Six Nations round one — Can you beat our experts?

The Cardiffian’s very own Philip Marsh, John Arkless and Elgan Alderman have once again put their reputations on the line for the return of Beat the Expert.
They have forecast the scores in the opening matches of the Six Nations. But could you do better?
Scotland vs Ireland, England vs France and Italy vs Wales are the first weekend’s round of games, a repeat of 2015’s Super Saturday.
The scoring for Beat the Expert is as follows:

  • Predicting the exact correct scoreline scores 100 points
  • Predicting the winner and the exact margin of victory scores 50 points
  • Predicting the winner and the margin of victory within five scores 30 points
  • Predicting the winner but failing to predict the margin scores 10 points


Scotland vs Ireland
J – This is the toughest won to call out of all the games this weekend.
Ireland to win 24-19
E – I would not listen to my prediction on this one because I once incorrectly predicted what day Christmas would fall on.
Ireland to win 33-22
P – I am going to stick with the other two on this on, but I feel it may be slightly closer.
Ireland to win 31-27
 
England vs France
J – I’m going to go for England. France have the potential to score tries but England have the better attack.
England to win 33-21
E – I would like to see 55-35 again but Vincent Debaty is not playing so we won’t be able to see one of the greatest prop tries of all time.
England to win 40-25
P – I think it may be a bit tighter so I will say there will be a few less points.
England to win 20-14
 
Italy vs Wales
J – As much as I think the appointment of Conor O’Shea is a savvy one, they do just look a little bit short.
Wales to win 35-9
E – I am hopeful Wales will see off this Italy side. On paper it should be no contest but the game is not played on paper.
Wales to win 25-16
P – I an going to go for a scoreline similar to Elgan on this one. I do not think Wales will win this comfortably though.
Wales to win 25-12