No-shows from England and France in our Six Nations team of the week

Round four of the 2026 Guinness Six Nations feels like one that will be spoken about for years to come.

From a prop’s solo effort to a Scottish masterclass to Italy’s historic first win over England, this was a weekend of some legendary moments.

It was also a weekend where some great players were made to look very average, with neither France nor England offering any players in our team of the week – something England will be used to by now. Here’s our round four team of the week:

15 Jamie Osborne
There may not have been an absolute standout at full-back this weekend, but Osborne is developing a handy knack of scoring crucial tries for Ireland.

14 Darcy Graham
10 carries in Edinburgh, nine defenders beaten. France just could not pin down Graham, who popped up all over the field and exposed the frailties in their defence in devastating fashion.

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13 Stuart McCloskey
Another evening of hard running from Ireland’s in-form centre against Wales on Friday, but it was actually the subtlety of his distribution that unlocked the Welsh defence on multiple occasions. Put Jacob Stockdale in for the opening try of the match, and later produced a quick pull-back pass in the build-up to Jamie Osborne’s finish.

12 Tommaso Menoncello
Italy’s victory over England will live long in the memory, and both of their standout moments came from Menoncello. All pace and guile for his first try as he sliced through England’s porous defence, but it was sheer brutality as he marmalised Elliot Daly to put Leonardo Marin in for the match-winning try.

11 Kyle Steyn
Quite possibly the player of the Championship so far. Rock solid in every department and the scorer of two tries to down the French. One try was a case of executing a first-phase strike move to perfection, the other was an opportunist’s try, but both were taken well.

10 Finn Russell
Give Finn Russell 59 per cent possession and front-foot ball and he will make any defence look remarkably average. A frugal Shaun Edwards defence arrived in the Scottish capital, but returned to France in tatters.

9 Ben White
Sniped and probed around the breakdown to run the French pack ragged in Edinburgh. He set the tone for the Scottish attack and was rewarded with a try, exploiting a gaping gap at the edge of the ruck early in the second half. Also had an unofficial assist when he dislodged the ball with his tackle on counterpart Antoine Dupont, which Kyle Steyn snapped up.

1 Rhys Carré
The loosehead slot in this team was done and dusted after the first match of the weekend, thanks to Carré’s solo effort. His try was one of the moments of the Championship, but this was yet another top-quality display from the Saracen.

2 Dewi Lake
Another workmanlike performance from the Welsh captain, leading from the front with a total of 24 tackles in under an hour on the field. Wales’ dogged defence has been the backbone of their recent promising performances, and Lake leads the charge.

3 Zander Fagerson
Deployed from the bench in the first half as Gregor Townsend channelled his inner Rassie Erasmus. It was a plan that worked out perfectly, helping counter the power France possessed on their bench. A busy performance on either side of the ball all helped Scotland pull away in the second half at Murrayfield.

4 Niccolò Cannone
Stood up to the challenge England posed up front, as he has done throughout Championship.

5 Dafydd Jenkins
The engine Jenkins has is quite stunning, as he racked up over 20 tackles again, this time 27.

6 Jack Conan
Topped the tackle count against Wales with 15 tackles, but it is the potency of his carries from close range which stands out, and is something other teams in the Championship lack. Conan scored early in the second half from close range, and had another chalked off in the first due to a knock-on from Tom O’Toole.

7 Alex Mann
As mentioned, defence is paramount to Welsh rugby currently, so a haul of 32 tackles in Dublin must be saluted. It was the most tackles in a Six Nations match since 2000, and took the 24-year-old to the top of the tackle charts this year. Proved to be his country’s most reliable lineout option as well, with Wales turning to him seven times.

8 Lorenzo Cannone
A defensive titan yet again for Italy, racking up 13 tackles as well as 11 carries against England.