After a season that’s been described as the greatest Six Nations in living memory, one that saw 111 tries scored, beating the previous record, it’s time to pick our Team of the Tournament.
With replacement strategy and hybrid positioning making selection ever harder, here are the 15 players that have impressed us most during the last seven weeks.
Team of the Tournament
15 Thomas Ramos (France): It was never going to be anyone else. A rugby genius who just keeps getting better, it’s hard to think of a player who contributed more to his team’s campaign. He played every moment of the tournament, was second in defenders beaten, in offloads and topped in metres made (349) and scored a remarkable 74 points. His dominance is so complete that we were unsure if we needed to name a runner-up, but Ireland’s Jamie Osborne can look back with pride at a fantastic return across his championship efforts, which yielded four tries.
14 Robert Baloucoune (Ireland): Almost impossible to separate France’s Theo Attissogbe and the young Irishman, but when you factor in four turnovers from Baloucoune to match his four tries, and his aerial dominance in every game he played, we decided to go with the towering Ulsterman who impressed us every time he took the field. A mention too for Scotland’s Darcy Graham and Italy’s Louis Lynagh, who both had an exceptional Six Nations.
13 Tommaso Menoncello (Italy): When Tommy fired, Italy were unstoppable, and 253m made and 15 players beaten is class leading. Add in a 90% tackle completion and two turnovers, and it’s clear why he’s the future of this ever-improving Azzurri team. Scotland’s Huw Jones pushed him all the way, though, continuing an impressive strike rate, whilst Eddie James’ defensive work for Wales sees him get a mention too.
12 Stuart McCloskey (Ireland): Six try assists, led the tournament in dominant contact collisions with 18, and was joint top in turnovers won, which meant this selection was a shoo-in. McCloskey is making the most of his salad days as a rugby player, and a lot of Ireland’s best moments came from him. Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu put in some big performances, as did Italy’s Nacho Brex, whilst injury robbed us of seeing more of France’s exciting youngster, Fabien Brau-Boirie.
Player of the tournament
11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France): Peerless. Our player of the tournament by some distance, and he now closes the debate as the best wing in the world. Near enough 300 metres, 11 line breaks, four try assists, 14 defenders beaten, nine tries. The numbers are ridiculous, but the excitement every time he got the ball was even greater. An absolute superstar of the game and one that will continue to break records. Scotland’s Kyle Steyn is our runner-up, but even he’d admit that it’s a bit of a token gesture given the greatness of LBB.
10 Finn Russell (Scotland): The way he responded to setbacks in Rome and performed across five complete games just shades this selection. Three wins contributed to, 500 international points reached, and a sumptuous display of controlled attacking rugby to dismantle the champions at Murrayfield, the finest individual 10 performance of the tournament. Matthieu Jalibert’s brilliant finale against England and his statement opening night against Ireland were excellent, and he carried France’s attack with real authority across his four appearances. But Russell’s weight of evidence spans a full campaign, including the most significant result Scotland have produced in a generation, and he edges it, although we know some will disagree.
9 Antoine Dupont (France): Has had a quieter championship by the impossible standards he sets himself. Ben White genuinely outplayed him at Murrayfield, and Scotland’s record victory owed something to a Dupont short of his usual authority. Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park was excellent throughout, the decisive influence in Dublin against Wales, and fully deserved the milestone of his 50th cap. But Dupont still won the championship, controlled the tempo of four French victories, and produced moments such as that long scanning pass to Attissogbe in Paris that no other scrum-half on earth can execute. Even a quieter Dupont remains the best nine in world rugby today.
8 Ben Earl (England): Earl has had questions asked about his ability to play at eight for some time now, but yet again, 303 minutes, 79 carries, and 145 metres in contact across a struggling England campaign answers them emphatically. Those 79 carries led the tournament at number eight, and his 25.3% dominant carry rate underlines that these weren’t safe carries into traffic. Aaron Wainwright’s dominant carry rate and extraordinary 81.1% two-tackler commitment are genuinely elite numbers, and in a stronger showing year for Wales, he might edge it. But Earl’s volume across five weeks, in the most thankless context of any contender, settles the argument.
