Five talking points from round two of Six Nations

Redemption for Scotland as they end England’s unbeaten run, Ireland squeeze past improving Italy, and can anyone stop France?

Here are the main talking points from an enthralling second round of the Six Nations.

There were questions asked of Scotland and head coach Gregor Townsend after the opening weekend defeat by Italy but you would struggle to find a more emphatic riposte than their 31-20 victory over England.

Scotland started brilliantly and never took their foot off the gas to hand Steve Borthwick’s side a first defeat in 13 games and improve on their dominant recent record in Calcutta Cup games, having now won six of the past nine.

Speaking to the Rugby Union Weekly podcast, former Scotland international Johnnie Beattie said: «This was special. They were humbled last weekend in Rome and this time we had a chance to humble England here and came through.

«Everything that went wrong last week was righted. We fought and scrapped for everything. It was fully deserved and was a comprehensive Calcutta Cup win.»

Beattie said Scotland have always had the capacity to win one-off games against top sides but must find more consistency.

«They’ve had these seminal moments but not put together a consistent run that would put them in a position to compete for a championship,» he added.

«It’s how consistently can you find ways to beat these top-level opposition and Scotland don’t have the answer yet. Can you finish in the top three? There are some huge games. We have to back it up.»

England went into the game against Scotland looking for a 13th straight win and a first in Edinburgh since 2020, but were unable to cope with Scotland’s energy and intensity.

They lost last week’s hat-trick hero Henry Arundell to an early yellow card, which later became a red, and when they threatened to stage a comeback a chargedown on George Ford’s drop-goal attempt led to Huw Jones’ eighth try against England – the most of any player in the Six Nations era.

«Scotland were 20 points better not 11. They were comprehensive winners,» ex-England scrum-half Matt Dawson told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

«In the cold light of day England were taken apart from minute one to minute 80. Scotland were miles better.»

The loss was England’s fourth in their past five Six Nations away matches and Dawson questioned their tactics.

«For me it wasn’t so much about the kicking game. It was like if that’s not working what else are you going to do? Scotland had done their homework and defended ferociously and England were getting no change out of it, so what’s the tactic?» said Dawson.

«England didn’t adjust accordingly. It was a masterclass from the Scotland coaching staff because England were nowhere.»

Former England winger Chris Ashton told Rugby Special he felt England looked «disjointed» and there had been a «snowball effect» as errors mounted up.

«A lot of it was not being able to handle pressure. It was one thing after another so early in the game. England lost every battle,» he added.

France are the only team still capable of a Grand Slam and the unbeaten Les Bleus put on another masterclass with a 54-12 win over Wales in Cardiff.

In a blistering display of speed, scything running and joie de vivre, France made 10 line-breaks in the opening 20 minutes on their way to scoring the most points they have racked up against Wales, surpassing the 51-0 win at Wembley in 1998.

An agile and mobile pack, allied with a magical backline playing with total freedom, the blue shirts were like a blur leaving Wales chasing shadows.

«You look at this France team and think, who stops them? They have it all,» former Scotland back row John Barclay told Rugby Special.

Ashton said the French side could «score at will» and singled out winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey for praise.

«His all-round game is fantastic, he always seems so confident and does things not many players can,» he added. «He’s the go-to guy for France.»

These are tough times to be a Wales fan. The hardest in living memory for a generation who grew up with regular Six Nations success and a team full of stars such as Sam Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones.

There are many issues at play in Welsh rugby, but by any measure, recent results are a complete horror show as Sunday’s record loss to France made it 13 consecutive Six Nations defeats and a 10th straight loss at home in the championship.

It’s now 1,072 days since their last Six Nations victory in March 2023 against Italy in Rome and 1,464 days since their last championship win at home against Scotland in February 2022.

It appears supporters are starting to vote with their feet. The attendance against France was 57,744, making it the lowest Six Nations crowd in Cardiff.

But speaking after the game on BBC One, former captain Warburton was encouraged by some parts of Wales’ play and said they need to look at what went well such as the maul defence, line-out and the performance of Eddie James.

«Some aspects of the game went quite well, they weren’t outpowered, they were outclassed with ball handling. There are some positives to take into next week,» said Warburton.

«Looking at the small wins, there’s no point kicking them when they’re down. It has to be how can we get better from this point? Which young players look like they’ve got the mentality?

«We’re not trying to solve this in one week, we’re in this for a couple of years so let’s all get tight and every week look for small improvements and move forward.»

Jones said there had «definitely been green shoots».

«The effort was there but it’s international rugby and you’re going to be judged on results, but it was there from an effort standpoint,» he added.

Ex-England captain Martin Johnson also offered words of encouragement.

«Wales can always play and score tries, they have good rugby players so you’re never that far away and they can sit there thinking they’ve been smashed at home against a very good French side.

«But there will be some games coming up where they think we can win this.»

After losing to France in the opening round, Andy Farrell’s side survived a scare against an improving Italy side fresh from a home victory over Scotland.

Ireland have won all 13 home games against Italy in the Six Nations but that 100% record came under serious threat.

Ashton told Rugby Special that Italy, who led at half-time, missed a wonderful opportunity to get a first victory in Ireland.

«It would have been a long 10 days for Ireland so Farrell would have been happy they got the win but Italy missed so many opportunities. They’ve got to be annoyed they didn’t get the win,» he told Rugby Special.

Farrell has a big decision to make before Saturday’s match away at England after a difficult afternoon for starting fly-half Sam Prendergast, who was replaced by Jack Crowley, with the Munster man putting in a strong showing off the bench.

«It’s hard for Ireland right now, they’re in a funny place. They want success all the time and it’s going to be hard for them at Allianz Stadium,» Ashton told Rugby Special.

Barclay added: «They’re not quite there but you don’t write them off. They’ve got experienced British and Irish Lions and it’s just small tweaks missing.»