Six Nations – Round Five Preview

The 2025 Six Nations tournament comes to a conclusion on Saturday and it promises to be a thrilling finale, with three teams still realistically in the race to take the title.

France lead the way heading into the final round of fixtures, with 16 points from four games, one point clear of England in second while defending champions Ireland are in third with 14 points.

All three nations still have the chance to lift the trophy, with Scotland, Italy and Wales looking to cause an upset along the way.

Final Round Fixtures

All three games take place across Saturday, with the action getting under way at 14:15 in Rome, when Italy play host to Ireland.

The Millennium Stadium is the venue for the 16:45 clash, as Wales look to end their 16-game losing run when they come up against England.

The final round of matches concludes with a 20:00 start in Paris, when leaders France come up against Scotland.

Tip 1: Italy vs Ireland: Alternate Handicap 4 – Ireland -16 @ 4/9 with William Hill

No team has ever won three consecutive Six Nations titles and Ireland look set to fall short of creating history this weekend.

The men in green saw their chances slide with a 27-42 defeat to France in Dublin, but they will be determined to finish on a high on Saturday.

Simon Easterby’s men will head to Rome intent on picking up a bonus-point victory and then hope that Wales and Scotland can spring surprises in the other two games.

The head-to-head stats show Italy have only won four of their 37 meetings with Ireland, but their last success came back in 2013.

Ireland have averaged 43 points in their last six meetings with the Azzurri, including a 36-0 victory at the Aviva Stadium last year.

Tip 2: France vs Scotland: First Scoring Points – Scotland 13/8

Understandably, France go into Saturday evening’s game in Paris as the strong favourites to lift the trophy for the first time since 2022.

Les Bleus have looked the strongest team to date, but the loss of Antonie Dupont is a big setback for Fabien Galthie’s men.

The scrum-half suffered a serious knee injury in the victory in Ireland, which led to French officials reporting two Irish players – although no action was taken.

It’s worth remembering that without Dupont last year – as he was preparing for the Olympics – France failed to win two of their three home games.

They should be strong enough to claim a win this time, but it might take them a bit of time to get going against a Scotland team that has been leading at half-time in three of their last four matches.

Tip 3: Wales vs England: Elliot Daly to score two or more tries @ 7/1 with bet365

England head to Cardiff having had the better of the recent head-to-head stats, winning six of their last eight meetings.

Steve Borthwick will know that a bonus-point win could be crucial to his side’s chances of securing the title so expect England to be a bit more expansive.

The return of Marcus Smith at full-back suggests that will be the case, a move that has seen Elliot Daly move back out to the wing.

The experienced Saracens back has enjoyed previous success against the Welsh, scoring a try in a 21-16 win at the Millennium Stadium back in 2017.