France have become a hard side to score against, something the Boks will be mindful of when they open their tour in Paris

When it came to deciding which team from the northern hemisphere is most likely to push the Springboks for their world leader status in 2025 and for their Rugby World Cup crown in 2027 the Six Nations took us full circle, and then added in a curveball.

The competition started with an expectation that France would emerge as the winners and push Ireland, the winners in the past two seasons, into second place.

There were also suggestions Ireland might have got to the peak of the hill and be ready to start descending on the other side. Were they still good enough to be ranked in the so-called “big four” with SA, New Zealand and France?..

France pipped England to the Guinness Six Nations title after a thrilling final day’s action saw Les Bleus end a three-year wait for silverware.

Here, the PA news agency selects a team of the tournament as the countdown to this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour of Australia gathers pace.