Round 3 – St. George and the Dragon

The 2019 Guinness Six Nations tournament reaches the half way stage with the critical third round of matches. The standard of rugby this season has been high in excitement but there have been lots of errors and few really close games.

Round 2 provided three exciting games which probably raised more questions than answers which we will hopefully seek some clarity on this weekend.

• Can Scotland bounce back from an error strewn loss to Ireland despite a mounting injury list or will Les Bleus finally win again?

• Are England the real deal after their demolition of France in Le Crunch?

• What are Wales chances after an unconvincing stuttering display in Rome?

• Can Irish eyes smile again, or will the Italians have the last laugh in the Rome sunshine?

Let’s look ahead to another three enthralling encounters in round 3:

France v Scotland

“Le jeu des perdants” – the “game of the losers” is how this encounter is being portrayed in the French press. France will come into this game with little confidence after being taught a lesson in modern rugby in round 2 at Twickenham whilst Scotland will be rueing the one that got away in Round 2.

Quite honestly where does one start to assess the French team? Jacques Brunel’s are searching for their first win of the championship having blown a 16-0 half-time lead against Wales to lose 24-19, followed by their worst defeat at Twickenham in over a century.

The psychological damage from blowing a 16-0 lead against Wales will be long lasting, but perhaps even more humbling was their total capitulation against England. Some serious questions must now be asked about the set-up of the French domestic game, and how it might be contributing to the international side.

The Top 14 has the significant problem that foreign players were dominating teams, stifling opportunities for young players to get game time at the highest level. The speed of the domestic league was also an area of concern as they play a ‘slow game’ in stark contrast to the free-flowing brand of rugby that French teams have been renowned for in the (now distant) past.

The FFR have taken some small measures over the past few years to address concerns about how international imports are holding back promising local talent, but there are now even more question marks over the intensity and pace of the French game right now.

The reality is France are paying the price for fifteen years of no real vision from the French Rugby Federation (FFR) for their national side. The young players haven’t had enough game time, and they have players playing out of position in different areas. None of which is conducive to national success.

There were some encouraging signs in the last 20 minutes of the game at HQ. Sure – the game was already lost, and England were not playing with the same intensity but replacements at Twickenham showed some of the talent of the new generation of players who can break the defensive line and produce their best ability. 

Dupont and N’tamack showed they have the ability at test level and that was really positive for France. Maybe Jacques Brunel wants to protect the young players a little bit and use them at the right time, but Dupont has shown from the start of the season that he is improving and is one of the best No9’s ever in France.

It’s no surprise then, that France have made four changes to the side that were thrashed 44-8 by England for their upcoming Guinness Six Nations match with Scotland. Scotland haven’t won in Paris since 1999 and, with Les Bleus coming off back-to-back losses to start this year’s Championship, Brunel has opted for the excitement of youth over the safety of experience to extend that streak.

Head coach Jacques Brunel has selected an inexperienced halfback combination of 22-year-old scrum-half Antoine Dupont and 19-year-old Toulouse teammate Romain Ntamack, They replace Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez, who drop out of the 23-man squad altogether.

It’s a bold gamble from Brunel but one that could pay dividends and provide the boost Les Bleus so desperately need as they look to get their Championship back on track.

Another of Toulouse’s backline gets a nod – 23-year-old Thomas Ramos. He starts at full-back having made his international debut off the bench against England. Yoann Huget, who struggled in the position at Twickenham, returns to the wing.

The Dupont-Ntamack half-back axis necessitated the selection of a reliable kicker somewhere else in the back-line and Ramos has been deemed that man.

The 23-year-old made his international debut as a replacement against England but will now start at No.15 after the back-three struggled at Twickenham. Ramos has been sterling from the tee for his in-form club this term but the pressure will now be on at the highest level, as he goes head-to-head from the tee with one of the best in the business in Greig Laidlaw.

The other switch in the backline sees Gaël Fickou moved from the wing to inside centre in place of Geoffrey Doumayrou, who fails to make the 23. Mathieu Bastareaud will be alongside Fickou. There are still some unorthodox selections, including the persistence with Damian Penaud on the wing, despite the Clermont man being one of the best centres in the Top 14, but moving  Gaël Fickou  back in the midfield after a stint out wide looks far more sensible and overall the back line feels much more balanced.

  

There is just one change in the forwards, and it comes in the backrow, with Wenceslas Lauret, who started against Wales on matchday one, selected at blindside instead of Yacouba Camara.

For Scotland, they will look back at the loss to Ireland as a real missed opportunity. After a strong start, they committed far too many unforced errors against a team with the street wise savvy of Ireland.

Ireland had rumbled into Edinburgh as wounded, angry beasts. Scotland wanted to play a handling game, swing the ball out wide, as exemplified by two Huw Jones bursts in the opening minutes.

Ireland preferred to keep things narrow, and there was some criticism of them against England for not having a Plan B. Well, they broke up the left for the game’s first try, though there was some fortune about it when Tommy Seymour and Sean Maitland were unable to tidy up a kick, gifting Conor Murray an easy finish.

Scotland have scored six tries already this year, third in this regard in the Championship – no surprise for a side that have talked up their will to play at pace and attack at all angles for several years now.

For Scotland to be successful in Paris they will need a solid platform and that cannot be built without having a robust pack. There has been plenty of talk about the giant size of France’s pack and they must be neutralised. The underlying statistics from the first two rounds hint that there could be areas for Scotland to exploit.

Scotland have been solid at the set-piece, with a perfect record in the scrum compared to France’s 92 per cent win percentage, as well as winning 19 of their 23 lineouts (83 percent).

Another area Les Bleus will need to be wary in Paris is at the breakdown, where Scotland have conjured up seven steals from two games and a breakdown retention of 97 per cent.

Jamie Ritchie has been key to Scotland’s success, with three steals, and his ability to jackal without interference will be critical to frustrate France and enable Scotland to counter.

