6 Nations - Weekend Preview

Kick off: Saturday  2:25pm

Location: Murrayfield

TV: RTE Two/BBC One

Odds: Scotland 1/1 v Wales 5/6

Both sides suffered narrow defeats in Round 2. Wales endured a 5 point loss at home to England despite defending valiantly and showing an encouraging attacking performance, which could of yielded victory for Rob Howley's side. A late Elliot Daly try proved to be the difference in a game that could of gone either way. Scotland travelled to the Stade de France in Round 2, they were edged out 22-16 by a spirited French side. Greig Laidlaw left the game after suffering a tournament ending which dampened the Scotland performance, they also lost Barclay & Hardie that affected the balance of the team in a bruising encounter.

Scotland & Wales will be looking to bounce back after both sides saw their grand slam hopes go up in smoke. Wales are narrow favourites for the clash, despite havingto travel to Murrayfield, which is a formidable task for any Test nation. Josh Strauss has been sidelined for the rest of the Six Nations, Sean Maitland & Mark Bennett are both expected to be fit despite both suffering blows at the weekend.

George North & Taulupe Faletau are fighting to prove their fitness ahead of the trip to Murrayfield. North, who has scored 28 tries in 66 Tests, trained on Tuesday and is in the mix for selection. Bath No. 8 Taulupe Faletau featured off the bench against England and will be pushing hard for a starting place. But Howley might opt against changing a starting back-row trio of Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty that performed so impressively against England.

Ireland v France

Kick off: Saturday 4:50pm

Location: Aviva Stadium

TV: RTE Two/ITV

Odds: Ireland 3/10 v France 5/2

Ireland come into the fixture in high spirits following a nine-try demolition of Italy in Rome. Despite the absence of captain Rory Best, Ireland rallied to a first half bonus-point. With new partnerships getting more game time together & Paddy Jackson showing he has the ability to control and dominate a Test match. The hosts start the contest as 7 point favourites, Joe Schmidt might face some unwanted selection headaches as Sexton has missed Ireland's first two matches after calf trouble, while Kearney has nursed a bicep injury and Murray sat out training on Friday with a slight adductor issue.

As Ireland warm up for their first 6 Nations home clash, France come to Dublin resembling a rejuvenated outfit, following their close fought victory over Scotland in Round 2. In last year's renewal, Guy Novès' side beat Ireland 10-9 at the Stade de France to end a run of five matches without victory against the Irish. 

After France performed with credit in defeat in Round 1. This encounter is sure to produce some fireworks, their set-piece and fluid offloading game has been two of France's main attributes in the championship. Half-back pairing of Baptiste Serin and Camille Lopez have impressed during the opening rounds & their influence will be key to France's hopes of avoiding defeat.

England v Italy

Kick off: Sunday 3:00pm

Location: Twickenham

TV: RTE Two/ITV

Odds: England 1/200 v Italy 33/1

Eddie Jones is expected to make a number of changes to his winning machine for Sunday's 6 Nations clash v Italy. James Haskell, Ben Te'o, Jonny May and Ellis Genge are among those pushing for starts ahead of England's return to Twickenham following a break in competition. England extended their winning streak to 16 games with victory over Wales at the Principality Stadium earlier this month and are huge favourites to notch a 17th win on the spin in London.

Conor O' Shea brings his wounded soldiers to Twickenham, following a crushing defeat to Ireland in Rome. Two heavy defeats from the opening two rounds see Italy lie at the bottom of the table. Facing England away is another unenviable task - O' Shea will be forced to make changes across the park and he will need a heroic effort from his captain Sergio Parisse to leave London with something to show for their efforts.

Eddie Jones will be afforded the luxury of providing some fringe players with valuable game time, increasing the depth of his squad even further. Mako Vunipola looks set to return from a two-month absence following knee ligament damage.