Men's preview - 20 March, 2021 - jon - World Rugby
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Men’s preview – 20
March, 2021
jonMen’s preview – 20 March, 2021
MEN’S INTERNATIONALS – 20 MARCH, 2021
WORLD RUGBY MEN’S RANKINGS STATS
• France will secure an immediate return to third place if they beat Wales and England lose
to Ireland
• Wales will climb above France if they complete the Grand Slam in Paris
• Wales can climb as high as third if they win by more than 15 points and England lose, or
with a narrower victory if Ireland beat England by more than 15 points
• Les Bleus will drop two places to sixth if they lose and Ireland beat England in Dublin
• Wales can fall no lower than sixth with a heavy defeat in Paris, although their advantage
over Australia would be down to less than a tenth
• Ireland will climb above Wales if they win and the Welsh lose to France
• Ireland must win by more than 15 points to climb above their visitors England
• The Irish could climb as high as third, but only if the above scenario happens and the match
between France and Wales ends in a draw in Paris. This would leave both on 85.17 rating
points to two decimal places, but Ireland with the slightly better rating when expanded to
the 15 decimal places the rankings work to
• However, they will drop below Australia again with defeat at home to England
• England can fall no lower than fifth – a position they last occupied in August 2019
• Scotland cannot improve their rating with victory given the 9.47 rating points between the
sides before home weighting is factored in
• Italy will climb two places if they avoid defeat against Scotland – three if Georgia lose to
Russia
• The Scots will drop below Japan into 10th place if they fail to win at Murrayfield
• Georgia cannot improve their position with victory in Russia as their maximum gain is 0.42
• The Lelos will fall one place – below Tonga – if they lose by more than 15 points, two if Italy
avoid defeat against Scotland
• Georgia could fall in victory if Italy also beat Scotland by more than 15 points. However, if
the Lelos match Italy’s margin of victory they will not slip from 12th
• Russia can only improve their position if they beat Georgia and Romania lose to Spain
• Romania will climb above Spain into 18th place with victory over their visitors
• Spain will regain 17th place lost to Uruguay last weekend if they avoid defeat in Romania
• Los Leones can equal their highest position of 16th if they win by more than 15 points
SCOTLAND (9) 80.12 v ITALY (15) 70.65
Scotland win by 15 points or less – Scotland 80.12, Italy 70.65 (No change)
Scotland win by more than 15 points – Scotland 80.12, Italy 70.65 (No change)
Draw – Scotland 79.12, Italy 71.65
Italy win by 15 points or less – Scotland 78.12, Italy 72.65
Italy win by more than 15 points – Scotland 77.12, Italy 73.65
IRELAND (6) 83.72 v ENGLAND (3) 86.41
Ireland win by 15 points or less – Ireland 84.69, England 85.44
Ireland win by more than 15 points – Ireland 85.17, England 84.96
Draw – Ireland 83.69, England 86.44
England win by 15 points or less – Ireland 82.69, England 87.44
England win by more than 15 points – Ireland 82.17, England 87.96
1Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
FRANCE (4) 85.64 v WALES (5) 83.97
France win by 15 points or less –France 86.17, Wales 83.44
France win by more than 15 points – France 86.44, Wales 83.17
Draw – France 85.17, Wales 84.44
Wales win by 15 points or less – France 84.17, Wales 85.44
Wales win by more than 15 points – France 83.44, Wales 86.17
RUSSIA (20) 63.14 v GEORGIA (12) 73.31
Russia win by 15 points or less – Russia 64.85, Georgia 71.59
Russia win by more than 15 points – Russia 65.71, Georgia 70.73
Draw – Russia 63.85, Georgia 72.59
Georgia win by 15 points or less – Russia 62.85, Georgia 73.59
Georgia win by more than 15 points – Russia 62.71, Georgia 73.73
ROMANIA (19) 65.37 v SPAIN (18) 66.88
Romania win by 15 points or less – Romania 66.22, 66.03
Romania win by more than 15 points – Romania 66.65, Spain 65.61
Draw – Romania 65.22, Spain 67.03
Spain win by 15 points or less – Romania 64.22, Spain 68.03
Spain win by more than 15 points – Romania 63.65, Spain 68.61
The World Rugby Men’s Rankings update every Monday at 12:00 GMT.
2Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
SIX NATIONS 2021
SCOTLAND v ITALY – MURRAYFIELD, EDINBURGH – KO 14:15 GMT
Head to head
Played: 32 – Scotland leads 24-8
Points for: Scotland 794 / Italy 532 (avg. score: Scotland 24-16 Italy)
Highest score: Scotland 48 (48-7 on 29 August, 2015) / Italy 20 (37-17 on 24 February, 2007)
Biggest winning margin: Scotland 41 (48-7 on 29 August, 2015) / Italy 20 (37-17 on 24 February,
2007)
First met: 14 December, 1996 – Scotland 29-22 Italy – Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Last met: 14 November, 2020 – Scotland 28-17 Italy – Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Test debut: 13 March, 2010 – Russia 48-11 Germany
Tests as referee : 51 (including one as replacement referee)
Six Nations debut: 15 March, 2014 – Italy 11-52 England
Six Nations tests as referee: 10
• Pascal Gaüzère has refereed this fixture twice previously, taking charge of Scotland’s 29-0
win at Murrayfield in March 2017 and their 29-27 victory in Rome in March 2018
• This will be his fifth match as a test referee at Murrayfield, having also overseen Scotland
defeats against England and Wales
• Italy will finish bottom of the Championship for the sixth year in a row and the seventh
time in eight years with Scotland bottom in 2015
• Italy’s first-ever Six Nations match on 5 February, 2020 saw them beat Scotland 34-20 at
the Stadio Flaminio
• Diego Dominguez kicked 29 points in the win – including three drop goals – with Giampiero
de Carli scoring a first-half try
• Italy have lost their last 31 Six Nations matches, dating back to a 22-19 defeat of Scotland
at Murrayfield on 28 February, 2015
• In this run, Italy have scored 49 tries and 409 points but conceded 165 tries and 1,250
points
• Stuart Hogg is the only player in Scotland’s squad this weekend to have started that 2015
loss to Italy, although Hamish Watson came off the bench. None of Italy’s 23 were involved
• In total, Italy have won just 12 and drawn one of their 109 Six Nations matches, losing 96
• Seven of Italy’s 12 Six Nations victories have come against Scotland
• Italy have now lost all 12 matches under coach Franco Smith
• They have lost 13 games in a row since beating Canada 48-7 at RWC 2019, 541 days ago
• Scotland have won their last nine meetings with Italy dating back to the 2015 Six Nations
• The closest Italy have come to victory in this run was a 29-27 loss in 2018
• Scotland have only won one of their last six home matches in the Six Nations dating back
to their 33-20 win over Italy in February 2019
• Italy have only won twice on Scottish soil, 37-17 in February 2007 and 22-19 in February
2015 – these are Italy’s only wins in 54 away matches in the Six Nations
• Italy need four tries to bring up 50 in test matches against Scotland (81)
• If Italy fail to add to their five tries, it will be their lowest return for a Championship since
2014
• Italy could also concede a record number of points for a single Six Nations Championship
as they have conceded 187 (an average of 47 per game) so far in 2021. The record is
currently 228 points conceded by the Azzurri in their debut Championship in 2000
• Italy have conceded more than 200 points in a single Championship on five occasions – in
2000, 2001, 2016, 2017 and 2018
3Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
• Italy winger Monty Ioane has made the second-most metres in the competition. His 361
metres gained is only bettered by Ireland’s James Lowe (433)
• Three Scotland players have played every minute of their campaign – Duhan van der
Merwe, Hamish Watson and captain Stuart Hogg. No Italian has played every minute
• Scotland lost six lineouts on their own throw in defeat to Ireland
• Scotland have made seven personnel and two positional changes for the visit of Italy, the
most eye-catching being captain Stuart Hogg’s first selection at fly-half in his 84th test
• Sean Maitland starts at full-back for the first time since the 38-38 draw with England in
March 2019 with Darcy Graham filling his vacated spot on the right wing
• Centre Huw Jones, scrum-half Scott Steele, hooker David Cherry, prop Zander Fagerson
and second-rows Sam Skinner and Grant Gilchrist are the other changes
• Steele and Cherry will make their first starts for Scotland
