This year's Six Nations tournament came to a close last weekend; almost every team showed moments of being unbeatable and it was definitely one of the most exciting tournaments that we've seen for the last few years! Ireland, in the end, made it look pretty straightforward as they wrapped up what was their third Grand Slam. Surprise positions came from England (5th) and Wales (2nd).
As always - enjoy the read...
Ireland (Winners)
This Ireland side looked like the Northern Hemisphere equivalent to the All Blacks and there wasn't a single moment throughout the Six Nations where they even looked beatable. None of the other teams really hit top form however, so the extent to which Ireland can be claimed as the 'Kings' of the North is a little bit masked - we'll just have to wait and find out at the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan.
Standout player:
Jacob Stockdale
The Ulster winger led the Championships' try-scoring leaderboard, managing to cross the whitewash an impressive seven times. The youngster has made a monumental step up this year, and no doubt he will become one of the Irish greats in the future.
Wales (2nd)
Many, including myself, completely wrote Wales off before the Six Nations kicked off and I had envisaged the Welsh finishing in (or around) 5th - so I am majorly impressed by their 2nd place finish in the end. Wales no doubt had the worst injury dilemmas out of the six respective nations, and to come into their first game against Scotland and play in the way they did was unreal. They played every minute of the tournament at a tempo that was unmatchable and the Scarlets' contingent in the Welsh squad truly stepped up.
Standout Player:
Aaron Shingler
Shingler was probably the glue that held this Welsh campaign together, with his dominance in the breakdown, big defensive efforts during every minute he was involved with and ball carrying, he is undoubtedly my Welsh Standout player.
Scotland (3rd)
For the second year in a row, Scotland came out of the Six Nations with three victories (one of those being the first Calcutta Cup victory in over a decade); a third-place finish is a cherry on top of the cake and Gregor Townsend certainly has a platform to build upon for the World Cup next year. Huw Jones was incredible, Finn Russell distinctly average at times and Greig Laidlaw (stepping up after a poor performance from Ali Price against Wales) showed that he still has it. However, Scotland's opener against Wales in Cardiff was woeful - the Scots threw away their Championship-winning contention at the first possible chance.
Standout Player:
Huw Jones
Huw Jones looked the complete package this year, and the threat he provides for the Scotland team matches or even surpasses Stuart Hogg's. An incredibly gifted line runner who can link up with his midfield compatriot and back three to create one of the best back lines there is. If he got his defensive game up to the levels it could be, he'd be one of the best centres in the world.
France (4th)
For a team that lacked any sort of cohesion before the Six Nations, with a head coach that was penned in only a few months ago in a desperate move, and a domestic league that has been almost taken over by foreign (specifically Southern Hemisphere talent) - no-one saw France as any sort of challengers in this year's Six Nations. Les Blues took three games to find their real rhythm, and some antics in Edinburgh after their defeat to Scotland led to quite a few omissions from the side, but France eventually showed what they had to offer. Italy and, surprisingly, England fell to defeats from Les Blues, and the games in which they did lose it was only by small margins - with Johnny Sexton's drop goal after 80 minutes in Paris one of the main reasons Ireland got the Grand Slam.
Standout Player:
Yacouba Camara
I had never really focused too much on Camara before this year's Six Nations, but I was very impressed with what he brought to the French table. The dynamism he was able to play with, at a very high tempo, for a full 80 minutes was insane. Definitely one of the most athletic blindside flankers there is.
England (5th)
An absolutely dire performance from England at this year's Six Nations with their only victories coming against Wales and Italy. So much was promised in the lead-up to the tournament and almost every player (apart from the likes of Owen Farrell & Sam Simmonds, and possibly a few extra) gave incredibly underwhelming performances. The only real positive from the English campaign was that this performance came when it did, and not during the Six Nations; Eddie Jones now knows who can't step up and perform on the international stage and hopefully, there will be a complete overhaul.
England set-piece was awful, which can be largely attributed to Dylan Hartley's continuing presence in the side, the breakdown was a complete mess and discipline was absolutely shocking. I'm not sure if the twin-playmaker system of Ford & Farrell is still England's best option, and if Eddie Jones decides to stick with it then I'd much prefer to see a Farrell - Slade/Lozowski partnership as George Ford has shown he really isn't cut out for the international stage. England needs to find a back-row that works and they need to stick to it. The back-row problems really weren't helped by Billy Vunipola's absence through injury, but Ben Te'o and Nathan Hughes were supposed to be England's remedies for ball carrying and shifting the ball forwards, but they really didn't match up to the Saracens giant. Dan Cole also needs to go - Ireland's Tadhg Furlong showed what a Tighthead Prop should offer around the pitch and I think many would argue he was the best player in the pack throughout the tournament. Cole offers a lot in the scrum (albeit through dirty and illegal scrummaging tactics) but off the ball, he's like Leicester's Mulipola - he has no idea what he's doing.
Standout Player:
Jonny May
Bit of an odd selection to make considering no-one really played well in an England shirt. May was the biggest threat that England had, and for that reason he gets the pick. Many would have singled out Owen Farrell or Sam Simmonds, but Farrell was awful from the tee and struggled to put away tackles and Simmonds didn't get as much play time as the rest of the squad.
Italy (6th)
I'm not sure where I stand on the Italians. Italian Rugby is undoubtedly growing and their argument to remain in the Six Nations hit a new level this tournament. They found young talent in Sebastian Negri and Matteo Minozzi, but Jake Polledri's omission until the last game was stupid. He has been the best ball carrier in the Aviva Premiership this season and arguably the best blindside flanker. He'd slot into any of the other sides from the start, but for some reason, he wasn't even included on the bench for four of the five games. Conor O'Shea made a big mistake and I have no doubt in saying Italy could have finished higher if it weren't for his omission.
Standout Player:
Matteo Minozzi
Minozzi was a revelation for the Azzurri at the Six Nations, his scintillating footwork and real eye for a gap in the opposition line meant he was one of the best attacking full-backs in the Six Nations. He will be one of the big talents, alongside Sebastian Negri and Jake Polledri, in the future of this Italian side under Conor O'Shea.
As always, give me your own thoughts below!