This strategy worked against Italy – a five-try-win – but the hands let them down against Ireland – not normally something that typically happens to a Gregor Townsend team twice in succession.

The loss of Hogg was a huge blow and Scotland still seemed to be reeling from it when Ireland’s Jacob Stockdale burst through the middle for his try. Most of the damage to Scotland’s hopes was self-inflicted. Scotland were never out of the game but in reality, never looking like they could get back into it.

They move on to Paris where they have a simply dreadful record with no victory in more than 20 years. Confidence will also be shaken by the loss of several key players. The biggest headache for coach Gregor Townsend will be the loss of critical play maker Finn Russell. The 26-year-old, who suffered a head injury while on club duty with French TOP 14 side Racing

92, has not satisfied the requirements of the graduated return-to-play protocol. This means there is “insufficient time” for the former Glasgow Warriors fly-half to be considered for the third round of the championship, according to Scottish Rugby.

While both Racing 92 and Toulouse rested their France international players, the Scottish play-maker was forced to start a league match just six days before his country take on the French at the Stade de France in the Six Nations. He didn’t complete the first-half having a mixed afternoon before his game-ending 37th minute collision with the ball-carrying Lucas Tauzin, the Toulouse player’s knee colliding with the side of the face of the tackling out-half and forcing him off for a HIA.

Add to that the loss of Stuart Hogg, Ryan Wilson and Huw Jones and Scotland’s walking wounded will be looking to regroup and attempt to bounce back from Round 2’s disappointments.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has made four changes to his starting XV. Edinburgh back-row Magnus Bradbury is the only change to the pack following his return from injury last weekend, and he replaces Glasgow Warriors co-captain Ryan Wilson, who is nursing a knee injury.

The other three changes come in the backs, with Glasgow playmaker Pete Horne starting in place of Finn Russell. Blair Kinghorn of Edinburgh replaces Glasgow’s Stuart Hogg for his third international start at his club position of full-back, while Nick Grigg - a stand-out for Glasgow in their 38-34 PRO14 victory over Cardiff Blues last weekend - deputises for side lined club colleague Huw Jones.

France will be looking to maintain their impressive record against Scotland, they have lost in Paris to the Scots since 1999.

Scotland’s threadbare squad doesn’t look like it will have the artillery to beat France.

France by contrast, are a team that is full of individual brilliance. You look at that team and the quality is there – without a shadow of a doubt – but they’re not functioning as a unit.

They can’t continue to put in performances this average. I just can’t see it being three losses on the trot. There has to be a moment in which the French come to life and what better moment than at home, in front of your home crowd, just to get a feel-good factor back in French rugby.

As always it will depend upon which France turn-up, but they have the power in the pack and the exciting new half backs will be relishing the opportunity to savour a rare home victory. I think France will finally get it right and it’s a home win for Les Bleus!

France 26 Scotland 20

Wales v England

The game of the round sees Eddie Jones’ English warriors make the short trip over the Severn bridge to take on unbeaten Wales in Cardiff. They will travel full of confidence with a great record of silencing the hostile Welsh crowd having won the last two games in the Welsh capital city.

In order to be the best, you have to beat the best – and Wales certainly can stake a claim to be THE in-form team in world rugby.

They have won 11 Tests on the spin, equalling their national record that has stood for more than a century.

In that run they have downed the Springboks twice – who beat England last summer – ended a 13-Test hoodoo against the Wallabies and catapulted themselves into contention for this year’s Championship in Warren Gatland’s final year in charge.

It’s lucky for Wales when the year ends in 9. Wales haven’t lost to England in a year ending in 9 since 1939. 1969 saw Barry John rise to greatness. In 1979, England were routed 27-3 – a then record margin defeat for England. In 1989, Wales beat England despite coming into the game with no form on the back of three defeats. In 1999, Scott Gibbs wonder try at Wembley, and 2009 – five penalties from Stephen Jones was enough to see Wales home by a whisker despite being outscored 2 tries to 1.

So, Wales must be confident that the home advantage and history favour them and they are coming into the match full of confidence after 11 straight victories. 

Err no. Not quite. Wales have been misfiring badly in their opening two matches and haven’t yet found the formula to put teams to the sword or display open free flowing rugby in this year’s tournament. 

But despite all that Wales stand on the verge of history as they welcome England to Cardiff this weekend, yet despite stretching their winning run to 11 games with victories over France and Italy their Six Nations campaign has been anything but pretty.

Neither win yielded a bonus-point and the debate over who should line up at half-back for Warren Gatland’s side is yet to be settled.

Gareth Anscombe was poor in Paris, but his replacement Dan Biggar didn’t inspire either in Rome. Add to that the use of three scrum haves in two matches and it is worrying that Warren Gatland doesn’t seem to know who to pick as his best combination.

Eddie Jones’ suggestion that this is the best Welsh team in history can be filed safely under ‘banter’, but it is a group that has grown used to winning.

Wales were desperately disappointing in the Italian capital. Despite 10 changes, they had enough depth the grind out the win, but it was unconvincing stuff. Finn Russell showed how to open the Italian defence with intelligent kicking whilst Wales seemed content to try and bash their way to victory and it didn’t work. Wales looked like a side who hadn’t played together and making so many changes didn’t really give each individual the best opportunity to shine.

I thought Thomas Young had some strong moments, but I am sure he would have had many more in a stronger line-up, playing with more familiarity.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones will earn his 123nd Welsh cap against England adding a further nine for the British & Irish Lions. He will move within 16 caps of Richie McCaw, the world’s most garlanded international player, and just a couple short of Wales’s all-time record holder Gethin Jenkins.

Take a look at him during the anthems in Cardiff on Saturday and ask how many lock forwards have been more pivotal to their national team’s identity than Jones for his beloved Wales. His  influence becomes increasingly apparent. Smart enough to talk proactively to referees, proud enough to keep on pounding away until the end ... if England do win, it will not be through any lack of hwyl and Welsh spirit.

