Signs of rust as favourites struggle to get off the mark

England and Wales were both guilty of dreadful first-half performances, but at least they were able to go on and secure victories on the opening weekend of the Six Nations. For Ireland, the performance was much better, but the result was disastrous as their Grand Slam hopes died 80 minutes into the championship.

All three teams expected to challenge for the title this year came into the games this week with players that were by all accounts undercooked – Dylan Hartley for England, Rhys Webb for Wales and Sean O’Brien for Ireland.

They also had injuries to deal with, and that appeared to cause a degree of rustiness that caught all three out.

Ireland suffered the least from this, though if they had regular fly-half Jonathan Sexton available the story could be very different for Ireland. England were well below their best in the opening 40 minutes, but improved to battle tooth and nail until the end to secure victory and Wales turned up the wick to score three tries past Italy in the second half. With all three up to speed, expect significantly improved performances in round two.

Bonus points could decide the tournament

No side managed to claim a try-scoring bonus point this weekend, while Ireland and France were able to return home from their travels with a losing bonus point. The likelihood is that, barring a Grand Slam, the championship will go down to who gains the most bonus point. We’ve seen in years gone by that points difference can decide the champions from the also-rans, but now it looks like it could well be bonus points that have a major say.

However, they are also having a negative impact in that teams are turning down shots at goal to go after tries. That’s great for fans, but not so much for head coaches, and especially for captains when they go wrong like they did for Wales on Sunday during the first half. The championship could end up being decided by a captain’s decision rather than the ability to score four tries.

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France are back

Watching Louis Picamoles charge through the English defence was a joy to watch on Saturday as it served as a timely reminder to the rest of the Northern Hemisphere of how dangerous Les Blues can be. Guy Novès’s side had been written off by most critics before the tournament had started, but an imposing French pack was able to dominate the English eight, while their backs looked dangerous when given opportunities by the English defence.

That England improved significantly said a lot about their character, but nothing could be taken from France and they finally looked like a side capable of challenging for the title again. Their fitness needs work, especially in the front-row where fatigue robbed France of their advantage, but it looks like Novès has his side on the right course.

Picamoles made more metres than any other player in England's win over France (Getty) (Getty Images)

Italy’s will power alive until the end

Everyone knows that Italy can turn up on their day and shock most opponents, but their problem has been doing that on a regular basis. What has happened in the past though is that as soon as the floodgates opened, they remained opens and routine wins suddenly turn into routs in the closing stages.

That nearly happened again on Sunday when Italy shipped two tries in seven minutes, but they recovered somewhat to attack the Welsh and, had they shown a bit more composure, could have had another try of their own. The main factor though is that when Wales attacked at the death in search of a bonus point, Italy found a way to survive, albeit by some last-ditch tackling to dislodge the ball from Liam Williams’ grasp. The tackle prevented Wales claiming an extra point, and given in years gone by Italy would have folded in similar circumstances, it’s a step in the right direction.

Sergio Parisse defined Italy's fighting spirit even if they suffered a 33-7 defeat (Getty)

Scotland’s time to shine

There’s no doubting that Scotland’s win over Ireland was the most impressive display of the opening weekend. Many pundits and writers agreed that while Scotland could definitely beat Ireland, few expected them to actually do it. But a flying start from Stuart Hogg and a clever lineout move involving centre Alex Dunbar ensured that Scotland had to confidence to go and turn Ireland over.