France look unstoppable and England find mojo – what we learned from Six Nations

France were crowned Guinness Six Nations champions after beating Scotland in Paris on ‘Super Saturday’, with England and Ireland finishing closely behind in the title race.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five things we learned from the 2025 Championship.

The final standings suggest a desperately tight title race but France are worthy champions. Apart from their only defeat at Allianz Stadium that owed as much to own their complacency as England’s willingness to fight to the end, they have swaggered through the Six Nations with a potent mix of power and panache. Their 42-27 destruction of Ireland in Dublin was one of the Championship’s greatest performances and right now they look unstoppable, even without injured genius Antoine Dupont.

“Power wins” was an observation made by former Wales captain Sam Warburton following England’s 68-14 romp in Cardiff and this Six Nations has illustrated his point perfectly. It was men against boys at the Principality Stadium and Wales were crushed as a result, while France’s physical domination of Ireland sent shockwaves through the game. Nowhere is the power differential clearer than on the bench, which England and France loaded with forwards. The seven-strong ‘Le Bomb’ squad were especially effective.

Whisper it quietly but England may have turned a corner in this Six Nations. A 10-try rout at the Principality Stadium was the spectacular culmination to the progress made throughout the tournament, spanning the narrow, nervy wins against France and Scotland and the destruction of Italy in a game that saw their attack take an important step forward. Led with calm authority by Maro Itoje, a young side has shaped up nicely and deserve their runners-up spot.

While France and England will reflect with satisfaction on their Championships, Ireland must confront some hard truths. Chasing an unprecedented third consecutive title, they fell well short in the final two rounds after being outmuscled by France and only creeping home in Rome. Outside a glorious second half against England and comprehensive win over Scotland, they appear to have gone stale and there is evidence that they lack the power to mix it with bigger rivals.

Is there a more frustrating team to watch than Scotland? At times against England and France they looked sensational with their attack lighting up the Six Nations but their spells of ascendancy are rarely sustained, either during games or throughout Championships. They play to their strengths by keeping the ball alive and looking to move bigger opponents around but an all-too familiar outcome to the tournament has exposed the limitations of Scotland’s ‘golden generation’.