7 Rory Darge (Scotland): This tournament simply confirmed what Scotland already knew about Darge. Tournament leader in turnovers won, 74 tackles at elite success rate, and he provided the support work and ruck-clearing that gave Scotland the platform for their greatest modern result against France. Oscar Jégou was consistently excellent for the champions and deserves genuine recognition, while Josh van der Flier made it his personal mission to dismantle Scotland’s ruck speed in Dublin and was outstanding when called upon. But Darge’s consistency across all five games, home and away, winning and losing, is unmatched at openside.
6 Charles Ollivon (France): Played as a hybrid across the back five, Ollivon was simply too good to leave out of this XV, and flanker is where we’ve found the room. His 50th cap arrived in a tournament where Fabien Galthié repeatedly deployed him as a de facto third back-rower from the second row; carrying, jackalling, leading with the quiet authority of a seasoned champion. Ironically, his nearest competition is his own teammate, François Cros, who was France’s most disciplined flanker throughout and is desperately unlucky. But Ollivon’s combination of lineout value, carrying threat and championship-winning leadership simply demanded inclusion somewhere in this team. He earns his place on sheer excellence throughout the campaign.
Sensational set-piece
5 Mickaël Guillard (France): The big hybrid lock was sensational against Ireland in round one and brilliant off the bench against Italy. His lineout work was sharp, his carrying relentless, and he anchored France’s set-piece through their title-winning campaign. Emmanuel Meafou is the obvious challenger, an extraordinary physical specimen, but his lineout jumping limitations are a genuine selection concern at this level. England’s Alex Coles was solid and will rue what appears to be a serious ankle injury in the last round.
4 Tadhg Beirne (Ireland): Beirne has had questions asked about whether he is a lock or a flanker throughout his career, but the way he answered them across five games in both positions just settles this selection emphatically – he has to be in somewhere! Tournament leader in jackals and turnovers won, matched the best for lineout steals, relentless across every fixture from Paris to Dublin. Dafydd Jenkins was outstanding and desperately unlucky, squeezed out by the Welsh early failures rather than his own performances. Maro Itoje produced one magnificent display in Paris and world-class breakdown work throughout, but two yellow cards, one costing England in a historic defeat in Rome, simply cannot be overlooked.
3 Simone Ferrari (Italy): Ferrari has had no questions asked about his suitability at this level, and this tournament emphatically confirmed why, as the Italian scrum provided the platform for historic wins over both Scotland and England with the tighthead as its cornerstone. Joe Heyes was solid and improving for a struggling England side, and deserves credit for that context. But Ferrari’s weight of evidence across four outstanding games, including a player of the match performance in round one, settles this comfortably.
2 Dan Sheehan (Ireland): Sheehan has had a campaign below his own lofty standards, perhaps a Lions hangover that cost him consistency through the early rounds, but the way he finished the tournament just settles this selection. A perfect lineout display and a driving maul try in Dublin’s Triple Crown decider showed the player Ireland and the Lions know at his absolute best. Giacomo Nicotera’s lineout volume statistics make a compelling case, and his early rounds were excellent, but he fell apart across the second half of the campaign, culminating in a half-time hook in Cardiff. Dewi Lake was outstanding in round five against Italy, and his leadership is key to the Welsh future.
1 Rhys Carre (Wales): Carré has had no doubters about his carrying at this level for some time, and this tournament just confirmed his scrummaging is improving, too. Three tries from a loosehead prop has never been done in a single Six Nations campaign, and that solo score against Ireland was the individual forward moment of the whole championship. France’s Jean-Baptiste Gros deserves real credit here; 43 tackles at a perfect 100% success rate, anchoring France’s title-winning campaign with quiet, exceptional defensive work despite their set-piece issues. Lastly, a word for Italy’s Danilo Fischetti, who was honest and solid throughout, always shining around the park as he had another impressive campaign.