IT’S safe to say that was a very entertaining start to what is the best annual tournament we have in rugby.

If you read the column I wrote back in the autumn about the security queue farce I had to endure for the All Blacks game, I said I wouldn’t be going back again until something changes.

As a man of my word, I decided to cut my nose off to spite my face and watch it in a pub courtesy of Coors. Not only was I very well hydrated for the duration, there was a great atmosphere between Welsh and Scottish fans.

To go with this, I was receiving texts from people who had still not got into the stadium by kick-off because of security. By this point I thought my decision had been vindicated so I had another drink for those guys and got on to enjoy what was a great spectacle put on by the Welsh boys.

Never one to be the eternal optimist, I was talking down Wales’ chances of beating Scotland, who thoroughly impressed during the autumn.

But as sport has the habit of doing, a huge curveball was thrown by Wales with their relentless pressure in both attack and defence which the Scots just could not cope with.

On the outside it may look like it just wasn’t Scotland’s day, but that was down to the tactical approach and attitude taken by Wales that meant the majority of their main threats just couldn’t get into the game.

I also thought England looked very impressive against the Italians, in the second half especially. Even with the injuries they have to their ‘first team’ players some of the tries they scored were devastating, a lot created or scored by the players who had been brought in as replacements.

The strength in depth they have is just something we as a country, naturally, will never be able to compete with.

This tees up the weekend perfectly as the last time Wales beat England was at Twickenham during the 2015 World Cup.

I was surprised to learn that if we lose to England this weekend it would be the longest losing streak against our arch rivals since 2004.

This will only add to the enormity of the game and let’s hope it lives up to expectation. It’s going to be a huge battle but I have no doubt that we can compete with them with the players we have in form.

Those who opted for a full weekend of rugby and popped over to Rodney Parade last Friday night would have been treated to an excellent game between two young, positive teams.

The style and standard of rugby was well above the average age of both teams, and this made for a great spectacle.

A few of the youngsters stood out really well with the help from experienced players such as Zane Kirchner, who really controlled the game well with both his running and kicking.

On Friday afternoon I was asked if I would like to co-commentate on the radio for BBC Hereford and Worcester with Carson Wishart. I jumped at the opportunity, as it’s something I’ve never done before but had always found intriguing. First of all, huge respect to all the co-commentators out there (even football’s Michael Owen!) as it’s not easy and requires a huge amount of on-the-spot thinking.

Like I said, it was made easier by the fact the game was an entertaining one to comment on, but after a few consecutive reset scrums it takes a bit of imagination to make the situation sound exciting.

Carson was brilliant to work with as he’s a very experienced broadcaster and journalist, and what made it interesting was the fact he knew very little about the young Dragons players and I knew very little about the young Worcester players!

Lots of pointing at the team sheet followed, but we pulled it off. It’s fair to say I’ve never been so complimentary about the boys before!

What the commentary allowed me to do was sit on the back row of the Hazell Stand on the plush wooden media benches, which have been built purely for comfort… I’m sure the world’s press loved these when they arrived for the Tottenham game two weeks ago!

But what I did experience, which I haven’t for many years, was the passion and vocal support generated from the Hazell Stand by the supporters. It really took Carson by surprise and it was brilliant to hear again as a player.

Let’s hope we have a similar weekend of rugby starting tonight with a Dragons win against a Glasgow team we all know can be very strong even without their Scotland contingent.