Six Nations 2015: Updated Fixtures, Table Outlook Heading into Round 2
Ireland took top spot in the Six Nations table on Saturday after a sluggish 26-3 victory over Italy in Rome, but the defending champions are in danger of surrendering their lead with France descending upon Dublin this weekend.
England showed their credentials as title contenders with a rousing comeback win against the Welsh and take on the Azzurri at Twickenham this Saturday with full intentions of leapfrogging their peers into first place.
Warren Gatland's men will have been severely disappointed with a stalled second half against the English, and a trip to Murrayfield next Sunday won't be an easy trip by any stretch.
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Heading into the second week of competition, we take a look at the biggest storylines moving ahead in the tournament, considering which teams are most likely to improve as the competition progresses.
| Saturday, Feb. 14 | 2:30 p.m. GMT/9:30 a.m. ET | England | vs. | Italy |
| Saturday, Feb. 14 | 5 p.m. GMT/12 p.m. ET | Ireland | vs. | France |
| Sunday, Feb. 15 | 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET | Scotland | vs. | Wales |
| 1 | Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 3 | +23 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | England | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 16 | +5 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Wales | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 21 | –5 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Scotland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 15 | –7 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 26 | –23 | 0 | 0 |
Ireland Fortunate to Boast Lead
Joe Schmidt's men were always going to be considered favourites upon travelling to Rome this past weekend, but Ireland proved to be their own worst enemy during a lacklustre win against the Azzurri.
According to Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent, the head coach was forced to admit his team were a significant margin away from the standards shown by England in their win over Wales on Friday evening:
It's true that the Irish eventually took a handful of second-half chances well in amassing a 23-point win against Italy, but it took Leonardo Ghiraldini being sin-binned for that advantage to emerge.
France will not be such easy prey, with prop Mike Ross outlining just how difficult Saturday's clash at the Aviva Stadium promises to be, per Nick Purewal of the Irish Independent:
"France are very proud of their scrummaging. We put in a good shift against them last year: they'll be remembering that and looking to put pressure on us at home. They will hold onto what happened last year because it's a huge pride thing for them.
Some French lads can get really fired up if the scrum's not going well for them, so you have to be ready for the battle. It's always tough against them, there's a few guys changed in their team but they will still be a massive test in the scrum. Nicolas Mas has missed out but they've got Rabah Slimani and an absolute monster in Atonio on the bench for a bit of impact.
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Two points and a decent points haul in Round 1 was enough to see Ireland to the table's summit, but piling points on Les Bleus won't be as simple.
Last year, the clash between these two sides ended with Schmidt's men prevailing 22-20 in Paris, but they'll need to find an extra gear or three if they're to maintain pace in their title defence.
England Will Hit Stride Against the Azzurri
If one were to compare England's win over the Welsh with the elite of international rugby, they might be tempted to draw similarities between them and New Zealand.
The All Blacks possess a knack for second-half revivals, where no matter how hopeless things may appear, their self-belief allows for regular late performances of the highest quality.
England needed as much against Wales after going in at the break trailing 16-8 to their Cardiff hosts before tries from Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson urged them on to a 21-16 win.
Managing to find their own stride in attack was one thing, but the ability to tactically outwit Wales was wholly more impressive, with pundit Will Greenwood praising Stuart Lancaster's Bath contingent:
Next Saturday's meeting with Italy will be a chance to display a less constrained outlook, with the potential to heap points on Jaques Brunel's side in a more embarrassing nature than Ireland could.
In an ideal world, England would have France beat Ireland—or perhaps even draw—by the slimmest of margins and open stride to take first spot as their own. Italy managed to keep some shape in defence in Rome this past Saturday, but Twickenham should coax England's best out of them.
Wales at Risk of Slipping Off Pace
The shrewd mind of Vern Cotter will have watched Wales' fall to the English with some glee, examining just how Gatland's side struggled at times at the set piece, an area in which his Scotland lineup has improved dramatically.
Granted, the Scots had their moments of fright during a 15-8 loss to France in Paris and could have lost by a larger margin, but Paul Morgan of Premiership Rugby rightly highlights their evolution of late:
Heading back to Murrayfield, Scotland can be more hopeful of turning over a downbeat Welsh side than they'll have been in recent meetings, showing against France that they can most certainly contend with the best.
A huge factor for Wales will be whether Samson Lee and George North are fit for the trip to Edinburgh, as the Sunday Times reports both are doubts following concussions on Friday:
Last year, a Stuart Hogg red card early on helped Wales claim a 51-3 hammering of Scotland, but this team has come on leaps and bounds under Cotter.
A second successive defeat would put Wales at major risk of finishing this year's tournament outside the top three and Scotland may yet bounce back from their own Round 1 loss on home turf.
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