Ireland claim victory over Argentina

Ireland began the dreaded post Brian O'Driscoll era with a streetwise 29-17 victory over a depleted Argentina at Estadio Centenario on Saturday.

The result gives Joe Schmidt's outfit momentum going into next week's Test against the same opposition in Tucum�n as they backed up their Six Nations triumph with a solid performance.

Ireland had begun the game with the lion's share of possession but could not penetrate a fearsome home defence on halfway that was giving nothing.

Ten minutes passed before the Irish finally broke the line as Darren Cave, wearing the fabled jersey left by O'Driscoll, cut through before the recycled ball saw Robbie Diack butcher a three-on-one that surely would have seen Simon Zebo over.  It marred what was a strong start from the flank.

Consolation for Diack came in the form of three Jonathan Sexton points after the Pumas had been spotted offside by New Zealand's Glen Jackson.

Ireland were now in full flow as first Zebo, then Luke Marshall and Conor Murray went close within quick succession before Paul O'Connell was pinged for sealing off the ruck five metres from the whitewash.  That, however, then sparked a superb Pumas counter attack.

Sexton doubled the lead in the nineteenth minute when Marshall again hit a line that took the shaven headed inside centre over halfway but the momentum would shift soon after.

Nicol�s S�nchez sending over three points would be the result of the Pumas enjoying their first ball on 27 minutes, although Santiago Cordero possibly will be feeling guilty of taking his eye off the ball when the line was at his mercy from a Martin Landajo blindside pass.

Then came a moment of controversy on the half-hour as Pumas number eight Benjamin Macome was yellow carded for taking out Andrew Trimble in the air.  Many an Ulster fan would have been asking their television screens what was different about that and the red Jared Payne received against Saracens.

In the end the numerical advantage would actually benefit Argentina when Manuel Montero finished superbly in the corner, seeing off Sexton for a score that Sanchez converted from the touchline.  Suddenly the Pumas were 6-10 to the good with half-time nearing.

However, Ireland would respond via an unconverted pushover try from Chris Henry off an attacking line-out that took them in 11-10 up at the interval.

The second half began with number eight Jordi Murphy carrying strongly up the middle before Sexton's trademark wraparound with Marshall in midfield led to the number ten sprinting over, with his conversion again missed, this time glancing the outside of the upright as Ireland went six points up.

It was now the case that if Ireland scored next, one would worry for the Pumas.  And so it proved as with Argentina forcing their attack, Trimble pounced on a loose Sanchez pass and pinned his ears back for a clean run-in from 50 metres out.  Sexton's extra two points put Ireland comfortably 23-10 to the good.

Cave then almost had a try to his name in the left corner courtesy of a sumptuous Zebo offload only for the replay showing his foot was in touch before grounding over the line.

But that only prompted Ireland to apply pressure to the throat of the Pumas, knocking over two penalties via replacement Ian Madigan's boot before Tom�s De la Vega added a consolation score in the dying embers.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  M Montero, De la Vega
Con:  Sanchez, Iglesias
Pen:  Sanchez

For Ireland:
Tries:  Henry, Sexton, Trimble
Con:  Sexton
Pen:  Sexton 2, Madigan 2

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Jer�nimo De la Fuente, 12 Gabriel Ascarate, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicol�s S�nchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Benjamin Macome, 7 Tom�s De la Vega, 6 Rodrigo Baez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Mat�as Cortese, 1 Lucas Noguera Paz.
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Mat�as Alemanno, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Tom�s Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonz�lez Iglesias, 23 Lucas Gonz�lez Amorosino

Ireland:  15 Felix Jones, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements:  16 Damien Varley, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Jamie Heaslip, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Jaco van Heerden (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Boks brush World XV aside

South Africa warmed up for their June internationals in ideal fashion on Saturday with a 47-13 victory over a star-studded World XV in Cape Town.

The Springboks recovered from a slow start to outscore their opponents six tries to one in an entertaining game in front 30 000-odd fans at Newlands.

Although the match didn't carry full 'Test' status, Heyneke Meyer's troops were tested in every facet of the game by a side packed with talent and up for the challenge.

World XV coach Nick Mallett said his side would have to pitch up with the right attitude and it was clear from the first minute that they had come to give the Boks a full examination.

South Africa led 18-13 at the interval thanks to tries from Toulon team-mates Bryan Habana and Bakkies Botha in reply to World XV lock Alistair Hargreaves' opening score.

The lead change hands a number of times in the first half as the World XV matched their hosts in the set pieces and didn't step back in contact.  As expected, the tourists' defensive organisation ultimately proved their undoing as the powerful Boks clinically cashed in on the opportunities offered.

The Springbok pack took control in the second half though as two textbook mauls off line-outs gave the hosts a healthy lead before late tries from Johan Goosen and Willie le Roux added the cherry on top of a well-deserved win.

The tourists made the brighter start and found their way over the try-line after just five minutes as Saracens lock Hargreaves crashed over after his second row partner and countryman Juandr� Kruger was stopped just short.  Australian full-back James O'Connor added the conversion to cap a perfect start for the multi-national side.

The Boks replied almost immediately though as Morne Steyn slotted an easy penalty after the visitors were caught offside.

The World XV came close to snatching another early try but Matt Giteau's grubber had just too much on it and beat Hosea gear to the deadball line.  Mallett's side nevertheless had their tails up.

That would change at the end of the first quarter when Habana scored out wide after JP Pietersen threw a nifty pass between his legs to expose a massive overlap.  The ball went through the hands to give Habana an easy run in.  Steyn's conversion attempt sailed wide to leave South Africa leading 8-7.

The World XV only had two training sessions to prepare but their scrum got on top of the Boks in the first half, earning a penalty which O'Connor sent over to put the visitors back in front.

The lead changed hands once again on the half-hour mark as Steyn hit the target with a penalty against Hargreaves for being offside.

The Boks landed a vital blow just before the break with a refreshing display of counter attacking as Le Roux, Habana and Victor Matfield combined to put Botha clear to score.

Steyn's conversion into the wind crept over to give the hosts a seven-point lead but O'Connor reduced the deficit to five points after Bismarck du Plessis was caught way offside on the stroke of halftime.

The Bok fly-half gave his team extended the lead (21-13) soon after the restart with an easy penalty after Joe Tekori entered a maul from the side.  Mamuka Gorgodze was given a yellow card for the same offence a few minutes later and the Boks used their numerical advantage to rumble over the line with a classic lineout-maul drive.

Bismarck du Plessis bagged his second try on the hour mark as the home side repeated the same line-out and maul with ruthless efficiency.

The wind was finally taken out the World XV's sails when Jimmy Cowen was sin binned for stamping.

