Jonny May leads our star players from round two of Six Nations

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  • England and Wales extended their 100 per cent record in the Six Nations with respective wins over France and Italy.

    Elsewhere, Ireland returned to winning ways with a 22-13 victory at Murrayfield.

    Here, we pick out the top performers from the weekend’s action.

    JONNY MAY (England)

    The Leicester winger again showed how lethal he is, scoring three tries against France in a virtuous display. With raw power, pace and dominance under the high ball, May is an unstoppable finisher and his work-rate gives England so many option with their effective kicking game plan. He will undoubtedly have harder days going forward, but with 12 tries in 12 matches, the 28-year-old is purring with confidence and class. Will be key to England’s Grand Slam hopes.

    ANTOINE DUPONT (France)

    One of the few star players for Les Bleus. The 22-year-old came on for the last 34 minutes and made an instant impact. He beat the most defenders (9), made the most clean breaks (5) and threw the most offloads (4). Judging by the way Dupont has played at club and international level recently, he needs to start ahead of Morgan Parra for the rest of the Six Nations. The Toulouse man has the running, passing and kicking game for France to build a game around him in future years.

    JAMIE RITCHIE (Scotland)

    Although he will be disappointed with the defeat, Ritchie was one of Scotland’s star players at Murrayfield. The young Edinburgh man made 24 tackles and forced the turnover that cut the deficit to six points after 62 minutes. He proved a genuine menace at the breakdown, but found it harder to sustain as the match wore on, especially with Sean O’Brien and Peter O’Mahony showing their mettle for an improved Ireland side.

    ROB KEARNEY (Ireland)

    The 32-year-old’s glittering performance against Scotland proved how valuable he is to Joe Schmidt’s side. The Leinster man brings a level of reassurance to the back three and his experience, positioning and decision making makes others around him more comfortable in both attack and defence. Safe under the high ball, he looked dangerous on the counter, making a superb break that led to Keith Earls try in the second half. He also ran a stunning 91 metres, making three clean breaks and beating five defenders.

    JOSH NAVIDI (Wales)

    Josh Adams may have scored a try and made 12 carries for 68 metres, but Navidi was the key cog for the Dragons. With his slick looking dreadlocks, the Cardiff man made seven carries and 10 tackles in a typically abrasive display at No8. With Aaron Wainwright and Thomas Young either side of him, the Welsh trio stopped a number of pacy Italian attacks and looked a general force whenever they were under pressure. In Navidi, Warren Gatland has one of the star players of the Six Nations so far.

    BRAAM STEYN (Italy)

    The Azzurri back-rower looked a class apart from his other teammates in the narrow defeat to Wales. He made a powerful surge for the opening try as he burrowed through the visitors defence after a well-worked move from an attacking line-out. The Benetton man proved a menace when Wales were in possession with 20 tackles and carried strongly throughout. Navidi may have been awarded man-of-the-match for his efforts but Steyn was unlucky not to have taken it either.

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