Warren Gatland has named 13 of the starting XV that took the field in the opening game against France, with Gareth Davies starting at 9 and Cory Hill the only change in the forwards as he replaces Adam Beard in the second row.

That means that Gareth Anscombe has won the battle for Wales’ No.10 once again for Saturday's Six Nations clash against England.

Anscombe started Wales’ opening comeback win over France but was on the bench a week later as Biggar pulled the strings for a much-changed side that downed Italy in Rome.

Despite encouraging noises all week, Wales have opted against parachuting Leigh Halfpenny straight back into the side after three months out. 

Liam Williams, Josh Adams and George North once again make up the back three, with Scarlets duo Jonathan Davies and Hadleigh Parkes remaining in midfield. Owen Watkin doesn’t break into the starting line-up despite an encouraging outing against Italy and he is added as back cover on the bench.

Tomos Williams, Samson Lee and Leon Brown are all unavailable due to injury with Nicky Smith, Dillon Lewis and Aled Davies taking tehgir places on the bench.

Blues half-backs Anscombe gets another chance at the Principality Stadium despite a poor performance against the French. I think that is the right choice. Anscombe gives Wales far more attacking edge and to beat England they will need to score tries not just defending. Gareth Davies becomes the third Welsh scrum half to start in three matches and his strength and aggression that could be the critical edge Wales need in attack.

Dan Biggar is named on the bench after shaking off the injury that forced him out of Northampton's match on the weekend after just 20 minutes.

In the front row, Tomas Francis is retained to start at tighthead prop, alongside Ken Owens and Rob Evans.

Cory Hill comes in for his first start of the 2019 Six Nations alongside captain Alun Wyn Jones. There are no other surprises in the pack as Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty form the back row trio.

There is no place for Thomas Young despite his strong showing in Rome. Aaron Wainwright gets the nod with Adam Beard on the bench.

The real question will be can Wales stop England’s fast start and earn enough of a platform in the pack to enable that attacking edge?

England know all about building up record test winning runs. They previously went on an 18-Test winning run – equalling the world record – at the start of Jones’ reign, the summit was in view.

But the climb was aborted in 2018 as England slipped to six Test defeats, including five in a row.

However, after an autumn of rejuvenation with some encouraging if uninspiring performances, England have come storming back out of the blocks into 2019 with two bonus-point wins from two to kick off this year’s Guinness Six Nations.

England have been absolutely awesome to watch and look like world beaters in almost every position. With struggling Italy and Scotland at home in their final two games, the general consensus is that Wales are the side most likely to derail their grand slam bid.

If you are picking winners purely on form over the tournament, especially the first few games; you’ve got to look at England. England will be favourites because we’ve not really seen any weakness in that team.

They came out of the blocks firing against Ireland and blew them away with forward power in attack and a brick wall defence – never allowing Ireland to settle and dictate the play. We saw them build on that awesome display in Dublin through putting a weak demoralised French team to bed.

It’s amazing what two games can do – two, big good games have been great for the confidence because 12 months ago, they finished fifth. Warren Gatland’s men will however, pose a different type of threat than what they have faced so far.

Certainly, their attacking game is likely to face a sterner examination. Ireland opted for Robbie Henshaw at full-back and England again took advantage of the personnel change in the back three, while France were all at sea in that department at Twickenham. France were ruthlessly exploited by an England side who took advantage of Damian Penaud and Gaël Fickou’s lack of experience on the wing and Yoann Huget’s stuttering display at full-back.

With two centres on the wings and a wing at full-back, Jonny May and his team-mates ran riot against Jacques Brunel’s beleaguered side.

It is hard to ignore the fact that France were a shambles, but you couldn’t but be impressed by the ruthlessness of the hosts. The pack is bristling – Kyle Sinckler seems to enjoy living life on the edge when it comes to the match officials – while Owen Farrell exudes class and composure with every involvement.

They scored inside the opening three minutes for a fifth successive Test, the lightning-fast May tapping down Elliot Daly's chip ahead after the full-back had sprinted into open space.

The try was made possible by a thunderous double tackle from Billy and Mako Vunipola that dislodged the ball from Guilhem Guirado's grasp - just one element of a dominant home start.

Two Owen Farrell penalties extended the lead to 11-3 in the 13th minute and the one-way traffic continued when England cranked up the tempo at an attacking line-out.

Waves of forwards arrived to run off Ben Youngs at scrum-half before the Leicester half-back expertly switched play left where a long Farrell pass offered May a one-on-one with Penaud that proved all-too easy to finish. And just before the half-hour mark May had completed his hat-trick as French incompetence was exposed for the umpteenth time.

England were wandering down a blind alley and Slade's up and under should have been caught easily by Morgan Parra, but instead the ball spilt to Ashton who chipped on for May to touch down.

Yoann Huget engineered a try for France down the right wing that was finished by Penaud, but it was only a brief interruption to the flow of home points that continued on the stroke of half-time when Slade danced over after Ashton had almost scored.

Slade was at the heart of England's fifth try as he intercepted Camille Lopez's pass and kicked ahead and when Ashton was tackled without the ball, Owens awarded a generous penalty try before showing Gaël Fickou a yellow card.

The one way carnage continued in the 55th minute when Farrell scored seconds after May had almost claimed his fourth from a move that started deep in the home half, but then all urgency drained from the game and neither line was breached again.

England coach Eddie Jones makes two injury-enforced changes from the 44-8 rout of France for their Guinness Six Nations trip to Cardiff. Injuries to wing Chris Ashton and key prop Mako Vunipola sees Exeter Chiefs duo Jack Nowell selected on the right wing and Ben Moon in the front-row for the Principality Stadium showdown.  

There are also changes on the bench as Joe Cokanasiga  and Brad Shields  are included in the match day 23 for the first time this tournament while Ellis Genge and Harry Williams are named on the bench. Brad Shields comes in for Nathan Hughes as a finisher as England look at the encounter  as a high work-rate game.

