THE TV stations like to regard the Six Nations as a movable feast which is just as well, considering it can take place any time between lunch and a late supper. The impression is that the television companies say jump and the rugby authorities say , "When?", and "How high?".

This would help to explain a collection of kick-off times that are bedevilling the game and making the lives of players and spectators, not to mention the Fourth Estate, a waking nightmare.

The start times for the major tournaments are designed to suit not the sport but the TV schedules and he who pays the piper gets to whistle any old tune. Yesterday's Six Nations championship saw Scotland against Italy at 3pm, Ireland-England at 5.30pm and France versus Wales at 8pm, 9pm local time. It's all change again for round four in March.

One of the attractions of the championship was that followers would enjoy a weekend in a great city, echoing the sentiment of the troubador Max Boyce, "I was there."

There were signs at the Stade de France last night that many Welsh supporters were not there because it had simply become too anti-social.

Anything for the weekend sir? Anything but a kick-off that eventually gets you into the heart of Paris in time for nothing more than a midnight snack.

The French station FR2, the host broadcaster, decided that a 9pm start was peak time for their audience. The Six Nations is a flagship event for the the RTE's and BBC's and last year they boasted record viewing figures. TV has a huge say not only on when the matches start but whether they should be played on a Saturday or Sunday. Test rugby is often used as a sort of loss leader, to keep viewers hooked for subsequent programmes.

"At the outset the Six Nations committee puts forward a schedule, " says the BBC. "We make comments about what suits us and the feedback is collated." The bodies that run professional rugby equate income from television with manna from heaven, even though the broadcasters need the game as much as the game needs the money. It's a seller's market but you'd never have guessed it.

If the Six Nations has been manipulated, the Heineken Cup, covered by Sky, has been shoved from pillar to post.

"Of course broadcasters have a say but what we put together is something that works for everybody, " said Derek McGrath, chief executive of ERC. "That means happy clubs, happy fans and a game that looks good on TV.

Nobody wants to be pushed into a slot that's not attractive."

Happy clubs, happy fans?

The first Heineken quarterfinal between Llanelli and Munster at Stradey Park is on the night of Friday, March 30. When Munster won the Cup last year, beating Biarritz in Cardiff before a crowd of nearly 75,000, the vast majority had travelled from Ireland.

If Munster had finished top of their pool this season they were looking to hire the Millennium Stadium or Twickenham, such is their fanatical support.

As it is, Llanelli have ensured the Irish province receives no more than about 2,000 tickets. One way they can get to west Wales is by ferry. The Munster Supporters' Club have a charter flight-in and out the same day . . . and to date only 40 people have subscribed.

"We're invited to make representations to ERC but then whatever we say is totally ignored, " said Pat Geraghty of Munster. "We would always prefer to play on a Saturday yet our three away pool games were all on a Sunday and one of those was in Geneva. They keep telling us what fantastic fans we've got and then make it difficult for them to travel. It's not just the supporters who are affected by these staggered kick-off times. The players are treated like puppets. It is difficult to keep them fresh when they have to spend the best part of a day waiting for a late start.

They really need to look at the whole issue."

The second Heineken quarter-final between Wasps and Leinster is the only one on Saturday, March 31(the other two quarters are on Sunday April 1) and it kicks off at 5.45pm. Fans from Dublin take note. . . you will find yourselves in the middle of an industrial estate in High Wycombe at the wrong time of day. Why the quarter to six start? "It's a very busy day for sport with a lot of cricket and soccer, " McGrath explained. "Sky has its own market but it's aware of its responsibility to the game and the fans."

"Everything we do is agreed with ERC and the clubs, " a Sky spokesman said.

"We're often accused of moving matches to suit our schedules but with five sports channels that isn't necessary.

Kick off times is an emotive subject and it's difficult to talk about specifics because it opens up the debate on all sports and that's such a minefield."