RBS 6 Nations – Opening weekend in numbers

The RBS 6 Nations returned at the weekend and did not disappoint with its usual mix of sublime rugby and ridiculous tension.

There were wins for all three home teams – Wales, France and Ireland, but it was not all plain sailing.

We look at some of the weekend’s highlights and talking points in numbers:

31 – number of seconds it took for France to score their opening try at the Stade de France, as Yoann Huget collected a kind bounce to score against England.

9 – players who started for Wales v Italy who also began the final Test on the British and Irish Lions’ tour to Australia.

6 – minutes into his RBS 6 Nations debut that winger Jonny May suffered a broken nose and was forced off the field. He is a doubt for England’s trip to Scotland next weekend.

4 – number of French defenders who failed to stop Mike Brown crashing over for his first international try – on his 22nd England appearance.

107 – metres ran with the ball by Italy’s 20-year-old centre Michele Campagnaro, the most on the opening weekend of the tournament. England debutant Jack Nowell was next best with 81m.

“The dream of winning every game is not there any more but we showed great potential against France” – England skipper Chris Robshaw

2 – tries that England’s Billy Vunipola created on his RBS 6 Nations debut. The 21-year-old set up Mike Brown in the first half and then set Luther Burrell on his way for a score on his international debut.

129 – number of caps now for Brian O’Driscoll – a new Irish record, surpassing Ronan O’Gara. Team-mate Rob Kearney marked his 50th appearance with a try in Ireland’s 28-6 win over Scotland.

18 – unanswered points by England in the space of 20 minutes that took them from 16-3 down to 21-16 ahead against France.

12-6 – scoreline in the second half of the Wales-Italy match in Cardiff – in Italy’s favour. Wales held on for a 23-15 victory as they look to win a third straight title.

203 – number of points scored in international rugby by Owen Farrell. He became only the 10th England player ever to pass 200 points and, at just 22, he is already the joint-9th highest scorer for his country.

170 – tackles made by Scotland, comfortably more than any of the other five nations but they still ended up the heaviest losers of the weekend.

76:37 – time on the clock when Gael Fickou went over for a fine individual score at the death to help give France a narrow 26-24 win over England.

What was your highlight from the opening RBS 6 Nations weekend?