Ireland and England edged two desperately close encounters while France ran amok against Italy as the third round of the Guinness Six Nations delivered more thrills and spills.
Wales went into their Six Nations clash against Ireland as 25-1 no-hopers but ended it with pride restored and re-established as a competitive force after giving the Grand Slam-chasing Irish their biggest test of the Six Nations so far.
“There is loads for us to get better at” was Maro Itoje’s diplomatic assessment as England staged the ultimate smash and grab raid on Scotland, who dominated the Allianz Stadium showdown on just about every meaningful attacking metric including the try count of three to one.
But when the going got tough, the tough got going, with Ringrose’s replacement Bundee Aki making a breathtaking contribution in all areas and rookie fly-half Sam Prendergast kicking three nerveless penalties when pressure was at its most intense.
Fabien Galthie wanted a reaction after France blew their chance against England in round two and his heavily-changed team duly delivered an 11-try rout of Italy.
