Round one’s over... so who really stood out as Wales, Ireland and France got off on the right footing?
So now the dust has settled on the opening round of the Six Nations, who were the men to really stand out?
Here, we pick our Team of the Tournament from Round One...
15. Anthony Bouthier (France)
HE has only played one Test match, but he has already assured himself a place in French rugby folklore – a foot-note to be precise. His 90 metre spiral kick from just in front of his own try line to just short of England’s was a truly extraordinary effort and a key momentum shifter. Clips of it have been doing the rounds on social media ever since, with Boutier’s boot entering the rugby lexicon. His all-round game was pretty spot on too. France have tried a succession of people at full-back in recent years, but they might just have found the man for the job in the Montpellier siegegun.
14. Jonny May (England)
YES, he committed the cardinal sin of not playing to the whistle, when he stopped, expecting Nigel Owens to blow for a knock-on, in the build-up to France’s second try.
But he more than made amends, with two exceptional individual scores to spark England’s fightback. First he won the race to his own chip over the top, showing great pace before toeing the ball on and falling on it.
His second was even better, as he eluded the clutches of three would-be tacklers, cutting inside to dab down under the sticks.
13. Nick Tompkins (Wales)
WHAT a debut! He was only on the field for around 40 minutes in two spells, but we saw enough in that time to know he’s the real deal and an inspired pick-up by Wayne Pivac. His bullet pass to create the space for Josh Adams’ opening touchdown was sumptuous, while the way he took his own try was equally special, as he stepped inside Matteo Minozzi and fended off the full-back to go over. Then there was the scoring pass for George North’s disallowed try. If you want to show youngsters how to execute a two-on-one, just show them that clip.
Ball in two hands, target the inside shoulder of the last man, draw him in and deliver the pass at the perfect moment. Simple but sublime. He can stay.
12. Sam Johnson (Scotland)
THE Australian-born centre put the Scots in dreamland last year when his try briefly gave them the lead following their remarkable second-half comeback against England. Since then, he’s been a pretty regular fixture in the side and is developing into something of a midfield glue man. His carrying was really impressive against Ireland, as was his eye for a gap, with a couple of telling line-breaks, including the one that really should have led to a try, but for Stuart Hogg’s nightmare moment. He also pulled off a key interception to save the day just before the break. Mention too for Gael Fickou who put in a big defensive display for France.
11. Josh Adams (Wales)
THE stats are staggering. If you include the Barbarians game, Adams has now scored 13 tries in his last 16 outings for Wales.
It’s an incredible strike rate, with his hat-trick against Italy providing further proof of his finishing prowess.
When he received the ball for his first, you felt he might have to step inside, with Tommaso Allen covering across, but not a bit of it. Instead, he put on the afterburners and scorched in at the corner, dipping his shoulder to ride the hit from Allen and get the ball down before his legs went into touch.
His second was reward for retaining his width as he took the through-the-legs pass from Biggar and went through the despairing clutches of Sarto. And his third showed his strength, as he bumped back rower Marco Lazzaroni out of his path and took prop Marco Riccioni over the line with him after steaming on to the ball. The man is just on fire.
10. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)
HE’S well into his 35th year now and entering the twilight zone of his international career, but Sexton is still a match winner as he demonstrated by scoring all of Ireland’s points in their 19-12 victory over Scotland.
He picked a lovely line for his try, capitalising on a decoy run from Jordan Larmour which drew in two defenders, and he landed five successful shots at goal to keep Irish noses in front.
It will be an intriguing Dublin showdown between him and Dan Biggar, who produced one of the moments of the weekend with his between-the-legs scoring pass to Adams.
9. Antoine Dupont (France)
AHEAD of the Championship, I asked some 25 rugby writers and commentators to predict their Player of the Tournament. The man who came out on top was Dupont.
And the Toulouse scrum-half didn’t disappoint on the opening weekend, more than living up to his star billing. His service is so slick and he’s such a threat with ball-in-hand. He played a part in all three French tries, flashing the ball out to Ntamack ahead of Rattez going over, sending up the box kick that led to Ollivon’s controversial first try and then making the darting, outside break down the blindside to put the skipper in for his second. To cap a wonderful display, he put in a huge hit on opposite number Willi Heinz just as England were threatening to set up a grandstand finish. He needs to work on his time-keeping, but everything else is spot on!