There weren't any huge upsets as the Nations Championship returned but there was a bucket load of points and no shortage of exciting rugby.
The top sides showed their class as South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland romped to dominant victories, while England eased the pressure on Steve Borthwick with a resounding win over a listless Wallabies outfit to round off the weekend.
As we approach the World Cup, there appears to be a settling of the pack. The favourites: South Africa and New Zealand, the hopefuls: France and Ireland, and those who can compete but still have some convincing to do: Scotland and England.
Meanwhile, the Australia, Argentina and Italy camps will be wondering where it all went wrong after a frustrating weekend.
Northern series round one results:
Ireland 42-12 Argentina
Italy 7-66 South Africa
Scotland 21-43 New Zealand
Wales 28-21 Japan
France 54-17 Fiji
England 45-22 Australia
Henry Pollock the hybrid star
We're fully into the hybrid rugby era: players featuring in both the backs and the forwards. The Boks have mastered it: Deon Fourie, Marco van Stadden, Kwagga Smith and Andre Esterhuizen have all excelled in that hybrid status. Sekou Macalou has switched between the forwards and wing for France, while Fiji enjoyed Levani Botia in both the centres and at No.8.
Ex-England coach Eddie Jones used to talk up the potential of winger Jack Nowell playing at flanker while back-row Ben Earl has been used in the centres under Borthwick. On Sunday, we saw Henry Pollock take his first, firm steps as a hybrid player, as he played the second half of England's win over Australia on the wing, after replacing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
It was hardly a soft audition as he faced Max Jorgensen, but Pollock looked at home on the flank, scoring twice in the second half. It was a comfortable, morale-boosting win for England against a poor Wallabies side, and there was plenty to be pleased about.
As for Pollock, you're unlikely to see him starting there any time soon, but his adaptability is great news for Borthwick and his options on the bench. "I say this in all the right ways, is that we now have to bear Henry Pollock saying playing on the wing is easy," Borthwick said post-match.
"And we now have to bear Henry Pollock saying he can play anywhere on the pitch. He was excellent and now we hear a lot about it. So, that's the downside." -- Tom Hamilton
- Borthwick lauds 'excellent' Pollock after England beat Australia
Australia in crisis?
The Wallabies are in need of a complete defensive overhaul following their crushing 45-22 defeat by England on Sunday, the third straight Test where Australia have conceded more than 40 points.
While their attack was non-existent in the first half and just as alarming -- their first entry into England's 22 came after 37 minutes -- the ease at which the Wallabies' line is being picked apart is now at crisis level.
Making the matter worse is that it is not confined to one part of Australia's setup either, with England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet enjoying as much success in probing around the ruck as wingers Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman did galivanting in open space out wide.
Australia have long resisted a switch to a rush defence, which the Springboks have employed for some time now, and instead have used a soak-and-shift framework. But that is simply giving opposition attacks far too much time and space to work in and once they string multiple phases together, a line break, and quite often a try, feels inevitable.
Should Scotland, and Finn Russell in particular, carve up the Wallabies like the England backs did, then Wallabies defence coach Scott McLeod's position will be almost untenable. Something must change defensively for Australia -- and fast. -- Sam Bruce
Rassie's not satisfied
Rassie Erasmus' words after the 66-7 hammering should be ominous for the rest of the sport. "We have to play much better than this if we want to be competitive against France and Ireland," he said.
Let's just pause for a second and read that second part again: "If we want to be competitive." In that first half against Italy, the Boks were irresistible. No side in the world could've lived with them, let alone an Italian side shorn of several of their best players due to injury (they were without Michele Lamaro, Sebastian Negri, Marco Riccioni, Andrea Zambonin and Tommaso Menoncello).
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was sensational, the forwards supreme, the backs mesmeric. The win was born from the set piece, physicality but also that dab of backline finesse, inevitably stemming from Feinberg-Mngomezulu's touch. Take his first try, the dummy to open up Italy's midfield and then the sprint and acrobatic finish. The 45-0 half-time lead, more than a point a minute, was comprehensive and entirely fair.
Though they mustered just three second-half tries is an inevitability when one team has monstered ahead, but for Erasmus to call for standards to be raised further is one of the key foundational aspects of why this team are backed to win their third World Cup in a row. -- Hamilton
Antoine Dupont back at his best
Welcome back Antoine Dupont. We saw some memorable individual performances this week: Louis Rees-Zammit was at his lightning best for Wales, Hugo Keenan grabbed a hat trick for Ireland, Feinberg-Mngomezulu was electric for South Africa, and there were plenty of notable performances for England, including that cameo on the wing for Pollock.
But to see Dupont back and steering France around with such ease was not only good for the soul, it was especially timely with the Boks coming to town on Friday. France face issues at fly-half with Romain Ntamack forced off injured against Fiji, so it could be yet another makeshift option at No.10.
Whoever it is, Dupont will look to steer things to his own sky-high standards. He's been in the shadows a little bit recently due to his injury, his steady return and the emergence of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, but Dupont being at his best is good news for the sport. -- Hamilton
All Blacks make statement after emotional week
Emotions ran high at Murrayfield on Saturday as the All Blacks took to the field less than a week after the team's head of security, Logan Cadwallader, died suddenly in Edinburgh. After would have been an understandably disrupted week, New Zealand showed their class on and off the field.
"We wanted to win for him," Codie Taylor said post-match. "This week has been a lot bigger than rugby. It's about acknowledging one of our brothers that has fallen. A husband, father, son who was highly respected in our group.
"I know there was a lot of emotion in the anthem and, looking across to the management, how much they were feeling it as well. There was definitely more motivation to front up and represent him."
Scotland went with them in the first half thanks to a hat trick from Ewan Ashman and some nice individual moments from Finn Russell in particular. They trailed by just three points at the break but even then it felt like they were clinging on.
Scotland invited their opponents through the door with indiscipline and New Zealand simply found another gear. The 10-15 combination of Damien McKenzie and Beauden Barrett worked beautifully, while the back row more than proved they can cope without Ardie Savea. All the pre-match talk and expectation that maybe this could be the year Scotland beat New Zealand proved naive.
Davie Rennie has his side on an upward trajectory 12 months out from the World Cup, while Scotland again crumbled against an elite opposition. -- James Regan