The Boks put the game to bed in the dying minutes as Goosen ghosted over from close range before Lwazi Mvovo put Le Roux away for their sixth try in the final minute to finish an attack started by Schalk Brits in his own half.

The Boks will now face Wales in seven days full of confidence.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Habana, Botha, B. du Plessis 2, Goosen, Le Roux
Cons:  Steyn, Goosen 2
Pens:  Steyn 3

For World XV:
Try:  Hargreaves
Con:  O'Connor
Pens:  O'Connor 2
Yellow cards:  Gorgodze, Cowan

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Schalk Brits, 17 Gurthro Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Fourie du Preez, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

World XV:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Juandr� Kruger, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Craig Burden, 1 Sona Taumalolo.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21 Jimmy Cowan, 22 Fran�ois Trinh-Duc, 23 Benson Stanley.

Venue:  Newlands, Cape Town
Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Television match official:  Deon van Blommestein (South Africa)

Seven-try Wallabies crush France

Australia went 1-0 up in their June Test series against France as they romped to a 50-23 victory at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

France have not beaten the Wallabies in Australia since 1990 and, based on this performance, they are unlikely to change that record in this three-Test series.

Despite losing skipper Stephen Moore in the early stages, the home side touched down seven times before the French snatched two consolation tries in a benchmark rout that further tarnishes Philippe Saint-André's dismal track record.

The impressive Wallabies led 29-9 at the interval as four unanswered tries from Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Michael Hooper and Matt Toomua saw the hosts race ahead.

The French defence was woeful.  Australia were hardly playing sensational rugby but sloppy tackling and a few horrific errors from the visitors gifted the Wallabies a massive head start for the second half.

Unable — more like unwilling — to compete at the breakdown, les Bleus allowed the Aussie pack to give their backs quality ball far too cheaply.  Worse still, PSA's troops offered very little on attack.

After the break, the French got stuck into the rucks with far more venom and could stem the tide until just before the hour mark, when Nick Cummins added his name to the list of scorers, but the tourists never seriously threatened to cross the whitewash until Morgan Parra's late consolation score and penalty try in the final minute.

By that time the Wallabies had already reached the 50-point mark as Kurtley Beale and Pat McCabe came off the bench to rub salt into the French wounds with tries in the last quarter.

A neat drop-goal from Frédéric Michalak in reply to Bernard Foley's opening penalty levelled the scores early on, but is would be almost one-way thereafter.

Folua landed the first blow at the end of the first quarter, beating three defenders to cross.

Shortly afterwards Gaël Fickou came out of the French line looking for an intercept, allowing Ashley-Cooper to go in untouched off Toomua's offload.

Hooper added number three with a little help from the TMO who persuaded referee Craig Joubert that Tevita Kuridrani tap-on hadn't gone forward.

The fourth try, just before the break, was almost comical as debutant Felix le Bourhis fumbled on his line, then fumbled again in-goal as he tried to gather the loose ball, only to see Toomua pounce.

Foley added his third conversion to give Australia a 20-point lead, and the result was essentially sealed before the half-time hooter.

Australia could bide their time as France tried to get back into the game after the restart.  But Folau went clear out wide before finding Cummins on the switch for an excellent try to kill off any hopes of a comeback.

Beale cruised over for number six thanks to a break from Kuridrani before Folau beat Wesley Fofana and set McCabe free out wide for number seven.

Parra scored off the restart to salvage some pride for the XV de France, who finished on a positive point as their scrum earned a penalty try with the last play of the game.

But France will have to make a massive step up next week if they hope to keep the series alive.

The scorers:

For Australia: 
Tries:  Folau, Ashley-Cooper, Hooper, Toomua, Cummins, Beale, McCabe
Cons:  Foley 6
Pen:  Foley

For France: 
Tries:  Parra, Penalty try
Cons:  Michalak 2
Pens:  Michalak
Drops:  Michalak

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 James Horwill, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Pat McCabe.

France:  15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Felix le Bourhis, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 3 Nicolas Mas (c), 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Antoine Burban, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Remi Lamerat, 23 Brice Dulin.

Venue:  Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Momentous win for Fiji over Italy

Crusaders back Nemani Nadolo scored 13 points as Fiji defeated European visitors Italy 25-14 in Suva on Saturday.

Nadolo was one of three try scorers for the Islanders, crossing first before adding two penalties and a conversion after starting at inside centre.

Italy's only real dominance came as expected in the set-piece, where a number of collapsed scrums from the Fijian left referee JP Doyle no option but to award the first of their two penalty tries which gave the Azzurri the lead.

Nadolo's try brought Fiji back into the contest but the score remained tight at 5-7 at half-time, before the hosts took control.

Taking over the kicking duties after Jonetani Ralulu missed a penalty and a conversion, Nadolo converted Nemani Nagusa's try after some fine interplay by Fiji to put them into the lead for the first time.

Nadolo's two penalties extended the lead but Italy hit back through another penalty try, again converted by Orquera, to apply some pressure at 18-14.

But Clermont star Napolioni Nalaga came through with the what proved to be the winning try two minutes from time, Nadolo converting to secure an impressive win for Fiji.  Italy face Samoa next.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Nadolo, Nagusa, Nalaga
Cons:  Ralulu, Nadolo
Pens:  Nadolo 2

For Italy:
Tries:  Penalty Try 2
Cons:  Orquera 2

Fiji:  15 Metuisela Talebula, 14 Napolioni Nalaga, 13 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12 Nemani Nadolo, 11 Timoci Nagusa, 10 Jonetani Ralulu, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Nemani Nagusa, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Api Naikatini, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Tuapati Talemaitoga, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Sunia Koto, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Isei Coalti, 19 Wame Lewaravu, 20 Malakai Ravulo, 21 Nikola Matawalu, 22 Watisoni Votu, 23 Adriu Delai.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Guglielmo Palazzani, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (c), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Andrea de Marchi, 18 Alberto de Marchi, 19 George Fabio Biagi, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Andrea Masi.

Referee:  JP Doyle (England)
Assistant Referees:  Johan Hoffmann (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
Assessor:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)

Tonga snatch draw in Samoa

Underdogs Tonga snatched an 18-18 draw in injury time against Samoa to launch the Pacific Nations Cup tournament in dramatic fashion in Apia on Saturday.

The clock had ticked a minute past full-time with Manu Samoa clinging to an 18-15 lead when Tongan lock Josh Afu was pulled down in a line-out.

Referee Wayne Barnes had no hesitation awarding the penalty and Tongan replacement back Fangatapu Apikotoa calmly slotted the difficult 40-metre shot at goal.

