Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
For fans of sports involving prolate spheroid-shaped balls, this weekend promises a real treat.
The 50th edition of the Super Bowl is an intriguing encounter pitting the league-leading offence from the Carolina Panthers against the best defence in the Denver Broncos.
In many sports there are coaches that proclaim that it is defence that wins leagues, which should make Denver the favourites. Yet, while star quarterback Cam Newton is rewriting the record book, he does so with a team that is ranked second in preventing the opposition from scoring.
As intriguing as this match-up is, it is the forthcoming Six Nations Championship that appears to be setting tongues wagging in Bahrain.
While many of a southern hemisphere persuasion may deride the upcoming contest as nothing more than a play-off for 5th in the global rankings, perhaps the fact that the home nations are all now managed by their compatriots south of the equator induces greater interest.
The anticipation is derived, in part, from the failure of England at their recently-hosted World Cup, resulting in the appointment of a new coach, while their first-round opponents, Scotland, showed cause for real optimism after years of abject failure.
European competition is frequently used as a barometer for national success. The fact that five English clubs (the first time any nation has produced so many) and three French comprise the quarter-final combatants at the expense of any from Ireland and Wales should mean, if that line of thinking is to be followed, that the Irish will fail to complete a hat-trick of titles.
However, the success of French domestic clubs has only led to national humiliation and frustration. In recent seasons the money in the French league has helped buy success. Now that the English have closed the gap, the balance is being redressed.
The most dynamic rugby, with the exception of Racing Metro, has come from three of these five English clubs. Intriguingly, this coincides with a new national coach that appears determined to return the English team to a less-expansive, forward-orientated style based on power and control.
It should perhaps, therefore, come as no surprise that Eddie Jones, the diminutive Australian former-hooker, has chosen his captain from Northampton, a side with a similar ethos.
Dylan Hartley may be the most-capped player in the squad yet he is also the most controversial. He has accumulated 54 weeks of bans in his career as a result of a range of offences that include biting, gouging and head-butting.
The new, hopefully reformed, captain has also been banned for verbally abusing match officials and was part of the infamous group involved with ‘dwarf-tossing’ in New Zealand.
However, it is his combative spirit that Jones hopes will help galvanise a squad rejuvenated by seven new caps although he has only retained three debutants for the match-day squad at Murrayfield.
After their dismal display at the World Cup England needed a fresh approach and, having had it highlighted that the Red Rose is the second-worst ranked team in the Six Nations since 2003, they will be under no illusion that this is what they have.
Jones has introduced some familiar faces into his coaching staff, bringing in Paul Gustard as defence coach, the man renowned for his ‘wolf-pack’ at Saracens, and Steve Borthwick, the forwards coach well known to the England set-up but also to Jones whom he worked with in Japan.
Statistically, the match at Murrayfield is England’s to lose, with Scotland not having beaten the ‘auld enemie’ since 2008 and failed to score a try against them at home since 2004. They will also be missing centre, Alex Dunbar, and back row, Adam Ashe.
Fortunately, the match is not played on paper, but in front of a baying local crowd enthused by the strong showing in the World Cup, culminating in an agonising and controversial last-ditch quarter-final exit to Australia.
Head coach, Vern Cotter, has injected self-belief – and a few players – into the Scottish squad and is not averse to some tactical switches. Indeed, given the injury concerns, he may elect to start against England with the same two open-side specialists he employed against the Aussies.
One of the favourites for the competition has to be Wales. Deprived of a number of key players they still managed to out-perform England at the World Cup. Kiwi head coach, Warren Gatland, entering his ninth championship, is able to boast continuity that few can match.
The strength in depth in the Welsh squad is such that few starting positions are guaranteed, epitomised by the duel at scrum-half. Gareth Davies starred at the World Cup, scoring five tries, yet he is now challenged by his namesake, Aled, the only uncapped player in the squad who has been in scintillating form for the table-topping Scarlets.
Wales also boast some genuine star quality in the likes of George North and Dan Biggar. Yet, while their defence is robust and their kicking solid, there is a perception that the attack has not produced the collective number of points the individual talent suggests they should return.
They will also need to eradicate their recent habit of starting the championship slowly as they face the title-holding Irish in Dublin in what could be a title-decider.
Ireland will once again rely on the boot and positional play of Jonny Sexton although key focus will be on the centre partnership selected by their highly-respected coach, Joe Schmidt.
It will be a huge surprise if Robbie Henshaw does not retain his position but who will partner him? Current favourite is Luke Fitzgerald whose work-rate in defence and evasiveness in attack have helped him shine with Leinster, despite their poor European results. However, I would love to see the emergence at some point of Stuart McCloskey who is the epitome of a modern-day centre. At 6ft 4in and 17-stone it would be easy to categorise him as a wrecking-ball, yet his ball-handling and side-step set him apart for greatness.
With the evergreen Keith Earls waiting in the wings (which many believe is his best position), perhaps the young Ulster star will be used as an impact substitution.
With two mouth-watering opening matches fans will be hoping that the Six Nations continues in a similar vein to the way it finished where each side competing for the title was forced to score as many points as possible.
Unfortunately, the weather conditions and regular matches frequently result in frenzied performances – yet this championship promises to be one of the most unpredictable for years.
