Six Nations 2025: Steve Borthwick urged to stick to guns, Wales look to end drought and Scotland face ultimate test
Published 04/02/2025 at 18:29 GMT
With the first weekend of fixtures in the book, we look ahead to the next round of what is already shaping up to be a classic Six Nations. First up, Italy welcome Wales in a hugely significant encounter for both sides, before England take on France at home looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Ireland. Scotland then host the reigning champions in what could be a thriller.
‘The team is growing’ – Robinson tips England for strong Six Nations despite defeat to Ireland
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Ex-England head coach Andy Robinson has urged Steve Borthwick to stick to his guns following defeat to Ireland in their Six Nations opener.
England hit their stride early in Dublin and took a deserved 10-5 lead into half-time, but they lost momentum after the break as the back-to-back defending champions found an extra gear to complete an impressive comeback victory.
It was a seventh defeat in nine for Borthwick – the two wins came against Japan – and continued a theme of losing from winning positions.
But Robinson, no stranger to coaching at the highest level after stints with England and Scotland, believes there are signs of improvement and has backed Borthwick to block out the noise surrounding the team’s struggles.
"I’ve experienced it [the noise]," Robinson told TNT Sports.
"It’s tough but you’ve got to be true to yourself and I think that’s where Steve is.
"He knows his own mind. I signed him here as an 18-year-old in the academy and he was wonderful. He’s got a real good head about him and he’s able to stay in control. He knows what he wants to see.
"Everybody is disappointed when England lose, whether it’s by one point or 20 points. We always get disappointed by that and I totally understand it.
"But you can see the team is growing, it’s just about now getting over the whitewash and getting over the line and winning the game."
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Up next, England have three home fixtures against France, Scotland and then Italy which will ultimately determine the success or failure of their campaign.
Les Bleus romped to a 43-0 win over Wales in the tournament opener and will arrive in London as favourites in the eyes of many, but Robinson expects England to front up and still believes they have what it takes to lift the famous trophy this year.
Asked to rate England’s title chances, Robinson added: "I think they’re really good. [We’ve got] the three blue sides [France, Scotland and Italy] at home now so we’re expecting to win those games.
"I think England will go really hard at France next week and I think they can really beat France.
"France played the power game, but they won’t get away with that against England, so there’s all to play for."
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Wales prepare for mammoth Italy clash
Few gave Wales much hope of upsetting France in Paris in the first game of the tournament, but not many would have expected them to leave the French capital without scoring a point.
It was the first time since 1998 a Welsh side has been completely shut out as France, led by the mesmeric Antoine Dupont, delivered a clinic in putting a team to the sword.
The defeat was the 13th in a row at Test level for Wales under Warren Gatland and makes this weekend’s encounter away to Italy all the more significant.
Former fly-half Dan Biggar described it as the biggest game "for 15-20 years" when covering the tournament opener for ITV.
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Italy have beaten Wales in two of the last three Six Nations tournaments and threatened to stun Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday after recovering from 14-0 down to level at 19-19. They will also be targeting the clash with Wales as their best route to victory this year.
With the fixtures to come, if Gatland and his players don’t find a way to end their plight in Rome, a second successive wooden spoon – something that has never happened in the history of Welsh rugby – starts to look odds-on.
"It’s about where can we fix up to be smarter and put the opposition under pressure instead of inviting it on ourselves," Gatland told ITV after watching his side lose 43-0.
"Next week becomes pretty important for us, and we can’t hide from that fact. We need to get that monkey off our back."
Scotland’s title credentials under microscope
Scotland showed glimpses of their best in a 31-19 win over Italy at home to get their campaign off and running.
Centre Huw Jones, who scored a stunning hat-trick, took the headlines, but there were standout performances from the likes of Rory Darge, Zander Fagerson and Darcy Graham.
There were shades of Rome last year when Juan-Ignacio Brex intercepted a loose Finn Russell pass and raced over for a converted try that levelled the match at 19-19, but the Scots dug deep to come through their first big test and pull clear again.
Still, a much-improved showing will be required to end the hoodoo against Ireland. Scotland have lost their last 10 matches against their Celtic neighbours, their most recent victory coming in the 2017 Six Nations.
Much was made of Ireland’s so-so Autumn Nations Series, but they looked to have rediscovered their ruthless edge again during a dominant second half at home to England that flipped the match in their favour.
They will, therefore, land in Edinburgh full of confidence they can win and win well.
It is in these defining matches that Scotland have come up short in the past and they will be desperate to reverse that trend this time around.
Win and they go to Twickenham as fully fledged contenders; lose and the dream of a first Six Nations crown is left hanging by a thread.
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