This year’s Super Saturday was a joy to watch – but it was too quiet

The final day of the Six Nations couldn’t quite match up to the thrills and spills of Ireland’s triumph five years ago, writes Jack de Menezes

England have helped to put smiles on faces with their Six Nations triumph (AFP/Getty)

Super Saturday was never going to live up to its lofty billing. The frantic final day of the 2015 Six Nations was always going to be hard to beat, given how the fixture schedule and different permutations simply fell into place with perfection, and though last weekend’s delayed round five was a joy to watch, it couldn’t quite match up to the thrills and spills of Ireland’s triumph five years ago.

At least it didn’t disappoint. Scotland did a number over Wales to record their first away win over their Celtic rivals since 2002, with their breakdown superiority rising to the fore to condemn Wayne Pivac’s side to an alarming fifth consecutive defeat. That said, the game was far from a classic, and not even Alun Wyn Jones’s record-breaking 149th international appearance could save a game that was dictated by the poor weather conditions.

England’s outing in Italy wasn’t much better. The eventual champions did what they needed to in order to secure the title, but they barely made it out of second gear as a gritty Italian display made it difficult for the pre-weekend championship favourites to deliver the performance expected of them.