5 things we learned from the second round of Six Nations action

France put themselves in pole position for Guinness Six Nations glory, while Scotland were brought back down to earth with a bang.

Here, the PA news agency picks out things of note from round two of the championship.

Les Bleus came into the tournament as favourites and underlined that status with a spellbinding win over Ireland in Paris. Billed as a potential early title decider, the pulsating contest did not disappoint. Antoine Dupont’s superb try set the tone and French physicality, intensity and speed of ball was, at times, off the scale to the delight of a raucous Stade de France crowd. Fabien Galthie’s formidable hosts are on a steady upward curve and marching relentlessly towards next year’s home World Cup. They are now undoubtedly the team to beat as they attempt to end a 12-year wait for championship glory.

Italy Under-20s made history on Friday by defeating England for the first time. There was no such joy for their senior counterparts, whose inclusion in the Six Nations continues to be the subject of much scrutiny. The Azzurri have now lost a remarkable 34 championship matches in a row, dating back to 2015. Eddie Jones’ much-changed England healed some wounds from their opening-day setback against Scotland but, in truth, a routine 33-0 win in Rome was entirely predictable. Following Saturday’s gripping drama in Cardiff and Paris, too many matches involving the Italians are relative non-events.

While France currently have the upper hand, the standings are nicely poised going into a two-week break. Only perennial wooden spoon winners Italy are out of title contention, with Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland each retaining hope of chasing down the pacesetters on the back of a win and defeat apiece. For all of