Wales seal the deal in Cardiff

They did it!  Cheered on by 70,000 delirious fans, Wales clinched their tenth Grand Slam following an epic 29-12 victory over France at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday -- a richly deserved reward for hard graft and deep introspection.

Who would have thought this could possibly happen following Wales's inglorious exit from the World Cup at the hands of Fiji?  Not even the most passionate Welshman would have entertained the idea with anything other than a snort of derision.

But here we are -- just six short months later!  To the dates 1908, 1909, 1911, 1950, 1952, 1971, 1976, 1978 and 2005 we can add another:  2008.  It hardly seems real.

Inevitably it was Shane Williams who provided the decisive moment with the try that put Wales on course for the clean sweep.

The wing's second-half score broke the Welsh international record of 40 tries held by Gareth Thomas and sent Cardiff into a frenzy of excitement as the misery of the last two years were finally forgotten.

The victory over France -- and the championship triumph as a whole -- was built on an extraordinary, heroic defensive display.

Wales kept their tryline intact once again and only conceded twice during the tournament, breaking the previous record set by England's World Cup winners in 2002 and 2003.

After Williams pounced on a 60th-minute mistake from Yannick Jauzion to score under the posts, Wales pulled clear to record their biggest victory over France in Cardiff since 1950.

Stephen Jones came off the bench to kick 10 points, on top of nine from James Hook, while Martyn Williams rounded off the win, and a magnificent individual performance, with a late try.

If Graham Henry was known as the Great Redeemer, then Welsh rugby fans will be convinced tonight that Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards really are capable of turning water into wine -- and they'd better hope the coaches can:  booze will be short supply come the earlier hours of tomorrow.

The Millennium Stadium roof was closed to keep out the filthy weather and although Marc Lièvremont picked his strongest team of the championship so far, not even the French could rain on Wales' Grand Slam parade.

The visitors seemed spooked by the occassion, and for that the Welsh team owes an immense debt of gratitude to a crowd that drowned out Marius Jonker's whistle on several occassion.

Outside the stadium, an estimated 250,000 fans defied the conditions to pack the pubs and bars in scenes not witnessed since Wales's triumphant campaign under Mike Ruddock four seasons ago.

While the touts did a brisk trade, Grand Slam fever had even reached the West Indies from where the Prince of Wales sent a message of support.

He congratulated Ryan Jones's men on winning the Triple Crown and said:  "I hope your hard work and discipline will come to fruition when you face France in Saturday's Grand Slam decider."

And it was, in spades.  Wales were forced to defend for their lives and never took a backward step in an attritional encounter.

Wales had to make a remarkable 77 first-half tackles -- more than twice as many as France -- and yet never tired.  By the end, Wales were unstoppable.

But for the first hour Wales were given the toughest test of the championship.

Ian Gough led the team out on the occasion of his 50th cap, alongside the two daughters of late Wales international Ray Gravell.

Perhaps the frenzied atmosphere got to Wales in the opening exchanges.  Huw Bennett missed his jumper at the first line-out, they conceded an early penalty for offside and Lee Byrne decided unadvisedly to attempt a drop-goal from inside his own half.

Wales soon settled, with Martyn Williams pouncing on a loose ball and Gavin Henson a massive influence in the centre.

Hook, preferred to Stephen Jones for his creative edge, sparked Wales's first attack with a delightful flick outside to Shanklin.

Mark Jones, in two minds whether to chip or pass inside to Byrne, lost his footing on the greasy surface but the Welsh adventure was rewarded as Hook slotted his first shot at goal after seven minutes.

David Skrela's extraordinary restart went backwards and Wales needed no second invitation to keep the pressure on, with Henson again a midfield target and his neat offload sent Shanklin charging into the French 22.

Hook shanked his second shot at goal but made amends almost immediately, just reward for Wales' early dominance.

Untidy breakdown work gifted Jean-Baptiste Elissalde a simple shot at goal, which he accepted, but Hook slotted his third penalty to open Wales a 9-3 lead after the first quarter.

France began to take control and never stopped asking questions as Wales were forced into some lung-bursting defence.

France were at their most dangerous when they managed to break the game up.

After Hook's attempted clearance was charged down, Julien Malzieu broke the first line but was quickly swallowed up by a swarm of scrambling Welsh defenders.

Another break from Malzieu carried France to the edge of the Welsh 22 but Martyn Williams, who Gatland persuaded to come out of retirement before the tournament, snaffled the turnover.

France hammered away at the Welsh defensive line and Elissalde slotted a second penalty after Henson was sin-binned for a high tackle on flanker Fulgence Ouedraogo.

By the time Henson returned France had drawn level, with a third penalty from Elissalde, after Hook had pulled a second attempt wide of the posts.

With half an hour remaining Gatland introduced the more steady, controlling hand of Stephen Jones at fly-half -- but it predictably it was Shane Williams who conjured up the match-winning moment.

Jauzion spilled the ball under pressure from Shanklin and Williams pounced, hacking the ball forward twice before diving on it under the posts.

Stephen Jones converted and then landed a penalty to move Wales two scores clear.

Dimitri Yachvili caused a few nervous moments by pulling a penalty back for France but Jones slotted a second shot and the party began.

And to top it all off, after Mark Jones had made a searing 80-metre break, Martyn Williams scored under the posts to send the Millennium Stadium into raptures.

Man of the match:  Wales were magnificent to a man, as were their fans who played a full part in putting the wind up the French.  Wales's coaching team also deserves special mention for the tournament as a whole -- winning five games on the trot and leaking just two tries (one an interception, as Shaun Edwards has repeatedly pointed out!) is a magnificent feat.  Indeed, it would be so hard to pick out an individual ... at least it would be if Wales were not blessed with a man of Martyn Williams's standing.  He was -- is -- simply brilliant, there is nothing he can't do.  Make Wales a republic and make him president!

Moment of the match:  Recreations of the two tries will echo around Welsh pubs for decades to come, and David Skrela's shanked restart exemplified France's plight.  Perhaps it would have all been different had this French been allowed to play together at some point before this game!  But we'll opt for a moment that summed up the true dimensions of Wales's collective heart.  Just 19-6 behind, France sensed a chink of light when they were awarded a scrum in the shadow of the home side's sticks.  Somehow, Wales won the scrum against the head with an incredible shove, and French lights went out for good.

Villian of the match:  Gavin Henson was sin-binned for a high tackle, but there didn't seem to be any malice in his action -- and why ruin a beautiful day of rugby?  No award.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  S Williams, M Williams
Cons:  Jones 2
Pens:  Hook 3, S Jones 2
Drops:

For France:
Pens:  Elissalde 4

Yellow card(s):  Henson (Wales) -- high tackle, 40

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Gavin Henson, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Matthew Rees, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Ian Evans, 19 Gareth Delve, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Sonny Parker.

France:  15 Anthony Floch, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Yannick Jauzion, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 David Skrela, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Lionel Nallet (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements:  16 William Servat, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Arnaud Méla, 19 Elvis Vermeulen, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 François Trinh-Duc, 22 Cédric Heymans.

Referee:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Federico Cuesta (Argentina)
Television match official:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Assessor:  Paul Bridgman (England)

Cipriani steers England home

England bounced back from their Edinburgh ills by recording a well-taken 33-10 win over Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday, with Danny Cipriani celebrating his first Test start by contributing 18 points.

The questions that linger after this match concern the coaches.  Has Brian Ashton's skin been saved by his youthful troops?

Danny Cipriani delivered outstandingly, but Tom Croft and Michael Lipman should also get honourable mentions.  Lesley Vainikolo pulled his weight, and James Haskell made a promising return from injury.  It was a rare good day at the office for England rugby.

Has Eddie O'Sullivan's time finally come after eight years in Ireland's hot seat?  His team started well enough, but no longer are they as physically dominant and controlled as in days of old.  Of the youngsters coming through, only Luke Fitzgerald showed signs of maturing into a full international player, and the team still retained an air of staleness.  We await the union inquests on both sides of the Irish sea with interest.

The game started with both teams displaying all the ordinariness of the weeks gone by.  Fully two minutes at the start of the game consisted of poor quality kicks.

Then Ireland got a penalty and pushed it to touch.  Then they got a free-kick at the line-out and opted to tap and spin the ball wide.  Moments later Rob Kearney budged through a couple of tackles and scored.  Ronan O'Gara converted and it was 0-7.

Worse still for the home team came moments later, with Iain Balshaw penalised for holding on and Ronan O'Gara punishing the infringement with a penalty.  0-10 after seven minutes, and the axe-wielders were sharpening their blades around the English coaching seats.

But Cipriani came good, as at last England produced some good quality ball.  First a flat pass to Jamie Noon was batted on to send Nick Easter charging into the Irish 22.  Then there was a neat little grubber to the corner.  Then there was England's first points of the afternoon from the tee after Jamie Heaslip was caught going over the top.  Then there were two whopping kicks from hand to gain his team 70 metres.

Cipriani's ebullience spread to his team-mates.  Vainikolo got the ball in space and began to bounce people off his ridiculous thighs.  The back-row began to get into the game.  Balshaw looked positively competent.  More than anything else though, England's exuded utter physical domination at the breakdown, and it soon yielded results.

Paul Sackey made an elegant run to Ireland's 22, and then Lipman took it on at pace and with strength.  Lipman offloaded to Flood, who set the ball up well, and Cipriani wasted no time in looking for the men wide.  The last man was Sackey, who ghosted over the line.  Cipriani made it 10-10 with the extras.

