Classic finale to mixed season

So that was the championship that was. The last Five Nations of the millennium, indeed the last ever Five Nations, and decided in injury time of the last match with virtually the last play. As climaxes go it could hardly be bettered, and the 1999 vintage will probably go down as the best of the decade, whatever about the century.

The championship remains the rock on which Northern Hemisphere rugby is built, and the one on which it will perish if the little Englanders have their way. World Cups, European Cups and bullish benefactors come and go, but the Championship remains dripping in allure and tradition.

It's ironic that it was the same fixtures of a year ago which had the prophets of doom most gloomy about the so-called "two-tier" championship. Then, England and France ran up 111 points against Wales and Scotland in record victories. A year on, and the tables were turned completely. Where does this two-tier championship stand now?

All over the place, in some respects. The hoped-for improvement in competitiveness duly materialised as the Celts, with varying degrees of success, bridged the gap. The French declined from double Grand Slammers to wooden spoonists, fulfilling the prophecy of the few pessimists in their ranks who saw this coming. In the end, every team in the championship beat the team immediately above them in the final table: France beat Ireland, who beat Wales, who beat England, who beat Scotland. Go figure.

Arguably, it supports the theory that there ain't a whole lot between the five protagonists. Scotland were crowned champions and, after scoring 16 tries despite trips to the citadels of Twickenham and Paris, hats off to them. They played with an in-yer-face bravery and elan across the gain line which would have made them every purist's second favourite team, maybe even their first.

Even allowing for a French midfield which showed as much interest in tackling as the denizens of Paris do for a lost tourist, it's doubtful any other team had the midfield vision to do what the Scots did.

Fortune favoured the bravehearts and by the end confidence was oozing from their every pore. Jim Telfer even got lucky with the injury to the far more prosaic Duncan Hodge after 45 minutes of their opening match, which forced him to move Gregor Townsend to his more favoured out-half role.

That was the torch which lit the fuse. The Brive-based genius flowered into the flower of Scotland, becoming only the fifth player in the championship's 89-year history to score tries in each game.

It also brought Alan Tait - until now a peripheral figure even with Edinburgh Reivers - into the frame at outside centre, and he became the championship's most potent try scorer with five.

And all this from a desperate base, which made them 50 to 1 outsiders. Telfer, world coach of the 1990s? Did we even need another reminder? If they hadn't had the least reliable of the five place-kickers, they could have won the grand slam: Kenny Logan missed three penalties in their 24-21 defeat to England, whereas Jonny Wilkinson missed none.

In truth, England did everything bar win (a bit of an oversight, as someone remarked) in what was perhaps their most rounded display on Sunday at Wembley; the third game to come down to virtually the last kick. But with the best pack and the best defence of the five, they are still Europe's most credible World Cup candidates.

Graham Henry has almost done for Wales what Telfer did for the Scots, transforming them from losers against their fellow Celts to beat the supposed Big Two. Ireland helped him along the way, obliging him to discover a meatier tight five.

AND what of Ireland? A disappointing championship, undoubtedly. The one-point defeat to France may not look as clever now, but the French weren't such a soft touch then, especially with Richard Dourthe in midfield.

The win over Wales doesn't look so bad at all, nor being bullied about by England. And the defeat to the Scots doesn't look quite such a disaster.

Confidence gradually diminished along the way, as was manifest in that first-half on Saturday. Credit to the Irish backs for finding the confidence to construct five tries, including a couple of beauties off first phase ball - a timely fillip after a championship which yielded just three tries. It showed the hard work that had gone in during the week.

But it's hard to credit the hard work that went into receiving restarts. There's no legislating for that, or the basic errors and lack of decision-making which continues to plague this team. They seem to be playing with too much pressure. For example, Rob Henderson and Jonathan Bell in turn seem to play their best games as substitutes.

Aside from Bell, Paul Wallace, Victor Costello and Andy Ward had disappointing campaigns. Paddy Johns worked hard before fading. The props, apparently, need to be more fit, as, more understandably, does Jeremy Davidson. Keith Wood is discovering what it's like to be a marked man. Eric Miller remains worryingly injury prone and Malcolm O'Kelly was sorely missed.

In his second season, Conor McGuinness didn't seem to play with the same confidence and sniping freedom, and the midfield needs to unearth a play-maker or game-breaker. Ciaran Scally needs more exposure. And none of the A players made a compelling case. It was a pity Peter Stringer was never given a run.

But there were plusses. Dion O'Cuinneagain has arguably gone from fourth choice back-rower to first choice, perhaps most effectively as a number six where he can roam and get the ball in his hands. David Humphreys finally arrived, Kevin Maggs is still improving and the wings did well: Girvan Dempsey continues to look a good player.

Given some kind of rest, the tour to Oz looks essential and beneficial, with the likes of Brian O'Driscoll, Shane Horgan and Jeremy Staunton to be blooded. If McGuinness and Ward come good, or alternatives are found, and all the big guns are fit and firing up front, it still has the makings of a decent side.

But if Ireland have problems, what of the Italians? Bedeviled by injuries, it is true, but the impression is of an entry to the championship which will come a few years too late. Most ominously, their A and under-21 sides conceded 115 points in Scotland and 130 in Ireland. Next year they have just the Scots and English at home, and they seem to have little or nothing coming through the ranks.