On the penultimate weekend of the 2023 Six Nations (it still feels weird saying 2023), we were treated to 3 very different games of rugby. There were hard fought battles, fine margins, and an absolute drubbing. Last time around I said how one or two teams weren’t on the beach just yet but were heading down the pebble slope, now there are certainly a couple more joining them. The title dreams are very much alive for some and have died a fairly abrupt death for others. In what was a ridiculous weekend of rugby, in more ways than one, many questions were answered before a whole heap of new ones were asked. The Six Nation train has nearly reached its final destination, but before Super Saturday Parkway there’s still another week of fixtures (and as a result, grading) to do. So without further ado, let’s get into the reviews!

Italy: So close

Cruel game rugby. One week the world is saying how you’ve turned a corner after taking two of the world’s best teams close, the next your favourites for the wooden spoon again. In all honesty I don’t think it was a poor Italy performance, far from it, it just ended up being a game of very fine margins. The Azzurri really did miss Ange Capuozzo at full back on Saturday. While Tomasso Allan is a fantastic player, his strength is at fly half and that showed. He didn’t play badly by any means, but there were a few attacking opportunities that he had where Capuozzo would’ve done better (the line break leading to a Stephen Varney potential chance in the first half coming to mind). The free flowing, quick passing, Italian game that we’ve come so used to seeing this tournament wasn’t fully on show. Through a strong Welsh defence and some silly mistakes from Italy, be it handling errors or discipline, it meant that it couldn’t really flow for any sustained periods of time. There were glimpses of it, most notably with the tries from Sebastien Negri and Juan Ignacio Brex, but it was just too few and far between. Despite the score line it will probably feel like a bit of a missed opportunity for Italy. If Brex scored that try in the first half where Owen Williams made the try-saving tackle, and they get one from their late pressure then it’s a completely different game and result. But fine margins make games, and they couldn’t make the most of them.

Grade: C. Not awful but not what I expected, try and dust yourself off and leave it all out there next week.

Wales: Phew

The first win of the year and revived Gatland era is in the bag for Wales, and good lord was it needed. I had little to no confidence going to Rome against an Italy team that went close against two of the world’s best teams in France and Ireland, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about (well… not nothing but you get the gist). It wasn’t world beating but it didn’t have to be, it was a bonus point win and a much needed one at that. Wales had more of a clinical edge than was shown in the first three games in pretty much all areas of the pitch. Sure, there was a lucky bounce for Rio Dyer’s opener and some questionable tackling for Liam Williams’ try, but you have to make the most of these fine margin opportunities in international rugby. When Wales needed a bit of quality in attack, they managed to bring it, and when they needed to switch on defensively, they did so, especially in the last 15 minutes where the game could’ve been lost. There were some great individual performances too, Rhys Webb rolled back the years whilst Joe Hawkins and Dyer continued to impress me. It would’ve been nice to see Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, and Christ Tshiunza on the field together because as I’ve said many times, they are Wales’s next Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton, and Taulupe Faletau, but I can’t be too picky about selection after a bonus point win. It wasn’t exactly the kind of performance that makes me think that Wales will go on upset the odds in Paris next weekend, especially after France’s result in Twickenham, but it’s a much-needed win nonetheless.

Grade: B. Few hairy moments but got the job done. Da iawn.

England: Less said the better

I don’t even know how to start with this one. How do you honestly review a game like that? England looked a million miles off the pace from the first whistle to the last. They were second best at everything, and France made them pay massively. There were next to no threats going forward and they couldn’t keep up with a terrifying French attack. Whilst there were some red flags in the England performances that we’ve seen so far, never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d end up losing like this. In no place did they look to be in the slightest bit of control before or after the changes. Freddie Steward yet again had a good game, but you can’t rely on him to bail you out every week, especially against a French team firing on all cylinders. It would be easy to just go in on some of the more inexperienced players and say that they’re obviously not ready for a big stage like this, but that’s not helpful to anyone or a particularly valid criticism. Sometimes questionable teams needed a bit of a humbling to be able to show how they can bounce back, certain players called Jonny Wilkinson and Phil Vickery played in that 76-0 against Australia in 1998. What happened to them at the World Cup 5 years later? It’s not the result Ellis Genge would’ve wanted as his first game as England captain, but then again his first game as Leicester Tigers captain was a 54-7 loss away to Wasps and he ended up taking them to a Premiership Title. All I can say to England fans is to just stick with it and stay behind the team. I’m so confident that Steve Borthwick will be the man to bring England glory, it’ll just take patience, and this will be a bad dream in the timeline of the Borthwick revolution. So many lessons need to be learned from this, and quickly too. Any chance of spoiling an Irish grand slam next week seem dead in the water, but you never know in rugby.