Before a capacity crowd of more than 14,000, Samoa — ranked ninth in the world, four places higher than Tonga — were expected to produce a much improved performance from when they were humbled 33-14 by Japan last month.

But the injection of their senior professionals from Europe, who were absent in Tokyo, did little to lift their game and the crowd was silenced in the 21st minute when Tonga's right winger, Otulea Katoa scooted over to score the first try of the match.

Fly-half Latiume Fosita landed the conversion from wide out for the visitors to lead 7-0.

In the closing stages of the first half, Fautua Otto opened Samoa's account with a 65-metre run to the line before Afu crossed for Tonga to turn with a 12-5 lead.

A penalty by Tusi Pisi at the 60-minute mark saw Samoa close the gap to two points, and with 12 minutes to go Samoa captain David Lemi scored with Pisi's conversion giving the home side the lead for the first time.

In a whirlwind end to the game Latiume landed a penalty for Tonga to level the scores at 15-15, Samoa immediately edged ahead with another Pisi penalty before Fangatapu stepped up to land the equaliser.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  Otto, Lemi
Con:  Pisi
Pens:  Pisi 2
Yellow card:  Johnston

For Tonga:
Tries:  Katoa, Afu
Con:  Fosita
Pens:  Fosita, Apikotoa
Yellow card:  Taufa

Samoa:  15 Fa'atoina Autagavaia, 14 Fautua Otto, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 David Lemi (C), 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Jeremy Sua, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Falfili Levave, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Kane Thompson, 3 Logovi'i Mulipola, 2 Wayne Ole Avei, 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Daniel Leo, 20 Ofisa Treviranus, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i , 22 George Pisi, 23 Anitele'a Tuilagi.

Tonga:  15 David Halaifonua, 14 Otulea Katoa, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Fraser Anderson, 11 Alaska Taufa, 10 Latiume Fosita, 9 Samisoni Fisilau, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Nili Latu (C), 6 Pasuka Mapakaitolo, 5 Lisiate Fa'aoso, 4 Josh Afu, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Suliasi Taufalele, 1 Tevita Mailau,
Replacements:  16 Paula Ngauamo, 17 Kama Sakalia, 18 Eddie Aholelei, 19 Daniel Faleafa, 20 Viliami Fihaki, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Fangatapu Apikotoa, 23 Fetu'u Vainikolo.

All Blacks stutter past England

Conrad Smith's late try settled an enthralling contest in Auckland as England pushed New Zealand all the way in a 20-15 win for the All Blacks.

Smith's finish in the corner settled a contest in which for 75 minutes the world champions were utterly rattled by Stuart Lancaster's tight-knit squad, who humbled their critics.

So little was expected of England that their first-half salvo seemingly caught everyone off guard, the All Blacks searching for some rhythm as England's kicking game forced errors.

Kieran Read's absence was more sorely felt than expected despite the experience of Jerome Kaino in the eight jersey, England getting the better of the collisions.  Their captain, Chris Robshaw, was outstanding.

Big names for New Zealand went missing.  Israel Dagg was arguably the biggest culprit, hauled off with 25 minutes to go.  Dane Coles laboured.  So much had been made about England being scratchy and deprived of their best players, but New Zealand were dismal until their final surge.

England have only ever won twice in New Zealand - 1973 and 2003.  The All Blacks haven't lost at Eden Park since 1994.  This simply wasn't meant to be as close.  It was stunning.

Ma'a Nonu's streetwise but illegal slight of hand was crucial to stop James Haskell from latching onto Robshaw's opening burst, the England captain carrying his men behind enemy lines.  Burns scored his first points as England landed the primary blow.

Burns was easily under the greatest pressure, the number ten from Gloucester hungry to put a dismal season behind him.

His first penalty was true, but a kick to the corner wasn't quite judged to perfection.  He had to be inch-perfect at Eden Park, but showed great bravery in defence.

Asking England to remain error-free for the entire 80 minutes though was impossible.

Jonny May's knock-on set up New Zealand with an attacking scrum, Cruden knocking over the first points for the All Blacks after England went offside.

Robshaw and Burns though were in control.  Consecutive penalties from the soon to be Leicester number ten established a 9-3 lead for the visitors as they dominated the territory, doing the basics well but not without the odd mistake.

Eden Park felt oddly flat.  For many, England being so competitive was a surprise, let alone to be ahead.

Still, this was New Zealand's first match since November.  The rusty edge had to wear off eventually, Cory Jane's chip over the top leaving Manu Tuilagi in a foot race to prevent the game's first try.

Overall in the opening half though, they were way off the pace.  England in turn were smart, finding the touch with their kicks to the corner and inspired by a tenacious Robshaw.  The scrum made in-roads.  Geoff Parling, back in the starting XV, had his lineout ticking over.

What had seemed completely impossible - a win at Eden Park - suddenly didn't feel so unrealistic.  But England were too clever, losing concentration as Joe Launchbury ran into a double tackle and was penalised for holding on.

Cruden tied things up at 9-9 ahead of the interval, a pretty decent return considering the lack of flow in New Zealand's play.  Burns' drop-goal attempt as the hooter sounded fell wide to the left.

Where was the All Blacks' backlash?  England's decision making had to be perfect but May nearly landed them in trouble with a headless run near his own line when the boot would have been preferable.

An open contest favoured the All Blacks but England's scrum was on top, both sides belting the leather of the ball in a search for territory.

Kaino came closest to the first try, the ball just not rolling up his fingers in the chase or Aaron Smith's kick with the line beckoning.

The five-metre scrum for England should have been a concern for the visitors but they turned into gold, Morgan's thundering run set up a Kyle Eastmond break that struck a match under the contest.  Forget about the Kiwi backlash, this felt like England's to win.

May, so enigmatic and at times infuriating, found the outside arc and his kick had Barrett scrambling back by his own line and forced to concede the penalty.  Burns, perfect up to his point, landed the crucial kick.

Tuilagi straying offside handed New Zealand a reprieve as Cruden tied things up again at 12-12.

When Brodie Retallick cantered into the loose, showing impressive speed for a man of his stature after he latched onto the error of Ben Youngs, Marland Yarde in a desperate act slowed the ball down and was sin-binned for his troubles, Cruden booting the All Backs into the lead unbelievably for the first time.

What a time for Danny Cipriani to enter the fray.  His speedy break put England behind the defensive line and with Burns off, the Sale man was charged with kicking the resultant penalty to tie up the scores.  Nerves of steel brought the scores level once again.

The injection of Keven Mealamu's experience and skill always felt like it might have an impact and his turnover did the job winning a penalty that Cruden was surely certain to kick.

But New Zealand were fed up of playing on the back foot.  Taking it quick, Cruden tries to make the space for Barrett and Vito leading to Wyatt Crockett charging for the line.  Only the TMO could decide whether he made the line.  Not given.  Had the gamble backfired?

