Barbarians bow to England

England kicked off the mid-year internationals with a 35-26 victory over the star-studded Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.

Like their footballing compatriots, Martin Johnson's troops put together a serviceable performance to bolster spirits ahead of the daunting trip south of the equator.

But having led 25-7 at the break, questions will be raised to why the locals failed to throw away the key.

In the end they were forced to kick penalties in order to quell a typically cavalier showing from the famous international side.

James Haskell, Shontayne Hape, Ben Foden and Mike Tindall all touched down as England made the most of some generous defending to cruise to victory.

Toulon-bound winger Paul Sackey scored a try in each half for the Barbarians and replacements David Smith and Census Johnson rumbled over to give the scoreline an air of respectability.

England head Down Under on Monday night for a five-match tour that includes two Tests against the Wallabies, two meetings with the Australian Barbarians and a clash with the New Zealand Maori.

All three teams will pose a far sterner test than the Barbarians, who at times reacted to the sunshine over Twickenham as if they were playing touch rugby on the beach.

The match did at least give Johnson a chance to run the rule over a clutch of returning players and new faces before the tour starts in earnest a week on Tuesday.

Charlie Hodgson, back after two years in the international wilderness, made a lively contribution at fly-half and finished with ten points before a bloody nose forced him off, while the back row of Nick Easter, Delon Armitage and Haskell were all prominent.

And scrum-half Danny Care responded well to the gauntlet that Ben Youngs threw down with his performance for Leicester in Saturday's Guinness Premiership final.

England made countless line-breaks and Mark Cueto was a constant danger with scything runs from deep but there remain question marks over Hape at inside centre.

Ultimately, however, Johnson will need to see his men tested in far more hostile surroundings to draw any firm conclusions.

The Twickenham announcer's last words before kick-off were to prepare the 41,035 crowd for "80 minutes of world-class rugby" although for most of the match the Barbarians offered anything but.

They may be proud to uphold the old amateur ethos of bonding at the bar but optional defence neither makes for a decent contest nor, in this case, helps to properly assess England's strengths.

Hodgson scuffed his first penalty low, wide and ugly but responded positively to send Cueto past a distinctly uninterested Florian Fritz and on a 70-yard burst.

England kept the pressure on with good hands from Foden and a Steve Thompson charge before the Barbarians were penalised for offside and this time Hodgson converted.

The Sale fly-half showed good strength to wriggle out of two tackles on half-way before offloading for Dave Attwood to rampage forward as England began to tick.

Hodgson slotted a second penalty before Haskell showed some clever footwork to skip away from Sackey and Ross Skeate, who collided in pantomime fashion as the Stade Francais flanker touched down.

England extended their lead to 20-0 when Hape stepped through a giant gap between Fritz and Ben Kay to score on his senior debut.

Finally the Barbarians offered something worth cheering as Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, a member of Toulouse's Heineken Cup-winning team, brilliantly collected his own chip and sent Sackey over for the try.

Sackey fended Hodgson off on his way through and the England fly-half was forced to make way for Olly Barkley.

The Barbarians began to play as if they were the Harlem Globetrotters but England's response was instant as Easter swooped on a loose ball.

The captain galloped over half-way before Thompson slung the pass wide for Foden, who raced in for England's third try and a 25-7 half-time lead.

The Barbarians' saloon-door defending continued after the break as Tindall slipped Fritz's tackle and sailed untouched through a gaping midfield hole to touch down under the posts.

Cueto embarked on a third break but once again failed to find his support runners, something that will concern Johnson given the paucity of the opposition.

Both sides began to ring the changes and the Barbarians began to play more direct rugby and profited to the tune of three second-half tries.

Smith crashed over in the 56th minute after a bulldozing run before Johnson, the giant Samoan prop who gave Tim Payne a tough afternoon in the scrum, drove over for the Barbarians' third.

Sackey's second try was a thing of beauty as Cedric Heyman dummied a flick behind his back and stayed in field long enough to supply the scoring pass.

Barkley rounded off the day with a penalty shot at goal in the last minute, a decision which was rightly greeted with derision by the supporters.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Haskell, Hape, Foden, Tindall
Cons:  Hodgson 2, Barkley
Pens:  Hodgson 2, Barkley

For Barbarians:
Tries:  Sackey 2, Smith, Johnston
Cons:  Elissalde 3

The teams:

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter (captain), 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 James Haskell, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Paul Doran-Jones, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Jon Golding.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Tim Payne, 18 Dan Ward-Smith, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Joe Simpson, 21 Olly Barkley, 22 Mathew Tait.

Barbarians:  15 Paul Warwick, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Florian Fritz, 11 Cedric Heymans, 10 Jean-Baptiste Ellisalde, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Xavier Rush (captain), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Rodney So'oialo, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Ross Skeate, 3 Julian White, 2 Benoit August, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Census Johnston, 18 Jerome Thion, 19 George Smith, 20 Pierre Mignoni, 21 Fabrice Estebanez, 22 David Smith.

Referee:  Jérôme Garces
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite, Pascal Gauzere
TMO:  Bob Ockenden, David Matthews

Wales end on a high

Wales punctuated their bonkers Six Nations campaign with a highly sensible 33-10 victory over Italy at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

A bright start from the visitors was stamped out by the boot of Stephen Jones before second-half tries from James Hook (two) and Shane Williams (who else?) sealed the deal.

Despite their dash from the blocks and some heroic defence, the Azzurri were strangely subdued, able only to draw shrill blasts from the whistle of referee Wayne Barnes.  They betrayed their lack of ideas by opting for a shot at goal when 26-0 down.

Setting Italian failings to one side, this was a much improved performance from the Welsh.

But they still didn't mange to shake the sleep from their eyes until half-time.  Once again they failed to score a try in the opening period.

Wales will be allowed to celebrate tonight -- Andy Powell might even be invited -- but there are now far more challenging opponents on the horizon, with world champions South Africa awaiting Wales in early June, followed by two away Tests against New Zealand.

But we digress -- back to the action in Cardiff ...

Italy, despite a late try from lively full-back Luke McLean, were undone in the second period as Wales turned their 12-0 interval advantage into a runaway win.

Wing Mirco Bergamasco slotted a conversion and penalty for the Azzurri, yet they never threatened to record just a second victory in 28 Six Nations away games.

Gatland promised to put his players through pain during the build-up, so angered was he by their tame 27-12 loss against Ireland last weekend, and he saw a response after making five changes.

Wing Tom Prydie's startling promotion to senior duty was the headline selection by Gatland, but he also recalled three fit-again British and Irish Lions in skipper Ryan Jones, scrum-half Mike Phillips and prop Gethin Jenkins.

Prydie, Wales' youngest international player of all-time at 18 years and 25 years, coped well with the pressure, and it was an afternoon when the home side delivered, even though they made subduing a limited Italian outfit hard work at times.

Sam Warburton -- Martyn Williams' understudy at openside flanker -- gained his first Six Nations start, but Italy coach Nick Mallett lost three injured players less than 48 hours before kick-off in centre Andrea Masi, lock Carlo Del Fava and flanker Paul Derbyshire.

The stadium roof remained open at Mallett's request, but early morning rain relented and conditions were dry, seemingly suiting Wales' renowned running game.

And Prydie was rapidly into the action, completing a crunching tackle on Gonzalo Canale that forced the Italy centre off nursing a rib injury, before testing McLean through a well-placed chip and chase.

Jones then opened Wales' account with an angled penalty, but Italy were unlucky not to draw level when Bergamasco's 40-metre opener bounced back off the post.

Wales, who saw Ian Gough replace injured lock Bradley Davies after 15 minutes, began to exert a degree of territorial dominance, yet were frustrated by Italy securing turnover possession twice in quick succession and clearing any danger.

A second Jones penalty doubled the lead just before Italy lost a second injured player -- scrum-half Pablo Canavosio.

Despite the setbacks though, the visitors defended solidly, albeit with some luck.

Wales looked to have finally breached the Azzurri defence 12 minutes before half-time when Shane Williams sent full-back Lee Byrne over, but referee Barnes took play back for a penalty he had already awarded the home side.

Italy began to infringe at regular intervals, and Jones completed his penalty hat-trick for a nine-point advantage as Wales reached for the accelerator.

Hook was denied by an unkind bounce after he kicked beyond Italy's last line of defence, and although Jones landed another three-pointer, Wales trooped off unfulfilled.

Despite leading 12-0, it meant that for the fifth successive Six Nations game this season they had failed to register a first-half try.

Wales continued to toil away in pursuit of an elusive touchdown, and both Williams and Hook went close as cracks began opening in Italy's defence.

It was a case of being patient, and with Phillips rifling substantial amounts of possession out to his fellow backs, there seemed little chance Italy could cling on to just a 12-point deficit.

