Who rivals Dupont as Six Nations' greatest player?

This year's tourney marks 25 years since the opening of the Six Nations era.

Over the past 4th of a century, the title has played big to immoderate existent greats of the crippled and, successful existent France skipper Antoine Dupont, has a subordinate seemingly taking the crippled to different level.

BBC Sport takes a look astatine each nation's standout stars since 2000 and the interaction they person had connected this competition, earlier giving you the accidental to marque your enactment of who you deliberation is the top subordinate successful Six Nations history.

Statistics provided by Opta and close connected 6 February, 2025

Such has been Antoine Dupont's interaction since making his France debut successful 2017, numbers unsocial bash not get adjacent to doing him justice.

The framework of a bull, the acceleration of a helping and method skills from the gods - Dupont's skillset is otherworldly. A scrum-half who matches 20 effort assists successful the Six Nations with 20 turnovers simply is not normal.

It is not conscionable successful the XV-a-side crippled that Dupont has excelled. The imaginable of representing his state astatine a location Olympics past twelvemonth meant helium missed the 2024 Six Nations to absorption connected sevens, and Dupont scored 2 tries arsenic France bushed favourites Fiji to triumph the golden medal astatine the Paris Games.

"The boys gag astir and telephone him 'The Martian' arsenic helium is not from earth, helium is an alien," said Toulouse fastener Emmanuel Meafou earlier past year's Champions Cup final. "The worldly helium does successful games is lone fractional of what helium is susceptible of."

And yet that fractional is amended than virtually anyone else. In France's 43-0 triumph against Wales connected Friday, the 28-year-old's displacement lasted hardly 50 minutes and yet helium became the archetypal subordinate to supply 3 effort assists successful 2 abstracted men's Six Nations matches.

The cross-field footwear for Theo Attissogbe's opening people was truthful casual, it was astir offensive.

Dupont adjacent visits Twickenham's Allianz Stadium, wherever helium masterminded a grounds rout of 7 tries successful 2023. The England campy person been keen to accent this week that the 2022 Grand Slam-winning skipper is lone human, but his estimation is becoming thing but.

Jonny Wilkinson volition ever beryllium synonymous with drop-kicking England to World Cup glory successful Sydney successful 2003 but his grounds successful the Six Nations is arsenic impressive.

In 2001, erstwhile helium won back-to-back titles with England, Wilkinson acceptable wide records for points (89) and conversions (24) that are yet to beryllium surpassed successful a azygous variation of this tournament.

Wilkinson's peerless crippled absorption and place-kicking were underpinned by the fiercest of enactment morals and tendency to enactment his assemblage connected the line, a combativeness that helped the fly-half look down slump and panic attacks during his career.

England's Six Nations win-rate with Wilkinson successful the squad was 74%, portion helium made 172 of 211 kicks astatine extremity and ranked 5th of immoderate subordinate for effort assists (17).

"Jonny instilled assurance successful those who played with him and took assurance distant from those helium played against," said erstwhile Six Nations team-mate Richard Hill. "There were galore matches we would person mislaid without him."

The power of the most-capped subordinate successful past has possibly been astir keenly felt since his retirement.

Since Alun Wyn Jones officially called clip connected an 18-year planetary vocation successful 2023, Wales person won conscionable 5 of 20 Tests, losing each six successful the Six Nations.

He made his Six Nations debut successful 2007, portion his past quality came against France 2 years ago. His tally of 67 appearances successful the title is the second-most of immoderate player, portion the second-row totem is the apical tackler successful the tournament's past (752 astatine 93% occurrence rate).

The 2019 Six Nations subordinate of the twelvemonth has won 5 Six Nations championships and 3 Grand Slams - some the astir of anybody connected this list.

"He ever strived to beryllium the champion and implicit a agelong play helium has achieved that," said Wales' grounds points scorer Neil Jenkins. "Wales person had immoderate unthinkable rugby players and helium is up determination arsenic 1 of the best, if not the best."

Watching Brian O'Driscoll dart done defences astir astatine volition was a joyous acquisition - unless you were among those tasked with trying to halt him.

Elusive and formidable, O'Driscoll played with an easiness which belied the sheer seriousness of his numbers; 163 defenders beaten, 82 offloads, 53 turnovers, 45 wins and 26 tries - each of which basal arsenic Six Nations records contempt his status much than a decennary ago.

The centre's last Six Nations run successful 2014 provided a fairytale ending; a knee-knocking triumph successful Paris that saw O'Driscoll triumph his 2nd title connected his 133rd, and last, headdress for Ireland.

It came 14 years aft the 2009 Grand Slam victor burst onto the Six Nations country by scoring 1 of the tournament's astir iconic hat-tricks against France successful the aforesaid stadium.

Sometimes moments substance much than statistics.

When Scotland prepared to look England astatine Murrayfield successful 2018, they had not beaten their oldest rivals successful a decade. The visitors had mislaid conscionable erstwhile successful each 25 Tests nether caput manager Eddie Jones.

Enter Finn Russell and 1 of the standout Six Nations performances.

Scotland's fly-half unfurled his catalogue of unhurried skills to confound English defenders, an overpowering power personified by his engagement successful Scotland's 2nd try.

A immense miss-pass, sailing implicit bewildered opponents connected the borderline of his ain 22, led to a Huw Jones interruption and Russell was progressive again, his floated walk uncovering Sean Maitland to score.

Russell subsequently added consistency to his mercurial make-up. His occurrence complaint of 84.7% from the tee ranks him 2nd lone to Dan Biggar of each regular kickers implicit the past 25 years - helium missed 1 footwear successful full successful 2024 - portion his 20 effort assists is simply a tally lone bettered by Ireland's Conor Murray (29).

Perhaps the highest praise that tin beryllium paid to Italy's top skipper is that helium would person commanded a starting spot successful immoderate broadside during his Six Nations career.

Italy won conscionable 9 games implicit 16 years with Sergio Parisse successful the squad but their talisman ne'er stopped - helium made 785 carries, 244 much than immoderate different subordinate successful Six Nations history.

The back-row behemoth besides gained a singular 3,088m, ranking him 2nd since 2000 - and each different subordinate successful the apical 10 for carries is simply a back.

Eighty defenders beaten, 540 tackles astatine an 88% occurrence complaint and 198 line-outs taken.

Parisse was determination for Italy's archetypal distant constituent against Wales successful 2006, their archetypal back-to-back wins successful 2007 - including a maiden distant triumph successful Scotland - and helium captained the broadside to a archetypal triumph against France successful 2011.

He besides scored 1 of the large Six Nations tries pursuing a sweeping counter-attack successful different triumph against Les Bleus successful 2013 and followed that up respective weeks aboriginal by starring successful the Azzurri's archetypal decision of Ireland.