The Six Nations is certainly back at near its best.
Possibly the most competitive it has been so far for the last couple of years (and a perfect time for this sentence to be jinxed.... again), France seems like clear hard chargers for a Grand Slam, yet everything could be turned on its head so easily.
So much for England being favourites, their Calcutta Cup defeat should have come as no surprise.
The only tragedy has been that Wales hasn’t been able to compete as well as the others.
Italy have proved that their 26-year project is successful, tackling old boys’ cries for demotion to the Rugby Europe Championship.
So, what can be taken so far with (at the time of writing) only two weeks of rugby played?
The Calcutta Cup is probably the best reference point for England’s worst, and Scotland’s best. The Matt Faegerson charge down of George Ford’s drop goal, leading to a fantastic Huw Jones score beneath the post, summed up the match best.
England tried to revert to type, hard scrummaging, lineout set-piece, and power to overcome defence, but this failed.
Only the scrum worked, which in itself can be seen as a point of pride.
Their victory over the tormented, still developing Welsh side gave an air of false confidence.
It felt like England wouldn’t expect that Scotland could kick it up a notch to face their oldest foe in the oldest fixture (like they do every time).
Not only does the win give Gregor Townsend potentially a save from grace following the Italy loss but sets Scottish confidence for the rest of the tournament.
The main issue, the scrum, could unsettle Scottish momentum.
England and Italy both used dominance up front to great advantage to gain meterage.
Although this is a worry, considering Ireland’s current woes, the fixture may be advantage to the boys in blue.
France may be steamrolling their way to a Grand Slam, however there are small inaccuracies still plaguing their game. Passes slightly off, or just simple defensive errors have put on unnecessary pressure at times, such as conceding late against Ireland when the game was well in their hands, but most signs show a clear upward trajectory.
Where Galthié’s men shine is with frenetic broken play. Dupont, Bielle-Biarrey, Attissongbe, and Jalibert have either assisted or scored wonderous tries, as well as put in good defensive shows.
Their battle with Italy will be interesting, and if the ball bounces in the Italian favour, they may pile on more pressure than they did in Dublin.
Where they were unlucky not to get the bounce or pass, this may not repeat and suddenly we see a very, very dangerous and powerful Italian side.
One can easily see them taking France head on, looking to scrum them backwards (thanks especially to Fischetti’s incredible work rate) and use that as a launchpad to bring in their fantastic backs to blast through French gaps.
This is a rogue call, but I believe if there’s one side that upsets France, it’s Italy (please note: this prediction is going to backfire).
Ireland and Wales are both behaving interestingly.
Discipline is most definitely an issue, and defence is definitely being tested to the limits.
Ireland’s scrum is stuck in reverse, with the front row having to put their smart gumshields in airplane mode thanks to the Italian efforts, sending their opposition sky-high, while Wales’s inexperience and lack of accuracy led to sloppy errors costing points.
It feels like Steve Tandy has potential to uplift his side, but it will require a lot of work, and the political regional issues to be put on the backfoot.
How does a player focus on the international game if they do not know if they’ll have a club at the end of the season?
However, to me, the main issue is that under previous coaching, mainly Warren Gatland, there was too little blooding of younger players, meaning that Wales is now bringing forward a young squad with new tactics to face well versed opposition.
There is always plenty of time to recover and rebuild, however, but this Six Nations will remain messy.
Ireland’s player shortage is costing them, but so is their knack of giving away penalties at the breakdown, a weak scrum, and their consistent selection of Sam Prendergast.
Jack Crawley is a much more suitable 10 for the side, but even then, it seems the squad is too old to compete and plays cynically when things don’t go their way.
The comeback against Italy was impressive, but at times it felt that Ireland’s golden era was slipping away quite quickly.
The Six Nations is well underway and as enjoyable as ever, France are most likely to win, and Scotland finally have a chance to finish second.
But is this the story we will see written?
I’m not so sure.
England still have time to recover, and so do Italy.
Every game counts just that bit more, and none is an absolute given.
All we can do is hold our breaths, belt out our national anthems, and enjoy more incredible rugby.