by Richard Beck Yorkeshire Carnegie RFC

A victory this weekend would see England take a step closer to a Six Nations grand slam. The game against Wales will be their toughest test of the tournament so far. The return of Manu Tuilagi on the bench is a massive boost for England and he brings some serious X-factor. Tuilagi is such a powerful runner that he draws in multiple defenders every time he carries the ball. Wales will be no pushover though and they have a great ball carrier themselves in the form of Jamie Roberts. Roberts will try to get over the gainline for Wales, which will allow for the rest of the backline to get into the game.

In the other games over the weekend Ireland take on Italy in an early kick off on Saturday. Ireland have been a bit disappointing so far but I expect them to turn things round against the Italians. If the Italians can continue the way they played against Scotland and offload the ball well, this could be a really entertaining game.

The final game of the weekend sees Scotland take on France at Murrayfield. For me, this could be the upset of the round. The tempo at which Scotland play could cause the big French pack some issues. Scotland should try to speed the game up as much as possible in order to tire out the French team.

My predictions for this week are England, Ireland and Scotland to win. Hopefully they will go as well as the last round.