Ireland get their Six Nations campaign up and running next Saturday away to Wales.
Last year’s tournament was a disappointment for Declan Kidney’s men as they finished a distant third in contrast to the Welsh who claimed their third Grand Slam in eight years.
But starting with the test at the Millenium Stadium Ireland will be hoping to make a marked improvement on the2012 campaign.
In contrast the Welsh had a torrid time during the 2012 Guinness series…
Wales
The Welsh Dragons have certainly run out of steam since the 2012 Six Nations. Since beating France in Cardiff last March, Wales have lost every one of their international test matches including a 26 – 19 home defeat to Samoa, which dropped the Welsh out of rugby’s Top Eight.
June 9th Australia 27 - 19 Wales
June 16th Australia 25 – 23 Wales
June 23rd Australia 20 – 19 Wales
November 10th Wales 12 – 26 Argentina
November 16th Wales 19 – 26 Samoa
November 24th Wales 10 – 33 New Zealand
England
On Sunday February 10th, Ireland welcome England to the Aviva Stadium, with Ireland having beaten the English in seven of the last ten Six Nations.
England did finish second in the last championship but they also had the third lowest try and points count.
Their matches against South Africa in June ended without a win, while defeats to the Springboks and Australia saw the November Internationals get off to a poor start. But a landmark victory over the All Blacks at Twickenham – their first win over New Zealand in nine years – will have given them a great deal of confidence.
June 9th South Africa 22 – 17 England
June 16th South Africa 36 – 27 England
June 23rd South Africa 14 – 14 England
November 10th England 54 – 12 Fiji
November 17th England 14 – 20 Australia
November 24th England 15 – 16 South Africa
December 1st England 38 – 21 New Zealand
Scotland
Ireland visit Murrayfield on February 24th to face Scotland, whose recent tournament record has been poor. Indeed in 2012 they got the wooden spoon and were whitewashed, enduring a 13 – 6 defeat to Italy in their final match.
However last year’s Summer Tests were an improvement with the Scots winning all three games, including a 9 – 6 win over Australia in atrocious conditions.
But the Autumn Internationals proved to be a disaster as Scotland were beaten at home by New Zealand, South Africa and Tonga, which left them a lowly 12th in the rankings and led to head coach Andy Robinson’s departure.
June 5th Australia 6 – 9 Scotland
June 16th Fiji 25 – 37 Scotland
June 23rd Samoa 16 – 17 Scotland
November 11th Scotland 22 – 51 New Zealand
November 17th Scotland 10 – 21 South Africa
November 24th Scotland 15 – 21 Tonga
France
Les Blues ended the 2012 Six Nations in fourth, with Ireland beating them to third on point difference.
In France’s first test after the Six Nations, they lost away to Argentina as the Pumas came from behind to secure a dramatic 23 – 20 win, although the French did gain a measure of revenge eight days later.
And they carried form throughout the Autumn as they claimed home wins over Australia. Ireland face France at home on March 9th.
June 16th Argentina 23 – 20 France
June 23rd Argentina 10- 49 France
November 10th France 33 – 6 Australia
November 17th France 39 – 22 Argentina
November 24th France 22 – 14 Samoa
Italy
Ireland round off their 2013 Six Nations campaign in Rome. Declan Kidney’s men beat Italy 42 – 10 at the Aviva Stadium last year to keep their unbeaten record against the Italians intact.
Italy did manage to avoid the wooden spoon in 2012, thanks to a 13 – 6 victory over Scotland and were unlucky in a narrow defeat to England.
During their summer tour of the Americas, the Azzurri earned routine wins over Canada and the USA, but fell to Argentina.
The November Series was a mixed bag with a win over Tonga, a defeat to New Zealand and a narrow loss against the Wallabies after a courageous fight-back in Florence.
June 9th Argentina 37 – 22 Italy
June 15th Canada 16 – 25 Italy
June 23rd United States 10 – 30 Italy
November 10th Italy 28 – 23 Tonga
November 17th Italy 10 – 42 New Zealand
November 24th Italy 19 – 22 Australia
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