And so it proved when quick ball found its way to Hook, and he dived over between two Italian defenders for a try that Jones converted.

Wales had gone two hours and 11 minutes of this season's tournament without posting a try, but things looked bleak for Italy as their resilience looked to have run its course.

And when flanker Mauro Bergamasco was sin-binned following a technical offence, Wales made them pay immediately when Hook ghosted through for his second try in three minutes.

Stephen Jones added the conversion, leaving Italy facing a damage-limitation exercise as the final quarter approached.

The Azzurri bravely stuck to their guns, but they had no answer when Phillips surged up-field and the supporting Shane Williams claimed his 51st try for Wales.

Stephen Jones booted the extras, and Gatland used up all seven of his substitutes with 10 minutes still remaining before McLean's smart consolation score at least gave the vociferous Italian fans something to shout about.

Man of the match:  There was some fine collective defence from the Italians and some bright moments from Alessandro Zanni.  But that pretty much sums up the visitors' day.  Sam Warburton impressed for the locals, as Shane Williams was his usual effervescent self.  But our award goes to Stephen Jones.  The veteran pivot enjoyed his reunion with Mike Phillips, with James Hook being the main beneficiary of the happy marriage of minds.

Moment of the match:  Probably the opening try -- it rang out like an alarm clock around the Millennium Stadium, rousing the Welsh from their slumber.

Villain of the match:  Salvatore Perugini earned a ticking-off for a little bit of gardening, and Mauro Bergamasco was sin-binned for an ugly moment, and the sight of his brother inviting Mike Phillips to hit him was even uglier.  'You want some?' probably sounds beautiful in Italian, but it was rather too soccer for our liking.  Yes, Mirco Bergamasco gets our ghastly gong.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Hook 2, S Williams
Cons:  S Jones 3
Pens:  S Jones 4

For Italy:
Try:  McLean
Con:  Mi Begamasco
Pen:  Mi Bergamasco

Yellow card(s):  Ma Bergamasco (Italy) -- off-side at ruck (55).

The teams:

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 Paul James, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Gareth Delve, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Pablo Canavosio, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Marco Bortolami, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (c) 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Valerio Bernabo, 19 Manoa Vosawai, 20 Tito Tebaldi, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Matteo Pratichetti.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Marinus Jonker (South Africa), Stuart Terheege (England)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

France seal the deal in Paris

They did it!  Despite spirited resistance from England, France sealed their ninth Grand Slam with a tense 12-10 victory over the men in white at Stade de France on Saturday night.

The visitors played the best rugby of their campaign -- if not the past year -- but they got on the wrong side of referee Bryce Lawrence in the earlier stages of the game, and there they remained.

They got just one penalty shot at goal in the entire match.  Most un-English.

It's fitting that this topsy-turvy Six Nations ended with a cultural about-turn:  England got the only try via Ben Foden but France used the soggy conditions to squeeze England out of the game via the set-piece and their half-backs.  It's was the semi-final of RWC 2003 in reverse.

And it is their discipline that will be toast of the Parisian night.  Most un-French.

For all the talk of French flair, the Grand Slam was ultimately secured on the back of a defiant defensive performance and a crushingly dominant scrum.

Indeed, all it took as three penalties from Morgan Parra and a drop-goal from Francois Trinh-Duc -- all in the first half -- to seal victory for Les Bleus.

England were the better team in the second half but only had a Jonny Wilkinson penalty to show for it -- and France held out to seal their first clean sweep since 2004.

England had arrived in Paris with a new captain, a revamped back division and a determination to spoil the French Grand Slam party.  They came mighty close.

Leicester flank Lewis Moody skippered England after Steve Borthwick aggravated a knee injury in last weekend's drab 15-15 draw with Scotland.

Wilkinson was dropped for only the third time in his career as manager Martin Johnson attempted to inject some vibrancy into England's one-dimensional attacking game.

Toby Flood took over at fly-half, Foden was given his first England start at full-back and his Northampton team Chris Ashton made his Test debut on the wing.

France took an early lead with Trinh-Duc's drop-goal but England's new-look back division played with enterprise from the outset.

It took them just six minutes to click and they did so in scintillating fashion with Foden scoring his first Test try to mark an impressive full debut.

Flood whipped the ball to Riki Flutey and Ashton kept his cool under pressure and showed a deft touch to slip the scoring pass out of the tackle and Foden raced over in the corner.

England were playing with tempo and variety.  Tim Payne, Dylan Hartley and even Danny Care made key yards around the fringes, the recalled Mike Tindall crashed into the French defence and the roving Cueto was a danger on both wings.

England lost Simon Shaw to what appeared to be another shoulder injury after just 15 minutes, immediately after he had conceded a penalty for diving over the top.

Parra missed that effort but made no mistake from in front of the posts after Flutey was penalised for being off his feet.

England's vibrant start began to fade in the heavy rain as France assumed control of the first period on the back of a vastly superior kicking game -- particularly from the wingers Marc Andreu and Alexis Palisson -- and with a dominant scrum.

France had set the platform for Trinh-Duc's drop-goal with a charging run from Imanol Harinordoquy after England had been penalised at the set-piece.

As it was on the first Test of the Lions tour to South Africa, the New Zealand referee was deeply unhappy with the performance of the English tighthead and penalised Dan Cole in three scrums in quick succession, and Parra needed no second invitation to open France a 12-7 half-time lead.

Given the angst on display, the visitors made changes up front during the interval, with Hartley and Cole replaced by Steve Thompson and David Wilson.

With a fresh start, England were able to inject tempo back into their attacking game and Foden almost latched onto a chip kick from Care but the ball skipped on into touch.

England stole the line-out from Harinordoquy inside the French 22 but they were driven backwards and Flood snatched a drop-goal attempt wide of the posts.

After Cueto had run the ball back -- something England did so rarely at Murrayfield -- Ashton attacked down the left but decided to chip ahead and was beaten to the touchdown by Palisson.

Harinordoquy piled forward again and Trinh-Duc was ready to slot the drop-goal when Parra inexplicably sent up a box kick inside England's 22 and with no chasers Foden claimed it comfortably.

England had been the better side in the first 20 minutes of the second half but needed something to show for it against a defiant French defence.

Mathew Tait's half-break was halted and Dimitri Szarzewski nicked possession back for France.  Trinh-Duc cleared but Ashton decided to run the return ball.

Foden was snagged but England won a penalty just in-field from the right touchline and five metres into the French half.

Wilkinson stepped up to strike a monster of a kick and his effort dropped just over the bar and England had closed the gap.

But France closed the game out expertly and Grand Slam glory was theirs.  Deservedly so, too.  They are the best team in Europe by a distance right now.  They possess a rampant pack full of power, a rock-solid set-piece and verve and dynamism out wide.

The same cannot be said for England.  But events in Paris seem to suggest that, finally, the foundation stones are being put in place.

Man of the match:  We've taken a stick to England over the course of this tournament, but they deserve praise for their efforts today.  The back three -- bar the mistake from Chris Ashton -- played out of the skins, and Ben Foden has surely answered the last of his critics.  But our pick of the visitors was Mike Tindall -- how soon we had forgotten what an intelligent footballer he is, and how England have missed him.  It was a low-key performance by France, held together by little Morgan Parra who called all the right moves at the crucial moments.  It was his brains that held the English at bay.

Moment of the match:  It was Ben Foden's try, made significant by France's reaction.  French teams in the past would have gone to pieces but the class of 2010 thought their way out of what looked like a tight corner.

Villain of the match:  Not much niggle from the players and it would be against the spirit of rugby to suggest referee Bryce Lawrence.  Like dogs, good teams should learn what all the bizarre whistling means and react accordingly.  So how about the lady in the crowd who spent the entire match baiting the man sitting behind her?  Martin Johnson looked none too please with the blonde's advances, but she was good enough to applaud Wilkinson's late penalty, so we'll let her off with a warning.  A red-faced Raphaël Ibañez, sitting in the BBC's booth, was later forced to admit that the lady in question was his mother-in-law.  So there you have it:  they are the same the world over.  No award.

The scorers:

For France:
Pens:  Parra 3
Drop:  Trinh-Duc

For England:
Try:  Foden
Con:  Flood
Pen:  Wilkinson

The teams:

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Marc Andreu, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Sebastien Chabal, 19 Alexandre Lapandry, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 David Marty, 22 Julien Malzieu.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (c), 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Louis Deacon, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne .
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 James Haskell, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Mathew Tait.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO:  Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)

Scotland hand crown to France

France were handed the Six Nations crown an hour before even running out in Paris as Scotland upset Ireland 23-20 at Croke Park on Saturday.

It was an efficient performance from the visitors, who threw the Wooden Spoon over to Italy, thanks to a structured 80 minutes that caged the Irish.