Penalty after penalty came England's way thereafter, as Ireland were simply smashed out of the game.  Steve Borthwick and Simon Shaw were monstrous, and Cipriani's clever choices released the backs dangerously each time.  Jamie Noon could have scored on 25 minutes, and so could Toby Flood had Noon thought to look to his right instead of going for the line.  Eventually Cipriani did give England the lead after half an hour from an offside penalty.  That was pretty much it for the first half as England continued to dominate although Ireland held firm.  So far so good for England, but what would the second half yield?

Well, it yielded a turnover from Croft, a charge into the England 22 from Shane Horgan, and a dangerous position for the Irish, but in stark contrast to previous weeks, England's defence held firm -- helped in no small way by the lack of support for Irish runners.

Four minutes later, after nine phases of English possession, a penalty, which Cipriani clipped over for a 16-10 lead.  England were in complete control.

Ireland did not lie down.  Tommy Bowe and Luke Fitzgerald combined superbly to take the ball into England's 22, but once again the subsequent phases were slowed by a lack of support.  Ireland then managed to eke out a penalty, but O'Gara missed.  Andrew Trimble, then Bowe, then Horgan, then Simon Easterby all got ball in good positions in the England 22, but every time the white shirts outnumbered the green ones by two to one, the door was held shut, and no Irishman would prise it open.

Eventually, after another deft piece of footwork by Cipriani, and with Jonny Wilkinson now installed in the centre to back the youngster up as the game approached crunch-time, a superb quick hands move led to a try in the corner for Mathew Tait, who had only been on for two minutes as a blood replacement for Sackey, and left the field again while celebrating his try.  With Wilkinson on, the question hung in the air:  Who would convert?  Cipriani of course.

Then, Cipriani's pièce de resistance.  A five-metre scrum, an outside line, and a perfect flip pass to Noon for England's third score, followed up by a majestic touchline conversion.  He also landed another late penalty, completing a seven out of seven kicking record.  Is this another false dawn or have England unearthed someone to guide them into the future?  And will Brian Ashton be his mentor if they have?

Man of the Match:  Please re-read.  There is only one candidate.  Arise, Sir Danny Cipriani.

Moment of the match:  Mathew Tait's try.  The kind of move England fans have been yearning for since last year.

Villain of the match:  Nobody -- a good clean game, and it is worth noting how many times we have written this during this Six Nations.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Sackey, Tait, Noon
Cons:  Cipriani 3
Pens:  Cipriani 4
Drops:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Kearney
Cons:  O'Gara
Pens:  O'Gara

England:  15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 Lee Mears, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Ben Kay, 19 James Haskell, 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Mathew Tait.

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Andrew Trimble, 12 Shane Horgan, 11 Rob Kearney, 10 Ronan O'Gara (c), 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Bernard Jackman, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Simon Easterby, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Luke Fitzgerald.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Touch judges:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official:  Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

Italy sneak Mallett a first win

Andrea Marcato's last-gasp drop goal sealed a miserable Six Nations for Scotland on Saturday, with the Azzurri claiming a 23-20 win in Rome.

It was, as expected, a game that for long periods failed to capture the imagination, although it did finally came to life in the last quarter as both sides pressed for victory.  In the end it was Italy who struck the decisive blow, one that will bring renewed confidence to their camp and at the same time cast doubt over Scotland's future.

Whilst they played some promising rugby in spells, Scotland continued to demonstrate their inability to perform for a full game -- an inability that will continue to cost them games until it is rectified.  The question remains as to whether or not Frank Hadden is the right man to lead them forward.  With his first contract review looming large on the horizon it will not take long to find out the answer.

One of the few positives to come from the Scottish Six Nations campaign was their scrum, but even that wilted under extreme Italian pressure in Rome.  So much so that three early penalties against Euan Murray for bringing the scrum down resulted in a penalty try for the hosts and Italy had a sniff of set-piece blood.

Italy were more intent on playing an expansive game, a pity then that most of the damage they did was in the wrong areas.  Upon entering the Scotland 22 they more often than not reverted back to their forward pack, a useful weapon when deployed at the right time but a rather lethargic one otherwise.

That it took twenty minutes for Scotland to string a meaningful attack together was both a measure of their lacklustre form and of Italy's resolute defence.  But for perhaps the first time in the tournament, Scotland went through more than ten phases after a quarter of the game and drew level thanks to Allister Hogg's try.

It came as little surprise that Alasdair Strokosch and Scott MacLeod were at the heart of the move, both turning in fine displays.  It was Strokosch's step and break that caused the initial damage before MacLeod laid the try on a silver platter for Hogg.  With Paterson adding the extras it was all square.

Dan Parks and Andrea Marcato then traded penalties as the half was heading for a disappointing end, that was until Mike Blair gave Scotland the lead with a ghosting run.  The Scotland forwards paved the way for the try, sucking in the Italian defence, before Blair spotted a gapping whole that he slipped through to race away and score.

With little apart from avoiding the Wooden Spoon to play for, it was hardly surprising that the game failed to get going after the break.  Scotland looked the more likely of the two to press on but their indiscipline cost them on several occasions -- luckily for them Marcato was off target with the boot.

One man who was not off target though was Sergio Parisse, the Italian captain turning in yet another vintage display.  It was his intercept, searing run and dreamy pass that allowed Gonzalo Canale to cruise in under the posts for the score that once again levelled the score.

Finally the game began to open up -- both sides realising they had little to lose but a bit more pride -- and Italy began to prosper.  Scotland were rattled, yet more penalties went against them as their hosts turned the screw.  With ten minutes to go Marcato sent his side into the lead, albeit a slender three point advantage.  Suddenly the little things, charge downs, fifty-fifty passes, loose balls and referee decisions started to go the way of Italy and they sensed a rare victory.

Their hopes were dashed momentarily by Paterson's boot, his penalty putting Scotland back on level terms, as well as taking him to 33 consecutive successful kicks in Test rugby.  As the game seemed to be heading for a rather unsatisfactory draw Marcato stepped up and stole the day, his last-minute drop goal giving Nick Mallett his first taste of success as Azzurri coach.  The South African was in tears as he congratulated his charges.

Granted they still end up with the Wooden Spoon, but there is no doubt that Scotland will be the less happy of the two sides.  But for that win over England they have been shambolic for most of the season, while Italy are gradually getting better.

Man of the Match:  For Scotland Scott MacLeod was in fine fettle whilst he was on, Simon Webster was full of buzz and ran hard all game.  Alasdair Strokosch is going from strength to strength -- turning in another superb performance.  For the Azzurri Leonardo Ghiraldini was industrious, Gonzalo Canale a constant danger, but this award goes to Sergio Parisse.  It has been said before, and no doubt it will be again, but Parisse is a class above.  He was irresistible in attack and defence, leading by supreme example and setting up the try that allowed his side to win their first game under Nick Mallett.

Moment of the Match:  When Sergio Parisse snapped up Dan Parks's pass and set off on the run that would lead to Gonzalo Canale's try you knew the tide had turned and Italy were on their way to victory.

Villain of the Match:  Andrew Henderson was his usual awkward self, throwing the odd wild elbow but nothing to merit this gong.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Penalty try, Canale
Cons:  Marcato 2
Pens:  Marcato 2
Drop goal:  Marcato

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hogg, Blair
Cons:  Paterson 2
Pens:  Paterson 2

Italy:  15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Ezio Galon, 10 Andrea Masi, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 Jacobus Erasmus, 20 Pietro Travagli, 21 Enrico Patrizio, 22 Alberto Sgarbi

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Simon Webster, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Chris Paterson, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Fergus Thomson, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Craig Smith, 19 Jason White, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Rory Lawson, 22 Andrew Henderson.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges:  Chris White (England) and Simon McDowell Ireland)
Television Match Official:  Romain Poite (France)

England pay the penalty

English rugby, after the high of Paris, sunk to a fresh low on Saturday with Scotland ending their Six Nations chances by beating the auld enemy 15-9 in Edinburgh.

In a terrible game, the Scots simply kept their heads and plugged away as England, and Jonny Wilkinson in particular, gifted Scotland far too much easy possession and only once threatened the Scottish line.  In the end it came down to discipline and mental strength, and Scotland were, by and large, far superior in that department.

Both sides went into this one proclaiming that it didn't matter how they got the win, as long as they got it.  How true that proved to be.  The weather also didn't care, showering the players with sheet after sheet and blowing the sheets for good measure.  As a result, England rarely had any third phase possession, an error or a kick inevitably punctuating phases one and two.  Scotland rarely had any territorial gain, with a blinkered runner or a kick punctuating what ball came their way.  Anyone suffering insomnia should be prescribed a good dose of this game.

Jonny Wilkinson did, in the end, surpass Neil Jenkins as the world's top points-scorer in Test rugby, but it was a day he will want to forget.  That one record-breaking kick aside, Wilkinson's boot was used to gift possession away.  Kick after aimless kick fell upon the solid Hugo Southwell like the rain that fell on Edinburgh.  It was, by quite a way, Wilkinson's worst performance in the white shirt.  Danny Cipriani anyone?  Oh, that's right, he wasn't there...

England's woes are generally deeper though, and the finger of accusation will point with unerring straightness at Briann Ashton.  Was it upset in harmony in the camp that caused England to look so uninterested?  It isn't as if they would normally be deterred by a cold wet day.  Given the manner in which they put pay to France, you would have thought England's confident pack would have eaten the Scots like so many porridge oats.  But they all trotted around the field, hitting the tackles, rucks and mauls but never really clearing them.  A tactic or game-plan was never apparent.  One step forward two weeks ago, two steps back this time.  Why?  Time for someone at the RFU to answer that one.