• Alex Craig could become Scotland’s 61st World Rugby U20 Championship graduate if he
comes off the bench for his debut – only France (74) and Argentina (73) have capped more
• Italy have made four changes from the Wales defeat, two in the pack and two in the
backline. Prop Marco Riccioni and second-row Federico Ruzza come in, while Federico Mori
and Edoardo Padovani get the nod at inside centre and full-back respectively
• Second-row Riccardo Favretto could make his debut for Italy if called upon from the bench,
having played in Italy’s 30-29 loss to Scotland in the U20 Six Nations last February
• Italy’s entire backline has 89 caps between them with only Padovani (27) and Mattia Bellini
(30) in double figures
• Italy’s starting line-up has 234 caps in total, compared to Scotland’s 390. In total,
Scotland’s starting XV has 390 caps to Italy’s 234
4Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
IRELAND v ENGLAND – AVIVA STADIUM, DUBLIN – KO 16:45 GMT
Head to head
Played: 137 – England leads 80-49 with eight draws
Points for: Ireland 1,170 / England 1,681 (avg. score: Ireland 8-12 England)
Highest score: England 57 (57-15 on 24 August, 2019) / Ireland 43 (43-13 on 24 February, 2007)
Biggest winning margin: England 42 (57-15 on 24 August, 2019) / Ireland 43 (43-13 on 24 February,
2007)
First meeting: 15 February, 1875 – England* 0-0 Ireland – Kennington Oval, London
Last meeting: 21 November, 2020 – England 18-7 Ireland – Twickenham, London
* England won on goals
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Debut: 25 April, 2009 – Malta 9-27 Netherlands
Six Nations debut: 11 March, 2017 – England 61-21 Scotland
Tests as referee: 28
Six Nations tests as referee: 5
• Mathieu Raynal refereed three tests at the Aviva Stadium in 2020 with Ireland winning
them all, against Scotland in the Six Nations and Wales and Georgia in the Autumn Nations
Cup
• The French official has never taken charge of a match between Ireland and England
• Victory for Ireland would be their 50th test win over England
• England have won their last four matches with Ireland, three of them at Twickenham,
including the 18-7 win in the Autumn Nations Cup last November
• England’s last win in Dublin was 32-20 in the 2019 Six Nations opener
• Ireland’s last win against England was 24-15 at Twickenham on 17 March, 2018
• England have won eight of their last 11 meetings with Ireland
• England have not lost three matches in a single Championship since finishing fifth in 2018 –
and only three times in the Six Nations era, when finishing fourth in 2005 and 2006
• The last time Ireland lost three games in a single Championship was in 2014 when they
finished fifth. The only other time in the Six Nations era was in finishing fourth in 2008
• Owen Farrell needs one penalty to bring up 100 in the Six Nations – joining Ronan O’Gara,
Jonny Wilkinson and Stephen Jones to reach the milestone
• Farrell is the leading point scorer in the 2021 Six Nations with 44, while Anthony Watson is
joint-top try-scorer with Louis Rees-Zammit on four
• Farrell has finished top point-scorer twice before, in 2016 (69 points) and 2019 (59 points)
• Johnny Sexton was top point-scorer in 2014 and is one point behind Farrell in this
Championship
• Farrell needs six points to reach 500 in Championship history and become the third player
to reach the milestone after Ronan O’Gara and Jonny Wilkinson
• Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell will face Ireland for the 12th time – two behind Rory
Underwood’s record
• This will be CJ Stander’s 28th and final Six Nations match after he announced on Tuesday
that he will retire at the end of the season
• Peter O’Mahony is available again after completing a three-match suspension but James
Ryan and Garry Ringrose are ruled out through injury
• England have the most ‘ever-presents’ of any team in the Championship, with four players
having played every minute possible in Maro Itoje, Tom Curry, Owen Farrell and Jonny May
• England have used the fewest players so far with 27 having taken to the pitch
• With Garry Ringrose ruled out through injury, Hugo Keenan is the only Irish contender to
play in every single minute of the Championship
• Ireland have made six personnel and three positional changes from the Scotland win
5Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
