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Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Five talking points from round four of Six Nations
France stunned Ireland in Dublin to become Six Nations title favourites, Scotland held off a late Wales comeback, and England comfortably saw off Italy to keep their title chances alive. Here's our round-up of the big talking points from the fourth round of fixtures in the 2025 championship. France delivered one of their greatest Six Nations performances to thrash holders Ireland 42-27 in Dublin. But rather than experiencing pure euphoria after a near-perfect performance, the French camp vented their anger after their talisman Antoine Dupont ruptured cruciate ligaments in his knee. The 28-year-old scrum-half was forced off in the first half after Ireland lock Tadhg Beirne fell on to his leg at a ruck. France head coach Fabien Galthie referred Ireland pair Beirne and Andrew Porter to the citing commissioner for possible retrospective punishment, which was later dismissed. "There was zero malice in it," former Ireland wing Simon Zebo, a former Munster team-mate of Beirne, told BBC's Six Nations Rugby Special. "Tadhg is a clean player and wouldn't wish any bad intent on anyone. The only thing is, it is not a great image. "There is a lot of power coming into that ruck and it looks worse than it is. No-one wants to see him [Dupont] out of the game as he is the best player in the world." Dupont, who was replaced by Maxime Lucu, provided seven assists and scored two tries before his tournament was cut short. Victory over Scotland at Stade de France will likely secure a first title in three years, with arguably the best player in the world now potentially having to lift the trophy in a tracksuit. France win in Dublin to take control of Six Nations 'Free-scoring French leave Irish history tilt in tatters' Ireland's goal this campaign was to become the first side in Six Nations history to win three successive outright titles. Victories over England, Scotland and Wales secured the Triple Crown, and put interim Ireland head coach Simon Easterby two games from a Grand Slam. But a ruthless France scored five tries in a clinical display to outclass Ireland on their own patch. Their tally of 26 tries after four matches is just three shy of the overall championship record set by England in 2001. Following a surprise defeat by England in round two, Galthie has opted for a 7-1 bench spilt, which helped inflict an 11-try hammering of Italy. Ireland - like Italy in Rome - struggled once Galthie unloaded this powerful bench early in the second half, resulting in the most points the French have ever scored in Dublin. "I have never seen an Irish pack dominated so much," former Wales back Jonathan Davies told BBC's Six Nations Rugby Special. "Ireland have been very good and competed with everyone in the world, especially up front. The bench came on and blasted them." France even ended up with flanker Oscar Jegou playing at centre for a large chunk of the second half after Pierre-Louis Barassi went off injured. The 21-year-old impressed out of position and put in a crunching covering crunching hit on Ireland fly-half Sam Prendergast to show incredible versatility. 'Does it always have to be so dramatic, Scotland?' Six Nations: The Weekend Review with Ashy and Dawson Scotland bounced back from a disappointing loss to England to register a 35-29 victory over Wales at Murrayfield. Full-back Blair Kinghorn enhanced his British and Irish Lions credentials with two tries in a player-of-the-match performance. Gregor Townsend's side looked to be cruising to a comfortable victory only for the the visitors to threaten a late comeback by grabbing three unanswered tries. Townsend's side need a miracle in the final round to win the championship but can take heart from their 2021 triumph in Paris when a last-gasp Duhan van der Merwe try sealed victory. "I know it was in Covid but Scotland have gone and won in Paris," former Scotland number eight Johnnie Beattie told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly. "That means there is a belief they can do it, but it is a different beast than taking on Wales in terms of organisation, strategy and physicality. "If France have an average game and Scotland fire out shots and are clinical then we can challenge them." If England or Ireland are going to win the title, they will need a favour from their Celtic rivals, and Scotland's dangerous backs might just fancy their chances in an open game. Despite promises of fast-paced, attacking rugby by head coach Steve Borthwick, England reverted back to their kicking game in their third-round win over Scotland. But on Sunday, the hosts delivered by scoring seven tries in a comfortable 47-24 victory over Italy at Allianz Stadium to stay in the title hunt. Borthwick's side kicked the least amount of times from hand (31) this championship - five times fewer than last time out against Scotland - and made the most carries so far this campaign (145) - 67 more times than in their previous outing. Central to England's attack this championship has been Bath centre Ollie Lawrence, who went off early on with an Achilles injury and is set to undergo scans to determine the severity of his lay-off. "He was really coming into his own in this England set-up and playing well for Bath, which is really frustrating for him," Zebo added. "He is in sensational form this year and would have a very good chance of making the [British and Irish Lions] plane