6 Nations: Wales look for the Grand Slam

After a thrilling tournament the Six Nations reaches its climax this weekend and Wales are hoping to complete the Grand Slam with victory away to France. England, meanwhile, will be hoping to finish what has been a rather dismal campaign on a high with a win in Dublin against Ireland. Scotland, who still have to play France, host Italy at Murrayfield. 

Of this weekend’s games, France v Wales will whet the appetites of all rugby fans. The showdown at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday evening could determine whether Wales go the whole tournament unbeaten and claim a Grand Slam. Wales already have more than one hand on the Six Nations title. There are some permutations, however. France could mathematically wrench the title from Wales’ grasp with a win, but then they would require a bonus-point victory over Scotland in their final game.

France v Wales: Wayne Pivac’s men on brink of glory

• France to beat Wales @7/20 with Casumo
• Wales to beat France @43/20 with Casumo
• Wales handicap +7.5 @41/50 with Casumo

Wales have been no strangers to success and in particular, Grand Slam glory. They have been ruthless this year and not just in their victory over England. They rolled over Italy 48-7 with seven tries taking their tally to 17 for the tournament. This is the joint-highest amount they have amassed in the Championship with one game to play. But Wales coach Wayne Pivac believes his free-scoring side still thinks there is more to come and hinted at ‘tweaking his attack’.

France, on the other hand, were once again considered dark horses in the run-up to the Six Nations. Although their Grand Slam hopes were dashed by a narrow 23-20 defeat to England at Twickenham last weekend, Les Bleus have entertained and played with serious flair. 

Maro Itoje emerges as unlikely hero for England

England will have taken some solace from their victory over France. The visitors were stubborn, and it took a while to break them down. Although Anthony Watson marked his 50th Test match for England by scoring his fourth try of the Six Nations, it was Maro Itoje who emerged as the unlikely hero. Itoje was cast in the role of villain after conceding five penalties in England’s defeat to Wales. But his try in the dying embers of the win over France proved decisive and Owen Farrell dispatched the conversion to give England something to cheer about.

Ireland, similarly, seem to have a penchant for late drama. After leading Scotland 24-10 with 20 minutes to go at Murrayfield, the Scots hauled themselves back into the game before Ireland prevailed 27-24. Ireland captain Johnny Sexton was frustrated that his side conceded ‘soft tries’ and admitted that it is ‘unacceptable at international level’. Ireland v England has been a storied encounter with 135 clashes between the pair. England have dominated with 78 victories, and they won 32-20 on their last visit to the Aviva Stadium in 2019. England are trading as favourites at 16/25 to beat Ireland.

Scotland need to rectify lineout struggles ahead of Italy clash

While Scotland have shown glimpses of what they can produce, they will no doubt be lamenting their lineout struggles, which saw them slip to defeat against Ireland. Scotland coach Gregor Townsend commented that the lineout failures meant his side didn’t have a ‘good platform to build off’. They aim to finish on a positive note against Italy who will leave the tournament with the wooden spoon as they are anchored to the bottom of the table. Unsurprisingly, Scotland have been given a very short price to beat Italy at 1/50 with Casumo.

 

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