The Six Nations had a final day of twists and turns that left everyone guessing until the final minute to which team would be the 2026 champions. This is how sport should be played and why it is so hard to predict because teams can raise their game for a one off decider.
The day started off with Ireland defeating Scotland in Dublin which to be fair was going to have no bearing on the results as France knew they had to win if they were to raise the Six Nations trophy. Ireland winning meant they had an outside chance of winning the title if France lost to England later in the day.
The second match was a match of pride really with Wales hosting Italy and Wales knowing a win would still have them holding the wooden spoon coming last. What they were fighting for was their first win in 3 years having lost the last 15 games. Wales eventually overcame their demons and won even though Italy had two tries ruled out. Italy can be very proud of their campaign and they are the most improved side who are building for the future and will be stronger next season.
The big match of the day commonly known as Le Crunch between France and England in Paris was always going to be the Championship decider. Quite incredibly the French won the match in injury time when England was penalized for a high tackle and lost the game by 48-46 losing their 4th game in a row. This was a 13 try thriller that twisted and turned right to the final whistle. This is the best advert for the sport because the entertainment value is off the charts.
No one expected England to regroup and push the French so close having been so disappointing in this tournament. They were not clinical and had an opportunity to win this game had they used their brains with one moment of madness not scoring under the poles and instead scoring out wide only to miss the conversion. That was 2 points squandered and there were some other blatant errors that cannot be done at this level.
The beauty about the Six nations is the teams are of a similar level and France are just a small percent better than the others. A tournament played over 5 matches will se an upset or two and there have been a number of unexpected results which is healthy for the sport.
New Zealand South Africa and Argentina will be looking forward to playing the Six Nation teams later this year with no major concerns or worries. The difference when the sides meet is the southern hemisphere will be starting their international season whilst those from the northern hemisphere will be at the end of theirs. This evens out when the roles are reversed in November and still expect the southern hemisphere to dominate this new event.
Will we see some changes with coaches as teams will go through a review and Borthwick the England coach has o explain why the team lost 4 matches in a row and have finished their lowest ever on the log in 5th place. I do not see how he can hang on to this role even if he is still the best candidate according to many. managing players takes a special type of person to get the best out of players and if you are doing your job should have known what was causing his team to lose. The job is unfortunately results driven and winning 1 out of 5 is a failure and this is the reality.