The Albany Gazette - Six Nations fourth-round talking points

Below AFP Sport looks at some of the key talking points from a dramatic fourth round:

Borthwick's plan coming together

England's impressive 23-22 win over Ireland at Twickenham was a triumph on several fronts, not least for coach Steve Borthwick.

Following a dispiriting 30-21 defeat by Scotland, Borthwick was accused by fellow former England captain Will Carling of imprisoning his players in a "data straitjacket".

But with England harrying Ireland up front, and demonstrating admirable game awareness to rally from 17-8 behind early in the second half, they produced a display of pace, power and skill topped off by Marcus Smith's decisive last-ditch drop-goal.

It was England's best performance since their 2019 World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand and gave them an outside shot of dethroning Ireland as champions in the final round.

Borthwick, often labelled a "conservative" coach, stunned many observers by dropping Freddie Steward, renowned for his skill under the high ball, two games into the tournament and recalling George Furbank at full-back instead.

Furbank responded with a fine try against Scotland and on Saturday his scorching diagonal run and slick pass helped pave the way for a fifth-minute try by Ollie Lawrence that wiped out Ireland's early 3-0 lead.

Typically, Borthwick played down his role, saying: "What pleased me the most was that the players stayed true to the path that we're trying to follow and tried to take the next step."

See-saw Scotland frustrate yet again

Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada affectionately referred to his team as "nutters" after the Azzurri ended their 11-year wait for a home win in the Six Nations with a well-deserved 31-29 defeat of Scotland in Rome.

But it was the mentality of Scotland, fresh from a win over England, that was once more under the spotlight.

Scotland were 14-3 ahead after 12 minutes and still 22-16 in front at the break. Well though an improving Italy played, it was hard to imagine a side with genuine aspirations for the Six Nations title letting things slip as badly as Scotland did during the second half at the Stadio Olimpico.

Whether someone other than long-serving Scotland boss Gregor Townsend could get more out of a talented, if inconsistent, group of players is now an open question. But it would be unfair to pin the blame on Townsend for several of his side's 'coach-killer' errors on Saturday.

Fickou's enduring class

This has been a difficult Six Nations for a France team dealing with the emotional fall-out from failing to win last year's World Cup on home soil.

Without star scrum-half Antoine Dupont, concentrating on sevens ahead of the Paris Olympics, Les Bleus made a lacklustre start to the tournament and were fortunate to escape with a draw against Italy.

But there were signs of their trademark power and backline panache on show during a 45-24 win over Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, with experienced centre Fickou producing a typically elegant finish after bursting through Sam Costelow's attempted tackle to score the first of France's five tries at the Principality Stadium.

The 29-year-old also helped steady a youthful France team by living up to his billing as defence captain with several thumping tackles as Wales suffered a fourth straight defeat of the Championship.

(O.Garcia--TAG)