The holders were in contrast very off colour for their stadium farewell before moving back to the old Lansdowne Road, with their lineout one major reason for defeat.  In all, Rory Best threw one not straight while six were stolen or overthrown.

And those errors ultimately led to a lack of ball and momentum for Ireland, who hauled off Jonathan Sexton for Ronan O'Gara on 51 minutes.  It was a tough call on the youngster but the experienced Munsterman almost won it.

That word again is almost as it was to be another day in the sunshine for Dan Parks, who landed two hammer blows to Ireland at the end of each half.  His one in the first was a smartly taken drop-goal, which saw Scotland go in 14-7 to the good, while a last-minute touchline penalty denied the Triple Crown and Championship-chasing Ireland even a share of the spoils.

Glasgow fly-half Parks finished the contest with an 18-point haul and the man-of-the-match award -- his third in four games since returning.

Ireland had started much the brighter and looked to be following the points-chasing script on eleven minutes when Brian O'Driscoll belatedly celebrated his 100th cap of last week with a beautifully taken score following Sexton's clever loop around his centres.

But Scotland responded in clinical fashion just four minutes later.  Graeme Morrison started the score off down the left wing before handing the ball over to Johnnie Beattie, who showed power and pace to cross with two Irish defenders on his back.

Then came the intelligence of Parks following Sexton's fairly simple penalty miss 40 metres out.  It was Paul O'Connell who infringed at ruck-time and the ten stepped to extend the scores to 7-11 with 120 seconds to go until the break.  He then struck again with a vital drop-goal in the last action of the half to leave Dublin stunned and Paris joyful.

Declan Kidney needed to lift his troops and seemed to have done so going from their effort at the turnaround.  And they were soon rewarded when their go-to man Tommy Bowe struck with on 64 minutes to bring the Irish back level at 17-17 with a big finish on the cards.

It was then a scrap for territory as Parks and O'Gara traded three points before South African referee Jonathan Kaplan awarded Scotland a penalty wide on the left that the former slotted, much to the delight of himself, Andy Robinson and Gregor Townsend.

Man of the match:  Johnnie Beattie was superb once again but the form of Dan Parks since being recalled for Phil Godman has been immense.  He kept his cool to land the match-winning penalty from the touchline but his first-half drop was something out of the top draw.

Moment of the match:  Tough to decide over Dan Parks' hammer blows at the end of each half.  However, I have to go for the 79th minute effort from the touchline.  Well done Scotland, you would not have deserved to be holding the Wooden Spoon.

Villain of the match:  So often you can hear a pin drop at Irish provincial and also home internationals when a visiting kicker lines up a kick.  Not today.  That late sucker punch was greeted with plenty of hisses from the Dublin crowd.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  O'Driscoll, Bowe
Con:  Sexton, O'Gara
Pen:  Sexton, O'Gara

For Scotland:
Tries:  Beattie
Pen:  Parks 5
Drop:  Parks

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace , 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Robert Kearney.

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter (capt), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Richie Gray, 19 Alan MacDonald, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Simon Danielli.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

Rampant French one step away

Only eighty minutes and fifteen Englishmen separate France from a Grand Slam, after a thumping 46-20 win over Italy in Paris on Sunday.

Only a fool would bet against them now.  Their next opponents have managed only five tries this tournament, fewer than France managed all game against Italy.  They've shown the ability to win all different types of game:  the bullying power to beat Ireland, the patience to beat Scotland, the clinicality to beat Wales.  When it came to Italy, they displayed all the flair that has been bottled up this tournament, running Italy ragged at every opportunity.  It's a complete team which can, on its day, cover all bases.

It was no flawless performance.  The ball was turned over in open play nine times and they conceded more late soft tries, stats which could ruin a perfectly good Six Nations campaign against an English team as stubborn as it is limited.

But it was enough of a display to suggest that the French team has spent this tounament going through the gears and is about to hit top speed at the right moment.  We can leave further tributes -- the youth in so many key positions, the accuracy of the handling, the apparent unity among the players and the energy they produce -- until next week and if/when they have actually taken this campaign through to its conclusion, but there's little doubt in anybody's mind that the Grand Slam is now France's to lose.

Italy will head to Cardiff next week with their heads hanging low.  They tried gamely, but were thoroughly outclassed in pretty much all areas, including their much-vaunted scrum.  It's a team that has grown together and is laoded with experience but either needs a new leader or some new talent.

The entry of two teams to the Magners League could well be the missing link to the process, as long as the teams themselves ensure they keep it Italian and don't dilute their indigenous talents.  Players like the unfortunate Tito Tebaldi, who was sacrificed after just half an hour -- could be much better than they are now with a couple of years of regular first-class rugby behind them.  Nick Mallett must have spent the week jumping for joy this week, even if Sunday's display was a bit of a party-pooper.

Centre David Marty, preferred in the starting line-up to Mathieu Bastareaud, justified Lievremont's selection by scoring two tries in eight minutes, both while Italy were down to 14 men with Gonzalo Garcia in the sin bin.

Winger Marc Andreu and flanker Alexandre Lapandry both scored their first tries for their country, the former on his home debut.

And, with other tries coming from Imanol Harinordoquy and Yannick Jauzion, and Morgan Parra kicking seven goals from nine attempts, the French were heading for a landslide victory as they led 46-6 after 65 minutes.

But the Azzurri produced a spirited rally which brought them late tries through replacements Carlo Del Fava and Pablo Canavosio and Mirco Bergamasco added both conversions to two early penalties to give the score a touch of respectability which looked unthinkable for an hour when France were simply irresistible.

The French pack quickly asserted their authority to give half-backs Francois Trinh-Duc and Parra, making a seventh consecutive start together, the platform to unleash their dangerous three-quarters, while Clement Poitrenaud added an extra cutting edge from full-back.

It was Parra who created the game's first try, jinking his way through the Italian defence to get Harinordoquy over and he kicked the first of two penalties to make it 10-0.

The Italians' cause was made all the more difficult on 17 minutes when centre Garcia, fresh from a spell in blood bin, was sent to the sin bin for an obstruction of Andreu, who has been released on an exciting touchline dash by Poitrenaud.

France immediately made the extra man count as Marty coasted through a gap in the stretched Azzurri defence to score his side's second try, with Parra extending their lead to 17-0 with the conversion.

Poitrenaud demonstrated his attacking flair again on 27 minutes to help get Harinordoquy into space and he sent Marty over for his second try while the Italians were still down to 14 men.

The visitors could do little right and when they managed to breach the French defence second rower Marco Bortolami was recalled for a forward pass by Garcia.

Coach Nick Mallett responded to the mounting crisis by withdrawing scrum-half Tito Tebaldi in favour of the more experienced Canavosio and Italy finally got points on the board just before the break when Mirco Bergamasco landed a 40-metre penalty.

Parra lost his 100 per cent record when he failed to convert Marty's second try but he made amends with a long-range penalty two minutes into the second half.

Marty then thought he was on for a hat-trick after racing onto Parra's kick but he was ruled offside and instead Bergamasco pulled three points back with the resulting penalty.

That briefly encouraged the visitors and a neat pass out of the tackle by number eight Alessandro Zanni released Canavosio into space but Julien Bonnaire got back to preserve the French tryline.

If the Azzurri lacked a cutting edge, France were razor sharp and they quickly added to their try tally.

Andreu came in off his wing to produce a scything run that took him all the way to the line, and then produced the break that got Jauzion romping over.

Parra was off target for the second time with a long-range penalty but he was back in the groove on 65 minutes to convert a try by Lapandry, who produced a strong finish to a break from fellow replacement Julien Malzieu.

The Italians looked a dispirited lot as they gathered under the posts waiting for the conversion but they produced a spirited two-try rally to take some of the gloss off the French triumph.

Man of the match:  A close call between Clement Poitrenaud -- who got the match organisers' call -- and Marc Andreu.  We'll go for the winger on his full debut, for a work-rate far beyond that of a normal winger's and for proving, at 5'5 inches tall, that rugby can still be a game for all sizes.

Moment of the match:  France's third try.  Length of the field French classy brilliance.

Villian of the match:  Far too much running for players to waste their time on villainy.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Harinordoquy, Marty 2, Andreu, Jauzion, Lapandry
Cons:  Parra 5
Pens:  Parra 2

For Italy:
Tries:  Del Fava, Canavosio
Cons:  Mirco Bergamasco 2
Pens:  Mirco Bergamasco 2

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Marc Andreu, 13 David Marty, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt), 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Sebastien Chabal, 19 Alexandre Lapandry, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 Mathieu Bastareaud, 22 Julien Malzieu.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Masi, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (captain), 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Kaine Roberston.

Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official:  Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

Misery shared at Murrayfield

The Calcutta Cup will remain south of the border after England and Scotland ground out a turgid 15-15 draw at Murrayfield on Saturday.

