Six Nations week 2 preview: Ireland and France put their Grand Slam hopes on the line

The Six Nations returned with a bang last week and while it didn’t go to plan for some, there was some noteworthy performances from others and it’s still all to play for.    

The reigning champions Wales were humbled over in Ireland and will want to get back to winning ways quickly, while a close fought fixture between England and Scotland saw the former go down late in the day. It was a routine encounter for France when hosting Italy, but with a tougher task against the tournament favourites this weekend, it looks all set for a cracking three fixtures.

We preview the second week match-ups below.

Wales v Scotland

Wales will have the same squad to face Scotland that lost to Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in the opening round. The hosts will know that a first Scottish victory in Cardiff since 2002 next Saturday would effectively end all hope of a successful Six Nations title defence, and if their last game against a rejuvenated Irish side is anything to go by, they might be set to struggle.

It looks as though the uncapped Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan will make his debut against Scotland as one of four changes expected to be made by Wayne Pivac. Morgan is one of three Osprey’s coming into the side joining Owen Watkin and Alex Cuthbert, while Dan Biggar is set to make his 100th international appearance and do so wearing the captains armband.

On the other side however, Scotland make five changes for their trip to the Principality Stadium, most notably absent is flanker Jamie Ritchie who will sadly miss the remaining fixtures in this years Six Nations through injury. Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist looks set to win his 50th international cap and will be vice-captain on the occasion too.

Scotland were impressive in holding out for the win against England and if they remain disciplined against a hungry Welsh side then it looks like it’ll be the visitors to lose. This is reflected in the market with Scotland an 8/11 chance while Wales can be backed at 11/8, the handicap is placed at +/- 3 in this fixture.

France v Ireland

In what is likely to be the game of the weekend, two of last week’s victors go head-to-head at the Stade de France. Both sides were victorious in their opening games and both could be on for the Grand Slam but one teams perfect record will have to end in just the second round.

All eyes will be on Paris come Saturday afternoon and while it may be premature to call the clash between Andy Farrell’s side and France a title decider, it may well go a long way towards deciding who are crowned champions in March. Ireland and Les Bleus are arguably the two form sides in world rugby, as last weekend’s efforts proved. Both sides managed to turn over the All Blacks last autumn and while Fabien Galthie’s side took a while to find their groove against Italy, they soon moved through the gears and ended with a comprehensive victory.

You would expect both teams to improve for their opening round exertions and Saturday’s game in Paris could be an early contender for the game of the tournament. The home side are the favourites at 4/7 while Ireland must settle for underdog status at 7/4 with the handicap at +/-4. The pre-tournament favourites – France – could be on the wrong side of an early tournament shock if Ireland can crank up the tempo.

Italy v England

Italy, rather expectedly, were left to endure yet another opening round loss last weekend at the hands of the in-form French, and it’s more than likely that Eddie Jones will inflict the same result upon the Italians here. England, also didn’t come out of last weekends opening round in any glory, having been on the wrong side of a close fought battle against Scotland in the Calcutta Cup.

Eddie Jones is under a raft of pressure, and he will need to ensure that there is a pleasing score line for England fans to cheer about when the 80-minute whistle is blown. When these sides met in 2021 that was exactly what happened as England managed to put six tries away and hopes of a repeat in Rome may fall on playmaker Marcus Smith. He didn’t have a fluid time of it against Scotland, but his potential is so far untapped, and it would hardly be a surprise to see some brilliance from him in this fixture.

England are, of course, the heavy 1/25 favourites to get the job done while Italy are a 12/1 chance. However, given last years dominance, the 10/11 available for a -25 handicap may look appealing if Eddie Jones can get his men in order.

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