Now that the dust has settled on the 6 Nations for another year, there is just one thing left to do: add to the thousands of ‘Team of the Tournament’ articles going around. I have not based this on statistics at all, but have instead tried to put together the team that I felt performed best, though If I do have a stat to back a selection I will be sure to include it, as it makes me sound smarter!

Props: Joe Marler & Tadhg Furlong – The French scrum may have felt the most dominant, but I have avoided picking any of their props as they seem very much interchangeable, so it is rare that we see one of them given a chance to dominate his rivals for his spot in the starting lineup. The Irish were the only team to win 100% of their own scrums so at least one of the Irish props had to feature in here. As well as Zander Fagerson played in the absence of WP Nel, I felt that Furlong’s ability in open play gave him the edge here. For the same reason as the French props, Jack McGrath’s competition with Cian Healy cost him the number 1 jersey in this team. Joe Marler helped anchor the England scrum despite having only just recovered from a broken leg, and also managed to hold onto the starting position in the England line-up once Mako Vunipola returned from his own injury.

Hooker: Guilhem Guirado – Dylan Hartley may have just led his team to back-to-back 6 Nations titles, but he was frequently replaced early in the second half of games and is arguably not even the best hooker in the England squad. Ken Owens quietly went about his business and has been many people’s pick, but I have chosen to go with the French captain here. As well as being part of a dominant French scrum, he was also infulential in the loose, being one of France’s strongest ball carriers alongside Louis Picamoles and Kevin Gourdon.

Second Rows: Joe Launchbury & Jonny Gray – What a difference a year makes for Joe Launchbury! This time in 2016 it looked like he would be fighting for a place on the bench behind the pairing of George Kruis and Maro Itoje. With Kruis out injured and Itoje moved to the back row, the Wasps lock seized his opportunity to show what he could do and was arguable one of the best forwards in the tournament this year. Jonny Gray is just a tackling machine. The Scottish defence soaked up a lot of pressure over the tournament and Jonny Gray was typically at/near the top of the tackling stats on a weekly basis. Aged just 23, I’s likely that he hasn’t even reached his best yet… now that’s a scary thought!

Flankers: CJ Stander & Sam Warburton – Kevin Gourdon was very unlucky to miss out here – especially considering both the players I have picked played on the open side this year – but I could not ignore the performances of these two Lions contenders. Stander broke the record for the number of carries in a 6 Nations tournament (104) and only missed 1 tackle over all 5 games! His performance against Italy was incredible, showcasing his full range of skills whilst becoming the first forward to score a hat trick in a 6 Nations game. This tournament was the best I can remember seeing Warburton play in a while. Freed from the burden of captaincy, the Welshman was able to focus on his own game and proved a nightmare for the opposition at the breakdown. If they can both continue like this for the rest of the season, it would not surprise me if they were in the running for starting the Lions Tests.

Number 8: Louis Picamoles – Ross Moriarty was impressive in the number 8 jersey for Wales this tournament (most notably against England) and Sergio Parisse had his usual moments of brilliance, but Picamoles was arguably the best in this position. With the French scrum often marching forward, his pick-ups quickly put the French on the front foot. And you could always rely on him to make some hard yards, before often offloading when the opposition finally managed to bring him to a halt. With Picamoles missing most of 2016’s tournament and Billy Vunipola missing much of this year’s, I’m sure plenty of fans will be looking forward to the competition between the two of them in 2018. If they face off against each other in Le Crunch next year, we may need to prepare for an earthquake!

Scrum half: Conor Murray – Baptiste Serin impressed in his first 6 Nations and Rhys Webb was hugely influential for Wales, but both (especially Webb) caused problems for their teams with the odd stupid penalty. So I chose Conor Murray for my team. As conditions worsened against France, he took control of the game with his tactical kicking and his influence was clearly missed against Wales after he picked up an injury. He may not be as mobile as the other 2 scrum halves mentioned, but his strength still gives him a good chance of getting on the score sheet and he will always fancy himself from the back of a ruck close to the try line. I have found some positions hard to pick due to the lack of players putting their hands up for recognition, but this was probably the position with the most competition for a spot in my line-up.

Fly half: Finn Russell – Johnny Sexton and Paddy Jackson both impressed for Ireland and Camille Lopez was the tournament’s top points scorer this year, but in my opinion the clear winner here was Scotland’s Finn Russell. Though he didn’t have the best of days at Twickenham (I don’t think anyone in a Scottish shirt did), he really impressed me in the rest of the tournament with his attacking play. After the injury to Greig Laidlaw, he stepped up well and controlled the back line, whilst also being highly reliable off the tee (not counting that kick against France). He is really maturing as a player and is doing a great job of deciding when is the right time to kick for territory rather than starting another attack.

