Six Nations: Italy vs England, France vs Ireland, Wales vs Scotland
Gareth Knight looks forward to the second weekend of the 2012 Six Nations Championship.
11 Feb 2012, 11:00
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Saturday 11th February 2012
Coverage begins 3.30pm, BBC 1/HD
Kick-off 4pm; Stadio Olympico, Rome
Italy (IRB world ranking: 12) vs England (5)
Apparently it is snowing heavily in Rome and there’s a chance the game could be called off. This would be a travesty – rugby should be played in all weathers and if necessary they should just move the match to a stadium where there is no snow. If last week’s games are anything to go by, this will be a match for the rugby lovers, not an entertaining spectacle for the general population.
Italy have never beaten England and this year is without doubt their best chance to do so, yet it still feels unlikely. Last week Italy showed us a calm and organised team that made the most out of solid forward play and a good half back pairing. There’s no reason why Italy shouldn’t go into this game with a view to winning it as they should have the advantage everywhere except the back line. England’s backs defended well last week so the Italian forwards must keep the ball tight.
Italy team to play England:
Front row 1/2/3: A Lo Cicero / L Ghiraldini / M Castrogiovanni
Second row 4/5: Q Geldenhuys / M Bortolami
Back row 6/8/7: A Zanni / S Parisse / R Barbieri
Half-backs 9/10: E Gori / K Burton
Centres 12/13: G Canale / T Benvenuti
Wings 11/14: L McLean / G Venditti
Fullback 15: A Masi
Subs: T D'Apice, L Cittadini, A Pavanello, M Bergamasco, F Semenzato, T Botes, L Morisi
England have kept the same team as last week which tells us that Stuart Lancaster sees the potential in the team. If England have improved their basic skills and they maintain their discipline they can win this game, lose discipline and they lose the game, as the Italians now have a kicker. I think England will show a lot of improvement this week as Scotland’s errors gave them an 80 minute high intensity training session against a tough forward-dominated team – the perfect warm-up to this match. The question is whether they can turn that into points in the board, though there will be no shame in losing to this Italy, this year.
England team to play Italy:
Front row 1/2/3: A Corbisiero / D Hartley / D Cole
Second row 4/5: M Botha / T Palmer
Back row 6/8/7: T Croft / P Dowson / C Robshaw
Half-backs 9/10: B Youngs / C Hodgson
Centres 12/13: O Farrell / B Barritt
Wings 11/14: D Strettle / C Ashton
Fullback 15: B Foden
Subs: R Webber, M Stevens, G Parling, B Morgan, L Dickson, J Turner-Hall, M Brown
Saturday 11th February 2012
Coverage begins 7.30pm, BBC 2 / BBC HD
Kick-off 8pm; Stade de France, Paris
France (3) vs Ireland (8)
Probably the match of the weekend – France vs Ireland has become a deciding fixture in several Six Nations and while France may be the favourites, Ireland will know they could have already won a game so this is a chance to start afresh. Rumour has it that the pitch will be extraordinarily hard, so expect a fair number of injuries and some cautious play at the start.
France have made changes on all three rows of the pack and, given the way Italy dominated forward play last week, this is the right call. An injury means Yachvili is out but Parra is back at scrum half so there’s little comfort there. The three quarter line will be the key to French success as I think Irish forwards will easily handle the pack and Kearney will easily handle Medard. If France can get the ball out to their backs it’s hard to see anyone stopping them. I think France will win this but it should be close.
France team to play Ireland:
Front row 1/2/3: JB Poux / D Szarzewski / N Mas
Second row 4/5: P Pape / Y Maestri
Back row 6/8/7: T Dusautoir / L Picamoles / I Harinordoquy
Half-backs 9/10: M Parra / F Trinh-Duc
Centres 12/13: W Fofana / A Rougerie
Wings 11/14: J Malzieu / V Clerc
Fullback 15: M Medard
Subs: W Servat, V Debaty, L Nallet, J Bonnaire, J Dupuy, L Beauxis, M Mermoz
Ireland go into this match with a vastly different mindset to their World Cup warm-ups or the game last week. Ireland will win the forward battle but for once they do not have the advantage of speed or style from the backs. Keith Earls comes back in and Fergus McFadden drops to the bench. I’ve said before that I think this is an error and I stand by that claim. Tommy Bowe will have his hands full stopping Malzieu though I feel Andrew Trimble can keep Clerc at bay, though both Irish wingers are natural attackers, not defenders. Ireland need to play through the forwards to the extent that 9-15 should barely touch the ball. Do that and they’ll win, try to play an open game as is their natural instinct and it’ll play into French hands.