This was the 18th time in the fixture's history that honours have been shared, but the 127th edition of international sport's most ancient derby will not go down in the annals as anything more than a footnote.

No tries, zero tempo, little ambition and errors galore, what the game lacked in finesse it made up for in the faint drama of the lead changing hands at regular intervals as the kickers traded shots at goal.

With a series of injuries allowing the introduction of some new blood during the later stages of the game, it seemed for a fleeting moment that the laborious foreplay would lead to an explosive climax.  Alas, it was not to be.

Both sides will say they should have won the game.  Scotland's claim probably carrying more weight.

Nothing summons up Scottish spirits like a visit from the Sassenachs and the locals deserved more from a gutsy performance.  Same old story, in other words.

Dan Parks, celebrating his 50th cap, punctuated a cagey start from both sides by opening the score via his boot after Dan Cole failed to roll away from a tackle.

England's response coughed and sputtered for a good ten minutes before Jim Hamilton came to their aid by flopping over the ball, and Jonny Wilkinson drew his side level with the resulting penalty.

Scotland's riposte was immediate and brutal, with Graeme Morrison knocking a hole in midfield.  Parks then found Max Evans out on the left with a fine crossfield kick.  The ensuing siege forced two penalties out of England, the second of which Parks slotted between the uprights.

Scottish tails were now well and truly up and they began to stitch width to their increasingly regular attacks.

But it was England who got the next points, with Wilkinson slotting a penalty after the locals strayed offside in defence -- three points that saw the England legend becoming the leading points-scorer in the Championship's history, knocking Ronan O'Gara from his lofty perch.

The setback didn't cause Scottish heads to drop and they carried on attacking with endeavour if not success.  With England looking comfortable in defence, Parks opted for a change of tack and drew the curtain down on a forgettable half of rugby by dropping a goal.

Two unchanged sides came out for the second half, and England won a penalty directly from the restart after Hamilton took a wild swing at the ball lying at Danny Care's feet at the base of a ruck.  Again, Wilkinson drew his side level off the tee.

It was to be Wilkinson's last contribution to proceedings.  Toby Flood joined the fray after England's number ten was forced to leave the field after taking a heavy knock in an attempted tackle on Evans.

And thus Martin Johnson's critics had the chance to test out their theory about the Leicester pivot.

So, did he manage to oil the wheels of England's wonky chariot?

Well, on this evidence, the jury remains out -- but his arrival did herald a few passages of inventive attack.

The pressure took its toll on the Scots and they soon conceded a penalty in defence, and the new arrival duly pocketed the points to put England ahead for the first time of the match.

But England's revival was short-lived.  Parks levelled the scores after James Haskell failed to release man and ball in the tackle.

Another error from England gave the half-tonner a chance to win back the lead, but his shot at goal rebounded off the post.

The Scots managed to regain possession and had England defending their line when a sickening clash of heads killed the raid and removed both Kelly Brown and Ugo Monye from proceedings.

The game restarted after a lengthy break with England debutant Ben Youngs one of the new faces on the field.

It was either the change of personnel or the fear of the large man waiting in the changing room or a combination of both, but England began to up the gears as the game moved into the last quarter.

Flood missed a shot at goal before sending a second effort into the corner for an attacking line-out.  The daring option might not seem like much, but in a match devoid of highlights, it felt as if Indiana Jones has swung in off the roof.

England were unable to add the cherry of a try to the top of their adventurous gambit, but Flood did managed to win back the lead after Scotland killed the raid illegal.

Again, England's reign didn't last too long.

Another shot at goal from Parks came off the post.  This time his mates decided to give chase and they almost got across the line after collecting the loose ball.  England managed to regroup, but not without conceding another penalty that Parks turned into the points that sealed the final score.

To their credit, both sides upped the tempo in the remaining minutes, but more in the manner of headless chickens than professional sportsmen.

Flood was handed a chance to win it at the death after Scotland replacement Scott Lawson was deemed to have held an Englishman back, but the fly-half's central, 48-yard shot at the sticks didn't have the legs.  A fitting epitaph for a game that limped along for the entire duration of its short and painful life.

Man of the match:  The athletic enthusiasm of Scotland's three buzzing Bs -- Beattie, Barclay, Brown -- rubbed off on those around them, with the collective spirit probably eclipsing any individual contributions.  Having said that, Hugo Southwell had one of his best games in a Scotland jersey and Max Evans and Chris Cusiter were constant thorns in England's side.  But it was straight-running, hard-tackling Graeme Morrison that caused the visitors the most problems.

Moment of the match:  It was a dismal spectacle, with the highlight probably being the sight of referee Marius Jonker conducting a scrummaging clinic after a full five minutes of collapsing set-pieces.  Nothing here will live long in the memory, so we'll nominate the moment when the Nimrod flew low over the stadium just before kick off.  It really was that bad.

Villain of the match:  The red mist descended all over Dylan Hartley after he got into shirt-pulling contest with Ross Ford.  Both can count themselves lucky that his haymaker didn't connect.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Drop:  Parks

For England:
Pens:  Wilkinson 3, Flood 2

The teams:

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Al Kellock, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Nathan Hines, 19 Alan MacDonald, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Simon Danielli.

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Joe Worsley, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Lewis Moody, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Ben Foden.

Referee:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Assessor:  Patrick Robin (France)

Ireland keep heat on France

Ireland did what was required of them on Saturday as they kept one hand on their Six Nations crown thanks to a 27-12 win over Wales at Croke Park.

While the struggling Welsh remain at the wrong end of the standings following three defeats, Declan Kidney and his charges can still have that hope that either Italy or latterly England do them a nice favour in Paris next weekend.

There was little for the visitors to take away from Croke Park as they found themselves outplayed for most of the contest.  Keith Earls and Tomas O'Leary were the standouts while David Wallace also put in an fine shift at number seven.

Fly-half Jonathan Sexton kicked three penalties and a late drop-goal, while opposite number Stephen Jones booted four penalties, but Wales once again paid a huge price for poor discipline.

The home side repeated England's feat last month by scoring two tries while Wales had a player in the sin-bin, the first to Earls while O'Leary followed that up with a fine solo effort.

At Twickenham it was Alun-Wyn Jones who cost his team dear, and this time Lee Byrne's technical infringement opened the door for an Irish side that needed no second invitation.

Wales now find themselves in the wooden spoon mix alongside Scotland and Italy heading into next week's final round after their poor start, piling the pressure on Warren Gatland.

Ireland though, will clinch the Triple Crown if they beat Scotland next Saturday, and that would have been Brian O'Driscoll's objective, not the adulation reserved for his 100th cap.

Man of the match:  Tomas O'Leary was a very useful cog for Ireland but the finishing and speed coming from left wing Keith Earls proved just why Declan Kidney is giving his old Munster student an extended run in the XV.  Top class with two tries his reward.

Moment of the match:  The Welsh will be regretting not taking the points on offer in the 49th minute as they were robbed at scrum-time with the scores at 16-6.  The momentum was with them before that but quickly changed hands as Ireland extended their lead soon after.

Villain of the match:  I suppose if we have to then Lee Byrne for his first-half yellow card, which led to Keith Earls picking up the first of his two.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Earls 2, O'Leary
Pen:  Sexton 3
Drop:  Sexton

For Wales:
Pen:  Jones 4

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace , 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Robert Kearney.

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Martyn Williams (c), 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Sam Warburton, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Bowe double sinks England

England had their Grand Slam dream extinguished on Saturday as a Tommy Bowe double guided Ireland to a 20-16 victory at Twickenham.

Despite dominating for long periods in the first period and significant chunks of the second, England were ultimately handed a painful lesson in how to take your chances by the champions.

Twice the Irish pounced on occasions where they sensed their hosts might be suspect of being caught cold.  First it was turnover ball that Jamie Heaslip brought out before Jonathan Sexton slid a nice ball through for the onrushing Bowe, who cruised past Lewis Moody to the rolling ball.

Then with England looking like they were heading to victory thanks to a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal, the wing then cut a beautiful line at first-receiver to give the travelling support all the motivation they needed to have a good night out in London.

Victory means that Ireland have kept alive their hopes of retaining the Six Nations and they will be hoping for England to do them a favour in Paris.

They do have one slight injury concern ahead of their upcoming meeting with the Welsh, however, as captain and centre Brian O'Driscoll was stretchered from the field following an accidental collision with Paul O'Connell's knee during the second-half.

England had spoken all week of playing with greater attacking ambition and sure enough they ran their first possession from the 22.  And although it did not pay dividends following that aforementioned Bowe opener on four minutes, there was much to encourage HQ.

To make matters worse, England lock Simon Shaw left the field gingerly holding his wrist and was replaced by Louis Deacon.

