Fixtures:
Saturday 19 April
Italy v France, Parma; KO 13.00
England v Scotland, Leicester; KO 16.45
Sunday 20 April
Wales v Ireland, Newport; KO 15.00
(all times BST)
The Saturday matches
Italy v France
Les Bleues know they must get the better of the Azzurre to retain a chance of the title. The Red Roses, at home to the Scots, are as good as a home banker.
The French side:
1 Yllana Brosseau 2 Manon Bigot 3 Assia Khalfaoui 4 Manaé Feleu 5 Madoussou Fall Raclot 6 Romane Ménager 7 Nassira Okemba 8 Téani Feleu 9 Pauline Bourdon Sansus 10 Carla Arbez 11 Emilie Boulard 12 Gabrielle Vernier 13 Marine Ménager 14 Joanna Grisez 15 Morgane Bourgeois
15 Elisaa Riffonneau 17 Ambre Mwayembe 18 Clara Joyeux 19 Charlotte Escudero 20 Axelle Berthoumieu 21 Léa Champon 22 Alex Chambon 23 Lina Queyroi
]
Once again a 6:2 split on the bench.
With Gabrielle Vernier, Romane Ménager and Joanna Grisez returning, the starting Fifteen looks even stronger than in the previous three rounds. Téani Feleu stays at No 8, meaning Ménager plays on the blind side.
I can see only one result from this game, a view reinforced by the Italian selection, which follows below. France to win by a street.
And Italy
1 Silvia Turani 2 Vittoria Vecchini 3 Sara Seye 4 Valeria Fedrighi 5 Giordana Duca 6 Beatrice Veronese 7 Alissa Ranuccini 8 Elisa Giordano (captain) 9 Alia Bitonci 10 Veronica Madia 11 Alyssa D’Incá 12 Sara Mannini 13 Michela Sillari 14 Aura Muzzo 15 Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi
16 Desiree Spinelli 17 Emanuela Stecca 18 Gaia Maris 19 Sara Tounesi 20 Francesca Sgorbini 21 Sofia Stefan 22 Beatrice Capomaggi 23 Beatrice Rigoni
The Italians were delighted with their win in Edinburgh, but face a heightened challenge this weekend. One consolation is France’s faltering performances against them in the past. One last-minute defeat gave Italy their only second-place finish to date.
Fabio Roselli’s policy is to hold fire until the fifth round. That is my interpretation of his starting side. He has switched both his half-backs, meaning that Sofia Stefan joins Beatrice Rigoni and Francesca Sgorbini on the bench. Sgorbini put in an outstanding performance last week.
We can only hope that the back three see enough of the ball to cause the French a few moments of doubt and disruption. A lot depends on young Alia Bitonci holding her own against one of the world’s best, Pauline Bourdon Sansus.
I hope that Italian fans all accept Roselli’s policy for this key trans-Alpine match.
England v Scotland
These are the two teams for Leicester:
England
15 Ellie Kildunne (51 caps) 14 Abby Dow (50) 13 Meg Jones (23) 12 Jade Shekells (1) 11 Claudia Macdonald (33) 10 Hollie Aitchison (38) 9 Lucy Packer (29) 1 Kelsey Clifford (12) 2 Lark Atkin-Davies (64) 3 Sarah Bern (69) 4 Rosie Galligan (22) 5 Abbie Ward (72) 6 Zoe Aldcroft (captain, 61)) 7 Marlie Packer (109) 8 Maddie Feaunati (13)
16 May Campbell (2) 17 Hannah Botterman (54) 18 Maud Muir (38) 19 Morwenna Talling 20 Alex Matthews (73) 21 Mo Hunt (78) 22 Helena Rowland (37) 23 Emily Scarratt (117)
Scotland:
15. Chloe Rollie (73 caps), 14. Rhona Lloyd (55), 13. Emma Orr (27), 12. Lisa Thomson (67), 11. Francesca McGhie (20), 10. Helen Nelson (captain, 68), 9. Caity Mattinson (30), 1. Anne Young (18), 2. Lana Skeldon (77), 3. Elliann Clarke (18), 4. Becky Boyd (2), 5. Sarah Bonar (45), 6. Evie Gallagher (33), 7. Rachel McLachlan (49), 8. Jade Konkel (69)
16. Elis Martin (18), 17. Leah Bartlett (41), 18. Molly Poolman (2), 19. Adelle Ferrie (3), 20. *Gemma Bell, 21. *Rhea Clarke, 22. *Rachel Philipps, 23. Lucia Scott (3)
Bryan Easson has made two changes, both caused by injury. In the absence of the skipper Rachel Malcolm (concussion), Evie Gallagher moves to the blind side with Jade Konkel resuming her usual role of No 8. Caity Mattinson played most of the Italy game at No 9, following the injury to Leia Brebner-Holden. She retains her place.
The stark difference between the two sides is summed up by these limited adjustments. Easson has nothing like the reserve stocks John Mitchell enjoys. It’s confirmed by the addition of no fewer than three uncapped players on the bench. At least it’s encouraging to see that three of the eight come from local Edinburgh stock. In that respect Easson is pointing to the future.
Rachel MachLachlan is in line for her 50th cap. Congratulations to her, but I fear she won’t qualify for a crocheted thistle gift from Abby Dow.
Sunday
We can only hope that the increasing travails besetting Welsh rugby don’t effect Sean Lynn’s side as they appear at Rodney Parade. Yes, matters have grown even worse for the WRU in the men’s sector. The fate of the four regions still hangs in the balance. Lynn’s counterpart, Matt Sherratt, is putting a brave face on things, but admits it’s tough going. He’s in charge of Cardiff rugby too, and they are so indebted that they are to be run by the WRU itself. You could hardly make up such a story.
One indication will be the size of the crowd in Newport. They haven’t played there for a while. An attendance of over 20,000 at the Principality Stadium was a boost; can it be maintained?
For the third time in three matches the result looks all too clear: the marauding Irish should match their 36-5 win of last year, even though they are playing away.
