Round 1 went as predicted with three home wins. Expect something different this weekend with at least one away win and a very predictable one at that.
Saturday 8 February. KO 14.15
ITALY
Of the teams that lost in round 1, Italy can take the most positives out of their game. They came back from being 14-0 down in next to no time and pegged the Scots back to 19-19 before the men in blue pulled away for the win. It was a great forward effort that took its toll towards the end. They also have a talented back line with power and pace that didn’t get to show what it’s made of.
Team: 1 Fischetti, 2 Nicotera, 3 Ferrari, 4 N Cannone, 5 Ruzza, 6 Negri, 7 Lamaro, 8 L Cannone, 9 Page-Relo, 10 P Garbisi, 11 Ioane, 12 Menoncello, 13 Brex, 14 Capuozzo, 15 Allan Replacements: 16 Lucchesi, 17 Rizzoli,18 Riccioni,19 Lamb,20 Zuliani, 21 Vintcent, 22 A Garbisi, 23 Trulla
The team remains largely unchanged with just two changes across the 23-player squad. Benetton’s Niccolò Cannone replaces Dino Lamb in the second row, and Jacopo Trulla is the new addition to the bench replacing the injured Simone Gesi.
In spite of losing against the Scots last weekend Italy came out of the game with more positives than negatives. They have home advantage. They also have a strong pack of forwards to provide quick ball for a set of backs that have both power through Menoncello and Brex and pace in Capuozzo.
WALES
Wales started well and were pretty decent for the first 15-20 mins, but then the French woke up. The team needs more time together. Will Gatland make wholesale changes?
Team : 1 G Thomas, 2 Lloyd, 3 H Thomas, 4 Rowlands, 5 Jenkins, 6 Botham, 7 Morgan, 8 Faletau, 9 T Williams, 10 B Thomas, 11 Adams, 12 James, 13 Tompkins, 14 Rogers, 15 L Williams Replacements : 16 Dee, 17 Smith, 18 Assiriti, 19 Thomas, 20 Wainright, 21 R Williams, 22 Edwards, 23 B Murray.
Sensible move by Gatland just bringing in players to cover injuries. Ben Thomas didn’t have the greatest of games against the French but retains the 10 jersey which will boost his confidence. Faletau makes a welcome return and it’s good to see Wainright on the bench taking over from Reffell. Good management by Gats of a young side that is building.
Prediction: I favour Italy, with home advantage to take this one. The have the pack to provide good ball and get their backs running instead of defending.
Saturday 8 February. KO 16.45
ENGLAND
After a promising first half, true to form the SDs fell away in the second period and Ireland took control to win. OK a couple of decisions didn’t go their away but that’s rugby, and it’s no excuse for indiscipline and making basic errors. One on one defence was not up to scratch.
Team: 1 Genge, 2 Cowan-Dickie, 3 Stuart, 4 Itoje, 5 Martin, 6 Earl, 7 T Curry, 8 Willis, 9 Mitchell, 10 F Smith, 11 Sleightholme, 12 Slade, 13 Lawrence, 14 Freeman, 15 M Smith Replacements: 16 George, 17 Baxter, 18 Heyes, 19 Chessum, 20 Cunningham-Smith, 21 B Curry, 22 Randall, 23 Daly
All the speculation is over. Marcus Smith steps into the 15 jersey and Finn Smith takes his place at 10. Sleightholme comes in for the injured Murley and Steward misses out completely. Up front Willis takes over at 8 with Ben Curry, who I thought was the best of back rowers against the Irish, moves to the bench and is joined there by Jamie George, back from injury, replacing Dan. No place for Ford either with Daly as utility back which, IMO, is not a bad move. All in all probably the best that Borthwick could come up with. Wouldn’t it be nice though to have a settled team, but this reflects the state of English rugby led by the incompetents at the RFU.
FRANCE
Well the French got off to a flying start overpowering Wales comfortably. They were very good in patches but obviously rusty. Ntamack’s rush of blood to the head might’ve done England a favour.
