It’s time for Round Two of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship, with the second set of fixtures this year pitting the Northern Hemisphere’s finest nations against each other.
The early table will now start to take shape ahead of the first rest week, with the standout fixture between old enemies England and France at Twickenham on Saturday evening.
It’s a contest that follows jeopardy for Wales as they attempt to avoid further ignominy in Italy, while there’s a Celtic tussle to look forward to on Sunday when Scotland welcome Ireland to Murrayfield.
Italy vs Wales – Saturday 8 February
There’s no room for error in Rome on Saturday in the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship, when Italy and Wales lock horns.
It’s a clash that could well decide this year’s wooden spoon holders despite it being only the second weekend of action.
And it’s the Welsh who are on the ropes, staring down the barrel of back-to-back last placed finishes.
They’re yet to score a point in the 2025 edition, having gone down 43-0 at the hands of tournament favourites France in Paris on the opening night.
But it wasn’t much better for the Azzurri in Scotland, as they underwhelmed in a 19-31 defeat.
Veteran coach Warren Gatland can at least call on a trusty reinforcement for their do-or-die challenge, with Taulupe Faletau making his comeback after well over a year on the international sidelines.
He’ll have to play a leading role to halt a 13-Test losing streak that haunts the Welsh, who hand a full debut to Eddie James in place of the injured Owen Watkin.
Home coach Gonzalo Quesada makes just the one change, with lock Niccolo Cannone replacing Dino Lamb.
Italy Starting XV: 15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 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 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Ross Vintcent, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Jacopo Trulla.
Wales Starting XV: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Eddie James, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Ben Thomas, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 James Botham, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Evan Lloyd, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Dan Edwards, 23 Blair Murray.
England vs France – Saturday 8 February
There’s a whole lot riding on this one, as England clash with France in the second round of the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship on Saturday.
It’s a Twickenham contest that could well shape the rest of the competition for the pair, particularly the hosts after their opening weekend defeat.
A game effort in the first half away to Ireland wasn’t matched after the break, as the Irish kept the Red Rose at bay for a 27-22 opening victory.
Les Bleus had no such worries as they brought the curtain up on this year’s tournament with a statement 43-0 win over sorry Wales at the Stade de France.
They lose Romain Ntamack to suspension for the trip to London, but are able to call on the services of Matthieu Jalibert in his place alongside captain fantastic Anton Dupont.
Damian Penaud’s inclusion on the wing is the only other starting change for coach Fabien Galthie.
English coach Steve Borthwick has shuffled his pack with the inclusion of Fin Smith for a first start at fly half, shifting Marcus Smith to full back to make space for the youngster.
Ollie Sleightholme comes in on the wing, while there’s also a spot for eighth man Tom Willis.
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 George Martin, 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 Ollie Chessum, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Elliot Daly.
France Starting XV: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Alexandre Roumat, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Hugo Auradou, 20 Mickael Guillard, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Emilien Gailleton.
Scotland vs Ireland – Sunday 9 February
A fascinating game is in prospect at Murrayfield on Sunday, as Scotland and Ireland meet at the 2025 Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship.
Both nations recorded wins on the opening weekend to kick off their respective campaigns on the front foot.
So something has to give, with the Irish looking to win the competition for the third year running, having opened up with a 27-22 victory over England that was a touch more comfortable than the score line suggests.
There’s a ‘now-or-never’ feel to this Scottish campaign under long-serving coach Gregor Townsend, who oversaw a 31-19 success against Italy a week ago.
He makes three changes for their second outing, as Tom Jordan comes into the midfield alongside Huw Jones, who is fresh from scoring a hat-trick last time out.
Rory Sutherland gets the nod in the front row, while Jack Dempsey is also called up as eighth man.
Interim Irish coach Simon Easterby has the luxury of two old lags to call upon for round two.
Peter O’Mahony and Robbie Henshaw are both included to boost the experience quota, while they have also been boosted by Finlay Bealham and Mack Hansen both passing fitness tests following their knocks on the opening weekend.
Scotland Starting XV: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 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 Matt Fagerson, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Staddord McDowall.
Ireland Starting XV: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Garry Ringrose.
Six Nations Predictions: Week 2
| Team 1 | Win % (Team 1) | Win % (Team 2) | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 92.40% | 7.60% | Wales |
| Scotland | 92.80% | 7.20% | Italy |
| Ireland | 82.70% | 17.30% | England |