Round 3 of the Guinness Six Nations saw France remain unbeaten heading into the final two rounds as England and Ireland also secured victories to keep themselves in the title hunt.
England kept their Championship hopes alive with a gritty 23-19 victory over Wales at Twickenham, while Ireland beat Italy 57-6 as they bounced back from their defeat to Les Bleus in Round 2.
France’s hopes of a Grand Slam also remain after a 36-17 victory over Scotland at BT Murrayfield.
Here are some of the most interesting numbers from the weekend’s action.
64 – Percent territory for Ireland. Andy Farrell’s men took advantage of their numerical superiority over Italy to dominate the game and rack up nine tries.
173 – Metres carried by Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg. Despite being on the losing side, Hogg saw plenty of ball and was a constant threat in attack.
6 – Dominant tackles from France. Fabien Galthié’s men were strong in defence and gained full control of the game in the second half to continue their Grand Slam attempt.
17 – Tackles by Taulupe Faletau on his return from injury. The No.8 played the full 80 minutes as he made an impressive return to the Wales pack.
93 – Passes by Jamison Gibson-Park, the most by any player in Round 3. Ireland saw lots of ball at the Aviva Stadium and Gibson-Park kept the Ireland attack ticking throughout.
15 – Turnovers conceded by Scotland, the most of any team in Round 3, as they struggled to deal with a relentless Shaun Edwards-inspired France defence.
19 – Tackles by Michele Lamaro for Italy. His side were reduced to 13-men but put in an admirable and spirited rear-guard performance as typified by their captain.
10 – Years since Wales beat England at Twickenham in the Guinness Six Nations. Wales ran out 19-12 winners a decade ago thanks to a Scott Williams try but Wayne Pivac’s men came up just short on Saturday.
41 – Percent possession for France, despite their 36-17 victory. Hosts Scotland may have seen more of the ball but the away side were ruthless when they did have it as they scored six tries.
115 – Caps for Ben Youngs. The scrum-half became England men’s record appearance-maker when he replaced Harry Randall, moving ahead of Jason Leonard.