Not with Conrad Smith around.  The great centre was there in the corner receiving the brilliant pass from his namesake Ben to wrap up a contest the All Blacks must have never envisaged would be so close.  Eden Park erupted, with relief more than jubilation.

England will have been stung, but the cavalry are coming and they have won the respect of the All Blacks.  New Zealand will get much, much better.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  C.Smith
Pens:  Cruden 5

For England:
Pens:  Burns 4, Cipriani
Yellow Card:  Yarde

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Cory Jane, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Victor Vito, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Joe Gray, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Chris Pennell

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Jérôme Garcès (France)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Brave Blossoms sting Samoa

Japan weathered an early storm to race to a 33-14 victory over Samoa, their seventh win on the trot, but just their third in 13 clashes with the Pacific Islanders, in Tokyo on Friday.

Full-back Ayumu Goromaru kicked a total of 18 points, while winger Yoshikazu Fujita seared over for a brace of tries as the Brave Blossoms overturned a 7-0 deficit to blitz their hard-hitting rivals.

With head coach Eddie Jones, the man credited with masterminding the continual growth of the game in Japan targeting a quarter-final spot at next year's World Cup, the win will offer his side some psychological benefit as Samoa join Japan, Scotland, USA and South Africa in Pool B in England.

"We've broken the record with seven wins in a row," Jones told reporters.  "That's a fantastic achievement.  Our target next week is to make it eight."

"We made hard work of it but the great thing is we created a lot of opportunities.  I really liked the attitude of the players today and obviously we can improve."

"It was a big Test for us as we build for the World Cup," admitted Samoa counterpart Steven Betham.

"We learn from our mistakes and move on.  Japan work well as a unit.  They have made big strides in the last couple of years."

England score 50 in Rome rout

England cantered to a simple 52-11 win over Italy in the Rome sunshine, but fell short of matching Ireland's points difference.

It Seven tries, including a double for Mike Brown, saw England finish this year's championship with four wins from five matches and a points difference of plus 73, but eight short of Ireland with Joe Schmidt's side to play in Paris later on Saturday.

The sense in the build-up had always been that Italy wouldn't be able to live with England's tempo, which had undone the best efforts of Ireland and Wales at Twickenham in recent weeks.

Their standout backs — Danny Care, Owen Farrell, Luther Burrell and Mike Brown — were all instrumental as ever, with Brown setting the try-scoring benchmark for Yoann Huget to match later on after scoring his third and fourth tries of the 2014 Six Nations.

Whatever happens in Paris, England have improved considerably in all facets of their play in this championship and deepened their squad in the process.  Silverware or not, this has been a successful seven weeks for Stuart Lancaster and his team.  It was their biggest win in Rome since 2004.

Early dominance for Italy's scrum came as no surprise, a shot of concern running through the England fans at the sight of David Wilson down receiving treatment within the first five minutes.

Orquera opened the hosts' account after England's front row stood up for the second time.

With Rome basked in perfect sunshine there were no excuses for the number of knock-ons in the first ten minutes.  Too often England looked for the finished product out wide rather than building the phases, but Farrell did add his first three points eventually to level the scores.

Patient would always end in points and Mike Brown (who else) benefited from a fine break and offload from Luther Burrell, fending off the tackle of Luke McLean and having enough speed to finish in the corner.

Leonardo Sarto couldn't match Burrell's speed of thought when presented with a simple three-on-one though, England scampering back in defence following Nowell's knock-on with Farrell providing the key tackle.  It was a wasted chance by the Azzurri.

Their scrum though remained a source of points.  Orquera kicked a second penalty after 20 minutes, cutting the gap to four.

England's ambition to play wide was encouraging but they lacked the direction, a quality that Burrell with his lines and power possesses in abundance.  A burst into the Italian 22 should have ended with more points.

The touchline was certainly Italy's friend, the space out wide too tempting for England to resist when an overlap was squandered through a miss-pass to Dylan Hartley with advantage being played.  It ended eventually in a second try, England biding their time under the Italian posts and pouncing through Farrell latching onto Care's flat pass.

A third try before half-time would give England a real tilt at their points difference target.  From Care's tapped penalty they surged up to ten metres out, only for crossing to undo their good work initially.

They didn't have to wait long.  Shifting the Italian defence around until the holes on the inside grew too vast to ignore, Farrell offloaded to the on-rushing Brown for his second try of the first half and fourth of the tournament to send England into the break up 24-6.

Michele Campagnaro had sparkled for Italy against Wales and threatened to do the same with a burst after the interval, but a lost boot and forward pass brought his effort to an end.

Even the Italian scrum was fading, the stronghold turned against the head by England in the Azzurri 22, but a tapped penalty was mis-executed when it mattered in a messy opening ten minutes to the second period from both sides.

Care's enthusiasm was relentless, Burrell just missing out on a try when the ball was kicked from his hand as the centre stretched for the line.  Marco Bortolami headed to the bin to worsen Italy's growing problems.

A first England try for Jack Nowell left the English players beaming, the 20-year-old from Exeter Chiefs benefiting from first-phase ball at the scrum as Care and Brown drew in the defence to send him over in the corner.

Manu Tuilagi entered the fray for Burrell in his first appearance for England since against Wales in Cardiff as the game loosened up, the annoyance on Burrell's face a positive for England rather than a negative.

It took three tacklers to bring Tuilagi down in England's latest foray into Italian territory as Mako Vunipola scored England's fifth try — delivered on a platter by Billy Twelvetrees as the Lions prop trundled over from two metres out.

Three converted tries away from Ireland's total with 20 minutes to go, England certainly had hope.  Tuilagi ran flat onto a Farrell pass and broke the last tackle to add England's sixth.  45-6 with 12 minutes left.

That was dented by an interception try from Sarto, his second five-pointer of this year, as Joe Launchbury forced a wide pass in possibly his only error of the championship to date.

George Ford came on for his second cap as England restored their former U20 midfield partnership with Farrell shifting to inside centre, but the points difference task appeared beyond England now.

A combination of substitutes and indiscipline hindered England's challenge until a long run from Dave Attwood appeared to put England in position for a seventh try.  The frenetic tempo got the better of Farrell, holding Edoardo Gori around the neck and slamming him to the ground in frustration.

There was enough time for one more try, fittingly from their captain Chris Robshaw, but this was an impressive ending to a fine championship from England, as their attention turned to Paris hoping for a favour from France.

Man of the Match:  The player of the tournament without question, Mike Brown shone and scored two tries.