Owen Farrell will captain England, who have won their last five Six Nations matches against Wales.

Wales are on a record-equalling Test run of 11 consecutive wins while England are top of the standings after two bonus-point wins from two. England have won the last five Championship meetings between the two sides.

The English midfield has a better balance of guile and defensive nous, while the back three is in blistering form, but can Wales do a number on the visitors next time out?

Wales represent a considerable step up from France and Italy, Jones’ side finding some ominous form ahead the trip to Cardiff. Wales must make a fast start in Cardiff, while matching their visitors’ physicality, line speed and hunger at the breakdown – and ensuring there isn’t space in the back-field for Owen Farrell, Henry Slade and Elliot Daly to exploit.

If Wales are to beat England on Saturday then they will need to harass Jones’ side from the first whistle, and make sure they do not have a moment to relax.

The breakdown is of course, therefore, going to be all important. For much of Gatland’s reign this has been an area that Wales dominated their neighbours almost at will. But without Sam Warburton, and with Tom Curry an emerging force for England, the hosts will not have it all their own way 

England's revival has been the talking point of the opening two rounds of the 2019 Six Nations and their on-point kicking game has underpinned their early success.

Against the heavily-favoured Irish, they turned the table on Joe Schmidt's men and suffocated Ireland with tactical kicks, while they tortured France and their inept backfield defence with the boot the following week.

34 tries have been scored in this year's Six Nations altogether; England have accounted for 10 of those. Thirteen of the 34 tries have involved a kick. Of England's 10, seven have come from a move which involved a kick.

This is now a massive part of England's game - one which Wales must stop if they are to triumph in Cardiff. The last two clashes between these two sides in the Guinness Six Nations have been absolute barn-stormers, and England have edged them both.

This game is hard to call. It’s always nice for a team like Wales to come into this game at home and be underdogs as well. The pressure is on England, because everyone talking about the hype of England, how well they’ve played.

So, the clear pressure is on England and that suits a Welsh team better, and you look at some of the previous Grand Slams that Wales have won – they’ve not been expected to win, and they’ve been underdogs. Wales will not want to lose, and Alun Wyn Jones would rather die on the pitch. Wales can’t afford a poor start and must be prepared to front up physically against England.

My head says England have just too much power to lose but Wales haven’t hit any heights and have been written off by the pundits. That tends to favour Wales. They have a habit of turning around impossible games. My heart says Wales can’t possibly play badly again and I am sticking my neck and reputation and calling a Welsh win.

Wales 26 England 24

Italy v Ireland

Just how do you measure success for Italy? Head coach Conor O'Shea said pre-tournament that performances have to become more consistent, and if that happens, victories should follow.

Their home reversal to Wales was their 19th successive defeat in the Six Nations, and a simplistic view would be to suggest that O'Shea's arrival has made little difference to the Azzurri. However, considering where they find themselves in the game, progress is not quite as black and white as wins and defeats. A win over Georgia in November was a boost for confidence, while the U20s got the better of Scotland two weeks ago.

O'Shea has invested a great deal of time into looking at the structures of the game in Italy, and while the benefits of this may only come to fruition for the national team long after he departs, the performances of Benetton this year - currently second in Conference B behind Leinster - is encouraging.

A Six Nations win is what they crave however, and a revival Sunday week would end any Irish ambitions of retaining their title. If you look at their last two games they have played pretty well in patches and I think their defence has been strong and well organised for the most part, especially inside their own 22.

They are a very physical side and their set piece has been steady enough at times, so they have shown glimpses of what they’re able to do. The hosts showed plenty of attacking intent and endeavour against Wales, and their tally of five tries thus far is the same as Joe Schmidt's team, and have only conceded two more than the men in green.

Italy captain Sergio Parisse will miss Sunday's Six Nations match with Ireland after suffering a concussion while playing for his club Stade Francais at the weekend. The news comes as a massive blow to Conor O'Shea's team, whose defeat in week two to Wales was their 19th consecutive championship loss.

Number 8 Parisse, at 35, remains the team's talisman and has amassed 136 caps since making his debut in 2002.

As I go to publish, the Italian and Irish teams have not been named.  O’Shea has named a 33 man training squad and Gloucester scrum-half Callum Braley is the main surprise earning a  maiden international call-up ahead of their Guinness Six Nations match against Ireland.

Braley, who plays his club rugby for Gloucester, represented England at Under-20 level but qualifies for Italy through his grandfather. The 24-year-old has been an ever-present in the Premiership for the Cherry & Whites this term and will join up with the Azzurri in Rome on Sunday.

Another addition to the squad is Zebre centre Giulio Bisegni, who started against Ireland in the Autumn Internationals but has missed the first two matches of this year’s Guinness Six Nations with a calf injury.

Scrum-half Tito Tebaldi is still battling an injury he picked up during the warm-up before Italy’s Round One loss to Scotland – remains with the group, meaning there will be four No.9s for Conor O’Shea to work with in Rome.

The defending Grand Slam champions Ireland, were beaten by England in their opening match of the 2019 campaign – their first Championship defeat in Dublin in six years.

Joe Schmidt’s side bounced back in Round Two with a 22-13 victory against Scotland at BT Murrayfield thanks to tries from Conor Murray and Jacob Stockdale.

Ireland go to Rome in the rare circumstances that they have no Grand Slam pressure and the ability to release the shackles and play some rugby. With these last three games can come the gift of running rugby and improvisation. Ireland have the opportunity to see a blank canvass, and simply paint. Splash every colour imaginable, use broad and subtle brush strokes.

Irish players are unburdened of the usual pressures they crave. They no longer need to eke out a result by any means. Playing the percentages are less relevant. It’s about rediscovering confidence levels, it can be about playing with a little more flair and élan. 

Now, we know the basic structures of Schmidt’s Ireland will remain the same, but opportunity comes a calling in Rome. Same applies when France – whose coach has rolled the dice yet again with his third radically different line-up to face Scotland  – visit in Dublin and the finale in Cardiff.

