sign in sign up
<<
Home , Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Autumn Nations Cup, Aviva Stadium, Ben Youngs, Bundee Aki

Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021 jon

Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

MEN’S INTERNATIONALS – 20 MARCH, 2021

WORLD RUGBY MEN’S RANKINGS STATS

• will secure an immediate return to third place if they beat and lose to • Wales will climb above France if they complete the in • Wales can climb as high as third if they win by more than 15 points and England lose, or with a narrower victory if Ireland beat England by more than 15 points • Les Bleus will drop two places to sixth if they lose and Ireland beat England in • Wales can fall no lower than sixth with a heavy defeat in Paris, although their advantage over would be down to less than a tenth • Ireland will climb above Wales if they win and the Welsh lose to France • Ireland must win by more than 15 points to climb above their visitors England • The Irish could climb as high as third, but only if the above scenario happens and the match between France and Wales ends in a draw in Paris. This would leave both on 85.17 rating points to two decimal places, but Ireland with the slightly better rating when expanded to the 15 decimal places the rankings work to • However, they will drop below Australia again with defeat at home to England • England can fall no lower than fifth – a position they last occupied in August 2019 • cannot improve their rating with victory given the 9.47 rating points between the sides before home weighting is factored in • will climb two places if they avoid defeat against Scotland – three if lose to • The Scots will drop below into 10th place if they fail to win at Murrayfield • Georgia cannot improve their position with victory in Russia as their maximum gain is 0.42 • The Lelos will fall one place – below Tonga – if they lose by more than 15 points, two if Italy avoid defeat against Scotland • Georgia could fall in victory if Italy also beat Scotland by more than 15 points. However, if the Lelos match Italy’s margin of victory they will not slip from 12th • Russia can only improve their position if they beat Georgia and lose to • Romania will climb above Spain into 18th place with victory over their visitors • Spain will regain 17th place lost to last weekend if they avoid defeat in Romania • Los Leones can equal their highest position of 16th if they win by more than 15 points

SCOTLAND (9) 80.12 v ITALY (15) 70.65

Scotland win by 15 points or less – Scotland 80.12, Italy 70.65 (No change) Scotland win by more than 15 points – Scotland 80.12, Italy 70.65 (No change) Draw – Scotland 79.12, Italy 71.65 Italy win by 15 points or less – Scotland 78.12, Italy 72.65 Italy win by more than 15 points – Scotland 77.12, Italy 73.65

IRELAND (6) 83.72 v ENGLAND (3) 86.41

Ireland win by 15 points or less – Ireland 84.69, England 85.44 Ireland win by more than 15 points – Ireland 85.17, England 84.96 Draw – Ireland 83.69, England 86.44 England win by 15 points or less – Ireland 82.69, England 87.44 England win by more than 15 points – Ireland 82.17, England 87.96

1 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

FRANCE (4) 85.64 v WALES (5) 83.97

France win by 15 points or less –France 86.17, Wales 83.44 France win by more than 15 points – France 86.44, Wales 83.17 Draw – France 85.17, Wales 84.44 Wales win by 15 points or less – France 84.17, Wales 85.44 Wales win by more than 15 points – France 83.44, Wales 86.17

RUSSIA (20) 63.14 v GEORGIA (12) 73.31

Russia win by 15 points or less – Russia 64.85, Georgia 71.59 Russia win by more than 15 points – Russia 65.71, Georgia 70.73 Draw – Russia 63.85, Georgia 72.59 Georgia win by 15 points or less – Russia 62.85, Georgia 73.59 Georgia win by more than 15 points – Russia 62.71, Georgia 73.73

ROMANIA (19) 65.37 v SPAIN (18) 66.88

Romania win by 15 points or less – Romania 66.22, 66.03 Romania win by more than 15 points – Romania 66.65, Spain 65.61 Draw – Romania 65.22, Spain 67.03 Spain win by 15 points or less – Romania 64.22, Spain 68.03 Spain win by more than 15 points – Romania 63.65, Spain 68.61

The Men’s Rankings update every Monday at 12:00 GMT.

