6 Nations: Final round preview

Ireland v England, Friday 17th March, 2017, 8pm, Donnybrook Stadium

A Grand Slam decider on St Patrick’s Day is something Ireland could scarcely have dreamed of in the closing minutes of their opening match against Scotland.

Drawing the game 15-15 with minutes to go, Jenny Murphy’s late try spared Ireland’s blushes and set them on the way to what has been a campaign best summed up as ‘doing just about enough’.

Where Ireland have impressed most has been in their utter doggedness. They haven’t hit their straps at all over any 80 minute period; they were missing key player against France for which their media were highly critical; and yet they’ve found something within them to win every single match and that makes them incredibly dangerous this weekend.

The fact the match falls on March 17 in Dublin will add an extra layer of motivation and Ireland coach Tom Tierney has a settled squad to choose from – making just one change as scrum-half Larissa Muldoon moves from the replacements into the starting XV.

England will still start as favourites. When they have been good in this Championship, they have been devastating as Wales and Scotland found out and as France realised in their second half and though there have been patches of rustiness, England’s attacking game has at time been magnificent. If they hit their stride, Ireland’s defence will have to be at its absolute best to keep them out.

England too make just one change.  Bristol winger Amy Wilson Hardy is the only change to the starting 15, with Laura Keates hoping to gain her 60th England cap off the bench in place of Sarah Bern. Lydia Thompson, who scored a hat-trick in England's 63-0 win over Wales, moves to the bench, showing just how strong England's strength in depth out wide has been.

Ireland are a smart team and they know where and how to target teams. Key players for the hosts include Ireland skipper Paula Fitzpatrick, who has clearly done an excellent job replacing Niamh Briggs. The Irish back row including Ciara Griffin and Claire Molloy will surely be aiming to put England's flyhalf Emily Scott under as much pressure as possible, in the continued absence of Katie Mclean. Natasha Hunt's absence is also a blow for England at number 9 and the half-back combination will come under plenty of pressure.

From Emily Scarratt out, England are capable of creating something from nothing and Ireland's defence will have to do its upmost to stop the flow of good ball into the wide channels.

It is all set up for a thriller.

Ireland:Kim Flood (Railway Union / Leinster), Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere / Leinster), Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere / Leinster), Sene Naoupu (Aylesford Bulls), Alison Miller (Old Belvedere / Connacht), Nora Stapleton (Old Belvedere / Leinster), Larissa Muldoon (Railway Union); Lindsay Peat (Railway Union / Leinster), Leah Lyons (Highfield / Munster), Ailis Egan (Old Belvedere / Leinster), Sophie Spence (Old Belvedere / Leinster), Marie-Louise Reilly (Old Belvedere / Leinster), Ciara Griffin (UL Bohemians / Munster), Claire Molloy (Bristol / Connacht), Paula Fitzpatrick (St. Mary’s College / Leinster) (C).Replacements:Ciara O’Connor (Galwegians / Connacht), Ilse Van Staden (Cooke / Ulster), Ruth O’Reilly (Galwegians / Connacht), Ciara Cooney (Railway Union / Leinster), Nichola Fryday (Tullamore / Connacht), Mary Healy (Galwegians / Connacht), Nikki Caughey (Railway Union / Ulster), Mairead Coyne (Galwegians / Connacht).

England:15 Danielle Waterman, 14 Amy Wilson Hardy, 13 Emily Scarratt, 12 Amber Reed , 11 Kay Wilson, 10 Emily Scott, 9 La Toya Mason, 1 Rochelle Clark, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Justine Lucas, 4 Tamara Taylor, 5 Harriet Millar-Mills, 6 Alex Matthews, 7 Marlie Packer, 8 Sarah Hunter (c).Replacements:16 Vicky Fleetwood, 17 Vickii Cornborough, 18 Laura Keates, 19 Poppy Cleall , 20 Izzy Noel-Smith, 21 Bianca Blackburn, 22 Rachael Burford, 23 Lydia Thompson.

Scotland v Italy. Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld,  Friday, 17 March Kick-off: 18:20

Scotland won’t have expected to have had much return against England last weekend, but nonetheless, the hammering in London will have taken its toll.