Centres: Owen Farrell & Garry Ringrose – I’ll start by admitting that I don’t see Farrell as a centre, but as a fly half. That said, he was in my opinion the standout centre in the 6 Nations by a country mile (other than against Italy). His kicking both from the tee and out of hand is so consistent and he makes killer passes look easy, like for Daly’s try against Wales. He is also not afraid to put his body on the line and is a surprisingly strong tackler given his (compared to many international centres) slight frame. After the first 3 weeks of the tournament, I was planning to include Huw Jones as the 13, but a poor defensive display from Scotland at Twickenham and an early injury against Italy made me look elsewhere and I hit on Ringrose. Touted as the next Brian O’Driscoll, he may not yet be lighting the tournament up to that degree, but has become a reliable cog in the Irish team and was not phased playing in the Grand Slam game against England. At just 22 years of age and with only 8 senior caps to his name, Ringrose will just continue to get better over the next few years.

Wings: Elliot Daly & George North – One of the few bright sparks in a generally dull England performance this year, Daly is the second player on this list who you could say has spent the tournament playing out of position. Daly used his pace, kicking and handling skills to benefit England, as well as being reliable in defence, which can be something of a weak point for many wingers. His try at the death against Wales was a thing of beauty, where he backed himself against former Lion Alex Cuthbert and beat him to the outside. I really struggled picking the other winger for this list, as I did not feel that anyone else really stood out from the crowd. After playing through injury against Italy (including scoring a long-range try with only one good leg) and with improved performances against Ireland and Wales, George North was the player I eventually settled on. We definitely didn’t see the best of him in this tournament yet he still managed to score 3 tries, putting him as one of the 8 joint-top try scorers . His first try against Ireland, where he seemed to drag half the opposition over the line with him, was an indication of the quality he has, hopefully he can put his concussions and injuries behind him and get back to being the beast on the wing the fans love to watch!

Full-back: Stuart Hogg – Could it really be anyone else? With 3 tries and 3 assists to his name, it’s no massive surprise to see Hogg has been voted Player of the Tournament for the second year running. He has always been a talented player but over the last couple of seasons has taken his game to a new level. He is picking his moments to attack and if it does not look on uses his rocket of a boot to help Scotland win the territory game. He also saved Scotland from conceding twice against Italy with some well executed tackles. He’s been around so long, it’s crazy to think that he is only 24 years old! If he carries on performing like this, it would be hard to argue against him being the best full-back in the Northern Hemisphere.

Do you think I missed anyone? Comment on here or feel free to tweet me @PS_tetheridge

Though it may not have been as high scoring as in recent years, Round 5 of the 2017 6 Nations left us with a lot to talk about. From Scotland shutting out Italy in Vern Cotter’s last game in charge to Ireland denying England consecutive Grand Slams, all via a stunning 100 minute marathon in Paris.

England’s first loss under Eddie Jones may have denied them the Grand Slam, but they still ended the evening lifting the 6 Nations trophy, having been confirmed as winners a week earlier. There was still plenty to play for further down the table, with 2^nd to 5^th place still up for grabs and, more importantly, places in World Rugby’s rankings ahead of May’s World Cup draw.

Now that the dust has settled on the tournament for another year, here are my thought on the final day of matches.

Scotland 29 – 0 Italy

They may be 2 of the most exciting players in the tournament, but there have been questions about Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg’s ability to control a game. Though it may not have been against the best of opposition, they certainly took control of the game with their kicking for territory in wet conditions. There was nobody on the pitch more influential than these two, with 2 try-saving tackles from Hogg and many of the tries being scored or assisted by one of them – I’m sure Hogg will try to claim an assist for Matt Scott’s try – as well as 3 conversions from Russell and a monster penalty from Hogg to open the scoring. When these two guys are on fire, Scotland will be hard to beat. Hogg is the popular pick for the Lions 15 jersey and, though he may not make the Test squad, I can imagine that Russell will be joining him in New Zealand this summer.

Once again I found myself watching Italy struggle to perform and found myself reminiscing of the players they have had in the past that they are clearly missing now. I focussed on the forwards last week so will let them off the hook this time (though Ornel Gega needs to massively improve his consistency at the line out) and talk about the backs. Though I feel Edoardo Gori and Carlo Canna are the half back pairing to see Italy through to the World Cup, Canna seemed to lose his confidence off the back of 3 missed penalties that an international kicker really can’t afford to be missing. Between the kicking performances of Canna and Tommy Allan the last 2 weeks, Italians must be looking back favourably on the kicking of former winger Mirco Bergamasco, whose unconventional style helped them pull off some big results in the past. Luke McLean has not seemed as impressive at inside centre as he used to in the back 3, and it felt like they missed him in that area. Giovanbattista Venditti struggled all day under the high ball – which Russell took full advantage of – and fullback Edoardo Padovani fumbled a couple of relatively simple balls at crucial points… something he has done in a number of matches this tournament. Angelo Esposito twice had chances to score in the corner but was unable to finish either chance. Granted, he was forced to check his run due to a bad pass on the first attempt, but I still feel that an international winger should be finishing at least one of these chances. Outside of the half-backs and Campagnaro, there do not seem to be any players stepping up to replace the likes of Bergamasco, Andrea Masi and Gonzalo Garcia. This needs to change soon, otherwise the calls for relegation will just continue to grow.

