As we approach the halfway point of the 2014 Six Nations, fan debate has already reached fever pitch on Twitter.
The participating teams have made Twitter the place to go for fans who want to get closer to the players than ever before.
@EnglandRugby have given their followers the chance to have their messages of inspiration displayed at rugby headquarters in Twickenham. The 40 best Tweets submitted by users with the #carrythemhome hashtag have been published in a spectacular mosaic in the player’s tunnel:
Our new tunnel artwork is ready & lined with your tweets. Here’s @Billy_12trees checking them out. #CarryThemHome pic.twitter.com/tJm2r221nB
— England Rugby ( @EnglandRugby) February 21, 2014
And one overall winner earned the chance to deliver his message in person to the entire squad:
@EnglandRugby One Nation, One team, one outcome. Together we are strong #CarryThemHome
— David Barrett ( @barrettstweets) February 10, 2014
Congrats to @barrettstweets who is the big winner of our #CarryThemHome competition. Here is Robshaw with your tweet pic.twitter.com/JI9AQBWQ9Q
— England Rugby ( @EnglandRugby) February 18, 2014
Messages of support will continue to pour in during the game against Ireland (@irfurugby) today, prompted by a giant call to action at Twickenham:
Use #CarryThemHome to tweet your support for England this weekend, we’ll RT some of the best tweets. pic.twitter.com/F0ro4dK2ob
— England Rugby ( @EnglandRugby) February 21, 2014
Meanwhile, @WelshRugbyUnion are continuing with #FinalWord, the competition which turns one fan’s Tweet into an iconic banner at the end of the Millennium Stadium tunnel:
Tweet us your messages of support to appear in the tunnel before #WALvFRA midnight tonight using #finalword pic.twitter.com/mf6xdHEv0n
— Welsh Rugby Union ( @WelshRugbyUnion) February 19, 2014
Our #finalword winner is ‘believe in yourselves just as we believe in you’ sent in by @JudithPoole #WALvFRA
— Welsh Rugby Union ( @WelshRugbyUnion) February 20, 2014
And the focus for @irfurugby has been on their talismanic leader @BrianODriscoll, who wins his 131st cap:
130 caps and counting! Get involved with the #thirteen campaign and raise €€€ for @Temple_Street & @ISPCCChildline pic.twitter.com/Lwn3Dkk1zp
— O2 Rugby Ireland ( @O2IrlRugby) February 10, 2014
Round three of the RBS Six Nations Championships kicks off this weekend:
@WelshRugbyUnion v @FFR_officiel (France)
@Federugby (Italy) v @Scotlandteam
@EnglandRugby v @irfurugby (Ireland)
If you want to join the conversation on Twiter, popular hashtags include:
#6nations
#carrythemhome
#behindthegreen
#backingblue
#soutienslexv
#Italrugby
And also #bbcrugby, which @BBCSport have been using Twitter to drive real-time votes during the Six Nations tournament:
Who will win the #SixNations? Vote and have your say http://t.co/NIPfcYuxLS #BBCRugby pic.twitter.com/DyMjjcl7w1
— BBC Sport ( @BBCSport) February 1, 2014
Thank you for taking part in our #bbcsixnations vote. 40% believe that @EnglandRugby will win the Six Nations #bbcrugby
— BBC Sport ( @BBCSport) February 1, 2014
This page and certain other Twitter sites place and read third party cookies on your browser that are used for non-essential purposes including targeting of ads. Through these cookies, Google, LinkedIn and NewsCred collect personal data about you for their own purposes. Learn more.