Super Saturday is back – prepare for thunderous drama, from an Irish invasion of Rome to molten hostility under a roof in Cardiff followed by another dazzling light show climax in Paris. Well, probably.

A sporting feast awaits so cancel all other plans, find a screen and gorge on European rugby’s annual triple-header showpiece. In keeping with tradition, there will be thrills and spills and quite possibly a few twists and turns too.

This has become the Six Nations’ signature finale; three Tests in three iconic arenas, back to back to back. The stands and the cities will be rammed. Millions and millions of people all over the world will tune in on TV, online and on the radio. Once again, the whole day will be a box-office bonanza. It never fails to capture the imagination.

Then came the agonising wait. The wait is part of the ritual.

The Irish watched through their fingers in Edinburgh as England threw the proverbial kitchen sink at France, in a classic edition of Le Crunch at Twickenham. In added time at the end, the hosts needed one more converted try to snatch the prize, but France kept them out. It finished 55-35 and Ireland wielded the trophy with utter relief after the top three in the table were separated by a points-difference of just 10.

France control their destiny and can take home the Six Nations trophy with a win over Scotland

England must get a bonus-point win over Wales and hope France lose to Scotland if Steve Borthwick’s side wish to claim their first title since 2020

Meanwhile, Ireland will win if they beat Italy with a bonus point, and England and France lose

It will be a similar scenario this year, as the contenders take their best shot then wait to see what happens next. France are in control of their destiny, whereas Ireland and England are not. Those two teams are striving to earn bonus-point wins, score as many tries as possible in the process, then see if Scotland can do them a favour by upsetting the Gallic favourites at the Stade de France.

What it all adds up to is a mammoth logistical exercise. If England have beaten Wales and at half-time in Paris, it appears as if they might win the title, Steve Borthwick and his team will leave their hotel in Cardiff Bay and return to the Principality Stadium. There, they will stand by, in the hope of receiving a trophy and medals – which will be a new design featuring the M6N (Men’s Six Nations) branding which has been used this year.

In the event of Ireland taking the title, which also requires the French to falter against all expectations, then Simon Easterby and his squad will be at a post-match function at a palazzo in Rome. They would receive their medals at the function, but wait until Sunday for a trophy presentation when they arrive back home to Dublin.

However, the most likely turn of events is that France take care of business, having smashed Ireland in Dublin last weekend to leave themselves within reach of glory. They may have somehow contrived to lose against England at Twickenham, but Fabien Galthie’s side have been imperious aside from that freakish, collective calamity.

If they win with a bonus, France and home and dry. If they win without a bonus, they will still take the title, given their vastly superior points-difference. That would clear the way for the trophy to be presented by Six Nations chief executive Tom Harrison, followed by a vivid light and pyrotechnics show, which has become the Stade de France’s speciality in recent years. If it is anything like as good as what greeted the Grand Slam there in 2022, it will be well worth watching.

Most supporters will have been drinking for several hours, but the players will be able to join the party after their matches have ended. Tournament organisers are ensuring that all teams are supplied with gallons of Guinness – with and without alcohol – to toast their feats or drown their sorrows. Later, no doubt, many participants will surely let their hair down, after a month and a half together in camp, training, playing, recovering and training some more.

Each game today is awash with motivational sub-plots. First up, Ireland won’t relinquish their title without one last mammoth effort, as a fitting farewell to three veterans poised to retire – Conor Murray, Cian Healy and Peter O’Mahony. The Irish are also seething about French accusations of foul play following the season-ending knee injury sustained by captain Antoine Dupont in Dublin last weekend.

Interim head coach Simon Easterby said that French complaints in public had meant that ‘people are getting abuse’, adding: ‘It’s unnecessary and unacceptable. Those things could have been avoided.

France are seeking their first Six Nations title since 2022 and their 11th in the nation’s history

‘The French camp have obviously come out pretty strongly post-game about the incident. It could have been handled in a better way and on the back of that it’s created some unnecessary ill-feeling and it has affected other people in the wider group.’

Referring to France’s angry suggestion that a ruck clear-out by Tadhg Beirne and Andrew Porter had been dangerous and ‘reprehensible’, Easterby added: ‘We believe there was no case to answer and certainly it didn’t help, it almost sort of fanned the flames of what was a really unfortunate incident.’

Game two will be ferocious and compelling, with England hoping to put pressure on France and Wales desperate to end their 16-Test losing run and stop their bitter rivals from winning the title in their capital. Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins admitted that is a driving factor, saying: ‘This is the game you dream of playing in as a kid. This game is a special one, and one we’re definitely up for. They can win the championship, so we can’t be having that in Cardiff.’

England will unleash a team full of creative threat, but captain Maro Itoje knows that their fate is out of their hands. ‘Obviously, we want to win (the title), but it’s not within our control unfortunately. We just need to do what we need to do against Wales and that will be it. All we’re focussed on is having a good performance against Wales.’

The Saracens lock is well aware of the febrile atmosphere which he and his team-mates will have to contend with, adding: ‘The Principality is louder than most, particularly when the roof is closed. The atmosphere is great, it is a stadium you want to play in and I don’t see it as intimidating at all, I don’t see it as something to beware of. I see it as something to relish, something to enjoy.

‘I think they will be extremely aggressive – the Welsh nation is a proud nation and they love their rugby. Despite their results, I think they are showing a lot of promise and a lot of improvement. They are going to be absolutely up for this game, particularly against us. We need to make sure we manage that.’

For Matt Sherratt, the Englishman who has done such a sterling job in charge of Wales since Warren Gatland abruptly left his post after the second-round loss in Italy, this fixture has added meaning. First of all, his parents came from either side of the cross-border divide.

‘I used to have to sit between my mum and dad to split them up,’ he said. ‘Then I’d switch sides depending on who won. In the 70’s I was probably wearing red a bit more, then come the Nineties and early 2000s, my dad’s voice probably took over the house. He’s going to the game and I’ve managed to change him I think (from England to Wales). I don’t know how long for, but definitely for this weekend.’

Englishman Matt Sherratt, who is Wales’ interim boss, admitted his side’s fixture against England has added meaning

This is also a send-off occasion for Sherratt. When he asked once again if he would consider putting himself forward for the Wales job long term, after an impressive audition, he added: ‘Not as a head coach. I’m going to go back to Cardiff as head coach on Monday. If I can, I might try and dodge Monday. If we beat England, I’ll probably be in on Friday!’

The last stage of the triple-header is where the champions are expected to be acclaimed by a tide of Gallic euphoria. The Six Nations has a proud tradition of providing plot twists galore, but it would take a monumental one this time, for Scotland to deny the French. Galthie’s men deserve the title. How they didn’t beat England will be a mystery for eternity.

Still, the Scots will hurl themselves into the unlikely party-pooper mission, even if the up-shot of an upset would involve handing the spoils to one of their arch enemies.

‘We’re aware of the context of the game, said head coach Gregor Townsend, who needs a positive result to alleviate another campaign of faded hopes. ‘The atmosphere will be amazing. We’ve played at Stade de France in the past and this will be even more heightened because of what’s at stake for France. To be involved in that game is great.’

Great, but also potentially brutal. France have remarkable firepower. They could win by force or by flair, or a combination of the two. Don’t expect Super Saturday to finish with the lights going out on another Parisian party.