Capacity to surprise Weekend of drama and pure emotional joy further proof of Six Nations' charm

After it was all over on Saturday night, England's players peeled away to seek their loved ones in the stands.

- Robert Kitson

Fin Smith's parents, Andrew and Judith, were awaiting their boy and the family embrace, when it came, was among the more heartwarming things you'll see in sport all year. All those unsung hours on school and club touchlines, all those youthful ups and downs, distilled into a tight group hug of the purest emotional joy.

In a strange way it also captured the tangled charm of the Six Nations. Andrew Smith is a proud Scot who met his wife - whose father Tom represented Scotland and the British & Irish Lions - at a post-match curry night in the clubhouse at London Scottish. What a Proclaimers-style 500-mile walk it has been from there to celebrating one of England's more stunning modern wins with their son. Heaven knows how they will feel when Scotland head south for a Calcutta Cup clash now laden with even more resonance.

Welcome back to a tournament with an annual capacity to confound that never grows old. There is a good reason why seasoned overseas coaches, including Eddie Jones, believe a grand slam can be almost harder to win than a World Cup. Saturday was another classic example: just when France felt they might have restored some order they were unzipped by the deftest of English fingers, fashioned splendidly by Smith and finished by Elliot Daly, which has opened up all kinds of unexpected new title possibilities.