All times GMT....... for Houston deduct 6hrs on Saturday BUT 5 hrs on Sunday as we change over to daylight savings time where you put clock an hour ahead.
Saturday, 9 March 2013
Scotland v Wales, 14:30
Ireland v France, 17:00
Sunday, 10 March 2013
England v Italy, 15:00
*(10.00am Houston)
Petes assessment of this week's games.
Ireland vs France
Ireland will be hoping to heap woe on win-less France when the two sides go head-to-head in the Six Nations at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Ireland began the championship in sparkling form with a victory over Wales in their opener but they have failed to hit those heights since with both England and more recently Scotland getting the better of them.
Ireland dominated Scotland to such an extent a fortnight ago that it baffles to think how they came away on the losing side. Possession and territory stats showed around a 70 to 80% advantage, they bossed the breakdown, they had Scotland making 3 times as many tackles – yet they just couldn't make it count when it mattered most, and the frustration amongst captain Jamie Heaslip and his players was plain to see. Their squad has been hit by a few injuries and a lack of depth is starting to show, but with pride on the line in front of their home fans, we should see an improvement in their performance on Saturday.
The French have made their poorest start to a five/six nations championship in 30 years, and are in real danger of ending as wooden spoon holders for the first time since 1957. After the double shock losses away against Italy then at home to Wales, they arrived in Twickenham two weeks ago and proceeded to put in a much better display, and probably could have won the game had they not lost their way a touch in the second half, especially when a host of substitutions from Philip Saint-Andre appeared to have the opposite desired impact. Some of the calls by referee Craig Joubert left the French feeling very hard done by, and captain Thierry Dusautoir must now attempt to lead his side to a win that they'd happily take via any means, and for once winning ugly would be something the French would grasp without hesitation.
I reckon French coach is finally getting his combinations correct. Ireland have a couple of good players back but are still understrength.
France should really win easily but I'll only predict a
7 point margin because Irish can raise their game in front of home crowd and French love to shoot themselves in the foot.
Scotland vs Wales
Scotland play host to Wales at Murrayfield on Saturday with both sides hoping to preserve their Six Nations title hopes.
England may currently lead the chase for the northern hemisphere crown and an elusive Grand Slam but both these sides can still pip them to the glory if results go their way - starting with their latest showdown. Hosts Scotland have defied the doomsayers by bouncing back from an opening defeat to England to notch victories over Italy and then Ireland. Wales also stumbled at the first hurdle against Ireland but got their campaign back on track with wins against France and then Italy.
Last week the Scots were truly battered at the breakdown, with Ireland winning over 3 times as many rucks (106 to 29), and the Scots also needed to make a colossal 128 tackles versus the 44 made by Ireland. It's hard to put the win down to Scottish resilience or Ireland's inability to make their domination count thru some poor decision making, but it was a deserved win nonetheless and with two wins on the bounce, a rarity for the Scots in the 6 nations, their tails are up and the squad will be relishing a third home game on the bounce on Saturday, where the Scottish fans will be out in force to support their side.
Wales, like the Scots, have notched up back-to-back victories, and have really turned things around following their poor start to the competition when they were outplayed in Cardiff by Ireland. This weekend represents a third away fixture in a row for Rob Howley and his side, but the galvanising effect that playing on the road can sometimes have on a squad appears evident on their gritty wins in Paris and then Rome two weeks ago. Heavy rain before the match left the pitch in a state not conducive to good rugby, however the Welsh stepped up their efforts after the break to pull away from an Italian side that struggled to adapt to the rush defence that Wales have continued to stick with this competition. The result means Wales do have a faint chance of still lifting the trophy, but they'll need a rub of the green and some kind results to go their way. The manner in which in some way banished the poor 2012 run of form to past memories suggests that they are in a good position to come away with the win this weekend, however the Scots know that a rare haul of 3 six nations wins is well within their grasp and they will fancy themselves just as much as the Welsh might be eyeing out coming home with the points.
I predicted the Scots victory last week simply because the Irish were missing half their 1st XV.
I guess a win is a win even if the game was probably one of the worst in 6 nations in the last 10yrs. And there have been some atrocious games.
Wales are getting better and Scots won't relish another tough weekend where they are tackling dummies.
Unlike Ireland, Wales is at near full strength, and Scotland are just crap. The only thing that will save Scots from a good hiding is rainy weather.
Wales by 14
Sunday
England v Italy, 15:00 GMT 09.00 Houston
England will be hoping to edge nearer a first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2003 when they play host to Italy at Twickenham on Sunday.
Planet rugby sums it up well
"
Stuart Lancaster's side remain a young team continuing to soak up
every experience that is thrown their way, be they good or bad - and
based on this year's Six Nations alone, no single experience has been
quite like the next.
Starting with the win over Scotland - there were times when
England were both clinical but also careless, coming away with four
tries but safe in the knowledge that they could have produced more.
England could afford to leave chances out on the field, but no
such leniency was allowed in Dublin against Ireland. The unhappiest of
hunting grounds in recent Six Nations history, England put to a bed
another 10 year dearth of victories under grim conditions in a fixture
that was pure brutality.
Which brings us to England's most recent lesson in their ongoing
education - after all Stuart Lancaster is a trained teacher. Their
opening 40 minutes against France was easily their worst performance of
the Six Nations so far, with a collection of missed tackles, small
errors and petulance.
Their second half came down to better discipline, a touch of
fortune in the build-up to Manu Tuilagi's try and some suicidal
substitutions from Philippe Saint-André which handed England an
advantage.
To win having played at their worst - a level that was still good
enough to produce outstanding performances from Chris Robshaw and Tom
Wood - is a testimony to their progression"
Lancaster was adamant that there had been no presumptuous title talk, even
though England will know by kick-off time what they have to do effectively
to guarantee only their second championship in a decade.
England are two points ahead of Wales in the table but if Rob Howley’s side
beat Scotland
at Murrayfield on Saturday, then they too would be shooting for the title,
though England do also have a 17 points differential advantage.
Italy will test England but are unlikely to stretch them unduly even with the
return of captain Sergio Parisse, one of eight changes announced yesterday,
five of them in the pack.
Their coach says;
“If we’re not at England’s level physically, we can expect a hard afternoon
and a potentially heavy defeat,”
Of course he is right. The best of 12 English clubs vs a country with 2 clubs who are propping up Rabo 12 league. It should be no contest.
England at home and we should win by a cricket score. I'll say
England by 32 if they continue to play attacking, ball in hand rugby.
Trivia: Fly-half Toby Flood is the only player in the England squad with more than 50 caps (55) with seven of the 23 still boasting single-digit Test totals - Alex Goode (9), Mako Vunipola (7), Tom Youngs (7), Joe Launchbury (7), Joe Marler (8), Freddie Burns (1) and Billy Twelvetrees (2).
Last round Times GMT
Saturday, 16 March 2013
RBS Six Nations
France v Scotland, 20:00
Italy v Ireland, 14:30
Wales v England, 17:00