to Australia in the summer." England are undefeated since their opening round defeat by Ireland, but will need Scotland to defeat France in Paris if they are to snatch the title with a win over Wales. England 'have to support devastated Lawrence' England shine in the sun but Cardiff cauldron awaits Wales' defeat by Scotland registered their 16th loss in a row. Late scores helped improve what was starting to become a heavy scoreline at Murrayfield as Wales continue to show fighting spirit under interim head coach Matt Sherratt With the clock in the red, Max Llewellyn's try was converted by Jarrod Evans as Wales recovered from 27 points down to grab two losing bonus points for scoring four tries and finishing within a score. They host England on Saturday and will hope the emotion of their home crowd can help them cause an upset. "Everything points to England as they are a better side and Wales are on a disastrous losing run," Davies added. "It is the last game and it is in Cardiff. It will be crazy there. The Welsh boys will get up for it. "If they get to the intensity they did against Ireland and play like they did, then Wales will be in with a shout." Struggling Wales aim to avoid unwanted history
BBC News
24-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Five talking points from round three of Six Nations
Ireland overcame a resurgent Wales in Cardiff, England squeezed past Scotland after Finn Russell's late missed kick, and France scored 11 tries to hammer our round-up of the big talking points from the third round of fixtures in the 2025 Men's Six Nations. Borthwick defends winning tactics Steve Borthwick called for his players to continue playing fast and with aggression after outscoring France four tries to squeezing past Scotland 16-15 to win back the Calcutta Cup for the first time since 2020, England were outscored three tries to one, with a heavy reliance on their kicking kicked away 69% possession and had a 2.7 pass-to-kick ratio, which means after less than three passes they reverted to the boot, compared to Scotland's 9.7."It is not a team that looks like they want to play," former Wales captain Sam Warburton told BBC's Six Nations Rugby Special. "England are playing off nine rugby much of the time ."England conceded nine line breaks against Scotland, seven of which came in the wider channels, where in particular Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe had plenty of joy in the first half. "I see England being narrow in defence quite regularly but I do feel like it could be fixed," Warburton said."Maybe England are giving teams that space deliberately as Ireland and Scotland found it [in the wider channels] ."Their one-on-one tackling has to get better and has hurt them."However, despite errors in defence and a lack of free-flowing attacking rugby, Borthwick is not concerned about his game plan always being pleasing on the eye."It's not necessarily how we wish to play, but there are two teams out there and we found a way to win," said Borthwick. Russell's missed kicks cost Scotland but could Van der Merwe have done better? Despite Scotland outscoring England in tries, Russell failed to make any of his three conversion attempts England full-back Marcus Smith was successful with all three of his kicks and his namesake Fin Smith nailed an important penalty from halfway with 10 minutes der Merwe's late try in the corner gave Russell the opportunity to extend Scotland's winning run over England to five games."It was a difficult kick from the touchline and he will be ruing the two earlier in the game which were much easier kicks," former Scotland hooker Fraser Brown told BBC'S Rugby Union Weekly."To go nil from three is not why Scotland lost but as an international 10, Finn will be really disappointed."Russell only missed one kick in the Six Nations last year, but this campaign - and in a British and Irish Lions year - is kicking at 38%.Former England wing Ugo Monye told BBC's Six Nations Rugby Special that Van der Merwe had to do more to get closer to the posts when crossing for Scotland's third try."Van der Merwe is running away from the sticks on an outside angle," Monye said."You can see by his reaction that he does not look like he is celebrating scoring the winning try."When you look at the margins of how far he has run out against how much it has been missed by, he has to do more."As winger you have to do everything to try and help out." Ireland & France to meet in showdown When the 2025 Six Nations fixtures were first released one fixture stood out - Ireland v France in round four."Right when the fixtures came out, you thought that game is going to decide who wins the title," Warburton sides have finished in the top two spots over the past three championships and played out one of the great Six Nations fixtures in as a possible Grand Slam decider, Ireland have done their part with three straight wins as they seek an unprecedented third title in a last-gasp defeat by England prevented a potential Slam decider, but their 11-try thrashing of Italy gives Les Bleus momentum heading to Dublin on 8 with a superior points difference, are three points behind Ireland, making the fixture a potential Six Nations when asked for his prediction went for an Ireland win, Barclay went the other way with Galthie's side host Scotland in the final round, while Ireland travel to Italy, while England are also still in the title hunt. Wales get new manager bounce When Warren Gatland left his role as Wales boss, interim head coach