Anything to say about Scotland?  Not much.  They took their chances and defended excellently, not least when the English pack drove at their line for five minutes in the first half immediately after Rory Lamont had been taken from the field with a serious-looking head injury.  That was England's one real threatening moment in the whole game.  Scotland never got to the English line once, but then with a stream of needless penalties coming their way, they didn't need to.  The win certainly won't blunt the knives being quietly sharpened for Frank Hadden, but at least his players scrapped and fought for the cause.

Scotland took an early lead as a result of the third penalty in a row conceded at a Scots line-out by England's pack after nine minutes.  Then finally, after a quarter of utter torpor, England got a couple of penalties near the Scots line.  Wilkinson kicked for the corner, as is England's frequent wont, but fully four minutes of driving later all the English pack had gained was a scrum in the middle of the field.  Euan Murray slipped his binding at the scrum, and Wilkinson broke the record to equalise at 3-3.

But discipline was missing.  Andy Sheridan was fortunate not to connect with Nathan Hines's face more sharply with his elbow, and even more so being as he had been the man with hands in the ruck that had given Paterson the chance to give Scotland back the lead.

On the half-time whistle, Paterson landed another to make it 9-3, with more hands being spied by referee Kaplan in the ruck.

It got worse after the break.  Right from the off, Simon Shaw was caught coming in at the side and Paterson made it 12-3.  Seven minutes and one unidentified pair of hands in the ruck later it was 15-3, Dan Parks this time doing the damage from distance.

Within five minutes it was 15-9, Wilkinson kicking two goals of his own as Scotland eased off the pressure slightly, and conceded one penalty for offside and one for going over the top.

Then the rot truly set in.  Kick after kick boomed down the field, with no semblance of tactic from either side.  The kicks were not even quality touch-finders or hanging up-and-unders.  They were just the actions of bored people who didn't want to play.

Eventually England swung it wide on 65 minutes to Paul Sackey, who never once slipped away from anyone.  England built up a head of steam with some better picks and drives.  Then they turned it over.

With four minutes to go, Jason White put in a hit on Sackey that drove the winger some eight metres back, with a verve and passion that English players never once looked like showing.

With one minute, one minute to go, Charlie Hodgson, presumably on for Wilkinson in order to add some spice and lift to the dough, received the ball from a ruck and kicked it fully 50 metres down field.  One minute to go, his team six behind, and he did that.  What on earth goes on behind England's scenes?  Scotland got the ball, and never gave it back to England again.  England didn't deserve it.

Man of the match:  In a match ruined by so much kicking, at least Hugo Southwell caught the ball well, ran it well, and kicked constructively for his team.  His entire team gathers a group award for its defensive effort as well.

Moment of the match:  Not a single one.

Villain of the match:  None of these either.  Even the niggle was passionless.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Paterson 4, Parks

For England:
Pens:  Wilkinson 3

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Rory Lamont, 13 Simon Webster, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Chris Paterson, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Craig Smith, 19 Jason White, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Rory Lawson, 22 Dan Parks.

England:  15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 Lee Mears, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Ben Kay, 18 Luke Narraway, 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Mathew Tait, 22 Charlie Hodgson.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch-judges:  Marius Jonker (South Africa), Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:  Tim Hayes (Wales)

Wales remain on course for the Grand Slam

Wales' quest for the Grand Slam remains firmly on course after they accounted for Ireland 16-12 at Croke Park on Saturday, winning the Triple Crown in the process.

The rain that was predicted never materialised and, despite a howling wind, both sides showed a willingness to play positive rugby.  In the end it was Wales' patience and maturity that shone through, leaving Ireland to ponder what might have been.

For it was the hosts who dominated the early running, although their inability to convert pressure into points came back to haunt them.  Ronan O'Gara did manage two penalties in the opening twenty minutes but in all honesty Ireland should have had more to show for their efforts.

Aware of how Wales like to play, Eddie O'Sullivan sent his troops out with a specific game-plan and they executed it with aplomb for most of the first half, although they were left hanging on in the dying stages.  Wales eased their way into the game and the longer they kept the ball the better they became, stretching their hosts across the width of the field and isolating weak links in the defensive line.

A pity then that their best raid on the Irish line resulted in a yellow card for the petulant Mike Phillips.  Wales had a penalty under Ireland's post only to see it reversed for Phillips' needless knee in the back of Marcus Horan.

In the absence of Phillips Wales showed a new-found maturity that has been missing over the past few years, controlling play in the forwards to see out the ten-minute disadvantage.  In fact the visitors emerged at the other end of the sin-binning three points to the good, Stephen Jones' second penalty squaring things up.

Wales had squandered several good attacking positions due to poor timing, the half-back axis of Phillips and Jones appearing a little rusty.  On three separate occasions the two lost their timing, wasting overlaps each time with poor passes.  Nevertheless Wales kept on plugging away and eventually they breached the Irish line.

It was hardly surprising that it was Shane Williams, his fortieth try for Wales that takes him joint top of the all-time try scoring list for Wales.  That he has done it in forty-three fewer games than Gareth Thomas is a testament to his undoubted class.  The try itself was born out of an Irish error but the pressure had been mounting.

Phillips, just back on, directed his forwards well before sending it wide via Stephen Jones leaving Williams against Andrew Trimble.  The Osprey showed great strength with a powerful hand off before turning on the pace to scuttle in at the corner.  Jones added a dreamy conversion and suddenly their was a real sense of belief among the Welsh faithful.

Having looked so comfortable in the first half Ireland could not get going in the second half, largely due to Wales' patience on the ball -- time and again going through at least six phases.  And, with the game firmly in their control, Wales then gifted their hosts a path back into the game.

An uncharacteristic trip from Martyn Williams saw the carrot-topped flank heading for the sin-bin and O'Gara sending over a simple penalty.  It was just the tonic Ireland needed as they suddenly discovered their running game, causing Wales major problems.  However with each game that goes by the new-look Welsh defence looks more assured and Ireland could not quite unlock it.

Welsh indiscipline continued and O'Gara trimmed the lead to just one point with ten minutes remaining.  Ireland sniffed a win, against the odds with the way the game had gone, but they were unable to produce the rugby required to achieve it.  In fact when the pressure was on they seemed to implode and gift Wales a chance to see the game out.

Bernard Jackman lost his cool -- shoulder charging a prone Ryan Jones well away from the ball -- and James Hook kept his composure to slot the three points.  Then we saw the Welsh maturity again, playing keep-ball for the dying stages of the game until the siren sounded and Phillips punted the ball into the stands.

The Triple Crown is secured and now Wales are one game away from the Grand Slam -- the prospect of France at home in the final game of the tournament is a mouthwatering one.  Wales, on the back of this win, will be brimming full of confidence but France will bring a different test with them -- one Wales need to provide the answers to in order to earn the Grand Slam.

Man of the Match:  For Ireland Eoin Reddan continues to grow with his new-found responsibility at scrum-half and Paul O'Connell added a calmness to the Irish set-piece.  For Wales Alun Wyn Jones was a rock on his return to the side, Ryan Jones turned in a fine performance but it was Gavin Henson who stole the show.  Under Gatland he has been moved away from the spotlight and encouraged to focus on his rugby.  And that is exactly what he has done, and to some effect.  As mature a player in the Welsh team as there is he produced a near-flawless display that allowed Wales to head home with their eyes firmly on a Grand Slam.

Moment of the Match:  In a game that was largely uneventful there were few moments that caught the eye.  However Mike Phillips' tackle on Shane Horgan in the first half saved a certain try and gave Wales the belief that they could indeed return from Ireland with the win.  A smaller man may have been brushed aside but Phillips stood up to Horgan and rescued his side.

Villain of the Match:  The game was a physical one but that was not an excuse for two mindless acts.  Mike Phillips had no need, or right, to drop his knee into Marcus Horan's back, and Bernard Jackman was stupid to think he could take out Ryan Jones with his shoulder for no apparent reason.  Otherwise a good clean game of rugby.

The Scorers:

For Ireland:
Pens:  O'Gara 4

For Wales:
Try:  S.Williams
Con:  S.Jones
Pens:  S.Jones 2

Yellow Cards:  Phillips (38th -- foul play), M.Williams (61st -- deliberate trip).

The Teams:

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Andrew Trimble, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 James Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Bernard Jackman, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Simon Easterby, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Luke Fitzgerald.

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Gavin Henson, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Gareth Williams, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Ian Evans, 19 Gareth Delve, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 James Hook, 22 Sonny Parker.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Touch judges:  Christophe Berdos (France), Peter Allan (Scotland)
Television match official:  David Changleng (Scotland)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

Ireland add to Scotland's misery

Ireland heaped further misery on Scotland as they ran out 34-13 victors in Saturday's Six Nations clash at Croke Park.

Despite scoring their first try in almost three hundred minutes of rugby, Scotland had no answer to an Ireland side threatening, in patches, to return to the form of old.  Simon Webster's try, which gave Scotland faint hope with twenty-five minutes to play, proved little more than scant consolation.

Ireland ran in five tries and in doing so played some devastating rugby to bring Croke Park to life for the first time since they put England to the sword almost a year ago.  It has been a barren spell in Irish rugby -- a dismal World Cup still lingers in the memory after two less than convincing performances in this year's Six Nations.

