So, I promised Graded would be coming back and it didn’t. Shock horror, I lied on this blog, a completely new concept I know. First of all, sorry. I just completely lost my creative spark and had absolutely no motivation to do it this year. Maybe because it’s possibly run its course as a concept, but I also take absolutely no fun whatsoever in writing about how bad Wales are every week. Second of all, adults lie all the time. I know I promised I would, but Mark promised to Jeremy that he wouldn’t tell Sophie that Jeff cheated on her in that episode of Peep Show once, welcome to the real world.

In all honesty, this years’ Six Nations was much of what we all expected. France were outstanding, Ireland weren’t as great without Andy Farrell, Italy played well a lot but also lost a fair bit, Scotland didn’t live up to the hype again, England were quietly brilliant, and Wales did another wooden spoon. With that being said, there is a LOT to talk about, and I’m not abandoning the graded series completely. Instead, we’re taking a look at a post-tournament grade for everyone, like an end of year school report so to say. It was the last stop for England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales before the Lions’ Tour of Australia and barring a pretty mad run-in with the domestic game, I think the squad has more or less picked itself. So, without further ado, let’s get into the grading!

6^th: Wales – 🎶wooden spoon again ole ole🎶

It was the worst of times, it was the somehow even worse of times, it was the age of despair, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of disappointment, it was the epoch of misery, it was the Autumn (nations series) of dismay, it was the Winter and Spring of discontent, we had nothing before us, we had no light at the end of the tunnel, we were all going directly to 12th in the world, we were all going directly to another wooden spoon…

…is probably what Charles Dickens would’ve written if ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ was about the current state of Welsh rugby. A few teams got the Six Nations they deserved this year, and whilst it isn’t maybe the one this Wales team deserved, it’s one that the WRU more than deserved. This was a poor tournament, far worse than last year’s, and the future feels a bit bleaker this time around. Last year I thought that a first wooden spoon in twenty years would give the WRU a bit of a kick up the backside and we would see real, much needed change, but here we are 12 months on, and things have gotten worse. The performances were far off the pace on the field and things are still a bin fire off it. It started horrifically with a battering against France and a beyond toothless performance in Rome that saw the end of the second Gatland era, two losses against Ireland and Scotland where there were genuine improvements and there was a bit to feel optimistic about, and then whatever the hell that was in Cardiff against England. 

There were flashes of what this team can be with a proper coaching staff, I thought they placed genuinely decent in parts against Ireland and Scotland. It’s still quite a young squad, Jac Morgan is still an absolutely massive presence in this team, and the u20s had a strong showing in the u20s Six Nations, but none of those can paper over the cracks that is the awful state of rugby in Wales. The WRU need to get the next head coach appointment spot on for a start before some very serious and difficult conversations are had about the direction of the Welsh game, but at the moment I can’t see them doing anything but burying their heads in the sand once again.

Grade: F. Lots of things to work out, and quick!

5^th: Italy – What we Saw Coming?

This is a weird one, because once again Italy have shown glimpses of brilliant rugby but have had so little to show for it. They played genuinely well against Scotland and Ireland and could’ve gotten results against them on other days, beat a poor Wales side but looked good whilst doing it, but still have trouncings in them as was shown by England and France. Part of that last point can be argued that’s just how strong France and England are but conceding 73 and 47 to them respectively is too big a red flag that can’t be overlooked.

I really admire the rugby they play, but they just can’t ever seem to keep it together for a full 80 minutes or an entire tournament. They’re at their absolute best when they throw the ball around quickly, make use of their overlaps, run at teams with pace and skill, and when it’s time to defend they suffocate the living daylights out of the opposition. They managed to do it very well against Wales, and held themselves in very good light against Ireland, but it’s hard to think about them too much when that France result is what this campaign will likely be remembered for. It’s worth noting though that Les Bleus were absolutely untouchable that day, and any team in world rugby would’ve struggled to put in much of a performance against them. All in all, much of what we expected but there’s been a definite fall off since last year.

Grade: C-. Good in some parts, but poor in others. Dust yourself off and go again.

4^th: Scotland – Fell for it Again Award

Scotland’s best chance of the title since ’99 we all said in unison, and once again they underperformed. It brings me absolutely no joy to slate Scotland, but this team feels like it’s a bit stuck. The talent is more than there. Finn Russell, Blair Kinghorn, Duhan van der Merwe, and Huw Jones are likely to all start for the Lions in the summer, but maybe it’s an over-reliance for moments of brilliance from the backs is what’s holding them back. That isn’t to say that they have a poor group of forwards, far from it, but there is a gap in talent there. Where the previously mentioned backs had incredible tournaments or are arguably in the top 5 in the world in their position, I’m not too sure the same can be said about their forward pack.

I don’t really have the answers for Scotland, but I know for sure that something isn’t working. Since the last Lions Tour, they’ve finished 4^th (2022), 3^rd (2023), 4^th (2024), and you guessed it, 4^th again this year. They finished 3^rd in their pool at the last World Cup behind Ireland and South Africa, which is granted a very difficult group to get out of, but if they’re going to push on to do the great things that this team is capable of then something has to change quickly. The ceiling has been high for a long time for Scotland now, but maybe it’s just that bit out of grasp. If they managed to get the win at Twickenham then we’d likely be thinking differently of this Scotland campaign, but a failure to win a game against one of this year’s ‘big three’ makes it another disappointing tournament.

