Super Saturday lived up to its name, with tries and points galore being scored in all three games, with the eventual outcome of the championship going down to the final minute of the final match.
The action started in Rome, where Wales turned on the style in the second half to pile the pressure on Ireland and England. George North was the star of the show, scoring three tries inside 10 minutes to record Wales’s first Six Nations hat trick in 46 years, with his team mates following suit in racking up a 61-20 win over Italy.
But in a day where attack was the name of the game, a defensive moment from Courtney Lawes brought “oohs” and gasps from the Twickenham crowd and no doubt the millions watching on the BBC, too.
Jules Plisson was the target of a tackle that referee Nigel Owens immediately called as “fair… the timing was good”, but that left the French fly half in a heap and his team mates surrounding Lawes. The TMO had a look but concurred with the man in the middle and play continued unabated.
England ended up beating France 55-35, and had a 13-man maul been driven over in the final minute then Stuart Lancaster’s men could have snatched the title. But France held out, and instead it was Ireland who capped their own 40-10 win over Scotland by lifting the trophy.
There was a Six Nations championship winner from Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night, however, as Howard Packman helped England’s Under-20 team to a 24-11 win over France in Brighton that secured the title.
