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I love this time of year, love the thrill of a great rugby game, love the air of gloom and despondency that descends on the household should Wales lose to England (and only if they lose to England). But enough about Dr T, I am making an exception to the Friday Five alliteration this week to make it six, for the sake of harmony in the kitchen celebrating the cuisines of 5 great rugby nations. And Italy.

First Catch Your Peacock

Only joking. Though some still believe they are only there for the Welsh to have someone to beat (oh yes, the atmosphere does get interesting here during the tournament!).

1. First Catch Your Peacock: The Classic Guide to Welsh Food - I would buy this one for the title alone, and have been tempted to do so on more than one occasion! If you thought Welsh cooking only went from Welsh cakes to Bara Brith, then this will make you think again. Goose blood tart, cinnamon potato cakes and violet pudding were just a few of the recipes to catch my eye. This is rooted in traditional Welsh cooking but if you wanted to see the contemporary stuff, get yourself to Cardiff (not on match day) and get a table at the Armless Dragon. Fabulous!

2. Fresh, Simple, Tasty by Matt Dawson – so here we have a former England rugby player, who turns out to not be half bad in the kitchen either. These recipes are just as the title describes, so probably not a great book for an advanced foodie, but for a book for turning to when you just want a quick supper or something different for a weekend breakfast. Is there anything he can’t turn his hand to? Lets face it, he could even pull off pink and sequins!

3. The Scottish Farmer’s Market Cookbook - I couldn’t find any of the Scottish team with a cookbook to their name, so I am going for this one as a showcase for some of the great food coming out of Scotland. Perfect for a bit of seasonal inspiration, regardless of where the farmer’s market is!

Rotis

4. The Irish Pub Cookbook – sadly, I couldn’t find anywhere selling Eating to Win, a cookbook by the Irish Rugby team from 2005, which would have topped Matt Dawson. So I’ve gone for this one, which no doubt will make a lot of use of Guinness. This is hearty, almost home cooking, the sort of thing that is what you might want before a match to sustain you, and put down a layer before all the Guinness starts!

5. Rôtis- I really thought that the French team would have at least one cookbook between them over the years, but I can’t find one. So I’ve gone for this fabulous book by Stéphane Reynaud, as surely there would be a few rugby players, French or otherwise, that would want to sit down to any of these  gorgeous roasts after a match. One for every day of the week, including a leftovers night!

6. The Silver Spoon - the mama of Italian cookbooks, this covers a bit of everything that you need to know about Italian cooking, and from every region. I imagine you could train rugby teams with this as well, as it is one hefty read! I got this for Christmas and haven’t cooked much from it yet, so this tournament might provide the push I need to get going.

So, whichever colours you’ll be wearing, or cheering on, eat well during the tournament, and save the rough stuff for the pitch!

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