Ireland team to play France:
Front row 1/2/3: C Healy / R Best / M Ross
Second row 4/5: D O’Callaghan / P O’Connell
Back row 6/8/7: S Ferris / J Heaslip / S O’Brien
Half-backs 9/10: C Murray / J Sexton
Centres 12/13: G D’Arcy / K Earls
Wings 11/14: A Trimble / T Bowe
Fullback 15: R Kearney
Subs: S Cronin, T Court, D Ryan, P O’Mahoney, E Reddan, R O’Gara, F McFadden
Sunday 12th February 2012
Coverage begins 2.30pm, BBC 1/HD
Kick-off 3pm; Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Wales (6) vs Scotland (11)
Wales have got used to being everyone’s second team over the last few months but all that will change on Sunday. Scotland’s self-implosion last week means the neutrals just want to see them win a game, and the Bradley Davies ‘tip tackle’ hasn’t won Wales any new fans.
Wales have had mixed news in terms of team selection. Bradley Davies is now out of the rest of the championship which means their top three locks are unavailable with Alun Wyn Jones and Luke Charteris still injured. Ryan Jones is a natural back row player and moving him to the second row when up against top players like Richie Gray and Jim Hamilton could badly backfire. The good news is the return of Gethin Jenkins and Dan Lydiate, completing the awesome back row that made such an impact in New Zealand. The Welsh team is packed full of battering rams and eventually they will break through the Scottish defensive line. The Millennium Stadium expects, and I do too, though the Scots could destroy Wales at the lineout and this is a big concern.
Wales team to play Scotland:
Front row 1/2/3: G Jenkins / H Bennett / A Jones
Second row 4/5: R Jones / I Evans
Back row 6/8/7: D Lydiate / T Faletau / S Warburton
Half-backs 9/10: M Phillips / R Priestland
Centres 12/13: J Roberts / J Davies
Wings 11/14: G North / A Cuthbert
Fullback 15: L Halfpenny
Subs: K Owens, P James, L Reed, A Powell, L Williams, J Hook, S Williams
Oh the Scots. Euan Murray doesn’t play as it’s a Sunday, Dan Parks doesn’t play because after last week’s disaster he’s decided to hang up his international boots. Losing Parks is immensely sad – to have such a bad game that you feel it’s best to retire is tragic, though the way Scotland play it’s for the best – Laidlaw will utilise Lamont more, and Lamont is their key to success. Losing Murray is a genuine blow – he is the one tighthead that can compete against Gethin Jenkins. In some ways what would be good for Scotland is to loosen their defence a little and play a game that allows them to develop some attacking play, though against this Welsh team such a tactic will see them get slaughtered as Welsh defence is immense while their attack is huge. Last week they had plenty of attacking opportunities but they made endless errors. This week their biggest opportunities will be at the lineout and this could be one of the most one-sided lineout battles you’ll ever see. Steal lineouts on the 5 metre line and even Scotland should be able to barge through!
Scotland team to play Wales:
Front row 1/2/3: A Jacobsen / R Ford / G Cross
Second row 4/5: R Gray / J Hamilton
Back row 6/8/7: A Strokosch / D Denton / R Rennie
Half-backs 9/10: C Cusiter / G Laidlaw
Centres 12/13: S Lamont / N de Luca
Wings 11/14: M Evans / L Jones
Fullback 15: R Lamont
Subs: S Lawson, E Kalman, A Kellock, J Barclay, M Blair, D Weir, S Hogg
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