Matt Sherratt only had three training sessions to try to produce one of the greatest shocks in Six Nations Grand Slam-chasing Ireland in Cardiff, Wales were inches away from potentially taking the lead in the 73rd minute when Ellis Mee nearly pulled off a miracle boot of 22-year-old fly-half Sam Prendergast helped Ireland close out the game Wales ended up falling to a 15th successive Test defeat, the performance of Sherratt's side succeeded a disappointing loss to Italy in round two, Sherratt made eight changes to his squad, which included bringing in Gloucester pair Gareth Anscombe and Max believes Sherratt's changes in personnel and style brought big improvements."The nine-10-12-13 combination have all worked and played together under Sherratt, and are the best players for their position," Warburton added."He freshened the boys up, so they were full of beans for the game and he imprinted, so quickly and impressively, his attacking game plan, which was night and day from what we've seen the last 12 months."I can't believe he made so many positive changes within one week." 20-minute red card needs 'firmer punishment' In January, it was announced that this year's Six Nations will use 20-minute red cards for the first say the 20-minute red card trial is designed to "punish the player and not the team", with sides able to replace a dismissed player after 20 minutes instead of playing the rest of the game with centre Garry Ringrose got his timing wrong on a big first-half hit on Wales' Ben Thomas and his high tackle was later upgraded to Ireland down to 14, Wales had their best period of the match and scored a superb try in the corner through Tom the 20 minutes passed, Bundee Aki replaced Ringrose and played a key role in seeing the game home for Ireland."Ringrose is an exceptional player and defends so physically but in my opinion those collisions need to be out of the game," Barclay said."That is a player who has made a decision to fly in. In my view, and a lot of other people, that should be a straight red card."Warburton says players' behaviours have not changed enough since he retired in 2018."There needs to be a much firmer punishment on individuals off the field," he said. "If Ringrose gets a one or two-week ban then he is going to do that again."A four-week ban and he probably doesn't do that tackle again. We need to punish the player individually much more harshly off the field."
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Talking points from Six Nations round two
England beat France in a classic Six Nations finale but things got worse for Wales in Italy, while Ireland are the only side still retaining Grand Slam hopes after their victory over Scotland. Here's our round-up of the big talking points from the second round of fixtures in the 2025 tournament. After a 2024 packed full of narrow losses from winning positions, England had to face more accusations of an inability to see out close games following their 27-22 defeat by Ireland in round one. They were on the right side of late drama against France at Allianz Stadium, with Elliot Daly's last-gasp converted try securing a 26-25 win. France could have killed the game off much earlier but England clinched victory in a dramatic conclusion, delighting a raucous Twickenham crowd. Former England internationals Martin Johnson, Matt Dawson and Chris Ashton all used the same phrase when describing England's victory - they "found a way" to win. On the BBC's Six Nations Rugby Special, former England prop Joe Marler said: "Speaking to fans and people around [Twickenham], they were really nervous, they didn't know what to expect. They're weren't sure what was coming. "To pull it out of the bag - just - it was back and forth, I loved it. The atmosphere was incredible." England led for less than four minutes and while former winger Ugo Monye said there was "still lots to work on", they now have a "positive platform" before hosting Scotland on 22 February. Matches against Italy and Wales follow and BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones added: "England fans have had to put up with quite a lot in the Six Nations. "They've not won it since 2020 and a lot of times [since] they've lost on the opening day and not really competed. Last year they had an outside shot in France, but really it was Ireland's title. "The challenge for England is to be in the title race on the final day because they've not been in that situation for five years." Matt Dawson column: Fin Smith's composure gives England vital new dimension Rugby Special: Highlights and analysis of round two Rugby Union Weekly: England win Le Crunch classic Defence coach Shaun Edwards told BBC Sport that France "just got the dropsies for a day" and it proved costly, with Antoine Dupont and Damian Penaud among those who coughed up possession with the tryline in sight during the opening 40 minutes. France captain Dupont said: "We only have ourselves to blame. The first half was far from perfect, we should have scored at least three tries. Had we done so, the match would have been completely different. "They were pragmatic - every time they entered our half, they scored. We, on the other hand, wasted too many opportunities." Former Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara, who coaches French club La Rochelle, said on BBC One: "The big word would be precision or accuracy - a record number of knock-ons from people you don't associate knock-ons from. "We saw that Dupont is human. When he's like that, it