Ireland have announced a clean bill of health ahead of the Six Nations trip to Italy, with Robbie Henshaw, Chris Farrell, Tadgh Beirne and Iain Henderson all providing Joe Schmidt with a timely and welcome boost.

Henshaw has fully recovered from the dead leg that ruled him out of the win against Scotland last time out, while Farrell and Beirne both took part in full training today, having overcome knee injuries.

Henderson played all 80 minutes of Ulster’s Pro14 8-0 win over Ospreys at the weekend, his first game of the year after a thumb problem, but he was cited for an incident in that game and faced an anxious wait to see if he'd be suspended for Sunday's mission in Rome.

Ireland will be keen to maintain their momentum and remain optimistic of a share in this year’s championship. I don’t see Italy being able to compete at all with the tactics and power and Ireland should ease to a comfortable bonus-point win – they’re a really organised, well-drilled team.

They were well beaten by England and that surprised everybody. They beat Scotland but didn’t really play that great, we’ve really not seen the best of them at the moment in this Guinness Six Nations tournament so far.

If Ireland want to potentially win the Championship, and they still can win it, they need bonus points and I can’t see anything different.

Italy 11 Ireland 37

Round 2 – Prepare for the Unexpected…

The 2019 Guinness Six Nations started off with a bang in Round 1 with three cracking encounters.  Wales delivered the impossible performance with the biggest comeback ever in Six Nations history to triumph in Paris after trailing 16-0 at half time.

Scotland showed the Braveheart spirit running up a 30-point lead over the hapless Italians before late mistakes and lax play left a score line which did not reflect their dominance in all areas.

England had the last laugh with a performance of such dominance and power they made a mockery of Ireland’s no. 2 world ranking and destroyed Joe Schmidt’s record of 12 consecutive Six Nations home wins in Dublin.  

One clear message from Round 1 that was sent to the Tournament organisers is to end the fiasco of Friday night fixtures. Wales were robbed of many of their supporters who were stuck in the snow bound airports in Cardiff and Bristol and the poor French form and inclement weather meant that the game kicked off in front of less than 60,000 fans in a threequarters full Stadt De France.

Friday night games are a total pain is the ass for supporters and really don’t work so it was worrying to hear Tournament supremo Benjamin Morel talk of expanding with more Friday matches. Enough is enough – it’s spoiling the craic for all supporters. Move on please and re-consider.

Round 1 in a nut shell - 3 great games and 3 reasons why this is the greatest rugby tournament in the world. 

Can round 2 live up to the standard?   Let’s assess the key matches:

SCOTLAND v IRELAND

First up in the Saturday early kick off sees Ireland travel to face Scotland at BT Murrayfield. This was always going to be a close encounter but with Ireland’s humiliation in Dublin and Scotland’s fine win in Round 1 – your correspondent is licking his lips with anticipation of another close and thrilling encounter. 

Joe Schmidt’s title holders entered the championship as favourites to retain their crown, but, after suffering an opening weekend defeat to England, they now travel to Edinburgh with those aspirations hanging by a thread.

Scotland were impressive for 60-65 minutes in Round 1. The hope was that Edinburgh’s all-conquering front five would win the heavy lifting contest to allow the game to be orchestrated by Scotland’s French-based half-backs who in turn, with quick and cunning ball, would spring the Glasgow centre pairing of Huw Jones and Sam Johnson and tries would soon follow.

Greig Laidlaw and Finn Russell ran the show with an outstanding display of tactical dominance. Their ability to read the game shone through and they continued time and time to kick over the advancing Italian defence and give their forwards and backs a platform to attack. And attack they did. Winger Blair Kinghorn has his best game in the Blue shirt and Scotland never looked back racing away to total dominance. 

And then they hit a wall. Sure - an unnecessary yellow card didn’t help but Scotland fell asleep and allowed Italy to come back at them with a series of missed tackles and sloppy errors. Coach Gregor Townsend must have been disappointed with how the performance went flat after Kinghorn’s rapid-fire double, especially given his desire for them to become the fastest in world rugby.

With all the hard games to come they cannot do that again and Townsend will be hoping not to see any repeat against the Irish.

Scotland will have seen the way England bullied and outmuscled Ireland and must be confident they can deliver a second home win against a wounded opponent. Gregor Townsend has pressed the case for Scotland to take on Ireland in the physicality stakes this Saturday after presenting the compelling evidence for a full-blooded approach.

The Scots will be looking to dish out a fresh serving of pain to Joe Schmidt's men at Murrayfield this weekend after the 2018 Grand Slam winners were swiped aside by England in their Guinness Six Nations opener.

Gregor Townsend has made four changes to the Scotland team ahead of their clash with Ireland in Murrayfield.

Blair Kinghorn, hat-trick hero against Italy last weekend, is relegated to the bench with the returning Sean Maitland slotting in for the 22-year old on the wing. 

Simon Berghan and Josh Strauss replace injured duo WP Nel and Sam Skinner while Jonny Gray and Sean Maitland are restored to the starting line-up, with Ben Toolis and hat-trick history-maker 22 years old Blair Kinghorn named among the replacements. 

Blair Kinghorn, hat-trick hero against Italy last weekend, is surprisingly relegated to the bench but the return of the experienced Maitland is the right call in such a close encounter. 

Berghan packs down in the front-row alongside Edinburgh team-mates Allan Dell and Stuart McInally, while Strauss starts at No.8. Gray partners Grant Gilchrist in the second-row while Maitland’s return sees a familiar look to the back-three as he lines up alongside fellow British & Irish Lions Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour. The trio will make their 18th Scotland test start together on Saturday.

There are four changes on the bench, with uncapped Glasgow Warriors prop D’arcy Rae filling the spot left by Berghan’s inclusion in the starting XV while his experienced Scotstoun colleagues Fraser Brown and Pete Horne are included in a match-day squad for the first time this campaign. Another Warrior, Rob Harley, is drafted in from the wider squad and joins the match day 23.

