Rugby’s Greatest Championship is up and running and with opening round in the books, attention has already turned to Round 2 and the much-anticipated team announcements.
Ireland opened the 2022 Guinness Six Nations in style with an impressive 29-7 win over defending champions Wales in Dublin, with Andrew Conway scoring a brace at the Aviva Stadium.
That was followed by an absorbing Calcutta Cup clash in Edinburgh as Scotland prevailed 20-17 to secure back-to-back wins over England for the first time since 1983-1984.
And France brought down the curtain on the weekend by strutting their title credentials in a 37-10 victory over Italy in Paris after Kieran Crowley’s side gave the hosts an early scare.
This weekend sees two of the favourites go head-to-head as France welcome Ireland while Scotland travel to Cardiff and Italy take on England at the Stadio Olimpico.
With that in mind, Thursday and Friday will be important days this week as the sides name their matchday squads for the weekend. Find out all the key details below.
THURSDAY
Wales endured a tough start to their title defence on Saturday but Wayne Pivac’s side will be looking for an instant response when they welcome Scotland in Round 2.
The champions will name their team for the second weekend of the Championship on Thursday at 12.30pm, with some big selection decisions ahead for the Wales head coach.
Pivac will need to decide whether he continues with the Josh Adams experiment in midfield or brings in Willis Halaholo – fitness depending – to provide something different in attack.
The back row is another area he will consider, with Ross Moriarty a contender to start over Ellis Jenkins at blindside flanker after coming off the bench against Ireland in Dublin.
Opponents Scotland will also announce their team on Thursday, with Gregor Townsend due to confirm his line-up at 12.45pm after their Calcutta Cup success at the weekend.
Scotland held their nerve to beat England 20-17 in Edinburgh and should they make it two wins from two against Wales, then talk of a title challenge will only intensify.
Dupont: We made too many mistakes and handling errors
Townsend will likely want to stick with a winning formula after his side’s Round 1 triumph but with a wealth of options to choose from, don’t be surprised if he changes it up for Wales.
Saturday’s other game sees Ireland travel to France as both teams look to maintain their winning start to the 2022 Championship in what is set to be a blockbuster collision in Paris.
Ireland will announce their team around 48 hours before kick-off so expect to see it come out on Thursday afternoon, with France also announcing around the same time that day.
FRIDAY
Smarting from their defeat to Scotland in Round 1, England will know they need to get back to winning ways immediately in Rome to give themselves a shot at the title.
Eddie Jones’ men also lost their opening game of the 2020 Championship before claiming the crown so they know it can be done – although Italy will have something to say about that.
Crowley’s side provided a stern opening test for France in Paris, taking the lead through debutant Tommaso Menoncello’s try as he became the youngest try scorer in Guinness Six Nations history.
The Azzurri only trailed 18-10 at the break but despite their best efforts after the interval, France eventually pulled away with a scintillating attacking display to win 37-10.
England will announce their team to face Italy at 11.30am on Friday, with Jones facing a few selection headaches of his own as he ponders changing it up for the trip to Italy.
Marcus Smith went well in Edinburgh – scoring all of England’s points – but will the Red Rose head coach consider giving George Ford a chance to show what he can do at No.10?
Curry: We need to reflect and be better
There are also several other positions where Jones could potentially make some tweaks as he looks to keep his squad fresh and rotate ahead of facing Wales in Round 3.
Italy are also set to announce their team on Friday, with Crowley expected to confirm his selection later in the day at a time yet to be decided – likely to be around 2pm.
