Six nations Round One preview: England look to regain Calcutta Cup on home soil

The Six Nations kicks off this weekend in Cardiff as Wales host pre-tournament favourites Ireland. With all three opening fixtures to be played over the course of the weekend, we preview every game below.

Wales v Ireland – Saturday 14:15

Wales will be looking to improve on a bitterly disappointing Six Nations campaign last year, which cumulated with Wayne Pivac’s side losing to Italy in their final game in Cardiff – the Italians’ first tournament victory since 2015. The return of Warren Gatland may however not be enough to see the Welsh over the line against a formidable Ireland side, and the home team start as 2/1 underdogs on Saturday afternoon.

Ireland were pipped to last year’s Six Nations title by Grand Slam-winning France, succumbing to a 30-24 defeat in front of a feverish Parisian crowd, and will want a repeat of last year’s fixture against Wales when they thrashed Wayne Pivac’s men by 22 points. They will start Saturday’s contest as comfortable 2/5 favourites and will consider themselves frontrunners, alongside the French, for winning their first Six Nations title since 2018.

England v Scotland – Saturday 16:45

Twickenham will play host to this year’s Calcutta Cup between England and Scotland – the third successive time the fixture has opened the Six Nations campaign for both sides. The hosts will be wanting to reclaim the title after losing 20-17 in Edinburgh last year, one of three losses in what amounted to a very underwhelming tournament for Eddie Jones’ men. Perhaps anticipating a new-manager bounce under Steve Borthwick, the Red and Whites are comfortable 2/7 favourites for victory on Saturday.

Scotland lost out on third place to England last year on points difference, and will want to improve on their away record that saw them lose damagingly to Wales and Ireland 12 months ago. The Scots are yet to ever win a Six Nations title – their last tournament triumph coming in the Five Nations in 1999, with their odds of 11/4 for victory on Saturday suggesting little confidence in Gregor Townsend’s men securing a first win at Twickenham since 1983.

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Italy v France – Sunday 15:00

Italy secured their first Six Nations win for seven years – and first ever away from home – when they shocked Wales at the Principality Stadium last year, ending a run of 36 straight defeats in the competition. While their victory will hardly ignite rumours of a Grand Slam victory this year, it’ll give Kieran Crowley’s side hope that they can avoid a seventh consecutive Wooden Spoon, through they have a daunting task of facing Grand Slam holders France first up on Sunday. The Italians are priced at 8/1 for an unlikely victory.

France’s dominant victory over England in Paris to secure their first Grand Slam in 12 years will live long in the memory, but the task for Fabien Galthié’s men will now be defending their Six Nations title – something they haven’t achieved since 2007. A win over minnows Italy shouldn’t be a problem for the French, who put 37 points past their opponents in this fixture last year, and will accordingly start Sunday’s contest as huge 1/20 favourites to get their 2023 campaign off to a positive start.

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