For Ireland, after such an impressive 18 months – the way they capitulated against English forward power will be a deep concern. Make no mistake Ireland were hammered in Dublin. Out thought, out muscled and the match video will make painful watching for their coaches.

This brutal reality check where even Ireland boss Schmidt admitted his side was battered in every area, means that only a renewed grit will set Rory Best's team back on track - especially with this autumn's World Cup hurtling into view.

Quite simply, Ireland’s kicking game let them down and several players were exposed as perhaps not being as good as we all thought. First up, the selection of Robbie Henshaw at Full Back was a disaster. England peppered him with high balls and he never look solid or assured aa any point in the match. 

Jacob Stockdale made a dreadful error to concede a try. Ireland’s much vaunted midfield of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose simply couldn’t contain Manu Tuliagi or the runs infield from Jack Nowell and Jonny May. Aki in particular had an appalling game. Unable to break the gain line and totally dominated.

Jonny Sexton never got started and partly because Conor Murray had probably his worst game in a Green shirt. His box kicking didn’t work, and his passing got so erratic it was more like a Skud missile than his normal rhythmic passing style.

In the forwards, it was little better. The Irish front five never had the upper hand and the back row spent the whole game in defence. Stander and Van Der Flier never got forward momentum despite huge tackle counts.

Joe Schmidt’s preparation for Murrayfield took a further blow with news that Henshaw, Stander, Ringrose and Dublin tower Devin Toner all picked up injuries and will miss the game in Edinburgh. 

Rob Kearney and Sean O'Brien are among five personnel switches for Ireland as Joe Schmidt has changed a third of his team for Saturday's Guinness Six Nations clash against Scotland.

As expected, Leinster full-back Kearney returns to the 15 jersey, with Robbie Henshaw, who has suffered a dead leg, ruled out. Chris Farrell replaces the injured Garry Ringrose at outside centre.

The injury to Henshaw means the Ireland head coach did not have to make a decision on the Leinster man's continued inclusion at full-back following last week's defeat to England.

Munster's Farrell, man of the match in his last Six Nations outing against Wales in 2018, is the latest man to partner Aki in midfield.

Keith Earls has won his fitness battle and resumes on the wing along with Jacob Stockdale, while Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray continue at half-back.
Schmidt has made three changes in the pack. Quinn Roux comes into the second row to partner James Ryan in place of the injured Devin Toner, while Sean O'Brien and Jack Conan are introduced into the back row, with Conan taking the injured CJ Stander's spot at the base of the pack.

The front row of Cian Healy, Rory Best and Tadhg Furlong is unchanged, while Roux has fended off competition from Ultan Dillane for the second row spot vacated by Toner, who misses out with an ankle injury. His Connacht team-mate is named among the replacements.

Josh van der Flier drops to the replacements bench to accommodate the returning O'Brien, who got 15 minutes off the bench last weekend.

This is a hard game to call. Ireland’s record at Murrayfield is poor with 2 defeats from their last 3 visits. Scotland have won their past seven Six Nations matches at Murrayfield, including an impressive victory over Ireland two years ago.
They also ran a monstrous South Africa close in Edinburgh last November and the world-leading All Blacks even closer a year before.

Gregor Townsend's men brushed Italy aside with little bother. Beating this Ireland team, the second-best in the world, even after their England humiliation, will be significantly harder and a real test of the real strength and character of this Scottish squad with a lengthy injury list.

Your head says Ireland never have two poor games but like England last year, I  do see a fragility about the men in green. The Scottish Front 3 will have a tough day so their fans will be hoping that Brown is fully fit as well. The guys on the bench look good, I think we all knew Maitland would be back for Kinghorn. That's about the best team Scotland have at the moment. It will be tough day at the office, if they can keep mobility and chaos alive for 80 mins, I think they will do it and again cause an upset.

The modern game is so dependent upon half back control and Scotland had it and Ireland didn’t in their last game. Big call but I am going for a shock home victory.

Scotland 21 Ireland 20

ITALY V WALES

The second game in Rome sees Italy face the visiting welsh dragon. Much was expected of this Welsh team in this year’s tournament and if Wales were a cat, they used up 7 of their 9 lives in the rain shocked Stadt De France last week.

Wales were simply awful in the 1st stanza. An early score from the excellent Picamoles and Wales were on the back foot. Add to that a bid defensive blunder for France’s 2nd try and far too many handling errors and Wales were thumped by French bulk and far greater game awareness.

Again – the dominant factor in that horror half was the failure at half back. Tomos Williams looked nervous and spilled the ball far too easily whilst Anscombe had an absolute mare. He looked incisive and lacked vision in attack and his poor defensive tackling let in Picamoles for France’s 1dst try and made George North worried enough to come off his wing leaving Huget with a clear opportunity for the 2nd.

Hairdryer treatment from Gatland and Sean Edwards and a different Wales played the 2nd half. France’s big pack tired giving Wales the opportunity to use speed and guile and start to control the 2nd stanza. Add to that the luck of Huget’s brain fart near his line and the wild pass giving North a clear interception and Wales got out of jail. 

The Welsh line out was a shambles. Ken Owens having a rare poor game whilst Adam Beard didn’t impress. Wales looked far better with the more experienced Cory Hill in the engine room. The front row held up very well against the giant French pack. Tomos Francis is improving his technique in every game and the back row gave defensive stability with Tipuric again outstanding whilst the reliable Navidi carried well and Moriarty played an entire 80 minutes despite little recent game time.

In the backs, Josh Adams showed real class in attack. George North does what he does – weak in defence but ruthless in attack. The Centre never had the ball and Hadleigh Parkes is really struggling right now.

Liam Williams was solid and reliable at Full Back and if he made the pass – then maybe Wales could have turned this game around sooner. As it was, he went for the line, lost the ball and a critical 7 points when Wales were on the rack. 

