1) Why aren't next weekend's deciders kicking off at the same time?

If defence wins championships – as we are often told – England are going the right way about it. Amid all the excitement of their successive home victories over Ireland and Wales and a first Triple Crown since 2003, it is easy to overlook the fact that Rob Kearney's smart Leinster-inspired try for Ireland at Twickenham is the only one England have conceded in their last three matches. Italy are not exactly try machines and it is reasonable to assume Andy Farrell's defensive curtain could extend that run to four in Rome on Saturday. Had they stopped Gaël Fickou's dramatic late effort for France in Paris, an English grand slam would be on the cards. As it is, they are reliant on Ireland failing to win at the Stade de France later that same day. With points difference set to determine the outcome, it is perverse that all three final day matches are not kicking off at the same time. Television companies call the tune but imagine if the schedule were the other way around and England v Italy were last up. Stuart Lancaster's side would either knowing precisely what they had to do or the title would already be beyond them. You would have a meaningless fixture and interest would fall off a cliff. The organisers are lucky that things have fallen the way they have. Robert Kitson

2) Wales showing signs of fatigue

Warren Gatland was asked after Wales' defeat whether he felt his side were suffering from a hangover from the Lions tour. He refused to go quite that far, but did admit "it has been tough on these players, with a grand slam, a championship, and a Lions tour, it has been a long 18 months." The question is whether that explains Wales' performances in this tournament, which, as Gatland said, hasn't "been as consistent, or as accurate, as we know we are capable of", or if the defeats against Ireland and England are symptomatic of deeper-rooted problems. Certainly some of their senior players, like Adam Jones, Gethin Jenkins, and Jamie Roberts were a way short of the standards they set for themselves in the past. And the whole team were poor in the first 40 minutes, when there was a malaise about their play that they only started to shake off when the substitutes started to come on. Wales are due to tour South Africa this summer. You wonder whether, with the World Cup only 18 months away, if some of those older players wouldn't be better off taking a break from the game instead. Not that they'll have the chance. "That," as Gatland said, "is professional sport." Andy Bull

3) Ireland hoping their stamina will extend to the final weekend

Sandwiched between two away days – between the punishing intensity of England and the unknown of indecipherable France – Ireland had this home romp against Italy. The idea was to make this a test of Italian staying power. Mistakes would be tolerated because the purpose was to keep the pulse racing. And it worked. Ireland ran and ran and Italy tackled and tackled until they ran out of air, and found that Ireland still had plenty to give. As an aerobic workout this was most successful and there was a sense of Irish comfort on the ball, from Rob Kearney at the back to the full set of replacement front-rowers. There was more to this than a frilly farewell to Brian O'Driscoll. Ireland will want to run their last opponents around the Stade de France, suspecting that for all their strength, France cannot do 80 minutes at full pelt. Eddie Butler

4) Italy will be a different proposition against England

For as long as they lasted, Italy were magnificent. The back row tackled themselves into the history books – the team in total made 208 tackles – and in the first half they posed an attacking threat through Luke McLean and their two young wings, Leonardo Sarto and Angelo Esposito. Italy have a back three now. But they all ran out of puff at the start of the second half, partly because Ireland were so good, but partly because they had an eye on the last game of the campaign, in Rome against England. Sergio Parisse will be back. The Italy that will face England will not be the one that came to Dublin. Eddie Butler

5) Scotland's lacked composure but can still take heart from defeat



A victory in the final minute in one match and defeat at the end in the next. At least they ended a run of more than four-and-a-half hours without a try at home in the Six Nations, scoring not one but two, but in going for what would probably have been a match-winning third, Duncan Weir's long pass provided Yoann Huget with an interception. Scotland had a go and it helped that is was virtually their strongest available side. Their back five forwards showed up strongly, their front row took control of the scrum in the second-half and France barely won a line-out. Typical of a side that is not used to winning, the lacked composure at vital moments but their cause is far from hopeless and Saturday may not be the most inopportune time to visit Cardiff, a match that could mark an anarchic end to the campaign for both sides. Paul Rees

6) France are tactically lost, but could yet blow Ireland away

The difference with France from last year is that while they still wobble, they do not fall down as much. With five minutes to go on Saturday, there was not one part of their game that was functioning properly. Even their scrum had fallen apart to such an extent that Scotland kept their props on the field for the entire match, but they had the resolve, after Scotland had missed two penalties, to muster a final rumble and were rewarded with a kick to win a match they should have long have been out of. They have been dogged by injuries, suspensions and bizarre selections, but the danger for Ireland on Saturday is that Les Bleus are regaining some belief. They are all over the place tactically, sticking to a script written in a foreign language, but on the occasions they played naturally at Murrayfield, mainly in the opening 10 minutes, they looked devastating. They could do with locking away their coaches this week. Paul Rees