Is the Six Nations now France’s to lose?

The Six Nations is underway, and it would have taken a stretch of the imagination to predict the results from the opening weekend. England were stunned by Scotland at Twickenham as Gregor Townsend’s team won in London for the first time in 38 years, whilst 14-man Ireland were punished by Wales in Cardiff. In fact, the only way gameweek 1 could have been more unpredictable would have been if Italy beat France in Rome. 

That would have taken something really special from the Italians. Instead, as expected, Fabien Galthié’s men came away from the Stadio Olimpico with an emphatic, dominant victory as France scored seven tries en route to a 50-10 bonus-point victory.

Of course, tougher fixtures are to come for Les Bleus. However, it is always good to start the tournament on the right foot and coming away with a huge victory against Italy is just what France would have wanted, especially with their pre-tournament title contenders England and Ireland later falling foul to opening weekend defeats.

That was echoed by France’s captain Charles Ollivon, who claimed that they went into the game ‘very serious.’ “We needed to prepare well. We were very serious. We followed the instructions,” Ollivon said. “We worked hard during the 10 days in Nice (in camp) and it paid off today. In the first half, they put in big sequences, very hard to defend. At this level, there is no room for relaxation, even 30 seconds. This result is very satisfying.”

Next for France, who are now the favourites to win the tournament in the sports online betting market, is a home fixture against Ireland. Andy Farrell’s men deserve credit for remaining in the game against Wales when Peter O’Mahony was sent off after just 13 minutes. However, you could argue that that was down to how poor the Welsh are at the moment as opposed to the fight of Ireland, and against the likes of France or England they would have been punished by more 

Ireland will be hoping that all 15 men remain on the pitch come Sunday, but even still it is going to be an incredibly tough ask to leave the Stade de France with a victory. Les Bleus recorded a 35-27 bonus-point victory over Farrell’s side in the French capital last year and they will be aiming for more of the same this weekend as they look to bounce back from missing out on lifting the Six Nations to England last year on points difference. 

With Scotland looking to add to their emphatic start against Wales this weekend, gameweek 3 could prove decisive in the final standings. France host the Scots, and with both sides potentially clashing with two victories in the bag, the winner could go on to win the title. 

Of course, the gameweek 4 fixture against England could be a hiccup for the French. France beat England at home in last year’s tournament. However, they lost to Eddie Jones’ side at Twickenham in the final of the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup final, albeit via an Owen Farrell penalty in extra-time. So, given England’s slow start and much smaller squad, they will still be confident heading to London, whilst with Pivac’s Wales heading to Paris on the closing weekend, you’d expect France to come away from that game with a rather comfortable victory.  

After last year’s solid performances, Les Bleus were fancied to challenge for the title again this year. However, they have been somewhat gifted a massive advantage via England and Ireland’s defeats, and if they can remain focused, they should go on to win the tournament with ease. It’s certainly theirs to lose.