With four teams still in the run to win this year’s Six Nations tournament; Ireland, England, France and Wales all mean business this weekend. With injuries, new players been called up, older players being re-called and talks, lots of talks, about rivalry this week has been very busy to say the least.
Ireland vs Italy
Italy has had their fair share of misfortune since the beginning of the tournament, but Sergio Parisse’s injury has to be by far the worst. Deprived of their word class captain, the Italians will be able to fall back on prop Martin Castrogiovanni who will set a new record with an 105th appearance; but it’s difficult to see how they will be able to challenge the Irish side. Having improved year after year, it is so disappointing to see a promising and rightly hopeful Italian team not being able to play to their potential this year due to so many injuries; but with two tough matches ahead its looks like they are looking at yet another Wooden Spoon to add to their collection.
Despite their narrow loss to England in round three, the Irish are looking strong and they will be looking to extend their point difference lead over England, France and Wales this weekend. Fears that Jonathan Sexton might be out due to a thumb injury have been brushed aside and young Iain Henderson will be given the opportunity to show his is worth a top spot in the Irish squad. In the meantime Brain O’Driscoll becomes even a bigger legend, securing a world record 140th cap for Ireland.
Scotland vs France
Scotland having nothing to lose, and after last week’s confidence boost against Italy, the Scots will come out fighting, hoping to beat the French side for the first time since 2006. They have brought back Captain Kelly Brown after he was dropped following the defeat against Ireland. He admitted being ‘disappointed and upset’ to not play against Italy, but Brown says ‘he can’t wait for the weekend.’ Scotland might yet again not be in the running for the title, but they should definitely win a prize for the best looking shirt of the tournament.
On the other hand France is showing as much chaos off the pitch as they are on the pitch. Phillipe Saint Andre has made his life difficult by excluding Louis Picamoles from the squad, due to the ‘poor’ attitude he showed during the Welsh match. However the French coach seems to not be able to make his mind up about the stance to take on discipline; calling Morgan Parra up for the squad although he faced an undeserved red card in a Top 14 match the week before against Montpellier. The French scrum half appealed but still received a 2 week ban, making him unavailable to play this weekend. On top of all this France has suffered many key injuries, with centre Welsey Fofana, forward Yannick Nyanga and both hookers Benjamin Kayser and Dimitri Szarzewski out for this week’s match. All this has led to PSA making 7 changes to his team and surprising everyone by making second row lock, Sebastien Vahaamahina play as a flanker… With his job on the line, let’s hope his gamble plays off.
England vs Wales
This is THE match of the weekend. The one everyone has been talking about. The Welsh want to beat England more than they want to win the tournament. This rivalry has been the focus of attention all week and perfectly summed up by English scrum half Danny Care, ‘you know when you play Wales that they don’t like you.’ England is desperate to take revenge on last year’s game that saw the Welsh not only stopping the English doing the Grand Slam but also stopping them from winning the tournament. The English have learnt their lesson and with new youngsters rising quickly, they seem to be getting better every game they play.
The Welsh are able to realign their usual squad with the long awaited return of Jonathan Davies and the lock Alun Wyn Jones. In true Gatland style, the Welsh coach has suggested the match will yet again be ‘boys against men’. So if you are going to watch one match this weekend, make sure it is this one.
With tensions running high and the strong possibility that the winner will be decided on point difference, every point now counts. Game on.
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