5 things we learned from this weekend’s Six Nations action

England’s narrow win over France was the highlight of a gripping weekend of Guinness Six Nations action, but there were also wins for Italy and Ireland.

Here, the PA news agency examines five things learned from round two.

A star is born
At the heart of England’s last-gasp victory over France was Fin Smith, the Northampton fly-half who was making his first start after seven appearances as a replacement. Ousting the swashbuckling Marcus Smith from the number 10 jersey brought added pressure to his full debut and while, in his own words, he began “like a rabbit in the headlights”, by he end he was calling the shots as if a seasoned campaigner.

A game-clinching conversion, two try assists and a more orderly look to England in the decisive phase were just part of his man-of-the-match contribution. On this evidence, it is hard to see a route back for Marcus Smith at fly-half.

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The cavalry delivers
England head coach Steve Borthwick has been calling for greater impact from his bench and the reinforcements delivered in style against France. Fin Baxter and Elliot Daly ran in critical tries in the last 10 minutes, while Jamie George was in super-sub form during his 19 minutes on the field.

Six Nations

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Ireland

2

2

0

0

10

2

France

2

1

1

0

6

3

England

2

1

1

0

6

4

Scotland

2

1

1

0

5

5

Italy

2

1

1

0

4

6

Wales

2

0

2

0

1

Add in telling contributions from Ollie Chessum and Ben Curry and England had the set of replacements needed to kill off France. For too long the bench – a critical part of the game – has failed to make any impact and Borthwick will be hoping that Saturday proves to be a turning point.

Arrogant France?
Were France guilty of arrogance at Twickenham? It was a question put to their head coach Fabien Galthie after his side had thrown away a host of chances and somehow entered half-time level at 7-7. Complacency would be a generous way to describe the pass around the back, early try celebration for a score that did not happen or overly elaborate play in attack that saw flashiness trump doing the basics well. Galthie denied that his team had been arrogant, but it is hard to deny that France played with a swagger that proved to be their undoing.

Wales in the doldrums
“It can’t carry on like this” said Dan Biggar after Wales were emphatically beaten 22-15 in Rome without ever troubling Italy. The former Wales fly-half’s words reflected the mood of a nation after a 14th consecutive defeat dragged Warren Gatland’s side to a fresh low. A second successive wooden spoon awaits for a team that have not won since the 2023 World Cup and the writing appears to be on the wall for Gatland, who has fixtures against Ireland, Scotland and England to save his job. Wales’ problems are so vast it is hard to see how the Kiwi induces a revival or what difference a new voice would make.

Sorry Scots
Ireland should be commended for an impressive win at Murrayfield, but Scotland proved willing victims as they barely fired a shot. Losing Finn Russell and Darcy Graham to HIAs after they collided with each other was a cruel blow but even allowing for their departure, Gregor Townsend’s team were disappointing. This Six Nations looks like another false dawn for Scottish rugby and they head to Twickenham on Saturday week needing to produce a significant improvement on this lacklustre effort.