Virgin Media viewers in stitches after Ireland fans hijack Six Nations prediction poll with hilarious results

EVERYTHING went according to plan for Ireland on Saturday as they duly swept aside a poor Welsh side 34-10.

But before our first win in Cardiff since 2013, viewers had a bit of fun in mapping out how the entire Six Nations will unfold.

Virgin Media asked viewers to predict the tournament winners with the final result predictably biased.

Ireland gaining 72% of the vote - when France are defending champions and most experts' pick to win the upcoming World Cup - was amusing enough in its own right.

But another bias had people laughing even more when Italy were deemed more likely winners than England.

The Azzuri have improved over the past 12 months while England resorted to sacking Eddie Jones in December despite nearing the end of a World Cup cycle...but it's still a major stretch to think the eternal minnows are going to leapfrog them.

Journalist with The 42 Ciaran Kennedy was among those to point out the green-tinted nature of the results.

He tweeted: "Virgin Media poll on who will win the Six Nations. Italy get 5% of the vote, England 2%. Good work everybody."

While someone else replied: "Loving this Ireland team but France only getting 18% after a Grand Slam and unbeaten year is remarkable ��."

Of course the championship could all hinge on next week's game as Les Bleus come to Dublin.

Andy Farrell's side put together an excellent first-half display at The Principality Stadium to virtually put the outcome beyond doubt.

And while standards dropped after the break for a spell, it was overall a pretty satisfying start.

At the time of writing we haven't seen how France look in Rome against the Italians but Fabien Galthié has turned them into a fearsome team with no shortage of flair either.

A lot will rest on lingering injury concerns around key men on both sides going into Saturday's much tougher test.

Tadhg Furlong and Jamison Gibson-Park were late scratches from the line-up yesterday while Johnny Sexton went off with a dead leg.

However, speaking afterwards Farrell played down any concerns around his fly-half's availability going forward.

"He came off with a dead leg, and we've done a HIA test on him as well, that's all clear so he's fine."