Six Nations Week 5 Preview: France within reach of Grand Slam on Super Saturday

The Six Nations returns for the final phase of the round-robin matches. France are within reach of a Grand Slam title, with only a final match against England to go. Meanwhile, Ireland face Scotland in their now-likely quest for runners up and the Triple Crown.

We preview the fifth-round matchups below.

Wales v Italy

This Saturday, Wales face wooden-spoon holders, Italy. What would seem to be an easy game against the bottom of the table team, may not prove to be such given Italy’s ability to put 22 points on the board against Scotland last weekend.

Wayne Pivac has revealed the Welsh team for their match against the Italians, consisting of a number of changes. Alun Wyn Jones re-enters the starting 15 – one of the seven changes to the squad after suffering a narrow defeat to the table-topping French team last Friday evening.

The game against Italy presents an opportunity for the Welsh to try out new squad combinations. Hooker, Dewi Lake, is handed his first start in a Welsh jersey having put in some work off the bench in each of the Six Nations fixtures so far this season. Dan Biggar will also hit a century of caps for his country in this Six Nations finale.

With Italy also arriving in Cardiff off the back of their best performance this season, we expect the Italians to refuse to go down without a fight.

Wales are very strong favourites at 1/25 to win the match, with Italy’s odds of breaking their losing streak priced at 9/1.

Ireland v Scotland

The Irish are seemingly still gunning for a Six Nations title – hoping that France lose against the English. This match is likely to be a loud one, with the host’s fans knowing that a win would leave them at the top of the table ahead of France’s game against England later on Saturday evening.

Odds of Ireland winning the Six Nations are 13/5, and they are more likely to win the Triple Crown – with odds of 1/7 of them doing so.

Ireland have lost Ryan Baird and James Ryan for this Saturday’s game, but Joe McCarthy and Ross Molony have been called up to replace them.

On the other hand, Scotland are hoping to end their somewhat unremarkable Six Nations performance with a bang. Should they win in Dublin, it would be the first time they’ve managed this since 2010. Last year Scotland came close to beating Ireland in an empty Murrayfield if it wasn’t for a late Johnny Sexton penalty ending the game 24-27.

There will certainly be concern from the Scottish coaching side about the number of penalties they gave away in last weekend’s game against Italy. They are the most penalised team in the competition, with 46 penalties given against them across the tournament, and that has to be a worry against a side as strong as Ireland.

With a loss likely resulting in the Scottish finishing in fifth place, they’ll be looking to push Ireland to the edge in this game. Odds are 1/7 for Ireland to take a victory on St Patrick’s weekend, although a victory for Scotland is not out of the question. Odds for the blues to win are more unlikely, at 9/2.

France v England

Only one team stand in the way of France’s Grand Slam and Six Nations title. They face the English in the final clash on Super Saturday.

After suffering an injury in the 2021 Championship win over Italy at Twickenham, Jack Willis is back. The English flanker made a successful comeback for Wasps in February and will hope to slow down the French attacks this Saturday.

The only slight blow to the English team is the absence of Tom Curry after he sustained an injury to his hamstring in the match against Ireland last weekend. That said, the executions of gameplay from Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje in this Six Nations series have been strong.

Despite Eddie Jones’ focus on France’s flaws, there are some serious questions beginning to arise about the away team’s performances this tournament. Last weekend England lost the try count to Ireland, putting question marks over their attacking ability – albeit with only fourteen men.

The French defence organised by Shaun Edwards will be even harder to pierce this weekend after France’s somewhat lacking capability in their line-out and aerial game against Wales last weekend.

France will welcome back Damian Penaud (winger) and Romain Taofifénua (lock) after their absence from the Welsh game. Elsewhere on the pitch, Tani Vili will replace Yoram Moefana as centre, with the latter out of the game with a knee injury.

France are favourites to win in Paris, with odds of 4/11 of doing so, whilst England’s chances are priced at 11/5. France are also odds-on to win the Six Nations, at 2/7, as well as odds of 4/11 to win the Grand Slam by beating England this Saturday.

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