Six Nations 2024 - Fixtures, Results & News

Six Nations 2024: Wales have 'nothing to lose' against England, says Danny Care..

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Danny Care could win his 98th cap against Wales on Saturday

Wales have "nothing to lose" when they play England at Twickenham on Saturday, says scrum-half Danny Care.

Warren Gatland's inexperienced side put in a strong second-half showing in their opening defeat by Scotland in Cardiff last weekend.

Wales have not won at Twickenham in the Six Nations since 2012.

"They have some young lads full of talent coming to Twickenham to play their first game," Care told the BBC Rugby Union Daily podcast.

"They are a young team with nothing to lose or nothing to fear. We respect them."

England have won eight of their last 10 championship games against the Welsh.

However, Care was part of the England matchday squad which lost out on the title with defeat against Gatland's side in 2013 in Cardiff.

A win was needed to secure an English Grand Slam, but Wales ruthlessly won 30-3 to clinch the Six Nations.

"Some of my best and worst memories have been playing against Wales," the 37-year-old Harlequin added.

"You try to embrace it. We talked about it a bit last night, about being back in Twickenham and facing one of your fearsome longest rivals that we have massive amounts of respect for.

"This is the game you want to play in and you want your friends and family there to make them proud.

"Every time you play against Wales it is an incredible Test match and really physical and feisty."

Six Nations 2024: Jamie George will be 'very emotional' leading England against Wales..

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Jamie George was named England captain before the start of the Six Nations following Owen Farrell's decision to take a break from Test rugby

England captain Jamie George expects to be "very emotional" when he leads out the team for the first time in a Six Nations match at Twickenham.

George's reign as skipper began with victory in Rome, but he says walking out at a sold-out home of English rugby to face Wales will be "special".

"It's huge. It's a dream come true," George told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"Being at Twickenham, singing the anthem and that walkout will be a very emotional moment for me."

George, who will win his 87th cap on Saturday, added: "I never thought I would be in this position."

England were beaten in a World Cup warm-up game by Fiji in their last match at Twickenham, five months after slumping to their record home defeat against France in the Six Nations.

England are unchanged from their opening win over Italy and George, 33, says the players are excited about the visit of rivals Wales.

"I think it's special it's against Wales. The first thing you think of is the history of the fixture," said George.

"Our recent record at Twickenham has been poor and we have been very outspoken about how we want Twickenham to be great again, so we have the responsibility to do that and what a privilege that is.

"Usually on Monday we have a tactical meeting about the rugby stuff but [head coach] Steve [Borthwick] parked that for a bit this week to talk about the opportunity we have to be back at home against Wales and we touched on the emotion.

"Then the senior players took over, which was great.

"We have extended the walk [to the stadium] from the bus and there have been changes in the changing room, which will hopefully make a difference to the team."

Six Nations 2024: Scotland denied by late TMO call as France hold on for 20-16 win..By Colin Moffat, BBC Scotland.

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Scotland were denied by an inconclusive last-gasp try review as France held on to win a tense Six Nations encounter at Murrayfield.

Replays suggested the ball was grounded in a huge heap of bodies, but referee Nic Berry had called no-try and the TV pictures could not conclusively prove otherwise.

Louis Bielle-Biarrey produced the decisive score in a cagey second half after Ben White and Gael Fickou traded tries in a first half the hosts had much the better of.

Scotland may feel they were ultimately robbed of victory - a fifth at home in succession - but they really should have been further ahead by half-time.

"I believe it was a try," said Scotland captain Finn Russell. "But it's up to the referee."

Exasperated head coach Gregor Townsend added: "We were celebrating in the coaches' box. We could hear the TMO's conversation with the referee, saying 'the ball was on the foot, then the ball was down' and then he changes his mind and says 'stick with the on-field decision'. I don't know what you can say."

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Both teams sit on one win after Scotland's nervous success in Wales, while France recovered from a record home defeat by Ireland.

France have now won 10 of their past 12 Six Nations matches, only coming up short against the defending champions in that run.

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: "You've got to win the game and not put it in the hands of TMOs and referees and that is what we will work on.
"We were in control of the game and in control most of the way in tough conditions. We had to play a different way and I'm really disappointed we didn't win the game. We felt we won the game - we saw the ball on the tryline.
"There is a lot to be proud of but disappointing not to get the win. Harry Paterson was great, one of the best debuts I've seen. To perform like that when you've got four hours' preparations, maybe less, shows the quality of player he is. He was on it and it shows he's a real talent.
"The players are doing well, leading for 75 minutes today and 80 minutes last week. England [at home next] is our biggest game of the season."

