The 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship is back for round three this weekend, with the table taking shape at top and bottom for the Northern Hemisphere’s leading nations.
England set out to stop their losing run against Scotland when the auld enemies meet for their Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham on Saturday.
That follows the bottom-versus-top contest between Wales and Ireland at the Principality Stadium, before Sunday sees pre-tournament favourites France go to Italy.
Wales vs Ireland – Saturday 22 February
Ireland continue their Grand Slam quest in the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship on Saturday, as they look to pile the misery on Wales in Cardiff.
Interim coach Simon Easterby has engineered a fabulous opportunity to secure a third consecutive Six Nations title, with back-to-back wins to open their campaign ahead of the first rest week.
A 32-18 Murrayfield success over Scotland was a statement performance from the men in green, who ran in four tries to seal their bonus point victory in Edinburgh.
It was the ideal follow up to their opening round win over battling England in Dublin, in the absence of coach Andy Farrell as he prepares for the upcoming British & Irish Lions tour to Australia.
Former Lions coach Warren Gatland could be forgiven for casting his mind back to those happier times, after he threw in the towel as Welsh head coach for the second time.
That makes for the unusual Six Nations scenario of two interim coaches facing off, as Cardiff boss Matt Sherratt takes the reigns for the final three games of the competition.
Their clash with Italy in Rome a fortnight ago was billed as one of their most significant in recent years.
And it went with the bookies as the Azzurri built on last year’s improvement to seal a 22-15 win that leaves Gatland and Co staring at the wooden spoon for the second season running.
Dan Sheehan captains his country for the first time in the Welsh capital, in the absence of the injured Caelan Doris.
Jack Conan is back into the pack of a much-changed side, with Joe McCarthy playing his first SIx Nations fixture of the year, while a comeback for Mack Hansen also features among the backline reshuffle.
Sherratt has pinpointed cohesion as his starting point, bringing Gareth Anscombe back in at fly half, while his club team-mate and centre Max Llewellyn is also brought in from the cold.
Wales Starting XV: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Jac Morgan (captain), 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Teddy Williams, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Joe Roberts.
Ireland Starting XV: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne , 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson , 2 Dan Sheehan (captain), 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Cian Prendergast, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Bundee Aki.
England vs Scotland – Saturday 22 February
All eyes are on Twickenham this weekend, as England and Scotland renew hostilities in the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Calcutta Cup is on the line for the pair and that’s not all, with both nations jostling for the chance to push Ireland all the way in the race for the title next month.
A win and a loss for each so far leaves precious little room for error remaining.
It’s the Red Rose who are in the ascendency after they stunned pre-tournament favourites France on home turf in London a fortnight ago, with Elliot Daly diving in for a last-gasp try in a 26-25 win.
Coach Steve Borthwick certainly needed that tonic to blow the tournament wide open, having seen his side slump to defeat away to Ireland on the opening weekend in Dublin.
Their visitors couldn’t pull off a similar feat at home to the Irish two weeks ago, going down 18-32 at Murrayfield.
It was a game marred by the friendly fire collision between Scottish stars Finn Russell and Darcy Graham, whose clash of heads saw them both depart in the first half.
And, in truth, it hobbled any chance of Gregor Townsend’s men backing up their opening round victory over wooden spoon favourites Wales.
Borthwick makes only the one change to his run-on side, with Ollie Chessum returning from the international wilderness to replace George Martin in the locks alongside captain Maro Itoje.
That means tyro Marcus Smith continues at full back, with Fin Smith backed to continue his impressive start to life in the Six Nations a fortnight ago.
A trio of Scottish changes include the reinstallation of Pierre Schoeman to the front row.
Darcy Graham’s concussion means a place for Kyle Row on the wing, while Jamie Ritchie earns a start in the back row, while Townsend also has the welcome boost of Finn Russell passing the concussion protocols to co-captain from fly half.
England Starting XV: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 George Martin, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Elliot Daly.
Scotland Starting XV: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (co-captain), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (co-captain), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Matt Fagerson, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall.
Italy vs France – Sunday 23 February
France need to make an instant recovery to keep their 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship hopes alive, as they travel across the border to take on Italy on Sunday.
The pair meet in Rome with both having won and lost a game apiece, much like Saturday’s match between England and Scotland.
That’s thanks to a pair of notable results two weeks ago.
Le Bleus came unstuck at the death against the English at Twickenham, coughing up the lead to lose 25-26 in a dramatic finale in London.
It was a far cry from their opening night bonanza against Wales, leaving question marks around Fabien Galthie and his coaching team amid typically high French expectations.
The Italians also profited from their home tie against the Welsh, coming up 22-15 winners in Rome to give themselves every chance of avoiding adding another wooden spoon to their extensive collection.
It was an even more important score line for the Azzurri given their underwhelming opening outing where they went down to Scotland in Edinburgh.
Les Bleus have shifted Thomas Ramos from full back to fly half, to resume a formidable partnership with captain fantastic Antoine Dupont.
That means Mathieu Jalibert has been axed by coach Galthie after underwhelming in London two weeks ago.
Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada has made two changes as Simone Gesi comes in for the injured Monty Ioane, while hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi also earns a start.
Italy Starting XV: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (captain), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Giosue Zilocchi, 19 Riccardo Favretto, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Ross Vintcent, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Jacopo Trulla.
France Starting XV: 15 Leo Barre, 14 Theo Attissogbe, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 François Cros, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Anthony Jelonch, 23 Maxime Lucu.
Six Nations Prediction for this weekend
| Team 1 | Win % Team 1 | Win % Team 2 | Team 2 | Predicted margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | 12.1% | 87.9% | Ireland | -16 |
| England | 71.3% | 28.7% | Scotland | 8 |
| Italy | 15.6% | 84.4% | France | -14 |