Tuesday 1 March 2016 10:18, UK
Stuart Barnes reflects on the weekend's Six Nations action and the scintillating start to the Super Rugby season...
1. It is not yet time for England fans to get carried away; excited, yes, carried away, most certainly not.
They are now two matches from their first Grand Slam in 13 years but the presence of New Zealand coach Steve Hansen in Saturday's crowd at Twickenham was a stark reminder that they are some distance from becoming one of the best teams in the world.
The Six Nations has been average in the extreme and to recognise the fact is to ensure the results don't get confused with the quality of the performances.
Having said that, England have steadied themselves after the World Cup but the biggest test in Europe awaits them in the shape of Wales. Their World Cup conquerors are hardly in mint condition themselves but they will travel to Twickenham without any trepidation. This game now appears to be the title decider.
2. I say that despite France being in contention with two wins from three games. But they were as poor in defeat Friday night in Cardiff as they had been in victory in their previous two games.
By the time England head to Paris it would be a surprise to see them in anything but their usual state of disarray. We are at a stage where a French win in Edinburgh would constitute a shock.
3. Which brings us around to Scotland and their first Six Nations win in 10 attempts; it might only have been against Italy but they made it look easy.
Stuart Hogg's classy interventions were a highlight for those of us starved of any subtlety behind the scrum but the Scottish scrum was the most significant aspect of the game. With WP Nel at the heart of it, Scotland's eight scrummaged the traditionally powerful Italian eight off the park.
Don't rule Wales out of winning the Six Nations but you can write off their tour to New Zealand in the summer unless they find a variation to the crash bang wallop theme.
France rely on their set piece to bludgeon their way into games. Against a confident opposition like the Scottish pack, Guy Noves' team will struggle to gain any ascendancy in which case it will be curtains for France and celebrations for Scotland.
I feared that France had made a mistake when they appointed Noves as their coach and after three games those fears have been realised. France are in the merde.
4. French failings may have been fortunate for Wales because the title seekers are not playing with any conviction in attack. Once again the organised power of their defence was the dominant factor in the victory.
The quality of performance as opposed to the pure result that Warren Gatland mentioned pre-tournament sounds like so many words as Wales play it like Wales.
Don't rule them out of winning the title but you can write off their tour to New Zealand in the summer unless they find a variation to the crash bang wallop theme. The All Blacks have a slightly sharper offensive game to the French.
5. But what about England's attack? Against Ireland there was a massive reliance on Billy Vunipola. The No 8 was outstanding but seeing comparisons with Jonah Lomu in print brought a wry smile to my face. Billy can bounce them off but he doesn't have the turbo boosters of the late, great man.
Wales will fancy their chances. If they can stop England's main man on or before the gain line as Ireland could not, England might be forced to play in retreat. There are no signs that either of the scrum-halves or George Ford and Owen Farrell are ready to play their way out of extreme pressure.
6. The same cannot be said for the Jaguares, who did just that. Admittedly the tension wasn't ratcheted quite as high in Bloemfontein but the Argentine team kept their nerve well to play their way from a 24-3 deficit to win their inaugural game of Super Rugby. It was another landmark day for the fast evolving South Americans.....
7. And while on the subject of South Americans how about a cheer for Brazil, who produced a serious shock by beating the USA in the Americas Rugby Championship.
Obviously some of the USA's finest are busy playing in Europe, but even so, the sport should celebrate such a win for a developing rugby nation.
8. The result of the weekend belonged to Brazil but performance of the weekend has to go to the Brumbies. The Hurricanes were blown away (well, give a team a daft name etc) by an 80-minute effort that concentrated on a superb European-style set piece with southern hemisphere dynamism.
The driving lineout of the Australian team is magnificent, their scrum is good, they have arguably the best player in the world in David Pocock, the best organised defence, the power of Henry Speight and Tevita Kuridrani, not to mention one of the sharpest rugby minds of them all, Stephen Larkham, now at the helm.
They are my tip to wrest the Super Rugby title from New Zealand.
9. That won't be easy. The Chiefs were extremely impressive in victory against the Crusaders in Christchurch and while the champions, the Highlanders, may have lost in Auckland, they will be back to winning ways shortly with the acute rugby brains of the two Smiths, Aaron and Ben, in tandem.
It was quite an extreme on Friday; I watched Super Rugby's first two games of the season in a state of delight and then suffered the worst 40 minutes of Six Nations rugby I can remember in Cardiff.
The Millennium Stadium is a rugby cathedral but by full-time I was just praying for the game to end.
10. Should Mike Brown be cited for reckless use of the boot? If the laws say as much he could be in a spot of bother as he did hack away a few times, trying to boot the ball from the contact situation and there's no doubt Conor Murray's face was in close proximity.
Technically it was 'reckless'. Yet this suggests the problem is with the law rather than the player. Any contact with the scrum-half was accidental. Make it illegal to fly hack (which always has potential for a nasty accident when the ball is so close to bodies) and then if players continue to kick out at the ball, the answer is obvious.
Joe Schmidt has suggested the game bans kicking when the ball is within the ruck; that seems the right solution.
Schmidt himself requires a few solutions after two losses and a draw for Ireland but Stuart McCloskey, Josh van der Flier and Ultan Dillane's debuts suggest Ireland might quickly emerge from the darkness into the dawn.
I'll get off the fence and tip them to beat Italy next up.
