The image editor posts hopefully
Scotland vs Italy
Previously the wooden spoon fixture, these teams have made some recent progress but the Italians are definite underdogs here. Italy have made 4 changes and given a dayboo to Simone Gesi on the wing. However, they lack Capowuoouuzzzo at full back so, whilst they look fairly settled, they don’t have much in the way of X factor.
Scotland have made 5 changes including leaving out Finn and Hoggy so, while I predict a win, the margin will be smaller without them. Also, given they have lost their last 2 games, they will be motivated to end in style (same could be said for Italy tbh).
Scotland have a better pack and cooler heads. Against Wales, Italy played like headless chickens for much of the game and gave Wales some points either by coughing up the ball in their half or failing to execute the basics. Scotland will be patient and gradually rack up a decent win.
Head-to-head Planet Rugby says that Scotland have won the last 8 fixtures but this only goes back to 2017 and I haven’t dug further. It would take a miracle or a card for Italy to win and it won’t happen this weekend as Scotland get their 9th (or more) win in a row.
30 – 10 to Scotland.
France vs Wales
France, France, France. Until last weekend many people said they had been underwhelming despite only losing in Dublin. That all changed when they swaggered into Twickenham and put 50 on some boys Borthwick had found. They said they could play rugby, double promise, cross their hearts – but they couldn’t.
To be fair, that was the best performance I’ve seen from a team against the English since the dastardly Saffas won the 2019 RWC. Maybe even better. Every time Dupont kicked the ball into space it opened up the back line and a French player waltzed over the line about 10 seconds later. Their defence was aggressive, their ruck speed brutal and every carry seemed to gain at least 3 Robshaws. But most impressive was how clinical they were. I can’t remember a scoring chance being wasted.
Wales on the other hand were solid last weekend but otherwise haven’t set this tournament on fire. They still drag around the reanimated corpse of AWJ but have some new talent including a footballer on the wing. How there isn’t a better 13 in Wales than George North I’ll never know.
There is a ‘last hurrah’ feel to this team but rather a white orc filled Dad’s army willing its way to victory, this feels like a Clive Woodward selected Lions team. If Clive Woodward had coached Wa…. You know what I mean! France to make it 5 in a row against the men in red.
50 – 12 to France
Ireland vs England
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
60 – 8 to Ireland (*starts crying*)
Laughing and crying by Craigsman
Onna telly this week
Friday 17th March
| Bulls v Western Province | 17:00 | Sky Sports Arena |
Saturday 18th March
| Scotland v Italy | 12:30 | BBC1 / RTÉ2 |
| France v Wales | 14:45 | ITV1 / S4C |
| Ireland v England | 17:00 | ITV1 |
Sunday 19th March
| Scotland v Italy (U20s) | 14:00 | BBC iPlayer |
| London Irish v Exeter | 14:00 | BT Sport 1 |
| Ireland v England (U20s) | 17:00 | BBC iPlayer |
| France v Wales (U20s) | 20:00 | BBC iPlayer / S4C |
Ovally Balls 
Thaum, to be fair I think if we’d had Finn, Hogg, Darcy Graham, Gilchrist and Ritchie Gray on the pitch it wouldn’t been close.
That was our worst performance of the tournament by some distance, we were very flat, I don’t know if the game last week took it out of us but we spent a lot time in the Italian 22 in the first half without converting that into point, bar Duhan’s wonder finish and Kinghorn’s nice little sidestep.
Italy cleaned our clock at the breakdown, Watson is along way off his best and he probably shouldn’t have been playing, Crosbie can feel aggrieved at being left out of the 23.
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Good start Wales.
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Ticht – agree with all that. What’s happened to Darge – he injured?
North furra liiiinnnneeee! Didn’t expect Wales to be so dominant.
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So, which French team has turned up?
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Cracker of a try.
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Well, that looked rather easy for France.
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Sensational France
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Thaum – Darge is just coming back from injury.
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Thaum, Darge broke his ankle back towards the start of the season, he’s had a couple of games back but isn’t ready for international rugby yet.
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Thanks, both!
This is shaping up to be another very entertaining match.
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Pretty sure I heard the ref call advantage over for the knock on
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BB cleaned my clock at the breakdown there
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France lucky not to get a card there.
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Does anyone else commentary seem to be a little ahead of the pictures?
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Lovely stuff again from France.
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Yep.
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Lucky bounce-off-the-posts conversion!
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Yeah, same here Refit
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Well Wales not being completely hopeless is quite refreshing even if we are on the way to a pasting on the scoreboard. Scrum penalties have killed us a bit and France being so utterly ruthless when we make the odd mistake.
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CMW – yeah, there was some hope that Wales would do us a favour at the beginning.
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Thought there was a knock on in the second French try. Shame for the game it wasn’t spotted, has been quite entertaining so far (much more so than any other Wales game this year) and closer for longer would be better for everyone.
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Give it to the big lad
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French fatty furra line.
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We needed someone to be up there to stop Dupont getting up in that situation.
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Oh, that was a try of beauty.
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What an angle by Fikou.
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Our midfield defence isn’t up to coping with good teams playing well. Think Biggar might be past being able to cope and Tompkins is useless.
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I used to think Fickou and the guy from Clermont were the bees knees, but Fickou and Danty are my favourite non Scots right now, they really compliment each other
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‘Nice hair!’
‘Thanks! Lovely pass!’
Or did you mean complement? :-p
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I don’t mean they admire each other’s shoes
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Could have done with that going to hand. Ho hum.
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Trying to post on a phone is a bit of a nightmare
I made the same gag about my typo but it took ages to post
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It’s as though Tomos Williams isn’t aware Dupont is there.
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Ticht – get a real computer.
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Shane is right that Wales coughing up those sort of penalties has been a massive problem for Wales.
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Wales are determined to make a match of it!
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Something like a match anyway. If we could sort out clearing out attacking rucks and make a few less individual errors then on today’s evidence we’d be getting somewhere.
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Quite like the commentator’s idea that Penaud should be sent off for an HIA for diving.
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What is Williams kicking that for? In theory we need to score two tries to win (I know)!
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It’s all going a bit testy.
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Oh well.
a buddum bah buddum bah buddum bah bah
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Good showing for Wales there. France knocked off their stride a little by Welsh forwards fronting up where England didn’t.
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Okay. Well, we need a win then. Although two losing BPs or a draw might do it?
No, wait, we just need one point and not to lose more than 6 on PD.
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Deserved BP for Wales. And a special accolade to AWJ for not milking Fickou’s tackle. Wales shouldn’t have waited for the rain to kick the ball in the air and chase, it was their most effective weapon.
France a bit too nonchalant. Should’ve gone for a larger score, just in case… but they don’t seem to think England can give Ireland a scare. Can’t blame them.
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Nice to get the try at the end, means we wouldn’t have been last even if Italy had got the try to win at the end of their game. Not being last is better than being last and everyone knows we’re really only interested in first or fifth so everything’s right with the world.
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Owen looks like his Uncle Sean on that photo
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I’ve been chucked off the big telly after two games.
At least I’ve got a real computer to comment with now
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Michael Higgins looks like he’s had a good lunch
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I’ll be cooking the dinner shortly. So eating the dinner will have to be during the game which will need to be paused. And that then means some sort of farcical battle with ITV player that will probably end up with getting to watch it to the 70 minute mark and then having to watch the last ten at midnight.
Of course it might be 40-0 at half time so then it wouldn’t matter.
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