The numbers: Six Nations, Week 4

As we head into the finla week of Six Nations action, some coaches will be wondering where it all went wrong, while others might like to sit back and reflect on jobs well done. But what were the jobs that went so right and wrong?

As we head into the finla week of Six Nations action, some coaches will be wondering where it all went wrong, while others might like to sit back and reflect on jobs well done. But what were the jobs that went so right and wrong?

With the help of our partners at SAS Software, we have picked out the more salient stats from the weekend's clashes to give you the lowdown on where it went right for three teams… and wrong for three others!

The three games were far more even than they have been in previous weeks. Certainly France and Italy were pretty even in most stats: set-piece possssion was a problem for neither, and nor were rucks and mauls.

But once again, Italy seem unable to convert as effectively as their opponents. Despite winning five turnovers, the Azzurri could muster only one line-break all game, while France engineered three (fitting, considering the try count of three to one in favour of France).

But the glaring difference between the teams was the confidence in contact, with France completing twelve offloads to Italy's two in the tackle. Italy also suffered with their kicking, making six errors with the boot to France's one.

Scotland's win over England was founded on an amazing defensive stat, the Scots completing a staggering 98 per cent of their attempted tackles. England also did well, completing a decent 92 per cent, but considering England had 30 per cent more ball in open play than the Scots, including twice as much ball in their opponents' 22, and won five out of eleven Scottish line-outs, it really was the defence that was key.

Astonishingly, despite the ball domination, Scotland spent 27-plus minutes in England's half in the second half, while England managed only a quarter of an hour in return. It points to poor kicking by the English, or poor chasing up which allowed the Scots to clear. And obviously, vice versa.

In Dublin, Wales' domination of possession was key. The Welsh rucked and passed 77 times to Ireland's 41, completing 147 passes to Ireland's 75. With so many passes and phases it is only to be expected that the line-break count was 7-3 in favour of the Welsh.

But it really was in the second half where the Welsh came into their own, and the time spent on the ball – 22 minutes for the Welsh, just under 13 for the Irish in the second half – and time spent in the opponents' half in the second half – nearly 33 minutes for the Welsh and just under fourteen minutes for the Irish – that show just how well the Welsh closed the game out and closed the door on Ireland's Triple Crown dream.