France 20 – 18 Wales

I had real sympathy for Wayne Barnes as the clock ticked its way through 20 minutes of added time. With player safety so important in this day and age I don’t want to outright call the team medic a liar in his decision that Uini Atonio needed a HIA, but it was suspicious to say the least. Barnes has shown in the past that he values the wellbeing of players and having seen the medic speaking to him, he was quick to check Atonio was OK, being told by the prop that he had a ‘sore back’. And yet one reset scrum on the Welsh try-line later, the medic was running on declaring he needed a HIA, allowing Rabah Slimani (a better scrummager) to come back on. It’s arguable that Barnes could have awarded a penalty try in the 96^th minute with the Welsh collapsing a scrum the French had the ascendency in, but I wonder if Barnes chose not to award this due to the dubious circumstances surrounding Slimani’s return. This feels very much like the 2017 equivalent of the Bloodgate scandal so it is very good to see officials are looking into this. Maybe future games should have a neutral medic who makes the calls on HIAs, to ensure that player safety is still paramount, but also not being used as an excuse or a tactical substitution.

During the Autumn Internationals, the big talk was about Wales changing their style of play under Rob Howley, but has this really worked? The Welsh defence has been typically solid – they did hold the French out for over 25 minutes on their 5m line – but the attack has not really stepped forward in the way that fans would have hoped. Against a French team that was ripped apart in midfield by the Irish just a few rounds ago, the Welsh had to rely on the boot of Leigh Halfpenny and rarely looked like scoring a try. Players like Dan Biggar and Jamie Roberts are quality performers, but their style of play suits the old Warrenball tactics rather than the more expansive game that Howley is trying to encourage. Meanwhile Jonathan Davies, so often in contention for being named the best 13 in the tournament, looked a shadow of the player that we have seen in recent years. Regardless of whether Biggar is selected for the Lions this summer, maybe it is time to give Sam Davies a chance to start. With Halfpenny there for the goal kicking, there is less pressure on Davies and he would be able to focus on his natural open game, which could help the Welsh change their style of play in the way they want.

Ireland 13 – 9 England

What a result for Ireland! Already missing Conor Murray and Rob Kearney after a devastating loss to Wales, when the news went out that Jamie Heaslip was a late withdrawal I thought that any chance of an Irish victory was gone. But the replacements stepped up well with Kieran Marmion and Peter O’Mahony being among Ireland’s top performers and Jared Payne also having some big moments. As a rugby fan, it was great to see O’Mahony back in the starting lineup as he is a great talent and consistently puts it all on the line for both club and country. Jamie Heaslip has been the de facto number 8 for the national side for donkeys years, but with Sean O’Brien, O’Mahony, CJ Stander & Josh van der Flier (many of who are able to play multiple positions in the back row) among his rivals for a place in the Irish back row, we may be reaching the end of Heaslip’s time in the Irish jersey.

18 wins on the bounce… Unbeaten under Eddie Jones… It had to end sometime for England! The writing has been on the wall for the team all tournament, with the ‘finishers’ delivering the great escape against France and Wales and their game against Scotland being the only real 80 minute performance. As much as I would have loved back-to-back Grand Slams, I don’t think this England team would have really deserved it this season. Hopefully the loss will make the coaches look critically at the lineup ahead of the summer tour. Dylan Hartley’s early removal in games suggests that his days as captain may be numbered. If he goes on the Lions tour, it would not surprise me if Jamie George’s performances in his absence earn him the number 2 shirt. The balance in the back row did not look right for much of the tournament, with the Irish dominating us there on Saturday evening, though this probably wasn’t helped by Billy Vunipola not looking 100% fit. Jonathan Joseph, fresh off a hat-trick against Scotland, was back to the anonymity of the first 2 rounds. Mike Brown is still a very reliable fullback, but does not really bring much to the England attacking performance any more. If Elliot Daly is not selected for the Lions, then I feel this summer would be the perfect chance to try him at 15, where his pace, handling and monster left boot could take England to a new level.

What were your thoughts on Saturday’s matches? Want to give your opinion on anything I’ve mentioned? Comment on here or feel free to tweet me @PS_tetheridge

Week 4 saw the teams who will finish top and bottom of the table confirmed, with England’s victory over a hobbled Scotland side confirming them as champions and Italy’s loss to France guaranteeing them the wooden spoon. Everything is all to play for in between, with just 1 point the difference between 2^nd and 5^th.

