LONDON (AP) — Only France is chasing a Six Nations grand slam after two rounds.
The defending champion inflicted the latest record defeat against hapless Wales by 54-12 in Cardiff on Sunday. France’s highest ever score against Wales was also Wales’ 13th consecutive defeat in the tournament.
England’s 12-test winning streak was ambushed by Scotland 31-20 at a raucous Murrayfield, and Ireland was fortunate to hold out Italy 20-13 in Dublin.
Here's the AP’s takeaways from round two.
That's the question after the Scots knocked over England for the fifth time in six matches. Scotland has a template for success after a rare, 80-minute display of destructive genius. But supporters are too pragmatic, and have suffered too many false dawns, to believe their side will contend for a championship they last won in 1999. The previous wins against England under Gregor Townsend netted Six Nations finishes of just third, fourth, fourth, third, fourth. Scotland's inconsistency is notorious, a reputation Townsend hasn't fixed in nine years as the coach. The Scots perform better when they are the hunted and not the hunter, and sheltered in Murrayfield. That was clear when they were humbled by underdog Italy 18-15 in Rome in the opening round. The target is on Scotland's back again. The rest of the schedule is Wales away, France at home, and Ireland away. If, as Townsend suggests, beating England has saved Scotland's year then that's all observers need to know about how bad Scotland's years are.
England got a reality check from Scotland. England thought it had the confidence and strength forged in a yearlong winning streak to finally crack Scotland at Murrayfield for the first time since 2020. But Scotland was too amped up, too persistent and too long (30 minutes) with a man advantage for England to handle. England gave Scotland a 14-0 start. England gave New Zealand a 12-0 start in November and overturned that on George Ford drop goals and a yellow card. But at Murrayfield, England’s ill-discipline and Ford were liabilities. While England’s grand slam drought was extended to 10 years, there was still a championship to be won. At the tournament launch last month, coach Steve Borthwick talked up the last-round clash with France in Paris as the title decider. Borthwick noted the trophy has been clinched on the last weekend for the last seven years, and for 17 years of the last 20. England still has to negotiate Ireland at home and Italy away.
The culling of Damian Penaud, Grégory Alldritt and Gaël Fickou — a combined 215 caps and 63 tries — overshadowed France's buildup to the Six Nations. But the veterans' value is fading the closer France gets to a second successive Six Nations championship. France is two for two for the first time since 2022 and the only unbeaten team after dicing and slicing Wales. Making France younger and faster has worked out so far. Captain Antoine Dupont started the tournament as the only player with 50-plus caps. He was joined in Cardiff by forwards Julien Marchand and Charles Ollivon, both of them try-scorers. But the lineup was notable for coach Fabien Galthié tapping more graduates of the recently successful under-20 side. Galthié was forced by injuries to pick a new midfield and chose Fabien Brau-Boirie (20, uncapped) to partner clubmate Émilien Gailleton (22, 11 caps) with backup from Noah Néné (21, uncapped). Everything clicked. Brau-Boirie and Gailleton both scored tries and Néné got 13 minutes off the bench. “I'm a bit tired, it was so fast-paced,” Brau-Boirie said. “With all these people, this score, my parents here … for a debut it was crazy. The try capped it all off.”
Even when Ireland wins, it feels like a loss. After taking a 36-14 thumping from France in the Paris opener, Ireland rebounded by edging Italy in Dublin. But all the plaudits went to Italy for being more exciting on the ball and seriously unlucky. And Italy led for only nine minutes around halftime. Most of the heat was aimed at flyhalf Sam Prendergast. Considered the better attacker among rivals Jack Crowley and Harry Byrne, he had an off day; kicked poorly including two fluffed conversion attempts, passed recklessly, and tackled passively. When he was replaced by Crowley at 10-10, the home crowd cheered. Crowley was notably praised by coach Andy Farrell and looks set to start against England at Twickenham next weekend. But it has to worry Farrell that more than two years after the retirement of Jonathan Sexton, nobody has managed to nail down the No. 10 jersey.
It wasn't that long ago that public sentiment, including Sam Warburton and Clive Woodward, was for dumping Italy from the Six Nations and giving Georgia a go or at least a playoff. Then speculation about South Africa replacing Italy became so loud that Six Nations organizers were prompted to deny any such plan. A month later, in 2022, Italy shocked defending champion Wales in Cardiff to end a 36-match, seven-year losing streak in the tournament. Italy has gone on to beat Wales twice more, Scotland twice, draw with France and suffer several agonizing near-misses, including Ireland at the weekend. Italy's attack was better and more exciting than Ireland's and the scrum was a smash hit. What Italy wasn't was more clinical. Michele Lamaro recalled how, when he first became captain in 2021, he was constantly asked to defend Italy's place in the tournament. The questions now are about Italy's growing threat. “It makes us proud to see how much the perception of the team has changed,” Lamaro said.
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Scotland's Huw Jones, right, celebrates scoring a try with teammates during the Six Nations rugby union match between Scotland and England in Edinburgh, Scotland, Saturday Feb. 14, 2026. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
