HIS BID for a Grand Slam of 15 correct results out of 15 faltered in week three, but Rugby World editor Paul Morgan still snuck home in this year’s Predictions competition, successfully predicting the winning team in 13 out of 15 RBS Six Nations Championship matches.

His only mistakes came in opting for Scotland to beat Ireland and France to beat Italy and he was in good company there as, out of the nine pundits who took part, no one predicted the Italian job and only Keith Wood went for Ireland to win at Murrayfield.

Former Ireland hooker Wood finished second in the competition with 12 correct predictions and Robert Jones and Stuart Barnes both got 11 correct. Jones was actually the only competitor who could have stopped an outright win for Morgan during the final round of matches. The former Wales scrum-half had tipped Italy to beat Scotland and if that result had gone his way, he and Morgan would have tied on 12 each.

Finishing the competition with ten marks each were journalists Steve Bale and Chris Hewett, plus Toulon coach Philippe Saint-Andre and former Scotland wing Kenny Logan. Bringing up the rear this time with nine points out of 15 was Rugby World’s Italian correspondent and a former Predictions Competition winner, Gianluca Barca.

There’s no prize for winning this version of the Six Nations, so there will be no open-top bus parade round the Rugby World offices for Morgan. Still, it’s comforting to know that the editor of the world’s best-selling rugby magazine knows what he’s talking about!