2 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

SIX NATIONS 2021

SCOTLAND v ITALY – MURRAYFIELD, – KO 14:15 GMT

Head to head Played: 32 – Scotland leads 24-8 Points for: Scotland 794 / Italy 532 (avg. score: Scotland 24-16 Italy) Highest score: Scotland 48 (48-7 on 29 August, 2015) / Italy 20 (37-17 on 24 February, 2007) Biggest winning margin: Scotland 41 (48-7 on 29 August, 2015) / Italy 20 (37-17 on 24 February, 2007)

First met: 14 December, 1996 – Scotland 29-22 Italy – Murrayfield, Edinburgh Last met: 14 November, 2020 – Scotland 28-17 Italy – Stadio ,

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France) Test debut: 13 March, 2010 – Russia 48-11 Tests as referee : 51 (including one as replacement referee) Six Nations debut: 15 March, 2014 – Italy 11-52 England Six Nations tests as referee: 10

• Pascal Gaüzère has refereed this fixture twice previously, taking charge of Scotland’s 29-0 win at Murrayfield in March 2017 and their 29-27 victory in in March 2018 • This will be his fifth match as a test referee at Murrayfield, having also overseen Scotland defeats against England and Wales • Italy will finish bottom of the Championship for the sixth year in a row and the seventh time in eight years with Scotland bottom in 2015 • Italy’s first-ever Six Nations match on 5 February, 2020 saw them beat Scotland 34-20 at the • Diego Dominguez kicked 29 points in the win – including three drop goals – with Giampiero de Carli scoring a first-half try • Italy have lost their last 31 Six Nations matches, dating back to a 22-19 defeat of Scotland at Murrayfield on 28 February, 2015 • In this run, Italy have scored 49 tries and 409 points but conceded 165 tries and 1,250 points • is the only player in Scotland’s squad this weekend to have started that 2015 loss to Italy, although Hamish Watson came off the bench. None of Italy’s 23 were involved • In total, Italy have won just 12 and drawn one of their 109 Six Nations matches, losing 96 • Seven of Italy’s 12 Six Nations victories have come against Scotland • Italy have now lost all 12 matches under coach • They have lost 13 games in a row since beating 48-7 at RWC 2019, 541 days ago • Scotland have won their last nine meetings with Italy dating back to the 2015 Six Nations • The closest Italy have come to victory in this run was a 29-27 loss in 2018 • Scotland have only won one of their last six home matches in the Six Nations dating back to their 33-20 win over Italy in February 2019 • Italy have only won twice on Scottish soil, 37-17 in February 2007 and 22-19 in February 2015 – these are Italy’s only wins in 54 away matches in the Six Nations • Italy need four tries to bring up 50 in test matches against Scotland (81) • If Italy fail to add to their five tries, it will be their lowest return for a Championship since 2014 • Italy could also concede a record number of points for a single as they have conceded 187 (an average of 47 per game) so far in 2021. The record is currently 228 points conceded by the Azzurri in their debut Championship in 2000 • Italy have conceded more than 200 points in a single Championship on five occasions – in 2000, 2001, 2016, 2017 and 2018

3 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

• Italy winger has made the second-most metres in the competition. His 361 metres gained is only bettered by Ireland’s (433) • Three Scotland players have played every minute of their campaign – , Hamish Watson and captain Stuart Hogg. No Italian has played every minute • Scotland lost six lineouts on their own throw in defeat to Ireland • Scotland have made seven personnel and two positional changes for the visit of Italy, the most eye-catching being captain Stuart Hogg’s first selection at fly-half in his 84th test • starts at full-back for the first time since the 38-38 draw with England in March 2019 with filling his vacated spot on the right wing • Centre , scrum-half Scott Steele, hooker David Cherry, prop and second-rows Sam Skinner and are the other changes • Steele and Cherry will make their first starts for Scotland • could become Scotland’s 61st World Rugby U20 Championship graduate if he comes off the bench for his debut – only France (74) and (73) have capped more • Italy have made four changes from the Wales defeat, two in the pack and two in the backline. Prop and second-row come in, while and get the nod at inside centre and full-back respectively • Second-row Riccardo Favretto could make his debut for Italy if called upon from the bench, having played in Italy’s 30-29 loss to Scotland in the U20 Six Nations last February • Italy’s entire backline has 89 caps between them with only Padovani (27) and (30) in double figures • Italy’s starting line-up has 234 caps in total, compared to Scotland’s 390. In total, Scotland’s starting XV has 390 caps to Italy’s 234

4 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

IRELAND v ENGLAND – , DUBLIN – KO 16:45 GMT

Head to head Played: 137 – England leads 80-49 with eight draws Points for: Ireland 1,170 / England 1,681 (avg. score: Ireland 8-12 England) Highest score: England 57 (57-15 on 24 August, 2019) / Ireland 43 (43-13 on 24 February, 2007) Biggest winning margin: England 42 (57-15 on 24 August, 2019) / Ireland 43 (43-13 on 24 February, 2007)

First meeting: 15 February, 1875 – England* 0-0 Ireland – Kennington Oval, Last meeting: 21 November, 2020 – England 18-7 Ireland – Twickenham, London * England won on goals

Referee: (France) Debut: 25 April, 2009 – 9-27 Six Nations debut: 11 March, 2017 – England 61-21 Scotland Tests as referee: 28 Six Nations tests as referee: 5

• Mathieu Raynal refereed three tests at the in 2020 with Ireland winning them all, against Scotland in the Six Nations and Wales and Georgia in the • The French official has never taken charge of a match between Ireland and England • Victory for Ireland would be their 50th test win over England • England have won their last four matches with Ireland, three of them at Twickenham, including the 18-7 win in the Autumn Nations Cup last November • England’s last win in Dublin was 32-20 in the 2019 Six Nations opener • Ireland’s last win against England was 24-15 at Twickenham on 17 March, 2018 • England have won eight of their last 11 meetings with Ireland • England have not lost three matches in a single Championship since finishing fifth in 2018 – and only three times in the Six Nations era, when finishing fourth in 2005 and 2006 • The last time Ireland lost three games in a single Championship was in 2014 when they finished fifth. The only other time in the Six Nations era was in finishing fourth in 2008 • needs one penalty to bring up 100 in the Six Nations – joining Ronan O’Gara, and Stephen Jones to reach the milestone • Farrell is the leading point scorer in the 2021 Six Nations with 44, while Anthony Watson is joint-top try-scorer with Louis Rees-Zammit on four • Farrell has finished top point-scorer twice before, in 2016 (69 points) and 2019 (59 points) • Johnny Sexton was top point-scorer in 2014 and is one point behind Farrell in this Championship • Farrell needs six points to reach 500 in Championship history and become the third player to reach the milestone after Ronan O’Gara and Jonny Wilkinson • and Owen Farrell will face Ireland for the 12th time – two behind Rory Underwood’s record • This will be CJ Stander’s 28th and final Six Nations match after he announced on Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the season • Peter O’Mahony is available again after completing a three-match suspension but James Ryan and are ruled out through injury • England have the most ‘ever-presents’ of any team in the Championship, with four players having played every minute possible in , , Owen Farrell and • England have used the fewest players so far with 27 having taken to the pitch • With Garry Ringrose ruled out through injury, is the only Irish contender to play in every single minute of the Championship • Ireland have made six personnel and three positional changes from the Scotland win

5 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

• Prop , and number eight come into the line-up with moving into the second-row and CJ Stander moving to blindside • In the backline, scrum-half , winger and centre start with the latter’s selection seeing move out one to outside centre • Stockdale makes his first appearance of 2021 and the first on the wing since the 2020 Six Nations loss to England • Conan will start a test for the first time since Ireland’s final RWC 2019 warm-up match against Wales • England have made only one change from the defeat of France with replacing the injured Henry Slade at outside centre • Daly has only been named at centre once before for England – his first test start, against in November 2016 • Full-back (seven) is the only player in the England backline with less than 50 caps to his name • England’s starting line-up boasts 769 caps in comparison to Ireland’s 694

6 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

FRANCE v WALES – , PARIS – KO 21:00 (20:00 GMT)

Head to head Played 100 – Wales leads 51-46 with three draws Points for: France 1,484 / Wales 1,523 (avg. score: France 14-15 Wales) Highest score: France 51 (51-0 on 5 April, 1998) / Wales 49 (49-14 on 1 January, 1910) Biggest winning margin: France 51 (51-0 on 5 April, 1998) / Wales 42 (47-5 on 23 February, 1909)

First met: 2 March, 1908 – Wales 36-4 France – Arms Park Last met: 24 October, 2020 – France 38-21 Wales – Stade de France, Paris

Referee: (England) Test debut: 9 February, 2013 – Romania 29-14 Russia Six Nations debut: 2 February, 2019 – Scotland 33-20 Italy Tests as referee: 29 Six Nations tests as referee: 3