The sound of the old faithful giving a passionate rendition of "Fields of Athenry" will have been music to Eddie O'Sullivan's ears.  For so long he has had to endure a barrage of criticism but as Ireland slowly but surely unearthed a welcome return to form he will have afforded himself a sly smile.

Granted there is still work to be done, most notably at the line-out, but at times Ireland looked like the side who effortlessly accounted for South Africa and Australia in consecutive weeks in 2006.  For so long the line-out has been a formidable weapon in the Irish armoury, yet as it stands now it is a mere shadow of its former self.

Bernard Jackman, preferred to Rory Best for his throwing-in, had a woeful game -- coughing up two line-outs in the opening five minutes as Scotland asserted early pressure.  Mick O'Driscoll, whilst adding a hardened edge in the tight, leaves a lot to the imagination at the line-out, and up against Scott MacLeod he was exposed in ruthless fashion.

Despite a glut of early possession and territory Scotland could not make their pressure tell, even spurning an eminently kickable three points in a bid to crack the Irish defence.  Any perceived weaknesses of Ireland's defensive abilities were ill-founded, as try as they may Scotland could not find a way through.

If Scotland needed a lesson in efficiency then Ireland were only to glad to offer it up, scoring with their first meaningful attack of the game.  It came from their first foray into Scotland's twenty-two and exposed Scotland's scrum defence with alarming ease.  Jamie Heaslip picked from the base and arced wide with Eoin Reddan on his outside, Kelly Brown brought the dummy and David Wallace was afforded the easiest of tries on the inside shoulder.

Scotland hit back through the only means they know how, Chris Paterson's formidable boot.  A simple penalty effort finally rewarded them for all their territory and possession, but it was of scant consolation as again Ireland struck with devastating accuracy following a poor box kick from Mike Blair.

The outstanding Geordan Murphy rose high to take the kick and from there Scotland had no answer.  Ronan O'Gara saw the space in front of him and surged forward and found Brian O'Driscoll as the defence engulfed him.  Having promised a return to form in the week O'Driscoll scorched forward attracting defenders like bees to honey before floating a sumptuous pass out to Rob Kearney who finished off a fine counter-attack.

Paterson continued his impressive run with the boot, adding his second penalty on the half hour, but Scotland were left to rue ill discipline as an attempted Nathan Hines punch cost them prime field position in the dying moments of the half.  Ireland, despite defending for much of the half had the lead at the break, 14-6.

If defence was the order of the day before the break it was clear Ireland were ready to cut the shackles after the break.  It took them less than fifty seconds to get their third try, a delightful cross-field kick from O'Gara finding the galloping Marcus Horan who crashed over with a huge smile on his face.  Ireland's confidence was on the rise, as were the noise levels around the stadium.

They went up another decibel as Paul O'Connell was introduced into the fray, his very presence bringing a new found calm to the set-piece.  It could do little to prevent Webster scoring though as Ireland had a momentary lapse in concentration, a powerful series of drives creating the space down the blind side for Andrew Henderson to free Webster.

There were those who thought it was the start of a fightback but any such notion was quickly eradicated as the hosts finished the game in style.  With twenty minutes to play Tommy Bowe scored to settle matters, but it was the build-up to his try that caught the eye.  Murphy started it, pouncing on a Paterson knock-on, before finding O'Gara who produced a wander pass under all kinds of pressure.  Trimble took the attack into the twenty-two before finding Bowe who showed great strength to finish the move.

With the game in its dying throes Bowe added his second to give the score a more honest reflection and again it came from turnover ball.  Scotland were trying to force matters from deep but only ended up in gifting the ball to Ireland who wasted no time in scoring.

How refreshing to see Ireland showing adventure and panache and one can't help but feel it owes a lot to the fresh faces in their ranks.  Faces of players with no World Cup ghosts, no wrongs to right but instead reputations to build and with seemingly no fear of the unknown.  Eddie O'Sullivan, whilst his stoic face may suggest otherwise, must be delighted.

Frank Hadden on the other hand is anything but delighted, rather he is facing the prospect of a second straight Wooden Spoon, which will ultimately cost him his job.  Even if he can turn things around -- God knows how he intends to do so -- the Scottish Rugby Union will surely be looking for a new leader.  And with Andy Robinson in Edinburgh they may not have to look too far.

Man of the Match:  Scotland had a select few who stood out, most notable was Alasdair Strokosch who carried with unrelenting enthusiasm, as did Nathan Hines.  But for us it was Geordan Murphy who stole the show, the rock at the back that Ireland built their win from.  As safe as ever under the high ball and devastating in attack he will have given O'Sullivan a selection headache at full-back with Girvan Dempsey on his way back to fitness.

Moment of the Match:  It has to be Tommy Bowe's first try.  For a long time now Ireland have struggled to find rhythm in their rugby, yet in one sweeping move it all came flowing back, from decisive running to deft hands, this move had it all.

Villain of the Match:  On the whole it was a good honest game, but this one goes to Nathan Hines for his attempted punch on John Hayes.  Had he connected he could have been a lot more serious than the penalty it cost Scotland.

The Scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  D.Wallace, Kearney, Horan, Bowe 2
Cons:  O'Gara 3
Pen:  O'Gara

For Scotland:
Try:  Webster
Con:  Paterson
Pens:  Paterson 2

Ireland:  15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Andrew Trimble, 11 Robert Kearney, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Bernard Jackman, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Paul O'Connell, 19 Simon Easterby, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Shane Horgan.

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Simon Webster, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Rory Lamont, 10 Chris Paterson, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Kelly Brown, 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Jim Hamilton, 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Dan Parks, 22 Nick De Luca.

Referee:  Christophe Berdos (France)
Touch judges:  Joël Jutge (France), Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Television match official:  Romain Poite (France)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

Wales complete part three

Wales remained on course for a Six Nations Grand Slam on Saturday, with an ultimately convincing 47-8 win over Italy in Cardiff.

Having stuttered in the first half and gone into the changing room only 13-8 ahead despite dominating possession and territory, the introduction of Mike Phillips early in the second half heralded a complete change in course for the Welsh, with both backs and forwards clicking smoothly into gear.

Wow!  This, finally, was the real deal.  After a first half in which the line-out flickered, the discipline faltered, and the imagination paled, Wales came out in the second half and showed us just how far they have come under Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards' tutelage.

Now their only task left is to show it for eighty minutes.  Lots of Grand Slam talk is surely in the offing, but they are yet to face the two strongest teams in this Six Nations, and a first-half display like the one delivered today will not do.

Neither will one like the second half for Italy.  Twice in this tournament, they have been half unlucky, half at fault for not taking advantage of faltering opposition.  Today, they simply could not take the pace.  Perhaps the last two matches have taken their toll on morale and energy, but this was a clear step down in intensity from the last two displays.

There are bright spots.  Andrea Marcato was efficient at full-back, and showed several game-breaking moments.  When he came on, Paolo Buso showed a lot of promise on his debut.  Now these talents have to be quickly harnessed and nursed, as Italy still offer far too little in attack.

It started solidly enough for Wales, with the ball-carriers retaining enough possession to grind out two early penalties for Stephen Jones to slot for a 6-0 lead, but then it began to unravel.

Italy scored.

It was that sudden.  Andrea Marcato's clever kick to the corner ought to have yielded a standard issue catch-maul-clear from the Welsh, but instead, Matthew Rees' throw flew over the outstretched arms of Martyn Williams and into Martin Castrogiovanni's hands.  Dwayne Peel was flattened by the big prop as he rolled to the line, and the Scarlets scrum-half was not quite the same after.  More on that later.  Marcato missed the conversion, and Wales' lead was cut to 6-5.

Italy's defence was well-briefed on the preferred Welsh flat attacking structure, and early attempts by the Welsh to find the angles were comprehensively smothered.  As a result, a fair bit of ball was kicked.  It was reasonably effective, but it wasn't pretty and of course, it handed ball to the Azzurri that the Welsh would rather not have done.

Italy should have taken the lead on one of the counter-attacking chances, when Marcato and Ezio Galon combined magnificently on a switch to send Mirco Bergamasco through.  All Gonzalo Canale had to do was take the pass, but he inexplicably spilled it.

Instead, Wales were next to score.  Shane Williams broke well down the left, finally finding his jink, and Rees took the ball to within five metres.  Out the ball came right, but the retreating Masi was struck by the pass from Shanklin.  Williams took the tap penalty quickly as Italy's defence struggled to organise, and the ball went wide to Lee Byrne for the first of his two tries.  Stephen Jones made it 13-5 with the conversion.

But still Wales were not finding their strut.  The penalties mounted against the Welsh as frustration seeped in -- going off feet here, a late tackle there ... it all mounted up.  Masi, Marcato, and Mirco Bergamasco engineered another dangerous break that came to nothing.  On the stroke of half time, Marcato converted a penalty to make it 13-8 at the break.

Back to Peel.  Having been thumped by Castrogiovanni, many of his subsequent passes were distinctly sub-standard, often flying around Stephen Jones' boot-laces.  He re-appeared for the second half, took another heavy tackle, and then was replaced by Mike Phillips.  It transpired that Peel had already been complaining of blurred vision.  Given what happened after the change, it surely should have been made earlier.

Seconds before Phillips' entrance, Wales went 20-8 ahead when Tom Shanklin, winning his 50th cap, was gifted an intercept try by Masi, who is still very much the novice at fly-half.

