Six Nations 2019 Round 3: Every team from the weekend RATED

England’s Grand Slam hopes have been dashed in round three for the second year running after one of the best Welsh performances we’ve seen in years.

Scotland’s agonising wait for a Parisian victory continues as France win an 11th consecutive home game against Gregor Townsend’s men.

And Ireland scrape through in Rome by the skin of their teeth against an Italian side who even without their key talisman Sergio Parisse looked deadly throughout, leaving the Irish World Cup favourites tag in doubt. 

If I’ve learnt anything from this weekend it’s that predicting a Scotland win isn’t the best of ideas… Despite all the build up to the fixture and all the talk of France being in total disarray, Jacques Brunel rallied his troops, and ground out a performance that reminded us all of just how good France can be. Ramos, Dupont, Itturia, Bamba, all the newest and recent finds were exceptional, and not only that, they caused Scotland some serious headaches on Saturday afternoon. The injury crisis Scotland are going through is like no other, they have an entire team of first choice players injured, and sure they have an incredible squad depth now with a talented team of replacements, but they are missing some of the most colossal figures of Scottish Rugby. 

John Barclay, Hamish Watson, Ryan Wilson, Finn Russell, Duncan Taylor, Huw Jones, Stuart Hogg. All of these names would be picked by coaches without a moments thought for their talent in a rugby jersey, and if they’d been on that plane to Paris I have a suspicion they might not have been turned over as badly as they were. The only time I felt like Scotland offered anything was at the end of each half, where two opportunistic line outs turned to dust in the first, and replacement scrum-half Ali Price finally dotted down for the Scots. In this tournament though, waiting until the final five of each half to do something isn’t enough, and Townsend was right to lament the Scots for their poor errors and their failure to control the game. Saying that the players weren’t fit for the jersey was a bit exaggerated though.

The fact I’ve read this week that people are saying Vern Cotter should never have left is beyond me. He didn’t exactly fare much better away from Murrayfield, and credit to the French, they were sensational. Ireland and France could put on an absolute classic if both sides can find top form and go for each other like last year. In the meantime, Townsend will want to look away from the idea of a thumping from Wales in two weeks considering the form they’re in. With a bit of luck, some of their regular suspects will come back to rescue Scotland’s already slim title hopes, but the prospect of them winning against this Welsh side that’s tearing up the tournament right now looks pretty dim to say the least. The most embarrassing thing is everyone had written France off before kick off, that’s how much of a sucker punch this defeat is for Scotland. 

In Six Nations history, we always look back at Wales 30, England 3 when we think about some of the most outstanding results in this fixture. It wasn’t quite as significant a demolition this weekend, but performance wise, Wales were in a league of their own and quite simply at their best since Warren Gatland took charge in 2008, and that’s saying something. I can’t think of a team as good as this with as much Grand Slam potential, and they were epic in 2008 and 2012 so what this Welsh team could achieve in the run up to Japan could seriously put the All Blacks on red alert when they defend their crown this autumn.

How good was Cory Hill’s try? 34 phases of play, 34 reasons why Wales are going to win the title if they play like that. Everyone praised Ireland for their 42 phase build up to that drop goal in Paris, and for me, that was the moment that won them the Six Nations; Hill’s try is the exact same principle in my eyes, and that when we look back on what won them the trophy should they lift it on March 16th, then it’s this one. It’s been a while since Wales have been considered a serious threat, but if they’re going to tear England apart like that and find a score out of 34 phases of hard graft, then I cannot wait for their showdown with Ireland in three weeks because that will be one of the most brutal games of rugby. Their fixture two years ago was insane, the hits and tackles made in that match were enough to fold ordinary folk in half, so their final test of the Championship will be the one to watch. 

For anyone wearing the rose, this will have been a huge “what if” moment. England should’ve won this game, especially since they dominated the first half and led at half time. The way they played against Ireland and France simply wasn’t replicated, and the ease at which they picked up bonus points wasn’t helping them on Saturday. Wales had their kicking game covered superbly, and the trio of Josh Adams, George North and Liams Williams were phenomenal in stopping England’s aerial threat. Jonny May has done rather well at scoring early to stun his rivals, this game he was almost invisible before being replaced and I felt he played little or no part, much like some of this England team who will now have to be at their absolute best against Italy and Scotland if they want to challenge Wales for the title. They might have the easier run of fixtures, but if they play with the same strategy as they did against Wales, they could easily be frustrated again and make a mess of their title challenge; not something Eddie Jones will want in his run up to the World Cup. Round five’s looking pretty good then.

The result was never really in doubt given Ireland’s track record against Italy, the way this game actually panned out was never conceived to be possible however. If Italy have ever looked closed to bagging a result, this was the fixture for it. Ireland may consider it job done with a bonus point victory, but the fact that they were only three points clear with around 20 minutes to go will have given Ireland fans a stiff shiver of fear. Joe Schmidt said that being down at half time was perfect, and in my mind he couldn’t be any more right, because that scenario is not a common one for Ireland, and this was the reality check they needed in the run up to the final rounds of the tournament. 

With two wins from two, Ireland sit in third place with two games to go, the ideal scenario being that Wales lose to Scotland, England lose to Italy, Wales beat Ireland, and Scotland beat England. I’d take that one to all the betting shops because I’m sure each and every one of them will agree that it’s one of the daftest bets going. That said, it is possible, highly unlikely but possible. They’ll need to sharpen their performance for their trip to Cardiff on St Patrick’s weekend, because playing like they did in Italy won’t get the job done, if anything it could make for a pretty rough weekend for a team who were tipped to win the World Cup a few months ago. 

I say this every week, but Italy are getting better as the tournament goes on, and their famous victory over Ireland in 2013 was very nearly recreated. However, the old ritual of their faltering fitness kicked in and Ireland capitalised on their crucial bonus point. They got the job done and there’s no doubt, but it looked highly likely Italy were going to snatch that win they crave, and it’s not often in their 20 loss streak that they’ve led a team at half time. We all remember when they led England at Twickenham, but I desperately want to see Italy finally grab a win, because it would only provide a major boost to the competition. But as Ireland exhaust their regulars against a stubborn Italy who wouldn’t go quietly, it looks increasingly more likely that we’ll be seeing the title change hands this year; Schmidt needs a plan B, and quickly.