The 21st Six Nations Championship (also known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) started on February 1st. The annual rugby union competition contested gathers national teams from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
We are currently on round four of the Championship with France leading with 13 points, followed by England and Ireland with nine. Last years winners Wales are on fourth place with six points, just like Scotland. Italy is last, still without any points.
Team news
ENGLAND
Mark Wilson, back-rower, is returning to the England squad this week for the first time since World Cup Final.
Apprentice scrum-half Alex Mitchell will join up with the squad and fellow Northampton Saint George Furbank is in camp for rehabilitation. Prop Mako Vunipola and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie are not included for family reasons.
IRELAND
Since the Five Nations became Six in 2000, Ireland has five Triple Crowns, four Championship titles and two Grand Slams. This year, defeat from England stopped them in repeating those titles. With postponement of their game against Italy, they have an extra week to prepare for France – who might take their first Grand Slam title in a decade.
SCOTLAND
Although Scotland started the Championship with a narrow defeat to Ireland and England wrestled back the Calcutta Cup with a victory at Murrayfield, a 17-0 celebration over Italy in Rome is a good way for Scots to prepare to welcome France in Edinburgh.
As Magnus Bradbury told to The Scotsman, they don’t see themself as underdogs, yet as a good team who can compete with anyone. “A French team with that kind of momentum behind them, when they play confidently, it’s going to be a tough game, a physical game and a fast game, I’m sure”, Bradbury added.
WALES
Wales claimed the Grand Slam (for winning against every team) last year and Triple Crown (for defeating other “Home Nations” -England, Scotland, Ireland) as well.
In this round, Wales is travelling to Twickenham to face England and to break the defeat streak (Ireland, France), which last happened to them in 2007.
FRANCE
France is the youngest in the Championship, but they beat England, Italy and Wales and positioned themselves at the top of the table. As the statistic show, they are the highest points scorers and the highest try-scorers in the Championship with the lowest amount of possession (43%) and the second-lowest amount of territory (46%).
ITALY
Italy hasn’t started the Championship right, as they a struggling to win a match. They relly all hopes on Tommaso Allan, Carlo Canna, and of course, Matteo Minozzi. Their weekend matches against Ireland have been postponed due to coronavirus.
Where to watch Six nations 2020 live
All matches will be live on BBC and ITV. S4C will cover Wales games, FR2 is covering France, T3 Ireland and DMAX Italy. NBC will broadcast all games of the Championship in America.
Round four schedule
| When is it? | What is it? | Who is playing? | Where to watch | Where to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 07 March 2020 at 17:45 | Six Nations Rugby | England – Wales | itv SPORT | NBC Sports |
| Sunday, 08 March 2020 at 16:00 | Six Nations Rugby | Scotland – France | BBC Sport | DMAX |
| TBA | Six Nations Rugby | Ireland – Italy | TBA | TBA |