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A Grand Slam for Ireland and a wooden spoon for Italy, despondency for England and promise for Scotland, glimpses from Wales and resilience from France. The 2018 Six Nations duly delivered some wonderful storylines.
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We have taken a look back at the last seven weeks of rugby and picked our form XV of the championship.
- Matteo Minozzi, Italy
The diminutive Italian has been a revelation for the Azzurri at full-back this season, with his eye for a gap and scintillating footwork making him the most effective attacking threat Italy have seen for years in their back line.
He has areas he needs to improve, such as his work in the air and his one-on-one tackling, but he is an extremely exciting talent for Italy moving forward and someone whom Conor O’Shea will hopefully be able to rely on to give his side an edge in close contests.
- Keith Earls, Ireland
Ireland’s very own Mr Underrated.
There is very little Earls does on a rugby pitch that isn’t excellent, efficient or effective. He just does everything well, there really is no glaring weakness to his game and he showed that time and time again for Ireland during this championship. He may sit in Jacob Stockdale’s shadow in the try-scoring terms, but certainly not in the overall performance terms.
- Huw Jones, Scotland
The game against Ireland aside, Jones looked at his threatening best this Six Nations, although had Garry Ringrose been fit for all five games, he may well have run the Scot close.
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There are defensive areas in his game that he needs to work on to become the complete package, but the threat he provides Scotland as not only an incisive line runner, but also a man linking the midfield with the myriad of threats in the back three, is incredibly valuable.
- Owen Farrell, England
Even with England disintegrating around him, Farrell still stood up to be counted over the past two months.
His deft kicking from hand unlocked opposition defences despite England being on the back-foot, whilst his breaks through the line and intricate passing were really the only consistent attacking weapon that England could rely on.
- Jacob Stockdale, Ireland
The Ulster wing led the championship with seven tries to his name and though a couple of them were picked up in garbage time with games already decided, that shouldn’t detract from the leap he has made this year.
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His defence is often questioned at Ulster, but he looked assured in the green of Ireland, whilst his predatory instincts to pick off loose or floating passes was exemplary. Ireland’s 11 jersey looks to have been secured for the foreseeable future.
France’s Remy Grosso may well have picked up this spot in another season.
- Jonathan Sexton, Ireland
Finn Russell’s masterclass against England may have been the standout performance of a fly-half this year, but for overall impact across the whole tournament, Sexton was the only choice.
For all the excitement there is watching Ireland and the sky would certainly seem the limit for this side, there is a nagging and creeping doubt as to how they would go without Sexton, such is his impact and overall influence on the team.
- Conor Murray, Ireland
Conor Murray’s position as the premier scrum-half in the northern hemisphere is safe, with the Irish scrumhalf’s only really challenge coming by way of France’s Machenaud, who was also in fine form over the course of the championship.
Murray’s game management abilities are a perfect foil to allow Sexton flourish outside him, while his threat with ball-in-hand make him a handful for even the most formidable defences.
- Mako Vunipola, England
A slightly quiet tournament for looseheads, with Vunipola’s excellent game against Italy and then industrious effort against Ireland quality enough bookends to his tournament to see him grab this spot.
A player certainly suffering from British and Irish Lions fatigue, but one who still made his presence known, firstly with his work around the fringes on both sides of the ball, and secondly with his improved scrummaging. Training with the Georgian pack certainly seems to have worked out well for Vunipola.
- Guilhem Guirado, France
France’s captain turned in a couple of Herculean performances this year, delivering a tempo and intensity in the loose that plenty of French tight five forwards in recent seasons have been unable to match.
He was sorely missed in France’s final fixture of the championship, a narrow loss to Wales in Cardiff, and if Les Bleus are to be a force at next year’s Rugby World Cup, he is exactly the kind of galvanising force the team needs to rally behind.
- Tadhg Furlong, Ireland
Afer the Lions, it was hard to see how Furlong could increase his stock value, but the Wexford man has managed it.
While he was pushed hard by Mako Vunipola on Saturday at scrumtime, Furlong’s MOTM performance was the perfect bookend to a fine Six Nations. Honourable mention goes to Scotland’s Simon Berghan.
- Alun Wyn Jones, Wales
Paul Gabrillagues’ late push for France is worthy of mention, but Wales’ talismanic captain is showing no signs of slowing down as he slips further into his 30’s.
He’s efficient and busy every minute he’s on the pitch. From his lineout work and his disruption of opposing mauls, to his powerful carries around the fringes and tireless defensive work, he’s still every inch the classy operator he was years ago.
- Jonny Gray, Scotland
You can’t hear Gray’s name on commentary without the go-to statistic that he never seems to miss a tackle, but his influence extends beyond being an efficient tackler.
With a front-row down to the barebones, Gray was a stabilising force at the set-piece and a valuable communicator and organiser of the defensive line, much in the same way George Kruis excelled in 2016 and 2017. His carrying is underrated, too, with the lock frequently making the hard yards that many others are incapable of, facing down strong fringe defences.
- Aaron Shingler, Wales
A tough call that could easily have gone to Peter O’Mahony, but Shingler stepped up in a back-row shorn of Sam Warburton and, for the most part, Taulupe Faletau.
He made himself known at the breakdown and in the defensive line, but it was as a carrier where he found his niche in the Welsh loose forward trio. He kept Wales ticking along nicely when absentees threatened to derail them.
- Yacouba Camara, France
The third Frenchman to make this XV and he could easily have been the fifth, with Grosso and Gabrillagues both close, Camara is at the spearhead of a mini French revival.
It’s probably too early to say that and putting too much stock in their victory over England, but Camara had a good tournament regardless and like Guirado, is another French forward who is comfortable playing – and executing – at tempo for 80 minutes.
- CJ Stander, Ireland
How good is Stander? Good enough to wrap up this spot at a canter, despite being short of his usual lofty standards.
Ireland were physically dominant around the fringes and Stander was a big part of that effort, carrying with intensity and repelling opposition ball-handlers with powerful tackles, winning collisions on both sides of the ball.