Grade: U. Everyone bar Freddie was poor today. See me after class.

France: “Stop, stop, he’s already dead”

I don’t even know how to start with this one. How do you honestly review a game like that? France showed today why they should be considered favourites for the World Cup this September and why people shouldn’t sleep on them after a few tough games. Absolutely any criticism or doubt surrounding Les Bleus was silenced, as they brought a performance to Twickenham that will be talked about for the ages. From the first whistle, France attacked with speed, intensity, and purpose. They were ruthless at the breakdown and whenever England gave them half an inch, they took a mile and some. Antoine Dupont had his best performance of the Six Nations so far, everything he touched turned to gold. The English defence had no idea on how to deal with his dummy passes and clever kicks and chases. Add Thomas Ramos having the game of his life scoring 23 points for France, and Charles Ollivon, Thibaud Flament, and Damian Penaud scoring two tries each, it was only going to go one way. Even when England tried throwing in the towel by the end, France carried on with their Ivan Drago style performance, hell bent on causing as much pain as they could to their opponent. The championship dream is still alive, but they will have to rely on the poor souls they just battered to get a result against the world’s number 1 ranked team in Dublin… Maybe a total demolition job wasn’t the best idea in hindsight.

Grade: A*. C’est magnifique! Deserved star of the week.

Scotland: Missed opportunity

There’s definitely two ways of looking at this. One is the fact that for 50 minutes Scotland were well in it and took the game to Ireland, but the other is that they wouldn’t get a better opportunity to beat the world’s best team. The first half was pretty much perfect from Scotland, Huw Jones managed to get on the scoresheet with yet another try, whilst limiting the Irish to only 8 points. The intensity was something like we haven’t seen Ireland come up against in the fluidity and strength of the Scottish waves of attack and a tight-knit defence. They tried to beat Ireland at their own game by going blow for blow with them, and for 50 minutes it worked. After this, the players began to tire and the intensity that was seen in the previous 50 minutes dropped as Ireland managed to put the game to bed. Whilst Scotland can be proud that they gave the world’s number 1 team a run for their money, it will feel quite bittersweet. With the injuries meaning Ireland had to change up the team massively with some players out of position, it felt like now would be the time to do it for Scotland if they were going to at all. The defeat means that Scotland are officially out of the running for this year’s Six Nations title but can finish 3^rd with a win over Italy. Whilst it’s not exactly what Gregor Townsend’s men would’ve hoped for, it’s been a much better tournament than last year’s.

Grade: C+. Competitive and showed spirit, but just let it slip at the end.

Ireland: Difference between good and great

This is why this Ireland team are a cut above the rest of the teams in the Six Nations this year. Sure it wasn’t a drubbing, or even a bonus point win, but they showed in Edinburgh the difference between good rugby teams and world class rugby teams. When they’re knocked down, they reassess and overcome. Over the course of a frantic 80 minutes, Ireland lost Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, Gary Ringrose, AND Ian Henderson all to injury, as well as replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher, yet still came very close to another bonus point victory. Instead of letting the injury losses get to them, Ireland ran with it and made the best they could out of a poor situation. I thought that Cian Healey played great and dominated in the scrum when he came on considering he’s not a hooker, and Josh van der Flier more than held his own throwing for the lineout. Despite it being a close game for 50 minutes and all of the injuries, Ireland still managed to turn it up a level leading to tries from James Lowe and Jack Conan to secure the win. It’s these performances and results where teams can prove how great they are, and Ireland did just that. To end the Six Nations is a date with England at the Aviva and considering how different both teams played this weekend (and all tournament to be fair) I suspect it’ll be party time in Dublin.

Grade: A. Fantastic spirit and character to win this. Well done.

Class clown of the week: Pierre Bruno. Very lucky to not get himself sent off when Italy were trying to stage a comeback.