The opening weekend of the Six Nations delivered three bonus-point wins and set the tone for a mouth-watering championship.
Favourites France dominated Wales on Friday night without having to hit top gear ahead of their trip to Twickenham on Saturday, while Ireland ground England down and then burst through a tired defence at will to stay far enough ahead of a late fightback.
And Scotland showed Italy the danger of not finishing your chances as they repelled a number of threatening attacks and rode a Huw Jones hat-trick to start in the perfect fashion ahead of hosting Ireland this week.
Home nations players are battling it out not just for Six Nations glory but also their Lions places, while France are trying to knock Ireland off their perch and Italy look as strong as they have ever been. But who stood out most on weekend one? NIK SIMON picks his finest XV.
15. Thomas Ramos, France
A stylish performance that reeked of French swagger. His understanding of Antoine Dupont from Toulouse allows him to step in at first receiver, with unconventional link play that caught the Welsh off-guard.
He plays in the image of the team’s coach, Fabien Galthie, with a nonchalance and off-the-cuff unpredictability. France’s most reliable goal-kicker for years, he also kicked a huge 50-22 with a dominant performance from the boot.
Thomas Ramos converted four tries as France thrashed Wales 43-0 in Paris on Friday night
14. Theo Attissogbe, France
The supply line of French wingers is thriving. Scoring two tries on debut, he filled in superbly for Damian Penaud.
France’s powerful forwards sucked in Welsh defenders through the middle of the pitch and Attissogbe used his lightning speed to punish them when the space opened up out wide.
He read kick-pass situations well and showed deft footwork as another frightening youngster emerged through the ranks.
13. Huw Jones, Scotland
A tournament-ending injury to Sione Tuipulotu cast doubt over Scotland’s midfield but Jones immediately stepped out of the shadow of his absent partner. Clinical in attack, he ran intelligent support lines that earned him the only hat-trick of the weekend. If this form continues for club and country then he will edge himself towards Andy Farrell’s Lions squad.
12. Tommaso Menoncello, Italy
Once again showed that Italy have one of the most impressive midfield partnerships, alongside Ignacio Brex.
A battling performance in defeat, making more offloads and post-contact metres than anyone else across round one.
He puts up an 80-minute fight where previous Italian teams have collapsed in the final quarter.
Tommaso Menoncello was arguably Italy’s top performer in their 31-19 defeat by Scotland
11. James Lowe, Ireland
His powerful carries down the left wing left English defenders trodden into the ground like road-kill. Lowe’s attacking stats were higher than anyone in Dublin and his physicality was laced with smart link-play and deception.
He did not score any tries of his own but he bagged a hat-trick of assists in the build-up to all of Ireland’s match-turning moments.
10. Jack Crowley, Ireland
Not a stellar weekend for No 10s, with Romain Ntamack sent off and Finn Russell riddled with errors.
Crowley only played the final quarter but he changed the flow of the game, leading Ireland through a purple patch of 14 points in eight minutes.
He showed game understanding to change tack, cutting off the supply of long kicks for unstructured English attacks.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park, Ireland
Antoine Dupont is the obvious pick but France’s golden wonder was operating off the back of an utterly dominant French pack.
Gibson-Park had to think and adapt his way through the game, fixing tired defenders to create space as the second half opened up.
The support line and sidestep for his first-half try showed why he is the front-runner to be the Lions No 9.
Jamison Gibson-Park scored the first of Ireland’s three tries in Saturday’s win over England
1. Jean Baptiste-Gros, France
Justified his selection ahead of the experienced Cyril Baille with an all-action display.
He did the fundamentals of a prop at the scrum but also brings a more dynamic edge with his mobility and ball-carrying.
2. Dan Sheehan, Ireland
The dynamic hooker played the game like an inside centre, delivering an all-court impact from the bench.
In just his second game in six months after injury, he carved open the English defence with offloads, line-breaks and 25-metre passes.
Ireland looked unstoppable as they ran riot in the second half and Sheehan was at the heart of the action.
3. Zander Fagerson, Scotland
Provided a cornerstone for the Scottish set-piece for almost 70 minutes. Scotland lack tighthead depth behind Fagerson, with his understudy Will Hurd short of Premiership gametime at Leicester.
Fagerson’s engine ensured his team had a solid attacking platform throughout, chipping in with an impressive 16 carries of his own.
Zander Fagerson impressed for Scotland against Italy at Murrayfield, especially at set-pieces
4. Emmanuel Meafou, France
Almost 23st of raw Polynesian power is enough to trouble the world’s best defences.
He set the physical tone against Wales, ensuring Warren Gatland’s sorry side were buried under the weight of the French pack.
You will not find many players with the ability to crash over the gainline on the fringes of the ruck like this one.
5. Tadhg Beirne, Ireland
Such an intelligent performance from the second row. He ensured Ireland delivered accuracy at the lineout and made amends for his early infringement when he illegally pulled Maro Itoje into a ruck.
His savvy support lines and relentless ruck-hitting made him one of the most important cogs when the Irish attacking machine got firing.
6. Tom Curry, England
A special day as he was joined in England’s starting team by his twin brother, Ben.
His form at Sale has been hampered by injuries but Curry reminded us why he is a Test match animal with a display of dominant physicality.
Three big turnovers justified the omission of a lineout specialist flanker – and he continued to battle when his team were under the cosh in the second half.
Tom Curry battled hard for England against Ireland and was unlucky to be on the losing side
7. Jac Morgan, Wales
Nips in ahead of Scottish flanker Rory Darge, who delivered an impressive all-around display with tries and turnovers.
Morgan was on the receiving end of a 43-0 drubbing, but if his 22 team-mates shared his fight and physicality then it would have been a very different result.
He made more tackles and carried for more metres than anyone in the dominant French team.
8. Gregory Aldritt, France
A seasoned operator of the Six Nations who delivers year after year.
He is not the biggest player in a pack of French giants but he gets through the most work.
His form at La Rochelle slipped after the World Cup but this high-energy performance – tries, tackles, turnovers – was a warning that England will have their hands full next week.
