In her latest top trumps battle Catriona Blake pits two Six Nations No 8 skippers against each other…
Welcome to my 6 Nations Rugby Top Trumps (which may be slightly biased towards the more aesthetically pleasing of the rugby fraternity).
That time of the week again – where we focus on the more vital nuances of rugby and get down and dirty with the numbers.
This week, Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip takes on Italy’s Sergio Parisse in the ultimate showdown!
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| Full name | Jamie Heaslip | Sergio Parisse | |
| Anagram | Jail Pie Shame | Arise Gossiper | |
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| While Heaslip’s moniker sounds a little more similar to that of one the tunes that DJ Church churns out, Parisse’s is quite apt and timely considering his little break for his wee gossip session with Laurent Cardona. | ||
| Date of birth | 15th Dec 1983 | 12th Sep 1983 | |
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| A mere three months and three days older than Heaslip, Parisse has the upperhand on the age bracket battle. | ||
| Place of birth | Tiberias, Israel | La Plata, Argentina | |
| Height | 1.93 m (6' 4") | 1.91 m (6' 3") | |
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| Heaslip finally gets on the scoreboard by a meagre inch, which I’m sure Sergio could achieve with some fancy Italian loafers with a Tom Cruise-esque Cuban heel! | ||
| Weight | 109 kg (17 st 2 lb) | 104 kg (16 st 5 lb) | |
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| Maybe Jamie’s been enjoying too many Million Dollar Fries in Bear as he weighs in a whopping 12 lbs greater than the slight Italian. However it is a vital part of their position to be able to bind the locks and provide additional weight in the scrum so we’ll go easy on him. | ||
| Position | No. 8 | No. 8 | |
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| 6 Nations Appearances | 26 (24 starts) | 40 starts | |
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| Considering their similar ages, Parisse has had considerably more 6N game time, but I’m sure there’s plenty left in the fuel tank for Heaslip; whether it’s complete with a captain’s armband remains to be seen. | ||
| 6 Nation Points Scored | 25 | 23 | |
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| Taking the above point into consideration it is impressive that Heaslip has outscored his Italian counterpart bearing in mind the vast difference of game time. | ||
| 6 Nations Discipline | Yellow Card: 0 Red Card: 0 | Yellow Card: 0 Red Card: 0 | |
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| Squeaky clean records all round for the No 8s. | ||
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| VERDICT | It’s a tie! 3-3, hopefully that won’t be an indication of how the Ireland Italy game will pan out. | ||
Manager of The PrettyBoys; the world's most beautiful yet barely functioning fantasy rugby team, Catriona (@cathreonine) is an avid Munster supporter who has infiltrated her way into Dublin society so much so her accent is barely recognisable.