Six Nations 2024: Ireland v Italy match preview - Live on ITV 1 -3pm ko.

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Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley impressed on his first Six Nations start in Marseille last week

Ireland's quest for back-to-back Grand Slams continues against an improving Italy at Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

The Irish began their Six Nations title defence in spectacular fashion with their biggest ever away win over France in the tournament opener.

Italy led England at the break in Rome but faded in the second half as they fell to a narrow three-point defeat.

The visitors have lost their past 14 Tests against Ireland and have never won a Six Nations match in Dublin.


View from both camps

Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt: "For Italy to turn around and put in a performance like that against a good England side was very impressive. They are obviously trying to impress the new coach [Gonzalo Quesada] as well.
"I think with Quesada they'll tighten things up a little bit but they caused England some serious problems by scoring some very, very good tries.
"It's a team that really work hard for each other, especially defensively. Their work-rate off the ball is huge. We need to make sure we do our bits and pieces right to try and break that down."

Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada: "Two elements will be missing in the forward department compared to the previous match, but we have a young group that wants to emerge.
"In Dublin the focus will be on our performance and try to take a new step in our growth against one of the strongest teams in the world.
"We have a tough game ahead and it will be crucial to be able to stay lucid throughout the game."

Line-ups

Ireland: 15-Keenan; 14-Nash, 13-Henshaw, 12-McCloskey, 11-Lowe; 10-Crowley, 9-Casey; 1-Porter, 2-Sheehan, 3-Bealham, 4-McCarthy, 5-Ryan, 6-Baird, 7-Doris (capt), 8-Conan.

Replacements: 16-Kelleher, 17-Loughman, 18-O'Toole, 19-Henderson, 20-Van der Flier, 21-Gibson-Park, 22-Byrne, 23-Larmour.

Italy: 15-Capuozzo; 14-Pani, 13-Brex, 12-Menoncello, 11-Ioane; 10-Garbisi, 9-Varney; 1-Fischetti, 2-Lucchesi, 3-Ceccarelli, 4-Cannone, 5-Ruzza, 6-Izekor, 7-Zuliani, 8-Lamaro (capt).

Replacements: 16-Nicotera, 17-Spagnolo, 18-Zilocchi, 19-Zambonin, 20-Vincent, 21-Page-Relo, 22-Allan, 23-Mori.


AS IT STANDS..
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Guinness Six Nations 2024 - Fixtures:

Saturday 24th February

Ireland v Wales - 2-15pm - Live on ITV 1

Scotland v England - 4.45pm - Live on BBC 1

Sunday 25th February

France v Italy - 3pm - Live on ITV 1

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Six Nations 2024: England picking George Furbank 'very unlike Steve Borthwick' - Monye..By Joe Rindl, BBC Sport.

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George Furbank has won six caps for England since making his debut in January 2020

England's decision to start George Furbank at full-back against Scotland is an "attack-minded selection" but "very unlike Steve Borthwick", says former England wing Ugo Monye.

Head coach Borthwick has dropped Freddie Steward for Saturday's Six Nations match at Murrayfield.

Furbank, 27, has been in superb form for Premiership leaders Northampton.

"Furbank just raises the potential of the attack in this team," Monye told the BBC Rugby Union Daily podcast.

"I really rate Steward and when he's played for England he's been very good, he's very dependable.

"Furbank coming in at 15 heightens the ability of England to be able to attack, and be more coherent, dangerous and score more points.

"This is an attack-minded selection, the only reason I'm surprised by it is that it's very unlike [head coach] Steve Borthwick. This England team wants to move on and progress. This could be a real point of difference for England."

England arrive at Murrayfield having narrowly won two from two against Italy and Wales in this year's Six Nations.

Borthwick's side have won eight of their past nine Test matches. Their only defeat was a one-point loss in the World Cup semi-final against eventual champions South Africa.

England's head coach is considered to be conservative in his approach to the game but he made another surprise selection when he dropped Steward and played Marcus Smith at full-back for a game at last year's World Cup, rather than in his usual fly-half role.

Steward has been a consistent presence for England in the number 15 shirt since his debut in 2021, but Furbank, set to win his seventh cap, offers extra speed and playmaking abilities.

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Freddie Steward

He made his debut against France in 2020, later admitting he was disappointed with his own performance as England lost 24-17 in Paris.

Six days later Furbank was part of the England side who beat Scotland 13-6in awful weather conditions - England's last Calcutta Cup win.

"There's a couple of bits I've been working on and I feel like I'm in a better place as an all-round player," Furbank told BBC Sport.

"I've got a bit bigger, that has helped my game. I've taken up more of a leadership role at Saints.

