While the last round of games was notable for the skill and guile on show from the Six Nations’ star players, perhaps the eye-catching feature of this week’s action was the importance of power and physicality.
That theme was personified by England prop Sarah Bern, who broke Ireland‘s will on Saturday as she ran in two tries to silence the critics who railed against her post-match TikTok dance a fortnight ago.
Elsewhere, Italy earned a famous win over an out-of-sorts Scotland, a day after France proved too much for Wales.
The narratives surrounding this year’s championship are narrowing to a fine point, with England’s potential title-decider against France at Twickenham looming in the not-too-distant future.
Here’s everything that happened in an action-packed weekend.
TOP STORY: England dent Irish dreams
All the talk heading into Saturday’s clash in Cork was about whether Ireland’s improvement over the past 12 months would prove enough to worry John Mitchell’s imperious England side. After all, Ireland had beaten world champions New Zealand at WXV1 in October and routed Italy in Parma to record a first away win in the Six Nations since 2021.
And they started well, rebuffing the Red Roses’ vaunted attack with a show of gutsy defence that seemed as if it could trouble England’s 22-match winning streak. Roared on by a record home crowd, Ireland’s efforts paid off when Amee-Leigh Costigan put them in front with the country’s first try against England in more than six years.
But fast-forward to full-time and England had crashed over the whitewash seven times and extended their winning run over their opponents beyond the 10-year mark.
A triple change five minutes into the second half when the teams were separated by only nine points proved pivotal as Mitchell swapped out his front row. His introduction of Amy Cokayne, Kelsey Clifford and Bern was made with the aim of battering Ireland into submission, and so it proved as Bern opened the floodgates with two tries before Clifford added one of her own in the closing stages to put some gloss on the final score.
England’s first-half struggles will no doubt have proved a useful experience for the team as they continue their preparations for a World Cup tilt on home soil this summer.
Ireland will look back painfully at the bruising 40 minutes they endured on Saturday afternoon, but their first-half display proved they are capable of troubling the best sides in the world.
“We know we’re not perfect yet. We know we’re writing the story that we’re trying to grow and trying to close gaps on England and France,” Ireland coach Scott Bemand told the BBC.
“There’s bits to go to close on those top two but we’ll keep going at it and we believe it is possible.” — Tom Chambers
Round 3 scores
France 42-12 Wales
France kept alive their hopes of a first Six Nations triumph since 2018 as they outclassed a spirited Wales side on Saturday.
After missing last week’s win, รmilie Boulard returned for the hosts in Brive and the fullback made her presence known as she touched over twice before halftime. Despite the final score, Wales’ two scores kept them within touching distance at the break, but in a similar theme to the win over Scotland last week, the French pulled away in the second half to add some gloss to the result.
Les Bleues are on course for a championship decider against England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in a fortnight’s time, while Wales are still looking for their first win under new head coach Sean Lynn.
Ireland 5-49 England
Halfway through the contest in Cork, it seemed as if Ireland had a chance of avenging their 88-10 drubbing at Twickenham in last year’s championship but a second-half demolition job from the Red Roses put paid to that notion.
Costigan did make history, though, by becoming the first Irish woman to score a try against the Red Roses since 2019 as the team’s went into the break separated by just two points as the hosts’ defence stood firm.
But England’s superior fitness and strength in depth just proved too much in the end as Mitchell’s side powered home six tries in the second period to vanquish any hopes of a famous Irish victory.
Scotland 17-25 Italy
Italy earned a memorable win over Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday which condemned the hosts to their second defeat of the championship ahead of a daunting-looking fixture against England next weekend.
By contrast, Italy’s victory — their first of this year’s tournament — served to lift them off the bottom of the table and up to fourth place.
Chloe Rollie had given Scotland an early lead in the contest, but Italy struck back with two scores of their own to take a narrow lead into the break. Second-half tries from Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, Alyssa D’Inca and a late score from Aura Muzzo were enough to hold off Scotland’s challenge.
Best moments:
Boulard back with a bang
รmilie Boulard crossed the whitewash twice against Wales, with her first coming via a stunning diagonal from fly-half Carla Arbez that left the fullback with little to do. Boulard then showed remarkable handling skills to gather the ball and dive over for her second 11 minutes later.
Le premier essai du match est pour les Bleues ๐
Quelle diagonale au pied de Carla Arbez pour son ailiรจre รmilie Boulard ๐ฅ
๐บ France TV#FRAGAL | #SixNationsRugby pic.twitter.com/svagkIeAyH
โ Six Nations (FR) (@SixNations_FR) April 12, 2025
Costigan breaks England hoodoo
Before suffering a six-try second-half mauling on Sunday, Ireland put in a 40-minute performance to be proud of against England in Cork in which Amee-Leigh Costigan scored their first try against the Red Roses in 6ยฝ years.
๐คฉ ๐๐ฆ๐๐-๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐๐ง โ๏ธ
The first @IrishRugby woman to score a try against England in 6 and a half years ๐ช๐#GuinnessW6N pic.twitter.com/8s3F0IJUtl
โ Guinness Women’s Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 12, 2025
MOMENT 3
Aura Muzzo finishes off Italy move
Inside centre Aura Muzzo was Scotland’s tormenter-in-chief during Italy’s win in Edinburgh. She provided the incision at the end of a bruising Italy move to score her first of the afternoon.
Che azione dell’Italia ๐ฅ
Aura Muzzo conclude in meta per le Azzurre ๐ฎ๐น#GuinnessW6N @Womens6Nations pic.twitter.com/wRiEFQFvIq
โ Guinness Sei Nazioni (@SeiNazioniRugby) April 13, 2025 
Up next in Round 4:
Italy vs. France
When: Saturday, April 19 at 1 p.m. BST
Where: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
England vs. Scotland
When: Saturday, April 19 at 4.45 p.m. GMT
Where: Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium, Leicester
Wales vs. Ireland
When: Sunday, April 20 at 3 p.m. BST
Where: Rodney Parade, Newport
– Five players to watch during the Women’s Six Nations
– Women’s Six Nations full fixture list
– Men’s Six Nations Grades: England get A; Ireland need transition
Source: espn.com