Wilkinson missed with a 40-metre drop-goal as advantage was played and then hit the post with his penalty attempt.

England continued and piled forward and a barnstorming run and offload from Nick Easter sent Dylan Hartley to within a metre of the line.  Then Wilkinson lofted a deft chip into the in-goal area intended for Delon Armitage but the full-back could not get there in time.

The fly-half then got England on the board with a simple penalty after fifteen minutes before the heavens opened and, with a period of torrential rain, the game became a physical tussle.  Ireland's forwards adapted better.  Their driving game was superior and England's lineout began to malfunction, as it did in the second-half against the Italians.

Keith Earls sliced dangerously through the England midfield before Sexton, having seen one 50-metre effort fall just short, exchanged penalties with Wilkinson.  Ireland took an 8-6 lead into the interval.

Upon their return from respective dressing rooms, Sexton and Wilkinson both missed shots at goal but Ireland's forwards retained the edge, both in the set-piece and at the breakdown.

The margins were extremely fine and England's discipline, as it did in the corresponding game last season, let them down at a key moment.  We are referring to an England scrum which had won a penalty but referee Lawrence reversed it after Care hauled Tomas O'Leary to the ground.  Sexton found touch, O'Connell claimed the lineout, Ireland set a platform in midfield and they swung the ball left for Earls to race over in the corner.

England needed an immediate response and produced it, drawing level with a maiden Test try from Cole after a lengthy deliberation from the Italian TMO Carlo Damasco.

Then came the O'Connell/O'Driscoll incident which saw the momentum shift.  Wilkinson could not capitalise immediately, missing a third penalty attempt, but with nine minutes remaining he stepped onto his right foot and drilled a drop-goal.

England led for the first time in the match but it lasted just two minutes as Ireland crafted a brilliant response, winning clean lineout ball for Bowe to slice through England's defence.

Man-of-the-match:  After picking up his first two tries of the Championship -- vitally important ones at that -- Tommy Bowe earns the accolade.

Moment-of-the-match:  Bowe's second try was much like JP Pietersen's in the recent British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa.  A great individual score off the set-piece that killed off England while keeping alive Ireland's slim hopes of retaining their trophy.

Villain-of-the-match:  The clumsiness of Paul O'Connell should his accidental collision with Brian O'Driscoll rule out the centre against Wales in Dublin.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Cole
Con:  Wilkinson
Pen:  Wilkinson
Drop:  Wilkinson

For Ireland:
Tries:  Bowe 2, Earls
Con:  O'Gara
Pen:  Sexton

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 David Wilson, 18 Louis Deacon, 19 Joe Worsley 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Ben Foden.

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings , 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Andrew Trimble

Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Christophe Berdos (France), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)

Rome celebrates at last

A single try proved enough for Italy to snatch their first Six Nations victory in two years with a 16-12 victory over Scotland at Stadio Flaminio.

It wasn't pretty.  Not by a long way.  But as the saying goes, a metre is as good as a mile and two points for a win is all that counts.

Replacement scrum-half Pablo Canavosio's effort was the only try of an evenly-contested and hard-fought game that failed to alight imaginations -- except if you're Italian of course.

All the talk mid-week was about the battle between the two packs.  And true to form that's exactly what we got as Italy alternated their slow poison with little chips for the wings to chase.

Any plans Scotland might have had of testing Italy out wide were thwarted by the home wings coming up into the Scottish line in defence as the visitors failed to suck sufficient numbers in through phase play.

Scotland's most dangerous weapon proved to be Dan Parks' boot -- both from the tee and out of hand.

The much-vaunted battle at scrum time was an evenly contested affair though.  While Scotland would win a penalty from the first set piece, Italy would be first to gain points from the second when Salvatore Perugini got under Euan Murray and the Scotland tighthead popped up.

Mirco Bergamasco duly stepped forward and opened the scoring and would double Italy's lead near the quarter-hour mark with a second penalty when Johnnie Beattie was adjudged offside.

If the first quarter belonged mainly to the hosts, Scotland would have the better of the second twenty minutes with Parks providing six points from the kicking tee.

The visitors would have been frustrated not to have lead at the break after a sustained period of pressure to the end the half but Parks sent his third attempt at goal wide after Josh Sole made sure Scotland would not score by diving on the ball from an offside position.

Parks' miss meant the teams would head for the changing rooms at 6-all.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first, with a Mirco Bergamasco penalty putting Italy back in the lead.

Scotland would be first to cross the whitewash soon afterward but with the TMO was unable to see the ball being grounded under the pile of bodies.

Scotland would leave Italy territory with three points thanks to a Parks drop goal, but it left a bitter taste in the mouth as it was disappointing to see the visitors not go for the jugular after a long period of pressure.

Another Parks penalty put Scotland back in front entering the last quarter but Italy finally broke the deadlock with fifteen minutes left on the clock when Gonzalo Canale made a rare line break before offloading on the ground to Canavosio, who finished under the posts.

Bergamasco's conversion gave the Azzurri a vital four-point lead.

Scotland came alive in the last ten minutes only to see the TMO deny them again when Kelly Brown's drive ended inches short of the try line.

From then Italy gave a master class in how to run the clock down, keeping it tight and not allowing Scotland anywhere near the ball.

Man of the match:  A tough one to call but Dan Parks was probably the most influential player in the game.

Moment of the match:  There could only be one -- it was anyone's game until Canale broke clear to create Canavosio's try.

Villain of the match:  Plenty of needle -- but no one threw any real punches.

The scorers

For Italy:
Try:  Canavosio
Con:  Mi. Bergamasco
Pens:  Mi. Bergamasco 2

For Scotland:
Pens:  Parks 3
Drop:  Park

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Masi, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (captain), 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Kaine Roberston.

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Max Evans, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter (capt), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Al Kellock, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Nathan Hines, 19 Al Strokosch, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Nick De Luca.

Venue:  Stadio Flaminio
Referee:  Dave Pearson (England)
Assistant referees:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official:  Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Assessor:  Jim Fleming (Scotland)

Welsh fightback comes up short

Wales once again thrilled in a fightback on Friday, but could not find the final flourish, going down 26-20 to France in Cardiff.

20-0 down at the break and having barely threatened the French line, a pasting similar to Wembley's 51-0 horror show in 1999 looked on the cards for the Welsh.  They looked bereft of ideas, inspiration and shape at times as the French defence read every move.

But once again, the second half brought out the best in the Welsh.  They worked their way back in with forward play that was simply better-executed and which conjured up two penalties from Stephen Jones.  They scored a super try through Leigh Halfpenny.  They should have equalised when Jamie Roberts made a clean break and inexplicably held on to the ball when the pass to James Hook was both easier and more effective.

In the end, they ran out of steam.  France found a modicum of the mojo they had displayed in the first half and managed to close out the game, despite a last-minute try from Shane Williams that brought up his half-century for Wales.

Match commentators sat back after this one, dropped headphones on desks and opined that Welsh home matches should come with a health warning.  Whether that should be for the increase in blood pressure over the ineptitude of the first half or the pulse-quickening excitement of the second was not clear, but you're never going to have a dull moment at Welsh matches this year, it seems.

Indeed, the French played party poopers to the Welsh's favourite party trick, when Freddie Michalak managed to find the logical thought that Scotland could not and pumped the restart of the final play of the game straight into touch to end the match.  You'd have put your shirt on Wales scoring the game-clinching try had he not.

Yet all that excitement aside, Wales need a serious period of introspection.  It's a truism that Lions tourists are often off the boil the following season, but Lee Byrne and Jamie Roberts in particular were culpable for a series of morale-sapping errors which robbed the fightback of its impetus.

The laying of proper blame for the defeat must be laid squarely at whatever it is that makes the Welsh traipse out onto pitches needing forty-odd minutes of beating about for them to wake up.  They've won some classic second halves this year, but they've been thrashed like second-tier nations in some first halves.

Out of all this, we should not forget that France are still on course for the Grand Slam everybody is now betting the shirt they did not put on Wales' last play on.  We should also not discount the effectiveness of their first half display, with rampant and noticeably well-educated defence picking apart at Wales' weaknesses from the first whistle.

The French showed a knack for knowing where the ball would go next that is a fine advertisement for the preparations made by the coaching team before the game.  Both tries came from intercepts, but a more telling pass-mark for the defence was the way the French prevented Wales from even coming close to their tryline.

Italy's current impersonation of an attack ought to be competently dealt with on this form, but it is this sort of intelligence in preparation that will stand the French in good stead when they head back to Paris for what is almost certain to be a Grand Slam-stakes clash with England.

Gatland had spoken all week about the need for a strong opening, yet France were able to cash in with a gift sixth-minute try.

James Hook's speculative pass to his centre partner Jamie Roberts went straight to Palisson, and he sprinted over unopposed from the halfway line for a score that Parra converted.

Hook's missed tackle led directly to an early Scotland score in Cardiff 13 days ago, and once again he was forced to reflect on a painful blunder.

Wales struggled to cope with Les Bleus' physical intensity, illustrated when their star centre Mathieu Bastareaud powered through his opposite number Roberts.

It resulted in Parra kicking his second penalty either side of Wales lock Jones limping off to be replaced by Newport Gwent Dragons forward Luke Charteris.

Wales had a mountain to climb at 13-0 adrift, and it soon became a case of Shane or bust.

Wing wizard Williams represented Wales' best -- and seemingly only chance -- of breaking down a mighty French defence.

But one from one of his trademark touchline darts, France scored a critical second try as half-time approached.

Williams was tackled, and after he lobbed the ball back to his supporting team-mates, it ricocheted straight into Trinh-Duc's hands and he easily finished off.

Parra's second conversion gave the visitors a 20-point interval lead, leaving Wales to contemplate a damage-limitation exercise before Jones opened their account through a 46th-minute penalty after an impressive counter-attack ended when Charteris spilled possession.

It was much brighter from Wales though, and Jones' second penalty lifted the capacity crowd after they were left stunned by a French first-half masterclass.

Things got even better after 62 minutes when Williams appeared in midfield and rifled a scoring pass to Halfpenny.  Jones' wide-angled conversion made it 20-13 and set up a pulsating finish.

Roberts then made a sparkling break to keep Welsh hopes alive, yet he failed to find one of his supporting runners and a golden chance went begging.

In truth, it summed up Wales' night.  A case of so near, so far, after once again leaving themselves with too much to do, although Williams provided one late flash of genius.

Man of the match:  The match organisers gave it to Julien Bonnaire, but while he, along with Clement Poitrenaud, Francois Trinh-Duc, William Servat and Imanol Harinordoquy all impressed, we could not help but be bowled over by the energy of Nicolas Mas, who gave the Welsh a torrid time in the scrum and still found time to tackle Shane Williams.

Moment of the match:  There is always so much to admire in Welsh games this year, but Shane Williams' late try, his 50th for his country, was a grand finale to remember.

Villain of the match:  Welsh fans might not forget Lee Byrne's two penalties kicked into touch in-goal that cost his side critical late momentum.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Halfpenny, S Williams
Cons:  S Jones 2
Pen:  S Jones 2

For France:
Tries:  Palisson, Trinh-Duc
Cons:  Parra 2
Pens:  Parra 2, Michalak

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Ryan Jones(c), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Deiniol Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Sam Warburton, 20 Mike Phillips, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin.

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Julien Malzieu, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Alexandre Lapandry, 19 Sébastien Chabal, 20 Frederic Michalak, 21 David Marty, 22 Marc Andreu.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Alan Lewis (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

England deny heroic Azzurri

England made it two from two with a 17-12 win over Italy in Rome on Saturday, but the result can not disguise what was a massive backwards step for Martin Johnson's side.

It seldom happens in rugby, but the better team lost at the Stadio Flaminio.

With the visitors seemingly bereft of a gameplan and Jonny Wilkinson suffering a rare off-day with the boot, Italy sensed an upset and grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Alas, the locals lacked the luck of the Welsh -- that one killer break failed to materialise.

England seemed to be in two minds about what they were trying to do -- put width on the ball or play it tight.  In the end they did neither.

It was Italy who showed adventurous intent with ball in hand, and their bravery struck England dumb.

Johnson had spent all week warning his team they would have to be patient, that if there is one thing the Italians do well it is to drag their opponents into an arm-wrestle.

That is exactly what happened for long periods and it was the Azzurri who were far more comfortable and had they sealed a first ever victory over England, Johnson could not have complained.

England spent long periods of the first half embroiled in turgid bouts of tactical kicking that was reflected in the 6-6 half-time score.

However, when England brought their strike runners into the game, they caused the Italian defence problems.

Riki Flutey made an immediate impact on his return to the team at inside centre, sparking a first minute attack which almost led to a try for Delon Armitage.

The England full-back, so critical of his own performance last week, stabbed a grubber kick behind the defence but Italian scrum-half Tito Tebaldi slid in with a last-gasp clearance.

Craig Gower, the Italian fly-half and former Australia rugby league international, orchestrated a positive response and the Azzurri were one pass from scoring after Alessandro Zanni had claimed a cross-kick above Ugo Monye.

England moved up field and took the lead with a Wilkinson penalty after the Italian line-out, so poor against Ireland, malfunctioned again.

Bergamasco immediately levelled the scores after Nick Easter was penalised for not releasing.

The game was not much of a spectacle but when England did spot an opportunity they brought the likes of Armitage, Monye and Mark Cueto into the game far more than against Wales.

All three combined in a familiar England move, with Cueto bursting on to Armitage's inside ball, but Monye was stopped by an excellent cover-tackle from Gonzalo Garcia.

Wilkinson missed one long-range penalty attempt and then, inexplicably, booted a simple effort wide after another powerful run from Monye had put England on the front foot.

England were conceding too many penalties at the breakdown but they too escaped when Bergamasco's attempt from wide right drifted across the face of the posts.

Mathew Tait got himself involved for the first time after another dominant line-out take from Easter, attacking the blindside to link with Armitage and Dylan Hartley.

Italy scrambled well to halt the attack and then proved why they are considered one of the most formidable packs in the world game by shoving the England scrum back and winning the turnover and a penalty.

When Monye was penalised for being in front of the kicker, Gower pushed England back into their 22 and the Italians attacked from clean lineout ball.

Under pressure, England conceded another penalty in the shadow of the posts and Bergamasco made no mistake to put Italy 6-3 ahead.

England were still showing flashes of adventure and when Wilkinson launched a counter-attack from his own 22, Armitage sent Flutey clear on a 50-metre break.

Wilkinson levelled the scores just before the interval and England finally broke the back of the Italian defence early in the second half.

Monye skipped out of a tackle on halfway, shovelled the ball inside to Armitage who found Tait and the Sale centre raced clear to score the game's only try.

Wilkinson missed the conversion but extended England's lead to 14-6 with a penalty after Martin Castrogiovanni had been sin-binned for killing the ball.

Despite being a man down, Italy refused to concede defeat and Bergamasco struck back swiftly with another penalty after England were caught offside.

Lewis Moody escaped a yellow card for taking Luke McLean out in the air but England were under the cosh and conceded another penalty which allowed Bergamasco to bring Italy within two points.

But England had the last say, with Wilkinson slotting a drop-goal which sealed the ugly win.

Man of the match:  Only one visitor covered himself in glory:  Mark Cueto.  The wing was assured in defence and ran some great lines in attack.  Riki Flutey wins a mention in dispatches -- he rustled by some sumptuous moments from just scraps.  Italy were heroic to a man, which speedy recycling and impeccable hands springing from the collective.  But it was the monumental effort of Alessandro Zanni that stood out.  He almost made Sergio Parisse's absence bearable.

Moment of the match:  Not much for posterity here.  How about Jonny Wilkinson's miss in front of the sticks?  It summed up England's day.

Villain of the match:  Martin Castrogiovanni was the only man approaching villain status -- or at least that what referee Christophe Berdos thought.  We'll reserve judgement.  Lewis Moody also ran into a little trouble with the ref -- and the crowd -- but we're not sure there was any malice in his challenge on Luke McLean.  No award.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Pens:  Mirco Bergamasco 4

For England:
Try:  Tait
Pens:  Wilkinson 3
Drop:  Wilkinson

Yellow card(s):  Castrogiovanni (Italy) -- killing the ball, 57.

The teams:

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Masi, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (capt), 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Valerio Bernabo, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Kaine Robertson.

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick (capt), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Matthew Mullan, 19 Louis Deacon, 20 Steffon Armitage, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Toby Flood.

Referee:  Christophe Berdos (France)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official:  Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Assessor:  Dave Herbert (Wales)

Painful lesson in Paris for Ireland

Ireland were forced to hand over their 2009 Grand Slam bragging rights on Saturday as a top-class French outfit proved a point in Paris, winning 33-10.

The purists will be delighted to hear that the Stade de France was blessed to watch Les Bleus in full swing and it was apparent that the champions had no answer to what was thrown at them.

They lost the battle up front and also out wide in a physical contest that in patches slipped over what is right and wrong on a rugby field.

I am alluding to the possible, make that probable citing for hooker Jerry Flannery, whose blatant first-half trip on Alexis Palisson forced the young winger off the field and could have similar repercussions for the Munster front-rower.

And so to the free-flowing French.  Francois Trinh-Duc and Morgan Parra were the men who ran the show, the latter kicking eighteen points as Ireland crashed to their first defeat since 2008.

William Servat scored the game's first try on 27 minutes while Ireland were down to fourteen men through the sin-binning of prop Cian Healy for obstruction and centre Yannick Jauzion added a second before half-time.

