Here’s our Six Nations team of the week from round three: Four players from England and Ireland, three from France, and two each from Scotland and Wales.
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The weekend started off in Dublin. Grand Slam-chasing Ireland made it three bonus-point Six Nations wins from three against Wales at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, racking up their 18th successive home win in the process with a 31-7 victory.
Next up, Duhan van der Merwe scored a superb hat-trick as Scotland beat England 30-21 at Murrayfield on Saturday to claim a fourth successive championship win in the fixture for the first time since 1896.
Then on Sunday, Italy came back to draw 13-13 with France in Lille, but were left to think what might have been after Paulo Garbisi’s last minute penalty hit the post.
Six Nations team of the week: Round 3
15. Ciaran Frawley (Ireland)
14. Ange Capuozzo (Italy)
13. Huw Jones (Scotland)
12. Bundee. Aki (ireland)
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
10. Finn Russell (Scotland)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)
1. Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)
2. Jamie George (England)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
4. Grant Gilchrist (Scotland)
5. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
6. Michele Lamaro (Italy)
7. Rory Darge (Scotland)
8. Ross Vintcent (Italy)
The England team Steve Borthwick should play against Scotland
England made 24 handling errors and conceded 22 turnovers in a ragged display.
#1. Ollie Lawrence
Telegraph 4/10: “Perhaps unsurprisingly was not on the same page as Ford and Slade in both attack and defence in their first game together. Badly fell off a tackle on Redpath that led to Scotland’s third try.”
Planet Rugby 4/10: “Barely saw him in an attacking sense. A few carries, one bad pass, one dropped ball – although that was George Ford’s fault – but not the form we’ve seen in the Premiership.”
RUCK 5/10: “Not what the Bath centre would have wanted upon his return from injury. The powerhouse came alive with some clattering hits, yet threw a wayward pass into touch at 76 minutes that summed up his afternoon. So much more was wanted from England fans, who were excited to see him comeback.”
Replacement: Manu Tuilagi