Look beyond the score line and you see very clever tactical substitutions from Gatland. Bringing on Biggar and Gareth Davies when the score got to 16-14 was a masterstroke and all his substitutions added value and made key contributions.

It was an amazing turnaround and Gatland’s comments that Wales had forgotten how to lose were spot on. Can they now build on it in Rome?

Warren Gatland have made 10 personnel changes from the side that beat France in Paris as he seeks to give all of his 31 man training squad. Jonathan Davies will captain Wales for the first time on Saturday as he leads his country against Italy in Rome.

Davies will win his 70th cap at Stadio Olimpico and becomes Wales’ 137th captain.

He will line up in midfield alongside Owen Watkin with Dan Biggar and Aled Davies named at fly-half and scrum-half respectively.

Liam Williams and Josh Adams, who both started in Paris last week, are joined by Jonah Holmes in the back-three with the latter making his first Guinness Six Nations appearance.

In the pack Nicky Smith, Elliot Dee and Samson Lee form a new look front-row with Jake Ball coming into the second-row alongside Adam Beard, with Alun Wyn Jones on the bench.

In the back-row Josh Navidi moves to No. 8, Aaron Wainwright starts at blindside flanker and Thomas Young makes his first Six Nations appearance on the openside.

Thomas Young is a welcome selection and has the chance to put down a marker.

The 26-year-old has shown at club level he has the ability to take his game to extraordinary heights — ask European champions Leinster, who saw Young snaffle five turnovers in a Champions Cup clash in Dublin earlier this season. Young’s many admirers are in no doubt that he has the quality to perform in Test rugby at the same intensity..

This is his chance to prove his worth as a viable option for the World Cup in Japan. It goes without saying that he needs to take it.
Ryan Elias, Wyn Jones and Dillon Lewis are the front-row replacements on the bench with Alun Wyn Jones and Ross Moriarty completing the forward contingent. Gareth Davies, Gareth Anscombe and Hallam Amos provide Wales’ backline cover.

Italy will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their admission to the Six Nations next year but despite having made strides over the past two decades, they remain the competition’s whipping boys. They head into Saturday’s Rome Test on the back of 18 straight defeats in the tournament since their last win against the Scots in 2015. 

Italy, it should be remembered, have limited resources to begin with and they have started this championship without Matteo Minozzi, their terrific full-back, Mattia Bellini, their dangerous wing, Marcello Violi, their number one scrum-half, and Jake Polledri, the openside who did such damage to Scotland last year

Conor O’Shea’s Italy made a decent fist of it in the last 20 minutes in Edinburgh but that doesn’t forgive the poor 60 minutes which preceded it. Italy were struggling from early on against Scotland and their defensive patterns made it far too easy for Finn Russell to control the match. 

Conor O’Shea has made two changes for Italy as Edoardo Padovani comes into the backline and Nicola Quaglio into the front row for their Guinness Six Nations clash with Wales on Saturday.

Padovani, who scored a try off the bench in the second half against Scotland, comes onto the right wing while Michele Campagnaro shifts back inside to his preferred position in the centres.

That means that Tommaso Castello drops out of the matchday 23 while up front Andrea Lovotti has the flu and is replaced at loosehead prop by Quaglio.
Quaglio joins Simone Ferrari and Leonardo Ghiraldini in the front row while Dean Budd and David Sisi remain in the second row.

Sergio Parisse captains again from No.8 with Abraham Steyn and Sebastian Negri either side. Padovani, who scored a try off the bench in the second half against Scotland, comes onto the right wing while Michele Campagnaro shifts back inside to his preferred position in the centres.

That means that Tommaso Castello drops out of the matchday 23 while up front Andrea Lovotti has the flu and is replaced at loosehead prop by Quaglio. Quaglio joins Simone Ferrari and Leonardo Ghiraldini in the front row while Dean Budd and David Sisi remain in the second row.

Sergio Parisse captain’s the Azzurri again from No.8 with Abraham Steyn and Sebastian Negri either side. Guglielmo Palazzani – also a try-scorer last weekend in Edinburgh – remains at No.9 with Tito Tebaldi’s back still posing a problem.

Tommaso Allan remains at No.10 with Campagnaro and Luca Morisi in midfield and Padovani joining Jayden Hayward and Angelo Esposito in the back three.
Elsewhere, Edoardo Gori comes onto the bench as scrum-half cover while Marco Barbini is another new replacement for the front row.

A risky strategy for Gatland making so many changes but Wales have belief and that record 11th consecutive win is within their grasp.  The law of averages suggests Italy are going to win again in the Six Nations at some point. They are now up to 18 defeats in a row, a record for the tournament.

The likelihood is the sequence will stop when an under-strength side rolls into Rome and isn’t quite at it. Having said that, Wales do need to be careful.
There is still significant international winning experience behind the scrum, where Biggar, Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams will look to guide those around them, and while the back row looks light on caps, there is quality in the shape of the ball-pilfering Young and Josh Navidi and the physical Aaron Wainwright.

It’s hard to see Italy winning this match even against a much-changed Welsh team. Wales by two scores and a comfortable win.

Italy 13 Wales 24

ENGLAND v FRANCE

The weekend’s final game sees England take on Le Losers France on Sunday afternoon at Twickenham. This will be a battle of power and intensity with two big strong packs facing off in Le Crunch.

England’s win in Dublin was a surprise but the nature of their total dominance was a shock. They were awesome. The return of the Vunipola brothers gave them physical dominance over Ireland whilst the attacking angles and tactics from Owen Farrell gave them the opportunity to create space for Manu Tuigali to dominate and crush the Irish mid field.

This was the best all round England performance for at least 5 years. On Saturday, England unloaded a physicality on Ireland that Ireland couldn't stand up to. The collisions were won by the visitors, the dominant tackle count in England's favour by a whopping 48-8.

England banished the memory of their 5th place last season and clearly established them as Six Nations (and World Cup) favourites but they still have some improvement to make. They lost 2 line outs on their throw in Dublin and still conceded 8 penalties – double Ireland’s total.  England must work on reducing their indiscipline which was such a problem last season.

