To help you get in the festive spirit we are delighted to present the ESPNScrum Countdown. We'll be counting down the days until the North Pole's greatest loose-head prop packs down your chimney with an assortment of jokes, trivia and novelties to hopefully raise a smile or two.
Check out our latest offering below and be sure to check back tomorrow for your latest dose of festive fun!
The biggest rugby fight ever
It may well be the season of goodwill but we can still delight in a good old-fashioned dust up. This example from a Romanian league clash is of epic and alarming proportions and the officials appear to go missing when tempers boil over. Keep your eye out for the back who opts to throw the ball from a safe distance rather than a punch from close quarters.
Pop quiz
Q. Ireland clinched only their second ever Grand Slam earlier this year - but what year did they win their first? Click here for the answer
Quote Unquote
"Sorry for missing that penalty kick - I don't know what went wrong - it was such an easy shot. I could kick myself."
"I shouldn't bother - you'd probably miss!"
Conversation between Scotland's Gavin Hastings and his captain David Sole after his fullback had missed an easy penalty in the 1991 Rugby World Cup semi-final clash with England at Twickenham. The scores were locked a 6-6 at the time and England's Rob Andrew eventually dropped a goal to seal his side's final berth.*
Fantast XV
As we're feeling a bit feisty thanks to our Romanian friends, how about continuing the theme with our latest Fantasy selection featuring rugby's hardest men? We thought about just fielding the all-action Southern Kings just to give them a game when no-one else seems to want them but there were too many other unsavoury types lurking in the shadows. Our backline punches above its weight in terms of their non-nonsense style and appetite for the fight - remember JPR in '74? - but the real hardmen can be found up front. We tried totalling the amount of time these guys have served in suspension but our calculator went into meltdown.
15. JPR Williams
14. Brian Lima
13. De Wet Barry
12. Lee Thomas
11. Marika Vunibaka
10. Butch James
9. Joost van der Westuizen
1. Richard Loe
2. Federico Mendez
3. Julian White
4. Bakkies Botha
5. Jamie Cudmore
6. Corne Krige
7. Trevor Brennan
8. Buck Shelford
Graham Jenkins joined Scrum in 1999 and took over the reins for a second time in 2006. His journalistic career has also seen him work for BBC Sport and IMG and he currently lives with his family in Farnham.
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