Moment of the Match:  Oddly enough it was the interception from Leonardo Sarto, which just stopped the English momentum and put the points difference target out of sight.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing overly nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Try:  Sarto
Pens:  Orquera 2
Yellow Card:  Bortolami

For England:
Tries:  Brown 2, Farrell, Nowell, Vunipola, Tuilagi, Robshaw
Cons:  Farrell 7
Pen:  Farrell

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Alberto de Marchi, 19 George Fabio Biagi, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tommaso Allan.  23 Andrea Masi.

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11

Ireland crowned Six Nations champions

Ireland were crowned Six Nations champions on Saturday after beating France 22-20, giving Brian O'Driscoll the perfect send-off from Test rugby.

It It wasn't pretty and France came mighty close to snatching victory at the end but for a forward pass, but Ireland won't care as they claimed their first title since 2009, a second for most of this squad.

O'Driscoll put in a full 80 minute performance against a rampaging Mathieu Bastareaud as two tries from Jonathan Sexton and one from Andrew Trimble ultimately got the better of the French.

Les Bleus will wonder, however, what might have been as Jean-Marc Doussain's missed penalty late on was another blunder on the hosts' part.

It was though to be Ireland's day as they held on for the title under Joe Schmidt, with O'Driscoll alongside Paul O'Connell with the silverware.

France began the game much-improved from last weekend's narrow win over Scotland as the return of Louis Picamoles and Bastareaud's power putting them on the front foot.  The team's hunger and territorial dominance led to Maxime Machenaud kicking two penalties amid the early sparring at the Stade de France.

Those three-pointers — on minutes two and fourteen — put France 0-6 to the good as the game somewhat struggled to excite under Kiwi match referee Steve Walsh.

One reason why the contest was slow in tempo was due to scrum issues as official Walsh threatened to card loosehead prop Thomas Domingo but held off showing him yellow.

Ireland wouldn't have been concerned about the lack of a card though as they were now on top with a quarter played and found their reward following a lovely offload from Chris Henry.  That pass from the Ulster flanker saw Sexton go over for the opener in successive weeks.

However, as became a worry in the first-half, Sexton missed the conversion and then just before the break a relatively simple penalty attempt as he looked uneasy in front of goal.

So les Bleus were still leading 5-6 at that point but five minutes later it would be Ireland hitting the front, with the French ruck defence non-existent.  The score arrived from an initial carry up the middle from O'Driscoll before Conor Murray attacked the fringe and then found Trimble for the try.  This time Sexton was on target to give Ireland a six-point advantage.

Ireland could smell blood and many expected them to go for the jugular as the French looked disorganised.  However, a moment of class from fly-half Remi Tálès saw him kick across to Yoann Huget on the sideline who fed Brice Dulin for the try with a lovely tap-down.

The excellent conversion from Racing Metro number nine Machenaud — making it 12-13 — would later sum up the difference between the teams at the break — place-kicking.

Tálès smartly looked to extend the lead when near the Irish 22 but his drop-goal attempt on 36 minutes was wayward before France's woes at scrum-time would be compounded by the loss to injury of Nicolas Mas.  It appeared the tighthead prop hyper-extended his arm.

France though were heading into half-time leading but arguably shouldn't have been when Domingo was penalised for side entry.  Coach Philippe Saint-Andre's reaction to his prop's indiscretion illustrated his and the crowd's frustration.  Luckily for the hosts, Sexton missed.

Ireland had 40 minutes to save the Championship, which seemed likely when a break-out sparked by Rob Kearney led to Trimble running down the right before handing O'Driscoll a possible crossing.  The centre was hauled down just five metres short however, but the recycled ball saw Sexton hit a fine line off Murray.  The conversion scraped over for 19-13.

Sexton would, fortunately for Ireland, re-find his kicking boots five minutes later when he sent over another three points that gave the visitors much-needed daylight on the night.

But then came a real moment of controversy as hooker Szarzewski grounded against the post, with Walsh seeing it as a certain try.  However, the replay showed the front-row forward dropped the ball in the act.  There was no doubt about Machenaud's conversion though.

France were now back within touching distance as changes were made on both sides, one being Machenaud surprisingly replaced by Doussain at the base.  And unfortunately for Saint-Andre that decision backfired as Doussain missed a penalty won by his side's scrum set-piece before a forward pass from Pascal Pape foiled a late try for Damien Chouly.

Ireland subsequently held on and with it came the spoils.

Man of the match:  The official award went to Brian O'Driscoll on his farewell game and we won't argue with that.  Back-to-back gongs for the veteran centre, who says goodbye in style.

Moment of the match:  France had the title in reach when Jean-Marc Doussain lined up a penalty with time running out.  He missed and thus came the feeling this was Ireland's day.

Villain of the match:  Nothing malicious to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Dulin, Szarzewski
Con:  Machenaud 2
Pen:  Machenaud 2

For Ireland:
Tries:  Sexton 2, Trimble
Con:  Sexton 2
Pen:  Sexton

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Remi Tálès, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Louis Picamoles, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 21 Wenceslas Lauret, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Maxime Mermoz.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)

Hogg off as Wales thump Scotland

Wales rounded off their Six Nations campaign with a 51-3 triumph over Scotland, who had Stuart Hogg sent-off with a quarter of the game played.

It Hogg was shown red after initially being given a yellow card by referee Jérôme Garcès.  Replays duly saw the Frenchman change his mind.

There were no complaints as the full-back took out Dan Biggar after the ball had gone, with the impact seeing the hosts' number ten floored.

From then on it was smooth sailing for Wales, who went from 10-3 in front to a 27-3 scoreline at the break.  That would, of course, increase.

The game began badly for Scotland when captain Kelly Brown was taken off with suspected concussion, replaced by Alasdair Strokosch.

Brown's departure came after Greig Laidlaw had put the visitors into an early lead before Biggar replied with eight minutes played in Cardiff.

Then came the first of seven tries at the Millennium Stadium as Liam Williams got the ball rolling, finishing off an overlap created by a solid burst up the heart of the Scottish defence.  Biggar landed the difficult extras to make it 10-3 ahead of full-back Hogg's moment of madness.

It was always going to be game over from then on as Biggar extended the gap to ten points off the tee on 23 minutes before Laidlaw missed one.

Williams, in for the injured Leigh Halfpenny, was then involved again as he rose highest close to halfway before setting off down the left as Scotland couldn't cope with the Welsh runners.  Williams' offload to Mike Phillips was followed by the try assist from the scrum-half to George North, who stepped David Denton en route to well-taken score.  Biggar was on-target again to make it 20-3 as Scotland's fans who made the journey hung their heads.

The first half wasn't done there though as Jamie Roberts was the next to cross, with a nice interchange with North and Jonathan Davies seeing the inside centre over.  Biggar's conversion made it a 24-point advantage at the break.  Scotland wished it was full-time.

