Ireland’s James Lowe scores their second try despite France's Damian Penaud's attentions in Dublin last year. Photo / INPHO, Dan Sheridan
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has plenty to ponder after his recent Six Nations scouting mission. Liam Napier analyses the major takeaways from the jewel in the northern rugby crown.
Of most immediate interest to Scott Robertson and Kiwi fans, England appear on an upward trajectory.
Robertson opens his All Blacks tenure with two home tests against England in July. Partially with those matches in mind, he travelled north to watch England’s inspired upset of Ireland at Twickenham two weeks ago. Witnessing that result live, before venturing to Japan to check in with the cohort of All Blacks based there, was the perfect reminder of England’s capabilities.
Two days after England’s final Six Nations match - their last-gasp defeat to France via a Thomas Ramos penalty - Steve Borthwick is en route to New Zealand for a reconnaissance mission of his own.
England’s improvements have been a slow burn since Borthwick succeeded Eddie Jones. After starting on shaky ground following their first home defeat to Fiji at Twickenham last year, England regained their identity by steadfastly sticking to their forward-dominated, kick-heavy tactics, to finish third at the World Cup after a one-point semifinal defeat to the Springboks.
Owen Farrell’s defection to France was greeted with much hand-wringing yet England’s evolution in the last two Six Nations matches is clear.
While they finished third, with three wins and two defeats, by the end of the tournament England broke from their conservative shell to embrace vastly more attacking ambition. It was there they surprised Ireland on the edge, with emerging wings Immanuel Feyi‑Waboso and Tommy Freeman injecting notable pace in the outside channels.
Ollie Lawrence is maturing into a well-rounded midfielder, Alex Mitchell looks the future at halfback and in George Ford and Marcus Smith, England have yin and yang playmakers.
England’s set piece remains sound. Ollie Chessum has found a home in the second row and Ben Earl cemented his rangy presence at No 8.
With Manu Tuilagi and, potentially, Danny Care moving on, England’s new era has emerged from the winter gloom to sprout signs of rare attacking intent.
Defeat to France in Lyon evoked flashbacks to their World Cup semifinal heartbreak, when Handre Pollard stole that match, but England will take heart from their tournament-ending form.
With the All Blacks front of mind, England’s performance against Ireland remains their aspirational blueprint.
Johnny who?
Responding from a possible post-World Cup hangover, and attempting to fill Johnny Sexton’s vaunted void, hovered over Ireland’s Six Nations defence.
Neither were remotely relevant as Ireland comfortably claimed successive titles and Jack Crowley consummately stepped into Sexton’s breach.
Last year Crowley made one Six Nations appearance off the bench against Italy in Rome. This year he, former Chiefs wing James Lowe and classy No 8 Caelan Doris were the only Irish players to feature in every minute. Talk about seizing the mantle.
Crowley’s accomplished efforts eased anxiety to the point that Sexton rarely warrants a mention. While the all-too-familiar pain of Ireland’s World Cup quarterfinal defeat to the All Blacks lingers, and their failure to secure the grand slam will rankle, Ireland have set out the stall as the team to beat this year.
The Springboks, as back-to-back World Cup champions, retain the No 1 ranking but what better way than a Six Nations championship to stoke the fires for their two-test series against Ireland in July. Any wonder those tests are already sold out.
Despite their World Cup heartache, it’s worth remembering Ireland under Andy Farrell’s guidance are undefeated in 19 tests at home, where they host Robertson’s All Blacks in November, and have won 21 of their last 23 matches.
Leinster lock Joe McCarthy, a Six Nations winner at 22 after seven test starts, is a prime example of Ireland’s depth regeneration that extends to their strong under-20s programme.
When it comes to laws and plaudits, the Six Nations has an insular habit of solely looking within. On that note we can pump the breaks on the incessant need to anoint the “world’s best” until this test year is complete.
Ireland’s stumble against England at Twickenham, where their defence was exposed, and their tense finish to sneak past Scotland in Dublin, leaves enough doubt to park that debate for now.
While Ireland toasted their success on St Patrick’s Day, challenges loom in the form of Peter O’Mahony’s future - and the need to potentially appoint another new captain.
Farrell’s temporary departure at the end of this year to lead the British and Irish Lions on their 2025 tour to Australia also threatens to have a destabilising effect.
For now, though, the Emerald Isle glistens with glee.
Italy are the feel-good story of the Six Nations.
Two wins over Scotland and Wales should have been three, had the ball not fallen off Paolo Garbisi’s tee in Italy’s draw against France.
For a team that had eight successive last place finishes in this tournament and shipped 96 points against the All Blacks at the World Cup six months ago, this was some transformation.
Gonzalo Quesada, since assuming charge from Kieran Crowley, deserves immense credit for amending Italy’s defence while continuing to harness their attacking flair.
Michele Lamaro proved an inspired leader in the loose forwards. The Tommaso Menoncello-Juan Ignacio Brex midfield combination was a picture of balance, too.
Rising to eighth in the world - one place above the Wallabies - and silencing long-held probes about justifying their presence in the Six Nations, Italy must now maintain their resurgence.
In stark contrast to Italy, the Welsh have hit rock bottom.
The ignominy of their first Six Nations wooden spoon in 21 years prompted Warren Gatland to offer his resignation to Welsh rugby chief executive Abi Tierney. While that was swiftly rejected, Gatland has rapidly morphed from touted saviour to yesterday’s man.
Five successive losses leaves a proud rugby nation on the verge of imploding.
Wales’ problems run much deeper than the national team as financial cutbacks hit the regions hard.
Generational change, with Dan Biggar, Liam Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit, Taulupe Faletau and George North among those moving on, has exposed a lack of depth. And with the club sides battling to retain their best talent, the perfect storm is taking hold.
In an ulterior universe where the Six Nations embraced promotion and relegation, Georgia would fancy their chances of knocking Wales out at present.
Finished the tournament with a spirited defeat against Ireland but, otherwise, failed to capitalise on their promising start to flatter to deceive yet again.
Inconsistency, both week-to-week and within games, remains Scotland’s major issue. A second-half collapse almost cost them victory in Cardiff. The home win over England was their tournament highlight - and they were unfortunate to lose following a controversial late try for France at Murrayfield.
Losing to Italy away, though, is another black mark for the Gregor Townsend era after Scotland failed to fire a shot at last year’s World Cup, following underwhelming pool-stage efforts against Ireland and the Springboks.
Concluding this tournament with three wins and two losses only entrenches Scotland’s flaky perception.
If any team suffered from a World Cup hangover, it was France.
Le Bleus finished second, five points behind Ireland, but a long way off the Six Nations pace-setters. Ireland’s 38-17 opening-round victory in Paris accurately depicts the gap in consistent quality.
France have no issues with depth but they desperately missed talisman Antoine Dupont while he prepares for the Paris Olympics with a switch to the sevens arena. Such was the mounting pressure after frustrating performances, French Rugby Federation president Florian Grill was forced to declare Fabien Galthie was not at risk of losing his job mid-tournament.
Results flatter France. They were fortunate to snatch victory in Edinburgh thanks to a dicey TMO decision at the death and emerge with a draw against Italy. This is not the same team who lost their World Cup quarter-final by one point to South Africa.
Maybe another late escape in their final match against England will ignite self-belief.
It would, however, not surprise to see Galthie’s tenure go the other way.
She aims to start a family after the Rugby World Cup in England.