• Prop Dave Kilcoyne, flanker Josh van der Flier and number eight Jack Conan come into the
line-up with Tadhg Beirne moving into the second-row and CJ Stander moving to blindside
• In the backline, scrum-half Conor Murray, winger Jacob Stockdale and centre Bundee Aki
start with the latter’s selection seeing Robbie Henshaw move out one to outside centre
• Stockdale makes his first appearance of 2021 and the first on the wing since the 2020 Six
Nations loss to England
• Conan will start a test for the first time since Ireland’s final RWC 2019 warm-up match
against Wales
• England have made only one change from the defeat of France with Elliot Daly replacing
the injured Henry Slade at outside centre
• Daly has only been named at centre once before for England – his first test start, against
South Africa in November 2016
• Full-back Max Malins (seven) is the only player in the England backline with less than 50
caps to his name
• England’s starting line-up boasts 769 caps in comparison to Ireland’s 694
6Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
FRANCE v WALES – STADE DE FRANCE, PARIS – KO 21:00 (20:00 GMT)
Head to head
Played 100 – Wales leads 51-46 with three draws
Points for: France 1,484 / Wales 1,523 (avg. score: France 14-15 Wales)
Highest score: France 51 (51-0 on 5 April, 1998) / Wales 49 (49-14 on 1 January, 1910)
Biggest winning margin: France 51 (51-0 on 5 April, 1998) / Wales 42 (47-5 on 23 February, 1909)
First met: 2 March, 1908 – Wales 36-4 France – Cardiff Arms Park
Last met: 24 October, 2020 – France 38-21 Wales – Stade de France, Paris
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Test debut: 9 February, 2013 – Romania 29-14 Russia
Six Nations debut: 2 February, 2019 – Scotland 33-20 Italy
Tests as referee: 29
Six Nations tests as referee: 3
• Luke Pearce took charge of France’s 15-13 defeat of Ireland in round two
• Victory for Wales will confirm a fifth Grand Slam of the Six Nations era. They have won all
four Grand Slam games in this period
• Wales have been successful in 12 of 15 times they have gone for the Grand Slam in the
Five/Six Nations – losing their final matches to France (1965 and 1988) and England (1994)
• Nine of those 15 Grand Slam games have been against France
• Wales have won 12 Grand Slams to date, one less than England’s record 13
• Winning the 2021 Six Nations title would take them to 28 outright Championship titles, one
fewer than England’s record 29
• Wales have beaten France in their final match to secure the Grand Slam on seven
occasions (1950, 1952, 1971, 1976, 1978, 2008 and 2012. The other five times it was Ireland
• Only for two of those 12 Grand Slams secured were Wales away for the last match – 1908 in
Ireland and 1971 in France
• A draw would be sufficient for Wales to claim the Six Nations title as they could not be
caught at the top of the table
• France go into the match nine points behind Wales but with a game in hand after their
round three match with Scotland was postponed due to COVID-19 cases in the squad
• That means if Les Bleus win and secure at least four Championship points more than their
visitors – they will keep alive their title hopes. If not, Wales will be crowned champions
• France are bidding to win three in a row against Wales for the first time since four
consecutive victories from 2009-11
• Wales’ last win at the Stade de France was 24-19 in February 2019
• Wales have won eight of their last 11 meetings with France, losing twice at the Stade de
France and once at the Principality Stadium
• Wales need one try to set their highest total for a single Championship in the Six Nations
era, having matched their 2005 and 2016 records of 17 after four matches
• Wales will also better their haul of 151 points in 2005 if they score 18 points against France
• France’s first penalty will be their 150th in tests against Wales (187)
• If France kick a drop goal it will be their 25th in tests against Wales (15)
• Defeat for Wales would be their 200th loss in the history of the Championship
• George North needs one try to become Wales’ top try-scorer in Championship history,
having draw, level with Shane Williams after scoring his 22nd try in the win over Italy
• Louis Rees-Zammit is joint top-scorer in the 2021 Six Nations with Anthony Watson (4).
