Six Nations Championship – Round 1 preview: North powerhouses go head to head

Panic not: top-tier rugby is back, and while the time zones of the Northern Hemisphere’s premium rugby competition might not be overly friendly, there should be some good games over the next few weeks.

It’s also an opportunity to reignite the ‘road to Japan’ discussions as we get to see how the best in Europe are travelling and maybe even to touch on how three of the four top nations – England, Ireland and Wales – are led by Southern Hemisphere coaches.

Over the coming weeks we’ll review each weekend’s performances and follow the stories of the championship. For now, though, let’s look at the first round’s matches. As a reminder, here’s how the teams ended up last year.

1. England – 4 wins, 1 loss
2. Ireland – 3-2
3. France – 3-2
4. Scotland – 3-2
5. Wales – 2-3
6. Italy – 0-5

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Round 1, 2018

Wales vs Scotland
Scotland had a good 2017 and improved in a lot of areas. However, they go into this weekend’s game against Wales with some serious injury problems. Their front row has been decimated and their overall desire to attack is going to be severely hampered if their backs can’t get good, quick, clean ball.

Coach Gregor Townsend has carried his attacking style from his playing days, through his coaching time at Glasgow and into his time in charge of the national side. It’s going to be interesting to see what he has in store for the Welsh. His team will likely look to attack in new and unusual ways that keep the home side guessing.

Warren Gatland is threatening that Wales will unleash an attacking force in this tournament as they try to move on from the years of Warren Ball. But Wales too are suffering from a number of injuries to first-choice players, including Dan Biggar, Sam Warburton, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Webb and Taulupe Faletau. That’s a huge amount of talent missing.

Gatland has responded by selecting ten players from Welsh club side Scarlets (first place in Conference B of the Pro 14) in the hope one assumes that their combinations and familiarity with one another will fill some of the gaps his team are suffering.

One of the youngsters worth keeping an eye on is Reece Patchell at number ten. He’s an exciting player and arguably fits the vision that Gatland has for how he wants Wales playing in the future.

Scotland will be keen to build on the successes of 2017. If they stumble now and go back to the bottom of the Six Nations ladder, last year will have meant nothing. But if they can keep the momentum going, they could be setting themselves up for an exciting 2019.

This really is going to be a very tight game. While the Welsh have the home advantage, the Scots have momentum and a growing belief that they can win the tight games.

Scotland to win by three.

(AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

France vs Ireland
It’s unusual to say that a French side playing at home is the underdog, but in this match they most certainly are. Long gone are the days of destructive French teams giving their opponents nightmares; the current side are low on confidence and their domestic league is earning a reputation for being a well-paid but brutal experience that beats the energy and creativity from too many of its players.

Jacques Brunel takes charge for his first match as French coach and is entrusting his hopes to the 19-year-old Matthieu Jalibert, who he used to coach at Bordeaux-Begles. The teenager has a whole lot of potential, and if he can get some good ball from his forwards, then his free-spirited attacking flair could make for an exciting afternoon.

Ireland are in an interesting position. They are one of the form sides in world rugby at the moment and had a clean sweep against their Southern Hemisphere opponents in November. However, they have lost some serious experience, and of the 36 players in the current squad, almost half of them have less than ten international caps.

In those lesser experienced players there are some exciting up-and-comers, however. Jacob Stockdale, who has scored four tries in his four appearances so far, gets to start and has some serious gas the Irish will be looking to use to exploit the bigger but arguably slower French backs.

It’s going to be exciting to see some fresh talent in this match, especially the French number ten in his debut, but Ireland should have too much for the home side.

Ireland to win by 10.

(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

Italy vs England
In many ways this match is quite simple. If England play at their best or near their best, they will win. Italy simply cannot match them. However, if Italy can disrupt England’s rhythm and take their opportunities – and get lucky – then there could be some intrigue in this match.

Last year the Italians brought us ‘ruckgate’ when they confused England to a standstill with their non-compete approach at the tackle and lack of an offside line, but things have changed since then and Italy have continued to struggle at the international level.

Going into the tournament as favourites is not a surprise for England. Their good run continued under Eddie Jones in the recent internationals, with good wins over South Africa and Australia the highlights from November 2017.

Against Samoa, while there wasn’t evidence of the exciting attacking rugby that their fans crave, there were signs of a side that were getting smarter. After a poor first half Eddie Jones apparently left the team to figure it out for themselves, which they did well in the second half. This wisdom and insight is going to be critical if they want to keep the momentum going into next year’s big dance.

Through a combination of injuries and a desire to develop more depth Jones is likely to start a number of less experienced players in this year’s championship. Zach Mercer, a star in last year’s under-20s World Cup, sadly misses out due to illness, but 24-year-old loose head Alec Hepburn is likely to make his debut.

For the Italians there are definite signs of improvement at the club level, which is critical for the future success of the game, but the national side continue to struggle and have won just once in the Six Nations since 2014.

Sergio Parisse will lead the team, like he always does, with passion and determination. He needs his team to go with him for the full 80 minutes and keep fighting. Coach Conor O’Shea knows that his team are starting as huge underdogs, but he’s commented recently that he’s excited about the tournament and sees it as another chance for the team to make progress. Of course eventually progress has to turn into wins, otherwise it just doesn’t matter.

England to win by 14.

(AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

Tournament predictions
It’s clear that there are plenty of injuries impacting all teams at the start of this year’s championship. This further strengthens England’s run at the title – their depth gives them a real advantage when players are dropping like flies.

That being said, there is a lot of expectation on the up-and-coming players who will be taking the field over the coming weeks. It’ll be interesting to see how these less experienced men look to stamp their name on the competition, but at this point it’s hard to look past another England Six Nations title.