Phillips' first act was to burst onto Jones' pass and break clear, but he wasted the gilt-edged opportunity when he ignored Mark Jones' support for too long and tried to round Marcato himself.  Still, suddenly the service and threat from the base of the scrum had increased, and it was one attacking option too many for the Azzurri defence to cope with.

Shanklin's try had been a body blow for the Italians and they conceded two more penalties in quick succession, both of which Jones converted, as Wales pulled clear at 26-8.

To make matters worse for the Azzurri, Mirco Bergamasco was sin-binned for the second one after referee Pearson lost patience with Italy's constant infringing.

Wales notched up 10 points in his absence.  Stephen Jones burst into a gap and delivered a perfectly-delayed pass for Shane Williams to scamper down the right touchline and score his 38th Test try for Wales.

Byrne capped a man-of-the-match performance with his second try.  He burst through Canale's attempted tackle and sprinted home from inside his own half.  Hook, on for Stephen Jones, slotted the conversion.

Wales surged forward in waves.  Sonny Parker, Henson's replacement, sent Shane Williams away and the diminutive winger danced around a handful of Italian defenders to score his 39th Test try.

Italy were out on their feet, and Wales ... well, it was shades of 2005.  But now they have to do it against Ireland and France, a rather different task.

Man of the match:  Many of the Welsh were excellent.  Shane Williams dazzled, Martyn Williams ruled the roost in the loose, and Matthew Rees was a sterling performer.  But Lee Byrne, with two excellent tries and utter competence at full-back, takes the award this time.

Moment of the match:  Plenty to choose from, but being sentimental fools, we'll go for Tom Shanklin's intercept try, a perfect way to celebrate his 50th cap of a great career.

Villain of the match:  Nothing really.  Perhaps a silly late tackle by Ian Gough on Mirco Bergamasco, but the Italian centre was so soccerly as he went down that the two shared the villainy spoils in that moment.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Byrne 2, Shanklin, Shane Williams 2
Cons:  Stephen Jones 3, Hook 2
Pens:  Stephen Jones 4

For Italy:
Try:  Castrogiovanni
Pen:  Marcato

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Gavin Henson, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins . 
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Deiniol Jones, 19 Gareth Delve (Gloucester), 20 Mike Phillips, 21 James Hook, 22 Sonny Parker.

Italy:  15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Alberto Sgarbi, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Ezio Galon, 10 Andrea Masi, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellapé, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Pietro Travagli, 21 Paolo Buso, 22 Enrico Patrizio.

Referee:  Dave Pearson (England)
Touch judges:  Wayne Barnes (England), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official:  Rob Debney (England)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (Scotland)

England shock France in Paris

England defied the odds by beating France 24-13 at the Stade de France on Saturday and in doing so kept their own Six Nations title hopes alive.

France, playing an exciting new brand of rugby under Marc Lièvremont, were widely-tipped to put a troubled England side to the sword - that was not to be the case.  England were gifted the dream start when Paul Sackey went over after just five minutes and from there Jonny Wilkinson's boot guided them home.

With France still hunting for a win late on Richard Wigglesworth, on his first start for England, went over with the final move of the game to secure the victory.  The result blows the tournament wide open again, although Wales lead the way with three wins from three.

Questions have been asked of Brian Ashton and his England vision, and although some still remain unanswered many were dealt with in emphatic style.  The control England showed was superb and they never once looked in danger of losing a game few gave them any hope of winning.

Their job was made considerably easier by a French side who failed to find the running game that has served them so well in the last two rounds.  That they constantly tried to force the matter in the opening half was to their detriment as it gifted England a perfect start.

Cédric Heymans, the stooge of many a side, was at fault as England scored after just five minutes.  It was he who lost the ball in a thunderous tackle from Jamie Noon allowing Sackey a simple kick ahead to slide over.  Wilkinson added the conversion and before long had tacked on an extra three points to punish Pascal Pape's indiscretion at the breakdown.

In contrast France looked flat in attack and when it came to goal-kicking Damien Traille was shown up for the bit-part kicker he was, missing two relatively easy attempts at goal.  He had no problems converting Lionel Nallet's try though, the result of concerted forward pressure on the England line.

Wilkinson again showed the worth of a recognised goal-kicker, slotting his second penalty on the half hour to ensure England turned around at the break with a six-point cushion.  It may well have been just the three but Traille missed yet another effort.

The second half was slow to get going, almost as slow as England have been in realising the attacking potential of Lesley Vainikolo.  It took them a full sixty minutes to finally bring the big Tongan-born winger into the action, and when they did he barged his way through two tackles and laid the platform for a telling England attack.

With France turning to Morgan Parra's boot it was he who brought them within three points of England, that was until Vainikolo set a solid platform for Wilkinson to knock over a drop goal - his 29th in Test rugby, a new world record.  Records aside, the drop goal showed Wilkinson's maturity and knowledge of the game.

England had been under considerable pressure for nigh on twenty minutes yet the first chance they had of points and Wilkinson took them, regardless of the fact the attack was still developing and causing France problems.  That alone highlighted the need for Wilkinson in the side, one feels the likes of Danny Cipriani would have opted to keep the ball in hand instead and in doing so risk coming away with nothing to show for their efforts.

Another penalty from Wilkinson left France chasing the game late on, and although Dimitri Yachvili slotted a fine penalty the result was never in doubt.  In fact his three points only served to fire England into further action, a telling series of drives paving the way for Wigglesworth to secure the win.

There is no denying Ashton still has work to do but this result will give his squad a much-needed boost after a decidedly lacklustre start to their campaign.  One hopes that the joy of the win doesn't gloss over the glaring cracks in the team.  There can surely no longer be a place in the side for Iain Balshaw who again showed his aversion to the high ball, often leaving the likes of Noon and Flood covering his mistakes.

The use, or lack thereof, of Lesley Vainikolo needs to be addressed with some urgency.  To have a player of this stature in your side only to positively ignore him is a heinous crime and a waste of his talent.  Admittedly he is still learning his trade, the man admitted as much himself in the week, but to starve him of ball is to ignore a potent attacking weapon.

Marc Lièvremont must not hit the panic button, after all this is the first defeat he has suffered since taking over.  There will be those who point to his selections, three players at the heart of the team with a lack of experience, yet truth be known it was the senior players coming up with the bulk of the errors.

Man of the Match:  No surprise this one goes the way of an Englishman.  Jonny Wilkinson showed his true worth to the side, while Michael Lipman is industrious in all that he did, but without a doubt this award goes to scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth.  He injected some much needed life into England's game and his try at the death was a just reward for his efforts.

Moment of the Match:  That drop goal from Jonny Wilkinson.  Not only was it a record for the fly-half, and not only was it a measure of his ability but most importantly it left France with a mountain they could not quite climb.

Villain of the Match:  There was plenty of niggle, as one would expect, but nothing serious enough to merit this award.

The Scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Sackey, Wigglesworth
Con:  Wilkinson
Pens:  Wilkinson 3
Drop goal:  Wilkinson

For England:
Tries:  Nallet
Cons:  Traille
Pens:  Parra, Yachvili

The Teams:

France:  15 Cédric Heymans, 14 Aurélien Rougerie, 13 David Marty, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Vincent Clerc, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Pascal Pape, 4 Lionel Nallet (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements:  16 William Servat, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Jérôme Thion, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 David Skrela, 22 Anthony Floch.

England:  15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 Mark Regan, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Ben Kay, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Danny Cipriani, 22 Mathew Tait.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

England struggle past Italy

England got their Six Nations assault off to a belated start on Sunday with a 23-19 win over Italy in Rome, in which Jonny Wilkinson notched up his 1,000th Test point.

Two early tries, from Paul Sackey and Toby Flood, gave England a bright start, but Italy's scrappers bought David Bortolussi chances from the tee to keep the Azzurri in touch, and then Simon Picone nicked a charge-down try at the end, setting up a nervy finale for Brian Ashton and his charges.

But the thunderous question cloud hanging over the England team's collective head was simply not answered.  Once again, in the final 20 minutes the English went to sleep, and Italy so nearly nicked it.  In the final minutes, trailing by four, the Azzurri had three attacking line-outs in promising positions, but each time one of the England jumpers stuck up a big mitt and ruined Italy's possession.

The lessons of Wales were so palpably not learned.  The longer the game went on, the less interested England looked.  Once again there was a dearth of leadership, once again a complete lack of direction.  Ball which should have been retained was kicked away, ball which should have been kicked away was run into trouble, and all too frequently turned over.  Italy enjoyed 65 per cent of the second half possession.  It was a far cry from England's confident and breast-beating start.

A lot of England's confident start was about the much-maligned Wilkinson.  It was his chip, regather, and exquisite offload to Paul Sackey that opened the scoring, and it was his support of Jamie Noon's kick charge-down that enabled Toby Flood to scoot over in the corner for the second.

His team-mates rallied round him at all times, tousling his hair for every good piece of play, slapping his backside when he needed a buck-up.  It was as though he was the baby of the team once more, with the bigger men in the team holding his infant confidence together.  Both he and his team-mates revelled in their respective roles.  Perhaps he'll always be Bambi to the England team.

But there remains a fair bit of work to be done.  Italy gifted England the two early tries, the first coming off an Italian throw, the second a mad moment of hesitation by David Bortolussi -- much in the vein of Iain Balshaw against Wales last week -- which allowed Noon to charge the ball down.

Beyond that, the teams were pretty well-matched, even in the first half.  England always looked to have more invention outside but were a little over-choosy in when to try and use it.  Instead they reverted to type, trying to march the ball through the Azzurri pack.