North was over for his second inside a minute of the resumption but Biggar this time missed the extras — at this stage it was all about how many tries they would score.

More duly came as inside centre Roberts finished off another lovely passage from Wales, with Scotland now chasing shadows as the scoreline climbed to 39-3 at a frantic rate.

On 52 minutes it was time for Wales' sixth try of the match as simple numbers once again created space for Faletau, who had an easy run-in on the right wing as the hosts moved into the forties.  Both sides would then throw on replacements as the tempo dropped in Cardiff.

Thus followed a scoreless 22-minute period before Wales clicked once more, this time via the fresh legs of Rhodri Williams, who finished off a kick through from James Hook to score arguably the try of the game.  Hook was then successful with the extras to bring up the 50 and rub further salt into Scottish wounds as Scott Johnson moves upstairs on a poor note.

Man of the match:  The absence of Leigh Halfpenny was expected to be a sizeable blow to Wales but a combination of numerical advantage coupled with Liam Williams' performance cushioned his loss.  We must mention that even before the red card Williams was electric at the back and fully deserves this gong and his early try for that matter.  Williams and Dan Biggar received rapturous applause from the home supporters when they came off.

Moment of the match:  See below.

Villain of the match:  Minute 22 at the Millennium Stadium and the act Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg will regret for a long time.  His shoulder contact with the chin of Dan Biggar cost his side any chance of a result as he received a red card.  The match was ultimately over.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  L Williams, North 2, Roberts 2, Faletau, R Williams
Con:  Biggar 4, Hook
Pen:  Biggar 2

For Scotland:
Pen:  Laidlaw
Red card:

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paul James, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 James Hook.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Max Evans, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Al Dickinson, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Al Strokosch, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Jack Cuthbert.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (Fra)
Assistant referees:  Chris Pollock (NZ), Greg Garner (Eng)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (Eng)

England thrill to crush Wales

England put last year's humbling in Cardiff to rest with an assured performance in their 29-18 victory over Wales at Twickenham on Sunday.

It First-half tries from Danny Care and Luther Burrell gave England the early advantage and they never looked back, keeping the lead throughout as Owen Farrell and Leigh Halfpenny fought each other in a world-class kicking duel.

There is no longer any doubt though;  Wales are not the best team in Europe anymore.  Bar their breakdown prowess, which was exceptional, crucial failures at key times in the scrum, line-out and defence brought the two-time champions title defence to an end.

Had it not been for soft penalties conceded by England in the opening 40 then the scoreline would have read even less in Wales' favour.  Against Scotland there is now an opportunity for Warren Gatland to experiment.

For England it was all about progress.  Even had they lost, which they should never have done based on their performance in the first-half, there were enough encouraging moments to keep believing that they are still building towards next year.

The likes of Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes and Owen Farrell have all stepped up a level and in doing so secured England's first Triple Crown since 2003.

England's opening break came from the most unlikely of sources;  David Wilson cantering into space and laying the platform for Care to eventually catch Wales off guard with a trademark tap penalty.

Starting the match at a million miles an hour had Wales napping, but England's ambition then became over-exuberance.  Attempting to play out of their own 22, Wales won a penalty at the breakdown for Halfpenny to slot over from out on the right.

Wales were nervy.  The small parts of their game, tiny knock-ons included, were a hindrance.

Jonathan Davies' pass to George North went just behind him — had it gone to hand then England would have been in trouble.  North still had a chance with a grubber only to watch it roll dead.

It was England's turn now to win a penalty at the scrum, Richard Hibbard popping up to allow Farrell to restore the home side's seven-point advantage.

Jonny May then embarked on one of his cross-field runs.  Even the Gloucester wing admits he doesn't always know where his breaks will take him, but when isolated over on the far side — after some brilliant tracking defence from Jamie Roberts — Wales won the penalty at the breakdown for Halfpenny to kick his second three-pointer.

England's attack however kept Wales working, the likes of Sam Warburton racking up tackles but a discrepancy was never far away.  Farrell added another penalty to restore that seven-point gap — 13-6 to England coming up to the half hour.

There was sparkle from Wales thanks to a burst from Roberts into space, but the breakdown remained their main source of points.  Nowell ran into the same lair that scuppered May moments earlier, Wales too savvy in that area to let a chance slip as another penalty followed from Halfpenny.  He never looked like missing.

Billy Twelvetrees then displayed a similarly perfect touch with the boot.  Farrell's kick had pinned Wales back into a corner and when Warburton failed to reel in the ball at the line-out, England pounced.  The grubber from Twelvetrees bounced up kindly for Burrell to score his third try in four games.

Halfpenny still couldn't miss, adding two more penalties before half-time arrived to leave Wales five points adrift at the break.

England though now controlled the scrum.  Consecutive penalties pushed the hosts from within their 22 to a 30-metre shot at goal for Farrell which put England 23-15 ahead.

Wales were chasing, and not very well.  First, a horrendous kick from Roberts killed an overlap on the outside from which Wales should have scored.  Then they lost Gethin Jenkins to the bin on his 104th cap, something referee Romain Poite looked to have been itching to do for some time.

Halfpenny countered Farrell's fourth penalty with his seventh, but Wales were again penalised for Farrell to keep the champions at arm's length at 29-18.

It took Wales until the 61st minute to replace struggling Rhys Priestland.  His game management paled sorely in comparison to that of Farrell, who continually appeared to thread kicks into the corners.

With the likes of Mike Phillips, Dan Biggar and Paul James now on Wales had a jolt of intensity, a reminder for England that the job was not yet done.

A break from turnover ball deep in England's half nearly ended in a second try for Burrell, Halfpenny doing enough to keep him out with a try-saving tackle that saw him depart with an injury.

There was no time though for Wales to respond.  Instead an ecstatic Twickenham crowd savoured the closing minutes, with the side now heading to Rome hoping for a favour off France and with their title hopes still alive.  For Wales, there are more questions than answers.

Man of the Match:  With a barn-storming afternoon filled with huge tackles and some impressive carries, Courtney Lawes stood taller than anyone else.  This though was a team effort.

Moment of the Match:  The fastest start.  England flew out of the blocks and with Wales bewildered, Danny Care made them pay to give them the lead.

