Another round of Six Nations rugby is over and there are just three teams left in the title race with two games to go.
France are the only side still on for a Grand Slam after strolling past Scotland, with the game between England and Ireland now essentially a knockout after they beat Wales and Italy respectively.
French dominance, disarray in Dublin and England’s possible identity crisis were all on the agenda in the round three review from BBC Radio 5 Live’s Rugby Union Daily.
Can anyone stop ‘relentless’ France?
France thrived in their first away game of the tournament, powering past Scotland for a 36-17 win at Murrayfield.
Former British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton says the result on the road is a “real sign” that France can win their first title since 2010.
“I was in awe watching them,” he said.
“They went away from home and put Scotland to the sword good and proper. It was relentless breakdown pressure and amazing counter-attack.
“It is going to be very hard to stop them winning the Grand Slam.”
But Warburton says if anyone can stop France, England can.
While Scotland struggled to match the power offered by 22st 12lb prop Uini Atonio or talented lock Cameron Woki, Warburton thinks England can take France on up front when they travel to Paris on the final weekend.
“England are most likely to stop France because they have got that power and pace to potentially match them,” he added.
“It will be fascinating to see what England do out in France.”
What can be learned from 15 v 13?
The most confusing moment of the weekend was without a doubt when Italy were forced to go down to 13 men against Ireland.
The Azzurri’s starting hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi had already gone off injured when replacement Hame Faiva was given a red card for a high tackle on Dan Sheehan in the 18th minute.
Lacking a specialist in the front row, Italy forced uncontested scrums. The visitors still had to replace a back with a forward to make sure they had eight in their pack and had to lose another player as punishment for being the side responsible for uncontested scrums.
Down to 13 men, a heavy defeat was a foregone conclusion and Ireland claimed a 57-6 bonus-point win.
Former England captain Dylan Hartley hopes the incident prompts a review of rugby’s lawbook.
“As soon as that happened, I lost interest,” he said.
“Before this World Cup comes around [in 2023]they have got a perfect chance to address that.
“[Ireland head coach] Andy Farrell would have got more out of that game if it was 15 on 15. What do you learn from that? Does anyone benefit from that?
“The impact of a player leaving the field is huge. I would like to see that addressed.”
What is England’s identity?
New England struggled to emerge from the old as Eddie Jones’ side relied on a solid defense to hold on for at 23-19 win against Wales.
Warburton was “confused” by the performance, wondering what England’s current identity is on the field.
Aside from some moments of individual brilliance from fly-half Marcus Smith, the hosts struggled to string together their attack and scored one try to Wales’ three.
Hartley said: “I believe England are an attacking team based around a good set-piece foundation.
“Whether they are executing it 100%, I don’t think they’re quite there yet but they’re working on it and that is plain to see.
“They have switched their philosophy to an attacking mindset. To win games now, you need to attack. You can’t defend, exert pressure and hope to squeeze points out.”
Can Wales fix their slow starts?
Wales went 17-0 down to England before they burst to life, giving themselves a chance of victory in the last play of the game before the hosts shut them down.
Against Ireland in round one, they did not make it across the tryline until the 74th minute and crossed in the 31st minute in victory against Scotland.
After the Twickenham defeat, Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies questioned why they only produced their best rugby when England were so far ahead.
“They threw caution to the wind,” he said on BBC Two’s Rugby Special.
“When they had the opportunities, they played off the cuff. I don’t understand why they played in a structured manner in the first half.”
How can Scotland improve?
Scotland impressed in an opening victory against England, but a narrow loss to Wales halted their momentum and the latest defeat against France effectively ends their title hopes.
Gregor Townsend’s side conceded 12 penalties, knocked the ball on four times and made 24 handling errors against France – errors they could not afford to make against such a strong side.
Hartley believes Scotland struggled to match France physically, but Davies saw room for improvement in the backs too.
“Scotland had no continuity and made too many mistakes,” Davies said.
“They were so lateral [in attack]. Scotland at the moment look lovely and they’ve got talented players but they can’t go lateral.”
Reference-www.bbc.co.uk