Six Nations: Results show gulf between top and bottom

France and England strolled to emphatic wins yesterday, running in 17 tries between them against the weakest two sides in the tournament, Italy and Scotland.

England - resting many of their key players - were never remotely troubled as they racked up 51 unanswered points against Scotland, pretty much guaranteeing their fifth straight Six Nations - with a massive positive points difference of 140 even losing their final game against France next week would still give them the title.

Later in the evening France pretty much wrapped up second place with a 45-14 win over Italy, killing the game off with three converted tries in the opening 20 minutes and continuing their excellent home form. The result gives them a 46 points difference advantage over Ireland going into the final round - so a only a big win for Ireland over Scotland and a big defeat for France in that final round will take the runners-up spot away from them. In practice both results are possible so it will be interesting to keep an eye on England's team selection for their trip to Rennes next weekend.

Position	Nation	Games				Points				Table points
		Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Difference	Tries
1	England	4	4	0	0	145	5	140	16	8
2	France	4	3	0	1	87	36	51	14	6
3	Ireland	4	2	0	2	54	49	5	7	4
4	Scotland	4	1	1	1	28	93	-65	4	3
5	Wales	4	1	0	3	34	73	-39	4	2
6	Italy	4	0	1	3	25	94	-89	3	1