Villian of the Match:  Refereeing interpretations at the scrum are always up for debate but after Gethin Jenkins had already been warned, he should either have been brought off or adjusted.  From the moment he went to the bin the result was settled.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Care, Burrell
Cons:  Farrell 2
Pens:  Farrell 5

For Wales:
Pens:  Halfpenny 6
Yellow Card:  Jenkins

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 David Attwood, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Alex Goode

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jon Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Liam Williams

Referee:  Romain Poite (Fra)
Assistant referees:  Steve Walsh (Aus), Lourens van der Merwe (RSA)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ire)

France edge out Scotland

Jean-Marc Doussain kicked a 78th minute penalty to see France claim a 19-17 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

It The Scots had led through tries from Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour to three Maxime Machenaud penalties, before Yoann Huget's interception brought France roaring back into the lead.

A long-range Duncan Weir three-pointer renewed the hosts' belief, but it was Doussain's effort inside the 22 that dealt Scott Johnson's men a gut-wrenching finale.

Kiwi referee Chris Pollock is traditionally strict on the defensive team at the breakdown, and the words "no clear release" crackled over his microphone time and again as players piled into rucks.  The New Zealander may require a police presence at his city-centre hotel this evening, however, after he penalised Scotland's Tim Swinson — predictably for the same offence — for Doussain's decisive kick.

Scotland's line-out woes are painfully well-documented, but it was the French who lost their way in the aerial duel.  Third-choice hooker Brice Mach missed his man on seven from ten occasions before being substituted early in the second half.

Up front, the scrums were a mess.  Pollock dished out instructions aplenty, but time-consuming resets were the norm on the scrappy Murrayfield turf.  The signs were ominous for the Scots as their first set-piece crashed to ground ninety seconds into the match, allowing Maxime Machenaud the chance to open to the scores with a well-taken penalty.

The hosts were let off the hook minutes later too;  a Scott Lawson knock-on sparked a sweeping sixty-metre counter-attack from les Bleus, with Maxime Mermoz scragged metres short of the line.  A try eluded the visitors, but the pressure yielded a second penalty for the scrum-half.

Despite the early scoreline, the Scots were enjoying the bulk of possession, building phases well inside the French half.  And after Jim Hamilton charged down Machenaud on the visitors' 22, Hogg hoisted a speculative hanging kick deep into the gaping Murrayfield in-goal area.  Under pressure from Sean Lamont, the ball was fumbled by Huget, allowing the full-back to pounce and ground somewhat dubiously for one the more bizarre tries the famous old ground has seen in recent years.  Greig Laidlaw knocked over the extras, and suddenly the hosts were in the lead.

Straight from the kick-off, however, Dave Denton lost the ball in contact on his own 22;  the French gathered and pounded the line.  The way the Scots repelled the advances of the visitors was admirable, but Hamilton was eventually penalised in the shadow of his own posts.  Machenaud kicked France ahead again, while the stretcher was driven on and carted off again carrying Johnnie Beattie — who had taken a knock during the move — with it.  Ryan Wilson replaced the blindside flanker.

That didn't faze Scotland, as they drove their way into the French 22 once more, and produced an uncharacteristically astute piece of backline play to cross the line again.  With a flash of zip more associated with their opponents, Matt Scott caught out the drifting blindside defence with a delightful inside ball to the onrushing Seymour.  The winger scythed through the gap and dived over in the corner;  Laidlaw slotted a fine conversion, and Johnson's charges began to believe.

The visitors continued to look dangerous when presented with turnover ball or loose touchfinders, though;  Hogg's attempted drop goal almost leading to a Serge Blanco-esque counter from Brice Dulin under his own posts.

Hamilton was — perhaps harshly — pinged for his over-exuberant infiltration of a collapsed French maul on half-time, but Machenaud was wide with his fourth penalty attempt, leaving the Scots five points to the good at the break.

What they did next was typical of this side's maddening tendency to shoot themselves in the foot.  In truth, it was terribly Scottish.  The hosts had disrupted a French maul on the five-metre line so effectively as to steal back possession;  the ball was swept left, the overlap was there, the supporters were already cheering try number three.

But Duncan Weir, with any number of options outside him, floated his pass to the one place it would not find a white jersey.  Huget, gambling to nothing, picked it off and sprinted eighty metres to score untouched.  Machenaud knocked over the simple conversion.

The Scots should have been shellshocked;  the game should have turned in a flash.  But Johnson's men showed a resolve and indeed accuracy they have seldom displayed in this Championship.  Play opened up and became more fragmented;  a development that should have favoured the French, but appeared to suit the Scots' desire to give the ball some air when they could.

Trailing by two points, Laidlaw's near-fifty-metre penalty attempt fell agonisingly under the crossbar, but when the French infringed again in the same area, it was Weir who had a chance to make amends for his earlier interception.  The Glasgow Warriors pivot showed great character to step up and drill his kick over.

As the French error count grew, so did the confidence of the home crowd, the mood in the stands very audibly shifting from disbelief to bullishness as a series of French scrums thirty-five metres out yielded nothing but a Scottish put-in, and Mermoz spurned a fine attacking opportunity on the Scottish 22 by spilling the ball.

Another scrum penalty just shy of halfway offered Weir the chance to take the gap beyond the crucial three point margin with five minutes remaining, but the fly-half could not repeat his goal-kicking heroics, pushing his effort just wide of the uprights.

It would be terribly cruel to lay blame for the loss at the door of the 22-year-old, but his interception pass combined with that difficult miss left the gap at two points as the clocked ticked by.  With a minute left, the Scottish dream turned nightmarish as Pollock blew up metres from the home line.  Doussain did not wilt under the defeaning racket of 60,000 enraged Scots, and so shattered their team's chances of a first win over France since 2006.

Man of the Match:  Plenty of candidates, but Hogg gets the nod for his vision in attack, and booming boot that frequently kept the Scots out of their own half.

Moment of the Match:  Huget's try should have been seminal, but it was Doussain's penalty that was the ultimate difference.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing sinister to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Huget
Con:  Machenaud
Pens:  Machenaud 3, Doussain

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hogg, Seymour
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pen:  Weir

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Johnnie Beattie, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Moray Low, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Max Evans

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements:  18 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Antoine Claassen, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Remi Tálès, 23 Gaël Fickou

Referee:  Chris Pollock (NZ)

Ireland brush Italy aside

Ireland have built a healthy lead at the top of the Six Nations standings thanks to a 46-7 victory over Italy at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

It In Brian O'Driscoll's final Test on home soil, the men in green outscored their visitors seven tries to one to further bolster their points difference ahead on next weekend's trip to Paris.

A brace from Jonny Sexton, combined with tries from Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Fergus McFadden and Jack McGrath saw a focused Ireland overcome a robust Italian side on an emotional day for Irish rugby.

The visitors had given Ireland an early scare with an excellent try by wing Leonardo Sarto, converted by Luciano Orquera, but were unable to spoil the Irish party.

O'Driscoll was phenomenal in his final home game, and gave Irish fans a reminder of the sublime skill they'll miss next season.  But his team-mates deserve immense credit for giving the icon the Dublin send off he deserves.

