England made it back-to-back RBS 6 Nations titles in a dramatic 2017 Championship which concluded on Super Saturday with a fond farewell in Edinburgh, a frantic finish in Paris and then a Dublin denouement.
Here we look back at how England made it two from two in a remarkable edition of the Championship: Round One It all kicked off at BT Murrayfield as Scotland made a blistering start in what would be a hugely successful Championship for them, seeing off Ireland 27-22.
Under departing head coach Vern Cotter the Scots ran in three first-half tries, including a double for Stuart Hogg, to lead Ireland 21-8 at half-time.
The visitors came roaring back, and even took the lead in the second period, but in the end two Greig Laidlaw penalties saw Scotland home and gave Cotter the bragging rights over former Clermont colleague Joe Schmidt.
Attention then shifted to Twickenham where England were pushed all the way by France before claiming a 19-16 win.
Rabah Slimani’s try had France leading into the final ten minutes, but as they would do again later in the Championship, England finished strongly and replacement Ben Te’o went over for a crucial first Test try.
Sunday’s action took place in Rome as Wales visited the Italian capital and found themselves under pressure in the first half, trailing 7-3 at the break to Edoardo Gori’s try.
They stepped things up in the second half, running in three tries although Liam Williams was inches away from a bonus-point score in the 33-7 win. Round Two It was back to Rome to start Round Two, and a brilliant attacking display from Ireland as they powered to a 63-10 success at the Stadio Olimpico.
CJ Stander’s try just before half-time secured the first-ever try-bonus point in the Championship, and he completed a hat-trick in the second half, as did Craig Gilroy after coming off the bench.
England then showed their ability to close out games once again in Cardiff, denying Wales at the death in a 21-16 victory.
Liam Williams’ try just before half-time and the boot of Leigh Halfpenny was enough for a 16-11 lead with ten minutes remaining for the hosts.
But Elliot Daly popped up late on after a brilliant pass from Owen Farrell, with the England centre sealing the win with the conversion.
On Sunday in Paris France used their scrum dominance to see off Scotland 22-16, with Camille Lopez – the top-scorer in the Championship – finishing with 17 points. Round Three Scotland bounced back in style against Wales, ending a decade-long wait for victory over the Welsh with a 29-13 success.
It was all the more remarkable given they trailed 13-9 at the break, but 20 unanswered points in the second half, including tries for Tommy Seymour and Tim Visser, saw them home.
Ireland weathered an early French storm in Dublin to ease to a 19-9 success and keep their title hopes alive, Conor Murray scoring the only try of the game.
And arguably the most talked about game of the weekend came on Sunday as Italy employed their no-ruck tactic and confounded England at Twickenham.
Although they eventually went down 36-15, they were trailing by just two points heading into the final quarter as England struggled to come to terms with the innovative tactic of not committing to the breakdown. Round Four In theory five teams were still in Championship contention heading into the fourth round of games, but by the end of play on Saturday England had been crowned champions once again.
Friday night’s action took place in Cardiff as Wales responded to their Scottish disappointment with an excellent display against Ireland.
Outscoring their opponents three tries to nil, including a double for George North, as well as defending for their lives in the second half, they eventually won 22-9.
On Saturday France picked up their first try-bonus point, running out 40-18 winners in Rome, Camille Lopez again to the fore with 20 points.
So that left England needing just a win to clinch a second successive title, against a Scottish team searching for a Triple Crown and a first win at Twickenham since 1983.
Things started badly with Fraser Brown’s yellow card with barely a minute in, and from there England cut loose.
Jonathan Joseph ran in a hat-trick and they racked up seven tries in all for a 61-21 win and more Championship glory. Round Five England might already have been champions but there was still plenty to play for on Super Saturday, starting at BT Murrayfield as Scotland bid farewell to Cotter in fine style.
In difficult conditions they ran in four tries, while also holding the Italians scoreless in a 29-0 success.
Next up was one of the most incredible endings in the Championship’s history as France sneaked past Wales 20-18.
Damien Chouly’s try in the 100th minute finally broke Welsh hearts in one of the more unlikely endings to a Test match.
After nearly 20 minutes on the final play of the game, the replacement flanker forced his way over and Camille Lopez added the crucial conversion to clinch victory.
England were looking to become the first team to win back-to-back Grand Slams in the RBS 6 Nations era, but came up against a fantastic Irish side in Dublin, and were beaten 13-9.
Iain Henderson crossed in the first half dominated by Ireland both in possession and territory but England fought back in the second.
In the end though, Ireland held on, with Peter O’Mahony earning man-of-the-match honours after coming into the team at the last minute for an injured Jamie Heaslip as Ireland finished second.
England’s unbeaten record under Eddie Jones, and their Grand Slam hopes might have disappeared in the Dublin rain, but they were still able to celebrate their overall victory in style with a lap of honour after receiving the trophy.
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