Only one Welsh player has scored more than four in a single Championship – Shane
Williams with six in 2008
• Wales have now gone 15 matches without receiving a yellow or red card. The last Welsh
player to be carded was Gareth Davies with a yellow against Italy in March 2018
7Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
• Wakes have used the most players so far in the Championship with 35 having taken to the
field at some point during the campaign
• Justin Tipuric and Louis Rees-Zammit have played every minute of Wales’ campaign, Brice
Dulin and captain Charles Ollivon have done so for France in their three matches to date
• France have named an unchanged starting line-up from the defeat to England
• There are three changes on the bench with prop Uini Atonio, second-row Swan Rebbadj
and centre Arthur Vincent coming in
• Wales have made one change to their starting line-up with Adam Beard replacing Cory Hill
in the second-row
• Alun Wyn Jones will win his 148th cap for Wales, matching the total of Richie McCaw for
New Zealand. It will be Jones’ 157th test in total, including his British and Irish Lions caps
• Alun Wyn Jones has more caps for Wales than the entire France pack (136)
• France’s starting line-up has only 345 caps in comparison to Wales’ new record of 987
8Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
RUGBY EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 – 20 MARCH
The Rugby Europe Championship across 2021 and 2022 will provide the Europe 1 and Europe 2
qualifiers for Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.
Click HERE for more information on the RWC 2023 qualifying process.
In the RWC 2019 qualification process a total of 188 matches were played across 994 days with
10,355 points scored by the 71 teams who began with the dream of making it to Japan. The eight
who did were Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Russia, Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay and USA.
RUSSIA V GEORGIA – KALININGRAD STADIUM, KALININGRAD – KO 13:00 (11:00 GMT)
Head to head
Played: 24 – Georgia leads 22-1 with one draw
Points for: Russia 267 / Georgia 595 (avg. score: Russia 11-24 Georgia)
Highest score: Russia 23 (25-23 on 4 March, 2001) / Georgia 46 (46-19 on 4 February, 2006 / 46-0 on
17 March, 2012)
Biggest winning margin: Russia 6 (15-9 on 26 May, 1993) / Georgia 46 (46-0 on 17 March, 2012)
First met: 25 May, 1993 – Russia 15-9 Georgia – Ogniwo, Sopot, Poland
Last met: 7 February, 2021 – Georgia 16-7 Russia – Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
The match will be streamed live on Rugby Europe TV
• The sides will meet in Kaliningrad for the first time, having previously played in Krasnodar,
Krasnoyarsk and Sochi in Russia
• Georgia top the standings on nine points with two wins from two, against Portugal and
Spain. Russia lie third on four points, one behind Romania who they beat in round one
• Georgia have won their last 17 matches in the Rugby Europe Championship – they last
tasted defeat on 19 March, 2017, losing 8-7 to Romania in Bucharest
• Georgia have won their last 19 matches against Russia, dating back to a 12-12 draw in March
2002
• Georgia’s 16-7 win in February in the REC 2020 final round was the smallest margin of
victory since the Lelos won 15-9 in March 2011
• Russia’s only win was their inaugural meeting on 25 May, 1993 in a RWC 1995 qualifier (15-9
in Poland)
• Georgia’s biggest win in the fixture is 46-0 in March 2012, their smallest margin of victory
being six points in 1998, 2004 and 2011
• Russia have not reached double figures on home soil against Georgia in their last five
matches since an 18-12 loss in Krasnoyarsk in April 2008
• Russia have only reached double figures twice in their last 11 meetings with Georgia, losing
36-10 in 2014 and 28-14 in 2017
• Tedo Abzhandadze kicked 11 points in Georgia’s win against Russia in Tbilisi in February
with Vasil Lobzhanidze scoring their only try. Bogdan Fedotko scored the Bears’ try with
Ramil Gaisin converting
• Russia’s Ramil Gaisin is 12 points short of reaching 200 in tests
• Akaki Tabutsadze was joint top-scorer in international rugby in 2020 (five tries), along with
France captain Charles Ollivon. But his second-half effort v Spain last weekend was his first
try in six games
9Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
• Russia have made three personnel and one positional changes from the side that beat
Romania in round one. Flankers German Silenko and Anton Sychev and prop Vladimir
Podrezov are promoted from the bench to start.