As we begin to prepare for Super Saturday on March 18^th, here are my thoughts from Round 4 of 2017’s 6 Nations.

Wales 22 – 9 Ireland

Friday night’s game was a tale of 2 scrum-halves. Ireland’s control of the game began to disappear after Conor Murray’s arm injury, but Rhys Webb ran the show for Wales. Where Murray pulls the strings, Webb makes things happen with his support runs and his sniping around the breakdown. His support line and his long pass to Leigh Halfpenny were instrumental in George North’s first try and he expertly guided the maul before drawing in Simon Zebo to put North over for his second. He needs to work on his discipline a bit, having conceded silly penalties in consecutive games, but will certainly be going to New Zealand with the Lions this summer. He could even get the starting job if Warren Gatland decided that he prefers his playing style to that of Murray’s. If nothing else, it’s good to see him getting a run of games in the Welsh shirt after a number of injuries in the last few years.

In the last round, I discussed how a couple of poor decisions seriously hampered the French’s chances of victory. Robbie Henshaw proved that again this week. I feel for him, he is a very reliable player in the Irish midfield and doesn’t make too many mistakes, but the ones he made on Friday night were costly. His entrance to the maul was not from the back foot, so what looked to be a certain try instead became a penalty – hats off to Wayne Barnes for making and feeling confident enough to not involve the TMO. He also picked up a ball from an offside position after a knock-on from a colleague deep in the Welsh 22. As if cancelling out a definite try was not bad enough, both these offences allowed the Welsh to clear their lines and left Ireland with nothing to show for their efforts.

Italy 18 – 40 France

The Italian team of the last 2 weeks has been almost unrecognisable to the one that played in the opening 2 rounds. Italy combined timely use of their no-ruck tactic and wheeling attacking mauls to try to nullify the strength of the French pack. This is clearly a team benefitting from the minds of coaches Conor O’Shea, Brendan Venter and Mike Catt, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. They still fall off far too much as the game goes on and fell off far too many tackles (33%) during the match. Campagnaro looked dangerous when given a chance, but he was underutilized and the way he was holding his arm when going off did not look promising for the next round. Unfortunately the dominant pack that Italy have been able to boast in the past has been reduced by retirement to many of its most influential players (Castrogiovanni, Lo Cicero, Bortolami, Bergamasco etc.), their replacements need to step up soon to allow the team to build their game around a reliable set piece once again.

France’s greatest strength all tournament has been the power of their pack. While the Italians were able to nullify this at the line out by wheeling the maul to one side, the true power of the pack came to the fore in the scrums, as Italy were constantly pushed backwards. This, combined with the strong running of players like Louis Picamoles and Guilhem Guirado helped to get Les Bleus on the front foot and allowed the back line to attack a defence that was still retreating. Their dominance at the scrum has been there all tournament, and their impact in open play has been improving as the weeks have gone on. Historically strong performers following a Lions tour, this is a team that could be pushing for the title in 2018.

England 61 – 21 Scotland

Finally, we got a first half performance from England! Nathan Hughes put in his best performance of the tournament, and his teammates in the back row and second row joined him in making their presence known against the Scottish defence. It’s no real surprise then to see that finally with some quick ball, Ben Youngs looked like the man who was named Player of the Series in the Autumn and the entire back line, most notably George Ford and Jonathan Joseph, looked the best they had all tournament. Though Scotland’s defence will have been affected by the reshuffle due to injuries, many of England’s best attacks came through a midfield that was unchanged, with a myriad of running lines from the backs causing havoc for the Scots. It’s fair to expect that Billy Vunipola will be back in the starting line-up for the Grand Slam game against Ireland, so it will be interesting to see if the backs can perform to the same level again.

You can’t help but feel sorry for Scotland. 2 weeks of preparation for their best shot of a victory at Twickenham in years, only for the game to be over as a competition within 15 minutes. Fraser Brown’s early yellow card rattled the Scots and put the at an immediate disadvantage. Soon down by 2 tries and with a makeshift back line following early injuries to superstar fullback Stuart Hogg and his replacement Mark Bennett (Scotland have had awful luck with injuries this season), Scotland’s chances of getting anything from the game were all but gone, especially with England in such clinical form. Fair play though to captain John Barclay refusing to blame injuries for the team’s performance when interviewed after the game, but you’ve got to imagine that it will have impacted the performance. What really impressed me is the way that the team didn’t give up and continued to push on for the full 80 minutes. I feel that this was a clear argument in favour of bonus points, as even with victory impossible, the Scots continued to push on for a 4-try bonus point. The chance of a bonus point – not to mention Scottish pride – helped the team to keep going and helped keep the game entertaining as a spectacle for the neutrals.

Do you think I missed anything? Want to give your opinion on anything I’ve mentioned? Comment on here or feel free to tweet me @PS_tetheridge