Wales turn to Scotland for a bit of help catching Ireland

Key stats for the penultimate set of 2009 Six Nations fixtures

Wales’ hopes of retaining the Six Nations for the first time in thirty years were severely dented by defeat in France a fortnight ago and as a result they will be looking for favours from Scotland and England, who host Ireland and France respectively:

Italy v Wales (3pm, Saturday, BBC1)
Defeat is not an option for Wales but their last trip to Italy ended in a shock 23-20 loss while during their last Six Nations defence in 2006 they were held 18-18 at home by the Wooden Spoon regulars. Wales returned to form by thumping them 47-8 last year but the best price of 1/14 offered by Paddy Power on the away win isn’t good enough value for a team who have won just one of their last three against Italy. Another worry for Wales is that they have won just six of their last away games in the competition but they should still be too strong for a team who have lost eight of their last nine.

Scotland v Ireland (5pm, Saturday, BBC1)
Wales and France are both hoping for an upset but there isn’t likely to be one forthcoming.  Ireland have won seven successive Six Nations encounters against Scotland, three of which were held at Murrayfield. The leaders’ away form in this competition is solid if unspectacular, with eleven wins from sixteen since 2003, while they have won five of their last seven. Scotland have struggled at home, winning just two of their last six.

England v France (3pm, Sunday, BBC1)
France must win in England to keep alive their slim hopes of a fifth championship triumph in eight years in what should be the closest of this weekend’s matches. The omens aren’t good for Les Bleus, considering they have won just two of their last ten Six Nations encounters at Twickenham but the hosts are in dire form, tasting victory in only two of their last nine games in all competitions. France’s recent away form in the tournament will cause them some alarm. They have won just one of their last four having won nine of ten prior to that.

Posted: March 13th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn |