We’ve got Autumn Nations Cup predictions for the third round of fixtures in this new tournament involving eight countries. It has replaced the normal autumn Test match schedule that had to be scrapped as teams avoided extended travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the 2020 Six Nations set to resume after its coronavirus-enforced hiatus, most fans’ attention will be focused on France, England and Scotland as they vie for this year’s title. However, we’re casting our eyes down to the bottom of the table where Italy are on course to receive their 15th wooden spoon of the Six Nations era.
Racing 92 have lost in two of the last four Heineken Champions Cup finals and are again up against it when taking on Exeter in Bristol. The Chiefs will contest their first European decider but are not expected to suffer from stage fright following great success at Premiership level.
With the 2020 Six Nations set to finally conclude in October after a coronavirus-enforced hiatus that saw the final four matches postponed, we have taken a look at the most interesting numbers in Six Nations history since the current format was introduced in 2000.
When international sport is finally allowed to resume there will be an enormous amount of world titles waiting to be decided. Even without the rescheduled Olympic games, the sporting calendar will be packed, keeping us glued to our screens as all the unfinished business is resolved.
Back-to-back NRL champions the Sydney Roosters will be keen to kick-start their 2020 campaign by seeing off the Sea Eagles at Leichhardt Oval. Both of these teams suffered defeats in round one, but Trent Robinson’s side did have the excuse of returning from World Club Challenge duties.
Canterbury and North Queensland both kicked off the 2020 NRL campaign with defeats, but the latter will have taken more out of their first effort. The Cowboys showed some promise in attack when going down 28-21 to Brisbane, whereas the Bulldogs failed to fire going forward in an 8-2 loss to Parramatta.
Australian sides have dominated rugby league’s World Club Challenge of late and St Helens face a tough test when taking on the Sydney Roosters. However, while the odds are stacked against Saints becoming only the second British winner in eight years, we feel they can be competitive on home turf.
The jury is still out on England after two inconclusive Six Nations performances and we’re reluctant to trust them against a rock-solid side like Ireland. Andy Farrell’s men stuttered to an opening victory over Scotland but were much more convincing when seeing off defending champions Wales in Dublin.
Wales have won eight of their last nine encounters with France, but only one of those contests was settled by more than 10 points. The four most recent meetings have been incredibly close, with the aggregate score 76-71 in favour of the Dragons, following October’s 20-19 World Cup triumph.
Scotland are expected to inflict a 25th straight Six Nations defeat on Italy in Rome but the feeling is that this will at least be a competitive contest. The Azzurri only went down by a couple of points when these teams met here a couple of years ago and are coming off a spirited effort in France.
England put in such a controlled performance when beating New Zealand in the World Cup semis that they are hard to oppose against South Africa in the final. The Springboks managed to grind out a scrappy win over Wales in the other last-four contest but have not shown the same class.
Stellar coaches Steve Hansen and Warren Gatland will move on after New Zealand face Wales and we reckon it is the former who will sign off on a high note. Both teams have made changes for the Rugby World Cup third-place play-off and that should bring the All Blacks’ greater strength in depth into play.
Wales made hard work of reaching the last four but are now just one win away from their first Rugby World Cup final. The Six Nations champions were in danger of elimination last weekend but came from behind to claim a 20-19 victory and set up a showdown with South Africa.