Croft getting back to his best

England flanker Tom Croft believes he is returning to form at just the right time for club and country.

Croft was one of key players in Leicester’s surge to both the Guinness Premiership and Heineken Cup finals last season – form that earned him a call up to the British & Irish Lions as a replacement for Irish flanker Alan Quinlan.

This season though has not gone according to plan with a knee injury ruling out the blindside specialist for the RBS 6 Nations.

But with Croft having started the Tigers’ last three games – all victories – the 24-year-old says he is rediscovering his stride as the season enters its business end.

He said: “Prior to the injury I did not quite hit the standard I was at last season.

“I was not happy with myself after the autumn internationals – I was not where I needed to be. I can’t put it down to any one thing whether it was the Lions tour of something else.

“The injury came at a bad time but now I have got five possible games if we get to the final to get to 100per cent before the England summer tour.

“My main goal is to play as much as possible and get my lungs back. I was happy with how I played against Bath last week and I hope that can continue.”

You can get Six Nations tickets from Sold out Ticket Market.

Previous Venues for Six Nations Championship

Team	Stadium	Capacity
Ireland	Croke Park	82,300
England	Twickenham	82,000
France	Stade de France	81,338
Wales	Millennium Stadium	74,500
Scotland	Murrayfield	67,130
Italy	Stadio Flaminio	32,000, Expanding to 41,000

Croke Park is not the normal home of Irish rugby; it is the flagship stadium of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Ireland's traditional home, Lansdowne Road, has been unavailable since the start of 2007 due to the construction of a completely new stadium on the site of what had become an increasingly run-down structure. The all-Ireland governing body for rugby union, the Irish Rugby Football Union, reached an agreement with the GAA to allow Ireland to play their 6 Nations fixtures at Croke Park in 2007. The agreement has continued throughout the construction of the new stadium at the Lansdowne Road site, which will be known as Aviva Stadium when it opens in April 2010. Ireland will play their first Six Nations matches at their new ground in 2011.

Similarly, the Stadio Flaminio may no longer be big enough, since "palla ovale" is becoming more popular in Italy. Rugby games may in future be held at football stadiums such as the Stadio Olimpico in Rome or in the North where rugby is most popular. Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa (42,000 seats) or Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma (almost 28,000 seats) have been suggested as alternative grounds. But recently, improvements for Flaminio have been announced increasing the likelihood that rugby will stay at Stadio Flamino, although still making it the smallest of the six nations grounds.

You can get Six Nation Tickets from Sold Out Ticket Market.