Ireland's gift cards to New Zealand

A red card to Jamie Heaslip and a yellow to Ronan O'Gara were the key factors in Ireland's 66-28 defeat to New Zealand on Saturday.

It had been billed as Ireland's best shot at breaking their duck against the All Blacks for some time, but once Heaslip -- for a knee to Kieran Read's head in a ruck -- and O'Gara -- for pulling back Cory Jane off the ball -- had been dispatched, New Zealand ran riot, running up a 38-0 lead before taking the foot right off the gas.

The history books will show that Heaslip's red card was the catalyst for a difficult night for the Irish, but in reality it was the yellow to O'Gara ten minutes later that precipitated the collapse.  While O'Gara was off, New Zealand scored 21 points to add on to the 17 they had already racked up and Ireland were staring at a massacre.

Fair dues to Ireland, once they had regrouped at half-time they made the second half count as much as possible.  They'll be happy to come away with four converted tries and to have matched New Zealand punch for punch in the second half.  But the reality is that New Zealand came off the boil, unforgiveably so at times.  Graham Henry will be elated at the way his side played when it mattered, furious at the mental slack cut to opposition while they were on the floor.

Heaslip will be in more trouble though.  The red card was fully merited for the knee to the head in a ruck.  It was symptomatic of how Ireland began the match, all passion but not enough thought.  It may happen to younger players who still have to learn, but for a British and Irish Lion to indulge in such idiocy is not something any coach will countenance.  Heaslip faces a fair old suspension, he will also face unrestricted wrath from Declan Kidney, who has made discipline such a watchword for his side.

And if Heaslip faces such fury, O'Gara will be heading back to the hotel and hiding, trembling, under his bedsheets.  Down to 14 men, Ireland's task was precarious enough but for O'Gara, a Test veteran, to paw so clumsily and pointlessly at an opponent long after the ball had been kicked ahead, is just extraordinary.  He won't be suspended, but do not expect to see him in a green shirt next time out.

O'Gara's card was on 25 minutes.  Two minutes later Ben Franks was over for a debut try, New Zealand's third, and the game was over in every sense.

By half-time the hosts were 38-7 up after tries by Conrad Smith, Kieran Read, Ben Franks and two for Jimmy Cowan.

Dan Tuohy, who had come on for the injured Mick O'Driscoll, brought a moment of cheer for the Irish with a try just before the break but the good moments were few and far between.

The tries kept coming for both sides in the second spell with Smith, Sam Whitelock (two) and Neemia Tialata going over for the All Blacks and Brian O'Driscoll, Tommy Bowe and Gordon D'Arcy touching down for consolation scores for the Irish.

Worryingly, the Irish injury toll also showed no sign of abating.  John Hayes was ruled out with a virus before kick-off to be replaced by Tony Buckley and before half-time John Muldoon and Mick O'Driscoll had also departed.

Ireland began the match with an audacious drop-goal attempt from almost halfway by full-back Rob Kearney but other scoring moments in the opening 40 minutes were scant -- particularly once Heaslip and O'Gara were on the sidelines.

Smith made the most of a Kearney error at the back to grab the opening try and Dan Carter added the extras to his earlier penalty.

Ireland came close to replying but Gordon D'Arcy was held up and then Heaslip had his moment of madness.

English referee Wayne Barnes, who was greeted with boos by the partisan crowd at the start of the match, had no hesitation in brandishing the red card and Ireland's night took a turn for the worse.

Read was over for his first Test try on 21 minutes after great lead-up work by Israel Dagg, Benson Stanley and Joe Rokocoko.

Carter's conversion made him the fourth player to reach 1000 Test points behind Jonny Wilkinson, Neil Jenkins and Diego Dominguez.

O'Gara departed for 10 minutes shortly afterwards for his indiscretion and from there on Ireland's 13-man defence was opened up regularly by Dagg and Stanley, who looked confident on their debuts.

Debutant prop Ben Franks was next over the whitewash before Jimmy Cowan bagged a quickfire brace and all of them were converted by Carter for a 38-0 lead.

Tuohy, who had come on for O'Driscoll, rounded off the half on a positive note for Ireland with a try on debut which O'Gara -- in his 99th Test -- converted.