gives other teams a chance." Ireland's 32-18 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday means the holders remain on course for a third successive title. O'Gara said: "If you're looking for a formula of how to win away in the Six Nations, you should study that. "It was ruthless from minute one. The biggest surprise among us [pundits] here is that it finished 32-18. "It felt like a 40-point victory and maybe if Ireland needed to, they had another couple of gears to go up." Sam Prendergast was named player of the match, excelling in the fly-half position that was left vacant by Johnny Sexton's retirement after the 2023 World Cup. O'Gara added: "He didn't show any nerves and looked very comfortable. If that's what he's doing at 21, you can imagine what he'll be like at 25 or 26. We've got a really good prospect. "With the environment he's in, he'll be kept on his toes because he knows Jack Crowley is biting at his heels. "Winning has become a habit and if you want to drive standards, you need to be really good. Being in the Ireland team isn't good enough for them any more, they want to be man of the match and want to be talked about by their peers." Scotland were unable to end a run of consecutive defeats by Ireland that now stands at 11. The losses of Finn Russell and Darcy Graham to injuries following a nasty first-half collision did not help their cause as they slipped 17-0 behind. Buoyed by Duhan van der Merwe's try just before half-time, they reduced the deficit to six points, but any hopes of a comeback win were quickly extinguished and they were second-best for long spells. Ex-Scotland back row John Barclay said on BBC One: "The reality was that Scotland had to be somewhere near their best and they were way off it. "There are two parts to that - Scotland were poor, a lot of unforced errors and they got dominated at the breakdown. "The other part was that Ireland were very good. They were clinical, they controlled how and where the game was going to be played." Johnson added: "Scotland didn't really have any attitude in the first half, they almost didn't believe they could win the game, they made mistakes and they made it too easy for Ireland. That scoreline flatters Scotland. "For 10 minutes after half-time, they played with aggression and tenacity and looked OK. Then they stopped again, there were mistakes and the game was over." Wales' 22-15 defeat by Italy in Rome made it a record-extending 14 losses in a row for a team that has now fallen below Georgia to 12th in the world rankings. Former Wales international James Hook said on the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast: "The scoreline definitely flattered Wales. Italy were completely dominant and Wales were second in pretty much every facet of the game. "The frustration from Welsh supporters is that we've not seen any progression either. If you see some sort of development and something to be optimistic about, you think 'OK, we are actually developing'. But we haven't really improved." Warren Gatland wants to fight on as head coach but, with another Wooden Spoon potentially looming, what positives can Wales take from their final three games against Ireland, Scotland and England? Ex-captain Sam Warburton said on BBC One: "All I want to see is some players - there won't be 10 of them - but we need three, four or five, on top of people like Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams, to say: 'I'm an international-class player and this is going to be my shirt for the next five to 10 years'. "We need guys to step up and own that shirt." Questions, of course, are being asked about what can be done to arrest the national team's decline and Jones, like many other pundits and journalists, believes the problems are deep-rooted. "It goes back 10-15 years," he said. "It's about management, finances, pathways - there is so much to fix and it's a depressing situation when you think what a great rugby nation this is." Cool heads and bloody minds combine as England pluck victory from chaos Gatland future in doubt as Wales leave Rome in ruins Ireland's 'master of control' buoyed by Murrayfield win
BBC News
10-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Talking points from Six Nations round two
England beat France in a classic Six Nations finale but things got worse for Wales in Italy, while Ireland are the only side still retaining Grand Slam hopes after their victory over our round-up of the big talking points from the second round of fixtures in the 2025 tournament. England 'find a way' against France After a 2024 packed full of narrow losses from winning positions, England had to face more accusations of an inability to see out close games following their 27-22 defeat by Ireland in round were on the right side of late drama against France at Allianz Stadium, with Elliot Daly's last-gasp converted try securing a 26-25 could have killed the game off much earlier but England clinched victory in a dramatic conclusion, delighting a raucous Twickenham England internationals Martin Johnson, Matt Dawson and Chris Ashton all used the same phrase when describing England's victory - they "found a way" to the BBC's Six Nations Rugby Special, former England prop Joe Marler said: "Speaking to fans and people around [Twickenham], they were really nervous, they didn't know what to expect. They're weren't sure what was coming."To pull it out of the bag - just - it was back and forth, I loved it. The atmosphere was incredible." England led for less than four