There was no shortage of drama on Finals Weekend as the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup was brought to a thrilling crescendo with four blockbuster games over two days.
England clinched the crown with a sudden death victory over France at Twickenham while Ireland overcame Scotland at the Aviva Stadium to secure third place in the tournament.
Wales also finished the year on a high as Wayne Pivac’s men saw off Italy in Llanelli and Fiji made their long-awaited bow by running in six tries in a box office clash with Georgia.
And where better to start the round-up of the best social media reaction to the weekend’s explosive action than with Sunday’s enthralling conclusion to the tournament.
England defeated France 22-19 in sudden death to claim the title and the Red Rose players were quick to pay tribute to their opposition after pushing them all the way over 95 minutes.
Pundits, former players and fans alike took to Twitter to hail the effort from both sides with England legend Jason Robinson praising the young Les Bleus team for their performance.
Amazon Prime Video pundit and former England captain Dylan Hartley was also blown away by the dramatic finish to the contest, highlighting France’s impressive physicality during the final.
Eddie Jones was delighted with the character his players showed to come from behind to defeat France and was keen to stress that it was never going to be easy against Fabien Galthie’s side.
Luke Cowan-Dickie’s try at the death rescued England from defeat in regular time and the Exeter Chiefs man celebrated a second trophy of the year for the Guinness Six Nations champions.
Elsewhere, Fiji returned to the international stage with aplomb as they defeated Georgia 38-24 thanks to a hat-trick from Nemani Nadolo to clinch seventh place.
The Pacific Islanders took just 72 seconds to score the game’s opening try as Nadolo showed his brute force – and the rampaging back was glad to be back doing what he loves best.
His try was not the only score being celebrated as Mesulame Kunavula’s brilliant effort on his debut was also highlighted due to the build-up play from Josua Tuisova.
Ireland finished their year on a high as they defeated Scotland 31-16 to seal third place in the tournament and former captain Brian O’Driscoll was impressed by their display.
Wales scored five tries to see off a stubborn Italy side at Parc y Scarlets and after huge performances from Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau, Ugo Monye was purring.
Former Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips was also singing the praises of the back-row duo after Pivac’s side took fifth place with their 38-18 victory in Llanelli.
