Ireland backs conspicuous by their absence
France were deserving Six Nations winners but the honours are quite evenly spread in this team of the tournament. Photograph: Stéphane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty ImagesAs is often the case, his game has gone to a different level since joining Toulouse. The stats don’t lie: the most carries , most metres gained , most offloads and line breaks .
Without his sidekick Sione Tuipulotu, the Scottish outside centre was even more of a consistent threat to opposing defences. Jones scored four tries, and made 52 carries for more than 200m. He looks the favourite for the Lions’ 13 Test jersey.A close call with Yoran Moefana, who was outstanding in the last two games, Menoncello was player of the tournament last year and a contender again this year with the consistent quality of his all-round game.
A strong category, as befits the shift in influence from 10 to 9 in the modern game. Jamison Gibson-Park had a good tournament but, though restricted to three-and-a-bit games, Dupont had, in addition to his two tries, the most try assists and second most offloads .Special mention for another mobile workhorse, Zebre prop Danilo Fischetti, as well as Jean-Baptiste Gros, but once again Porter played the most minutes of any prop and put in a huge shift for his team and country, making 52 tackles.
A host of contenders here, the French duo of Thibaud Flament and Mickaël Guillard as well as Wales’s Daffyd Jenkins and Italy’s Federico Ruzza. À la Ireland, Beirne wilted at the end and there were only a couple of steals, but he underlined his lineout qualities and slippery work when defending mauls.Elevated to captaincy and, after being eclipsed against Ireland, his influence grew.
A slow burner of a game that came to the boil in a thunderous final 10 minutes in which the lead changed hands three times. France left four tries behind in a first-half that finished 7-7. But they looked to have done enough when Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s second try of the game put them 25-19 up with five minutes remaining. But England kept their heads and created a match-winning bonus-point try that Elliot Daly finished for Fin Smith’s conversion to seal a win.
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