Six Nations Permutations: The Battle for Second Place

This weekend marks the final round of the 2018 6 Nations and while the title has already been wrapped up a week early by Joe Schmidt’s Ireland, there is still much to play for as all but one team have a chance of a satisfying end to the campaign.  The battle for second place is not one usually met with great anticipation as it is generally considered the first of the losers, but this time it is perhaps the most intriguing for years. Such has been the competition this season, four of the five other teams are in the hunt to secure the runner-up spot, while Italy are anchored to the bottom of…