We look at the talking points and thoughts from camps ahead of a pivotal Six Nations round in the title race between Ireland, France and England.
Ireland and France taking risks with history on the line?
Saturday’s Six Nations meeting of Ireland and France in Dublin is gargantuan as far as the title in concerned.
Should Ireland win, they are a Test match in Rome away from a Grand Slam victory and historic ‘three-peat’ – no side in championship history have ever won three outright titles in succession.
Lose to Les Bleus, though, and the differential in points difference – France are 63 points better off than Ireland before Round 4 – means France will be a victory over Scotland in Paris away from a first Six Nations title since 2022 and only their second since 2010.
It doesn’t get much bigger. And yet, some of the selection calls and bench configurations from head coaches Fabien Galthie and Simon Easterby appear hugely risky.
France have named a 7-1 bench split of forwards to backs, with scrum-half Maxime Lucu the only backline cover. They are only the second nation ever to use such a configuration after South Africa.
The benefit is that virtually the entirety of France’s monstrous forward pack will regenerate and go again for the full second half. But if there is a single injury in the backline, captain and star man Antoine Dupont will be shifted from his position of influence at nine.
If France were to suffer two backline injuries – a far from unusual occurrence – they would be in the position of deploying a forward in the backs, most likely on one wing or in midfield, a scenario which could be fatal to their chances of winning.
Ireland, almost certainly in response to France’s tactics, have dropped a replacement back themselves and named a 6-2 split.
With Mack Hansen ruled out, Easterby has proceeded to name a left-footed full-back on the right wing in Jamie Osborne for the first time in his career in what is a clear risk – Osborne preferred to Calvin Nash due to his greater flexibility to move positions should there be injuries.
Left-footed Jamie Osborne, who has impressed from full-back for Ireland, has been unusually named on the right wing for the first time in his career
Easterby has also stuck with 22-year-old Sam Prendergast at fly-half, despite the languid playmaker missing the most tackles of any player in the championship so far (15 in three matches).
Replacement 10 Jack Crowley came off the bench to make a huge impact against England in the opening round, but has been frozen out since. Far superior to Prendergast from a defensive perspective, Crowley would have been a much safer option up against a hugely-physical France side.
Persisting with Prendergast when his defence was badly exposed against a Wales side destined for the Wooden Spoon is another risk, and one which, at some point, is going to bite Ireland. It may well do on Saturday.
The fact Crowley is one of only two backs on the bench means the opportunity to bring him on early or for a sustained spell in the second half should Prendergast struggle is also removed – the backline replacement on a 6-2 bench is there principally to cover injuries.
Nobody from any side in the Six Nations has missed more tackles than Ireland out-half Sam Prendergast (15)
“Sometimes there’s really tight calls and it’s just the gut but in this case there’s a couple of reasons for that and one of those is that Jamie [Osborne] offers us more flexibility in the positions he can play,” Easterby said.
“He’s done pretty well so far across the short international career he’s had. He’s a fabulous footballer, first and foremost.
“He’s got a physical presence and he’s also got a really smart rugby brain. He understands the game and the feel of the game.
“We have a bit of flexibility in Jamie’s position, him covering the majority of positions in the backline.
“This [facing France] represents a serious challenge to us. The challenge is one thing but the opportunity it presents this team is something really special, isn’t it?
“We know that given the opportunity, the French have the ability to do real damage.
“But so do we and we feel confident if we get our game in place and that we win moments and create momentum, this team can do something special as well.”
Borthwick: Marcus Smith still a game-changer – we’ll unleash him from bench
England head coach Steve Borthwick says he is looking forward to “unleashing” Marcus Smith once opponents Italy are fatigued after dropping him to the bench for Sunday’s meeting at Allianz Stadium Twickenham.
Smith was moved from fly-half to full-back following the Dublin defeat to Ireland that began England’s Six Nations but, after nervy one-point victories over France and Scotland, the Harlequins playmaker has been ditched from the line-up.
England’s Alex Mitchell and Fraser Dingwall react to the news full-back Marcus Smith has been dropped for their upcoming Six Nations match with Italy
Smith’s exclusion from the starting XV is perhaps the biggest selection bombshell from any side this week, continuing a rapid fall from grace for the 26-year-old.
He has been involved in all 10 of England’s Tests since the last Six Nations but, having lost the 10 jersey to Fin Smith after Dublin, he now finds himself watching on as cover.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented players, a lot of talented backs with attacking ability,” Borthwick said. “Marcus has done so many things we want.
“He’s a game-changer. He has impact in games. When he has the impact, it’s a different time of the game now to what it has been.
“I think Marcus has done some really outstanding things. He has the ability to find space that other players can’t.
“The exciting thing I’m looking forward to is unleashing him when there’s a bit of fatigue on the pitch, there’s a bit of space, he comes on with his freshness. I think the whole of Allianz Stadium will be excited to see him come onto the pitch in the second half.
Sky Sports spoke to England’s Tom Curry about facing Italy at Twickenham
“In certain positions, we are in a really strong circumstance, to have quality players all competing and helping each other.
“You see that at 10, you see it at 15. I’d love to have it in every position but it allows me to have slight tweaks, slight changes in the makeup of the team.”
The rejig means Borthwick’s backs selection for Italy is made up of five Northampton players.
When was asked whether benched Harlequins star Smith would therefore find it tough to reclaim his place, Borthwick replied: “It’s one of the factors. When you need to change the team, when you want to keep consistency in the team.
“I want to build a togetherness, I’m not going to change the team hugely but there will always be little tweaks and I feel this is the right one for this game.”
Former England scrum-half Ben Youngs says he would like to see Borthwick’s side run with the ball more rather than revert to their kicking game
Adam Jones: Wales won’t be in awe of one of best Scotland sides ever
Scrum coach Adam Jones says Wales will aim to “put the frighteners” on “probably one of the best sides” Scotland have had at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Wales have won on six of their last eight trips to Edinburgh, although they will head north following 15 successive Test defeats, including three in this season’s tournament.
“There is pressure on Scotland. This is probably one of the best sides they’ve ever had, if not the best side they’ve ever had,” Wales’ consultant scrum coach Jones said.
“They will be expecting to beat us pretty comfortably at home against a team that has lost 15 times.
“We showed we can go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams [Ireland] in the world. We rattled them a bit. We didn’t get across the line but we will keep building on that with the confidence we’ve got.
“They have got good players, don’t get me wrong, but you can rattle good players and get stuck into them. We are not going up there in awe of them.
“They will expect to win. We won’t play on being underdogs, but we will certainly go up there to put the frighteners on them a bit.
“We are not going to go up there daunted. We want to get the monkey off our back. We’re going up there to win – we are not going there to make up the numbers.”