Ireland, who like their hosts with Palisson, lost a player to injury in the shape of British & Irish Lions full-back Rob Kearney, became increasingly ragged and conceded a third try to Clement Poitrenaud before David Wallace grabbed a consolation effort on 65 minutes.

Victory will taste all the sweeter for France knowing that Ireland arrived genuinely believing they could end their decade-long wait for a success at Stade de France.

Instead, the holders failed the first significant examination of their title defence and missed the chance to head to Twickenham with their tails up.

Ireland in the end trudged off shell-shocked, yet a promising opening suggested they might finally be ready to improve their record of just one win in Paris in 28 years.

Early surges from returning flanker Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip swept them five metres short of the line.  France's defence reacted sharply, however, with Jauzion bottling up O'Driscoll before the attack became lateral and fizzled out.

A busy Gordon D'Arcy was then denied by the bounce of the ball after he charged into space and chipped ahead with winger Vincent Clerc coming to the rescue of the side in blue.

Then came Flannery's indiscretion which he was lucky to stay on the field for as frustration mounted and tempers began to fray in the contest.  Instead it was Cian Healy who went to the sin-bin for holding back the supporting Trinh-Duc when France were on an attack.

Parra landed the penalty before the hosts cranked up the volume with four successive five-metre scrums leading to hooker Servat going over for a converted try.  Ronan O'Gara reduced the deficit to 10-3 -- until France produced their second try the on the half-hour mark.

The imposing Mathieu Bastareaud was then at his best as he bulldozed his way through midfield before being stopped ten metres short, but the ball found its way to Jauzion who slipped over untroubled.  Parra's conversion compounded Ireland's problems to go with the departure of Kearney.

Ireland were desperate to get themselves on the try-scoring board but instead found themselves defending, which ultimately led to Bastareaud using his strength to set up France's third try.  He slipped the scoring pass to Poitrenaud with Parra converting before the number nine added a drop-goal.

The wounded holders replied with a try of their own through flanker Wallace but there was no fightback as substitute Frederic Michalak landed a drop goal in what proved to be the salt in the wound for the Irish.

Man-of-the-match:  This one goes to former captain Lionel Nallet.  The Racing-Metro lock was a colossus in Paris as he carried, won lineouts and was also solid in the scrum.

Moment-of-the-match:  Winning in France after surrendering an early lead is rarely easy.  You cannot frustrate a side if they are winning so William Servat going over on 26 minutes had a massive impact on how this one panned out.

Villain-of-the-match:  No debate with this unwanted award as Jerry Flannery seriously lost his cool in the first-half.  A horrible trip on Alexis Palisson summed up Ireland's frustration.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Servat, Jauzion, Poitreneaud
Con:  Parra 3
Pen:  Parra 2
Drop:  Parra, Michalak

For Ireland:
Tries:  D Wallace
Con:  O'Gara
Pen:  O'Gara

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Pascal Pape, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Sylvain Marconnet, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Frederic Michalak, 21 David Marty, 22 Julien Malzieu.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Sean O'Brien, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Jonathan Sexton, 22 Paddy Wallace

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Stuart Terheege (England)
Television match officials:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

Welsh break Scottish hearts

Wales fought back from 21-9 down to secure an extraordinary 31-24 win over Scotland in the Six Nations in Cardiff on Saturday.

Lee Byrne's try started the fightback in a second half of which nearly 80 per cent was played in the Scottish half.

Yet with four minutes to go at 24-14 ahead, the Scots must have believed it was theirs.  Few others could have believed what came next.

Leigh Halfpenny finished off a move racing down the right wing as the Welsh pressure finally told.  Stephen Jones converted to make it 24-21.

Then Phil Godman was yellow-carded for pulling James Hook back as he chased a clever kick through and Stephen Jones levelled the scores.  The teams went back for the restart knowing there was only one play to go.

Wave after wave of Welsh pressure came again, with Sam Warburton making ground, clever handling keeping the ball alive and the Scots, down to thirteen men, stretched across the field.  Alun-Wyn Jones took the ball on after Roberts and Hook had made the ground down the right and then out came the quick ball to Shane Williams, who accelerated under the posts for the winner.  It was heady stuff alright!  17 points in the final four minutes is some going.

That was just as well, for the Welsh delivered a first half of withering ineptitude.  In the first ten minutes alone they gifted the Scots a try with some lame tackling, left a high ball to each other, cost themselves a free kick on their own scrum and lost a line-out.  Scotland must have thought it was their day.

The Scots were just as classy as the Welsh were ponderous.  John Barclay took his early gift-wrapped try with aplomb and both sets of brothers -- the Lamonts and the Evanses -- were constant menaces, while Dan Parks' astute kicking ensured that the Welsh were kept guessing.

Once they had built their lead, with Max Evans finishing off a brilliant cross-kick from Parks and every entry into Welsh territory seeming to yield some form of score, the Scots did what we all know they can do:  dig in.  The tackling and coverage of the XV was marvellous.  Ultimately though, not quite enough.

Andy Robinson was visibly fuming at the final whistle -- we'll see if he can keep his temper in the post-match conference -- but whether with frustration at his own team or at the officiating is a poser.  He might have a few things to say about George Clancy, who never quite got a hold on everything that went on at the rucks, but he will undoubtedly have a few things to say on the subject of why the game was not irretrievably wrapped up.  They had enough first-half chances.

There was also a change in the game with the exit of Thom Evans, carted off with what looked to be a nasty neck injury.  With him went a fair bit of the threat and momentum.

Paterson led Scotland out, in tribute to him becoming the latest member of Test rugby's 100-cap club, joining such illustrious names as George Gregan, Philippe Sella and David Campese.

An open stadium roof -- a rarity these days for Wales home games -- revealed a leaden sky, but no sign of the rain which Wales boss Warren Gatland suggested Scotland had been hoping for.

The Scots quickly showed they did not require wet weather to assist them tactically as they stunned Wales with a ninth-minute try.

Paterson, who had received lengthy treatment for a knock to his shoulder, regained his feet in time to see Barclay smash through the combined defence of James Hook and Gareth Cooper.

Barclay's power was too much for them as he sprinted over for Scotland's first try since their opening autumn Test victory over Fiji three months ago.

Paterson added the conversion -- his 35th successful Six Nations kick in a row -- and blundering Wales could have few complaints at an early seven-point deficit.

And it got worse for the home side, despite Jones opening their account with a 15th-minute penalty.

Wales were horribly disorganised in defence, and Scotland took advantage with a second try after Parks played the role of creator following a neat drop-goal.

His clever kick behind the Welsh defence saw Max Evans -- on the field as a blood replacement for his brother Thom -- react quickest and ground possession just before the dead-ball line.

Referee George Clancy needed confirmation from television match official Geoff Warren before the try was awarded, and although Paterson's long kicking sequence ended through a missed conversion, Scotland quickly extended their lead.

Parks cancelled out Jones' second penalty for an 18-6 advantage, and Paterson then departed the action with Evans returning as a permanent, rather than temporary, substitute.

It was a sad way for Paterson's afternoon to end, yet he would have been thrilled with Scotland's dominant performance as he made his way off.

Wales pressed in search of a try, but the game was held up when wing Thom Evans suffered his injury following a shuddering midfield collision with Byrne.

The Glasgow player was carried off on a stretcher, appearing to be in a bad way, and it meant scrum-half replacement Mike Blair being pressed into emergency wing duty.

Wales piled on the pressure as half-time approached, but their game continued to be spiked by basic handling errors prior to Jones slotting a third penalty.

Scotland were good value for their 18-9 interval advantage, and Parks immediately extended it through another penalty after Cardiff Blues scrum-half Richie Rees replaced Cooper.Gatland, his patience close to running out, then made a triple substitution, sending on lock Bradley Davies, prop Gethin Jenkins and hooker Huw Bennett as Wales looked to lift the tempo.

And it had the desired effect as Shane Williams' arcing run and superb pass allowed to Byrne to cross in the corner, cutting Wales' deficit to seven points with 24 minutes left.

Parks though, the game's dominant figure, booted a second drop-goal, before Lawson was sin-binned and Halfpenny's late try, converted by Jones, set up a nerve-shredding finale as Jones drew Wales level with a penalty.

Then Williams struck during the game's final passage of play -- raising his arm in triumph before crossing the line -- and mayhem broke out around the stadium.

Man of the match:  He had a hand in every Welsh try, including scoring the killer one.  Arise, Shane Williams, your country salutes you!

Villain of the match:  Phil Godman's moment of idiocy might well have been the costliest of all.  Why bother?

Moment of the match:  Only one possibility in a game like this:  that winning try!

