regular schedule. This year, in fact, Munster clinched the title two matches left to play
• We couldn’t find a clear statement of the American Super League’s format, but we know from the 2008 final that “sudden-death” extra time is played after two extra time periods until one side scores to win.
• The tiebreaker methods used in the Top 14 (France’s top domestic competion) and Super 10 (Italy’s top domestic competition) elude Armchair Playmaker’s limited translation resources. Readers who are more adept at French and Italian are encouraged to chime in!

How do they handle it in rugby league? We’ll spare you the details, but note that for most competitions a “golden point” sudden-death period is either played after 80 minutes (as is done in the National Rugby League in every match) or after two short two extra time periods. The golden point seems to work pretty well–in fact, Leicester seems to support the idea after suffering through the alternative.

Hopefully, that satisfies your curiosity about how a draw is avoided when a draw will not do. Meanwhile, here are a few views of last weekend’s historic moment:

Here’s how the cameras caught it:

And here’s how it looked from at least one spot in the crowd:

We’re not sure it’s fair to focus on a missed goal from a player of Martyn Williams’ stature, especially considering that he probably never expected to be kicking at goal that day, so we’ll end here with a cheerier moment from early in Williams’ standout career (this one from more than a decade ago, before he ever donned a Cardiff shirt):

Considering the possibilty of such a momentous event, we’ll recap the tour in the form of Jed Thian’s short and comedic Alternative Rugby Commentary preview videos (Caution: Rude language and profanity):

First, Scotland fell:

Next, Ireland succumbed:

Last weekend, NZ topped Wales:

Now, only England stands in the way. We’ll see what happens:

That’s right, each of the six teams in the two smaller pools finished 1-1. In Pool 2, France started things off by beating Scotland 36-18. Then, Fiji spanked France 42-6. Scotland, however, bounced back and edged Fiji 18-16. In the end, only a favorable for-and-against scoring margin put Fiji atop the pool.

In Pool 3, it was more of the same. Tonga got by Ireland 22-20, Samoa beat Tonga 20-12, and Ireland completed the circle of parity with a 34-16 win over Samoa that also put them atop the table on points difference.

Don’t be too quick to write this tournament off as a mere formality preceding Australia’s coronation. If you do, you’ll miss a lot of good matches–like Fiji’s 30-14 win over Ireland in a playoff match that sees them into the semifinals along with the three top finishers in the “super” pool–and also sees them pick up a big payday. This weekend, Fiji will take on Australia in one semifinal while New Zealand plays England in the other. Meanwhile, Fiji’s tries from that playoff match with Ireland are below:

Of course, Australia’s lopsided 30-6 win over New Zealand Sunday leaves many thinking that the Kangaroos are still the overwhelming favorites, but three close contests from four is not a bad outcome for the tournament’s opening weekend. Even the exhibition match between an Australian Indigenous side and a New Zealand Maori side was a thriller, with the Maori holding a lead as late as the last ten minutes before losing 34-26.

If you haven’t had a look yet (U.S. viewers can watch on the Setanta network or online on Espn360.com), reconsider it. This weekend has some exciting clashes ahead, including a Tonga-Samoa showdown that promises to be intense.

Here’s a bit of what you’ve missed so far:

Tonga v. Ireland:

PNG v. England:

Australia v. NZ:

And if you’re a fan of traditional pre-match ceremonies such as the famous New Zealand Haka, you won’t want to miss the spectacle that took place before the Maori-Indigenous exhibition match:

• 7 June: New Zealand 21, Ireland 11.
• 7 June: South Africa 43, Wales 17.
• 7 June: Argentina 21, Scotland 15.
• 14 June: New Zealand 37, England 20.
• 14 June: South Africa 37, Wales 21.
• 14 June: Australia 18, Ireland 12.
• 14 June: Scotland 26, Argentina 14.
• 21 June: New Zealand 44, England 12.
• 21 June: South Africa 26, Italy 0.
• 28 June: Australia 34, France 13.
• 28 June: Italy 13, Argentina 12.

So far, then, that’s a 9-2 victory count in favor of the Southern Hemisphere. France takes one more chop at Australia this Saturday, but the trend is pretty well set. Keep in mind, though, that some of the traveling sides have been worn and depleted, and there have been some close finishes that could have easily gone the other way. All in all, though, the visitors have not fared well.

Southern hemisphere sides head north in November, where some of the same troubles tend to plague the visitors then as well.

The end result is at least one newspaper editorial calling for an end to the obligatory annual tours, perhaps to be replaced by less frequent visits of more substance and more June matches with smaller Southern Hemisphere sides. Armchair Playmaker is intrigued, but dares not comment. Do you?

Wales never looked like challending South Africa as the Springboks crushed the visitors.

And finally, Scotland had a slim two-point lead over Argentina with under ten minutes remaining before spotting los Pumas a penalty goal, a final minute try, and the win.

There are plenty of summer tour tests left on the schedule, and we have to remember that the Northern Hemisphere sides are on the road, but the end result suggests a disparity in the geographical distribution of the best sides right now. We’ll see how the rest of the summer test matches go. This weekend, Wales gets another crack at the Boks and Scotland tries Argentina out again, while New Zealand greets England and Australia hosts Ireland.

Although it’s hard to extrapolate from club competitions to test matches, the weekend also casts doubt on claims by former All Black and current Ospreys halfback Justin Marshall that the Heineken Cup is a better competition than the Super 14. To be fair, a lot of what Marshall was talking about was diversity in competitors and schedules. Then again, Marshall does have a little bit of a flair for the dramatic: