LONG READ Six Nations: Team of round one

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1. Wyn Jones (Wales)

Laced a bruising physical display with some lovely flourishes in open field, including a couple of deft off-loads. Jones cut his teeth scrummaging against the gnarled old bulls of the Welsh game at Llandovery, and it shows in how he handles himself in the set-piece. Wayne Pivac has a slew of fine loose-heads, but for now, the jersey emphatically belongs to Jones.

Elsewhere, Rory Sutherland delivered his customary blend of power in the scrum and dynamism in the loose.

2. George Turner (Scotland)

Entered 2021 as Scotland’s third-choice hooker. Began the Six Nations starting at Twickenham. There was much anguished mopping of brows in Scotland over Turner’s throwing, but his darts were nigh-perfect. Scotland did not lose a single of their 15 line-outs.

Turner is a beast on the carry and in the tackle, and this felt like a coming of age for the hooker. He was criminally starved of game time at Edinburgh before shifting west to Glasgow and carving his path in the professional game.

3. Zander Fagerson (Scotland)

Fast becoming a serious Lions contender. Fagerson dealt with England’s meaty pack in the scrum and made a heap of telling contributions at the breakdown. Tomas Francis is a close second after a mighty shift featuring 19 tackles at the Principality.

4. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)

An incredibly close call between Beirne and Alun Wyn Jones, who, at 35 after a nine-week injury lay-off, put in a colossal defensive shift and a host of dominant tackles.

Beirne edges it for his ubiquitous display for an Ireland side shorn of Peter O”Mahony for 66 minutes. He made a frightening 21 carries, including a clean break, pounced for Ireland’s first-half try and was a constant pest over ball.

5. Jonny Gray (Scotland)

Gray was the premier lock at Twickenham. Because he is so machine-like in his consistency, the Scot’s excellence is often overlooked. He was Scotland’s top tackler, and second-top carrier, bossed the skies and was generally a horrible big lump to play against.

6. Justin Tipuric (Wales)

We’ve cheated a bit here to squeeze in Tipuric and Hamish Watson, but both were just too good to leave out. Barring one slip in the lead-up to Beirne’s try, Tipuric was sensational for a Wales team that for long spells, had to defend for grim death.

He made a crazy tally of nearly 30 tackles, including one potentially try-saving hit, pilfered a couple of outrageous turnovers, and injected pace and impetus every time he carried.

7. Hamish Watson (Scotland)

This weekend’s showdown at Murrayfield between Tipuric and Watson will be incredible. The Scot is a tiger, all snarl and anger and rugged refusal to be quelled. He smashed a couple of Englishmen in the tackle, was utterly relentless over ball, and beat four defenders en route to gobbling up 23m with ball in hand. In bossing Tom Curry, Watson offered a timely reminder to Warren Gatland of his Lions credentials.

8. CJ Stander (Ireland)

With O’Mahony gone, and Johnny Sexton injured, Ireland needed a leader – step forward, CJ Stander. What a colossal performance this was from the Munster eight. Stander carries like an ox on pre-workout powder. No forward in the opening round bettered his haul of 46m for 18 bullocking charges. He even lined up the hulking Taulupe Faletau, barrelled straight at his opposite man, and sent the Welsh juggernaut careering backwards on to his buttocks. Stander emerged as a totem for Ireland in their hour of need.

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9. Antoine Dupont (France)

The rugby world is running out of superlatives for the 24-year-old Toulouse native. Dupont is now a recognised superstar of the game and playing like one, week-in, week-out. His support running on the shoulder of attackers is why he scored his eighth try for France in 28 Tests, and his impudent offload to Arthur Vincent when he looked like he’d been shackled, showed his predilection for creating the extraordinary. He ended up with game with four ‘assists’, a joint-tournament record with Frederic Michalak. He wasn’t perfect, with two ambitious kicks for the corner going out of play, but he picked his now customary Man of the Match award.