Source: INPHO

Six Nations Super Saturday

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First the fixtures, then a glance at all six:

Wales v Italy   KO 12 noon Cardiff Arms Park

France v England   KO 14.15   Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne

Ireland v Scotland   KO 20.00   Ravenhill, Belfast

All times UK BST

A Grand Slam is on the line again as the Red Roses travel to the deepest south of France to take on les Bleues in Bayonne.

But first the lunch-time kick-off:

Till now Ioan Cunningham has laid stress on consistent selection. But for the last fling he makes ten changes, two of them positional. His problem is to fit all his best options into the back five. Once more the captain finds herself in the second row, which, for all her great qualities, is a distinct compromise.

Her team be looking for a third win of the campaign to secure their best set of results in years. Above all it would seat them at the top table in next year’s WXV, one of the elite six in tier-1. That is something to stir the heart.

They have enjoyed four wins since last autumn and scored a rare try against France at the close of their last match. They need to get their outside backs into space more effectively than thus far in the series.

Wales:

15 Niamh Terry (Exeter Chiefs), 14 Lisa Neumann (Gloucester-Hartpury), 13 Hannah Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), 12 Kerin Lake (Gloucester- Hartpury), 11 Jasmine Joyce (Bristol Bears), 10 Robyn Wilkins (Gloucester- Hartpury), 9 Ffion Lewis (Worcester Warriors), 1 Cara Hope (Gloucester- Hartpury), 2 Kelsey Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury), 3 Donna Rose (Saracens), 4 Siwan Lillicrap (captain, Bristol Bears), 5 Gwen Crabb (Gloucester-Hartpury), 6 Alisha Butchers (Bristol Bears), 7 Alex Callender (Worcester Warriors), 8 Sioned Harries (Worcester Warriors)

Bench:

16 Carys Phillips (Worcester Warriors), 17 Caryl Thomas (Worcester Warriors), 18 Cerys Hale (Gloucester-Hartpury), 19 Natalia John (Bristol Bears), 20 Bethan Lewis (Gloucester-Hartpury), 21 Keira Bevan (Bristol Bears), 22 Lleucu George (Gloucester-Hartpury), 23 Kayleigh Powell (Bristol Bears)

Italy have disappointed themselves and their supporters with underwhelming performances thus far, but are quite capable of spoiling Wales’ fun in Cardiff.

Andrea Di Giandomenico has laid emphasis on attack for the last round. Captain Furlan returns from her brief stay on the bench, and Sara Barattin will be facing Wales for an astonshing 14th time.

In stark contrast, the uncapped Francesca Granzotto is a significant addition: she comes from a club based in the capital. More Romans needed!

Italy:

15. Manuela Furlan (captain, 85 caps), 14. Aura Muzzo (23 caps), 13. Michela Sillari (66 caps), 12. Beatrice Rigoni (53 caps), 11. Maria Magatti (42 caps), 10. Veronica Madia (29 caps), 9. Sara Barattin (105 caps), 1. Silvia Turani (17 caps), 2. Melissa Bettoni (68 caps), 3. Lucia Gai (80 caps), 4. Valeria Fedrighi (32 caps), 5. Giordana Duca (27 caps), 6. Beatrice Veronese (10 caps), 7. Ilaria Arrighetti (52 caps), 8 Elisa Giordano (captain, 52 caps)

Bench:

16. Vittoria Vecchini (7 caps), 17. Gaia Maris (9 caps), 18. Sara Seye (5 caps), 19. Sara Tounesi (22 caps), 20. Isabella Locatelli (32 caps), 21. Francesca Granzotto (uncapped), 22. Alyssa D’Inca (7 caps), 23 Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi (13 caps)

Then the jam in the sandwich

The most striking choice for France is the return from the 7s squad of Caroline Drouin to partner Laure Sansus at half-back. Such is the value placed on her head. It merely underlines the ongoing incompatability of rugby’s two favourite formats. Round 5 of the Six Nations doesn’t square easily with the opening day of the vaunted Langford 7s.

France:

15 Chloé Jacquet, 14 Caroline Boujard, 13 Maelle Filopon, 12 Gabrielle Vernier, 11 Marine Ménager, 10 Caroline Drouin, 9 Laure Sansus, 1 Annaelle Deshayes, 2 Agathe Sochat, 3 Clara Joyeux, 4 Madoussou Fall, 5 Audrey Forlani, 6 Céline Ferer, 7 Gaelle Hermet (captain), 8 Romane Ménager

Bench:

16 Laure Touyé, 17 Coco Lindelauf, 18 Yllana Brosseau, 19 Julie Annery, 20 Emeline Gros, 21 Alexandre Chambon 22. Jessy Trémoulière, 23 Emilie Boulard

France may not take much comfort from Sarah Hunter’s enforced absence. It restores Poppy Cleall to the position where she can do most damage. We should have known she would shrug off a hurt leg and crutches inside six days. Or will a late medical test still prove me wrong?

Middleton’s major call is to split the bench 6-2 again, to confront the known power of the French pack. It means Amber Reed has to give way, and Sadia Kabeya is rewarded with another selection.

Alex Matthews awaits her 50th cap. Her return from 7s has proved its worth to the squad beyond measure.