• Luke Pearce took charge of France’s 15-13 defeat of Ireland in round two • Victory for Wales will confirm a fifth Grand Slam of the Six Nations era. They have won all four Grand Slam games in this period • Wales have been successful in 12 of 15 times they have gone for the Grand Slam in the Five/Six Nations – losing their final matches to France (1965 and 1988) and England (1994) • Nine of those 15 Grand Slam games have been against France • Wales have won 12 Grand Slams to date, one less than England’s record 13 • Winning the 2021 Six Nations title would take them to 28 outright Championship titles, one fewer than England’s record 29 • Wales have beaten France in their final match to secure the Grand Slam on seven occasions (1950, 1952, 1971, 1976, 1978, 2008 and 2012. The other five times it was Ireland • Only for two of those 12 Grand Slams secured were Wales away for the last match – 1908 in Ireland and 1971 in France • A draw would be sufficient for Wales to claim the Six Nations title as they could not be caught at the top of the table • France go into the match nine points behind Wales but with a game in hand after their round three match with Scotland was postponed due to COVID-19 cases in the squad • That means if Les Bleus win and secure at least four Championship points more than their visitors – they will keep alive their title hopes. If not, Wales will be crowned champions • France are bidding to win three in a row against Wales for the first time since four consecutive victories from 2009-11 • Wales’ last win at the Stade de France was 24-19 in February 2019 • Wales have won eight of their last 11 meetings with France, losing twice at the Stade de France and once at the Principality Stadium • Wales need one try to set their highest total for a single Championship in the Six Nations era, having matched their 2005 and 2016 records of 17 after four matches • Wales will also better their haul of 151 points in 2005 if they score 18 points against France • France’s first penalty will be their 150th in tests against Wales (187) • If France kick a drop goal it will be their 25th in tests against Wales (15) • Defeat for Wales would be their 200th loss in the history of the Championship • needs one try to become Wales’ top try-scorer in Championship history, having draw, level with after scoring his 22nd try in the win over Italy • Louis Rees-Zammit is joint top-scorer in the 2021 Six Nations with Anthony Watson (4). Only one Welsh player has scored more than four in a single Championship – Shane Williams with six in 2008 • Wales have now gone 15 matches without receiving a yellow or red card. The last Welsh player to be carded was Gareth Davies with a yellow against Italy in March 2018

7 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

• Wakes have used the most players so far in the Championship with 35 having taken to the field at some point during the campaign • and Louis Rees-Zammit have played every minute of Wales’ campaign, and captain have done so for France in their three matches to date • France have named an unchanged starting line-up from the defeat to England • There are three changes on the bench with prop , second-row and centre Arthur Vincent coming in • Wales have made one change to their starting line-up with replacing in the second-row • Alun will win his 148th for Wales, matching the total of Richie McCaw for . It will be Jones’ 157th test in total, including his British and Irish Lions caps • has more caps for Wales than the entire France pack (136) • France’s starting line-up has only 345 caps in comparison to Wales’ new record of 987

8 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

RUGBY EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 – 20 MARCH

The Championship across 2021 and 2022 will provide the Europe 1 and Europe 2 qualifiers for 2023 in France.

Click HERE for more information on the RWC 2023 qualifying process.

In the RWC 2019 qualification process a total of 188 matches were played across 994 days with 10,355 points scored by the 71 teams who began with the dream of making it to Japan. The eight who did were Canada, , Namibia, Russia, Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay and USA.

RUSSIA V GEORGIA – KALININGRAD STADIUM, KALININGRAD – KO 13:00 (11:00 GMT)

Head to head Played: 24 – Georgia leads 22-1 with one draw Points for: Russia 267 / Georgia 595 (avg. score: Russia 11-24 Georgia) Highest score: Russia 23 (25-23 on 4 March, 2001) / Georgia 46 (46-19 on 4 February, 2006 / 46-0 on 17 March, 2012) Biggest winning margin: Russia 6 (15-9 on 26 May, 1993) / Georgia 46 (46-0 on 17 March, 2012)

First met: 25 May, 1993 – Russia 15-9 Georgia – Ogniwo, Sopot, Last met: 7 February, 2021 – Georgia 16-7 Russia – Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)

