Wales against Scotland are first up on Saturday so I will start there
Scotland, realising that they must make changes after last week, bring in Dan Parks at No10. Euean Murray is now available and starts at tight head. Will this be enough for a Scottish victory? Not in John’s opinion
“I was disappointed. I know I got this one wrong but they just didn’t continue from where they left off against the Australians”
Wales are at home and, having seen them fight back to come within three points against England, I think they’ll be too strong.
“It will be scrappy though, with both teams trying to get a vital win. If you loose two the pressure really builds up”
John added that he thought Wales would win by 10 points
I think John is right on this one.
The late game on Saturday is in France the Irish trying to turn round the home advantage.
John said, “I believe the French have three out, so although they went well last week, they could have problems.”
With this in mind, he added that the high expectations of the French crowd have often put the team under pressure and they have gone on to play poorly. John has stuck to his Irish favourites and tipped them to upset the French and win by a slender three-point margin.
I went against John’s thoughts last week and hung my hat on the French to beat Scotland. They didn’t let me down so I am sticking with them and just hope that it’s a cracker.
I did ask John if he thought that Ireland might have had half an eye on this game last week and that this could account for their less than convincing performance.
He answered “No not at all, they may well have looked at the fixture against France and marked it as a crucial game. However, you cannot underperform or choose your games. If you do that, you can lose as a team or get dropped as a player. Ireland would not have shown the Italians such a lack of respect.”
Last but not least, the Sunday game, Italy v England.
John praised England, as I reported earlier, and added that he hoped for an open game where England would build on last week’s success.
Italy could be a different team at home but we both agreed that England would be too strong and we had them down for a win.
John gave them a fifteen point winning margin but I’m hoping for a few more.
It would be great to see the Italians keep the ball in hand and have a go.
Two in a row would put England in a great position and we agreed that it was crucial for them to take the right options. As John pointed out, “at this level, you only get a few chances and whether they come in the first or last minute, you have to take them”
John Bentley's prediction
England by 15
Ireland by 3
Wales by 10
Rhys Morgan
