Six Nations: Marcus Smith cements fullback spot? Ireland need reset?

It was destined to be on the highlight weekends of the Six Nations, and it duly delivered. Round 4 brought up a huge victory for France to end Ireland’s hopes of a Grand Slam and likely the title, too. It provided yet another defeat for Wales, this time against Scotland at Murrayfield, before England finished off the action by cruising past Italy.

There’s plenty of food for thought, but are those reactions irrational or legitimate? ESPN’s Tom Hamilton and James Regan weigh in.

Jump to:

England | Ireland | Wales
Scotland | France | Italy

Marcus Smith’s best England fit is at fullback

Marcus Smith endured a tough week having been dropped to the bench for Sunday’s match with Italy, but after just nine minutes, he was called into action. Is Smith now a fullback first, fly-half second, probably an entertainer third?

Verdict: OVERREACTION

All week, the narrative was around Smith being dropped and what it meant for his long-term prospects. It looked like Borthwick had settled on Fin Smith at fly-half and Elliot Daly (or the injured George Furbank) as the long-term answers to fullback. That left Smith in the wilderness. But with Ollie Lawrence succumbing to his brutal Achilles injury in the early stages of Sunday’s match, Smith was called into action.

The roar that greeted him as the TV cameras picked him up showed he is still the star attraction in this England team, and Smith proved his value, once again.

In the first minute of the second half he put in a match-shifting tackle on Matt Gallagher, and two minutes later, he crossed for the score that broke Italy’s resolve and secured the bonus point. But is Smith now permanently cast as a fullback for England? In short, no. Danny Care, his Harlequins teammate and sometimes England half-back partner, said he is still a fly-half first, and you have to agree.

Smith’s versatility is a wonderful boost for England, but he is happiest at No.10. — Tom Hamilton

Forget Six Nations history, Ireland need reset

Before Round 4, Ireland were chasing a historic third Six Nations title on the bounce. A Grand Slam was within reach. Then they ran into France. Simon Easterby’s team were dismantled and given a brutal reality check. But do they need to press the reset button?

Verdict: OVERREACTION

This result hurt Ireland. It was an emotionally-charged occasion with Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy all playing their final match in Dublin for Ireland, and the team were desperate to give them a worthy send-off. France had other ideas.

Even after seeing talisman Antoine Dupont suffer a brutal ACL injury in the 28th minute, they still managed to keep their intensity high and executed a wonderfully effective gameplan that nullified Ireland’s power game and gave them enough space and time to bring Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey into the match.

play1:05France make light work of Ireland in Dublin

France demolish Ireland 42-27 in Dublin putting them in pole position for the Six Nations Championship.

They ended up conceding 34 unanswered points in a lethal 28-minute spell.

Now is the time for evolution, rather than revolution. Ireland need to usher in some of the new era against Italy next weekend — like starting hooker Gus McCarthy — while they also need to freshen up the centre partnership to give themselves some other options there. But now is not the time to panic. Little tweaks are needed here and there; they need to line up the next band of Irish greats to step into the sizable void left by O’Mahony, Murray and Healy, but there is no need to go back to the drawing board. — Hamilton

Matt Sherratt’s Wales stint can still be success

It was another tough weekend for Wales, ending in a record-extending 16th consecutive defeat. Their last hope now of ending that streak this month and avoiding the wooden spoon comes in a home clash against England — interim boss Matt Sherratt’s final game in charge.

Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION

As Jamie George said post-match on Sunday, Wales’ meeting with England in Cardiff is their “World Cup final.”

Wales have shown signs of progress in Sherratt’s two matches to date, pushing Ireland and Scotland close, but they are still chasing that elusive victory and an end to their unwanted run. Against Scotland, they secured two bonus points in the last play of the match as they scored their fourth try and got within seven. They are showing admirable character and have definitely taken a step forward, but they badly need that victory as a tangible sign of progress.

Wales vs. England is one of the matches of the year, especially when it’s under the roof in Cardiff. The Principality Stadium will be in full voice, Wales’ young players will find a way to raise themselves to another level and they will throw everything at Steve Borthwick’s side.

England will be favourites, but strange things happen in Cardiff when these two meet. A win and the clamour to give Sherratt the job full-time will surely prove too much for both him and the WRU. — Hamilton.

