Stats and Notes for Three Internationals This Weekend: Scotland v Georgia, Ireland v Italy, France v Wales
courtesy of World Rugby
SCOTLAND v GEORGIA MURRAYFIELD KO 19:30 FRIDAY
Head to head:
Played 4 Scotland leads 4-0
Points for: Scotland 138 / Georgia 41
Average score: Scotland 34-10 Georgia
First met: 14 September, 2011 RWC 2011 Scotland 15-6 Georgia Invercargill, New Zealand
Last met: 6 September, 2019 Scotland 36-9 Georgia Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Debut: 22 February, 2014 Georgia 36-10 Russia
Tests as referee: 12
This is Georgias third trip to Scotland, having also lost 43-16 in Kilmarnock in 2016
Fraser Brown will captain Scotland for the first time in the absence of Stuart Hogg
Finn Russell will win his 50th cap if called upon from the bench
Scotland have named two uncapped players in their squad, Duhan van der Merwe starts on the wing with prop Oli Kebble named on the bench
Both played for South Africa at the World Rugby U20 Championship, Kebble winning the title alongside the likes of Handré Pollard and Steven Kitshoff in 2012
Scotland starting line-up features 11 players to have come through the World Rugby U20 Championship pathway, with a further six on the bench
Georgias starting line-up features six players from the U20 Championship or Trophy pathway with a further seven on the bench
Tight-head Lekos Kaulashvili will make his debut for Georgia
This will be the first time Alexandre Ruiz referees Scotland, but the fourth time hes taken charge of a match involving Georgia
IRELAND v ITALY AVIVA STADIUM KO 15:30 SATURDAY
Head to head:
Played 31 Ireland leads 27-4
Points for: Ireland 1,074 / Italy 468
Average score: Ireland 34-15 Italy
First met: 31 December, 1988 Ireland 31-15 Italy Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Last met: 10 August, 2019 Ireland 29-10 Italy Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Debut: 14 March, 2015 Portugal 8-19 Spain
Tests as referee: 17
Ireland have won their last nine meetings with Italy, dating back to a 22-15 loss at the Stadio Olimpico on 16 March, 2013
This will be the first time Matthew Carley referees Ireland, but the fourth time hes taken charge of a match involving Italy
Carley made his Six Nations debut as a referee in 2019, taking charge of Italys 25-14 loss to France
Ireland have named four uncapped players in their squad: Will Connors and Hugo Keenan will start with Ed Byrne and Jamison Gibson-Park on the bench
Keenan and Byrne are in line to join Irelands tally of 52 World Rugby U20
Championship graduates
Ireland have 10 players in their starting line-up that have come through the World Rugby U20 Championship pathway, plus four on the bench
Paolo Garbisi will become Italys 50th U20 Championship graduate having been named at fly-half with another set to join him with Federico Mori named on the bench
Garbisi, Mori and Gianmarco Lucchesi all played for Italy in the U20 Six Nations earlier this year, with Garbisi captaining the Azzurrini in three matches
Italy have 12 players from the U20 Championship or Trophy pathway in their starting line-up with graduates in their starting line-up with six on the bench
FRANCE v WALES STADE DE FRANCE KO 21:10 SATURDAY
Head to head:
Played 99 Wales leads 51-45 with three draws
Points for: France 1,454 / Wales 1,514
Average score: France 14-15 Wales
First met: 2 March, 1908 Wales 36-4 France Cardiff Arms Park
Last met: 22 February, 2020 France 27-23 Wales Stade de France, Paris
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
Debut: 17 November, 2018 Georgia 27-19 Samoa
Tests as referee: 2
This will be the 100th test match between the two teams
Wales were victorious on their last visit to France, triumphing 24-19 in 2019
Alun Wyn Jones will draw level with Richie McCaw as the most-capped player in test history, winning his 148th cap (139th for Wales, nine for British and Irish Lions)
Leigh Halfpenny will win his 90th cap for Wales
Only nine hundredths of a rating point separate the two teams in the World Rugby Rankings before home weighting is factored in
Wales have 12 U20 Championship graduates in their starting line-up, with another four on the bench
Wales have named two uncapped players on the bench, Sam Parry and Louis Rees-Zammit
France have 16 U20 Championship graduates in their match-day squad, eight in the starting line-up and eight on the bench
WORLD RUGBY MENS RANKINGS STATS
Ireland and Scotland cannot improve their ratings with victory
Wales will climb two places to fifth if they avoid defeat against France
Wales cannot fall from seventh even with an emphatic loss
France will climb to fifth with any margin of victory
Fourth is possible for a victorious France or Wales if Ireland also lose at home
Italy will move above Tonga if they draw or win in Dublin
A two-place climb is possible for the Azzurri if they win and Georgia lose
Scotland will fall one or two places depending on the margin of defeat to Georgia
Georgia cannot improve their rating even with a win by more than 15 points as they would still trail Fiji by 0.35 points
SCOTLAND (8) 80.69 v GEORGIA (12) 72.86
Scotland win by 15 points or less Scotland 80.69, Georgia 72.86 (no change)
Scotland win by more than 15 points Scotland 80.69, Georgia 72.86 (no change)
Draw Scotland 79.69, Georgia 73.86
Georgia win by 15 points or less Scotland 78.69, Georgia 74.86
Georgia win by more than 15 points Scotland 77.69, Georgia 75.86
IRELAND (4) 84.92 v ITALY (14) 71.08
Ireland win by 15 points or less Ireland 84.92, Italy 71.08 (no change)
Ireland win by more than 15 points Ireland 84.92, Italy 71.08 (no change)
Draw Ireland 83.92, Italy 72.08
Italy win by 15 points or less Ireland 82.92, Italy 73.08
Italy win by more than 15 points Ireland 81.92, Italy 74.08
FRANCE (5) 82.74 v WALES (6) 82.65
France win by 15 points or less France 83.43, Wales 81.96
France win by more than 15 points France 83.77, Wales 81.61
Draw France 82.43, Wales 82.96
Wales win by 15 points or less France 81.43, Wales 83.96
Wales win by more than 15 points France 80.77, Wales 84.61