After a stunning Saturday afternoon of rugby at Murrayfield, three teams (including Ireland) can still win the Six Nations championship.

Scotland’s stunning seven-try win over France has ignited hopes of a first Scottish title in decades, but Les Bleus remain in pole position for the crown.

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It’s still all to play for on the final weekend, and the fact that Ireland will host Scotland on Saturday only adds to the intrigue.

We’ve broken down how Ireland, Scotland, and France can win the Six Nations title.

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Standings: Six Nations table

Pos
Team
PLD
W
D
L
PF
PA
PD
TF
TA
BP
Pts

1
France
4
3
0
1
163
84
+79
18
5
4
16

2
Scotland
4
3
0
1
122
101
+21
10
6
4
16

3
Ireland
4
3
0
1
103
87
+16
14
11
2
14

4
England
3
1
0
2
89
80
+9
12
10
1
5

5
Italy
3
1
0
2
39
68
-29
4
10
1
5

6
Wales
4
0
0
4
59
155
-96
7
23
1
1

 

Permutations for the final weekend
How Ireland can win the Six Nations

The equation for Ireland is relatively straightforward – they know they have to win next Saturday to stand any chance of winning this Six Nations title.

The scenarios in which Ireland win the Six Nations are

Ireland beat Scotland with a bonus point; and France lose to England
Ireland beat Scotland with a bonus point; and France draw against England without a try bonus point
Ireland beat Scotland without a bonus point; and France lose to England with one or fewer bonus points*

A draw will be no good to Ireland, as they will be guaranteed to finish behind Scotland.

* This scenario comes with an extreme caveat. If Ireland’s win in this scenario was by fewer than three points and Scotland were to score four tries, Ireland would finish behind Scotland on points difference

 

How Scotland can win the Six Nations

Scotland have put themselves in with a massive chance of winning the Six Nations title for the first time.

Gregor Townsend’s side’s seven-try showing on Saturday means they will win the Six Nations on the final weekend if:

Scotland beat Ireland; and France fail to beat England
Scotland beat Ireland with a bonus point; France fail to beat England or win without a bonus point
Scotland draw against Ireland; and France lose against England with one or fewer bonus points
Scotland lose to Ireland and France lose to England, with Scotland gaining more bonus points

 

How France can win the Six Nations

France are the only side with their fate fully in their own hands.

Les Bleus will win a second straight title if:

France beat England with a bonus point; and Scotland do not overturn the 58 point gap in points difference
France beat England without a bonus point; and Scotland fail to beat Ireland
France draw against England; and Scotland lose to Ireland

The fate of the Six Nations title is in the French’s hands, and it would more than likely require them to lose at home against England on Friday night to relinquish their grip on the crown; even that scenario could prove enough for them to win out depending on goings on in Dublin.

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Six Nations fixtures

Saturday, March 14th

2:10pm: Ireland v Scotland, Aviva Stadium (Live on Virgin Media / ITV)

4:40pm: Wales v Italy, Principality Stadium (Live on RTÉ 2 / BBC)

8:10pm: France v England (Live on RTÉ 2 / ITV)

 

Six Nations points system

Teams are awarded four points for a match win, two points for a draw, and zero points for a defeat by eight or more points. If a team loses by seven or fewer points, they receive a single losing bonus point.

If a team scores four or more tries in a game, they will receive a single try bonus point.

In the event of a tie in the final Six Nations standings, the tiebreakers used are as follows, in descending order:

The team with the higher points difference is ranked higher
The team that scored the highest number of tries is ranked higher
If two or more teams remain tied after the above tiebreakers have been applied, they will be placed at equal rank. That presents the possibility of two teams sharing the trophy, though that is highly unlikely this year with how the table looks.

 

Ireland v Scotland: Triple Crown

Regardless of whether either team wins the Six Nations, one of Ireland or Scotland is likely to win the Triple Crown on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides have beaten both Wales and England thus far, meaning that the victor of next Saturday’s game will secure the trophy.

Ireland have won the most Triple Crowns of the Six Nations era, winning eight – including last year. By contrast, Scotland have only won two since World War II (in 1984 and 1990).

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Have Scotland ever won the Six Nations?

Scotland have not win the championship since it was expanded to six teams in 2000.

Their last title came in the final edition of the Five Nations in 1999.

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