Grade: C. I had high hopes, but this wasn’t good enough even with a few good spells and some decent results.

3^rd: Ireland – End of Eras

This was always going to be a bit of a strange one for Ireland, and it proved to be. Very much a team in transition without their head coach, youngsters still finding their feet in international rugby, more established names coming into their prime, and the old guard who are either confirmed to be or look as if they’re on their way out. It’s hard to be too harsh on them, they did win a Triple Crown, but it will still feel like a bit of an opportunity missed that they didn’t get a third consecutive title. 4 out of 5 wins isn’t bad at all, but it’s the one loss to France and the manner in which it came that will be remembered. They didn’t really dominate anyone apart from Scotland, but it’s the results that matter.

It would end up being Cian Healey, Peter O’Mahoney, and Conor Murray’s curtain calls, with them being the latest of the great Irish players to retire from the game. It’s important to note it’s an ageing team, but I’m more confident in the Irish rugby setup to nurture and develop talent better than other rugby bodies to have adequate replacements from a deep enough talent pool (not naming names but I’m sure you can guess). There is still a bit of a question around number 10, as I think there’s still somewhat of a gap there since Johnny Sexton hung up his boots. I thought by the end of this tournament we’d have a better idea as to whether it’s Sam Prendergast or Jack Crowley and the answer still might be we don’t really know? Prendergast is obviously brilliant, but he didn’t really have that standout performance this year where I can say with my chest that he’s 100% the heir to Sexton. It’s a tough one, and something else for Farrell to ponder (as if he doesn’t have enough decisions to make already).

Grade: B. Couple of close calls, far from your best, but still won a Triple Crown.

2^nd: England – In Borthwick we Trust

4 wins out of 5 and a (albeit, fairly slim) chance to still win the title on Super Saturday has all the makings of a very solid Six Nations. I said going into this that England had the potential to finish second, and they did just that. It wasn’t the prettiest at times, but it didn’t need to be. A strong and competitive England makes the Six Nations a better and more open tournament, and even though it was overwhelmingly likely that France were going to win the title on the last day the thoughts of ‘yeah, but maybe’ made it exciting. I pin France as the big momentum changer. They were arguably second best all day, but they kept themselves in it, defended like hell when needed to, and snuck it at the end. They frustrated the Northern Hemisphere’s best team and lured them completely into their trap. Steve Borthwick won’t always have you playing the best rugby, but he’ll make sure that you do what is needed to be done to get the result. I was banging the drum to keep him on last year because he was on a similar trajectory to his time as Leicester Tigers boss, but now we’ve seen a tournament where he can win ugly and win pretty, sound familiar?

For every grim and gritty win, there’s a very eye pleasing one. They’ll very much enjoy the 14-68 record win against Wales, and a pretty sound demolishing against Italy won’t go amiss either. Many plaudits are going to Fin Smith for the tournament he had, with some starting to argue that he should be the starting 10 for the Lions this summer, but quite a few players had standout campaigns this year. Tommy Freeman was on fire scoring every game and having the tournament of his life, Ellis Genge has thrown his hat into the ring to argue his case to be a starter for the Lions, and Ollie Chessum has more than earned his stripes now as an England player. That’s without even considering the massive tournaments that Curry brothers, Ben Earl, Chandler Cunningham-South, Will Stuart, and Maro Itoje all had. I was really impressed by England this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next.

Grade: A. I knew you had it in you! Fantastic show this year, well done.

1^st: France – God Kings of the Universe

It wasn’t quite the Grand Slam but they came damn close. In a tournament of inevitables, this was perhaps the easiest one to call. I’ve said it time and time again that France at their absolute best can beat anyone in the world, and they more than showed it. It was a near perfect tournament, where the only downer results wise was the late loss against England (don’t worry, we’ll get to the other big worry for French fans in a bit). Everything went as well as they could have hoped for the most part, and had they held on at Twickenham and one other thing not happen, it would have been a perfect tournament. I am of course talking about Antoine Dupont tearing his ACL. I don’t think I am over exaggerating when I say that French supporters will be absolutely gutted that he’s going to be on the side-lines for quite a long period with that one, and Toulouse fans even more so. I was really looking forward to seeing how he would take back to union at an international level after taking a mini sabbatical for the 7s team, and unsurprisingly he didn’t lose a beat. He’s easily the best scrum half we’ve seen since Sir Gareth Edwards, and maybe a World Cup away from being in the conversation for the greatest to have ever played the sport.

The 7/1 split raised a few eyebrows, and understandably so. I know it works all the time for South Africa, but they have such an unbelievable strength in depth and have done for so long so you kinda let them get away with it. I wasn’t sure how it would work for France, but it more than did. Their standout star for me, and I think the player of the tournament, was Louis Bielle-Biarrey. Not only did he score in every game and break the record for the most tries scored in a single Six Nations tournament, but he made it look so easy. He’s such a special talent and will be on a lot of people’s radar going forward. I could go on forever about how great this team are, but I’ll have to end this eventually. In short, this is a very special unit.

Grade: A+. Didn’t really put a foot wrong! Well done.