"I'm quite realistic with myself, I know that I'm not a player who can be in average form and make an England squad.

"I don't necessarily think I saw the selection coming. Freddie [Steward] has been in great form the last few games, playing really well.

"His consistency is something I strive for as well. That's something I want to develop in my game."

Six Nations 2024: Scotland v England match preview and team news..

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Having become accustomed to losing to England, Scotland have enjoyed the Calcutta Cup bragging rights of late.

They are aiming to win four matches in a row against the Red Rose in the various guises of this championship for the first time since the 19th century.

Saturday's Six Nations game is vital for Scotland after losing to France in a controversial finish in round two.

However, England are also harbouring tentative title ambitions after opening with two narrow victories.

England travel to Edinburgh as one of only two unbeaten teams left in the tournament but have not won at Murrayfield since edging a tight affair in terrible weather conditions during their most recent title-winning campaign four years ago.

Scotland are still smarting after a decisive last-gasp try was denied by the officials last time out against France, and the home team must defeat their oldest rivals to retain any hope of winning a first Six Nations crown.

They are boosted by excellent form in this fixture - since taking over as Scotland's head coach, Gregor Townsend has lost just one of six meetings with England.

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Team news
Scotland: Jamie Ritchie has been restored to the starting XV having being dropped from the squad for the defeat by France.
The recently deposed captain is back in the side at blind-side flanker in place of Matt Fagerson, as one of three changes made by Townsend.
Full-back Blair Kinghorn returns after a knee issue and wing Kyle Steyn is included after having to pull out at the last minute against France as his wife was in labour.
Fagerson and backs Kyle Rowe and Harry Paterson are left out of the squad, with the bench unchanged.

England: The visitors have made five changes including the surprise choice of George Furbank at full-back, with Freddie Steward dropping out of the matchday squad.
Furbank, however, did start at full-back when England won at Murrayfield in 2020.
Centre Ollie Lawrence is also included after recovering from injury and comes in for Fraser Dingwall.
Scrum-half Danny Care makes his first Six Nations start in six years in place of the injured Alex Mitchell.
Dan Cole and Ellis Genge are the starting props with Joe Marler and Will Stuart dropping to the bench, where they are joined by fit-again lock George Martin.
Captain Jamie George plays just over a week after the death of his mother Jane, who he described as probably the biggest England rugby fan there could ever be.

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Line-ups
Scotland: 15-Kinghorn, 14-Steyn, 13-Jones, 12-Tuipulotu, 11-Van der Merwe, 10-Russell (co-capt), 9-White; 1-Schoeman, 2-Turner, 3-Fagerson, 4-Gilchrist, 5-Cummings, 6-Ritchie, 7-Darge (co-capt), 8-Dempsey

Replacements: 16-Ashman, 17-Hepburn, 18-Millar-Mills, 19-Skinner, 20-Christie, 21-Horne, 22-Healy, 23-Redpath

England: 15-Furbank, 14-Freeman, 13-Slade, 12-Lawrence, 11-Daly; 10-Ford, 9-Care; 1-Genge, 2- George (capt), 3-Cole, 4-Itoje, Chessum, Roots, Underhill, 8-Earl

Replacements: 16-Dan, 17-Marler, 18-Stuart, 19-Martin, 20-Cunningham-South, 21-Spencer, 22-Smith, 23-Feyi-Waboso

Match officials
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Touch judges: Chris Busby (Ireland) & Eoghan Cross (Ireland)

TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Guinness Six Nations 2024 - Result - Saturday 24th February - Scotland 30 England 21.

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Scotland 30-21 England - Duhan van der Merwe hat-trick sinks visitors at Murrayfield..By Colin Moffat, BBC Scotland.

Duhan van der Merwe became the first Scotland player to score a Calcutta Cup hat-trick as the hosts racked up a fourth successive Six Nations victory over England at Murrayfield.

The powerful winger scored two incredible tries at Twickenham last year and went one better this time.

George Furbank and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso enjoyed their first England tries, but Van der Merwe stole the show with his clinical prowess, while Finn Russell was perfect with the boot to keep Scotland out of reach in a largely scruffy contest.

Both teams sit on two wins from three, with Scotland away to Italy next and England at home to unbeaten defending champions Ireland.

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Queen Victoria was the monarch when Scotland last managed four wins in a row against England in this competition in 1896.

And Gregor Townsend's record as head coach against England now stands at five wins and a draw from seven meetings.

With those stats, Scotland were slight favourites against opponents who had edged out Italy and Wales, but the home crowd were quiet after 15 minutes, with their team trailing 10-0 and making error after error.

Then Van der Merwe burst into life to light up this 130th edition of the Calcutta Cup.

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