Italy tried to use the ball more outside, but had very little invention to talk about.  The one-dimension of the tactic of bringing the Italian centres flat and having Andrea Masi fling the long pass out to the back three did buy the learning Masi more time to pass from fly-half, but it bought England's defence more time to organise themselves.  None of Italy's three-quarters drew their defenders bar Gonzalo Canale, and the ball was continually shovelled to the wing where any number of drifting white shirts wrapped it up in defence.

After 16 minutes, the stats told the story.  England had had only three set pieces of possession, had conceded three penalties to none, and Italy had had some eleven pieces of set piece possession.  Yet when Flood scooted over for the second try, England led 14-6 -- Wilkinson's conversion taking him to four figures for international points.  They thrived off the turnovers, but created very little of their own.  They only won because Italy could not convert their possession into points.  They will not be as lucky elsewhere.

At least in the second quarter the men in white stepped it up a bit.  There was more control, more poise, more alertness at the breakdown.  Wilkinson missed one sitter, but slotted two other, harder kicks and gave his team a comfortable 20-6 half-time lead -- the ideal platform, you would think, to build a handsome win from.

Yet once again, it just fell slowly, horribly, apart.  Bortolussi brought Italy back to within eight with two penalties as England's discipline failed them continuously at the breakdown.  Wilkinson extended the lead to eleven again -- 23-12 -- with a penalty of his own on the hour mark, but the shapelessness of England was letting Italy's bruisers up front begin to make inroads.

The Italians kept up relentless pressure in defence, ensuring that neither Flood nor Noon in the centre were able to liberate themselves or their team-mates.  Up front, Nick Easter's charging threat was nullified, and nobody took the ball on with any conviction.  Even the substitutes failed to change the game.

It was one of the substitutes who let Italy get to within an ace of their triumph: none other than Danny Cipriani, so talked about, so praised, so recommended for a spot in the starting XV...  he caught a ball at the back, and just as Balshaw did last week, so he hesitated before booming the ball into the outstretched arms of the onrushing Simon Picone, who regathered and scampered under the posts for the try.

Bortolussi made it 23-19 with the extras, and Italy kept the pressure on.  What would have happened had Simon Shaw's hand not batted away an Italy line-out in England's 22 in the final minute? It's too horrible for an England fan to contemplate, but Brian Ashton needs to contemplate it quickly, along with his team.

Man of the match:  Italy are limited in most facets, but not at number eight.  On the occasion of his 50th cap, Sergio Parisse delivered a performance that will ensure this match shirt should be the centrepiece of his collection.  His hand-off of Paul Sackey while standing still was as much class and strength as it was comedy, and a deft little chip-kick in the first half gave you an insight into the true range of his skills.  Simply magnificent.

Moment of the match:  Simon Picone's try deserves a mention for setting up that finale, but we'll go for Jonny Wilkinson's chip, regather, and offload to set up Paul Sackey for the opening try.  The offload -- a reverse pass while looking the other way -- was a moment of magic.

Villain of the match:  None -- a fine-spirited game.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Try:  Picone
Con:  Bortolussi
Pens:  Bortolussi 4

For England:
Tries:  Sackey, Flood
Cons:  Wilkinson 2
Pens:  Wilkinson 3

Italy:  15 David Bortolussi, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Ezio Galon, 10 Andrea Masi, 9 Pietro Travagli, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Simon Picone, 21 Andrea Marcato, 22 Alberto Sgarbi.

England:  15 Iain Balshaw, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick (captain), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Mark Regan, 1 Tim Payne. 
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Jason Hobson, 18 Ben Kay, 19 Luke Narraway, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Danny Cipriani, 22 Mathew Tait.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Joël Jutge (France), Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)
Television match official:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Assessor:  Paul Bridgman (England)

France pull a fast one on Ireland

France's renaissance as a free-running force took root in Paris on Saturday as they raced to an absorbing 26-21 victory over Ireland, but an unexpected Irish comeback in the second half had French hearts in French mouths.

Ireland were on the ropes after Vincent Clerc's powered home with a hat-trick of tries in the first half.

The visitors then responded magnificently with a penalty try, a touchdown by David Wallace and a Ronan O'Gara penalty -- his third of the game.

But with France's forwards crumbling before their eyes, Ireland ran out of time to complete what would have been an amazing comeback.

France attacked Geordan Murphy's wing mercilessly from the off and their ruthless streak paid off with the Leicester back exposed on two occasions.

Clerc was the beneficiary and needed no second invitation to raise his strike rate to 20 tries from 30 caps.

It was the pacy Toulouse wing, possibly the best player in Europe on current form, who broke Irish hearts with his injury-time winner at Croke Park in last year's Six Nations.

That score effectively denied Ireland the Grand Slam and Clerc was equally predatory in the rivals' pool game at the World Cup, plundering a brace of tries as France prevailed 25-3.

Cédric Heymans also crossed in Paris on Saturday while Jean-Baptiste Elissalde kicked seven points to put France in the driving seat -- until their second-half implosion.

France coach Marc Lièvremont replaced prop Lionel Faure and hooker Dimitri Szarzewski with William Servat and Julien Brugnaut early in the second half and their scrum disintegrated as a result.

Ireland, kept in touch by the kicking of Ronan O'Gara who finished with 11 points, took full advantage as the confidence drained from their opponents.

They dominated the forward battle after the interval, forcing a penalty try with a string of big scrums before David Wallace finished a drive from his pack.

Heading into the final quarter Ireland looked capable of registering a first win in Paris since 2000 but France escaped by the skin of the teeth.

The spirited performance will have eased the pressure on coach Eddie O'Sullivan, who has been heavily criticised since the World Cup, but France were undoubtedly the architects of their collapse.

It was an astonishing finish that contrasted markedly with Ireland's first-half woes.

Lame tackling saw Aurélien Rougerie waved through in the fourth minute, the Clermont winger taking a quick tap close to his line and breaking through.

He slipped through three tackles before being caught by the cover but openside Thierry Dusautoir was at the breakdown in a flash and Ireland infringed.

Jean Baptiste Elissalde pushed the simple chance wide and France's ominous opening continued with Cédric Heymans almost smashing his way over.

A dashing break from Andrew Trimble halted the early French assault, however, with some slick interchange ending when Wallace was pounded into the turf by Szarzewski.

Ireland created an overlap on the right that full-back Girvan Dempsey wasted with a delayed pass as France met their opponents' flourish with some ferocious defence.

Keeping the ball to good effect, the Irish continued to make inroads only to be outmuscled at a breakdown and pay a heavy price.

In a move that evoked memories of Clerc's try in the World Cup group game, Elissalde side-footed the ball onto the right wing where only Denis Leamy was stationed.

Blindside flanker Leamy did not have the legs to outpace Clerc to the ball and he galloped.

Elissalde converted and Ireland's woes deepened four minutes later when Clerc completed his double.

Murphy drifted off his wing to tackle David Skrela even through the Irish cover had lined him up and seeing the overlap, the Stade Français fly-half supplied the scoring pass to Clerc.

Ireland responded to the early setback with an encouraging passage of play that was ruined by an ill-judged long pass from Brian O'Driscoll and a poor handling error by O'Gara.

A pair of O'Gara penalties reduced the deficit to 12-6 but in the 37th minute Clerc's sensational afternoon just got better.

Toulouse team-mate Heymans created the space with an arched run before handing Clerc a routine finish.

Dazzling footwork swept O'Driscoll into space in the 46th minute but the Ireland skipper was alone and France were able to turn the ball over

There was more than a hint of luck about France's fourth try as Elissalde's chip through deflected off O'Driscoll and through his legs into the path of Heymans.

Only Dempsey and O'Gara were covering back but the full-back showed them a clean pair of heals and Elissalde converted.

Ireland struck back in unusual circumstances by pulverising France at a series of five-metre scrums and referee Nigel Owens awarded a penalty try that was improved by O'Gara.

The French pack had gone to sleep, caving in for a second time in the 62nd minute when openside David Wallace powered over from close range.

Buoyed by their ongoing success up front, Ireland continued to pound away and made huge inroads into the back-pedalling French.

A long-range penalty from O'Gara slashed the deficit to 26-21 and when Reddan broke free French hearts were in their mouths.

Ireland surged ahead and looked set to land the decisive blow but Heymans swept back to cover a Rob Kearney chip and Les Bleus were saved.

Man of the match:  Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan will be pleased with the collective will his side showed in the second half, and there was also moments for Ireland to cheer in the first half -- luck just didn't seem to go their way.  If we must pick out an Irish individual it would be Jamie Heaslip who grew in stature as the game progressed.  The boy could well be around for the long run.  It was a bit of a mixed bag from the locals, with Fulgence Ouedraogo and his lifters gaining plaudits after destroying Ireland's set-piece.  Meanwhile, the blue back-three were excellent, perhaps almost too good as the rest of the side seemed to start to simply expect tries towards the end.  France coach Marc Lièvremont is making a name for himself as a bold selector, and French scribes will undoubtedly relish the chance to quiz him over his decision to drop Vincent Clerc for the game, only reinstating him after Julien Malzieu was ruled out injured.  With three tries and more gas than the North Sea, the Toulouse flyer is our man of the match -- again!

Moment of the Match:  Plenty of fine counter-attacking from France, and the last few edge-of-the-seat moments will live long in our memory.  But we'll opted for David Skrela's cheeky nutmegging of Brian O'Driscoll that lead to France's last try -- art trumping muscle ...  it seemed to sum up the day.

