Ireland retained the Guinness Six Nations title following victory over Scotland in Dublin.
Here, the PA news agency looks at their route to another championship triumph.
France 17 Ireland 38 – February 2
Ireland emphatically dismissed any notion of a World Cup hangover by romping to a record win away to the pre-tournament favourites. Andy Farrell’s men took advantage of the absence of France talisman Antoine Dupont with a devastating display in Marseille, aided by Les Bleus losing lock Paul Willemse to a first-half red card. Tries from Jamison Gibson-Park and Tadhg Beirne helped subdue the home crowd before second-half scores from Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher completed a stunning success at Stade Velodrome. Damian Penaud and Paul Gabrillagues touched down to give France hope of a fightback. But the hosts could not contain Ireland’s physicality, spearheaded by impressive tournament debutant Joe McCarthy.
Ireland 36 Italy 0 – February 11
The Azzurri arrived in Dublin buoyed by an encouraging three-point defeat to England before becoming the first team to be nilled by Ireland in the championship since the English in the 1987 Five Nations. Jack Crowley’s maiden senior try set a much-changed team captained by Caelan Doris on course for a routine success. Hooker Sheehan registered two of five further tries to take his tournament tally to three, while Jack Conan, James Lowe and Nash were also on the scoresheet. Ireland’s display could certainly have been more ruthless but it was more than enough to dispatch outclassed opposition who offered little attacking threat.
Ireland 31 Wales 7 – February 24
Ireland’s ominous march towards the title continued as they equalled England’s championship record of 11 consecutive wins. Tries from Sheehan and Lowe rewarded the home team’s first-half dominance in Dublin. A youthful Wales side avoided embarrassment at the Aviva Stadium thanks to a positive second-half spell which brought a penalty try and a yellow card for Beirne. But a first Test try for stand-in Ireland full-back Ciaran Frawley broke their resolve before Beirne atoned for his earlier error by securing the bonus point at the death on an afternoon when flawless fly-half Crowley, who has filled the void left by the retired Johnny Sexton, kicked 11 points.
England 23 Ireland 22 – March 9
Ireland’s dream of successive Grand Slams was extinguished by a dramatic late twist at Twickenham. The visitors were second best in south-west London but were seconds away from remaining on course for another clean sweep when Marcus Smith kicked a decisive drop goal in the final act of a thrilling affair to reward England’s standout performance of the Steve Borthwick era. Ireland had been overwhelming favourites for victory and led thanks to two tries from Lowe and four Crowley penalties. However, Ollie Lawrence, George Furbank and Ben Earl crossed for England, who pulled off an upset in memorable fashion to take the title race to the final weekend.
Ireland 17 Scotland 13 – March 16
Farrell’s hosts were well below their free-flowing best in Dublin but avoided any major ‘Super Saturday’ drama to retain the championship title. Andrew Porter’s second-half try fatally broke the resistance of the stubborn Scots to ignite the St Patrick’s weekend celebrations and satisfy an expectant capacity crowd at the Aviva Stadium. Hooker Sheehan set Ireland on course for glory – and a 10th successive win over Scotland – with an opportunistic first-half score, while Crowley kicked seven points.
'World-class' Scotland will provide Wallabies' sternest test – Skelton
Australia will face their sternest test to date when they continue their autumn tour against a "world-class" Scotland team at Murrayfield on Sunday.
That is the view of forward Will Skelton, who believes the Wallabies' victories in England and Wales have brought a new energy and confidence to their camp.
Having crashed out in the pool stage at last year's World Cup in France before finishing last in the Rugby Championship, Australia have looked a team reborn in recent weeks.
A first victory at Twickenham since 2015 and a 52-20 rout of Wales – their biggest-ever away win in matches between the teams – have made it an excellent tour to date for Joe Schmidt's side.
But La Rochelle lock Skelton feels their toughest assignment is to come this week, saying: "We've won two games, we're very aware of that.
"The Test against Scotland is going to be the hardest one yet. We're excited about this weekend and we're looking forward to ripping into it.
"Physically they're up there with the top five in the world. I think set-piece wise they're really strong.
"You've got a guy like Finn Russell who's a maestro at the back there. I think it's going be a close one and we'll be up for it.
"There's some class players in the Scottish team and, when they're at it they're world-class, so we're going to have to be on top of our game."
Wales must 'show courage and front up' against South Africa, says Gatland
Warren Gatland has urged Wales to "show real courage and front up" in their final Autumn Nations clash against South Africa.
Gatland's side bring the curtain down on a disappointing year when they welcome the reigning world champions to the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Wales have lost an unprecedented 11 straight Tests, and could go an entire calendar year without tasting success for the first time since 1937.
Gatland has made four changes from last weekend's 52-20 defeat to Australia, with Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer, Christ Tshiunza and Taine Plumtree all coming into the starting XV.
Gareth Anscombe, Aaron Wainwright and Cameron Winnett drop out of the squad, while Adam Beard misses out through injury.
And Gatland wants his players to demonstrate fighting spirit against the Springboks.
"Last week's result hurts, and we are just as disappointed by it as the fans," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference.
"Our focus now is on training and preparing well for our final game of this Autumn Nations Series.
"There were good elements that we can definitely build on going into Saturday, but we have to improve our accuracy.
"We know what a quality side South Africa are and the physicality they bring. This week, we need to show real courage and front up against the world champions."
'Playing for England is the Mecca' according to Itoje amid global breakaway talk
Maro Itoje has reaffirmed his commitment to England amid talks of a proposed global breakaway league.
Steve Borthwick’s side are looking to end their five-match losing run when they face Japan in their final match of the autumn series on Sunday.
But there is fear that Borthwick could lose many of his players to the new league that reportedly are offering 40 £1m-a-season contracts for marquee players and more periods of rests for the players.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) only select players for the national team from English clubs, meaning any player joining the breakaway league would jeopardise their Test career.
But Itoje has insisted that playing for England is the pinnacle for him and his teammates.
"I don't really know any of the details of it as yet, but wearing this rose is extremely important to me and my teammates," said Itoje.
"Playing for England is the Mecca."
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