Guinness Six Nations – Round 3 | Who’s playing, where to watch and latest predictions

The third round of the Guinness Six Nations begins with Ireland facing Wales on Saturday. Ireland, having an outstanding start with wins over France and Italy are favorites against Wales, who have struggled with two losses.

Despite Ireland’s strong position and hopes for a Grand Slam, their coach Andy Farrell is keeping the team focused. Wales, under Warren Gatland, might be underdogs, but they have shown determination in their previous games.

Later on, Scotland and England will go head-to-head in the infamous Calcutta Cup. Scotland, the favorites, aim to win the Cup for the fourth consecutive year and challenge Ireland’s lead in the tournament.

They narrowly lost to France and are poised for a strong performance against England. England, who narrowly beat Wales need to improve their discipline and consistency to win.

On Sunday, France plays Italy. France, still recovering from a World Cup quarter-final loss on home soil and the absence of key player Antoine Dupont, are heavily favored against Italy.

Italy, having performed well against England but overwhelmed by Ireland. They hope to build on their positive aspects and challenge the French team.

What     Ireland v Wales

Where  Aviva Stasium (Dublin)

When    14:15, Saturday 24th February

How to watch   ITV1

Prediction: Ireland by 15

Ireland aims to maintain their dominant trajectory towards securing back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slam titles as they prepare to host Wales in Dublin, marking the commencement of round three.

As the current champions, Ireland has been performing at an unparalleled level compared to their competitors in this tournament. Demonstrating remarkable resilience after their World Cup disappointment, they achieved a record-breaking victory over France on the first night, followed by a comprehensive 36-0 win against Italy.

Andy Farrell’s team enters the match as strong favorites, especially after the initial rest weekend, facing a youthful Welsh squad. Despite displaying promising signs in recent matches, Wales has yet to convert these efforts into tangible results.

Wales’ campaign has been marked by near-misses, including an almost successful comeback from a 27-0 deficit against Scotland in Cardiff and taking a nine-point lead into half-time against England at Twickenham in round two, only to endure a close defeat against their longstanding rivals.

Last 5 Fixtures

IRELAND 24 –14 WALES
IRELAND 32 – 9 WALES
WALES 21 – 16 IRELAND
IRELAND 29 – 7 WALES
WALES 10 – 34 IRELAND

Teams

Ireland

15 Ciaran Frawley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter

Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Oli Jager, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Jack Conan, 22 Conor Murray, 23 Stuart McCloskey

Wales

15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Mason Grady

What     Scotland v England

Where  Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium (Edinburgh)

When    16:45, Saturday 24th February

How to watch BBC1

Prediction: Scotland by 10

England continues their journey in the Six Nations with a challenging match against Scotland for the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield this coming weekend.

Under the guidance of Steve Borthwick, England’s performance in the early stages of the tournament has been modest, especially following their unexpected advance to the World Cup semi-finals last autumn. Despite this, they approach the game with two victories already secured – a lackluster win against Italy in Rome and a hard-fought triumph over Wales at Twickenham in the second round.

Scotland, having consistently outperformed England in recent Six Nations encounters, hosts their longstanding rivals once more, likely still reeling from the contentious end to their recent match against France. In that game, Scotland was narrowly robbed of a thrilling last-minute try that could have clinched victory.

Led by Gregor Townsend, the Scottish team has shown inconsistency, notably in their opening game against Wales in Cardiff, where they initially led 27-0 only to end up barely holding on to a slim one-point win.

Last 5 Fixtures

ENGLAND 38-38 SCOTLAND
ENGLAND 13-6 SCOTLAND
SCOTLAND 11-6 ENGLAND
SCOTLAND 20-17 ENGLAND
SCOTLAND 29-23 ENGLAND

TEAMS

Scotland

15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Elliot Millar-Mills, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Andy Christie, 21 George Horne, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Cameron Redpath

England

15 George Furbank, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 George Martin, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

What     France v Italy

Where  Stade Pierre Mauroy (France)

When    15:00, Sunday 25th February

How to watch   ITV1

Prediction: France by 15

This weekend marks the culmination of the third round of the Six Nations, featuring a pivotal clash between France and Italy.

France, who commenced the tournament in Marseille due to ongoing renovations at the Stade de France for the upcoming Paris Olympics, are set to play in Lille on Sunday. This match is crucial for the French team, seeking consecutive victories to rejuvenate their campaign after a shaky start.

Under Fabien Galthie’s leadership, France experienced a heart-wrenching loss in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals against the eventual winners, South Africa, followed by a disappointing defeat to Ireland in the tournament’s opener.

The scale of the defeat against Ireland, especially given the high expectations placed on France to rival the defending Grand Slam champions, was particularly disheartening. The absence of key player Antoine Dupont was acutely felt, as he gears up for the Olympic sevens.

Despite these setbacks, France managed a narrow 20-16 victory over Scotland in the second round, a win that came under scrutiny as Scotland was controversially denied a potential winning try in the final moments.

On the other hand, Italy, under the guidance of new head coach Gonzalo Quesada, showed promise with a close defeat to England in Rome. However, their campaign suffered a blow with a comprehensive loss to Ireland in Dublin, where they failed to score.

Last 5 Fixtures

FRANCE 36-5 ITALY
ITALY 50-10 FRANCE
FRANCE 37-10 ITALY
ITALY 29-24 FRANCE
FRANCE 60-7 ITALY

Teams

France

15-Thomas Ramos, 14-Damian Penaud, 13-Gael Fickou, 12-Jonathan Danty, 11-Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10-Matthieu Jalibert, 9-Maxime Lucu, 8-Francois Cros, 7-Charles Ollivon (c), 6-Paul Boudehent, 5-Posolo Tuilagi, 4-Cameron Woki, 3-Uini Atonio, 2-Peato Mauvaka, 1-Cyril Baille

Replacements: 16-Julien Marchand, 17-Sebastien Taofifenua, 18-Dorian Aldegheri, 19-Romain Taofifenua, 20-Alexandre Roumat, 21-Esteban Abadie, 22-Nolann Le Garrec, 23-Yoram Moefana

Italy

15-Ange Capuozzo, 14-Tommaso Menoncello, 13-Ignacio Brex, 12-Federico Mori, 11-Monty Ioane, 10-Paolo Garbisi, 9-Martin Page-Relo, 8-Ross Vintcent, 7-Michele Lamaro (c), 6-Riccardo Favretto, 5-Federico Ruzza, 4-Niccolo Cannone, 3- Giosue Zilocchi, 2-Giacomo Nicotera, 1-Danilo Fischetti

Replacements: 16-Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17-Mirco Spagnolo, 18-Simone Ferrari, 19-Matteo Canali, 20-Andrea Zambonin, 21-Manuel Zuliani, 22-Stephen Varney, 23-Leonardo Marin

Quick Links

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