A mistake by prop Cian Healy handed New Zealand an early chance in the second half before Dagg's pass put Jane clear on the counter and he put Smith in for his second.

Graham Henry turned to his bench and lock Sam Whitelock became the third player on debut to score a five-pointer within a minute of replacing Brad Thorn.

Carter's conversion was his last meaningful action before being replaced by another new recruit Aaron Cruden.

Ireland were not going to go down without a fight and continued to play the attacking brand of rugby they promised during the week.

Brian O'Driscoll typified that when he featured twice on his way to his 40th international try, and then Tommy Bowe pounced on a poor pass by Richie McCaw to dart over for the visitors' third.  O'Gara was on target with both conversions.

New Zealand were not finished, though, and from a quick tap substitute Tialata rumbled over.

With Carter off the park, Piri Weepu took over goal-kicking duties and continued the perfect record of the night by banging over the conversion.

Ireland winger Andrew Trimble should have done better with seven minutes left but lost the ball forward as he went for the line.

D'Arcy made no mistake three minutes later when he went over for Ireland's fourth but it was young lock Whitelock who had the final say, dotting down for New Zealand's ninth and final try.

Man of the match:  Plenty on New Zealand's team, but the one who stood out most was Kieran Read, whose work-rate was the spine of New Zealand's mobile limbs.

Moment of the match:  Again, plenty to choose from, but the break by Israel Dagg and inside offload to Jimmy Cowan for Cowan's first try was a moment of sumptuous skill.

Villain of the match:  Obvious joint awards.  Jamie Heaslip's knee was nasty, while Ronan O'Gara's silly foul and yellow card ended the match as a contest.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Smith 2, Read, Ben Franks, Cowan 2, Whitelock 2, Tialata
Cons:Carter 8, Weepu
Pen:  Carter

For Ireland:
Tries:  Tuohy, O'Driscoll, Bowe, D'Arcy
Cons:  O'Gara 3, Sexton

Yellow card:  O'Gara (Ireland, 25, foul off the ball)

Red card:  Heaslip (Ireland, 16, knee to the head)

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Anthony Boric, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Ben Franks.
Replacements:  16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Zac Guildford.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 John Fogarty, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Dan Tuohy, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Jonathan Sexton, 22 Geordan Murphy.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

England begin tour with a draw

England opened their tour account Down Under with a 28-28 draw against the Australian Barbarians thanks to a thrilling fightback in Perth.

A James O'Connor masterclass saw England on the ropes before they responded in positive fashion.

The Western Force full-back picked up all 25 of the Baa-Baas' points before being replaced on 47 minutes.  By that stage England were 25-13 down and on the brink of defeat -- with O'Connor having scored three tries, two conversions and two penalties.

However when he departed, England were able to hit back -- and were only denied an unlikely victory when Berrick Barnes slotted over a late penalty.  In fact, Barnes had a chance to win it for the hosts in injury time, but his kick went wide.

For England Lee Mears, Dan Ward-Smith and Matt Banahan crossed for tries and Olly Barkley added 13 points with the boot.

And, in truth, it was a decent work out for the tourists.  Mathew Tait and Matt Banahan looked lively, Hendrie Fourie and Chris Robshaw tackled well, the pack worked well at the breakdown, while the scrum was impressive.

However on the downside, they too often looked toothless in attack -- at one stage losing 40 yards before Charlie Hodgson was forced to boot the ball downfield -- while silly mistakes gifted openings to the hosts.

England will have been pleased with their start as a Barkley penalty saw them into a 3-0 lead after two minutes, while their work at the breakdown saw them force five turnovers.

Banahan had one charging run, while Tait had a couple of half-breaks.  However it was Tait's Sale colleague Hodgson who went closest to scoring the first try as he took Barkley's offload, but he was tackled short before the hosts conceded a penalty.

Barkley made no mistake with the kick but the Baa-Baas responded well as Barnes was denied by Fourie just short of the line.

However, the Australians got the try they wanted minutes later as quick hands found O'Connor out wide and although Ugo Monye got the tackle in, the young full-back stretched out an arm to touch the ball down in the corner.

O'Connor added a penalty and then crossed again on 31 minutes after he sold a superb dummy and sprinted clear.  His conversion made it 15-6 to hosts and England looked in trouble.

