Which players have made the strongest Six Nations case for place in Andy Farrell's touring squad to Australia? 

Given the manner of their defeat at Murrayfield in the Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland on Saturday, what England coach Steve Borthwick would give to be at the fine-tuning stage, like Ireland

Gatland knows how to extract the best from his players but will need far more than emotion and playing the underdog card to win today. That will only get you so far.

With further changes likely when Andy Farrell announces the Irish team, nothing will be taken for granted.

Ireland’s multi-phase attack is proving a nightmare to defend against, as evidenced by the eleven tries they have scored to date. Wales are closest to that with six while England, Scotland and France have all scored just four each.

It’s very difficult to envision anything other than another championship success for Farrell’s men.

A fresh Irish team with an extra day's recovery over them from their opening round exertions is all Italy need right now. 

While there will be no public utterances of that nature you can be sure that, behind closed doors, this Irish squad are fully aware of the potential rewards that lie ahead.

From Marseille to Cork on a hectic weekend of rugby that set up tantalising prospects for the future.

The sense is that France are going to adopt a slightly more adventurous approach in this Six Nations campaign.