It was the French who caught the eye in round one with six of their eight teams winning, including Stade Rochelais and Toulon away from home.
With the Springboks coming to town, and an 11-game losing streak expected to become 12, there are calls for change in Wales
Two traditionally free-wheeling attacking sides have built huge victories on their set-piece excellence.
A trickle is turning into a torrent of English stars, departing their clubs for the delights of France but bumps in the road await
Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith will challenge each other head-on this Saturday for their Gallagher Premiership clubs following a Guinness Six Nations campaign in which their 10/12 axis was abandoned.
Steve Borthwick has cut his England squad to 30-ahead of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland, with Ollie Chessum – a starter in the record defeat to France last Saturday - missing out on this occasion.
Ollie Lawrence has been ruled out of England’s final Guinness Six Nations match against Ireland because of a hamstring injury.
The Principality Stadium is renowned for its atmosphere, where players voices can be drowned out by wall of noise and mellifluous singing
England skipper Owen Farrell will captain Saracens this Saturday at The Stoop but he won’t face Test teammate Marcus Smith as Harlequins have continued with his pre-season rest programme for the round two Gallagher Premiership match.