Wales buoyed by Usain Bolt message as defending champions target flying start

Reigning champions Wales aim to blast out of the Guinness Six Nations starting blocks on Saturday – helped by a video message from Usain Bolt.

The eight-time Olympic gold medallist and sprint king was part of Wales’ so-called Bobby Cup award ceremony earlier this week.

Set up by Wales’ strength and conditioning coach Paul Stridgeon, whose nickname is Bobby, it is only awarded to a player when Wales win two successive games, and its latest recipient was flanker Taine Basham.

“Every Bobby Cup presentation, he gets a celebrity to announce who the winner is, and on Monday night we had Usain Bolt,” Wales captain Dan Biggar said ahead of the Six Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin.

“He did a pre-recorded message for Taine and it was a bit of a thrill for the lads.

“The Bobby Cup is one of the main reasons I am still playing international rugby. It is the pinnacle of your rugby career winning the Bobby Cup.”

Serious Six Nations business begins this weekend, with Wales not rated as major title contenders by the bookmakers, despite winning it last season.

“As I have said all week, we always start as fourth or fifth favourites,” Biggar added.

“Every year, we come into the Six Nations behind the big three (France, England and Ireland), and I think Scotland are ahead of us with the bookies this week.

“It has been the same for the last 10 years. But I think people forget as well, the last 10 years we have been the most successful team in it, winning it four times and Ireland and England winning it three times.

“It is no issue for us, it is absolutely no different for us coming into the tournament as underdogs.

“Whether we’ve won it the last year, whether we have got a full-strength team, half a team missing, whatever it is, it’s