The match will be streamed live on Rugby Europe TV

• The sides will meet in Kaliningrad for the first time, having previously played in Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk and Sochi in Russia • Georgia top the standings on nine points with two wins from two, against and Spain. Russia lie third on four points, one behind Romania who they beat in round one • Georgia have won their last 17 matches in the Rugby Europe Championship – they last tasted defeat on 19 March, 2017, losing 8-7 to Romania in • Georgia have won their last 19 matches against Russia, dating back to a 12-12 draw in March 2002 • Georgia’s 16-7 win in February in the REC 2020 final round was the smallest margin of victory since the Lelos won 15-9 in March 2011 • Russia’s only win was their inaugural meeting on 25 May, 1993 in a RWC 1995 qualifier (15-9 in Poland) • Georgia’s biggest win in the fixture is 46-0 in March 2012, their smallest margin of victory being six points in 1998, 2004 and 2011 • Russia have not reached double figures on home soil against Georgia in their last five matches since an 18-12 loss in Krasnoyarsk in April 2008 • Russia have only reached double figures twice in their last 11 meetings with Georgia, losing 36-10 in 2014 and 28-14 in 2017 • kicked 11 points in Georgia’s win against Russia in Tbilisi in February with scoring their only try. Bogdan Fedotko scored the Bears’ try with Ramil Gaisin converting • Russia’s Ramil Gaisin is 12 points short of reaching 200 in tests • Akaki Tabutsadze was joint top-scorer in international rugby in 2020 (five tries), along with France captain Charles Ollivon. But his second-half effort v Spain last weekend was his first try in six games

9 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

• Russia have made three personnel and one positional changes from the side that beat Romania in round one. Flankers German Silenko and Anton Sychev and prop Vladimir Podrezov are promoted from the bench to start. • Nikita Vavilin moves from blindside to number eight in the new-look back-row to replace captain Viktor Gresev who was ruled out on Friday • Second-row Andrey Ostrikov will captain Russia for the first time in his 40th test • Georgia captain will win his 75th cap this weekend • Georgia have made four changes from the Spain win, three in pack where hooker Giorgi Chkoidze, prop Giorgi Melikidze and flanker Giorgi Tkhilaishvili come in • Sandro Todua is the only change to the backline, replacing the injured Demur Tapladze

10 Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021

ROMANIA v SPAIN – STADIONUL DE RUGBY DIN COMPLEXUL SPORTIV GHENCEA, BUCHAREST – KO 15:00 (13:00 GMT)

Head to head Played: 38 – Romania leads 34-4 Points for: Romania 1,081 / Spain 382 (avg. score: Romania 28-10 Spain) Highest points: Romania 74 (74-3 on 16 April, 1978) / Spain 22 (22-10 on 18 February, 2018) Biggest winning margin: Romania 71 (74-3 on 16 April, 1978) / Spain 12 (22-10 on 18 February, 2018)

First met: 1 May, 1958 – Romania 14-12 Spain – Liege, Belgium Last met: 22 February, 2020 – Romania 24-7 Spain – Stadionul Municipal, Botosani

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)

The match will be streamed live on Rugby Europe TV

• Romania lost 27-20 to Uruguay in a previous at this venue • Romania edged Portugal 28-27 in round two, having lost their opener 18-13 to Russia • Spain have only played one match, losing 25-19 to Georgia last weekend • Romania’s win in 2020 ended a two-game winning run for Spain • Romania have won seven of their last 10 meetings with Spain • The Oaks have won all 18 previous meetings with Spain played on Romanian soil • Spain have not reached double figures on Romanian soil since a 50-14 loss in 2007 • All four of Spain’s wins in the head-to-head have come in Madrid • Florin Vlaicu needs four points to move ahead of Diego Dominguez into sixth on the all- time point scoring list in international rugby, having passed 1,000 points last weekend • Vlaicu will extend his Romanian record of test appearances with his 127th cap • Romania have made four changes to their starting line-up with prop Alexandru Tarus, second-row Marius Antonescu, flanker Vlad Neculau and fly-half Daniel Plai coming in • Neculau will make his first test start after three appearances off the bench • Number eight Andre Gorin takes over the captaincy with Mihai Macovei having returned to his French club Colomiers • Cristi Boboc could make his debut for Romania off the bench • Spain’s squad is boosted by availability of some France-based players – including second- row Lucas Guillaume, flanker Gautier Gibouin, and winger Fabien Perrin who all start • Club team-mates () Guillaume Rouet and Manuel Ordas will play together at half-back for the first time for Spain • There are six personnel and two positional changes to the Spain starting line-up with flanker Matthew Foulds starting, while Bautista Guemes and Alvar Gimeno each move out one to start at inside and outside centre respectively • Captain and prop Fernando Lopez will win his 50th cap for Spain • Only three of Spain’s starting line-up were born after 1995 – prop Jon Zabala, fly-half Manuel Ordas and centre Alvar Gimeno

11