Wow, great game. High quality throughout and Scotland, I thought, played as well as I've seen them play for quite some time - and yet it proved nowhere near enough to beat France who appeared to be on the back foot for long periods and yet never really Looked like they were ever going to lose. Gregor Townsend should be pleased in particular with the performance of young flanker Rory Darge, while Messrs Galthié, Edwards et al can now look forward to what now looks like a nailed-on Grand Chelem.

I hate England v Wales Six Nations clashes - all way too tense and stressful - and this game proved to be no different. At 17-0 up England really should have put this one to bed but, to be honest, they never looked completely convincing and the inevitable Welsh comeback exposed some glaring defensive flaws. More on England in another post but this game, while not lacking in second-half drama and excitement, came nowhere close to the quality of the earlier Scotland-France encounter.

And on to Dublin on Sunday where an ass of a law turned the game into a farce, with the sending off of Italian replacement hooker Hame Faiva leading to uncontested scrums and Ireland having to play against 13 for the best part of an hour (and then 12 for the last few minutes). Bizarrely, Ireland looked pretty slick playing against 15, but a shambolic rabble when faced with 13. Ireland gained nothing from this game other than a big points difference, whereas at least Italy can be proud of their defiant defence.

15. Michael Lowry 14. Alex Cuthbert 13. Gail Fickou 12. Jonathan Danty 11. Damian Penaud 10. Marcus Smith 9. Tomos Williams 1. Danillo Fischetti 2. Julian Marchand 3. Uini Atonio  4. Maro Itoje 5. Ryan Baird 6. Josh van der Flier 7. Rory Darge 8. Alex Dombrandt