Rugby: Six Nations Championship

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was delighted to clinch the Grand Slam on home turf while England's Steve Borthwick admitted his side fell short Grand Slam-winning Ireland boss Andy Farrell is the "perfect guy" to be the next British and Irish Lions head coach, according to two-time…

Having already been the last team standing in the race for a Six Nations Grand Slam ahead of last weekend's fixtures, Ireland remain in the hunt for a full list of Championship honours. After getting the better of Scotland with 15 points to spare (22-7) in Edinburgh last Sunday, Ireland will now need to negotiate a way past England at the Aviva…

IRELAND head into this weekend's clash against England with huge expectations place on their shoulders. Andy Farrell's men will aim to make history by becoming the first ever Irish side to capture a Grand Slam on home soil. Prior to the Super Saturday Championship Finale, which is one of three matches that day, first-up is Scotland against Italy at…

Warren Gatland will have to overcome long odds if he is to pick up where he left off and win the 2023 Six Nations following his return to Wales. Gatland lifted a Grand Slam in the final Six Nations campaign of his first 12-year stint in charge of the national team in 2019. But the side he now takes over are completely unfancied with the bookies as…

The match, which takes place at BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh, will start at 1645 GMT on Saturday February 8 and will be screened live on BBC. Scotland team: Hogg; Maitland, Jones, Johnson, Kinghorn; Hastings, Price; Sutherland, Brown, Fagerson, Cummings, Gray, Ritchie, Watson, Bradbury. Replacements: McInally, Dell, Berghan, Toolis, Haining, Horne,…

You normally come away from an opening Six Nations weekend with a pretty good idea what teams you want to keep on side, from a handicap point of view at least, for the rest of the tournament. But, with the exception of England, the performance of the other five countries sent out some very mixed messages indeed. And it would appear that the coaches…

It's difficult trying to decipher whether England or France were more undisciplined through Round 3 of the Six Nations rugby championship. England was assessed 14 penalties during a 40-24 loss at Wales. Meanwhile, the France vs Scotland match was postponed following a COVID-19 outbreak amongst the French squad. An investigation into the cause of…

Scrum-half Natasha Hunt will make her first England appearance since November 2020 in Sunday's Women's Six Nations game in Italy. The 33-year-old can now fight for a place in October's World Cup squad, with head coach Simon Middleton making 11 changes from the win over Scotland. Zoe Harrison starts at fly-half as Helena Rowland moves to 12. Holly…

The 2022 Six Nations is nearly upon us. Just over a week from the tournament, the questions are piling up. Can Wales defend their title? Can France finally win a championship? Will there be a Grand Slam? Can Italy actually win a game? With all that in mind, here's how things could well turn out in the coming weeks... Ireland v Wales, Scotland v…

Stuart Barnes reflects on the Sydney Sevens, the form of Montpellier's Nemani Nadolo and chats everything Six Nations ahead of the tournament's return on Saturday. 1. Before we get to the serious stuff, a word about the party game - sevens. I see Australia won the Sydney Sevens. The women won the truncated version's Olympic Gold, now the men are…

The Six Nations is just days and online bookies Grosvenor Sport is offering new customers £30 in free bets when they put £10 to back Wales in this year's event. Simply register your account with Grosvenor Sport, place a £10 on Wales to win the Six Nations or any single bet with at least 1/2 odds or greater and get £30 in free bets. Wales go into…

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac believes that taking on the captain's armband will only improve Dan Biggar's game. Biggar takes over the captaincy from Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones, who is out through injury, for the first time in Wales' Six Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin. The defending champions will be looking to call on Biggar's experience…

Ten years ago Wales played Australia in the first game of the autumn series. Stephen Jones was captaining his country from fly-half for the first ever time, but after 23 minutes he twisted his knee and had to go off hurt. Enter a young home debutant from Port Talbot to take his place, in the form of 21-year-old James Hook. With Wales clinging onto…

IRELAND open their Six Nations account with the visit of defending champions Wales on Saturday evening. It will make for a stern test for Greg Williams in his first match as new Ireland head coach. Here's everything you need to know about the match. It'll be on on Saturday afternoon at the RDS with kick-off at 4.45pm. The game will be broadcast…

Warren Gatland wants to operate in a "no excuse environment" after taking charge of Wales for a second time. The New Zealander's previous spell as Wales head coach between 2007 and 2019 delivered four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams, two World Cup semi-final appearances and a brief time as rugby union's world number one team. This time…

