The road to madness is paved with the splattered brains of sports commentators who have read too much into the opening match of a World Cup, the first round at Wimbledon, or the first Grand Prix of the year. For that reason, this column does not speculate that a long-awaited return to expansive rugby as standard in the international game is upon us. Yet there can only be a cautious satisfaction at the quality of fare in the first three matches of the 2013 Six Nations Championship.
The weekend began with what now feels almost part of the furniture in the Test arena: a home defeat for Wales. Wales won the Grand Slam in 2012, which they have followed up by losing eight Tests in a row. Wales's last win of any description was against the Barbarians on 2 June last year.
And yet in very few of these matches were Wales pulverized. They lost their summer series in Australia 3-0, yet should have won two of those games. In the Autumn they had a nightmare, yet only Argentina beat them convincingly. A late try did for them against Samoa, they emerged with credit following a two-try second-half rally against the rampant (at the time) New Zealand and were 12-9 up against Australia at the death, before Kurtley Beale's last-gasp try broke Millennium Stadium hearts.
Wales-Ireland was not quite a game of two halves. Ireland dominated for the first 45 minutes, Wales for the final 35; which is probably why Ireland won. As a spectacle, it was splendid, illuminated by Irish win Simon Zebo, who followed his early try with an audacious mid-air backheel that turned a shoddy pass into, ultimately, a try for prop Cian Healy.
Over the Calcutta Cup hung the question: can England maintain their momentum from their spectacular Autumn triumph over New Zealand? Another 38-point haul was forthcoming, lit up by a dazzling England midfield. Those words have not been written often in the last decade but, in fly-half Owen Farrell and débutant inside centre Billy Twelvetrees, they had a partnership capable of ripping holes in Scotland's defence.
There is a moment in "House of Cards", the peerless British political drama of the early 1990s based on the Michael Dobbs novel, when journalist Mattie Storrin speculates that the Tory conference is 'happening in code', that it is 'really about something else'. This championship is similar; the great debate over the British & Irish Lions squad continues throughout.
So give thanks, then, that the embryonic championship is proving enthralling in its own right. England's deserve credit for beating convincingly a Scotland side who did not at all play badly, and for whom full-back Stuart Hogg and No 8 Johnnie Beattie put in outstanding performances that should give cause for second thoughts to those who speculate that the summer's touring party to Australia will have a Scottish contingency that could arrive at Heathrow airport in a Mini Cooper.
England's scrum half Ben Youngs was back to his best, the marvellous Geoff Parling try coming from his break and a raking long pass from Farrell. England go to Dublin ahead of next Sunday's encounter at Lansdowne Road with a spring in their step.
Speculation that this might be the best opening weekend in Six Nations history became solid certainty on Sunday afternoon when the Italians deservedly beat France in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. There was plenty of graft and grind but also evidence that Italy can, on occasion, produce moments of attacking brilliance. The move that led to Sergio Parisse's opening try was quite wonderful and would have graced the Stade de France or Eden Park.
France must visit Ireland and England and already have little chance of winning the tournament. Yet perhaps the most interesting fixture next weekend is Scotland vs Italy, perhaps no longer a wooden spoon play-off in all but name. Scotland must get more possession than they did at Twickenham; they showed enough in England to convince that they now know how to score tries. The constant fall in try-scoring in the Six Nations is much-lamented, but the opening three fixtures offered a mere hint that defences may no longer be on top.
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