England still need to have a plan B

WELL, what a Six Nations we have just had with a mix of games and results that truly capture the ethos of the competition with everthing coming down to the last day and results of the last three games.

- JEFF PROBYN

Those games each had a certain 'something' that made them stand out as something different from the previous games.

Italy, who habitually have experienced a difficult time in the championship, showed a continued improvement by beating Wales again this season, and then managed to hang in for close defeats against Scotland by 12 points and Ireland by just seven points on the final day to see them finish fifth in the table.

Italy have shown once again that if they can get more games against the better nations they will continue their improvement and become a real challenge for all other competing nations in the near future.

Ireland will likely be disappointed with their display in all of the games and appear to have made a backwards step this year, maybe because of Andy Farrell stepping down taking on the position as head coach of the Lions.

Looking at this Six Nations, Ireland have certainly failed to deliver at the same level as when he was in charge and they will be looking forward to his return after the Lions finish in Australia.

Scotland meanwhile have again shown a consistency that has seen them finish in fourth place over the last few seasons which, considering they are the country with the fewest number of registered male players is not a bad result.