A home game against Italy will be a much better test of their progress and perhaps even an ideal way to finish a tournament which has brought them a first vital win in years.

The return of Jade Konkel will be vital and she comes straight back in, meaning Sarah Bonar goes to the bench leaving an all-Hillhead Jordanhill back row including Jemma Forsyth and Louise McMillan. Katie Dougan makes her first start at prop.

Scotland head coach Shade Munro said: "We are aiming to end this year's Six Nations campaign on a positive note with a strong performance against Italy.

"It's been pleasing to see the squad improve in many aspects, but there is more work to be done to reach our full potential.

"We need a consistent and solid performance at Broadwood as Italy are a very good side and have been improving with every game in the tournament."

Italy will be tricky opponents. While they have mostly played in fits and starts, struggling for any sort of consistency over 80 minutes, they can be threatening out wide with Manuela Furlan capable of opening up any defence if given space.

They'll be hugely disappointed not to have won so far, and while this is a battle at the bottom of the table, it should be well worth a watch.

Scotland: Chloe Rollie (Murrayfield Wanderers), Megan Gaffney (Edinburgh University), Lisa Thomson (Edinburgh University), Lisa Martin, capt (Murrayfield Wanderers), Rhona Lloyd (Edinburgh University), Helen Nelson (Murrayfield Wanderers), Sarah Law (Murrayfield Wanderers/Edinburgh University), Tracy Balmer (Worcester), Lana Skeldon (Hillhead Jordanhill), Katie Dougan (Edinburgh University), Emma Wassell (Murrayfield Wanderers), Deborah McCormack (Aylesford Bulls), Jemma Forsyth (Hillhead Jordanhill), Louise McMillan (Hillhead Jordanhill), Jade Konkel (Hillhead Jordanhill).Replacements: Rachel Malcolm (Lichfield), Heather Lockhart (Hillhead Jordanhill), Lindsey Smith (Hillhead Jordanhill), Sarah Bonar (Lichfield), Lyndsay O'Donnell (Worcester), Jenny Maxwell (Lichfield), Lauren Harris (Melrose), Eilidh Sinclair (Murrayfield Wanderers).

Italy:15) Manuela FURLAN (R.F.U. Inghilterra, 54 caps); 14) Michela SILLARI (R.F.U. Inghilterra, 33 caps); 13) Maria Grazia CIOFFI (Rugby Colorno, 45 caps ); 12) Sofia STEFAN (Rennes-FFR, 31 caps); 11) Maria MAGATTI (Rugby Monza 1949, 18 caps); 10) Beatrice RIGONI (Valsugana Rugby Padova, 20 caps); 9)  Sara BARATTIN (C) (Villorba Rugby, 71 caps); 8) Elisa GIORDANO (Valsugana Rugby Padova, 20 caps); 7) Lucia CAMMARANO (Asd Rugby Monza 1949, 15 caps); 6) Ilaria ARRIGHETTI (Rennes-FFR, 24 caps); 5) Alice TREVISAN (Rugby Riviera 1975, 38 caps); 4) Isabella LOCATELLI (Rugby Monza 1949, 10 caps); 3) Marta FERRRARI (Rennes, 17 caps); 2) Melissa BETTONI (Rennes-FFR, 34 caps); 1) Elisa CUCCHIELLA (Rugby Belve Neroverdi, 61 caps)Replacements:16) Lucia GAI (Valsugana Rugby Padova, 46 caps); 17) Gaia GIACOMOLI (Rugby Colorno F.C., 6 caps); 18) Michela ESTE (Benetton Treviso, 52 caps ); 19) Elisa PILLOTTI (Rugby Parabiago, 9 caps); 20) Valeria FEDRIGHI (Rugby Riviera 1975, 2 caps); 21) Veronica MADIA (Rugby Colorno, 3 capS); 22) Elisa BONALDO (Rugby Colorno, 2 caps); 23) Paola ZANGIROLAMI (Valsugana Rugby Padova, 71 caps)

France v Scotland, Stade Amedee Domenech, Brive,  Saturday, 18 March Kick-off: 20:00 GMT

Having battled bravely against Ireland, Wales will have been disappointed to have just fallen short last weekend.