However the tourists were able to score their opening try on 35 minutes.  Both Tait and Monye went close before Mears barrelled over from close range.

Barkley converted but the Baa-Baas had the last word before the break as O'Connor slotted over a penalty.

And O'Connor was England's tormentor again after half-time as he touched down after Josh Valentine had slotted the ball through on the deck.  O'Connor's conversion took his tally to 25 points.

A Barkley penalty cut the deficit to nine points, but too often needless mistakes cost England possession and territory.

However, with England's scrum proving dominant, the tourists were able to gain a foothold into the game.  And after seeing repeated scrums collapse 5m out, Australia's Mark Chisholm was sin-binned.

With the extra man and the power in the pack, England were able to hammer their way over through Ward-Smith, with Barkley converting.

Banahan crossed two minutes later to put England in front.  Shane Geraghty had found Geoff Parling free on the left and although he was tackled short, quick ball found Banahan on the other flank for the Bath winger to score.

Hopes of a shock England victory, though, were ended as Worsley conceded a penalty from the restart, with Barnes this time adding the three points.

The scorers:

Australian Barbarians:
Tries:  O'Connor 3
Cons:  O'Connor 2
Pens:  O'Connor, Barnes

For England:
Tries:  Mears, Banahan, Ward-Smith
Cons:  Barkley 2
Pens:  Barkley 3

Australian Barbarians:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Will Chambers, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Lachie Turner, 10 Berrick Barnes (co-capt), 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Stephen Hoiles (co-capt), 7 Matt Hodgson, 6 Ben McCalman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Mitchell Chapman, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Huia Edmonds, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements:  16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 James Slipper, 18 Kane Douglas, 19 Pat McCutcheon, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Kurtley Beale, 22 Peter Hynes.

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Dan Ward-Smith, 7 Hendre Fourie, 6 Chris Robshaw (c), 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 David Wilson, 2 Lee Mears, 1 David Flatman.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 Paul Doran-Jones, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Shane Geraghty, 22 Dominic Waldouck.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson

Boks rain on Wales' parade

Wales were left to ponder yet another defeat at the hands of South Africa in Cardiff on Saturday, following a thrilling 34-31 win by the visitors.

It was a match played to celebrate the opening of the Millennium Stadium ten years ago, but it will be the Springboks doing all the celebrating thanks to a hard-fought victory achieved by what has been described as a second string outfit.

It wasn't a classic performance from the world champions, but against a crowd 60,000 baying for the Welsh, they simply turned on the class when it was needed on both sides of half-time to ensure they started the Test season in style.

Both sides scored three tries apiece but South Africa's superior clinical edge proved crucial as they edged a physical and entertaining encounter played in perfect conditions.

Wales led 16-3 early on, but 18 unanswered points by the Springboks put them back in the game.  The hosts fought their way back valiantly at the death but left it too late to snatch a win over their southern hemisphere rivals.

The Welsh went into this contest in search of just their second win in 104 years against the Springboks before heading off on a demanding tour of New Zealand.  They made a purposeful start, with centre Jamie Roberts welcoming Juan de Jongh to Test rugby with a crunching tackle in the second minute.

A loose clearance by full-back Francois Steyn then gifted the hosts field position, and a blindside snipe from Mike Phillips saw Springbok flanker Dewald Potgieter come round the side of the ruck to concede a penalty.  Stephen Jones slotted the simple three-pointer for a ninth-minute lead.

Hook then doubled that lead with a 12th-minute drop goal, after his kick-ahead had put Wales back in South Africa territory.

South Africa had seen little of the ball although the excellent Ruan Pienaar got them on the board with a 17th-minute penalty, after Wales prop Adam Jones was guilty of holding on in the tackle.  But that was wiped out almost instantly by a second penalty from fly-half Jones as the visitors were guilty of obstruction at the restart.

Wales' fine opening quarter was completed when captain John Smit threw a wild pass which was intercepted by Hook for a simple try, converted by Jones for a 16-3 lead and the Springboks desperately needed an effective rebuttal.

Gradually the visitors settled, showing a greater appreciation for ball protection at the tackle point and this aided their cause immeasurably.  They upped the tempo, testing the Welsh defence through numerous phases and forcing breakdown infringements, one of which Pienaar converted to narrow the lead to ten points.

