Three key takeaways from the Six Nations

OPINION: Scotland boosted their chances of a first-ever Six Nations title with a stunning 50-40 victory over previously undefeated France, who nonetheless remain in the championship driving seat.

Italy piled the pressure on Steve Borthwick after beating his stunned England team for the first time in their history after 32 previous defeats.

Ireland remained in the title hunt but were made to work by an improving Wales, who are almost sure to finish with the wooden spoon for the third year in a row.

Here are three things we learned from another enthralling weekend of rugby:

Dupont is human after all

Such are the impressively high standards set by Antoine Dupont that it is genuinely surprising to see the France captain make major errors.

The diminutive No.9, whose superb attacking attributes are complemented by strength worthy of an Olympic wrestler, had started the 50-40 defeat to Scotland so well when he ripped the ball from opposition skipper Sione Tuipulotu to spark France’s opening try by Louis Bielle-Biarrey in Edinburgh.

But in a remarkably high-scoring match that saw Scotland dash reigning Six Nations champions’ France’s quest for a Grand Slam, mistakes by the 29-year-old Dupont led to two of the hosts’ tries.

Dupont’s loose pass was intercepted by Kyle Steyn and Tom Jordan scored Scotland’s seventh and final try of a superb display following an inexplicable Dupont forward pass behind his own tryline.

It was proof of one of sport’s enduring truths: even its best players can have an off-day.

“I made two costly mistakes,” said Dupont. “Maybe we should not focus on individual performance, but maybe we need to think as a group about how to avoid getting into these situations.”

Dreaded vote of confidence

England coach Steve Borthwick came into the Six Nations talking about a potential tournament – and even Grand Slam – decider against France in Paris on the last weekend.

Instead, he will be heading to the Stade de France with an increasingly tenuous grip on his job.

A thumping 48-7 victory over Wales in their opening match was a 12th win in a row.

What followed – three consecutive miserable defeats – left the Rugby Football Union issuing a dreaded vote of mitigated confidence.

“After a 12-match winning run, these past three results have been hugely disappointing, and we feel that just as much as everyone else,” the RFU said in a statement.

“Steve and his coaching team are working tirelessly to make improvements, and we remain fully committed to supporting them and the players.”

With a trip to world champions South Africa to come after their France clash, Borthwick’s men will need to perform for the ages somewhere or they will slump to a five-match losing streak for the second time in his tenure.

‘Scrappy’ Irish have work for Scots visit

Ireland will need to work hard in the week to improve on a “scrappy” 27-17 win over Wales or risk a buoyant Scotland tearing them to ribbons and ending their 11-match losing run against the hosts.

They were way off the almost flawless display in the 42-21 humbling of England, and their man of the match in that game, Jamison Gibson-Park, highlighted an area where they must show a less cavalier approach if they are to beat the Scots.

“We’re an attacking tea,m and if teams give us space, we want to be able to attack it,” he said.

“As game drivers, we probably played a little bit more than we needed to, certainly in our own area and through the middle half of the pitch.”