Six Nations 2019: Alun-Wyn Jones and Darcy Graham feature in best moments and standout stars

Matt Jones - Editor 16:01 18/03/2019
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  • Wales lifted a third Grand Slam under Gatland in March, but have lost three of their four warm-up games.

    The dust is just about settling on a pulsating Six Nations championship, with Wales earning their first title in six years and an unprecedented third Grand Slam under Warren Gatland.

    The tournament served as a tasty appetiser to the main course to come later in the year – the World Cup in Japan. With New Zealand far from unbeatable, the northern hemisphere sides will feel they have a better chance than in any of the previous two tournaments to prevent an All Blacks’ three-peat.

    Even though England and Ireland need to head back to the drawing board after a puzzling tournament, they are still powerhouses, while Scotland once again showed their exciting attacking prowess and are making strides forward.

    We take a look back at the last six weeks of action and hand out our Six Nations awards.

    BEST PLAYER

    ALUN-WYN JONES

    alun wyn jones

    He may be 33 but the Welsh second row doesn’t appear to be slowing down as he celebrated matching Gethin Jenkins’ overall Wales and British & Irish Lions caps record (134) by leading his side to a monumental Grand Slam. It was a historic third under Warren Gatland and the Ospreys stalwart has been around for all three.

    Despite in the twilight of his career and making his Wales bow 13 years ago, Jones shows no signs of slowing down and, if anything, looks like he has years left in the tank.

    He was immense for Wales and among the top performers in several categories. He recorded the fifth most tackles (71) and joint sixth most offloads (three) in the championship.

    He played the fourth most minutes (350) for Wales, had the fourth highest amount of carries, and beat more defenders (two) than any other man in red on Saturday.

    Jones embodies Wales – pride, passion, fearless and ferocious. He leads by example and is never found wanting – playing through the pain against Ireland after twisting his knee early in the game.

    Named as a replacement to rest his weary bones against Italy, it was the veteran lock Gatland summoned from the bench in the 63rd minute to restore order and calm in an error-strewn performance in Rome which was threatening to get out of the Dragons’ grip.

    First given the captaincy in 2017 by interim coach Rob Howley, Jones is revelling in the role.

    BEST COACH

    WARREN GATLAND

    Warren-Gatland

    Who else? Although the New Zealander will be hoping to bring the curtain down on his Wales tenure in perfect fashion with a maiden World Cup triumph for the Dragons, this was a fitting way to close the Six Nations chapter of his reign.

    Billed as title challengers but coming into the tournament under the radar as third favourites behind Ireland and England, Wales stormed into contention with a gritty 21-13 victory over old enemy England in Cardiff in round three.

    The Dragons did it the hard way with three away games and the Irish and English at home was bound to be pivotal. Despite being far from marauding in narrow wins over Scotland, Italy and France, Wales were mighty in both of their toughest tests.

    Resisting everything England could throw at them while clinically scoring twice, before simply having too much for the vanquished Irish, who were kept scoreless for 80 minutes.

    TOP TRYSCORER

    JONNY MAY (6)

    Jonny May

    Tipped by many to pick up this accolade before the tournament and the England flyer didn’t disappoint – wrestling the award away from Ireland speedster Jacob Stockdale.

    The clinical Leicester Tigers man roared to six scores and went over the whitewash in every game bar a cagey affair in Cardiff – the highlight a devastating hat-trick bagged against hapless France in round two.

    At their best, England possess a deadly finisher capable of contributing to or finishing off classy moves. At their worst, magical May is capable of creating something from nothing.

    MOST POINTS

    OWEN FARRELL (59)

    farrell

    His tournament ended in acrimony as he was taken off by head coach Eddie Jones with 10 minutes to go against Scotland as his erratic play and lack of discipline had contributed to Scotland’s remarkable comeback.

    He could have left the field earlier had a shoulder charge on Scotland’s Darcy Graham not gone unpunished. But there is no doubting the quality and leadership England’s No10 possesses.

    For the most part it was his dazzling array of skills and kicking prowess that was on show throughout the six weeks – highlighted by him scoring 59 points (16 more than anyone else).

    BEST GAME

    ENGLAND 38 SCOTLAND 38

    Scotland captain Stuart McInally with the Calcutta Cup.

    Scotland captain Stuart McInally with the Calcutta Cup.