John Mitchell has been an outstanding addition to the England coaching set up and the speed of their defence gave Ireland no room to attack. A week spent practicing dealing with high balls was extremely effective with Daly, May and Nowell all able to defuse any high balls and simply run it back at Ireland at every opportunity.

May and Nowell are probably the best wing combination in the world right now and their angled running caused no end of headaches for the Irish. Lets’ not forget this game was at Fortress Aviva – its’ hard to think of a time when Ireland were so completely outclassed. 

Sinkler, George and Mako Vunipola were the dominant front row and the English back row showed real promise. 

Sale Sharks flanker Curry made 23 tackles in the 32-20 win over Ireland in Dublin and was one of the first three England defenders to the breakdown on 16 occasions, with a yellow card for a late hit on Keith Earls after 13 mins the only negative statistic. Curry now has six caps – four against South Africa – and goes into the clash with France at Twickenham on Sunday as a key member of an England team that faces the biggest forward challenge in the history of the sport.

Despite that yellow card, England didn’t concede a try during the entire ten minute absence – a clear sign of a dominant defence.

Henry Slade is developing nicely into a total footballer and made a great combination with the marauding Tuilagi. 

England coach Eddie Jones has sprung a surprise by selecting Chris Ashton in place of Jack Nowell for Sunday's Guinness Six Nations clash with France at Twickenham.

Nowell was extremely impressive in the 32-20 victory over Ireland in Dublin but has lost his spot on the right wing to Ashton, the Top 14 record try-scorer who makes his first Championship start since 2013.

Jones has made one further change to the starting XV that beat Ireland last weekend with Courtney Lawes selected in the second row following the injury to Maro Itoje in Dublin.

Joe Launchbury is added to the bench as 2nd Row cover.

Apart from the presence of Nowell and Launchbury, there are two more changes to the bench in the shape of props Dan Cole and Ben Moon who have displaced Harry Williams and Ellis Genge.

Neither flanker Brad Shields nor wing Joe Cokanasiga have made the matchday 23 despite recovering from respective side and knee injuries.

For France, what can you say? A first half of flair and power and a 2nd half of nightmares. Les Bleus produced a blistering first half in Paris, racing into a 16-0 lead, only to see Warren Gatland’s side turn things around in the biggest comeback in the Championship’s long history.

This has become something of a worrying trend for Les Bleus, who have now lost five times from winning positions at half-time since the start of 2018.
While the Welsh defeat was easily the biggest half-time lead that had been surrendered, there will be concern at the way France allowed Gatland’s men to get back into the game so quickly in the second half will inevitably leave real mental scars for a long time. 

That leaves Jacques Brunel with some big decisions to make ahead of a clash with England, who looked so impressive in securing a bonus-point win over Ireland in Dublin.

There were some real encouragements to build on. Parra was outstanding in the 1st half last week and in Camille Lopez – France finally have A No. 10 to build attacks from. Fofana and Ntamack were a lively combination with Fickou a solid option off the bench and both wings showed good attacking prowess. 

In the pack, the giant weight advantage never showed at all in the set piece and will ebb a disappointment. Uini Atonio is simply just a big lump and France have to bring in more specialised scrummager’s. Both second rows were solid winning line outs on Welsh throws and Arthur Iturria, Picamoles and Wenceslas Lauret were an effective back row unit against probably the best back row in the Six Nations.

One reason for increased optimism for Les Blues was the display of Arthur Iturria, the standout player arguably either side.

Although he is originally from the Basque country, Iturria came through the ranks at Clermont as a dynamic second row, earning his France debut last year. Since then he has made the switch to the back row, and he impressed in that position in the Autumn internationals. 

Against Wales Iturria set up a try for Yoann Huget with an incredibly skilful slip pass; made 12 tackles out of 12 and was also France’s go-to man at the lineout where he claimed six of the ten French throws. Add in the three offloads and 51 metres made with ball in hand, and the 24-year-old looks to have cemented his place with France long-term.

France have made six changes to the side which lost 24-19 home to Wales for Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations match with England at Twickenham.

Toulon centre Mathieu Bastareaud has been recalled to the France side for Sunday's Guinness Six Nations clash with England at Twickenham.

The experienced defensive lynchpin was left out of the side that suffered a 24-19 defeat to Wales in Paris last Friday, despite Les Bleus leading 16-0 at the interval.

Also coming into the backline are Geoffrey Doumayrou, who will be in the centre alongside Bastareaud, while Gael Fickou is on the wing, with Yoann Huget moving to full-back.

Romain Ntamack is on the bench, as are his Toulouse clubmates Antoine Dupont and Thomas Ramos. Ramos is in line for his international debut.

There have also been three changes in the pack there will be first test starts for Demba Bamba and Felix Lambey. Bamba replaces the injured Uini Atonio in the front row, while Lambey is preferred to South African-born lock Paul Willemse, who is on the bench.

Yacouba Camara is named in the backrow instead of Wenceslas Lauret.

Pierre Bourgarit is chosen as the replacement hooker instead of Julien Marchand, while uncapped Toulouse tighthead Dorian Aldegheri is also on the bench.

England have won nine of the last 12 Six Nations games against France with the Les Bleus only having managed one win at Twickenham in the Six Nations era back in 2005.

England will come home to HQ with their tails up and will face a stiff challenge against the French in the 1st half. The psychological damage from last week’s defeat in Paris will be very hard for France to recover from in 8 days and I also fear for their fitness. 

The recall of Bastareaud is a message France want to take England in physicality. Given the size of the task at hand – this side looks like a damage limitation exercise than a serious attempt to build for the future. The centre changes are not progression and to dispense with Ntamack and Fofana after their lively performance last week is disappointing.

England will dominate the second half and despite a brutal battle for 60 minutes, they will triumph by a comfortable margin.

England 32 France 20