The Guinness Six Nations is set to get underway this weekend, with Ireland hosting defending champions Wales in Saturday’s opening fixture.
IRELAND
Ireland go into the tournament this year on the back of a 29-20 win over the All Blacks in Dublin. No team will find it easy to break down this Ireland squad, however, they travel to both London and Paris this year, meaning they'll have to cause a couple of upsets against the tournament favourites to claim the title. An upset is on the cards, but i'm not sure they can go all the way.
Predicted finish: 4th
WALES
Alun Wyn Jones will be leading the line yet again for the 2021 Champions. They share the record with England for most titles (39) and this year they'll be going for 40. They had a shaky Autumn International period, losing to South Africa and narrowly beating Australia. It feels strange predicting a 3rd place finish for the current Champions but it is a likely outcome!
Predicted finish: 3rd
ENGLAND
England fans will expect a biiiiig improvement this year. 2021 was a year to forget, finishing 5th with sloppy performances across the board. England freshen up the squad with the likes of Vunipola, Mako and Billy left out of the initial 36-man squad. The Red Rose don’t go in as favourites but, should they get going, they could grow into a strong oponent for the likes of France and Ireland.
Predicted finish: 2nd
SCOTLAND
Scotland showed some potential last season, beating England and France. Expect a few more upsets from the Scots this year though they may not have the squad to take it all the way.
Scotland will look to get off to a good start as they face England at Murrayfield on the opening weekend for the famous Calcutta Cup. They’ll be hoping for a repeat of 2021 where they left Twickenham with a thrilling 22-12 victory. Struggling for consistency in performances, we see Scotland falling down the pecking order this year.
Predicted finish: 5th
FRANCE
The twice runners-up under Fabien Galthié will be looking to make it third time lucky in 2022. France are this year’s bookies’ favourite and we’d have to agree with them. Fixtures favour Les Bleus too with home games against Ireland, England and Italy. Could it come down to the final game of the tournament... Le Crunch?
Predicted finish: 1st
ITALY
Italy haven’t picked up a single point in the last three seasons and have finished 6th in the past five… The only way is up for the Azzurri, is this the year they final get some points on the board?
Predicted finish: 6th
THE FIXTURES
WEEK 1
Ireland v Wales — Saturday, Feb 5, Dublin
Scotland v England — Saturday Feb 5, Edinburgh
France v Italy — Sunday, Feb 6, Paris
WEEK 2
Wales v Scotland — Saturday, Feb 12, Cardiff
France v Ireland — Saturday, Feb 12, Paris
Italy v England — Sunday, Feb 13, Rome
WEEK 3
Scotland v France — Saturday, Feb 26, Edinburgh
England v Wales — Saturday, Feb 26, Twickenham
Ireland v Italy — Sunday, Feb 27, Dublin
WEEK 4
Wales v France — Friday, March 11, Cardiff
Italy v Scotland — Saturday, March 12, Rome
England v Ireland — Saturday, March 12, Twickenham
WEEK 5
Wales v Italy — Saturday, March 19, Cardiff
Ireland v Scotland — Saturday, March 19, Dublin
France v England — Saturday, March 19, Paris
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