    Easiest choice of the lot. Little was riding on this game – apart from the Calcutta Cup and the fact neither set of fans really like one another. But after Wales had blitzed Ireland to secure the title and Grand Slam earlier in the day, it was feared there would be a flat atmosphere inside Twickenham.

    But the hosts – determined perhaps to put on a spectacle for their deserving fans – stormed out of the blocks with the bonus point fourth try secured 12 minutes before half-time.

    Game over, right? Oh, how wrong could we be. Stuart McInally’s lung-busting effort lit the blue touch paper and from there a sea of dark blue washed over Rugby HQ as the Red Rose were washed away by the most brilliant Scottish fightback.

    Two for Graham and one try each for Magnus Bradbury, Finn Russell and Sam Johnson unfathomably saw Scotland erase a 31-0 deficit after 29 minutes. Thirty minutes later Russell’s converted score made it 31-31 before they took the lead with four minutes to go.

    George Ford sniped over to break Scottish hearts but it only served to cap the craziest of games.

    BEST TRY

    DARCY GRAHAM (SCOTLAND)

    Darcy Graham

    Scotland could have had legitimate argument for a top five tries of the tournament on their own – with hooker McInally outstripping both Farrell and lightning winger May to sprint 70 metres for a breathtaking score after charging down Farrell’s kick well inside his own half.

    But for sheer aesthetics we’re giving it to the Dark Blues for their second try in a mesmeric comeback at Twickenham. String-puller Russell sparked the move, which involved lightning hands from Johnson, Ali Price, Sean Maitland and Price once more, before determination and strength from Graham saw him power past three would-be tacklers to dive over the whitewash. Amazing.

    BEST MOMENT

    WALES BEAT ENGLAND TO MAKE HISTORY

    Josh Adams celebrates his game-clinching try against England with Liam Williams and Jonathan Davies.

    Josh Adams celebrates his game-clinching try against England with Liam Williams and Jonathan Davies.

    In a championship that was, as usual, full of highlights, the award goes to champions Wales for their record-setting run to 14 wins.

    They smashed a 109-year-old record in the process and had to beat England in order to re-write history. The run began in last year’s tournament – a 38-14 triumph over Italy at the Millennium Stadium – and has since gathered more eye-catching victories over Australia, South Africa and Argentina (both twice), England and Ireland.

    The fact that a new record was set in front of their own fans, against their fiercest rivals, England, in round three, was all the more special.

    UNSUNG HERO

    HADLEIGH PARKES (WALES)

    Parkes celebrates his early try with Jonathan Davies.

    Parkes celebrates his early try with Jonathan Davies.

    The 31-year-old Kiwi is a late bloomer in terms of international rugby – earning his Dragons’ debut only in the autumn internationals of 2017, aged 30.

    In 15 caps since though he has become an integral component of the Welsh squad – forming a rock solid partnership in midfield with Jonathan Davies.

    He has slotted seamlessly into the No12 jersey vacated by battering ram Jamie Roberts, matching his intensity and appetite for hard work, as well as inputting a fair bit of flair and skill.

    He saved his best performance for last, setting the tone against Ireland in attack by getting on the end of Gareth Anscombe’s clever chip to put Wales in the ascendancy. In defence, meanwhile, his gallant chase and sublime tackle to deny Jacob Stockdale a certain try, will live long in the memory of Welsh fans.

    BREAKOUT PLAYER

    DARCY GRAHAM (SCOTLAND)

    Darcy Graham celebrates his try against Wales with Scottish team-mates.

    Darcy Graham celebrates his try against Wales with Scottish team-mates.

    Blair Kinghorn pushed him close – scoring a hat-trick on debut against Italy (Scotland’s first in the championship for 30 years) – but the diminutive Edinburgh wing came into his own in the latter stages of the tournament.

    The 21-year-old would have been a complete unknown outside Scotland before the tournament kicked off and didn’t even feature in the first two games – getting his second cap off the bench against France, a 15-minute cameo.

    He starred as a replacement in the next game, giving everyone a glimpse of his explosive speed and fearlessness with a darting run in the first half that almost led to a try against Wales. He did score in the second half as he finished off a stunning passing move orchestrated by Russell before being forced off injured.

    He recovered to feature against England on the final day and shone in a stunning second half comeback with his trademark speed and toughness again on show in his brace of tries, as Scotland came back from the dead to secure a memorable 38-38 draw.

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