Player of the tournament
Gaël Fickou (France). A flip of the coin between him, Grégory Aldritt and Cyril Baille. All three musketeers were outstanding, but the classy Fickou has matured into the most complete centre in the world. Robert Kitson
Grégory Alldritt (France). A colossal display by the No 8 against England crowned a stunning championship. Honourable mentions for Fickou and Hugo Keenan. Gerard Meagher
Antoine Dupont (France). Judging by the numbers, you’d give it to Grégory Alldritt, but Dupont is the captain and talisman of the French team, and the one player they would miss the most if he was injured. Andy Bull
Cyril Baille (France). This was the Six Nations of the loosehead. I can’t understand why people aren’t talking about that. Baille’s superior off-loading and support play give him the edge over a host of thrusting No 1s. Michael Aylwin
Grégory Alldritt (France). Could have been any of half a dozen Frenchmen, but Alldritt’s all-round game – carrying, offloading, tackling, breakdown work – was the driving force behind a first grand slam since 2010. Jonathan Liew
Antoine Dupont (France). Ruthless in attack, relentless in defence. A joy to watch and a nightmare to play against. The fulcrum of France’s grand slam is a player you’ll bore your grandchildren about. Luke McLaughlin
Match of the tournament
France 30-24 Ireland. A cut above the rest in terms of quality. Ireland threw everything at France, who soaked it up and edged their way to victory. Some atmosphere, squeezed into a Scottish pub in the centre of Rome, too. GM
France 30-24 Ireland. A genuine epic of the highest quality, and a handy rejoinder to those in the southern hemisphere who still deride the Six Nations as a parochial slap-around. JL
The best from a pure rugby perspective was France v Ireland. Ultimately, though, the closing stages of Wales 21 -22 Italy on Saturday outshone all else. Poetry in motion, unless you were supporting Wales. RK
Wales 9-13 France. It wasn’t perfect but it was endlessly tense. Despite being depleted by illness, France dug in, kept tackling, and stayed on course. Every grand slam needs a win like this. LM
The standard of play in France’s win over Ireland was a couple of levels above anything else in the tournament, and worthy of a World Cup final. AB
Favourite or best? If we are judging by quality and significance, then France v Ireland, although Ireland did make a lot of mistakes. But to hell with all that: Wales v Italy. MA
Favourite moment
Italy’s last-minute winning try against Wales was what sport is all about: drama, splendour, guts, redemption. And in the magnificent Ange Capuozzo, perhaps even the birth of a new star. JL
Slightly corny, maybe, but all the pre-match anthems after two Covid-ravaged years. The atmosphere in the Stade de France on Saturday night was off the charts before the game even started. RK
Hard to look beyond Ange Capuozzo’s break against Wales that twisted Josh Adams’ blood and gave Italy a win at long last. I also enjoyed Antoine Dupont scragging Maro Itoje, who had stepped in at scrum-half, too. GM
Paolo Garbisi’s Cardiff conversion that sealed Italy’s first Six Nations win since 2015. Have you ever seen a fly-half collapse, an emotional wreck, after slotting such a straightforward kick? Magical. LM
Capuozzo! That break against Wales in the penultimate minute conjured one of the great tries in the history of the championship. AB
Away wins are quite rare in the Six Nations and so for this edition to feature four in a row – for only the third time in history – was quite something. The fact that it was Italy who completed the set as they celebrated in Cardiff made it even more uplifting. MA
Biggest surprise
The way Scotland fell away after beating England. I never thought they would win the tournament, but I’ve no idea how they ended up in such a mess six weeks later. AB
England’s Jack Nowell saying: “The way we train, we always mix in together. You never have the same centres together, you never have the same back three.” That explains a lot. LM
Why is rugby union still in such a muddle when it comes to head injury protocols? Wales’s Tomas Francis should have been permanently removed at Twickenham and the stand-down period for concussed players needs to be increased. RK
That there was any doubt there would be a grand slam this year. After two years without one, we returned to the usual balance for the Six Nations of more grand slam years than not. MA
The manner in which Scotland unravelled after beating England. There have been false dawns before, but they were supposed to have taken the next step. Clearly not. And Italy winning a match, of course. GM
Taine Basham. The 22-year-old Wales flanker began the tournament as one of its potential breakout stars and ended it by being dropped. Will come back stronger for the experience. JL
In 2023 I’d like to see …
… supporters at stadiums kept considerably more informed over key refereeing decisions. Let them hear Mathieu Raynal’s clear and concise explanation for Charlie Ewels’s red card on the PA, or precisely why Italy had to go down to 13 men. It shouldn’t be too much to ask; they pay enough to be there, after all. GM
… more of Ange Capuozzo. And Marcus Smith. And Michael Lowry. And Darcy Graham. Rugby needs its diminutive will-o’-the-wisps every bit as much as its array of monster trucks. RK
… a rethink of the advantage rule, which seems to have spiralled out of control. Endless, pointless phases, sometimes lasting minutes, before we finally come back. A waste of everyone’s time. JL
… whether Ireland have any more room for improvement, or if they’ve reached their ceiling, and whether England can finally find a gameplan that does justice to the talented players they have. AB
… changes to the law that resulted in Italy being reduced to 13 against Ireland. The referee got it right, but there must be a better way for players and fans. LM
… Italy win the grand slam. MA
