Another weekend, and another raft of talking points in the RBS Six Nations. Are Wales the real deal? Is Andy Robinson in trouble now after his Scotland side are ripped apart in the second half in Cardiff? Have we been too critical of an England side who have played two, won two away from home and are joint leaders in the table with Wales? When will Italy stop being plucky losers? And what on earth happened in Paris? Just another weekend then in the Northern Hemisphere's top rugby tournament.
Let us start with Wales. Held 3-3 at half-time against a pumped up Scotland desperate to make amends after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the Calcutta Cup the week before, Wales pulled away after the break helped, without doubt, by two Scottish players sent to the sin bin. Even though the huge and impressive George North limped off after turning his ankle (the bad news for England is that he should be fine for Twickenham in 12 days' time) Wales still had their second "twin tower" on the wing, the even bigger Alex Cuthbert, and once he rampaged through the Scots defence there was only one winner.
The day was also a triumph for Leigh Halfpenny who followed on from his match-winning penalty in Dublin last week with two tries, and a personal haul off 22 points. With England and Italy away, and France at home - the latter beginning to look like a Grand Slam decider already - Wales have a big chance of claiming the Six Nations title now, if not the Slam. As for Scotland? A performance full of character but with little luck - two sin bins and a perfectly good try for Stuart Hogg disallowed - leaves them with nil from two, and with France at home and then Ireland away to follow, a wooden spoon decider could take place in Rome in March.
England, meanwhile, have won both their away games so far with a young team that came together just three weeks' ago and who, because of the elements, were forced to train indoors last week. They have showed great charcter in defence and attitude, and in Owen Farrell, dare one say this, they have unearthed the next Jonny Wilkinson, who kicked five from five on Saturday in treacherous conditions in a freezing Rome and appears to be the coollest customer on the park. But - and there is a big but - they have beaten the two weakest teams in the tournament and could, maybe should have lost both, and they have produced very little in attacking promise.
On the evidence so far they will come unstuck at home against Wales, and in Paris. Italy, meanwhile, need to clear the mental hurdle of seeing a game out from a winning position. They managed it against France last year but fell foul to their usual problem against England. They also need a test-class kicker. They missed eight very achievable points in the Stadio Olimpico and it cost them the game.
As for France v Ireland, where do we start? The game was called off minutes before the start as 80,000 settled in for what promised to be a compelling clash. There is little doubt that the decision was right - player safety is tantamount - but why leave it until then and why, oh why, does the Stade de France not possess undersoil heating? We await to hear news of the re-scheduled match.
So, after week two, what do we know? That the Welsh are continuing their world cup promise, that the English are winning ugly and possess the crucial attribute of luck, that Scotland and Italy are, as always, extremely competitive but will end up fighting it out to avoid being last, and that France need to wait a little longer to enhance their title credentials while Ireland, conversely, do not know yet whether their own title chances are back on track.
In 12 days' time England will have the likes of Manu Tuilagi, Courtney Lawes and Toby Flood back and in the reckoning, and may well make changes from the bench after Ben Morgan's and Lee Dickson's claims for a starting berth were improved. They will need to step up a few notches to stop the Red Dragon.
