Six Nations team of the weekend: England and France dominate round 3 with wins over Ireland and Wales

The Six Nations cleared the halfway stage of this year’s championship with one of the most dominant performances witnessed in 2020, along with the undoubted game of the tournament.

The weekend opened with a bum note though, as Scotland stumbled their way to 17-0 victory in Rome to see Italy kept scoreless for the second time in three matches – the first occurrence where a Six Nations team has suffered the ignominy twice in one single championship.

Stuart Hogg put his two difficult weeks behind him to prove the match-winner with a virtuoso solo try, with Adam Hastings kicking the rest of Scotland’s points, but the game was hardly the appetiser that the weekend deserved and left it up to Wales and France to deliver something to shout about.

Thankfully, they did that and more on Saturday afternoon at the Principality Stadium as the two sides served up a stonker of a contest that saw France hold on to a 27-23 victory, maintaining their Grand Slam hopes in the process.

Anthony Bouthier and Paul Willemse got the French off to a flying start, though the boot of Dan Biggar and Dillon Lewis’s second half try left the match finely balanced with just a point between the two sides as it tipped into the final quarter – only for Romain Ntamack to intercept and score the try that ensured not even Biggar’s late score could claw the win back for Wales.

After such an epic encounter in Cardiff, the return to Twickenham for England’s first match at home this season had a lot to live up to, yet Eddie Jones’s side certainly lived up to their end of the bargain – only for Ireland to wilt in a nightmare first half display.

Tries from George Ford and Elliot Daly off Irish errors saw England build a commanding 17-0 half-time lead, from which they were able to control the rest of the game, and though Robbie Henshaw and Andrew Porter were able to cross the whitewash for the visitors, Luke Cowan-Dickie’s try killed off the match as a contest.

With round three in the bag and only two rounds remaining, here’s who makes the team of the weekend.

15. Elliot Daly (England)

A well-timed return to form for Daly that coincided with his move back to full-back. His presence under the high ball instilled confidence in his teammates from the opening exchanges that justified the selection, and showed the worth of playing to the whistle as he stole in on a dallying Jacob Stockdale to bag himself a try. Hard pushed by France’s Anthony Boutier who enjoyed another fine display, while Stuart Hogg’s solo try deserves a special mention.

14. Jonathan Joseph (England)

Out of position and pinpointed as a potential weakness in the England line-up, Joseph proved anything but as he delivered a defensively astute display – particularly under the high ball – and showed his attacking threat with two incisive runs, one of which where he out-gassed Andrew Conway to snatch the ball from his grasp.

13. Manu Tuilagi (England)

His return from injury coincided with England getting back to their physical best as they battered the Irish defence into submission in a dominant first half. Tuilagi averaged nearly 10 metres from his 10 carries and left a thumping tackle on CJ Stander that sent the Irish No 8 into reverse at a rate of knots, setting the tone for his teammates to hit the same level. Wales centre Nick Tompkins also deserves a mention, having delivered a strong showing bar his intercepted pass that cost Wales the game.

12. Owen Farrell (England)

The fourth consecutive England player in the team of the weekend is a symbol of how dominant they were on Sunday that the scoreline of 17-0 probably failed to reflect. Farrell was a large reason why that happened, with the England captain leading the defensive effort with an enormous work-rate, while his leadership skills really came to the fore in a way we probably haven’t seen before.

11. Gael Fickou (France)

Fickou was the heartbeat of France’s attack even though he was shifted from the centre to wing, with the extra space he was afforded giving him the stage to showcase his supreme talents. He made an early break on the left wing and was more than happy to come in-field in search of work, and a neat chip into the corner led to Willemse’s second try. Could easily have scored one of his own had Bouthier’s forward pass not been spotted.

10. Romain Ntamack (France)

The match-winner in Cardiff who continues to belie his 20 years of age, such is the controlled abandonment and fearlessness that he is currently playing with. Ntamack’s kicking from hand and tee was excellent through and he read Tompkins’ pass to perfection when the risk was a very likely Welsh try.

9. Antoine Dupont (France)

The only man to feature in all three rounds, Dupont has been the form scrum-half in the championship by a country mile. What was most impressive about his performance against Wales was the way he sees the game, almost like it is in slo-motion compared to those around him – that enables him to make all the right decisions.

1. Joe Marler (England)

Marler’s performance ensured England did not miss Mako Vunipola one bit as the Harlequins loosehead proved a sturdy rock in the scrum, while his defensive effort in completely every attempted tackle managed to stand out more prominently than his new haircut.

2. Luca Bigi (Italy)

The lone Italian included this week, the Azzurri skipper got through a shedload of tackling when Italy were under the pump against Scotland and proved unflappable in the lineout, though you have to feel he is steering a sinking ship right now.

3. Demba Bamba (France)

Granted, this is a rogue call, and it’s one that will incense Wales fans who feel what Bamba did in the 77th minute was completely illegal. But the matter of fact is that when Wales were on top and facing 14 men, Bamba came up with the crucial play that essentially helped clinch France victory. For that alone, he makes the cut.

4. Maro Itoje (England)

The England lock retains his place in the side after proving his most disruptive, antagonising best on Sunday that put the Irish completely off their game and lifted the levels of his own teammates. He was defensively outstanding, constantly playing right on the line to blitz the Irish attack, and he is proving his world class qualities with a series of standout displays.

5. Paul Willemse (France)

His try was just the cherry on the cake in what proved a dominant display physically, as he rampaged over Johnny McNicholl and Gareth Davies to score from a well-worked lineout. Add to that a tally of 20 tackles and an impressive 10 carries for 55 metres, and it’s easy to see how Wales came off second best on Sunday.

6. Courtney Lawes (England)

The lock-cum-flanker ran out at Twickenham with something of a point to prove and delivered emphatically with a standout man-of-the-match display, getting through an enormous level of carrying in the Irish red zone and astonishingly taking every lineout on England’s own throw while he was on the pitch.

7. Hamish Watson (Scotland)

The lone Scot in the side, Watson proved the thorn in Italy’s breakdown as he repeatedly stole possession or won turnovers penalties with back-row partner Jamie Ritchie. It was a timely reminder following the Calcutta Cup of how effective he can be when given an inch at the ruck.

8. Gregory Alldritt (France)

It would be a fair argument to say that Alldritt is the current frontrunner to claim the Player of the Tournament gong, such has been the level of his three performances so far this month. The No 8 had a hand in setting up Willemse for his try, ran the ball for more than 100m for the second match running and certainly did enough to make up for the 10 minutes he served in the sin-bin – which didn’t cost France a point as they kept Wales at bay.