Five things we learned from this weekend’s Guinness Six Nations action

England’s narrow win over France was the highlight of a gripping weekend of Guinness Six Nations action, but there were also wins for Italy and Ireland.

Here, the PA news agency examines five things learned from round two.

A star is born

At the heart of England’s last-gasp victory over France was Fin Smith, the Northampton fly-half who was making his first start after seven appearances as a replacement. Ousting the swashbuckling Marcus Smith from the number 10 jersey brought added pressure to his full debut and while, in his own words, he began “like a rabbit in the headlights”, by he end he was calling the shots as if a seasoned campaigner. A game-clinching conversion, two try assists and a more orderly look to England in the decisive phase were just part of his man-of-the-match contribution. On this evidence, it is hard to see a route back for Marcus Smith at fly-half.

The cavalry delivers

England head coach Steve Borthwick has been calling for greater impact from his bench and the reinforcements delivered in style against France. Fin Baxter and Elliot Daly ran in critical tries in the last 10 minutes, while Jamie George was in super-sub form during his 19 minutes on the field. Add in telling contributions from Ollie Chessum and Ben Curry and England had the set of replacements needed to kill off France. For too long the bench – a critical part of the game – has failed to make any impact and Borthwick will be hoping that Saturday proves to be a turning point.

Arrogant France?

Wales in the doldrums

Sorry Scots

Ireland should be commended for an impressive win at Murrayfield, but Scotland proved willing victims as they barely fired a shot. Losing Finn Russell and Darcy Graham to HIAs after they collided with each other was a cruel blow but even allowing for their departure, Gregor Townsend’s team were disappointing. This Six Nations looks like another false dawn for Scottish rugby and they head to Twickenham on Saturday week needing to produce a significant improvement on this lacklustre effort.