Steve Borthwick and Warren Gatland both had rude awakenings in their new roles as England and Wales were both beaten on an exciting first day of this year’s Six Nations.
England were beaten by a brilliant Scotland performance at Twickenham – the Scots first win at a packed England HQ since 1983 (the win two years ago was played in front of empty stands due to lockdown), and their first back-to-back victories in south west London ever. Brilliance from Duhan van der Merwe with two tries – the first an all-time great score – helped Gregor Townsend’s men to a deserved victory.
Scotland were bold and brave and hung on in the contest when it threatened to get away from them after half-time, weathering the pressure of everything that England threw at them.
In a game of fine margins the hosts far from disgraced themselves but were undone by visitors’ fight and brilliance.
In Cardiff Gatland’s return to the Wales hot seat was a losing one as Ireland raced away to an early 27-3 lead that they never looked like relinquishing.
Gatland defended his team, saying he saw plenty of positives after the break when Wales attacked but were unable to make their time in the Ireland 22 count.
While, grand slam champions France got their Six Nations campaign off to a winning start with a 29-24 victory over Italy, but they survived an almighty scare in Rome.
When does the Six Nations 2023 start?
The Six Nations 2023 kicked off on Saturday, when Wales were comfortably beaten by Ireland in Cardiff. That was followed up by Scotland’s brilliant win over England at Twickenham. The first weekend is rounded off by France, many people’s favourite for the title, beat Italy 29-24 in a closely fought affair in Rome.The tournament reaches its conclusion on ‘Super Saturday’, March 18, when all three fixtures kick off on the same day, one after another.
Six Nations 2023 fixtures and TV schedule
Round one
Saturday, February 4
Sunday, February 5
Round two
Saturday, February 11
Ireland vs France, 2.15pm, at Aviva Stadium (Dublin), ITV
Scotland vs Wales, 4.45pm, at BT Murrayfield (Edinburgh), BBC
Sunday, February 12
England vs Italy, 3pm, at Twickenham (London), ITV
Round three
Saturday, February 25
Italy vs Ireland, 2.15pm, at Stadio Olimpico (Rome), ITV
Wales vs England, 4.45pm, at Principality Stadium (Cardiff), BBC
Sunday, February 26
France vs Scotland, 3pm, at Stade de France (Paris), ITV
Round four
Saturday, March 11
Italy vs Wales, 2.15pm, at Stadio Olimpico (Rome), ITV
England vs France, 4.45pm, at Twickenham (London), ITV and BBC
Sunday, March 12
Scotland vs Ireland, 3pm, at BT Murrayfield (Edinburgh), BBC
Round five
Saturday, March 18
Scotland vs Italy, 12.30pm, at BT Murrayfield (Edinburgh), BBC
France vs Wales, 2.45pm, at Stade de France (Paris), ITV
Ireland vs England, 5pm, at Aviva Stadium (Dublin), ITV
What are the latest standings?
How to watch the Six Nations live
Every game in the championship will be aired live on either BBC or ITV.
BBC lost the rights to broadcast France’s home matches in the men’s Six Nations in 2022, which means that all matches in Paris will be shown on ITV. England matches are shared between the broadcasters, who began sharing rights across the competition in 2016.
S4C will be showing all Wales matches live, and RTE will have live coverage of seven of the 15 matches, including all Irish fixtures.
Latest odds to win
- Ireland 8/15
- France 11/3
- Scotland 6/1
- England 16/1
- Wales 66/1
- Italy 500/1
Odds correct as of February 5
Source: telegraph.co.uk