Six Nations Game Week Three rugby tips and predictions – Copybet
The second round of fixtures in the 2026 Six Nations certainly didn’t disappoint and there will be more heroes and villains to emerge in Week Three.
Saturday’s double header sees England host Ireland and Scotland travel to Wales before Italy take on France in Lille on Sunday.
Here are our expert's best tips and predictions for the upcoming games at the Allianz Stadium, Principality Stadium and the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
England vs Ireland
Ireland have been far from convincing in this Six Nations so far, losing 36-14 away in France before a 20-13 win over Italy at the Aviva Stadium last weekend.
Those performances have forced head coach Andy Farrell into making changes for Saturday’s trip to Twickenham, the biggest of those coming in the No.10 jersey with Jack Crowley replacing Sam Prendergast.
Crowley offers a better defensive option and has more big-game experience than Prendergast, who really needed to be taken out of the firing line after two disappointing performances.
England will be licking their wounds after their 31-20 defeat at Murrayfield last weekend, as Scotland provided the blueprint on how to stop an English side who had previously won 12 games on the bounce before their trip to Edinburgh.
Ireland have won five of their last six meetings with England and, with the change made at fly-half, the Irish with a +12 handicap gets the green light.
Wales vs Scotland
Scotland’s biggest challenge in recent years has not been overcoming oldest rivals England, but instead backing up their big wins.
After the debacle of an 18-15 defeat in monsoon conditions in Rome against Italy, Scotland responded in the best possible way with a convincing win over an England side that couldn’t cope with the pace of the Scottish attack.
The key for Scotland is to back up that performance when they head to Cardiff to face a Wales side who are down in the doldrums right now.
Conceding 102 points in their opening two games against England and France, it’s hard to see Steve Tandy’s side keeping the scoreline close on Saturday.
With the likes of Duhan van der Merwe and Blair Kinghorn coming into the Scottish backline, there’s arguably even more firepower at head coach Gregor Townsend’s disposal.
If Scotland can put together even a 7/10 performance on Saturday, they should be able to cover the -18 handicap on offer.
France vs Italy
France have been the team to watch in the Six Nations and it’s frightening to see how Les Bleus approach the game.
They can dominate teams in the front five, or tear them to shreds in the backline, which means it will take something special to stop the French from claiming the Grand Slam this season.
Beating Wales 54-12 in Cardiff last weekend while pretty much being in second gear, France are deserved heavy favourites to overcome Italy on Sunday.
However, this win might not be as convincing as many people think.
The last time France and Italy faced off in Lille was in 2024 and the game finished in a 13-13 draw.
Italy have already shown their progress this season with a win over Scotland and a losing bonus-point defeat in Ireland, so the Azzurri with +29.5 handicap in Lille gets the thumbs up.