Ensuring a quicker ruck recycle was one thing, but stringing together incisive attacks with new back-line combinations against a well organised and committed defence was another challenge altogether.

South Africa's attacks often crabbed cross-field and when they did finally break the Welsh resistance it was ugly as the ball was shovelled wide to Odwa Ndungane who got smashed in the act of touching down in the corner.

It would be the winger's last contribution of the match, but it was a significant one given the impetus it gave his side even though Pienaar failed with the conversion.

Young Wales wing Tom Prydie then dropped a high ball which was seized upon by opposite number Gio Aplon.  The Welsh scramble defence infringed and Pienaar trimmed the lead to just three points.

Wales led 16-14 at the break, but the Springbok onslaught continued at the start of the second half as the increasingly influential Pienaar launched an attack from deep.

The move carried South Africa into the 22 and a wonderful offload from lock Danie Roussouw put Potgieter in for a try.  Pienaar completed a sequence of 18 unanswered points with the conversion which also gave his side the lead for the first time.

Wales hit back as Sam Warburton snaffled a loose ball to force a penalty, allowing Jones to kick his third of the game, but Francois Steyn replied in kind with a monster kick from just inside the Welsh half to re-establish a five-point lead.

The game looked over when a Welsh attack was turned over and De Jongh broke through to cross behind the posts on the hour mark, Pienaar's conversion made it 31-19 to the visitors.

Wales piled forward in desperate need of a response but their attacks lacked the cohesion and tempo they had shown in the opening quarter.  They thought they had given themselves a lifeline when lock Bradley Davies was propelled over the line - but referee Alan Lewis ruled the ball had been held up.

However, they were not to be denied as swift hands from Lee Byrne put Prydie over for his first Test try in the corner, Jones missed the conversion so the gap remained at seven points.

Pienaar slotted his fourth penalty, but Wales kept coming as Leigh Halfpenny picked up a spilt ball from Bok substitute Zane Kirchner before flank Sam Warburton sent Wales replacement Alun Wyn Jones in for a try, converted by Jones, to set up a grandstand finish

However, it was not enough as the world champions held out.

Man of the match:  For Wales, James Hook was the pick of the backs while Sam Warburton excelled in everything he did.  As for the winners, it was a good day for debutants Francois Louw and Gio Aplon while Juan de Jongh and Dewald Potgieter showed they have a bright future ahead of them.  But it was South Africa's old warhorse Danie Rossouw that stood out the most - especially in the second half where he was simply outstanding.  It was here that he made a telling break and neat offload for Potgieter's try and generally returned to his dominating best with ball in hand as the match wore on.  A massive physical presence.

Moment of the match:  With two minutes remaining, Alun Wyn Jones' converted try gave Wales a sniff within three, which had the entire Millennium Stadium crowd on the edge of their seats.

Villain of the match:  Nothing to report on the field, but the boos ringing from the stadium whilst Ruan Pienaar lined up his fourth and final penalty was a wee bit uncalled for.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Hook, Prydie, Wyn Jones
Cons:  Jones 2
Pens:  Jones 3
Drop:  Hook

For South Africa:
Tries:  Ndungane, Potgieter, De Jongh
Cons:  Pienaar 2
Pens:  Pienaar 4, Steyn

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom Prydie, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Deiniol Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 John Yapp, 18 Alun Wyn Jones, 19 Rob McCusker, 20 Richie Rees, 21 Dan Biggar, 22 Andrew Bishop.

South Africa:  15 Frans Steyn, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Odwa Ndungane, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 François Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit, 1 CJ van der Linde.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Meyer Bosman, 21 Zane Kirchner, 22 Bjorn Basson.

Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)

Australia get the job done

The Wallabies got their Test season off to a winning start on Saturday, running seven tries past Fiji to win 49-3 in a one-sided encounter in Canberra.

No one gave the under-strength Fiji team any realistic chance of beating a side ranked seven places higher than them on the IRB standings, so the real interest was in how Australia went about their business.

Australia's performance in the first half lacked the clinical finishing and cohesion the Wallaby coaching staff would have hoped for.

Featuring a number of new faces, the Wallaby line-up showed plenty of enthusiasm but were short on the precision you'd expect from a top Test team and on occasion they were just plain sloppy.

