Mike Tindall’s Deleted Six Nations Predictions Come Back to Haunt Him

Watch the Guinness Six Nations at your local Greene King sports pub.

Before the competition began, optimism surrounding England was sky-high. Steve Borthwick’s men entered the championship on the back of a 12-match winning streak, with many tipping them not only to challenge France for the title but even to complete a first Grand Slam in a decade.

That belief was shared by several former internationals and media figures. On The Good, The Bad and The Rugbypodcast, hosts Alex Payne and Mike Tindall both predicted England would win every match of the tournament. Jonny May and Mike Brown went a step further by also backing England to complete a clean sweep.

James Haskell expected England to win their opening four fixtures before eventually falling to France in Paris, while Joe Marler predicted victories over Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Italy but felt the final clash with France was too close to call, opting for a draw.

However, the reality of England’s campaign has been far different.

The tournament began positively with a comfortable win against Wales, seemingly confirming the pre-tournament hype. But England’s momentum quickly collapsed. A defeat to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup was followed by a heavy 42–21 loss at Twickenham to Andy Farrell’s Ireland side.

Things then went from bad to worse in Rome, where Italy produced a historic result to claim their first ever Six Nations victory over England.

Now facing France in their final match, England are staring at the prospect of finishing the tournament with just a single win.

The outcome is in France's control. Since their match against England in Paris is the last game of Super Saturday, they will know exactly what result they need. In most scenarios, a bonus-point victory should be enough, unless Scotland win by 59 more points than France on the final day, which is extremely unlikely.

If Ireland beat Scotland, or if Scotland win without a bonus point, then a simple win would also secure the title for France, as Scotland would still need a huge points difference swing. If Scotland and Ireland draw, even a draw would be enough for France. Their late bonus point at Murrayfield over the weekend ensured the title race remains firmly in their hands.

Scotland travel to Dublin to face Ireland and must win if they want to claim their first ever Six Nations title. If they achieve a better result than France, the championship will be theirs. However, because their game takes place earlier in the day, they will still need England to do them a favour in Paris regardless of the outcome.

Scotland are currently level with France on 16 points but trail significantly on points difference. Although winning in Dublin is a tough challenge, their big victory at the weekend will give them confidence.

Ireland sit on 14 points, two behind both Scotland and France, and host Scotland in Dublin. A win would move them above both teams temporarily, but only by two points, or three with a bonus point, with France still to play England in the final match.

Like Scotland, Ireland must win and then hope France slip up. Their shortage of bonus points compared with their rivals leaves Andy Farrell's side slightly disadvantaged, though they remain firmly in contention. If Italy beat Wales with a bonus point and overturn a 40-point difference, Ireland could slip to fourth, so the simplest way to remove any risk is to earn at least one point against Scotland, but they'll be looking up rather than down.

Italy could theoretically finish third, though it would require Ireland to take no points at all and for the Azzurri to beat Wales in Cardiff with a bonus point. Regardless, Italy will view this campaign as a success, having beaten both England and Scotland and guaranteeing they cannot finish last.

With Wales as their final opponent, a third victory is a real possibility. They currently sit three points ahead of England, so while it is technically possible for England to catch them, Italy face the team currently weakest on paper while England must play the strongest, making it unlikely.

Few would have predicted England sitting second from bottom in the Six Nations and still technically at risk of finishing last. One win and three defeats have increased the pressure on Steve Borthwick. However, they have the opportunity to cause a major upset away in Paris and potentially help either Scotland or Ireland.

If England beat France, the winner of the Scotland-Ireland match would almost certainly take the championship. Although this is not the finish England had hoped for, they could still play a decisive role on the final day.

Wales host Italy in their final match and will be desperate to secure their first Six Nations victory of the campaign. In an extremely unlikely scenario, a bonus point win for Wales, England failing to score any points, and a 100-point swing, England could finish last.

Realistically that will not happen, so Steve Tandy's focus will simply be on delivering a positive performance to build momentum for next year.