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France (15 points) Three games played, three bonus-point victories banked and the title at their mercy. If they claim another four-try win at Murrayfield on Saturday week, they will secure the crown with a round to spare, setting up a rousing grand slam opportunity in Paris. Above all else, though, Les Bleus have illuminated this year’s championship with their pace and attacking grace, not least “King” Louis Bielle-Biarrey who has been spectacularly good. How many other sides in the world, aside from South Africa, can also interchange their second-row and midfield pairings without missing a beat? Or casually whistle up gifted youngsters such as Fabien Brau-Boirie, Émilien Gailleton and Gaël Dréan who all look instantly to the manner born. When you factor in the squad’s collective ability with and without the ball – to date France have scored the most tries, 18, and conceded the fewest, five – the future looks dazzlingly bright.

Scotland (11pts) The script has previously been a familiar one. Bask in the rosy glow of beating England, only to come crashing to earth in their next game. This time, finally, they have broken that pattern and still have their destiny in their own hands. France are due an off day and do not always prosper at Murrayfield while, before last Saturday afternoon, more than a few people would have backed them to cause problems in Dublin on the final weekend. The message will be simple: attack as smartly and accurately as they did in their Calcutta Cup fever dream and maintain the defensive organisation that has so far enabled them to concede just six tries in three games. And, of course, keep Finn Russell fit. The quick‑thinking restart that helped to bail his team out against Wales was merely the latest example of his whirring creative brain. A shoutout, too, for Kyle Steyn and Rory Darge who lead the way, respectively, for defenders beaten and turnovers won in this year’s championship.

Ireland (9pts) Sometimes a bad day can crystallise everything. Ireland were nowhere near it in their opener in Paris, so much so that Andy Farrell angrily questioned his side’s “intent” after the game. Having dodged another bullet at home to Italy, the game against England last Saturday was something of a defining occasion. And how brilliantly Ireland responded, delivering perhaps their most compelling performance in a couple of years. Suddenly, Jamison Gibson‑Park looked 25 again, instead of 35, Stuart McCloskey underlined his status as one of the best midfielders in the tournament, and the Irish back-row collectively refound their mojo. With two home games to finish, against Wales and Scotland, a top-half finish beckons, even if the title proves beyond their reach.

England (5pts) Where to start? Maybe with the stark statistics that reflect the steepness of England’s decline. In only three games, they have coughed up 58 turnovers – their highest number at this stage of a Six Nations tournament in 24 years – of which 32 are listed as unforced errors. Alongside 73 points and nine tries conceded in their past two defeats, against Scotland and Ireland inside eight days. Before the tournament started Steve Borthwick was encouraging English supporters to cross the Channel for a potentially memorable final weekend in Paris. On Saturday, by contrast, English fans could be seen streaming out of the ground before the end. Among other things it reflected the widening gap between the good game England are talking and the overly predictable, flawed one they are actually playing. To go 17-0 and 22-0 behind inside the first quarter against the Scots and the Irish in successive weeks is unprecedented and worrying. Defeat in Italy – once unthinkable – is no longer out of the question. And if England are no better in Rome and Paris, what then?

Italy (5pts) Rassie Erasmus predicted before this tournament that Italy would finish in the top half and, not for the first time, the World Cup-winning Springbok guru was ahead of the game. Italy have not only beaten Scotland but were also agonisingly close to defeating Ireland in Dublin. Their 33-8 loss against a fine French team in Lille on Sunday, too, was a much closer contest than the scoreline might suggest. If their centre Tomas Menoncello was English he would be a nailed‑on starter for years to come while the Azzurri scrum has been as effective as any other in the competition. At home against a slightly jittery England with the crowd roaring them on, Louis Lynagh running hard, Exeter’s Andrea Zambonin soaring in the lineout and the Cannone brothers tackling everything that moves? Erasmus was correct: Steve Borthwick’s side can expect a proper examination.

Wales (1pt) Everything is relative, in life and sport, and, given the off-field turbulence in Welsh rugby right now, the near miss at home against Scotland on Saturday was a decent response after a distinctly tough start. There remains a long way to go but Aaron Wainwright, Eddie James and Louis Rees-Zammit all rank highly for post-contact carrying metres and the collective desire under Steve Tandy was apparent against the Scots. Rhys Carré’s close-range strength has been another plus and, to date, they have registered more tries and points than Italy. Unfortunately, they are also conceding more than six tries per game on average, which is not going to win many Tests. That said, their final home fixture, against Italy, should be fiercely contested if they have anything left in the tank physically. And if they can beat the Azzurri they could conceivably finish ahead of England.

Distant horizons

When it comes to going public with a noble ambition, you have to hand it to Mr Koli Sewabu, chief executive of the Fiji Rugby Union. He was among those quoted in the official press release confirming that Wales, along with England and Scotland, will be playing their summer Nations Championship fixture against Fiji on UK soil. In their case the game will be staged in Cardiff City Stadium, as opposed to 10,000 miles away in Suva. “Although our match against Wales won’t be played in Fiji, we’re determined to make each fixture feel every bit like a home game,” said Mr Sewabu. Good luck with that. You don’t find too many gently swaying palm trees or tropical beaches in downtown Cardiff. Nor, for that matter, in Liverpool where England will host Fiji at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Nor at Murrayfield where the Fijians will face Scotland.

Clearly there are thousands of extremely good financial reasons why Fiji will not be hosting these kind of games back home for the foreseeable future. Instead, it is being billed as “an unprecedented opportunity for Fiji Rugby to generate significant commercial returns that can be reinvested into grassroots rugby, enhanced facilities, player welfare, women’s rugby and high-performance programmes back in Fiji.” Fair enough but ask yourself this: what price the competitive integrity of a tournament so skewed in favour of the haves that the have-nots have to surrender home advantage to make the whole concept work logistically? Maybe Fiji will win all their three July Tests anyway. Yet how much stronger would their Nations Championship challenge be if they could play even a couple of games at home, in front of their own adoring, rugby-mad public? Roll on the day when that finally happens.

One to watch

All eyes are on the RFU Council, which is likely to vote this Friday to approve proposals to switch to a franchise-driven English top league from 2029 onwards. It would officially bring down the curtain on the traditional model of promotion and relegation that remains the competitive lifeblood of the club game just across the Channel in France. So, farewell then, intrigue and jeopardy at the bottom of the table and hello, it seems, to an “expansion league” model which, according to some insiders, will involve shelling out about £13.5m simply to buy a seat at the top table. Given the continuing multimillion pound losses of those clubs who are already part of the so-called elite, it is currently hard to view that as a bargain. The moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for.

Memory lane

Long before Antoine Dupont was re-imagining the French scrum-half role, Jacques Fouroux was leading a dynasty of driven No 9s for Les Bleus. Bossy and commanding, Le Petit Caporal, dragged the team to reach his own standards as a player and later as a coach. In 1977, his final year as captain, they beat England 4-3 at Twickenham and Ireland in Dublin on the way to a grand slam.

Still want more?

Rob Kitson gets all George A Romero as he digs into England’s zombie horror at Twickenham.

Bethan McKernan outlines the financial landscape affecting Wales with the WRU ready to cut the professional teams from four to three, with Ospreys the likely choice.

And while England are playing in the summer Nations Championship, it will be a reserve XV that faces Fiji.

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