minutes and while former winger Ugo Monye said there was "still lots to work on", they now have a "positive platform" before hosting Scotland on 22 against Italy and Wales follow and BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones added: "England fans have had to put up with quite a lot in the Six Nations."They've not won it since 2020 and a lot of times [since] they've lost on the opening day and not really competed. Last year they had an outside shot in France, but really it was Ireland's title."The challenge for England is to be in the title race on the final day because they've not been in that situation for five years." France 'got the dropsies' Defence coach Shaun Edwards told BBC Sport that France "just got the dropsies for a day" and it proved costly, with Antoine Dupont and Damian Penaud among those who coughed up possession with the tryline in sight during the opening 40 captain Dupont said: "We only have ourselves to blame. The first half was far from perfect, we should have scored at least three tries. Had we done so, the match would have been completely different."They were pragmatic - every time they entered our half, they scored. We, on the other hand, wasted too many opportunities."Former Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara, who coaches French club La Rochelle, said on BBC One: "The big word would be precision or accuracy - a record number of knock-ons from people you don't associate knock-ons from."We saw that Dupont is human. When he's like that, it gives other teams a chance." Ireland show Grand Slam credentials Ireland's 32-18 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday means the holders remain on course for a third successive title.O'Gara said: "If you're looking for a formula of how to win away in the Six Nations, you should study that."It was ruthless from minute one. The biggest surprise among us [pundits] here is that it finished 32-18."It felt like a 40-point victory and maybe if Ireland needed to, they had another couple of gears to go up." Sam Prendergast was named player of the match, excelling in the fly-half position that was left vacant by Johnny Sexton's retirement after the 2023 World Cup.O'Gara added: "He didn't show any nerves and looked very comfortable. If that's what he's doing at 21, you can imagine what he'll be like at 25 or 26. We've got a really good prospect."With the environment he's in, he'll be kept on his toes because he knows Jack Crowley is biting at his heels."Winning has become a habit and if you want to drive standards, you need to be really good. Being in the Ireland team isn't good enough for them any more, they want to be man of the match and want to be talked about by their peers." Scotland's awful run against Ireland goes on Scotland were unable to end a run of consecutive defeats by Ireland that now stands at losses of Finn Russell and Darcy Graham to injuries following a nasty first-half collision did not help their cause as they slipped 17-0 by Duhan van der Merwe's try just before half-time, they reduced the deficit to six points, but any hopes of a comeback win were quickly extinguished and they were second-best for long back row John Barclay said on BBC One: "The reality was that Scotland had to be somewhere near their best and they were way off it."There are two parts to that - Scotland were poor, a lot of unforced errors and they got dominated at the breakdown. "The other part was that Ireland were very good. They were clinical, they controlled how and where the game was going to be played."Johnson added: "Scotland didn't really have any attitude in the first half, they almost didn't believe they could win the game, they made mistakes and they made it too easy for Ireland. That scoreline flatters Scotland."For 10 minutes after half-time, they played with aggression and tenacity and looked OK. Then they stopped again, there were mistakes and the game was over." Wales' issues 'go back 10-15 years' Wales' 22-15 defeat by Italy in Rome made it a record-extending 14 losses in a row for a team that has now fallen below Georgia to 12th in the world Wales international James Hook said on the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast: "The scoreline definitely flattered Wales. Italy were completely dominant and Wales were second in pretty much every facet of the game."The frustration from Welsh supporters is that we've not seen any progression either. If you see some sort of development and something to be optimistic about, you think 'OK, we are actually developing'. But we haven't really improved."Warren Gatland wants to fight on as head coach but, with another Wooden Spoon potentially looming, what positives can Wales take from their final three games against Ireland, Scotland and England?Ex-captain Sam Warburton said on BBC One: "All I want to see is some players - there won't be 10 of them - but we need three, four or five, on top of people like Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams, to say: 'I'm an international-class player and this is going to be my shirt for the next five to 10 years'."We need guys to step up and own that shirt."Questions, of course, are being asked about what can be done to arrest the national team's decline and Jones, like many other pundits and journalists, believes the problems are deep-rooted."It goes back 10-15 years," he said. "It's about management, finances, pathways - there is so much to fix and it's a depressing situation when you think what a great rugby nation this is."