After a promising win over Italy in round one, they have had a disappointing set of results since – a hammering by England ahead of losses to Ireland and Scotland. The latter will have particularly hurt and this weekend there are four changes to the team to take on France in Brive.

There are starts for scrum-half Sian Moore, wing Jasmine Joyce, centre Gemma Rowland and full-back Elinor Snowsill.

"There are only small parts of our game that need improving. We didn't want to make drastic changes," said Phillips. "The players showed the right amount of attitude and desire last Saturday in Cardiff, which we want them to carry into this weekend's game."

Phillips says Wales will look to end the campaign with a victory as they reflect on an emotional period that has seen the players mourn the death of teammate Elli Norkett.

"The girls wanted to win the Ireland game for Elli so they were disappointed," he said. "But their performance showed the respect to Elli they wanted to and we go to France now and it our last opportunity to finish the competition on a high."

Full-back Dyddgu Hywel and wing Elen Evans are unavailable this weekend due to injuries sustained in the match against Ireland.

For France, coaches Olivier Lièvremont and Samuel Cherouk make four changes for the final round, partly a result of injuries which see Shannon Izar replaced by Jessy Trémoulière at 15 and Chloé Pelle taking the place of Camille Grassineau on the wing. Addtionally Caroline Drouin - who made her debut coming in for Audrey Abadie at flyhalf last weekend - gets a chance to start, supporting Jade le Pesq who returns at nine.The game is the last chance for the new coaching team to get to the bottom of France's "Jekell and Hyde" inconsistency in this campaign that has resulted in the champions falling to third overall. Impressive first half performances have come in all games, but perhaps most especially against England, they have been followed by second halves where the team has failed to fire. Against England they saw a 20-0 first-half lead reversed, against  Ireland, after holding the home team to only 3-0 despite playing into a strong win, they failed to make anything from the conditions when they were in their favour, and even against Italy they managed to “lose” the second half 5-3.

Cherouk has highlighted overall fitness as a possible issue – and they certainly did seem dead on their feet for the first quarter at Twickenham – but team manager Annick Hayraud suspects something more. There has certainly been a lot of experimentation, with several players playing in totally new positions – but overall that seems to have come off.

The good news for the French is that the performances of the team on the field have done nothing to decrease its ability to pull crowds, both in stadiums and on television. France continue to attract bigger crowds to any one of their games than any of their opponents can for all of their matches put together. It is something that has caught the attention of the main sponsor of the men’s team – insurance company GMF – who have now hired Lenaig Corson to help them target the women’s game as well.

France:(15-1): Trémoulière – Pelle, Ladagnous, Poublan, Boujard – (o) Drouin, (m) Le Pesq – N’Diaye, R. Ménager, Mayans – Forlani, Ferer – Duval, Mignot (cap), ArricastreReplacements: Divoux, Aït Labib, Corson, Hermet, Rivoalen, Abadie, Neisen, Carricaburu

Wales: Elinor Snowsill (Newport Gwent Dragons); Jasmine Joyce (Scarlets), Gemma Rowland (Newport Gwent Dragons), Rebecca De Filippo (Newport Gwent Dragons), Adi Taviner (Ospreys); Robyn Wilkins (Ospreys), Sian Moore (Newport Gwent Dragons); Caryl Thomas (Scarlets), Carys Phillips (c) (Ospreys), Amy Evans (Ospreys), Rebecca Rowe (Newport Gwent Dragons), Mel Clay (Ospreys), Sioned Harries (Scarlets), Rachel Taylor (Scarlets), Shona Powell-Hughes (Ospreys).

ReplacementsLowri Harries (Scarlets), Cerys Hale (Newport Gwent Dragons), Catrin Edwards (Scarlets), Siwan Lillicrap (Ospreys), Alisha Butchers (Scarlets), Keira Bevan (Ospreys), Jodie Evans (Scarlets), Jessica Kavanagh-Williams (Scarlets).