Six Nations Round 2 Preview

We are back in with another weekend of Six Nations rugby as teams prepare for Round Two from this season’s championship.

Action from Round Two gets underway on Saturday (14:15 – live on ITV1) as Italy host Wales in a battle at the bottom end of the table.

Saturday also provides the battle known as “Le Crunch” as England host rivals France at Allianz Stadium (16:45 – live on ITV1), while on Sunday there’s an intriguing clash set to take place at Murrayfield as Scotland host reigning champions Ireland (15:00 – live on BBC1).

Campaign-defining weekend on the cards

With so much riding on this weekend’s games before the fallow weekend, Saturday’s and Sunday’s games feel like they will define much of how this Six Nations will go for all these teams.

There’s a potential wooden spoon decider to take in at the Stadio Olimpico between Italy and Wales after their losing starts in Round One.

Defeat for England against France would pile even more pressure on Red Rose boss Steve Borthwick, while the winner between Scotland and Ireland will be putting themselves firmly in the mix for the Six Nations title.

Tip 1: Italy -6.5 handicap

Having given Scotland a scare at Murrayfield last weekend without playing too much rugby in the first 70 minutes, Italy will fancy their chances of adding to Welsh woes in the Eternal City on Saturday.

Wales slumped to a 43-0 defeat to the French on the opening night of the tournament at the Stade de France and another fiery atmosphere awaits Warren Gatland’s side in Rome.

A lack of experience through much of this Welsh squad is a concern and there’s little off the bench to suggest Wales can finish strong in this game.

With that in mind and with Italy now a formidable force at home, the Azzurri are good value for the win and to fall on the right side of the handicap here.

Tip 2: France 1-12 winning margin

England were once again unable to get over the line in a physical battle against Ireland in Dublin last weekend and a similar story might well unfold against the French at Allianz Stadium.

Facing the Irish and the French in the opening two games is as tough a start as they come in the Six Nations and England might well go into Round Three looking for their first win.

Les Bleus impressed against Wales and even without suspended fly-half Romain Ntamack, the French are blessed with such strength in depth they should still overcome England at Allianz Stadium.

England won’t go down without a fight, but France’s winning experience in the final 10 minutes should get the visitors over the line, with a French win between 1-12 points looking to be the way to go here.

Tip 3: Scotland v Ireland over 57.5 total points

Plenty of points might well be on the cards when Scotland and Ireland face off at Murrayfield in Sunday’s showdown.

The Scots were made to work hard against Italy but still managed to put five tries past the Azzurri in Edinburgh.

If Scotland are to earn their first win over Ireland since 2017 they are likely going to have to score plenty of tries to get the better of the reigning champions.

Ireland are blessed with their own attacking stars in the backline and a high-scoring shootout looks to be in the offing for what is set to be a dry Sunday afternoon in the Scottish capital.