5 talking points from round 3 of the Six Nations

Where were England on Sunday

Stuart Lancaster will look at the tapes of yesterday’s game and wonder what went wrong for his English side. Even though they only lost by 10 points they were outplayed by Ireland in every department. His players struggled to deal with the high ball and were second best at the breakdown. He will now go back to the drawing board and will look to finish off the Six Nations campaign with wins against Scotland and France.

Can Italy show a level of consistency after Scotland win

After securing only their second ever away win in the Six Nations, can Italy now reproduce performances like the one against Scotland in their final two games. They have finished bottom of the pile in the majority of Six Nations championships they have played in, but can they now play like they did against Scotland in their final two games against France and Wales. With both games taking place in Rome this will be a huge opportunity for them to end a campaign with three wins. Something they have never done.

What is wrong with France

Another game and another disappointing display from France. With the World Cup only a few months away you would be very worried if you were a French fan. They have world class players in their ranks but Philippe Saint-Andre is struggling to get the best out of his players. They play their final two games away to Italy and England and could finish the championship with the wooden spoon.

Can Wales replicate 2013 success?

Wales secured another impressive win against France at the weekend to keep themselves in the mix for the Six Nations title. After losing to England in round 1 Wales have beaten Scotland and France and will look to make it four wins from four in their final two games against Ireland and Italy. In the 2013 championship they lost to Ireland in the opening round and won their next four games to win the championship and will look to repeat that this year round if they are able beat Ireland and Italy.

Henshaw is the man of the hour

It was a dream come true for the 21-year-old to score his first try for Ireland against their biggest rivals England. Apart from the try the Connacht man was outstanding and is now two games away from winning his first Grand Slam. The centre partnership between him and Payne is getting better and better each game they play together and it should be a great contest when they go up against Roberts and Davies in two weeks time.

Ciaran Fallon