Team : 1 Gros, 2 Mauvaka, 3 Atonio, 4 Meafou, 5 Flament, 6 Cros, 7 Boudehent, 8 Alldritt, 9 Dupont, 10 Jalibert, 11 Bielle-Biarrey, 12 Moefana, 13 Barassi, 14 Penaud, 15 Ramos Replacements: 16 Marchand, 17 Baille, 18 Colombe, 19 Auradou, 20 Guillard, 21 Jegou, 22 Le Garrec, 23 Gailleton.
An easy selection choice for Galthie with Penaud returning after injury and Jalibert slipping into the 10 slot in place of the banned Ntamack. The impressive Flament returns to the engine room with Roumat dropping out of the match day squad. Last week’s demolition of Wales will have cleared the rustiness away and I expect to see a more cohesive performance from Les Bleus.
Prediction: An afternoon of pain for England. It’s no good going off at hypersonic speed if they run out of gas after 40 mins. They need to pace themselves, improve their discipline and one on one defence. France are a class side with power up front and pace in the backs with Dupont calling the shots. England must try and shut him down, but how will they do that?
Sunday 9 February. KO 15.00
SCOTLAND
Townsend should be reasonably happy with the victory. Arguably, the Scots let the Italians back into the game and could have paid the price. Russell had one of those 50/50 games. Way too casual at times, he needs a kick up the arse. He’s better than that.
Team: 1 Sutherland, 2 Cherry, 3 Z Fagerson, 4 Gray, 5 Gilchrist, 6 M Fagerson, 7 Darge, 8 Dempsey, 9 White, 10 Russell, 11 van der Merwe, 12 Jordan, 13 Jones, 14 Graham, 15 Kinghorn Replacements: 16 Ashman, 17 Schoeman, 18 Hurd, 19 Skinner, 20 Brown, 21 Ritchie, 22 Dobie, 23 McDowell
Townsend has rung a few changes for this fixture. McDowell moves to the bench and his place is taken by Tom Jordan. Another notable change from round one sees loosehead prop Rory Sutherland preferred to Pierre Schoeman. Meanwhile, Matt Fagerson shifts from number eight to blindside. Jack Dempsey comes in at eight, with Jamie Ritchie moving to the bench. A couple more changes on the 6/2 bench as well with Skinner and Dobie coming in.
IRELAND
Weathered the English storm in the first half and then took control after the break with 22 unanswered points and a dominant performance. They’ll need to be on point for the full 80 mins otherwise the Scots could cause an upset.
Team: 1 Porter, 2 Kelleher, 3 Bealham, 4 Ryan, 5 Beirne, 6 O’Mahony, 7 van der Flier, 8 Doris, 9 Gibson-Park, 10 Prendergast, 11 Lowe, 12 Aki, 13 Henshaw, 14 Hansen, 15 Keenan Replacements: 16 Sheehan, 17 Healy, 18 Clarkson,19 Baird, 20 Conan, 21 Murray, 22 Crowley, 23 Ringrose
Not too many surprises from coach Easterby for this tricky visit to Edinburgh. Former captain Peter O’Mahony makes his first start since the tour of South Africa in 2024. The backs are largely unchanged with Henshaw replacing Ringrose, who moves to the bench. No changes to the pack apart from O’Mahony taking over from Baird. Easterby has named an experienced bench, with Dan Sheehan, Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, and Jack Conan covering the forwards. Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, and Garry Ringrose complete the replacements for the backs.
Prediction: A potential banana skin for Ireland, but they have a team packed with experience to face the Scots. I expect Prendergast to face another stiff test. He’ll play in his usual position to start but could well find himself out of the firing line later on as a second receiver where he looked more comfortable.
Scotland will be desperate to claim what they feel is a long overdue win against the Irish, their last victory against the men in green came back in 2017 with 10 consecutive losses to their Celtic cousins. No love lost between these two teams so expect blood and thunder and a Scottish win by a couple of points.
