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The championship race went down to the final weekend once more after holders Les Bleus missed the chance to wrap it up with a round to spare following their shock 50-40 defeat in a stunning 90-point epic against Scotland at Murrayfield, a game that wrecked their Grand Slam ambitions.
How France can win Six Nations title
France have the obvious advantage of playing last on Super Saturday, so know precisely what they have to do to retain their title before kick-off against free-falling England.
They have a large points difference advantage (theirs is +79, compared to +38 for Ireland) and remain firmly in the driving seat despite now being three points adrift of Ireland.
The task is simple for France: beat England and retain the Six Nations title. Even a try-scoring bonus point is no longer needed, but you wouldn’t bet against them earning one.
A draw would also be enough for France if they pick up a bonus point, thanks to that superior points difference.
How Ireland can win Six Nations title
Ireland had to beat Scotland with a bonus point to keep their hopes alive, and did just that in front of their own fans at the Aviva Stadium.
They managed a dramatic 43-21 victory, claiming the Triple Crown.
They now must hope that England beat France in Paris, or that there is a draw with no bonus point for France. Any win for the French will see Ireland miss out.
How Scotland can win Six Nations title
Defeat to Ireland means Scotland can no longer hope to win the title.
Can England get the wooden spoon?
They sit fifth heading into ‘Super Saturday’ – five points above Wales – and go to Paris with a daunting task to avoid a worst-ever Six Nations showing of four defeats that some believe could make head coach Steve Borthwick’s position untenable just 18 months out from the World Cup in Australia and with the inaugural Nations Championship coming up, despite a recent vote of confidence from the RFU.
But they will surely not receive the dreaded wooden spoon owing to their massive points difference advantage over Wales (+4 compared to -96), which means that even a heavy defeat by France coupled with a big Welsh win over Italy in Cardiff would not be enough to consign England to the foot of the table for the first time.
There are also those who believe that a wooden spoon does not count simply for a last-place finish but should only be awarded for a winless campaign, which improving Wales – losers of 15 Six Nations matches in a row now – will hope to avoid for a third successive year against the confident Azzurri, for whom another victory at the Principality Stadium would produce a best-ever finish.
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