Six Nations team of the week: Which players impressed in round three?

The Six Nations presses pause after a hectic three-week block of action to open this year’s championship.

England are in need of a fallow week after a damaging defeat to Ireland that raised huge questions about Steve Borthwick’s side, particularly after defeat to Scotland the week before.

Gregor Townsend’s side just about came through a mighty fright against a vastly-improved Wales in Cardiff, and may now have eyes on a triple crown showdown in Dublin on the final weekend.

France, meanwhile, kept their grand slam charge on track with a win over Italy in Lille despite another battling performance from the Azzurri.

But which players particularly impressed in round three? Here are The Independent’s picks for our team of the week:

A punchy performance at set piece and in the loose from Carre, who wore a mighty grin after burrowing over from close range. Always a force as a carrier, he is an improving scrummager who works well with Nicky Smith as a complementary prop duo.

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Lake led from the front as Wales threatened something unexpected in Cardiff, ploughing time and time again into the Scottish defence and getting through heaps of work otherwise. It may not have ended in victory but there is something, clearly, here for Wales to build upon.

The lone Englishman to emerge in credit from a dark Twickenham day, Heyes continued to show why he might be international rugby’s most improved player in the last 12 months. The home scrum was, as forecast, well on top of their Irish counterparts and the prop pitched in with a couple of really dynamic carries – and even one claim of a chip kick that showed he had not lost all of the skills of his goalkeeping youth.

A bit of extra size alongside him in the form of the equally impressive Ben Carter seemed to help free Jenkins up for one of his best Wales performances. Always a tackling machine, he helped turn a lineout that had been struggling into one that hit 100 per cent of its throws, so nearly providing a platform for a shock success. Both Irish locks are unfortunate to miss out.

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What depth France have at lock. Bound to Toulouse teammate Thibaud Flament after the pair’s promotion from the bench, Meafou was his usual thunderous self in the carry and showed the softer skills we all know he possesses. Fabien Galthie has decisions to make about how best to utilise both they and the Charles Ollivon/Mickael Guillard axis that had served him so well so far. The less said, mind, about a hacked clearance from Meafou on his own line the better.

Ahead of the first British and Irish Lions Test last summer, Andy Farrell had a word in Beirne’s ear, reminding the forward that he had come in for criticism from some during the tour and urging him to deliver a performance to answer the critics. Beirne delivered, as he did against England on Saturday after an uncharacteristically quiet showing against France. A menace.

It was so nearly a familiar tale for Scotland as they backed up a big showing against England with something altogether more ugly. Credit must go to Gregor Townsend for a sharp usage of his bench – not something that has always been said about the head coach – and to figures like Darge, whose breakdown acumen proved vital.

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We’ll let Andy Farrell explain Doris’s inclusion: “I thought he [Doris] had his best game in a good while. He was immense in his carry. That’s Caelan at his best. How he led from the front and got us over the gainline was outstanding.” Who are we to argue?

Another Irishman recapturing his best touch, Gibson-Park’s speed of service and intelligent kicking game caused England all manner of issues, with his sharp score a cherry on top. He is run mightily, mightily close by Antoine Dupont’s tour de force against Italy in Lille – the France captain was defensively outstanding.

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Scotland needed a moment of magic to swing the clash in Cardiff their way; as he has so often, Russell delivered. Few fly halves would have spotted the space as went to take the restart, fewer still would have attempted to find it, and perhaps no others would have executed the skill so superbly to set up Darcy Graham for a crucial try. Scotland escape with their hopes of a triple crown intact.

There is something almost cartoonish about the way in which Bielle-Biarrey can eat up ground, making even the very quick Ange Capuozzo look comparatively pedestrian as he zoomed to France’s first try. That sheer speed seems to get Bielle-Biarrey, and his side, out of tricky situations so often, while he feels a threat to score every time he touches the ball,

A totemic individual effort from McCloskey at Twickenham, with the big centre at the heart of a superb collective performance. England could not handle his combination of burl and deft handling – the number of times that McCloskey punched through the initial contact, freed the arms and condensed the English defence with either an offload or the threat of one allowed Ireland to open them up on the edge. His reeling in of Marcus Smith late on epitomised the overall effort.

It never quite felt that France found their fluency in structure or phase play in Lille, which was perhaps understandable after a late injury to Matthieu Jalibert forced a reshuffle. The ability of Gailleton to generate go-forward, though, felt crucial, the centre seemingly able to take the ball on the back foot and still make metres through tight spaces.

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After a sparky showing against Italy, this was the complete performance of an international wing from Baloucoune. Aerially excellent and defensively stout, corralling Henry Arundell repeatedly, his burst of speed and capacity to writhe through contact stood out. After an injury-hit season last year, he’s been back to his best for an impressive Ulster in the URC. Tommy O’Brien merits mention, too, after an early introduction for an injured James Lowe – the composition of Ireland’s back three will be interesting when Mack Hansen and Hugo Keenan are back fit.

One man that feels certain to find a place in Farrell’s first-choice squad is Osborne. One wonders if the centres may prove his long-term home but he’s now started at full-back in his last five appearances for his country and looks increasingly assured, stepping up into the line as a distributor neatly on multiple occasions against England.