Three key battles across Six Nations Round 1

France - Ireland: Dorian Aldegheri vs Jeremy Loughman

Ireland’s genuine prop crisis sees Munster’s Loughman lofted in for tonight’s crucial clash in Paris with only five caps behind him. Injuries to Andrew Porter and Jack Boyle have left the visitors down to the bare bones at No.1 but Loughman, 30, who is 6ft and 120kgs, may be relieved that he won’t be scrummaging against monstrous 6ft 5inch, 147kgs tighthead, Uini Atonio, after the France prop’s sudden enforced retirement last month.

Aldegheri is a much smaller frame of 5ft 11inch and 119kgs but is still a renowned scrummager, having been a cornerstone of Toulouse’s pack for several years now, winning every trophy possible in club rugby. The 32-year-old has 24 caps but this will only be his seventh start for Les Bleus, while Loughman’s only start came all the way back in 2022. Who comes out on top in this set piece battle will go a long way in deciding the competition's curtain raiser.

Italy - Scotland: Tommaso Menoncello vs Sione Tuipulotu

Two teams that possess contrasting fortunes when it comes to injuries. The visitors are operating with a much-needed clean bill of health this year, while their hosts are ruing injuries sustained to exciting backs Ange Capuozzo and Eduardo Todaro, and casualties in the pack like Seb Negri. Menoncello, still only 23, was player of the tournament in 2024 and will be called upon to bring direct carrying and breakdown menace.

Opposite him, Tuipulotu is Scotland’s midfield organiser with a multi-threat game which means he is just as dangerous as a distributorm, as much as a carrier — capable of shifting the point of attack or straightening when space closes. If Menoncello wins the gainline, Italy can build pressure. If Tuipulotu dictates tempo and width, Scotland’s outside backs should see enough ball to tilt momentum decisively their way.

England - Wales: Freddie Steward vs Louis Rees-Zammit

Steward has been rewarded by his former club boss, Steve Borthwick, for a barnstorming domestic campaign that has seen the Leicester Tiger firmly in the conversation for Prem Player of the Season. George Furbank, more of a creative playmaker, looked to be in pole position for England’s 15 jersey  before a nightmare spell with injuries. Meanwhile, the jury remains out on Marcus Smith being a Test-level full-back starter. Escort laws have made high balls more of a challenge for 15s but Steward, who packs a punch at 6 ft inch and 105kgs, remains the world’s best in that area, meaning Wales will be less likely to kick and instead try to threaten with width at HQ.

Enter Bristol Bears’ Rees-Zammit, who has the speed to trouble any defender, particularly someone like Steward who has been criticised for being slow on the turn while defending in the past. His acceleration off broken field, aerial ability and instinctive support lines make him lethal from limited touches. If England’s chase is loose, Rees-Zammit has the pace and power after bulking up in his NFL days to turn half-chances into momentum-shifting scores.