France ended their 12 year wait and have claimed their first Six Nations since 2010.

It’s been a dramatic six weeks’ of rugby with many standout performances across the teams.

Best XV of the Tournament

Loosehead Prop – Cian Healy: He’s had a slight resurgence in his career once again helping his side to a strong championship.

Hooker – Dan Sheehan: Part of a dominant Irish set piece, Ireland won 70 lineouts the highest of the tournament.

Tighthead Prop – Tadhg Furlong: Another one of Ireland’s dominant scrummagers who’s been bulldozing for years now.

Lock – Seb Davies: A more than capable replacement for Alun Wyn Jones and a fresh new player for a tired looking Welsh side.

Lock – James Ryan: Another part of the Irish set piece and an often-unsung hero for the men in green.

Openside Flanker – Josh Van Der Flier: Hard-working in defence and attack he’s all over the field making hits and often finds himself scoring a try.

Blindside Flanker – Anthony Jelonch: Went quietly unnoticed for a lot of this tournament, but one important try versus Wales shows his threat.

Number Eight – Gregory Alldritt: A beast in the breakdown and scrum, he makes big hits and keeps his team chugging along.

Scrum-half – Antoine Dupont: The best player in the world by a mile and looked extremely dangerous the entire tournament.

Fly-half – Marcus Smith: Top points scorer and a bright spark in a fairly dismal English side, ball in hand he was extremely dangerous too.

Left Winger – Ange Capuozzo: There were a few options here but following his first two games which included helping his side arrest a 36 game losing streak he is the man for the job.

Inside Centre – Jonathan Danty: France’s backline weren’t just attacking flair but also defensive solidity, Danty showed both across the competition.

Outside Centre – Gael Fickou: Named as Shaun Edwards’ backline defensive captain he epitomised the French game.

Right Winger – Damien Penaud: Probably one of, if not the best Wingers in the world, scored a few brilliant tries and has been in electric form.

Fullback – Melvyn Jaminet: I really wanted to pick Stuart Hogg but without the boot of Jaminet France wouldn’t have won this year, a consistent kicker both for points and for ground.

Honourable Mentions

There were a few players I think deserved a mention but couldn’t make a starting position.

Jamison Gibson-Park: Had a fantastic tournament and if Dupont didn’t exist then he’d been a dead cert for the starting XV.

Stuart Hogg: A world-class player on his day just lacking the mentality to push on and win more games with his team.

Finn Russell: A very mixed tournament, but when he plays well he’s insane, just needs to find consistency.

Player of the Tournament

It has to be Antoine Dupont, he was amazing all competition and couldn’t be stopped by anyone.

He’s the best player in the world for a reason and he showed it again this year.

Try of the Tournament

Paul Willemse scored the try of the tournament for this effort against Scotland in Round Three.

However, it’s mainly down to Dupont’s run though so may as well give him the award.

He’s just on a different level.

Best Coaches

Head Coach: Fabien Galthie

Boasting a 76.92% win rate with France in his 26 games in charge ad guiding them to this Grand Slam.

His understanding of the game and his eye for talent has been outstanding and has revolutionised this France team.

Defence Coach: Shaun Edwards

He did it at Wales and they won the Grand Slam in 2019 and now he’s done it for France in 2022.

Edwards’ defensive solidity has been praised the world across and has claimed another trophy.

Attack Coach: Mike Catt

Ireland finished the year as top try-scorers this is down to Catt’s impressive ruck speed and aggressive attack.

Ireland always found a way to score points and finish as the best team in attack this year.

Coach Honourable Mention: Andy Farrell

He almost saw his side win another Six Nations but was just trumped by France, his side look incredibly good.

A solid defensive platform combined with a lethal attack show a culmination of Farrell’s work.

Game of the Tournament

I could’ve picked a few games for this but Ireland versus England in Round Four has to take it.

Both sides looking to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive and England fighting with 14 men nearly the entire game.

It was breath-taking to watch and you could not take your eyes off of the screen.

Moment of the Tournament

Finally, the best moment of the competition and there is one that stands out to me.

Josh Adams was awarded Man of the Match in the 77th minute of Wales’ game against Italy.

Then Agne Capuozzo cut through the Welsh defence played a pass to Eduardo Padovani and he scored.

A conversion later and Italy had won the game in Cardiff.

Following this Adams very graciously awarded Capuozzo his MOTM award in a very classy gesture from the Welshman.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR