One week on from the conclusion of the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations, many of the players involved were back playing for their respective clubs and provinces in domestic competition.
There were star performances by England’s Maro Itoje and Wales’ Justin Tipuric in vital wins for Saracens and Ospreys respectively, while George Ford’s late penalty gave Leicester Tigers victory over Wasps.
Several international names were try scorers as well, with the likes of Mathieu Bastareaud, Josh Adams and Elliot Daly each bagging themselves a brace.
Here are some of the eye-catching statistics to have emerged from the weekend. Bastareaud bowls over Clermont
One of the stand-out attacking displays of the weekend came from France centre Mathieu Bastareaud, who was unstoppable for Toulon in their 49-0 thrashing of Clermont-Auvergne on Sunday.
Bastareaud beat 11 defenders from 20 carries, which gained 57 metres, and scored two of Toulon’s seven tries, while he helped put his teammates in space with six off-loads.
Scotland’s Nick Grigg was part of another team who ran riot, as Glasgow Warriors defeated Zebre 68-7 and while he didn’t get on the scoresheet, he beat four defenders and gained 43 metres.
England’s Jonathan Joseph got through plenty of work in Bath’s 20-18 defeat against Exeter Chiefs by making 14 carries, while he also got through 12 tackles in defence.
Carries by NatWest 6 Nations centres Mathieu Bastareaud (France) – 20 Jonathan Joseph (England) – 14 Scott Williams (Wales) – 12 Virimi Vakatawa (France) – 8 Nick Grigg (Scotland) – 7 Ben Te’o (England) – 7
Tip-top Itoje
There was a spectacular return to form for England lock Itoje in Saracens 24-11 win over Harlequins on Saturday, as he not only scored a try, but made two clean breaks and defeated three defenders.
Itoje also gained 44 metres over the course of the game, while he made an impressive ten tackles, which was also the amount made by Ireland’s Iain Henderson in Ulster’s 35-17 defeat at Cardiff Blues.
The big second row also managed to beat four defenders, while Wales’ Cory Hill was also dynamic in the loose for the Dragons by gaining 46 metres during their 29-17 loss against the Cheetahs in the Guinness PRO14.
Joe Launchbury showed the work-rate we associate during his games with England, as he made nine tackles for Wasps, but this is behind the 14 hits by Scotland’s Grant Gilchrist for Edinburgh, as they defeated Connacht.
Tackles by NatWest 6 Nations locks Grant Gilchrist (Scotland) – 14 Arthur Iturria (France) – 11 Iain Henderson (Ireland) – 10 Maro Itoje (England) – 10 Paul Gabrillagues (France) -10 Jet-heeled Josh
While he couldn’t prevent Worcester Warriors from falling to a 58-25 defeat at Sale Sharks, Wales’ Josh Adams still had an impressive afternoon.
His two tries lifted his overall tally for the season to 12, making him the outright top scorer in the Premiership, while he gained a staggering 164 metres, from 15 carries, from full back.
This included four clean breaks, with France’s Benjamin Fall helping Montpellier to a 45-7 beating of Castres by making three of his own and beating six defenders.
England’s Mike Brown also had a decent game in defeat for Harlequins at Saracens, completing four off-loads and gaining 61 metres.
Meanwhile, 2018 NatWest 6 Nations Player of the Championship Jacob Stockdale returned to Ulster and made 41 metres and beat two defenders at Cardiff Blues.
Metres gained by NatWest 6 Nations wingers/full backs Josh Adams (Wales) – 164 Jayden Hayward (Italy) – 129 Benjamin Fall (France) – 62 Mike Brown (England) – 61 Teddy Thomas (France) – 54
