And then there was one.
After two rounds of the Six Nations France are the only country who can win a Grand Slam after winning the heavyweight Cockerel versus Shamrock clash against Ireland in Paris.
Defeat did for Ireland’s Slam hopes for the season, while Scotland’s loss in Cardiff against Wales torpedoed their clean-sweep challenge.
England, meantime, had no trouble accounting for Italy, who never looked like prevailing in Rome, with their last win in the championship unfolding so long ago Julius Caesar may or may not have been around to celebrate it.
To whom do you look for most players in a team of the weekend for round two, then? To France, that’s who, though the choice at full-back is a Welshman.
Liam Williams had a monumental game in Wales' 20-17 victory at the Principality Stadium. According to the official tournament statistics, the Scarlet made 156 metres from 17 carries. Highlights included a no-look back-the-hand pass, a 50:22 that one media outlet described as ‘genius’ and an important possession steal, but it was Williams’ all-round assurance that put him above his rivals. He was safe under the high ball and while there may have been a 74,000 full-house in Cardiff, Wales’ No. 15 showed no nerves, counter-attacking with the freedom of a man having a Sunday morning runabout with his mates in the park.
He is joined in the back three by Darcy Graham, a clever runner who exposed Louis Rees-Zammit’s defence when scoring in the Welsh capital, and Mack Hansen, who scored a startling try from a restart in the French capital by catching the ball while barely breaking stride before speeding across the home line.
In midfield, Owen Watkin deserves a place after arguably his best game for Wales, with the Ospreys man powerful in attack and resolute in defence, while Gael Fickou also shone.
Dan Biggar and the consistently excellent Antoine Dupont are named at half-back.
The fly-half choice isn't easy because Romain Ntamack played well and, in Rome, Marcus Smith twinkled like a diamond in a jeweller’s shop window. Many defenders were beaten and Smith walked off with the man-of-the-match award, but Biggar embodied Wales’ spirit in the bounce-back victory over the Scots. He suffered countless bumps during the match, so many it would have been hard for him to know which one was hurting the most, but pretty much on one leg he put Wales in a winning position.
Dupont? “It’s almost like having Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in your team as one player,” said Sean Holley in his analysis for BBC Wales’ Scrum V programme. “He does everything.”
You can read the latest headlines and fallout from the Wales game here.
In the front row Ryan Elias is sandwiched between two giant French props, Cyril Baille and Uini Atonio, who were monstrous against Ireland, helping to tame the much-vaunted opposition scrum and stressing Andy Farrell’s defence with powerful carrying. Baille's exploits mean there's no spot for Tomas Francis, notwithstanding a powerful show from the Welshman in Cardiff.
Elias does get in, though, edging out Jamie George, who showed up well for England.
Behind them, the multi-skilled Tadhg Beirne and 21st France powerhouse Paul Willemse take the votes, with Maro Itoje filling the blindside role after performing strongly in the Italian capital, where he played with high nuisance value in England's 33-0 victory.
A try for Josh van der Flier crowned a defiant and utterly committed performance, with Jac Morgan also catching the eye on his debut for Wales, helping to slow down Scottish ruck speed to an average of 4.45 per ruck, the slowest of the Six Nations weekend, while Gregory Alldritt is the choice at No. 8 with Ross Moriarty and Alex Dombrandt also emerging heavily in credit.
Six Nations team of week: Liam Williams (Wales); Darcy Graham (Scotland), Owen Watkin (Wales) Gael Fickou (France), Mack Hansen (Ireland); Dan Biggar (Wales), Antoine Dupont (France); Cyril Baille (France), Ryan Elias (Wales), Uini Atonio (France), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Paul Willemse (France), Maro Itoje (England), Josh van der Flier (Ireland), Gregory Alldritt (France)
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