1) No slam for Wales but plenty to build on
The grand slam was snatched from them at the last after they had forced France to dig to the bottom. The disappointment will linger because they were so close, but in time they will reflect on a tournament that should set them up for the coming years. Fortune may have deserted them at the end with claims for what would probably have been a match-winning penalty try waved away, but after a fitful 2020, they forged a post-Warren Gatland identity, smart and bold. France became their third opponents of the year to have a player sent off with all the red cards coming at the breakdown, an area where Wales compete hard. Their head coach, Wayne Pivac, will probably have to replace a few stalwarts before the World Cup, but changes will not now be an act of desperation.
2) France evade trademark fade in astonishing ending
So much for the theory that France fade in the final quarter. They were trailing Wales by 10 points and were down to 14 men after Paul Willemse’s red card but they still won, admittedly with a man advantage at the end. France are rich in character again and, if a victory in a compelling match that was totally removed from the stodge that was served up in the Autumn Nations Cup had a touch of fortune, it came because they did not let frustration get the better of them in a sign of how they have grown up under Fabien Galthié. They will secure their first title since 2010 if they achieve a bonus-point victory over Scotland in Paris on Friday by 21 points or more, something they have not managed in the fixture there for 14 years, and the opportunist Scots may not be the foil for a team that no longer play it safe.
3) Ireland’s late charge shows renewed freedom
They recovered from a slow start to win their final three matches but only against England did they look like a team going somewhere. They were motivated by four consecutive one-sided defeats to Eddie Jones’s side, but they also packed an element of surprise that unsettled a team prepared for the expected. Ireland will reflect on two narrow defeats, in Wales when they wasted a penalty in the final minute that would have given them a platform to score the try they needed to win, and at home to France when a lack of creativity cost them. It has taken them time to move away from the tactical rigidity of the Joe Schmidt era, but having overpowered Scotland, they stretched England and put pace on the game.
4) Scotland’s early expectation ebbed too easily
The closer they get, the further away they seem. A first victory at Twickenham for 38 years should have been the springboard for a first tilt at the title in the Six Nations era, but they were unable to hold on to a 14-point lead at home to Wales and, after recovering from a 14-point deficit against Ireland at Murrayfield, immediately gave the game away. They are never more vulnerable than when loaded with expectation, in contrast to Wales who have come to thrive on it: their problem used to be in terms of being able to compete physically, but now it is about mentality. There will be no pressure on them in Paris on Friday night, but they need to deliver when there is.
5) England must rekindle coherence
Eddie Jones reckoned England finished the tournament in better shape than they started it, but given the way they performed against Scotland on the opening weekend, it was not saying much. They played in flashes against Wales and France, but they lacked coherence. Ultimately they had nothing to fall back on with their set pieces creaky and the breakdown as problematic as it was in 2018, when they also finished fifth. Jones has no reason to panic, but England’s performances since reaching the World Cup final have been nowhere near good enough. It has been a time when the club that were a major part of his foundation, Saracens, fell from grace. None of their six players he has used this campaign has been anywhere near their best and they form, in the main, the spine of the team. A squirt of air freshener is needed.
6) Italy make up the numbers once more
Another year, another whitewash. Do no points mean no point? The Italian Rugby Federation has trousered £35m from the Six Nations deal with the private equity company CVC, which would appear to secure their future in the tournament in the medium-term, but whose interest is served in a blow-out every round? Comparisons are made with France when they entered the championship more than a century ago and struggled to make an impact for a couple of decades, but the game was amateur then and there was no army of coaches. Italy have a clutch of promising young players but they are becoming scarred by going into games when the outcome is not in doubt.
