Six Nations team of the tournament: France and England dominate after ‘Super Saturday’ deciders

The longest Six Nations in history finally reached a conclusion at the weekend as England beat Ireland and France to the title, clinching a third championship triumph under Eddie Jones in the space of five years.

‘Super Saturday’ perhaps didn’t quite live up to its billing, but it did still produce a nail-biting finish as England went into the final game of the tournament at the mercy of the two teams involved, with both hosts France and Ireland able to beat them to the title.

As it proved, neither was able to secure the victory they needed, but both teams went out with a bang in a thrilling finale in Paris as the French recorded their fourth win of the campaign to finish runner-up in the championship for the first time in nine years as they look to build towards their home 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Ireland may have come up short, but they went out swinging in Paris, while Scotland ended their championship on a high by defeating Wales away from home for the first time since 2002 in the Six Nations, giving Gregor Townsend’s side something to cheer.

For England, it proved a championship to remember, although they will still rue the opening weekend defeat by France that cost them a Grand Slam, though lucky for them it wasn’t enough to prevent them from sealing the title.

Taking into account the five-round tournament across eight long months, here’s The Independent’s Six Nations team of the tournament.

15. Anthony Bouthier (France)

What this tournament proved was that the top priority for a full-back remains reliability. Stuart Hogg and Jordan Larmour brought the flair, but they also produced costly performances when it mattered most, while Bouthier was simply brilliant in Cardiff and impressed against England too. His moment of madness against Ireland aside, he barely put a foot wrong.

14. Jonny May (England)

Not the most obvious choice but then it wasn’t an outstanding tournament for wingers. However, had he not produced two sublime solo efforts in Paris to draw England back into the fight and secure a losing bonus point, there would have been no title to celebrate.

13. Virimi Vakatawa (France)

It has taken Vakatawa time on the international stage to start playing with the confidence that he displayed this year, but he is benefitting from being in a back line that now functions on instinct and ability rather than control and caution. A try in the final game against Ireland was an ample reward for a good championship.

12. Gael Fickou (France)

Equally as impressive on the wing as he was at centre, Fickou was excellent in leading the French defence in shackling England early on, before going on to show his athletic ability out wide against Ireland to set up two tries for his teammates. Fickou has been knocking on the door of world class but never displayed the consistency to achieve it. He may just be on the right path now.

11. Josh Adams (Wales)

Adams got Wales off to a flyer way back in round one with the only hat-trick of the championship. Though his try-scoring form dipped, his performances didn’t as he constantly looked a danger.

10. Romain Ntamack (France)

It’s a shame that seven months spread the masterclass against Wales and the tournament finale against Ireland, otherwise we’d be talking about Ntamack as arguably the most in-form No 10 in the world right now. He was a joy to watch from the sixth minute against England in their tournament opener to the very end of the victory over Ireland on Saturday.

9. Antoine Dupont (France)

Every great fly-half needs a partner in crime and Dupont was certainly that man to Ntamack. The brains and the brilliance that breathes life into the French back line, Dupont was able to see and do things that no one else could, with his dazzling moments against England and Ireland of particular note.

1. Rory Sutherland (Scotland)

Scotland ended the tournament with something they haven’t had for a long time: a scrum. That was thanks largely to Sutherland, who showed good consistency throughout the tournament in coping with whatever was thrown at him.

2. Jamie George (England)

George has found himself under pressure from Luke Cowan-Dickie but that hasn’t prevented him in delivering what’s expected of him. Cropped up with a try on his 50th appearance for England on Saturday and he has developed into one of the true leaders of the pack.

3. Kyle Sinckler (England)

A good tighthead prop rarely gets talked about when they are doing things right, and for Sinckler it was a good tournament in working on his scrum skills and doing more of the basics that a prop is asked to do. We know he can turn his hand at roles in the back line and with powerful carrying around the breakdown, but what impressed more were his front-row skills coming to the fore.

4. Maro Itoje (England)

The most disruptive player in world rugby right now, Itoje seems to be able to poach the ball from any ruck, maul or lineout as he just has a knack of being everywhere at once. He also his more attacking mauls than any other players in the tournament, and the clock is ticking on when - not if - he becomes the next England captain.

5. Bernard Le Roux (France)

Le Roux was perhaps lucky to be available for the final round of fixtures but he made his presence count as he picked up where he left off back in the spring. He has an explosive power about him for a lock, and brought a good level of aggression to games as France disrupted and unsettled their opponents at close quarters.

6. Tom Curry (England)

Given the task of standing in for an injured Billy Vunipola at No 8, and did himself no disservice in the slightest. Bounced back from a ticky outing in France to impress, and returned to flanker to have a big impact defensively on Italy to mark himself out as one of the best back-row forwards currently playing the game.

7. Jamie Ritchie (Scotland)

He may have had to make do with playing on the blindside but he dovetailed with Hamish Watson superbly to give Scotland the best defensive breakdown in the championship. He marked himself out as one to watch in last year’s Six Nations, and this year he delivered on that promise with a string of strong performances that culminated in a man-of-the-match display against Wales.

8. Gregory Alldritt (France)

By our accounts, the player of the tournament. Alldritt was influential in every one of France’s Six Nations matches, making the most metres of any forward in the tournament and the second-most carries of all. The No 8 also put in a huge amount of defending over the five rounds, and looks to be a real star of the future.