The scorers:

For Wales
Tries:  Byrne, Halfpenny, S.Williams
Cons:  S.Jones 2
Pens:  S.Jones 3

For Scotland:
Tries:  Barclay, M Evans
Con:  Paterson
Pens:  Parks 2
Drop goals:  Parks 2

Yellow cards:  Lawson (73, Scotland, slowing the ball down), Godman (79, Scotland, pulling chasing player back)

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Gareth Cooper, 8 Ryan Jones (capt), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Andy Powell, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Jonathan Thomas, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Gareth Williams, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Sam Warburton, 20 Richie Rees, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin.

Scotland:  15 Chris Paterson, 14 Thom Evans, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Rory Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter (capt), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Al Kellock, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alastair Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Richie Gray, 19 Alan MacDonald, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Max Evans.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (South Africa)

Ooh la la Bastareaud!

Mathieu Bastareaud scored his first two Test tries to help France to a 18-9 Six Nations win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

France lived up to their status as tournament favourites as Marc Lièvremont's team rode roughshod over their hosts in the first half to get their Six Nations campaign off to an ideal start.

The Scottish scrum had no answer to Les Bleus' heavies and the French rush defence left the home backline with no time to work with and moving backwards more often than not.

Bastareaud was lethal on attack and frightening in defence, answering his critics in the best possible manner with a barnstorming performance.

Once again Scotland made too many errors at vital moments, leaving their best hopes in Chris Paterson's metronomic boot.  But even another flawless display from the kicking tee from the full-back wasn't enough to trouble the Tricolors.

In this age of conservative kicking, what a refreshing sight it was to see France cut loose on the counter attack.  And they did it with ruthless efficiency.  Ireland, beware!

Bastareaud's double first-half strike gave the visitors a 15-6 lead;  it could have been a lot more but for an unlucky bounce here and a dodgy ruck there.

The second half was far less exciting as France's intensity seemed to drop a notch with their comfortable lead.

Scotland were able to string together plenty of phases but never threatened out wide.

As expected, the teams tore into each other with ferocious intensity early on.  Aurélien Rougerie put in two massive hits in the first two minutes -- so big in fact that he was forced to leave the field two minutes later.

France were looking dangerous from kick-off but Scotland were first to get on the scoreboard when Imanol Harinordoquy was penalised for hands in the ruck on his own try line after Max Evans intercepted a Yannick Jauzion pass.

Scotland were handed a lifeline when Thom Evans brilliantly prevented Vincent Clerc from touching down after breaking clear from a sweeping French attack.

A succession of French five metre scrums was followed by the first try as Bastareaud had an easy run in for his first Test try after Harinordoquy had bashed it up.

The hosts' front row was getting worked over at scrum time and referee Nigel Owens saved them from further punishment by giving France a penalty.  Morgan Parra landed it from 40 metres only to see Paterson do the same a few minutes later to leave the score 6-8.

Bastareaud was far from done though and when he got a pass from Harinordoquy 25 metres from home, he turned on the afterburners.  None of the Scottish defenders seemed to be brave enough to even try to tackle him and the big centre's second try was made to look much too easy.

Scotland were relieved to survive a siege on their line to end the half but were put further behind after the break when Parra found the target again.

Scotland's only reply was another Paterson effort from the tee.  The home back three did tireless work carrying the ball up, but Scotland's attacks lacked any real pace and would inevitably fizzle out after a handling error.

More than ever, France's showdown with Ireland in Paris next weekend looks set to be a possible tournament decider.

Man of the match:  Some might disagree with me here considering the number of penalties he gave away at the rucks, but Imanol Harinordoquy was immense.  The number eight is the kingpin of French attack and a man-mountain in defence.  He hit the line harder than anyone else and made a bag-load of huge tackles.

Moment of the match:  Scotland never looked like getting back in the game after Bastareaud's second try.  Not only did it take the breath away from the spectators, it took the wind out of the Scottish sails.

Villain of the match:  Nothing to report.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Paterson 3

For France:
Tries:  Bastareaud 2
Con:  Parra

Pens:  Parra 2

The teams:

Scotland:  15 Chris Paterson, 14 Thom Evans, 13 Max Evans, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Chris Cusiter (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Moray Low, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Richie Gray, 19 Alan MacDonald, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Alex Grove, 22 Hugo Southwell.

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Benjamin Fall, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Aurélien Rougerie, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Pascal Pape, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Luc Ducalcon, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Frederic Michalak, 21 David Marty, 22 Vincent Clerc.

Venue:  Murrayfield
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Chris White (England) and Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match officials:  Geoff Hughes (England)

Job done for smarter Ireland

Ireland got their Six Nations defence up and running with a slightly stagnant 29-11 victory over Italy on Saturday.

While there was little to trouble the Grand Slam winners of 2009, even they will know that sterner tests are to come, starting in Paris next weekend.

But they got the job done and dusted with a little to spare in the end thanks to tries from Jamie Heaslip, Tomas O'Leary and the boot of Ronan O'Gara, making sure that the other nations would be playing catch-up in Round One's other fixtures taking place in London and Edinburgh.

What is clear for the Azzurri, however, is that they will need to show a lot more creativity wider out if they are to avoid another wooden spoon, which looks extremely likely without the presence of their injured number eight Sergio Parisse.  Like it or not, he is a vital cog to their cause.

The game itself kicked off under glorious conditions without a breath of wind and on an ideal surface that Brian O'Driscoll and Ireland will not be playing under next year as the old Lansdowne Road nears its second coming.  Speaking of BOD, the Leinster centre was one of the standouts on the day alongside David Wallace and Cian Healy, who enjoyed his personal battle with Martin Castrogiovanni.

Of course the battle up front was always going to be where this one centred around yet that does not excuse the lack of ideas in the Italian back-line.  Do they have a coach wider out?  Do they have backs at all?

Ireland certainly did in the first half and following an early chip apiece from Craig Gower and Ronan O'Gara, it was the hosts who got on the front foot thanks to Healy winning a scrum scrap with the Tigers tighthead.  O'Gara knocked over the three points from 40 metres.

Coached/Consultant Alan Gaffney had obviously given his backs strict instructions to run plenty of decoys in the game but while it looked pretty, Italy were not buying the green flashes and defended well before a pass from O'Gara allowed Andrew Trimble to cut loose down the left.  That break sparked a lovely passage that saw support runners joining the attack and ultimately led to Jamie Heaslip strolling over and with the conversion, Ireland were 10-0 to the good and looking impressive.

But it was far from the floodgate opener as Italy found their feet at scrum-time to get on the board.  O'Gara swiftly cancelled that out though and when Gonzalo Garcia was yellow-carded by Romain Poite, Ireland had opened a 16-3 lead on 34 minutes.

Then came a see-saw end to the first period.  Ireland probably believed they had themselves a match-winning cushion when Tomas O'Leary burrowed over for what became seven points.  But they would be ruing a sloppy error in the dressing rooms after Rob Kearney took too long to clear his lines.  The Lions full-back found himself charged down by wing Kaine Robertson and the lead was cut to fifteen at the break.

Craig Gower was absent for the remainder of the game which meant wing Mirco Bergamasco had taken over the kicking duties and though he missed the extras from the end-of-half score, he landed a penalty five minutes after the interval.

But Italy's problems continued at the scrum with Castrogiovanni once again conceding to Healy, allowing O'Gara to continue his flawless run with the boot.

Italy were at their attritional best in the third quarter but Ireland also contributed to the lull in proceedings with some poor kicking, O'Gara the main culprit.

And with one eye on the big game in France next week, Declan Kidney brought off a returning Jerry Flannery, Trimble, Paul O'Connell and O'Gara.

Paddy Wallace took over the kicking duties and was on-target with a penalty before Gordon D'Arcy made a break in what was a rather lifeless final 40 minutes in the capital.

Man-of-the-match:  His ability to get over the gain-line always surprises defences and fans alike and David Wallace was once again an outlet for Ireland.  Another solid performance from the Munster flank before he was taken off as a precaution late on.

Moment-of-the-match:  Italian fans will not be happy that Ronan O'Gara's "very flat" ball out to Andrew Trimble, which led to Jamie Heaslip going over was a huge decision at Croker.

Villain-of-the-match:  Nothing really jumps out from the 80 minutes but maybe referee Romain Poite's decision to send Gonzalo Garcia to the sin-bin for his tackle on Brian O'Driscoll could be construed as being slightly harsh by the Frenchman.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Heaslip, O'Leary
Con:  O'Gara 2
Pen:  O'Gara 4, Wallace

For Italy:
Tries:  Roberston
Pen:  Gower, Mi Bergamasco

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donncha Ryan, 19 Sean O'Brien, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Keith Earls.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (capt), 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Simon Picone, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Andrea Masi.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Christophe Berdos (France), Jérôme Graces (France)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor:  Clayton Thomas (Wales)