England:

15. Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning),14 Lydia Thompson (Worcester Warriors),13. Emily Scarratt (captain, Loughborough Lightning),12. Holly Aitchison (Saracens),11. Jess Breach (Harlequins), 10. Zoe Harrison (Saracens), 9. Leanne Infante (Bristol Bears), 1. Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins), 2. Lark Davies (Loughborough Lightning), 3. Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears), 4. Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury), 5. Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears), 6. Alex Matthews (Worcester Warriors), 7. Marlie Packer (Saracens), 8. Poppy Cleall (Saracens)

Bench:

16. Amy Cokayne (Harlequins), 17. Hannah Botterman (Saracens), 18. Maud Muir (Wasps), 19. Rosie Galligan (Harlequins), 20. Sarah Beckett (Harlequins), 21. Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning), 22 Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury), 23. Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins)

And the Grand Finale

Ireland will be in no mood for generosity. They have had to overcome adversity and setbacks. Greg McWilliams will be delighted to welcome Sene Naoupu back into the fold; the red card she was shown last weekend has been rescinded by the 6N disciplinary committee. That is quite a rare event, but has been welcomed by many people who felt she was treated somewhat harshly.

Next time out Ireland will need to find alternatives to the inside pass which they used a lot against England, only for the receiver to get stopped dead in her tracks. One pass further out and the options would surely increase.

This will be their first visit to Ravenhill since a play-off with Wales at the 2017 World Cup. It will mean a lot to the three Ulster players on view, Neve Jones, Kathryn Dane and Vicky Irwin on debut.

Ireland:

15. Vicky Irwin (Sale Sharks/Ulster, uncapped) ,14. Aoife Doyle (Railway Union/Munster, 9 caps), 13. Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/ Leinster, 47 caps), 12. Enya Breen (UL Bohemian/Munster, 13 caps) 11. Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Railway Union/Leinster, 1 cap), 10. Nikki Caughey (Railway Union/Leinster, 13 caps), 9. Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere/Ulster, 22 caps), 1. Linda Djougang (Romagnat/Leinster, 21 caps), 2. Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury/Ulster, 10 caps), 3. Christy Haney (Blackrock College/Leinster, 3 caps), 4. Nichola Fryday (captain, Exeter Chiefs/ Connacht, 26 caps), 5. Sam Monaghan (Wasps/IQ Rugby, 8 caps), 6. Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College/Munster, 14 caps), 7. Edel McMahon (Wasps/IQ Rugby, 18 caps), 8. Hannah O’Connor (Blackrock College/ Leinster, 11 caps)

Bench:

16. Emma Hooban (Blackrock College/Leinster, 11 caps), 17. Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian/Munster, 5 caps), 18. Katie O’Dwyer (Railway Union/ Leinster, 9 caps), 19. Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/Leinster, 19 caps) 20. Grace Moore (Railway Union/IQ Rugby, 2 caps), 21. Maeve Óg O’Leary (Blackrock College/Munster, 2 caps), 22. Ailsa Hughes (Railway Union/Leinster, 13 caps), 23. Michelle Claffey (Blackrock College/Leinster, 13 caps).

Bryan Easson allowed himself seven hours longer than his rivals to muse over his team selection – did he make best use of them?

Well, the starting 15 remains the same, the only changes seeing Eva Donaldson (back row), Mairi McDonald (scrum-half) and Emma Orr (centre) brought on to the bench.

Scotland have come away empty-handed till now, though they’ve shown enough skill and endeavour to promise much better things. Can they take advantage of an Irish XV still lacking in big-match experience?

One obvious area for improvement is the last five metres of the pitch. The lack of a sharp edge there has cost them dear.

Scotland:

15. Chloe Rollie (Exeter Chiefs, 48 caps), 14. Rhona Lloyd (Stade Bordelais, 37 caps), 13. Lisa Thomson (Sale Sharks, 44 caps), 12. Helen Nelson (Loughborough Lightning, 41 caps), 11. Shona Campbell (Edinburgh University, 5 caps), 10. Sarah Law (Sale Sharks, 51 caps), 9. Caity Mattinson (Worcester Warriors, 4 caps), 1. Molly Wright (Sale Sharks, 13 caps), 2. Lana Skeldon (Worcester Warriors, 52 caps), 3. Christine Belisle (Loughborough Lightning, 16 caps), 4. Emma Wassell (Loughborough Lightning, 55 caps), 5. Sarah Bonar (Harlequins, 28 caps), 6. Rachel Malcolm (captain, Loughborough Lightning, 28 caps), 7. Rachel McLachlan (Sale Sharks, 27 caps), 8. Evie Gallagher (Stirling County, 11 caps)
Bench: 16. Jodie Rettie (Saracens, 19 caps),17. Leah Bartlett (Loughborough Lightning, 15 caps), 18. Katie Dougan (Gloucester Hartpury, 16 caps), 19. Louise McMillan (Hillhead Jordanhill, 35 caps), 20. Eva Donaldson (Edinburgh University, I cap), Anne Young (Edinburgh University, 2 caps), 21. Mairi McDonald (Hillhead Jordanhill, 7 caps), 22. Emma Orr (Biggar, 2 caps), 23. Megan Gaffney (Loughborough Lightning, 43 caps)
This is how the table looks:

Table:

                          P       W       L      B         Pts

England          4         4        0       4          20
France             4         4        0       4         20
Wales              4         2         2      2         10
Ireland            4        1          3      0           5
Italy                 4         1         3        0         4
Scotland         4         0         4       2          2

A reminder that a team winning all five games earns an extra 3 bonus points