Live

LIVE: OTB Breakfast

07:30 AM-10:00 AM

LIVE: OTB Breakfast
Advertisement
Rugby

Six Nations Breakdown: England are Champions as Scotland beat France

With a dramatic weekend of Six Nations under our belts, it's time to reflect on some of the key t...



Six Nations Breakdown: England...
Rugby

Six Nations Breakdown: England are Champions as Scotland beat France

With a dramatic weekend of Six Nations under our belts, it's time to reflect on some of the key takeaways this round of games has produced.

A huge turnaround for England

England were crowned Six Nations champions on Sunday without even having to kick a ball...although they were working considerably harder on Saturday to ensure that they got into that position.

Their journey to the top of the pile, with their eyes set on a Grand Slam next weekend as they meet France, was hardly something that they would have imagined after a disastrous World Cup on home soil that saw them crash out at the group stage.

Image: ©INPHO/Andrew Fosker

Eddie Jones has made his side resilient, tough and fairly nasty, but there's no doubt that they also have something a bit more about them than they did under Stuart Lancaster. That may have lead some of his old players to warn Harlequins against taking him on to replace the departing Conor O'Shea, but there's no comparison between this side and the team that fell apart and made poor decisions in the game against Wales.

The first Six Nations win since 2011 is a step in the right direction for Jones, but having seen how Ireland fared against teams from the southern hemisphere at the last World Cup, he will know not to count his chickens just yet.

Scotland reap the rewards

There has been a lot of focus on the promise or the potential that Scotland have in their ranks since their impressive display against Australia in the World Cup, narrowly losing a game that they looked as though they could snatch from the favourites. 

During the Six Nations they have yet to hit those highs again, but they certainly came close on Sunday, proving to be clinical and even show inventiveness and guile when they needed to. 

France traveled to Murrayfield needing a win, but it was Scotland who looked to be the team in contention for a tilt at a title on the day. Despite the loss of Finn Russell and the concession of a try early on, they fought back and were far too good for Guy Noves' side. 

François Trinh-Duc left at least five points out there as his kicking radar was off on the day, while Scotland produced the play of the game as Stuart Hogg's flick found Tim Visser for a stunning try.

The home crowd cheered everything their side did in defence as well, as they put in some hard yards to keep France out and seal a historic 29-18 win. 

They will travel to Dublin next week on a six day turnaround, but the bruises and stiff muscles will be helped in their healing by the fact that this was their first win over France since 2006. They are, as Joe Schmidt warned on Saturday evening, a tougher proposition than many give them credit for. 

Scotland's Tim Visser celebrates with his family after the match
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Rugby