Villain of the Match:  Not much to moan about in this one -- all good, clean fun: no award.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Heymans, Clerc 3
Cons:  Elissalde 3

For Ireland:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Wallace
Cons:  O'Gara
Pens:  O'Gara 3

France:  15 Cédric Heymans, 14 Aurélien Rougerie, 13 David Marty, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Vincent Clerc, 10 David Skrela, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Arnaud Méla, 3 Lionel Faure, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Nicolas Mas.
Replacements:  16 William Servat, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Loïc Jacquet, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 François Trinh-Duc, 22 Anthony Floch.

Ireland:  15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Geordan Murphy, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Andrew Trimble, 11 Rob Kearney, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Bernard Jackman, 1 Marcus Horan. 
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Simon Easterby, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Shane Horgan.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges:  Wayne Barnes (England), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official:  Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (South Africa)

Wales subdue Scots in Cardiff

Wales made it two Six Nations wins out of two courtesy of a free-flowing 30-15 victory over Scotland at Millennium Stadium on Sunday, but the boys of blue had the measure of the heroes of Twickenham for much of the game.

So Warren Gatland's revival of Wales continues, and -- as a consequence -- Scotland's dismal slump goes from bad to worse.  That Scotland were within a score of taking the lead until the final fifteen minutes owes more to Welsh indiscipline than to their own creative play -- as in all honesty they created little of note.

On the other hand, Wales created plenty yet were unable to convert their chances, seemingly leaving Twickenham last week with a touch of England's yips.  So much so that Gatland's hand was forced with twenty minutes to go, at which point he hauled off James Hook and Mike Phillips for the more recognisable half-back pairing of Dwayne Peel and Stephen Jones.

To many it may have seemed Gatland was panicking, not so.  For while Hook and Phillips thrive on the open spaces they can sometimes lack the direction required to tighten a game up.  There was no such problem for Jones and Peel who, within eight minutes of their arrival, had secured the game for Wales.

Long before the arrival of the under-pressure Scarlets duo, Wales -- whilst playing a flowing style of rugby -- were, through their own ill discipline, allowing a distinctly average Scotland side to remain in the game.  Chris Paterson's metronomic boot ensuring Wales never really got out of sight.

Frank Hadden will have serious concerns over the lack of creative spark in his side:  only one clean line-break in 80 minutes highlighting the magnitude of his problems.  But for Paterson's five penalties it would have been a total rout.  With little else available to Hadden it is difficult to see where Scotland go from here.

Both sides were committed to playing an open game, and thus it ebbed and flowed from the moment Dan Parks got the game going.  Sadly for Scotland though their inadequacies from last week were still there for all to see, resulting in a fragmented game at times.

Wales, trailing to the first of Paterson's penalties, hit back in stunning fashion as Shane Williams rounded off a fine move stemming from a Scotland error.  Hugo Southwell's poor chip was gathered by the robust Phillips who set the platform for a sweeping move.  With Scotland in disarray Henson and Hook created the space for Lee Byrne to free Shane Williams out wide.  A customary side-step from the little wing allowed him to scorch over, with Hook adding the extras.

The rest of the half was a fairly drab affair as both sides came up with an unusual number of schoolboy errors.  Scotland showed some character to hold out whilst down to fourteen men -- Nathan Hines cooling his heels for a reckless backhander on Lee Byrne -- and managed to head into the break just four points adrift.

Again Paterson pegged Wales back early in the second half, reducing the deficit to just one point, before Hook eased Welsh nerves with a try of his own.  It was the Cardiff Blues duo of Martyn Williams and Jamie Roberts who created the space, and despite a poor pass from Adam Jones, Hook was able to gather the ball on the bounce before dancing past Euan Murray to go over in the corner.

Still Wales were unable to take full control on the game as again Paterson chipped away at their lead, two more penalties bringing Scotland back to within two points.  It was at this stage Gatland had seen enough and sent Peel and Jones in to rescue a game that was in danger of passing Wales by.

Ten minutes later the Scarlets duo had guided Wales into a winning position, aided by a dazzling second try from Shane Williams -- the legitimacy of which will be debated long into the Cardiff night.  Jones slotted a simple penalty before releasing Williams on a scorching run, although his foot appeared to graze the touchline before he grounded the ball.  Not so, said the TMO.  Mark Cueto will have been watching, wishing he was afforded the same leniency at the World Cup.

With the game as good as over, Jones added the final nail in the Scottish coffin with a superb long range penalty, condemning Hadden's men to a second straight defeat.  They rallied late on but were unable to breach the Welsh line, the ball finally being turned over after a barrage of close attacks were repelled by some stout Welsh defence.

As to where Scotland go from here is anyone's guess, although at this rate it is looking like a second consecutive Wooden Spoon.  Wales, on the other hand, are two from two and looking like a side returning to form -- they are just 80 minutes from a Triple Crown.

Man of the Match:  For Scotland Chris Paterson was the only player to emerge with any real credit, his boot proving as effective as ever despite being under used in recent weeks.  But it is hardly surprising this award goes to a Welshman, of which their were several to choice between.  Gavin Henson is on his way back to his best and in Jamie Roberts Wales have a real talent.  The big Cardiff Blues wing was full of aggressive running and looked totally at home in his first international.  But it was his Cardiff Blues team-mate Martyn Williams who won our vote.  As is often the case Williams was ever-present, mixing it in the tight and loose to great effect.  A tremendous all round display from the man they call 'Nugget'.

Moment of the Match:  Without a doubt it was Shane William's second try, for it came at a time when Scotland were still within a chance.  The moment Carlo Damasco, the TMO, awarded a controversial try and Scotland were dead and buried.

Villain of the Match:  There was nothing of note but this one goes to Nathan Hines for his unnecessary back hand on Lee Byrne.  Hats off to Byrne for taking it on the cheek and not playing up for the cameras.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Williams 2, Hook
Cons:  Hook 2, S Jones
Pens:  Hook, S Jones 2
Drops:

For Scotland:
Pens: Paterson 5

The Teams:

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Jamie Roberts, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Gavin Henson, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements:  16 Matthew Rees, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Deiniol Jones, 19 Gareth Delve, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Sonny Parker.

Scotland:  15 Chris Paterson, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair, 7 John Barclay, 8 Kelly Brown, 6 Jason White (c), 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Allister Hogg, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Graeme Morrison, 22 Hugo Southwell.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Christophe Berdos (France)
Television match official:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Assessor:  Jim Bailey (Wales)

France dampen Scottish hope

A new-look French team kicked their Six Nations defence off with a disjointed 27-6 victory over a below-par Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Any hope Scotland had of winning this game seemed to evaporate as Dan Parks's kick-off sailed straight into touch, it really didn't get much better than that for a frustrated Scotland side.  There was plenty of endeavour but little sustenance to back it up, instead it was a performance that was ruined by basic errors and a lack of control.

Frank Hadden picked a Scotland side based on form, only to witness his side form an inferiority complex that ensured their game failed to get out of first gear.  Any brief bright spells, and there were precious few at that, were brought to premature ends with basic errors.  As the game wore on the frustration grew, although it was there from the outset.

How Andrew Henderson escaped a red card is beyond belief, a head-butt on Damien Traille after Vincent Clerc's first try went unpunished despite being seen by the video referee.  Given a reprieve for his misdemeanour he failed to make the most of it, lacking the cutting edge Scotland so desperately needed to unlock an organised French defence.

Much was made of the inclusion of Parks over Chris Paterson but the truth was Parks failed to justify his selection.  Two fine long kicks from hand and a snap drop-goal aside, he looked average and when it mattered most he was unable to bring Scotland back into the game, although to be fair to him he received little help from those around him.

Popular consensus pointed towards a new-look French team, containing four new caps and a further three players with less than ten caps apiece, struggling to settle early on thus allowing Scotland to control early exchanges.  The chance would have been a fine thing for Scotland, as in reality France looked dangerous from the off, opting to run from deep and reveal their attacking intent.

It may not have always gone to plan for France but due to endless Scotland errors they had ample chances to get it right.  And when they did get it right it was devastating, Vincent Clerc and Cédric Heymans linking superbly to create the opening try for Clerc.  There was a suggestion of a forward pass in the score but that did little to detract from a fine move.

When Traille added a penalty a few minutes later Parks's fourth-minute drop goal was a fading light of Scottish hope.  The Scottish horror show took a turn for the worse with little more than a quarter of the game gone, paving way for Julien Malzieu to score on debut.

Malzieu seized the ball to take a quick penalty and promptly kicked ahead, a kick that seemed a little naive as both Rory Lamont and Parks seemed to have it covered.  Lamont ran straight past the ball and Parks's attempted hack only resulted in a miss-kick and the ball bouncing into the unsuspecting Malzieu's hands.  The look of utter surprise on his face said it all as he trotted in under the posts.

To say the game was as good as up at such an early stage would be a bold statement, yet the truth was it was.  Fourteen points down and with nothing to suggest they had enough in the tank to raise their game, despite Parks landing a penalty on the half-hour mark, Scotland were dead and buried.

France have, in the past, been guilty of taking their foot of the gas and the same can be said of their performance here, although one may point to the wealth of new faces as a contributing factor.  When Marc Lièvremont looks back at the video he will see there is plenty to be done, but at the same time he will see the basis of a team that could win a Grand Slam.

