Six Nations review

From the best performing players to telling statistics to the progress made by each team, we review the 2011 Six Nations.

With the Six Nations trophy now tucked away in a cabinet at Twickenham, we look back at all five rounds of action.

Click on each headline for the in-depth story.

Country-by-country reviews

England
It all seemed to be navigating to a Grand Slam similar to the one that led to their RWC triumph in 2003 until Ireland played like demons in Dublin.

Granted it would have been very nice to head to New Zealand undefeated in competitive fixtures but this is a side that's still maturing and as Lawrence Dallagio stated earlier this month, the World Cup may have come a year too soon. Let's be honest, some areas still need work.

France
Second place will come as an irrelevant afterthought to France's Six Nations campaign. The state of this nation? Disarray.

Victory against Wales saved the ship from sinking but many questions still remain. Most concerning is the fact that almost all of the ten tries France scored during the championship came from counter attacks, little chips over the top or turnovers. None were constructed.

Ireland
Right, how to put your finger on the Irish? Utterly woeful at times and then they finish with a flourish like they did against England on Saturday. Where that performance came from we do not know as they finally found the punch and ambition that was missing for large parts of the Six Nations.

On paper though this is a team that oozes caps and class. However it's been one of their fresher faces who has caught the eye in 2011 so far and that is Sean O'Brien.

Wales
The 2011 Six Nations marked Wales' third successive campaign – and for a tenth time in 12 seasons – where the team finished outside the top three.

Whilst three wins out of five is a decent enough achievement on paper, the manner in which those victories were played out did little to suggest that Wales deserved to be crowned champions.

Scotland
Disappointing, frustrating and at times woeful are probably the best words to describe Scotland's Six Nations campaign after high hopes from their supporters of a decent crack at the title were once again distinguished with yet another poor showing.

Looking at the final table, this year was worse than the last, because there was no Calcutta Cup draw to add so only points difference kept Scotland from claiming another wooden spoon for last place.

Italy
It's fair to say two words would have described the state of Italy's rugby community last week: Hung over! For once soccer no longer dominated the front pages as the Italian press lauded their team as “heroes” after their “dream” victory over France.

But once their livers have recovered, Nick Mallett's team will look back on the 2011 Six Nations with a few regrets.

Official Match Data

Round one
Most notable is France's apparent poor defence. Les Bleus missed a whopping 25 tackles! They only completed 82 per cent of the tackles they should have, making them the worst defensive team on display. Scotland's three tries came as punishment.

Round two
England completed the most passed – 234 – but that's no surprise considering that they enjoyed more possession than any other team, nearly double that of their opposition, Italy. More interesting to note is that England conceded the most penalties – 18 – while the visitors to Twickenham won the most turnovers, an impressive six.

Round three
Scotland coach Andy Robinson was raging at the referee following the loss to Ireland at Murrayfield and you can bet your house that he gave his squad the same treatment after they missed 12 tackles. At least they only gave away four penalties, the most disciplined display of the weekend.

Round four
One stat helped Italy make history this weekend: Outmuscled and out-hustled, France gave away eleven penalties in Rome – more than any other team over the weekend – paving the way for Mirco Bergamasco to convert five of his seven penalty chances.

Round five and overall
The numbers don't lie. This year's stats confirm the impression that most of us were given: A few exciting finishes were overshadowed by mainly stop-start affairs. It must be said that the general standard of the 2011 competition left something to be desired.

The best performing players
Italy utility back Andrea Masi was voted the Six Nations player of the tournament following a public vote.

Planet Rugby's Team of the Tournament:15 Ben Foden (England), 14 Chris Ashton (England), 13 Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland), 12 Sean Lamont (Scotland), 11 Max Evans (Scotland), 10 Toby Flood (England), 9 Morgan Parra (France), 8 Sergio Parisse (Italy), 7 Sam Warburton (Wales), 6 Sean O'Brien (Ireland), 5 Tom Palmer (England), 4 Richie Gray (Scotland), 3 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy), 2 Matthew Rees (Wales), 1 Thomas Domingo (France).

Team of the Week 1:15 Ben Foden (England), 14 Chris Ashton (England), 13 Joe Ansbro (Scotland), 12 Maxime Mermoz (France), 11 Maxime Médard (France), 10 Toby Flood (England), 9 Ben Youngs (England), 8 Imanol Harinordoquy (France), 7 Thierry Dusautoir (France), 6 Tom Wood (England), 5 Bradley Davies (Wales), 4 Richie Gray (Scotland), 3 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy), 2 William Servat (France), 1 Thomas Domingo (France)

Team of the Week 2:15 Luke Fitzgerald (Ireland), 14 Chris Ashton (England), 13 Aurélien Rougerie (France), 12 Jamie Roberts (Wales), 11 Shane Williams (Wales), 10 Toby Flood (England), 9