Can anyone unseat Ireland at the top? Who will make the difference in the final two rounds? And can Italy win a game?Ireland will claim a first Six Nations title since 2015 if they achieve a bonus-point victory over Scotland and England fail to do so in Paris. There was certainly an element of fortune to their victory against France but, as seen in recent years, away wins anywhere but Rome are at a premium – and they followed it up with an emphatic win over Italy and a powerful performance against Wales. Andy Farrell will not be happy with the six tries conceded in those matches but perhaps the most impressive thing about Ireland is how they have coped...
Hamish Watson was outstanding in Scotland’s win and the visitors must hope Sam Underhill can be that kind of playerAs a contrast to England’s repeated failure to find a successor at openside flanker to Neil Back one has only to look at how New Zealand coped with Richie McCaw’s retirement. McCaw called it a day after the 2015 World Cup with 148 caps but there, ready to take up the mantle, was Sam Cane with more than 30 himself.The thing with opensides such as that is there has to be a leader of the pack to encourage others to follow. For New Zealand it was McCaw, for Australia it is now Michael Hooper but England have not had one since...
Scotland’s win against England was made possible because their coach has fashioned a team who take risks as he didYou’re not supposed to throw slow, floated 20-yard passes off your left hand when you’re standing on your own 22. It’s something sensible parents teach their children not to do. But Finn Russell did on Saturday night, and he got it just right. The ball flew up over Jonathan Joseph, who stretched for it like a toddler reaching for the cookie jar, and down into the little patch of empty space just beyond him, where Huw Jones gathered it in, clutched it to his gut without breaking stride, then burst upfield. It was a fine, foolish pass, a high, wide and...
Scotland, who stunned England in the Six Nations, included five players plus the coach, Gregor Townsend, shaped by a spell outside domestic comfort zonesMaybe it is just a coincidence but the following among Scotland’s weekend heroes all share something in common. What is it that links Finn Russell, John Barclay, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Huw Jones and Gregor Townsend, not to mention Ireland’s latest man-of-the-match centre Chris Farrell? Here is a clue: all the leading modern Test coaches have also done something similar, as did England’s World Cup-winning captain, Martin Johnson.The answer is thought-provoking: each has been fundamentally shaped by a spell outside his domestic comfort zone. The smart, forward-thinking Townsend could have remained a big fish in the Borders...
Scotland’s next task is to improve on the road, Wales show their worth with the ball and France still off the paceIt seems cruel that anyone in Scotland should have to talk about anything other than their victory, but in the hours after the match Gregor Townsend was already thinking about their next Test, away to Ireland. “We’ve got our own issues to deal with,” he said, “we have to show a truer picture of what we’re about when we’re away from home”. Scotland have been a poor side when they’re playing away for a long while now, but those two recent defeats, to England at Twickenham and Wales in Cardiff, were particularly bitter given how much better they’ve become...