Ireland are in prime position to clinch the Six Nations rugby union tournament by beating France this weekend – but can a resurgent England snatch the title from their grasp?
Only 18 months away from the rugby World Cup, and the northern hemisphere’s finest are close to wrapping up another thrilling Six Nations contest that has trashed reputations and revealed an exciting crop of new players to compete with the world’s best, writes Matthew Bell.
In a momentous tournament, the defending champions Wales have been knocked off their perch after some strangely lacklustre displays, while legendary Irish centre Brian O’Driscoll (above, left) will bid farewell to the Six Nations this weekend, winning his 141st cap after 14 years of international rugby.
The championship comes down to a crucial triple-header on Saturday, when either England, France or Ireland can walk away with the title, leaving Italy and Scotland to fight over the dreaded wooden spoon.
England face Italy in Rome in the weekend’s opening fixture, which means Stuart Lancaster and his troops are likely to be tucking into their spaghetti Bolognese just as the final and deciding match is played out between France and Ireland in Paris.
All three teams are level on points after four wins apiece, but Ireland are well-placed to claim the title if they beat France due to their superior points difference. England will need to pile at least 50 points on Italy to stand a chance of outscoring Ireland in the final standings.
Ireland field virtually the same team that trounced Italy 46-7 last weekend, making only one change as flanker Peter O’Mahony returns in place of Iain Henderson after recovering from a hamstring injury.
England will need to pile at least 50 points on Italy to stand a chance of outscoring Ireland.
The Irish started the tournament in promising fashion, outplaying champions Wales in an imperious 26-3 victory, but stumbled against an ascendant England team.
Ireland’s opponents France have shown moments of thrilling promise as new players burst into the first team, but the French remain thoroughly unpredictable as ever, amply demonstrated by their narrow escape against Scotland last weekend.
France are enduring a painful renaissance as they struggle to bring balance to a young and promising back line. Their inexperienced 22-year-old fly-half, Jules Plisson, is replaced by Remi Tales, a man seven years his senior but with only a handful of caps to his name.
Gael Fickou, 19, returns to the centre alongside the giant Mathieu Bastareaud, while flanker Louis Picamoles is back in the team after being dropped for being disrespectful to referee Alain Rolland in the game against Scotland, and will hope to reinvigorate the formidable French pack.
England may still be ruing their last-minute loss to France in the tournament’s opening game, but have become an assured outfit after defeating Ireland in a tense contest and then feasting on a host of Welsh errors to avenge their defeat in Cardiff from last year.
They will expect to beat the Italians soundly, but need to control their hunger and show patience against a side that has shown promise in both the backs and forwards, before they try to amass a big score.
England suddenly have the look of a confident and settled team, with Danny Care excelling at scrum-half and Owen Farrell cementing his role as first-choice fly-half. Billy Twelvetrees has improved steadily at centre, and as the link-man in several impressive England attacking plays, while alongside him the youngster Luther Burrell has composure and attacking flair, winning only his fifth cap this weekend.
At full-back, Mike Brown is surely England’s man of the tournament so far.
Man-mountain Manu Tuilagi returns to the side but only to warm the bench as cover for Burrell and Twelvetress, demonstrating how far England’s backs have come. Fellow newcomers Jonny May and Jack Nowell continue to impress on the wings in a back three completed by Mike Brown at full-back, who is surely England’s man of the tournament so far.
Lancaster’s policy of using in-form players has also worked wonders in the pack, who continue to combine brute force with occasional silky skills to outperform most forwards in the tournament.
In contrast, Wales must be wondering who stole their mojo after being nullified by Ireland and turned over in style by the English. In the process Wales now stand accused of becoming predictable, and have lost their talisman kicker and full-back Leigh Halfpenny to a dislocated shoulder.
Wales should be able to regain respectability against Scotland, who have struggled to string together decent passages of play and only excited against Italy in a nail-biting finish that saw them win by a single point.
But in contrast to England’s flourishing outfit, Wales coach Warren Gatland must wonder whether his team’s best days are in the past, after making six changes to the side that lost to England, including at scrum-half and fly-half.
All the home nations have a point to prove this weekend, whether to rescue some pride or claim the big prize.
Can England overcome all the odds to beat Ireland to the top table? It all comes down to one delicious final day of Six Nations rugby.