France should be worried without Dupont

Rarely will a performance be so memorable as France’s display against Ireland. They scored five tries on their way to an outstanding 42-27 victory and earned command of the tournament. It came amid a sour note though as their dynamic playmaker Dupont was forced off with a knee injury that was later confirmed to be a ruptured cruciate ligament.

The Six Nations trophy is not in France’s hands just yet, with Scotland still to visit on Saturday. Can they win it without perhaps the best player in world rugby?

Verdict: OVERREACTION

Confirmation of Dupont’s injury is devastating for France and their supporters, as well as all fans of rugby. He will miss the rest of the season and potentially the start of the next.

The silver lining for France is when Dupont was helped from the pitch against Ireland after half an hour, the game was far from over and they went on to blow Ireland off the park.

Ireland had been dominating. You would have thought at that point, with Dupont leaving the contest, that Ireland would have seized their moment. Of course, that didn’t happen. Maxime Lucu was a more than capable replacement and France ran riot.

play1:31France with a ‘generational performance’ vs. Ireland

ESPN’s Tom Hamilton has described France’s 42-27 win over Ireland as “generational,” as the French now look set to win the Six Nations Championship next week.

Most importantly, other players stepped up, too. Fly-half Romain Ntamack steered the ship, the forwards — with the 7-1 bench split — overpowered and out-muscled Ireland’s pack. The fact they did it without Dupont will give Fabien Galthie’s side a wealth of confidence.

If anything, the injury could galvanise them. It will be heartbreaking not to see Dupont attempt to steer France to the title in Paris next week, but they have more than enough to finish the job. — James Regan

Scotland’s Six Nations is already over

Scotland have been enduring a difficult tournament so far. Injuries have been mounting, and defeats against England and Ireland will have stung. Still, Gregor Townsend‘s side rescued matters slightly with a win over Wales at Murrayfield. But with a date against France in Paris on the horizon, is their tournament already over?

Verdict: OVERREACTION

Would it be a surprise to see Scotland emerge victorious in Paris? Absolutely, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

Scotland have so much to gain from a positive result next weekend. Victory would end another frustrating campaign on a high note and help change the narrative for a side which has been hampered by injury. Suddenly, they would have beaten Italy, Wales and France and they can also argue they should have beaten England.

They went down to Ireland after losing Finn Russell and Darcy Graham part way through. Beating France would give Scotland a boost in confidence they can carry into next year.

There is also the small matter of the British & Irish Lions. Finn Russell, Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, Duhan van Der Merwe, Huw Jones, Ben White, Jamie Ritchie, Rory Darge, Zander Fagerson and Pierre Schoeman are just some of the players who will want a big game to impresser Lions coach Andy Farrell.

Ireland’s performance against France has thrown the doors open in terms of selection. Nobody has a mortgage on a Lions jersey for the tour of Australia, and those Scotland players will want to put their best foot forward in Paris. — Regan.

This is Italy’s most disappointing Six Nations

It was a familiar script for Italy on Sunday as they fell to a gloomy defeat against England. If they can’t find a way past Ireland at the Stadio Olimpico next weekend, then they will end with a single, narrow victory over Wales and a slew of flat performances. When judged against expectations, is this the most disappointing Six Nations yet for Azzurri?

Verdict: OVERREACTION

Heading into the tournament, Italy were seen as a side that would be hugely competitive and cause issues for every side they faced. Instead, after four rounds of action, it feels like they have regressed.

Their points differential of -77 is the worst in the competition, having conceded 166 points — 39 more than Wales. Even in their solo win, they were outscored two tries to one, and instead of showing their class, they bludgeoned their way to victory with the boot.

They caused few issues for Scotland, France and England in matches that felt like the old days where Italy gave the opposition an easy chance to rack up the points. With the players they have they should be doing much better.

The Six Nations is brutal. You can’t be off your game for a second. Maybe, after the relative success of last season, there was some complacency from the Azzurri. If that was the case, they have been dealt a healthy dose of reality this year.

That said, they have won a game, and it wasn’t a huge surprise.That should not yet be taken for granted. — Regan

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– British & Irish Lions 2025: Australia tour fixtures

Source: espn.com