The opening weekend of the Six Nations delivered three bonus-point wins and set the tone for a mouth-watering championship. Favourites France dominated Wales on Friday night without having to hit top gear ahead of their trip to Twickenham on Saturday, while Ireland ground England down and then burst through a tired defence at will to stay far enough ahead of a late fightback. And Scotland showed Italy the danger of not finishing your chances as they repelled a number of threatening attacks and rode a Huw Jones hat-trick to start in the perfect fashion ahead of hosting Ireland this week.

Home nations players are battling it out not just for Six Nations glory but also their Lions places, while France are trying to knock Ireland off their perch and Italy look as strong as they have ever been. But who stood out most on weekend one? NIK SIMON picks his finest XV. A stylish performance that reeked of French swagger. His understanding of Antoine Dupont from Toulouse allows him to step in at first receiver, with unconventional link play that caught the Welsh off-guard.

He plays in the image of the team’s coach, Fabien Galthie, with a nonchalance and off-the-cuff unpredictability. France’s most reliable goal-kicker for years, he also kicked a huge 50-22 with a dominant performance from the boot. Thomas Ramos converted four tries as France thrashed Wales 43-0 in Paris on Friday night. The supply line of French wingers is thriving. Scoring two tries on debut, he filled in superbly for Damian Penaud.

France’s powerful forwards sucked in Welsh defenders through the middle of the pitch and Attissogbe used his lightning speed to punish them when the space opened up out wide. He read kick-pass situations well and showed deft footwork as another frightening youngster emerged through the ranks. A tournament-ending injury to Sione Tuipulotu cast doubt over Scotland’s midfield but Jones immediately stepped out of the shadow of his absent partner. Clinical in attack, he ran intelligent support lines that earned him the only hat-trick of the weekend. If this form continues for club and country then he will edge himself towards Andy Farrell’s Lions squad.

Once again showed that Italy have one of the most impressive midfield partnerships, alongside Ignacio Brex. A battling performance in defeat, making more offloads and post-contact metres than anyone else across round one. He puts up an 80-minute fight where previous Italian teams have collapsed in the final quarter. Tommaso Menoncello was arguably Italy's top performer in their 31-19 defeat by Scotland.

His powerful carries down the left wing left English defenders trodden into the ground like road-kill. Lowe’s attacking stats were higher than anyone in Dublin and his physicality was laced with smart link-play and deception. He did not score any tries of his own but he bagged a hat-trick of assists in the build-up to all of Ireland’s match-turning moments. Not a stellar weekend for No 10s, with Romain Ntamack sent off and Finn Russell riddled with errors.

Crowley only played the final quarter but he changed the flow of the game, leading Ireland through a purple patch of 14 points in eight minutes. He showed game understanding to change tack, cutting off the supply of long kicks for unstructured English attacks. Antoine Dupont is the obvious pick but France’s golden wonder was operating off the back of an utterly dominant French pack. Gibson-Park had to think and adapt his way through the game, fixing tired defenders to create space as the second half opened up.

The support line and sidestep for his first-half try showed why he is the front-runner to be the Lions No 9. Jamison Gibson-Park scored the first of Ireland's three tries in Saturday's win over England. Justified his selection ahead of the experienced Cyril Baille with an all-action display. He did the fundamentals of a prop at the scrum but also brings a more dynamic edge with his mobility and ball-carrying.

The dynamic hooker played the game like an inside centre, delivering an all-court impact from the bench. In just his second game in six months after injury, he carved open the English defence with offloads, line-breaks and 25-metre passes. Ireland looked unstoppable as they ran riot in the second half and Sheehan was at the heart of the action. Provided a cornerstone for the Scottish set-piece for almost 70 minutes. Scotland lack tighthead depth behind Fagerson, with his understudy Will Hurd short of Premiership gametime at Leicester.

Fagerson’s engine ensured his team had a solid attacking platform throughout, chipping in with an impressive 16 carries of his own. Zander Fagerson impressed for Scotland against Italy at Murrayfield, especially at set-pieces. Almost 23st of raw Polynesian power is enough to trouble the world’s best defences. He set the physical tone against Wales, ensuring Warren Gatland’s sorry side were buried under the weight of the French pack.