Five talking points from final round of Six Nations

France overpowered Scotland to assistance this year's Six Nations, with England hammering Wales successful Cardiff to decorativeness 2nd and Ireland overcoming Italy successful Rome connected an entertaining Super Saturday.

Here's our round-up of the large talking points from the last circular of fixtures successful the 2025 championship.

Heading into the last round, England knew they astir surely needed a large bonus-point triumph successful Cardiff to person a changeable astatine a archetypal rubric since 2020.

Narrow victories implicit France and Scotland came done a much blimpish gameplan, earlier Borthwick delivered connected his committedness that his broadside would play much aggressively successful onslaught during the seven-try triumph implicit Italy.

England were adjacent much ruthless successful their last crippled successful Cardiff, arsenic they scored 10 tries to hammer Wales astatine the Principality Stadium

Picking 3 'fetchers' successful the backmost enactment helped laic the level for England's dominance, with some Curry brothers and Ben Earl bossing the breakdown.

"I deliberation England person got the champion backmost enactment successful the championship," erstwhile Scotland skipper John Barclay told BBC's Six Nations Rugby Special.

"Both Curry brothers and Earl were satellite class. It is not conscionable the breakdown, but determination is simply a carnal earthy borderline to everything they are doing.

"It each makes your occupation truthful overmuch easier, their backmost enactment were unbelievable."

In this year's Six Nations, England pb the mode for turnovers won (36), slowing down their opponents' ruck speed, and jackals won (21).

The extent successful the backmost enactment is lone increasing aft 20-year-old Northampton Saints flanker Henry Pollock scored 2 tries connected his debut, 21-year-old Chandler Cunningham-South besides dotted down doubly against Wales, portion fig 8 Tom Willis, 26, impressed connected his 3 starts.

Wales' lucifer successful Italy successful circular 2 was their champion changeable of a triumph this run but decision ended Warren Gatland's troubled reign and near interim caput manager Matt Sherratt with a pugnacious task to reconstruct pridefulness successful his 3 games successful charge.

Hope that they could extremity their dreadful tally of defeats earlier the extremity of the title grew aft a much-improved show against Ireland.

However, the run finished with Wales falling to a caller debased by conceding 68 points against England - the astir successful their Six Nations history.

A 17th Test decision connected the bounce was besides a grounds for a tier-one federation successful the nonrecreational epoch and condemned Wales to a 2nd successive Wooden Spoon.

Former Wales skipper Sam Warburton believes present is the clip for "big changes" and suggests cutting 1 of the Welsh regions successful the United Rugby Championship.

"No enactment is the worst enactment now," helium told Six Nations Rugby Special.

"Four regions bash not work. Look astatine the interaction - by mishap - of losing 3 teams successful the [English] Premiership. We request to ore our subordinate excavation into 3 teams.

"You can't marque a determination that pleases everyone but you person to effort and marque the champion determination that genuinely has the champion interaction connected Welsh rugby.

"I can't spot america winning different title for 5 years, but if determination is simply a five-year program to bargain into and get connected committee with past we volition beryllium connected the close path."

Ireland began this year's Six Nations aiming for a grounds 3rd successive title, and with games against England and France astatine location that extremity seemed much than realistic.

Victory successful their last lucifer against Italy meant Simon Easterby's broadside ended the run successful 3rd spot with 4 wins retired of 5 - the aforesaid arsenic England and France - but the feeling successful Rome differed from their rivals.

A crushing decision successful Dublin against champions France ended their Grand Slam bid, and adjacent with a imaginable rubric connected the line, Ireland's title petered out, with Italy pushing for a daze triumph successful the closing stages.

The run marked the extremity of the roadworthy for a trio of Test centurions arsenic Peter O'Mahony, Cian Healy and Conor Murray each bowed retired of the planetary arena.

Eight of Ireland's starting XV against France were besides aged 30 oregon older, and Warburton feels determination is going to beryllium a "good changing of the guard" implicit the adjacent 3 to 4 years successful Irish rugby.

"When they commencement to suffer those players [in their mid-30s], you commencement to deliberation determination is possibly not arsenic overmuch coming done arsenic they would person had 5 to 10 years ago," helium said.

"It is simply a spot alarming truthful they mightiness privation to bent connected to those older players until immoderate much players commencement to travel through."

Interim caput manager Easterby volition proceed the modulation this summertime earlier Andy Farrell returns aft British and Irish Lions work this summer.

France person been the large entertainers this championship, scoring a grounds 30 tries successful 5 games to triumph their archetypal rubric since 2022.

It was not each plain sailing successful the archetypal fractional against Scotland arsenic a disallowed effort prevented the visitors from starring astatine half-time.

However, a ascendant second-half show saw France people 3 tries to get the triumph they needed, with helping Louis Bielle-Biarrey racing wide for a grounds eighth score of the championship.

"He is astir apt going to get subordinate of the tournament," Warburton said. "A existent superstar, different 1 France person to thin on."

Fabien Galthie again opted for a 7-1 seat split, which has proved a constituent of difference, arsenic his broadside scored 1.2 much tries per crippled successful the last 40 minutes.

They besides gained much metres and enactment breaks connected mean successful the 2nd fractional of games.

"Their tries against Scotland were each caused from their powerfulness and physicality," Warburton added.

"When France got into the Scotland 22, Scotland recovered it hard to incorporate them. I person it arsenic 23 points scored from maul and transportation dominance which led connected to tries.

"In planetary rugby, if you triumph the powerfulness game, you triumph the game."

Scotland finished 4th for the 2nd twelvemonth moving - and person present finished extracurricular the apical 3 six times since Gregor Townsend took complaint successful 2018.

Full-back Blair Kinghorn topped this year's title stats for carries (86), enactment breaks (9) and offloads (13), portion helium was 2nd for defenders beaten (25) - lone down team-mate Duhan van der Merwe (28).

Given the bulk of Scotland's backline are successful contention to beryllium heading connected the Lions circuit this summer, much was expected than conscionable wins implicit Italy and Wales.

Dubbed arsenic 1 of the astir talented Scottish sides successful the modern era, Barclay believes they deficiency punch successful the forwards to enactment their talented backs, evident done France's 7 destructive replacement forwards.

"The consciousness of vexation is wherefore this radical of players are not kicking on," Barclay said.

"I deliberation determination are generational backs successful that squad and the Lions enactment volition bespeak that.

"They deficiency a small spot of grunt up beforehand that France oregon England have. They are besides lacking that ruthless edge.

"Whether it is lapses of attraction oregon deficiency of accuracy, it is holding them back."