Ireland vs Scotland LIVE: Six Nations 2020 result and updates from today’s clash

Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of the Six Nations clash between Wales and Italy this afternoon.

Less than six months on from a fabulous World Cup in Japan that broadened the game and saw eras end, hope springs eternal for the six nations who make up rugby's great annual competition, with four new coaches, four new captains, an England side determined to, in their words, become the greatest team of all time after defeat to South Africa in the final of rugby's showpiece.

For international rugby it is a new year and a new World Cup cycle, with ambitions reset after campaigns in the Far East of both disaster and disappointment. The Six Nations is back, and we kick things off in Cardiff, with defending champions Wales welcoming Italy to the Principality Stadium. It all gets underway in an hour, so let's get going, shall we?

Welcome...

Who are those four new coaches I hear you ask? Well, it is a big Six Nations welcome to new head honchos Wayne Pivac (Wales), Andy Farrell (Ireland), Fabien Galthie (France), and Franco Smith (Italy), each arriving with new ideas and hoping to enthuse talented squads. Farrell, Galthie and Smith have each anointed new captains, too, with Johnny Sexton, Charles Ollivon and Luca Bigi taking over the on-field reins from stalwarts Best, Guirado and Parisse. Scotland have a new leader as well - Stuart Hogg newly installed, and immediately fighting fires in tandem with under-pressure head coach Gregor Townsend after the controversy surrounding star fly-half Finn Russell.

Perhaps, then, it is no surprise that England find themselves as Six Nations favourites after World Cup final defeat, Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell back amongst things as coach and captain. Yet the Six Nations never fails to surprise, and over the next couple of months there are sure to be twists and turns.

To tee it all up, here is The Independent's Chief Rugby Writer Jack de Menezes, refreshed and raring to go and on his way to Paris for England's opener tomorrow:

But we begin, as mentioned, in Cardiff, at one of the great arenas of European sport, with a new era beginning for Wales. Warren Gatland has returned to New Zealand and it is another Kiwi who steps into the breach, Wayne Pivac plucked from the Scarlets of Llanelli after an impressive stint that included a Pro 14 title. Pivac promises pace and pizzazz, developing an effervescent and free style with the Scarlets in combination with attack coach Stephen Jones, and a promising non-capped outing against the Barbarians in the back-half of the autumn showed some signs of expansion. 

Let's take a look at his first Six Nations selection...

Team News - Wales

Forwards

It is a largely familiar pack for Wales, with leader Alun Wyn Jones back for another go around. The big boost is the return of Taulupe Faletau at number eight after a couple of years of real injury bother. He joins rising star Aaron Wainwright and uber-skillful Justin Tipuric in an athletic back row able to stretch defences and with the grunt to pack a punch in the tight.

Wyn Jones and Dillon Lewis are the props, while Ken Owens starts at hooker. Injuries rob Wales of Josh Navidi and James Davies, but otherwise it is a strong front eight, with impact subs Ryan Elias, Cory Hill and Ross Moriarty sure to make their presence known in the last quarter.

Backs

It is in the backs, however, where Pivac has had a few selection issues. The new head coach is unable to call upon Gareth Anscombe, Liam Williams, Jonathan Davies, Owen Watkin or Willis Halaholo, with thirteen emerging as a seriously problematic berth in the absence of three leading contenders.

Pivac's solution is to shift George North off his wing to join Hadleigh Parkes in a powerful midfield outside of Dan Biggar, who is back to somewhere near his best and enjoying his time at Northampton. Tomos Williams gets the nod ahead of Rhys Webb (available again after agreeing a return to his homeland from Toulon) at scrum-half with Gareth Davies another absentee.

Out wide there is no place (yet) for teenage superstar Louis Rees-Zammit, but Pivac does hand a debut to New Zealand-born flyer Johnny McNicholl, who has been excellent down the flanks for the Scarlets in the last few seasons. Josh Adams and Leigh Halfpenny complete the back three; both are enjoying strong seasons.

On the bench there is another potential debutant - Nick Tompkins of Saracens qualifies via a relative, and is a hard-running and fundamentally sound centre with an all-round skillset who is a canny pickup for Wales. Jarrod Evans takes the backup fly-half shirt in the absence of Anscombe and Rhys Patchell.

More on the hosts in a bit, but let's not forget their opponents today.

Italy arrive desperate to prove a point. They have not won a game in this competition for 22 games, and new coach Franco Smith arrives with calls for a promotion for Georgia or an inclusion for Fiji or Japan only strengthened by a disappointing World Cup showing from the Azzurri. 

Smith has to deal with the departure of Italy's greatest ever player, though Sergio Parisse will be popping in for a couple of farewells in Rome later in the tournament, but there are reasons for hope in the showing of Benneton and Zebre in the Pro14, and a group of young players who have a chance to develop into a legitimately competitive cohesive unit.

20 years on from their first inclusion in this competition, here are the men their new South African boss has tasked with shocking Wales this afternoon...

Team News - Italy

Forwards

Luca Bigi takes over the captaincy from Parisse, with the hooker a developing player with plenty of grit in the tight. Alessandro Zanni is a useful older head to aid Bigi in the second row, with the experienced lock joined by Niccolo Cannone, making his debut and a potential breakout star of the Six Nations. Plenty of positive attributes.

But it is the back-row that promises much. In fact, it could be argued that Parisse's departure is, in fact, overdue, with Braam Steyn ready to build on a break through 2019 with power aplenty, and Sebastian Negri another thumper on the flank. Jake Polledri is perhaps the most exciting of the three, with an absurd ability to breach contact, thighs like great oak trunks and a real turn of pace. He's one of the best ball-carriers in the world.

Giovanni Licata is another back-rower of real promise on the bench, with Smith selecting a 6-2 forwards-to-backs split - the Italians are ready to front up physically.