IS there a Six Nations Championship game on this weekend apart from England against France at Twickenham on Saturday?

You wouldn’t think so if you glanced at the national media over the past few days as the build-up gets under way to the latest round of matches this weekend.

It’s being billed as the Grand Slam decider already though there’s two matches to go after this one.

Both sides are unbeaten, England disposing of Wales at the Millennium Stadium for an all-important away victory first up, then demolishing Italy at Twickenham while France have beaten Scotland at home before edging past Ireland in Dublin.

The French head for Twickenham as Grand Slam champions and it does indeed look like some kind of showdown between two unbeaten sides.

But the championship decider with the winners destined for the title at worst or the Grand Slam at best? Surely that’s a bit premature and another indication of the huge bias that exists the other side of Offah’s Dyke.

Doesn’t it just provide Wales with that extra bit of motivation they need to make their own statement in their remaining three matches?

They may have been beaten by England, but their own away victory over the Scots at Murrayfield has put them back on track and still in with a title chance.

If the French get the better of England on Saturday after what ‘that’ media will view as the appetiser of the Italy-Wales game at the Stadio Flaminio, and provided Wales have emerged triumphant against the Azzurri then beat Ireland at home they could be involved in their own title showdown against France in their final game across the channel.

It’s not inconceivable, and there are more than a few people this side of the Severn Bridge who will be hoping England receive a bloody nose on Saturday to set up a different kind of showdown from the one envisaged this weekend.

And at last some of Wales’ injury problems are disappearing, with wings Leigh Halfpenny and George North due to return this week.

While it will be too late for them to contest places for the Italy game they could well come into contention for the final two matches, though first choice props Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones remain sidelined.

It would be a shame if the late hamstring scare suffered by emerging centre Jonathan Davies rules him out on Saturday.

Because apart from depriving Wales of a penetrative runner it will probably result in James Hook moving back to the centre again just as he had looked the business in his preferred outside half position at Murrayfield, with Stephen Jones returning at 10.

Even so, it seems inconceivable that Italy will prove the banana skin they have in the past against Wales, having beaten them twice in front of their own passionate fans.

For they are bound to be in disarray after the hammering they took against England and while they will be much more fired up in Rome, especially their forwards, they are still a limited side especially at half back.

The likely scenario is that the pack will give Wales a bit of a hurry-up in the opening stages, maybe for an hour or so, but then Welsh superiority behind will start to tell and they will run in a few tries.

That’s the theory anyway and if it proves correct a sea of red, whether it’s in the eternal city or back home in dreary Wales will be crossing fingers, toes and everything else for a French victory at Twickenham.