England should maintain a position of ascendancy in the Six Nations by claiming a big win over Italy at Twickenham on Sunday, writes CRAIG LEWIS.
ENGLAND vs ITALY
England have been far from their best over the first two rounds of the competition, which has seen them rely on late tries against both France and Wales in order to emerge victorious. Nevertheless, it’s been enough to see them open up a two-point lead at the top of the standings.
Eddie Jones has freshened up the team for this clash, with Danny Care, Ben Te'o and Jonny May coming into the starting lineup, and while England may aim to play a different sort of game, the result should be the same as they look set to rack up a 17th successive Test win.
Last time out, Italy suffered a heavy 63-10 loss to Ireland, and are once again facing the fate of finishing with the wooden spoon.
Italy – 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Giulio Bisegni, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Abraham Steyn, 5 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Subs: 16 Ornel Gega, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 George Biagi, 20 Maxime Mata Mbanda', 21 Giorgio Bronzini, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti.
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SCOTLAND vs WALES
Wales were unlucky to lose to England in their last match which preceded the recent bye week, and will want to build on that performance when they come up against the plucky Scots.
George North returns in what will be a big boost for Wales, while Scotland have lost inspirational captain and scrumhalf Greig Laidlaw to a serious ankle injury, which has prompted one of three injury-enforced changes to their team.
Although Scotland should still be expected to produce a competitive showing at home, they are unlikely to be able to live with the high-paced approach of the Welsh for the full 80 minutes.
Wales – 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rob Evans.
Subs: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jamie Roberts.
IRELAND vs FRANCE
As it stands, Wales, France and Scotland are all tied on five log points, while second-placed Ireland are just a solitary point ahead. It makes for what should be an enthralling clash in Dublin as Ireland and France look to keep England in sight.
Coach Guy Noves has made three changes from the France team that defeated Scotland last time out, including starting South African-born Bernard Le Roux, with Les Bleus looking for their first win in Ireland since 2011.
Indeed, with home-ground advantage, and the return of key flyhalf Johnny Sexton and captain Rory Best, Ireland should come out on top.
Ireland – 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath.
Subs: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Cian Healy, 18 John Ryan, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Peter O'Mahony, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Andrew Trimble.
France – 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Gourdon, 6 Bernard le Roux, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Cyril Baille.
Subs: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Uini Atonio, 18 Xavier Chiocci, 19 Julian Le Devedec, 20 Charles Ollivon, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Henry Chavancy, 23 Djibril Camara.
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