It's been a very restful Xmas period spent sleeping on a beach in Koh Samui, enjoying fine Thai cuisine, diving and massage - what a contrast from the last 4 months on the go with RWC, Dubai 7s and Las Vegas for the Hatton Fight. I am now ready for the onslaught of the annual 6 Nations Championships.

Whillst I was away it gave me great pleasure to read that my old club, Bath, maintained the 17 year record of smashing Gloucester at the Recreation Ground. By all accounts, Gloucester's pack failed to turn up. My only regret is that I failed to do a double or quits on an old bet with my mate Steve Jones, a committed Shedhead - the last time Gloucester came to the Rec, I hosted him and 19 other Gloucester fans in the VU Box. Gloucester were ahead and looked unstoppable and Bath had 13 men on the pitch, two were sin binned. At this stage, Steve arrogantly laid a bet that who ever lost would entertain the other plus partners to a curry anywhere in the world! With boisterous pressure from the rest of the shedheads in the box I had no option but to accept. When the fat lady sang, Bath were ahead! I am still to claim my prize so all suggestions welcomed.

Ashton named his 32 man squad for the 6 Nations and has gone for the conservative approach which is no surprise considering his short term tenure. If the RFU had been bold enough, like other nations, to confirm his appointment until the next RWC then I am sure we would have seen him taking a different approach.

I was very surprised that Josh Lewsey was omitted. I thought his performances at RWC warranted inclusion  but I am excited by the inclusion of the giant Gloucester wing Vainikolo. His speed and power is awesome and will add another dimension to England's attack - an area that needs an injection of life! More on selection and 6 Nations once the team is announced.

I am looking forward to next couple of months with weekends in Rome, Edinburgh and Paris and hopefully see someone of you there!

I am just back from Dubai where the VU Ltd party saw some fantastic 7s action- and what a great weekend. In fact it was a bit like the World Cup. There was plenty of drinking, meeting up with old rugby pals and some great rugby. There was even a disputed England try which was disallowed and stopped us progressing to the finals. The only difference was that New Zealand decided they might as well win this tournament.

This was the first time I have take a VU trip to the Dubai tournament and we will certainly be doing it again. Austin Healey, Will Greenwood, Scott and Gavin Hastings, Jason Leonard and Chris Sheasby were just some of the names out there. A few of them played in an invitational tournament which runs alongside the main event, and the former England boys won it. I must say they would not persuade me to pull the shirt on again for 7s - I think I would last about 45 seconds now.

 You know it has been a good trip when happy clients say they want to book straight away for next year. I have always loved the Hong Kong 7s and it is great to have Dubai on our calendar now as well. The great thing about Dubai is that the bars do shut at 3am, unlike Hong Kong which is 24/7. The early closing (believe me that does feel early compared to some of our trips) gives us a bit of time to prepare for the next day!

I have really been clocking up the air miles recently. You may remember that my last blog was about a few problems getting to South Africa. I had a few problems getting back too because of delays so in the end I went directly to Dubai without coming back home. Luckily I had packed a few extra pairs of pants.

I am only back in the UK for a couple of days and then it is off to Las Vegas for the Hatton fight. I can't wait to take a VU Limited party out there - I love the city and I am sure our group will be up for a party. There are 60 of us, I would hope at least one of us has a bit of luck on the tables.

Because I have been a bit out of the loop I have only just heard that Ronnie Regan had a few problems with his club Bristol over his insistence to play for the Barbarians on Saturday. I think it is great that he stuck to his guns and said he wanted to play for the Baa Baas. It is a great rugby institution and even though I was a bit busy in Dubai to watch the game I heard it was a fantastic occasion.

After the Las Vegas trip we have got a bit of a Christmas break and then it is busy preparing for the Six Nations. Interest is greater than ever thanks to England's return to form.

I will try and update you from Las Vegas, keep your fingers crossed for Hatton and for my luck on the tables!

It all started off when I decided that it is never to late to start preparing for the Lions Tours to South Africa in 2009. The tour itinerary had been leaked and although there are lots of denials that this is the actual schedule it is a mighty large coincidence that the hotels are getting booked up around the dates suggested.

So my advance mission to South Africa was booked and I arrived at Heathrow on Sunday – but there was a problem and it had nothing to do with queues for security, I did not even get that far. When I went to the South African Airways check-in desk they took one look at my passport and said I would not be flying. The problem was that there was not a clear page in my passport for a stamp when I landed. South African Airways faced a fine if they let me on the plane, and I would be on the next one home again anyway.

What a rule. There was room for South African officials to get their stamp in, but they insist on a clear page. I suppose looking on the bright side it could have been worse. This might have happened as I flew out for the tournament itself! Also I will be telling all VU clients heading off for the Lions Tour 2009 to make sure they have a clear page in their passport, or they won't be going out.

So after a wasted trip to Heathrow I had to spend £160 changing the flight and also make an emergency appointment at the passport office to get myself a new one. Now it is Wednesday and I have just arrived at Heathrow again – but to more grief. I booked economy, even though I never go cattle class, because a contact at South African Airways had assured me of an upgrade. I arrived at check-in and they had absolutely no note of this. So I face the prospect of around 10 hours with my legs around my ears and my belly resting on the fold-out table.

I am sure it will be worth it to give me a head start with the Lions planning. I am back in under a week and in that time I will be checking out hotels, restaurants and the odd bar in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town and holding a series of now rearranged meetings. As an old pal who was once in the Army told me once 'time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted'.

I love South Africa and really can't wait for the 2009 tour. It is important to do it in style so there was no way that I was going to let a full-up passport and the prospect of going cattle class get in the way of me going out there.

When I get back from South Africa I will have just enough time to wash my pants and vest and then get back on a flight – this time to the Dubai 7s. We have got a great VU trip going out there, and having been at the tournament last year I know it will be a cracker. Then it is back from Dubai and out to Las Vegas for the Hatton/Mayweather fight. Honestly this job is harder than it looks.

Everything has calmed down post World Cup. I have been impressed with the performance of Wasps in Europe and it was a cracking win for Bristol last weekend. It shows that the game is really strong in England.

Anyway time to get on the plane, can anything else go wrong with this trip – I hope not.

Sorry about the wait since the last blog. After the World Cup I have been walking around like a zombie. What an amazing six weeks, but since then I don’t think I have made it past 9pm at night.

I am trying out a new font for the post-World Cup blog so I hope you like it. There will be more updates before during and after events like the Mayweather and Hatton fight in Las Vegas and the Dubai Sevens as the end of November. Then there is the RBS 6 Nations and even the Lions in South Africa in 2009 – so plenty to talk about.

For someone who was said to be like a rabbit caught in the headlights he did a good job getting a team labelled as a bunch of no-hopers within inches of winning a Rugby World Cup (maybe it was a try). I am sure there are coaches in Australia, New Zealand, Wales and Scotland who would have been prepared to be called any names if they got their team to a World Cup final. I suspect not many of them have had to put up with the sort of comments levelled at Ashton since the tournament.

Since the World Cup other than sleeping I have been doing a bit of catching up. I sorted out Ronnie and Matt Dawson to appear at a function for those nice people at Nationwide. I have also been putting the finishing touches to my new newspaper. It will be going out to my clients, but if you want a copy drop me a line with your name and address to info@vultd.co.uk