Six Nations 2019: Every team from Round 4 RATED

Wales dominated Scotland and showed one of the best defensive displays to cement their place at the top of the table, while England absolutely blasted Italy apart in the highest-scoring game of the Championship.

And to wrap it all up when things were looking like a two-horse race, the Irish horse was revived with a stirring win over France who despite a big win over Scotland, fell back to square one with another lacklustre performance. But how did the team's rate?

If ever you want to see how to defend in rugby, and excel to the extent where you could start etching your name on the side of the trophy already, watch Wales. Warren Gatland’s final trip to Edinburgh as Wales boss was arguably his most impressive yet, despite the heroics against England and that comeback in Paris.

An early attack from Josh Adams and a slick finish from Jonathan Davies got the job done in the first half; they were precise and they did the damage early on. But Scotland weren’t down and out like they looked in the first half, and Darcy Graham’s try on his debut gave the home side hope. But I urge you to read Jeremy Guscott’s breakdown of the defensive shift Wales put in, because my word it did the trick on Saturday.

They were never short of bodies, were reading attacks play by play with precision, and were not only anticipating everything from Scotland but they were reacting brilliantly. This defensive style is what wins you Grand Slams, not scoring five or six a game, and as much as it might win the title in ugly fashion and lack flair like Ireland’s high scoring campaign in 2018, you can’t argue it gets things done.

This wasn’t just the chance to sing the praises for Wales though, this was a realisation Scotland have lost their edge. Now before I criticise them, it’s harsh of me given they have had arguably the absolute worst of luck with injuries, but the men on the field on Saturday are not a bad squad and something is going seriously wrong for Gregor’s men at the moment.

They have the ability to work the ball into a good area and win a five-metre line out, or a scrum right in front of the sticks, and they’re gaining nothing from it. Some teams would punish you for even being in your own half, and yet that clinical edge instilled under Vern Cotter and passed down through Gregor Townsend has just left this side completely this year.

We saw the same issue in the autumn and it hasn’t cleared up, but the result of that is that two games we saw Scotland win at home two years ago, have both slipped through their fingers and cost them big time. They need a result in London or for the French to keep the Italians down, and quite frankly we all know what’s more likely.

Wales 4.5/5

Scotland 3/5

This was a weird watch for me, as it felt slightly odd at Twickenham, yet some teams would be loving life if they sent 57 points past them. There was no reason for England fans to be underwhelmed in my view, as Brad Shields, Ben Te’o and most of all Joe Cokanasiga put in some seriously good performances on Saturday night, and proved that England can quite easily swat teams aside when they go for the heavyweight set up. But now it begs the question of what team does Eddie Jones play in Japan?

It’s not a great marker for how good a side is when they wipe Italy away with over a half century of points, but lose to Wales two weeks previous from a winning position. But whatever the outcome, England can snatch the tournament away from Wales and Ireland should results go their way, and it’s hardly looking unrealistic now given their margin of victory last weekend.

For Italy, it’s been another one of those games. Conor O’Shea was seen smiling afterwards and was instantly thrown to the wolves on social media after, but I think that’s a disgrace. He has not won with Italy in three years yes, but he has worked wonders on his team, and to have an issue with a man cracking a smile is beyond me. Are Italy permanently meant to be unhappy and angry, because that’s hardly going to develop a team with everyone throwing a tantrum as a default setting.

I understand the frustrations, but cut them some slack, and remember they are facing five of the best teams in all of rugby. It’s not easy, but O’Shea will get there in time. In the meantime, I guess we just have to wonder how Jones will pick his team this week as they try to regain the Calcutta Cup. I won’t be surprised to see Cokanasiga and Shields again that’s for sure.

England 4/5

Italy 2/5

How good was Jordan Larmour? That man single handedly brought back the Ireland we’ve been missing and he wasn’t even in the starting line up on Sunday morning. Injury stole Rob Kearney from Ireland, but Larmour’s creativity kick started an outstanding showing from the title holders, who quite simply dominated France, and reminded us that despite a big win last time out against Scotland, they’re still in building their bridge over troubled waters.

They have the squad, and they have the potential, and I can see them making the World Cup quarters, if not the semis. But the coaching is what’s killing their hopes, and this is a team who will be the ones who never could if they come away from this generation with no silverware to show for it. They were spirited in their comeback, and they gave Ireland a good go, but the too little too late adage spoke volumes for this one, as 14 late points took the shine off Ireland’s win. Speaking of which…

Schmidt bowed out of the Aviva Stadium one last time in the Six Nations, and he will without a doubt go down as one of the greatest Ireland coaches of all time. He has worked wonders on Irish rugby, and three titles and a Grand Slam are a hell of a way to show how good you’ve been. A big performance would’ve been the perfect send off for him, and it was just that until they dropped off in the last hour, but the bonus point victory was all they needed as they run into next weekend’s decider against Wales. Irish rugby will forever be in debt to Schmidt, and the squad he leaves behind have so much potential to go further under Andy Farrell, and as we sat and watched what we now call a routine performance from Ireland, it was hard to sit and think what life will be like without him at the helm of Irish rugby.

They might not win the title, but there’s an awful lot of positives to take away from this, with the biggest lift of all being that they know how good they can be and that anything is possible in the green of Ireland. For now, we can look forward to their trip to the Principality Stadium, but Farrell is going to have a lot of fun with this team, and for that we can only thank Schmidt for the future he has built for a team that for years never quite could.

Ireland 4/5

France 2.5/5