2022 Six Nations: Ten things we learned as Scotland imploded, France reigned supreme and Italy turned to Ange-ball

It began with a bang but ended in acrimony and a fourth-place finish. Scotland’s 2022 Six Nations was pockmarked by disappointment but the championship did provide dazzling Grand Slam winners in France, and Ireland deserved their Triple Crown.The Calcutta Cup win of the opening weekend seems a long, long time ago. The talk after that game was of a genuine title challenge, of going to Cardiff and winning for the first time in 20 years. Gavin Hastings warned us not to get carried away, told us not to mention the G**** S***. He was right, of course. Wales won, Scotland unravelled and by the time we got to Dublin reports of an unauthorised night out involving six players the previous weekend were doing the rounds. So what did we learn?

Future of the Scotland captaincy is uncertain

Offered the chance on Sunday to endorse Stuart Hogg’s captaincy going forward, Gregor Townsend blustered about it being “a long time until our next tournament” and said “we’ll have to reflect on everything”. It was hardly a vote of confidence in the full-back who was one of the six players reported to have left the team hotel for an intended night out in Edinburgh following their return from Italy. Hogg has held the post for over two years but Townsend may now feel the time is right for change.

Rory Darge fulfilled his promise

Rory Darge has been consistently excellent since moving from Edinburgh to Glasgow last April but even seasoned observers were surprised by how quickly he made the transition to Test rugby. The flanker won his first cap as a replacement in the defeat by Wales in Cardiff and then marked his first start with a try against France at Murrayfield in a performance that had Townsend praising him as Scotland’s best player on the day.