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Six Nations fixtures, results, standings & coverage
The 2025 Men's Six Nations resumed on Saturday with Italy beating Wales in Rome and England overcoming France at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium. Ireland outclassed Scotland 32-18 in Edinburgh on Sunday to stay on course for a record third Six Nations title in a row. The championship pauses for a week before returning with Wales hosting Ireland and England taking on old rivals Scotland on Saturday, 22 February. Italy play France on Sunday, 23 February. The championship, which is celebrating 25 years since Italy joined the competition, concludes with three back-to-back matches on 15 March. BBC TV and BBC iPlayer broadcast live coverage of every Scotland and Wales home game, while there is live radio commentary of every England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland match on BBC Sounds, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app. Match highlights and key moments from every game will be available on the BBC Sport website and app as well as iPlayer and the BBC's social media channels shortly after full-time. In addition, you can watch highlights and in-depth analysis of every match on Six Nations Rugby Special on BBC Two and iPlayer on Sunday evenings. Watch Six Nations Rugby on BBC iPlayer and add to your Watchlist The online coverage will also feature live streams, text commentaries, the latest news from all the teams and a range of in-depth features. Follow the Six Nations on BBC Sport Website BBC Radio 5 Live or BBC 5 Sports Extra will bring you live match commentary every weekend, while the Rugby Union Weekly podcast will provide insight and interviews as it becomes a daily offering. Listen to Rugby Union Weekly Podcast on BBC Sounds and subscribe Meanwhile, all Scotland games will be on BBC Radio Scotland Extra, all Ireland games will be live on BBC Radio Ulster, and all Wales games will be on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru. S4C will offer Welsh commentary and interviews for all of Wales' under-20 and senior games. BBC Sport also has live coverage on its digital platforms of every match of the Under-20 Six Nations, commencing on Thursday, 30 January, as well as the Women's Six Nations, which begins on Saturday, 22 March. The games the BBC has rights to show will be available to watch on BBC One, iPlayer, Red Button, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport mobile app (for UK audiences only). All other games will be shown live on ITV. Live on BBC Sport: Saturday, 1 February: Scotland v Italy (14:15 GMT) Sunday, 9 February: Scotland v Ireland (15:00 GMT) Saturday, 22 February: Wales v Ireland (14:15 GMT) Saturday, 8 March: Scotland v Wales (16:45 GMT) Saturday, 15 March: Wales v England (16:45 GMT) Matches are subject to late changes, so details may differ from this page. All times are GMT. Kick-off times in brackets. Sunday, 9 February Highlights - Six Nations Rugby Special - BBC iPlayer, Red Button & BBC Sport website and app from 18:00-19:00, BBC One from 22:30-23:30, BBC One Scotland from 23:15-00:15) Saturday, 22 February Wales v Ireland (14:15) - BBC One from 13:15-16:30 & listen on BBC Sounds & BBC Sport website and app England v Scotland (16:45) - ITV & BBC Radio 5 Live Sunday, 23 February Italy v France (15:00) - ITV & updates on BBC Radio 5 Live Highlights - Six Nations Rugby Special - BBC Two from 18:00-19:00 Saturday, 8 March Ireland v France (14:15) - ITV & BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra Scotland v Wales (16:45) - BBC One from 16:00-19:00 & BBC Radio 5 Live or Sports Extra TBC Sunday, 9 March England v Italy - ITV & listen on BBC Sounds & BBC Sport website and app Highlights - Six Nations Rugby Special - BBC Two from 18:30-19:30 Saturday, 15 March Italy v Ireland (14:15) - ITV & BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra Wales v England (16:45) - BBC One from 16:00-19:00 - BBC Radio 5 Live France v Scotland (20:00) - BBC Radio 5 Live Sunday, 16 March Highlights - Six Nations Rugby Special - BBC Two from 18:00-19:00 Round two Saturday, 8 February Italy 22-15 Wales England 26-25 France Sunday, 9 February Scotland 18-32 Ireland Round one Friday, 31 January France 43-0 Wales Saturday, 1 February Scotland 31-19 Italy Ireland 27-22 England Gabby Logan presents live coverage on BBC One and iPlayer with Andrew Cotter providing the match commentary. Expert analysis will come from a team of rugby union greats including Martin Johnson, Sam Warburton, John Barclay, Chris Paterson, Jonathan Davies, Danny Care, Tommy Bowe, Sergio Parisse and former referee Nigel Owens. Live radio coverage is led by rugby union correspondent Chris Jones, while the likes of Matt Dawson, Paul Grayson, Chris Ashton, Johnnie Beattie, Fraser Brown, Philippa Tuttiett, Ken Owens and Donncha O'Callaghan will be on hand to offer their analysis. 2024: Ireland 2023: Ireland * 2022: France * 2021: Wales 2020: England 2019: Wales * 2018: Ireland * 2017: England 2016: England * 2015: Ireland * = Grand Slam (winning all five matches)
