SIX NATIONS: As we look towards the last weekend of this year’s 6 Nations tournament it is still all to play for in terms of the top 3 teams.

First up we have a rather null and void match as France have already made sure they won’t be receiving this year’s wooden spoon by securing 6 points to Italy’s 0. However this does not mean each team won’t be going hell for leather as both of these sides value pride more than anything. Not to mention the fact that we will more than likely be watching Sergio Parisse’s final appearance in this competition which I’m sure the Italians would love to signify with a win over France in Paris. After a bit of an embarrassing performance against the Irish despite the score line the French won’t exactly be brimming with confidence going into the last weekend.

Secondly and arguably most importantly we have Wales v Ireland in Cardiff. This game is pretty much what the whole tournament is pivoting on. Gatland no doubt will be fielding his strongest side possible in the hope of beating Ireland and winning his final 6 nations grand slam. Although it does not come without it’s issues as last week we seen Liam Williams who could be considered the Welsh player of the tournament was escorted off the pitch with his arm in a make shift jersey sling which is never a good sign with only a week’s turn around till possibly the biggest game of the contest. On the flip side Ireland came away relatively unscathed from their 4th round match. Josh Van de Flier has being ruled out but looking at CJ Standers performance after stepping back into the team and Jack Conan scoring a try it’s probably safe to say that Ireland are rather healthy when it comes to back row options. Not to mention the back field options as Ringrose seemed back to full strength against the French and Larmour nearly ducking and diving his way to a fantastic try before being stopped a couple of meter’s from the line. Joe Schmidt’s men will be full of enthusiasm going into a big clash with Wales away from home and it’s sure to be a good one.

Last but not least we have England v Scotland. It wouldn’t be foolish to write Scotland off for this one considering their overall performance this year but at the same time you should question what have they got to lose? Absolutely nothing is the answer they sit mid table with no hope of anything really, so if anything they will be travelling to Twickenham with one target and one target only to ruin England’s chances of winning the championship. England on the other side will be slightly nervous and conscious not to mess up as they need to do their utmost to give themselves the best chance of walking away with a trophy this year. It’s safe to say the will have at least one eye closely watching the scoreboard between Wales and Ireland.

The permutations for the weekend are as follow then;

• If Wales beat Ireland they win the grand slam.
• If Ireland beat Wales and England beat Scotland, England win the tournament.
• If Ireland beat Wales and Scotland beat England, Ireland Win and retain the championship.

Josh Graves, BETDAQ

This is the outright market.