François Trinh-Duc was protected as much as possible but he still showed enough to warrant another start next time out, as did the industrious Fulgence Ouedraogo who quietly went about his business.  It was never going to be a polished French display, there were too many factors preventing it.  But it gives Lièvremont and his troops a starting point to build upon.

What it gives Scotland is a rude awakening, they are simply a one-dimensional team.  In trying to play a wide game they often just shovelled the ball across the field failing to fix defenders and ultimately running out of space.  They now have six days to turn things around before heading to Wales, a nation high on confidence, and knowing that it can only get better.

Man of the Match:  Up front William Servat was busy and always willing to carry the ball forward, Thierry Dusautoir was tireless in his work, without ever really finding top gear and Loïc Jacquet looked impressive.  But it was behind where France were at their best and in particular Vincent Clerc.  He bagged two tries for his efforts but it was his overall work rate and endeavour that saw him pose such a threat to Scotland.

Moment of the Match:  In a game Scotland believed they could win Vincent Clerc's first try seemed to suck the life out of them.  Looking to establish themselves early on Scotland were never able to recover from Clerc's try and simply had no answer once behind, which will be a major worry for Frank Hadden.

Villain of the Match:  Scotland centre Andrew Henderson took this award for his head-butt on Damien Traille.  He may have escaped punishment on the pitch but he can expect a date with a judicial committee in the very near future.  Totally unnecessary and could yet prove very costly.

The Scorers:

For Scotland:
Pen:  Parks
Drop goal:  Parks

For France:
Tries:  Clerc 2, Malzieu
Cons:  Elissalde 2, Skrela
Pens:  Traille 2

The Teams:

Scotland:  15 Rory Lamont, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Dave Callam, 7 John Barclay, 6 Jason White (c), 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Chris Paterson, 22 Hugo Southwell.

France:  15 Cédric Heymans, 14 Julien Malzieu, 13 David Marty, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Vincent Clerc, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Elvis Vermeulen, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Loïc Jacquet, 4 Lionel Nallet (c), 3 Julien Brugnaut, 2 William Servat, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements:  16 Nicolas Mas, 17 Dimitri Szarzewski, 18 Arnaud Mela, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 David Skrela, 22 Aurélien Rougerie.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Taizo Hirabayashi (Japan)
Television match official:  Chris White (England)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

Ireland struggle to subdue Italy

Ireland kicked off their Six Nations campaign with a 16-11 over Italy at Croke Park on Saturday, but the hosts' slipshod performance will fail to soothe fans eager to exorcise memories of the World Cup.

But any subsequent Irish autopsy must take into account a fine performance from the visitors.

Italy's set-piece work was exemplary and their physicality at the breakdown bullied the Irish out of the game.  Adrift 10-3 at the break, they rallied to win the second half by a fair distance.

The Croke Park clash certainly wasn't a good advertisement for Irish rugby and Ireland's full redemption will have to wait a little while longer -- relief will have to do for now.

After an encouraging start, the hosts were left hanging on for dear life after a late rally from the visitors so nearly resulted in one of the biggest upset of the tournament's 125 year history.

The muted reception they received from their own fans at the final whistle told much of the hard work that lies ahead for Eddie O'Sullivan and his team.

At the conclusion of O'Sullivan's 74th match in charge, and with one ear already on the chopping block, his 79th match -- against England on the final weekend of the tournament -- might just be his last.

In a game which reminded one of the Six Nations clashes of yore, both sides scrapped and scrapped and despite a stranglehold on possession and territory in the opening half, Ireland failed to make use of their try-scoring chances -- Nick Mallett's troops were tackling everything in sight.

After a nervous opening, O'Sullivan's charges began to loosen up and began stretching the Italy defence with Ronan O'Gara's cross-kicks proving too much to handle for the visitor's back three.

Barnstorming breaks by Girvan Dempsey and Geordan Murphy saw Ireland stride deep into the Italian half, and a repeat of the eight-try 51-24 win in Rome a year ago looked on the cards.

However, with the try-line in sight, misjudged kicks and mistimed passes led to Italy breathing a sigh of relief while the 72,000 strong home crowd were left breathing a sigh of frustration.

Even more so when an early turnover offered Ireland another chance to launch a counter-attack and they responded superbly with Denis Leamy and O'Gara slipping through gaps close to the breakdown.

Brian O'Driscoll was on his own when the ball was spun right but a clever chip by the Ireland skipper sent Italy scrambling backwards and flanker Josh Sole was on hand to avert the danger when Andrew Trimble came up with the ball.

Sole's try-saving tackle was then countered with a stray boot by scrum-half Pietro Travagli on Leamy and the resulting penalty from O'Gara nudged Ireland ahead 3-0 with twelve minutes gone on the clock.

The hosts then surged to a 10-0 lead when O'Gara landed another crossfield kick, this time into the hands of Trimble, who rode Mauro Bergamasco's tackle before offloading to Dempsey, who sped home for a fantastic opening try.

O'Gara added the extras to take him to 400 points in the Six Nations and the home team finally looked to have their mojo back.

Mallett was quick to make the necessary changes and struggling wing Pablo Canavosio was given his marching orders after one missed tackle too many.

Ireland also were forced into a sudden replacement when Gordon D'Arcy left the field clutching his wrist after clashing awkwardly with Andrea Masi in another one of the pivot's sniping runs.

In obvious discomfort, D'Arcy stumbled from the pitch with Rob Kearney slotting on the wing and Trimble switching to inside centre.

With ten minutes of the half still left to play, Italy stepped up a gear and for the first time in the match set up an attacking line-out five metres from the Irish try-line.

However, Biarritz lock Santiago Dellape was caught throwing a punch on the floor as Italy's discipline began to slip and was shown a yellow card for his actions.

But far from buckling in the face of Dellape's absence, the Azzurri continued to attack and even produced a penalty through David Bortolussi on the stroke of half-time which left Ireland in front with a 10-3 lead.

The second-half saw Ireland start on the front foot but they ruined several promising positions with simple errors.  Veteran prop John Hayes hardly looking like an 80-cap international as he spilled the ball from a simple pass.

Matters got worse when in the 48th minute flanker Simon Easterby was yellow-carded by referee Jonathan Kaplan giving the Italians renewed hope.

Easterby was not to return as the highly regarded Israeli-born number eight Jamie Heaslip replaced him.

Bortolussi, whose late penalty miss against Scotland in the World Cup cost his side a place in the last eight, failed to make the Irish pay for another infringement when he sent his penalty wide from the halfway line with just under half an hour to go.

However, the Irish seemed to be sparked by this and produced some of their better rugby with O'Gara's chip over the defence being collected brilliantly by O'Driscoll.

After Reddan's pass had been deliberately knocked forward by an Italian defender O'Gara added a penalty to make it 13-3.

The Italians, though, were not cowed and with an hour to go pulled to within five points as Sergio Parisse was credited with a try after much deliberation, the Italian scrum having forced their way over the line.

Bortolussi failed to convert and the difference between the two kickers was illustrated as O'Gara gave the hosts some breathing space with a penalty to make it 16-8 with 15 minutes remaining.

The lead was reduced to five points with 10 minutes left as Bortolussi converted an easy penalty.

A first and surprising missed kick from O'Gara failed to calm the nerves of home fans but Ireland did enough to stop an Italian resurgence and now travel to France under more pressure than before.

Man of the match:  Italy pack can hold their heads high after a solid display in the line-out caused all sorts of trouble for their hosts.  Mauro Bergamasco and captain Sergio Parisse were also tremendous in the loose and put in the majority of Italy's tackles.  For Ireland, Ronan O'Gara -- a different player to the unsettled one at the World Cup -- deserves a pat on the back for his tactical kicking that always kept the opposition backline guessing.  But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to single out the genius display at scrum-half by the young and talented Eoin Reddan.  His first start in a Six Nations match and certainly not his last.  Full of running, full of ideas and Eddie O'Sullivan full of you-know-what for replacing the star of the match with ten minutes of the game remaining.

Moment of the match:  In a match where far too many scoring chances were left begging like a dog outside a butcher's shop, it comes as no surprise then that the highlight of the match come from one of the only two tries scored.  O'Gara's clever chip over the Italian defence for Girvan Dempsey's try takes the cake.  It brought back happy memories of what the men in green used to bring to the game and gave their fans a glimmer of hope of Ireland's much talked about redemption -- sadly this wasn't to be.

Villain of the match:  Two players from opposing sides -- one more deserving of his time-out than the other.  Slap on the wrist for Simon Easterby for his professional foul in the second half that was perhaps a little harsh on the flank.  And a slap in the face for Santiago Dellapé, whose punching extravaganza after his team finally made it within touching distance of Ireland's try-line in the first 40 minutes of the match.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Dempsey
Con:  O'Gara
Pens:  O'Gara 3

For Italy:
Try:  Parisse
Pens:  Bortolussi 2

Yellow card(s):  Dellapé (Italy) -- punching, 29; Easterby (Ireland) -- playing the ball on the deck, 49

Ireland:  15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Andrew Trimble, Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Geordan Murphy, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus HoranReplacements:  16 Bernard Jackman, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Jamie Heaslip, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Rob Kearney

Italy:  15 David Bortolussi, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Pablo Canavosio, 10 Andrea Masi, 9 Pietro Travagli, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellapé, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero

Replacements:  16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Carlos Nieto, 19 Tommaso Reato, 20 Alessandro Zanni, 21 Andrea Marcato, 22 Ezio Galon

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Wayne Barnes (England), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official:  Tim Hayes (Wales)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (South Africa)