England will face a mad dash back to the Principality Stadium for a possible trophy presentation if they remain in title contention during the finale of Six Nations’ Super Saturday.
Entering the final round of matches, Ireland, England and France all have a shot of winning the title with Scotland also mathematically in contention. Les Bleus are in the driving seat, knowing a bonus point win in the final match against Scotland at the Stade de France will be enough to secure the Championship. However with a superior points differential of +86 any sort of win is almost certainly going to be enough. Six Nations chief executive Tom Harrison will be in Paris to present the real trophy to Les Bleus should Fabien Galthie’s team see off Scotland.
However, if France slip up there are other permutations that have been accounted for by the Six Nations organisers. Should England beat Wales in Cardiff and remain ahead of Ireland who travel to Italy in the first match then a presentation with a replica trophy on the pitch at the Principality Stadium will be held shortly after 10pm in front of the television cameras.
England plan to watch the first half of France’s match back at their team hotel in Cardiff Bay. If the game is in the balance at halftime, they will need to hot foot it back to the Principality Stadium which will be closed to fans.
In the event that Ireland overhaul both England and France, who are one and two points ahead of them in the standings, then they would be presented with the trophy on Sunday in Dublin. Simon Easterby’s side will be attending a post-match function in Rome while the other matches are taking place.
Here is what each team needs to win.
France
France moved onto 16 points after securing a remarkable bonus-point against Ireland. If they were to repeat a five-point win against Scotland next Saturday, they would move onto an unassailable 21 points.
However, if they won without a bonus-point, England could match them on 20 points – but Les Bleus’ superior points difference means they would still be likely to claim the title with that being a differentiating factor, rather than head-to-head results, which would have been in England’s favour.
A defeat – or draw – against Scotland would open the door to both England and Ireland, though.
England
After beating Italy in a bonus-point win, England now need to beat Wales in the same fashion to give themselves the best possible chance of winning the tournament. If they did that, their total would be 20 points, which Ireland cannot reach and France could only reach with victory against Scotland. England will therefore be cheering on Gregor Townsend’s side.
A win against Wales without a bonus-point would take England to 19 points. That could be a high enough total to win the tournament, but Ireland are also expected to end on 19 points with a bonus-point win against Italy. Points difference would then decide the title. France could also end up on 19 points if they were to draw with Scotland and score four tries.
England play earlier in the day than France on ‘Super Saturday’ and therefore can pile the pressure on Galthie’s team.
Ireland
Ireland were favourites to claim the title – and a Grand Slam – prior to defeat at the hands of France. The best possible outcome for Ireland now is that they reach 19 points with a four-try win against Italy, and that England lose to Wales and France lose to Scotland.
Simon Easterby’s team are up first next weekend, so can put the heat on both England and France, but they are now relying on other sides slipping up.
Scotland
For Scotland to win, a miracle is required. But, nevertheless, mathematically they are still in with a shot. If Scotland were to beat France with a bonus-point next week, they would reach a total of 16 points. France are already there, but could remain on that number if no losing bonus-points were secured. Scotland would then also need to overturn the 103 points difference between themselves and Les Bleus in the process. A 52-point win would do the job.
As well as hammering France in Paris, Scotland would need Ireland to lose to Italy and England to slip up against Wales.
However, Ireland could also still reach 16 points with a draw or two losing bonus-points against Italy, as could England with a losing bonus-point.