Slippery conditions due to the evening dew might be considered as mitigating circumstances, but Robbie Deans and his young charges will know that similar mistakes will be heavily punished later this month and in the Tri-Nations.

But as the team settled and the scoreboard ticked on, the hosts grew in confidence and promising signs emerged.  Some slick handling resulted in succession of tries in the second period including two tries each for Digby Ioane and Kurtley Beale.

A potentially serious knee injury to prop Ben Alexander and an ankle injury to Adam Ashley-Cooper soured the victory, with both now doubts for next weekend's clash against England in Perth.

The early chances went to Fiji as the Islanders effectively used chip-and-chase tactics to destabilise the Wallaby defence.  Beale struggled to hang onto the slippery ball and Racing Metro wing Sireli Bobo almost scored.

The Wallabies would however open the scoring with their first real attack of the evening when Quade Cooper threw a fantastic 20m pass out to Beale, who had one man to beat at the end of a huge overlap and coasted over.

Matt Giteau's extras gave the hosts a 7-0 lead and the Wallabies began to dominate possession.

But the men in gold struggled to convert their time with the ball into points as they fluffed a couple of chances to score after choosing to keep ball in hand rather than kick at goal.

Fiji got on the scoreboard just before the half-hour mark when Dan Rawaqa popped over a penalty.

The hosts continued to dominate but conspired to knock-on whenever the Fijian defence was stretched.

With half time looming large, the Wallabies finally found their way over the whitewash when debutant centre Rob Horne sliced his way through midfield to set up a try for number eight Richard Brown, who used his power to barge his way to five points.

Giteau was seeing stars after a late tackle so Cooper stepped up to add the conversion and send Australia to the charging rooms 14-3 up.

The Wallabies execution was better after the restart when Rocky Elsom timed his pass just right and Cooper skirted down the touchline to sneak over and extend the lead.

A flash of individual brilliance from Digby Ioane brought Australia their fourth try as the wing stepped and sped his way over the line untouched, making Rupeni Caucaunibuca look very ordinary in the process.

In the final quarter Australia produced some of the rugby the crowd had come to see.  Giteau straightened the line, Cooper cut in on his inside and off-loaded to Drew Mitchell, who finished in style.

Ioane got his second try at the end of Australia's longest period of phase play as Beale joined the backline and couple of quick passes had the Fijian defence all at sea.

A impetus was taken out of a late rally from Fiji when replacement prop Graham Dewes threw a big right hook and was promptly directed to the sin bin.

Beale was handed his second try in the dying minutes as the Fijians ran out of gas and the Wallabies romped home.

Man of the match:  The backs did most of the scoring but Nathan Sharpe made life miserable for Fiji in the line-outs and cleaned out the rucks like a good second row should.

Moment of the match:  Australia's ten-twelve combination is what rugby dreams are made of and the way Giteau and Cooper linked up to produce Drew Mitchell's try was a pleasure to watch.

Villain of the match:  We know front rowers are never saints, but Graham Dewes punch on Salesi Ma'afu was uncalled for.

The scorers.

For Australia:
Tries:  Beale 2, Brown, Cooper, Ioane 2, Mitchell
Cons:  Giteau 6, Cooper

For Fiji:
Pen:  Rawaqa

Yellow cards:  Vucago (Fiji, 54th min); Dewes (Fiji, 75th min)

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Digby Ioane, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Huia Edmonds, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Pekahou Cowan, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Josh Valentine, 21 Drew Mitchell, 22 James O'Connor.

Fiji:  15 Dan Rawaqa, 14 Tim Nagusa, 13 Rupeni Caucaunibuca, 12 Saula Radidi, 11 Sireli Bobo, 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Emosi Vucago, 8 Jone Qovu, 7 Jim Nakaidawa, 6 Anthony Wise, 5 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 4 Seko Kalou, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Talemaitoga Tuapati, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Vili Veikoso, 17 Graham Dewes, 18 Rupeni Nasiga, 19 Samu Bola, 20 Vitori Buatava, 21 Ropate Ratu, 22 Nemani Nadolo.

Venue:  Canberra Stadium

Referee:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Keith Brown (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
TMO:  Matt Goddard (Australia)

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)