The Breakdown: A statistical look at round three of the Six Nations
It is crunch time in the Six Nations this weekend, with a crucial Calcutta Cup clash in Edinburgh taking place and Ireland looking to end their Wales rut.
England are aiming to win a third straight championship and second Grand Slam in the space of three years, and are protecting a proud recent record against Scotland at Murrayfield.
Ireland have designs on a clean sweep of victories themselves and welcome a Wales side to Dublin who have proved troublesome in recent history.
France’s build-up to their fixture against Italy has been blighted by off-field problems, but Jacques Brunel will see the visit of the Azzurri as a great opportunity to end a barren run.
With the help of Opta, we take a look at the best stats ahead of the third round of matches.
France v Italy
France are enduring one of their poorest runs in 50 years, with their eight-game winless run their worst since 1968-69 when they went 11 matches without a win.
Mathieu Bastareaud returns from suspension for the alleged use of a homophobic slur, and will add much-needed muscle in Les Bleus’ midfield for what will be his first Six Nations match since 2015.
🔴 Les Bleus sont prêts à défier l'Italie à l'@orangevelodrome ! Découvrez les joueurs choisis par Jacques Brunel et son staff pour ce 3e match du tournoi des @SixNationsRugby ! #FRAITA #soutiensleXV pic.twitter.com/BvFADiojHB
— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) February 21, 2018
History does not favour Italy, who have beaten France just twice in 18 Six Nations contest – lifting the Giuseppe Garibaldi trophy in 2011 and 2013.
Opposing coach Jacques Brunel is a familiar face for the Azzurri, having previously coach Italy and led them to win over his home country five years ago.
Ireland v Wales
Ireland will have to arrest a poor run of form against Wales to keep their Grand Slam hopes alive, with Joe Schmidt’s men having failed to win in the last three contests between the teams – their worst sequence since an eight-game streak between 1971 and 1979.
Home comforts should provide some relief, though, with no side leaving Dublin with a win since England’s 12-6 win in 2013 – Ireland since winning 10 and drawing two at the Aviva Stadium.
TEAM NEWS 🏴 Wales welcome back @lionsofficial trio Dan Biggar, Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams for #IREvWAL. Croeso nol i Lewod Halfpenny, Williams a Biggar i wynebu Iwerddon dydd Sadwrn. pic.twitter.com/MDgRyrrmGM
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) February 20, 2018
No European tier-one player has more tries than Keith Earl’s eight since the start of 2017, while Rory Best will earn his 109th cap and overtake the legendary Paul O’Connell as Ireland’s most-capped forward.
Warren Gatland will take charge of Wales for the 100th time (excluding games he has been absent or with the British and Lions), and has 50 wins to his name so far.
Ireland will be pleased to see George North among the replacements, the Wales winger scored twice against the men in green last year and is fourth on the Six Nations’ top try scorers list – just one shy of Ben Cohen’s tally of 16.
Scotland v England
The hosts know that only a win against their old rivals will realistically keep their Championship hopes alive, but Scotland have not beaten England in the Six Nations since 2008 – losing eight and drawing one since.
Indeed, Scotland have lost their past three at Murrayfield against England and have failed to score a try in their past six home championship matches against them, but their run of five straight home wins in the tournament is as many as they had managed in the past 23.
Let's get physical 🏋️♂️@J_George2 & @dannycare explain a few secrets to lifting big weights in the gym…with #O2InsideLine #weartherose 🌹 pic.twitter.com/TC56gRiifS
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 21, 2018
Chris Robshaw has proved a good luck omen for Eddie Jones, with the former captain winning 19 straight games in an England shirt – only Lawrence Dallaglio’s streak of 28 can better than run.
Owen Farrell and Jonny May have been typically influential for England, with the duo making more clean breaks than anyone else in this year’s Six Nations and providing two try assists apiece.
Comments on RugbyPass
Fellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
5 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
1 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
5 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to commentsOne tough SOB!
16 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
5 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
3 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
16 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
16 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to commentsLove it when we overlap! Promise it was not forethought.
19 Go to commentsjfc can this guy plz stay out of the news for one week
3 Go to commentsIf stormers aren’t available. Based on form and likely availability at the time of the wales Test, you’d think Masuku would be a no-brainer to start. But starting Jordan also makes sense having Masuku come off the bench to close out the game.
2 Go to comments