After two strange incidents last week, will we see a controversy free weekend? Irelands to lose at this stage, will anyone upset them?
Ireland vs Wales
A bit of steam has run out of this fixture in recent years but it is often a classic. Ireland looking for the Bonus Point win, and likely to get it
Scotland vs England
An ascendant England vs an aggrieved Scotland. Should be closest this week, but plenty writing off England. Prematurely I'll add, the blitz defense of England will be hard to counter for Scotland
France vs Italy
France with a get out of jail card spent will be looking for a solid victory here. Italy will be desperate for anything
I think we have to acknowledge that even though there have been some close games, the quality of rugby in this year’s 6 Nations is poor compared to recent years. The Scotland-England game today seemed mostly made up of hoisting high kicks in hopes of creating an error rather than anything creative. This is taking nothing away from van der Merwe’s individual contribution. Even Ireland who were obviously better than Wales struggled for nearly 30 minutes after half time. We need better rugby!