Six Nations: Five things we learnt from round two as Borthwick’s bomb squad ‘implodes’ while officials’ influence evident
Ben White of Scotland celebrates after scoring against England and an inset of referee Hollie Davidson.
Following Round Two of the 2026 Six Nations, here are the five things we learnt from the weekend’s action.
Referee decisions matter, so do physics
Ah, what could have been had TMO Ian Tempest remembered relative velocity as he inspected Louis Lynagh’s try in the 51st minute of the clash with Ireland in Dublin. Just because the ball travels forward from a pass doesn’t mean it is forward.
Instead, World Rugby’s law insists that if the ball goes backwards out of the hands of the passer, it is not a forward pass, which was very much the case when Tommaso Menoncello tore through the Irish defence and launched a pass out to Lynagh.
The ball went backwards out of the hands of the Italian centre but did travel forward before his winger latched onto it. It’s just physics and something World Rugby addressed over 14 years ago in the video below.
Referee Hollie Davidson was happy with what she had seen, subsequently awarding the try before Tempest intervened.
“Tempo, you are telling me that this is clearly forward,” Davidson inquired.
He replied: “This is clearly forward out of the hands of 13 blue.”
“Okay,” Davidson concedes before disallowing the try, though it did seem as if she wasn’t overly convinced.
Michele Lamaro pleaded his case to the official but was unable to sway the decision. Davidson, overseeing her first men’s Six Nations match, seemed reluctant to go against the decision of the more experienced Tempest, who looks to have used the lines on the pitch as a marker.
It was a pivotal decision in the match with the scores level 10-10 at the time and the Azzurri could well have opened up a seven-point lead had the try stood and Paolo Garbisi added the extras. Instead, the no-try decision shifted momentum into Ireland’s favour, who scored through Robert Baloucoune soon after with Jack Crowley adding another five points from the tee.
Test rugby is all about the tight margins, the one-percenters that make can flip a game on its head. It’s easy to state that Italy had circa 30 minutes to get another score but the momentum swing was clearly evident.
World Rugby law 6.5a, reads: “The referee is the sole judge of fact and of law during a match. The referee must apply the laws of the game fairly in every match.”
That means that had Davidson disagreed with the fourth official, she was well within her rights to overrule Tempest’s decision and one has to question whether a more experienced referee would have done so or not.
Still, in her history-making appearance, Davidson can hold her head high for her performance. She accurately officiated Craig Casey and Lynagh’s sin-binnings to the letter of the law. Her scrum interpretations were lenient on Ireland, but when Italy really deserved their reward, they got it. But that is a stylistic choice from a referee and that will continue to be a theme as the tournament progresses.
Whether we’d like it to be the case or not, the officials are bound to influence the Six Nations matches and they have done so in a largely positive manner and long may that continue.
Bomb squads implode
‘Bomb Squad’, ‘POM Squad’ or whatever you choose to call it has become a lethal weapon in top teams’ arsenal in international rugby of late, with the rewards outweighing the risks. However, Saturday’s action at Murrayfield was the exception to the rule.
Steve Borthwick has made the 6-2 split a staple part of England’s match day 23 but for the visit north, he got key components of his bench make-up all wrong.
The biggest risk about going down the two-backs ploy among the replacements is what to do when you lose a backline player through injury or foul play and Borthwick learned the outcome of that the hard way.
He opted to essentially deploy two specialist backs in scrum-half Ben Spencer and fly-half Fin Smith. There was no issue with the former but the latter was problematic after Henry Arundell was given his marching orders after a second yellow card offence.
Smith was ultimately thrown into the mix at inside centre and asked perform the role that frankly doesn’t suit his skillset. Sure, England have been trialling Ben Earl in the centres and Henry Pollock at wing to negate these kind of eventualities but ultimately they bore no fruit and the bench selection call proved costly in the end.
South Africa have had success with the split but have been bolstered by uber utility players like Cheslin Kolbe, Frans Steyn, Damian Willemse, Andre Esterhuizen and so on, while the same is true for France.
On Les Bleus, their bench also imploded this weekend against Wales as Fabian Galthié‘s charges were unable to blow the hosts off the Cardiff pitch in the final quarter on Sunday.
Perhaps that was simply complacency on their part or the Welsh deserve credit for the efforts of their bench but it’s just further proof that the art of the bomb bquad is not a perfect science.
But some basics must be adhered to: Pick utility backs, get the timing right and trust the depth at your disposal.
Wales have bite but wooden spoon awaits
Three quick French tries against the favourites to lift the title put Steve Tandy’s charges comfortably on the back foot and trailing 19-0, a setback they simply could not overcome.
Ultimately, the odds were against the Welsh before the first blast of the whistle as Galthié‘s men are much further along in their development, have superior depth and a clearer identity.
54-12 is an ugly, ugly scoreline but there was a real steel about the way the Welsh went about their business. The effort was there, the accuracy was lacking. This leads us to believe that a wooden spoon finish awaits the men in red but they will be going down punching even if it’s featherweight jabs on a heavyweight boxer.
Much was made during the game about the Welsh kicking aimlessly and wasting possession, but only Scotland and Italy have kicked fewer times than Tandy’s charges this campaign.
Accurate, contestable and tactically astute kicking is paramount in the international game nowadays and with a classy operator in Tomos Williams, the Welsh have a player able to fulfil the necessary requirements of the highest level but it doesn’t all come together overnight.
Never write off Scotland’s Calcutta Cup chances
When will England learn… Borthwick’s men arrived at Murrayfield as comfortable favourites with Scotland reeling and Gregor Townsend under the cosh, particularly after the defeat to Italy. England had won their last 12 Tests too.
All signs pointed to a first English win at Murrayfield in six years but it was not to be as they were outsmarted, outgunned and ultimately soundly beaten. The ‘arrogant England’ comments were quickly lashed out at the final whistle and it’s hard to argue against those remarks as the men in white looked off the pace and seemed to wait for Scotland to roll over but that never occurred.
After hammering Wales, Borthwick largely backed the same team for the Round Two clash which allowed the complacency to slip in. The expectation was for England to march to Murrayfield and simply get the job done but that is never the case when it comes to the Calcutta Cup.
Andy Goode has described it as Scotland’s ‘cup final’ and whilst that is meant as a swipe, the Scots certainly played the match in that manner.
Finn Russell, who has been struggling with form, was brilliant, the pack rose to the challenge after being outboxed against Italy and Scotland were far more accurate in the air, mostly due to the excellence of Kyle Steyn.
For those who still haven’t learnt, Scotland are a different beast when England are in town and the Calcutta Cup is on the line.
Scotland hit by triple injury blow as Calcutta Cup heroes return to their clubs
It’s France’s title to lose
Les Bleus’ march to the title turns to Lille this weekend where they will face a fired-up Azzurri outfield that was superb against Scotland and very unlucky Ireland. The Italians gave the French a mighty scare on their last visit to France but were soundly beaten when they last faced off.
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As much as the Azzurri have taken a step up, their depth is still inferior to Les Bleus’ with the long-list of frontline players counting against them on this occasion in particular. Perhaps we will see a more closely fought affair but all signs point towards a French victory as they edge ever close to another Grand Slam.
Scotland and England await Galthié‘s men after the fallow week and one would expect one, if not two, victories. France have flexed their ability to score tries at will which has resulted in a full house of points in the opening fortnight. That has set themselves up well as we enter the midway point in the competition, as they bolster a four-point advantage.
Two wins from the next three games should be enough to see them retain the title, which is now theirs to lose. None of the three games will be easy but France are easily the form team in the tournament and have two home games left to play.