Six Nations acca tips: Ireland still favourites to seal title, England to win le crunch, Wales to get the wooden spoon
- Thomas Ridley
- 14 March 2024
It's all to play for on Super Saturday after a thrilling penultimate round, which saw Italy beat Scotland for the first time since 2015 and England derail Ireland's Grand Slam dream.
We've just about got our breath back after a pulsating round of Six Nations action and now we're looking forward to one of the lynchpins of the rugby calendar, Super Saturday.
The title destination will be decided and the wooden spoon could be arriving to a country other than Italy for the first time since 2015.
It all comes down to three huge clashes, with Ireland seeking to defend their title against Scotland, who have the slimmest of title chances, but a win could secure their first Triple Crown since 1990.
England who are searching for their first title since 2020, travel to Lyon to face a France side who found some form in Cardiff last time out, while Italy travel to Wales in that crucial clash at the bottom of the table.
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Six Nations acca
Wales vs Italy (Sat 14:15 GMT)
While we predicted Wales would struggle in our tournament preview, we didn't expect them to be winless going into the final round.
It's been a difficult tournament for Warren Gatland's inexperienced troops and they face an Italy side who will be full of confidence after they stunned Scotland last weekend.
Last time out against France, the Welsh fought well in the first half but a second half surrender meant that Les Bleus ran out 45-24 winners.
The Italians will be fancying their chances and they won at Cardiff two years ago, so they know how to get the better of the Welsh on their own patch.
An Italian win is the way to go as their newfound confidence could knock the stuffing out of a despondent Wales side.
Ireland vs Scotland (Sat 16:45)
The Irish will need to bounce back quickly from their last-minute heartbreak at Twickenham if they want to retain the Six Nations title.
With three wins out of three, Ireland looked like they were cruising towards an unprecedented second consecutive Grand Slam, but Marcus Smith stepped up for England with a last minute drop goal to take the title race down to the final round.
The equation is simple for Andy Farrell's men, win and the title stays in Dublin, lose by more than 7 points and with less than four tries, then the title could potentially go to England, if they grab a bonus point win in Lyon.
Scotland who could have had title hopes of their own had they not lost to Italy last time out, will not lay down and let the Irish dominate, as they have their eyes set on another prize, the Triple Crown.
The Scots haven't won a Triple Crown since 1990 and had impressed throughout the tournament prior to the shock defeat to Italy, so we know they stand a chance, but a very slim one at that.
Home advantage should swing this one to the Irish, but a Scotland handicap bet is certainly worth a punt given the mercurial talents they possess, most notably Finn Russell and Duhan Van Der Merwe.
France vs England (Sat 20:00)
England will be out to avenge last year's record-breaking defeat in another potentially pivotal edition of le crunch.
England's win against the seemingly invincible Ireland was one that will live long in the memories of many, but they face a tough test here against a French side who haven't really set the world alight throughout the tournament but they still have a huge amount of quality in their ranks.
Their titles hopes could be crushed with even an Irish bonus point, so this one will more than likely be a dead rubber to close out the tournament.
However, If England do win with a bonus point here they will definitely secure second place and a fourth win of this year's tournament, a record that would be a stark improvement upon last year's two wins and a lowly finish of fourth.
The French have been an anomaly this year, the pre-tournament favourites have a perfect record on the road, winning in Cardiff and Edinburgh, however they are yet to win at home, but they have played away from the cauldron that is the Stade De France so that could partly explain their home issues.
They have definitely missed Antoine Dupont who was a vital cog of the team that won the 2022 Grand Slam and barring their bonus point win at Wales, they have been very poor, with indiscipline often costing them.
Even though an England win isn't favoured by the bookies, it's the way to go as their Ireland win should give them plenty of confidence.
