"What we do know is that an away win is never to be sniffed at, which makes France and Wales the big winners of weekend one." Huw Richards reviews the opening Six Nations weekend.

First impressions can be so misleading. This time last year Twickenham was rocking to the beat of the latest outbreak of Jonnyolatory, with eminently sane writers proclaiming 'back to the good old days' after England had demolised Scotland on Jonny Wilkinson's first appearance in more than three years. And we all know where that led, in the Six Nations anyway.

It isn't until round two has mixed and matched the teams, testing winners and losers from the previous week, that we start to get some sense of the meaning of opening day results. Perhaps France and Scotland are the two best teams in the championship, although that isn't a proposition that finds many takers here in Edinburgh, least of all among disappointed Scots. Maybe England will find that their second half-collapse against Wales is the only, Grand Slam-denying, blemish on an otherwise triumphant season.

I'm not seriously suggesting either of these - although after tipping two out of three results wrong in week one that denial might be seen as strengthening those propositions. But we don't know - and that is part of the delight of the Six Nations.

What we do know is that an away win is never to be sniffed at, which makes France and Wales the big winners of weekend one. France can now look forward to three consecutive home matches, starting against Ireland next Saturday. Wales now have three out of four at home. Among potential scenarios for the season, odds on a steady build-up to a final-day showdown at the Millennium Stadium have shortened sharply.

And while the opening week did nothing to dispel what might be termed Edwards' Law of international success - that championships are won by the best defences - it was also worth noting that the happy travellers were the two teams with the most visible firepower.

Vincent Clerc's two tries at Murrayfield stamped him as the first week's outstanding attacker. There'll be few complaints about the orange boots he and Cedric Heymans have donned if they continue to be moved so compellingly by their owners. Julien Malzieu may have benefited from a lucky bounce - far from the only one to favour France - but it was fair reward for a bustlingly effective debut. Francois Trinh Duc was quietly competent, Fulgence Ouadraogo put himself round to great effect - particularly in the line-out - and Marc Lievremont's youth movement as a whole adjusted pretty seamlessly to international rugby. There were a few lucky bounces, but France were the only team of the six to put together two convincing halves of rugby.

Wales did not. There was plenty for future opponents to respect - their defence was terrific, particularly in a momentum-turning goal-line stand at the end of the first half, and they showed an impressive ability to convert chances when they're on offer. Mike Phillips and in particular James Hook should have won over those who were sceptical about their selection, Lee Byrne played his best match for Wales and bench warmers like Tom Shanklin and Gethin Jenkins added momentum when they came on. Scotland, who visit Cardiff next Saturday, will though equally have noted the ease with which England won first-half turnovers and the continuing fragility of the line-out.

The weekend's only winners have much less to be pleased about, and not only for reasons of geography. Ireland kept faith with the players who failed so badly at the World Cup and got more of the same, having to hang on desperately in spite of taking an early 10 point lead. Time surely for a review of some established names - and the notion that Croke Park is a plus rather than a minus for them. Gordon D'Arcy is a potentially grievous loss.

Italy, conversely, will be the least disappointed losers. They looked much better than at the World Cup. While their new half-backs aren't yet ready to erase memories of Troncon and Dominguez they didn't let anybody down and the second half display was firm evidence that lasting 80 minutes is no longer an Italian problem. They'll need more penetration to beat England, but that certainly does not look impossible.

Not least because England's injury list leaves numerous imponderables. They'll have to dig deep after losing both open sides - rather lost in the post mortems was that their best spell coincided with Tom Rees's short time on the field. Dave Strettle continues to build his case as the unluckiest player in England. There were plus points - Toby Flood looked terrific at 12 and Lesley Vainikolo looked thoroughly comfortable in international union, his offload for Flood's try evidence that he's got the instincts needed for his new code. James Haskell was quick and combative, even if there were moments when a calmer head might have helped. The mystery, even allowing for injuries and the inexplicable substitution of the skipper at a moment when crisis clearly loomed, was that a team with plenty of experience disintegrated so badly. Any who wondered why Brian Ashton tried to dissuade Martin Corry from retiring may have had his answer. Oddest of all was the unravelling of Jonny. The odd missed kick we're coming to expect, but not aberrations like that extraordinary 'welcome to test rugby' pass over the head of Danny Cipriani. Jonny has done more than enough to deserve the benefit of the doubt after a single poor display - he remains about 70 good ones in credit. Dropping him would look like sheer panic. But that it is even worth talking about is evidence of England's renewed vulnerability.

The Scots at least managed one minor triumph - a rare upstaging of the Marseillaise as the band stopped playing midway through 'Flower of Scotland', leaving the crowd to complete a stirring a capella rendition. They didn't start badly either, before being undone by France's cutting edge and some ill-luck compounded by their own errors and lack of real penetration. The possibility of a lousy year looms after all the pre-tournament optimism, but the feeling remains that they're not a bad side and a second Wales victory on Saturday is far from a done deal.