The Six Nations returns, at very long last! With the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown back in March now feeling like a fever dream, for Rugby Union fans the 2020 Six Nations tournament certainly hasn’t been forgotten. On Saturday 31st October we look forward to the long awaited finale; with four games to play, and four teams all in with a chance of lifting the trophy on what truly promises to be a SUPER SATURDAY.

Download the We Love Sport app to find your nearest local pub or bar showing all the Six Nations action along with some great offers. Download here. There is also £2000 up for grabs in the Guinness Six Nations Pub Quiz with James Haskell.

This Halloween, 31st of October 2020 will bring ghastly gloom for some, and gleaming glory for others! Buckle your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be one HELL of a ride.

We Love Sport’s Jonathan Fone looks at each of the four nations battling it out to become champions!

ENGLAND

The Red and Whites sure do have reason to be optimistic. Currently sitting top of the bunch in the table from France on points difference, and take on ‘Gli Azzurri’ (the Italians to you and me) in Rome for their final game. Eddie Jones and his lads will feel even more confident knowing they go into the game knowing they have never lost to Italy, but 2020, as we have seen, is a strange year. Anything could happen.    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDyDKP8Wf3k

If England manage to secure the win and run in four tries to secure the bonus point, only Ireland can potentially finish with more points. If Ireland only get nine points, then England can match them with a bonus-point win in Rome – meaning it comes down to points difference, where England have an advantage. What an occasion that could be!

England should also be wary of France, who could possibly overtake England if they get a bonus point win against Ireland and beat the Men in Green by a greater margin than England defeat Italy by.

IRELAND

It’s complicated, we know, but if England could pull it off and secure their bonus point, they’ll be laughing.

If Ireland win their final games, and secure bonus points, they are champions – it’s as simple as that.

Don’t forget that England, France and Scotland all only have one match to play. But with greater margin for things to go wrong and twice as many games to play, Ireland will have to be on top form for their round 4 and round 5 clashes with Italy and France, respectively.

Ireland will most definitely have had time to recover over the months, but will still be reeling from their round 3 loss to England. Currently sitting 4th in the table, they will need to bag all ten available for them to secure Six Nations victory. Whilst Ireland have a strong record against Italy, scoring four tries away to France will be a real challenge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq01-3ZvxN0

To quote the Irish proverb: The future is not set, there is no fate but what we make for ourselves.

FRANCE

Les Bleus certainly looked good this tournament, following that emphatic victory over Wales in round 3 this could have been the first grand slam that France had won since 2010, but then they went to Edinburgh for round 4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0hg0xrQydg

Not to say the defeat to Scotland at BT Murrayfield had shattered France’s chances and hopes of winning the championship, but there’s no doubt this has thrown a spanner in the works.

France are currently level on points with England at the top, but their points difference is minus three which means they will need to “battre le fer pendant qu’il est chaud” (strike the iron while it’s hot) against Ireland to win in their final game and beat England’s result by three points should they get the result in Rome, to top the table.

Impossible n’est pas français, indeed.

SCOTLAND

Mathematically, they’re still in with a prayer, and those prayers will be going to the Rugby gods to have things play their way. Scotland will win their first championship in 21 years if they beat Wales on SUPER SATURDAY and then Italy beat both Wales and Ireland, they would also need France and Ireland to draw in Paris.

Lads and lassies, it’s 2020, don’t write anything off just yet.

As is the nature of the Six Nations Rugby Tournament, we have been blessed with some incredibly exciting final days. This year, we will be in for an absolute cracker, you won’t want to miss out.

Make sure that you head down to your local We Love Sport venue, settle in, and enjoy.