The bookies are already offering odds on who will be the next England head coach after Eddie Jones. The Aussie, who has now lost five of his last seven Six Nations matches, will be under pressure following their latest defeat against Scotland. See who are the current favourites to take the reins at Twickenham in either 2023, when Jones contract…

Warren Gatland wants to operate in a "no excuse environment" after taking charge of Wales for a second time. The New Zealander's previous spell as Wales head coach between 2007 and 2019 delivered four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams, two World Cup semi-final appearances and a brief time as rugby union's world number one team. This time…

Wales and Scarlets scrum-half Kieran Hardy is quietly confident his side can defy the odds and give a good account of themselves on their upcoming tour to South Africa in July. Wayne Pivac and his troops face an acid test against the Springboks in a three-Test series, with fixtures at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on July 2, Toyota Stadium in…

England and Scotland kick off their 2021 Guinness Six Nations campaigns with the Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham this afternoon. The match, which kicks off at 4.45pm, will be screened live by STV and ITV. It is the 139th meeting of the teams, with England leading the series 76-43, with 19 of the games being drawn. This year marks the 150th…

cotland face Italy in the Six Nations today hoping to get back to winning ways in round four after back-to-back losses. After getting their campaign off to the perfect start with victory over England, Gregor Townsend's side have stalled since with defeats to Wales and France and they desperately need to produce a positive display to lift the mood…

Shaun Edwards has told Warren Gatland his first task as Wales coach should be to bring back Rob Howley. Gatland this week completed a sensational return to Welsh rugby, taking over the reins from Wayne Pivac who was relieved of his duties after a poor calendar year was punctuated by embarrassing defeats to Italy and Georgia in Cardiff. It was the…

England have been backed to retain their Six Nations crown. Eddie Jones' side head into the tournament full of confidence after establishing themselves as the number two side in the world, just behind world champions South Africa. Last time out, in a tournament disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, England became the first side since Wales in 2013 to…

Victory for England here would maintain their place in second, at least, and would ramp up the tension on their final two matches, including a trip to Paris in the last round. Six Nations 2022 on TV - schedule, kick-off times, channel details Reigning champions Wales came into the tournament with faint hopes of retaining their crown due to a string…

Wayne Pivac's reign as Wales head coach has come to an end less than a year out from the World Cup in France. He paid the price for some damaging defeats, notably this year against Italy and Georgia. Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the highs and lows during Pivac's time in charge. HIGHS 2021 Six Nations title success Pivac had the…

Wayne Pivac's reign as Wales head coach has come to an end less than a year out from the World Cup in France. e paid the price for some damaging defeats, notably this year against Italy and Georgia. Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the highs and lows during Pivac's time in charge. Wales players celebrate winning the Triple Crown during the…

Rugby's Greatest Championship returns this weekend, and the Saturday action kicks off in Rome with what is sure to be a fascinating encounter. The hosts are still on the hunt for their first victory in the tournament since 2015, which came against Scotland at Murrayfield, while Gregor Townsend's side want to get back to winning ways after defeats…

To say Wayne Pivac needs to start drilling down names into his World Cup plans must be an early candidate for understatement of the year. Quite how many players are inked in at this stage we cannot know after a Six Nations that ended chaotically for Wales, but maybe we can have a stab at projecting how Pivac's squad will look. Alun Wyn Jones has…

reland face France in a meeting of the teams considered the top two contenders to win this year's Six Nations after impressive opening wins. France overwhelmed Italy 37-10 and Ireland beat champions Wales 29-7. Ireland travel to Paris without their captain Johnny Sexton he strained a hamstring in training. Without Sexton, the Irish will be seeking…

ALI ROGERS has turned out in a number of team hues in recent months, but the only colour he is focused on wearing now is the dark blue of Scotland at under-20 level. The 19-year-old loose-head prop has his sights set on playing a major role in an important 2023 for the age-grade national side which gets underway with the Six Nations opener away to…

Wales are playing for pride on Super Saturday as their Six Nations 2022 campaign draws to a close with a home clash against Italy. The reigning champions are set to relinquish their title but can still claw their way up to third in the table if results fall their way. Wayne Pivac's men have been hamstrung by key injuries and third place would…

Rugby's Greatest Championship returns this Saturday and will feature what is set to be a titanic clash between two fierce rivals at Twickenham. It will be the first home match of the tournament for Eddie Jones' side who are looking to build on their 33-0 demolition job in Rome while Wales are riding a wave of confidence following a 20-17 victory…

The Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy will be contested on Sunday when Italy travel to France for their Six Nations opener, hoping to beat Les Bleus on their own soil for the first time since 1997 Six Nations favourites France get their campaign up and running with what should be their easiest fixture of the tournament when they host Italy on Sunday. While…

Wales are being given little chance of beating Ireland in Dublin on the opening day of the 2022 Six Nations, despite being reigning champions. Ireland's outstanding autumn, which saw them beat the All Blacks and demolish Argentina and Japan, sees them head into this year's tournament with real momentum. Although Wales won the competition last year,…

reland will be expected to brush aside Italy when the two sides clash in the Six Nations in Dublin this afternoon. Andy Farrell's hosts are hoping to keep their championship hopes alive after suffering a potentially crucial defeat to France last time out. Ireland more than played their part in a thrilling tussle in Paris in round two with tries…

Wales travel to Twickenham for the chance to build on their incredible win against Scotland after a two-week break. While England are the strong favourites at 1/7 with Grosvenor Sport, Wales are 17/4 and a draw is 30/1. Wayne Pivac's side is still heavily affected with injuries but that still did not stop them overseeing Scotland 20-17 at the…

Rugby's Greatest Championship concludes this weekend with'Super Saturday' as Wales host Italy, Scotland head to Ireland and France meet England in Le Crunch. The 2022 Six Nations Championship comes to an end with Round Five this weekend and it's all to play for ahead of Super Saturday. Following our Round Four predictions, we are 10 for 12 in our…

Rugby's Greatest Championship gets back underway soon as England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy gear up for the annual event The 2022 Six Nations Championship will kick off February as the six top rugby union nations from the northern hemisphere get set to go head-to-head once again. Wales will be looking to retain the trophy they won…

Mack Hansen will hope to continue his impactful start to life as an Ireland international in this showdown, which feels like another inevitable victory for the Irish. Six Nations 2022 on TV - schedule, kick-off times, channel details As for Italy, their winless streak extended to 34 games following another loss to England last time out and now…

Rugby's Greatest Championship continues this weekend as France head to Wales, Italy host Scotland and England face off against Ireland. The 2022 Six Nations Championship returns after the second and last of two bye-weeks with three more exciting international fixtures. It was a difficult round to predict and this weekend's fixtures look to provide…

Thirteen weeks on from the World Cup final England will walk out at the Stade de France on Feb 2 - here is the team I would pick to get the job done and start the 2020 Six Nation s with victory in Le Crunch in Paris. This is the first time in a long while I have had to think about this position. Saracens' issues, his brother's injury (Mako always…

Three former Scotland players - Scott Hastings, Roger Baird and Duncan Weir - give their views on Scotland's chances in the upcoming Six Nations. Scotland's chances Scotland showed in last year's Six Nations that they've got a very competitive squad. I'd go as far as to say that this is perhaps one of the strongest squads we've had in the…

Wales may be under the direction of a new head coach by the time the Six Nations starts, so the job of predicting the likely starting XV for the opener against Ireland isn't an easy one. One thing is certain - to stand any chance of winning, it will need to be good against the current top-ranked side in the world. As things stand, certain players…

Well, we're here, the final weekend of the Six Nations, and there's still so much that can happen. France need a victory here to secure the title and the Grand Slam since securing both back in 2010. A win for England could see Ireland take the title, if they can beat Scotland earlier in the day. France have recalled Damien Penaud to the starting…

Wales are being completely written off for the Six Nations even though they are the defending champions and have three matches in front of their own passionate Cardiff crowd. Wayne Pivac's side are ranked as 11-2 outsiders to lift the title again. You can even get them at a tasty 25-1 to win the Triple Crown once more and as much as 40-1 for the…

ENGLAND play host to Ireland as two fancied sides battle for the right to challenge France for the Six Nations title. Eddie Jones' team have had a patchy campaign so far, as they were edged out by Scotland in their opening match. They then followed that up with a commanding win over Italy before grinding out a 23-19 victory against Wales. Like…

I am always being pestered to get a dog and if ever I give in, then I hope the hound is more loyal than I am to my pre-tournament Six Nations tip, France. Those who have kept the faith are now sitting on 13/2 about an 8/11 chance, but I deserted them big style a fortnight ago, and the reverberations of their 27-23 win in Cardiff are still being…

In February 2016, Stuart McCloskey made his international debut for Ireland at Twickenham. It was a tough afternoon for a squad in transition after the 2015 World Cup and Joe Schmidt was looking to rebuild. McCloskey was one of three debutants alongside Josh van der Flier and Ultan Dillane. It finished 21-10. In truth, the result could have been a…