• Nikita Vavilin moves from blindside to number eight in the new-look back-row to replace
captain Viktor Gresev who was ruled out on Friday
• Second-row Andrey Ostrikov will captain Russia for the first time in his 40th test
• Georgia captain Merab Sharikadze will win his 75th cap this weekend
• Georgia have made four changes from the Spain win, three in pack where hooker Giorgi
Chkoidze, prop Giorgi Melikidze and flanker Giorgi Tkhilaishvili come in
• Sandro Todua is the only change to the backline, replacing the injured Demur Tapladze
10Men’s preview – 20 March, 2021
ROMANIA v SPAIN – STADIONUL DE RUGBY DIN COMPLEXUL SPORTIV GHENCEA,
BUCHAREST – KO 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Head to head
Played: 38 – Romania leads 34-4
Points for: Romania 1,081 / Spain 382 (avg. score: Romania 28-10 Spain)
Highest points: Romania 74 (74-3 on 16 April, 1978) / Spain 22 (22-10 on 18 February, 2018)
Biggest winning margin: Romania 71 (74-3 on 16 April, 1978) / Spain 12 (22-10 on 18 February, 2018)
First met: 1 May, 1958 – Romania 14-12 Spain – Liege, Belgium
Last met: 22 February, 2020 – Romania 24-7 Spain – Stadionul Municipal, Botosani
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
The match will be streamed live on Rugby Europe TV
• Romania lost 27-20 to Uruguay in a previous test match at this venue
• Romania edged Portugal 28-27 in round two, having lost their opener 18-13 to Russia
• Spain have only played one match, losing 25-19 to Georgia last weekend
• Romania’s win in 2020 ended a two-game winning run for Spain
• Romania have won seven of their last 10 meetings with Spain
• The Oaks have won all 18 previous meetings with Spain played on Romanian soil
• Spain have not reached double figures on Romanian soil since a 50-14 loss in 2007
• All four of Spain’s wins in the head-to-head have come in Madrid
• Florin Vlaicu needs four points to move ahead of Diego Dominguez into sixth on the all-
time point scoring list in international rugby, having passed 1,000 points last weekend
• Vlaicu will extend his Romanian record of test appearances with his 127th cap
• Romania have made four changes to their starting line-up with prop Alexandru Tarus,
second-row Marius Antonescu, flanker Vlad Neculau and fly-half Daniel Plai coming in
• Neculau will make his first test start after three appearances off the bench
• Number eight Andre Gorin takes over the captaincy with Mihai Macovei having returned to
his French club Colomiers
• Cristi Boboc could make his debut for Romania off the bench
• Spain’s squad is boosted by availability of some France-based players – including second-
row Lucas Guillaume, flanker Gautier Gibouin, and winger Fabien Perrin who all start
• Club team-mates (Aviron Bayonnais) Guillaume Rouet and Manuel Ordas will play together
at half-back for the first time for Spain
• There are six personnel and two positional changes to the Spain starting line-up with
flanker Matthew Foulds starting, while Bautista Guemes and Alvar Gimeno each move out
one to start at inside and outside centre respectively
• Captain and prop Fernando Lopez will win his 50th cap for Spain
• Only three of Spain’s starting line-up were born after 1995 – prop Jon Zabala, fly-half
Manuel Ordas and centre Alvar Gimeno
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