Ireland made the livelier start, holding onto the ball through several phases.  The host showed an admirable intent to move the ball early on.

The hosts dominated possession in the opening five minutes, but the Azzurri defence was pretty resolute.  The man of the moment ignited proceedings on six minutes when a lovely wrap around from O'Driscoll to Sexton carved open the Italian defence for the Irish fly-half to touch down.  Sexton converted to make it 7-0.

The visitors responded well, though, with Orquera orchestrating some good handling in midfield.  The men in blue were finding some holes in Ireland's much vaunted defence.  Tito Tebaldi was also finding some space for his outside backs from the scrum-half channel.

The hosts regrouped, however, and gained some continuity in their opponents' half, but were undone by basic errors.  Ireland's cause was also not helped when Conor Murray was forced to exit the field on 16 minutes.

There was a feeling that Ireland were the superior side, but they just couldn't break down the tenacious visitors.  And the Azzurri got a thoroughly deserved reward on 24 minutes when Sarto scored a well-taken try having evaded Rob Kearney's desperate covering tackle.  Oquera converted to equalise the score at 7-7.

But Sexton restored Ireland's lead on 31 minutes to settle his side's nerves.  It was the least the hosts deserved following a period of concerted pressure.  But again Luke McLean was finding unexpected holes in Ireland's defensive line.

It was their great centre that initiated Ireland's breakthrough on 36 minutes when a superb pass put Trimble away in the corner.  Sexton duly added the extras to make it 17-7 to the Emerald Isle.

Although the game had become quite unstructured at times, by half time Ireland were starting to achieve some ascendancy over their stubborn opponents.

The second half began with Ireland clearly determined to break the shackles.  A fracas on 47 minutes involving captains Paul O'Connell and Marco Bortolami demonstrated the way in which the physicality on display from both sides was always threatening to spill over.  In the first five minutes of the half, the hosts were essentially camped in the Italian half.

And prop Healy deservedly got over the whitewash for the men in green on 52 minutes when Eoin Reddan tapped and went from a five-metre penalty.  Once the ball went to ground, Healy picked up, and crashed over the line.  It was to be the loosehead's final act of the match.  Sexton missed the conversion, however.

The game began to loosen up thereafter, with Ireland's backs finding some welcome space.  The brilliant O'Driscoll was undoubtedly at the centre of everything his team did well, and it was his pass that fed Rob Kearney, who in turn put Sexton over for his second try on 59 minutes.  The Irish ten missed another conversion to leave it 27-7.

The ovation was completely deafening when O'Driscoll left the field on 62 minutes, his job having been superbly done.  Substitute hooker Sean Cronin added to the home tally on 68 minutes when he barged over in the left hand corner.  Replacement Paddy Jackson converted to make it 34-7.

Italy tried to regain a foothold in the game, but lacked the incision to threaten the Irish defence.

Fergus McFadden got in on the act on 77 minutes, when he sliced through the Azzurri midfield to score with adding the extras.

And an evocative occasion was rounded off appropriately, when replacement prop Jack McGrath crashed off for his first try for his country to complete the rout.

Following a resonant day for Irish sport, Ireland and O'Driscoll head to Paris for a tilt at the championship.  On this form, anything is possible.

Man of the Match:  Who else?  His former Leinster teammate Sexton pushed him close, but Brian O'Driscoll was simply outstanding on his final Irish outing at the Aviva Stadium.  His passing was sublime, while the centre's work-rate was the equal of anyone else on the pitch.  Brilliant performance.

Moment of the Match:  O'Driscoll's lovely switch with Sexton to set up the fly-half's opening try exemplifies everything that defines the great centre's brilliance.  It could have been a score from ten years ago, as O'Driscoll's creativity and intelligence unlocked a Six Nations defence.

Villain of the Match:  No villains as both sides gave their all in a compelling contest.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:Sexton 2, Trimble, Healy, Cronin, McFadden, McGrath
Cons:  Sexton 2, Jackson 2
Pen:  Sexton,

For Italy:
Try:  Sarto
Con:  Orquera

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Paul Derbyshire, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami (c), 4 Quentin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto de Marchi.
Replacements:  16 David Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Andrea Masi.

Venue:  Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Greg Garner (England)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor:  Andrew Cole (Australia)

England crush Ireland's Slam dream

A cagey, physical confrontation between two title contenders ended with a 13-10 victory for England in an entertaining Test at Twickenham.

It Ireland arrived bursting with confidence but were more or less contained in the opening half, as England failed to capitalise on territory and possession.

Closer to a game of chess, the tension in both team's performances was impossible to ignore.  This was Ireland's first trip away from Dublin in the Joe Schmidt era and they met their match in the contests regarding aggression and skill.

For Ireland the dream of a second Grand Slam in five years is over.  England's title hopes are alive.  The hosts' young warriors — Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Jack Nowell — played beyond their years.

England's start was bright, showing composure and patience beyond the number of their caps as Mike Brown slipped out of Rory Best's tackle to put them on the front foot.

It should have ended in a score, yet didn't.  Jonny May, with Jack Nowell outside, knocked on thanks to a timely tackle from Andrew Trimble to hand Ireland an early reprieve.

England's early aggression was noteworthy but the penalties went Ireland's way, first at the scrum and then at the breakdown to end dominant England phases in the Irish half.

Ireland's attack though was in full flow when Jonathan Sexton wasn't under siege — sending a cross-field kick over into the bread basket of Andrew Trimble before England regathered to snuff out the threat.

Owen Farrell avoided further punishment for a late hit on Conor Murray than a penalty — the game entering the second quarter without any points but proving entertaining nonetheless.

When Courtney Lawes was taken out at the lineout Farrell landed England's first points with a 47-metre penalty.  Far from the finest of strikes, on the basis of the opening 25 minutes England probably deserved their lead.

And though they may have led on the scoreboard the game was poised on a knife-edge.  A second Farrell penalty would have let England breathe a little easier, only for the wind to swirl it onto the left post.

The loss of Billy Vunipola was a further blow to England's chances as Ireland searched for some continuity in their game, but the dominance shown against Wales had deserted them.  Too often fine pieces of play were cut short by minor errors.

A careless offside from Andrew Trimble saw Farrell pop the ball into the corner as England looked to make a statement before half-time.  It wasn't to be as Ireland forced the knock-on from Burrell, Sexton clearing to touch with England narrowly ahead 3-0 at the interval.

Ireland began the second period with the necessary bang.  Rob Kearney screamed through a gaping hole on an inside ball that left even Irish fans in the ground in disbelief, such was its simplicity.  A slip from England and the lead was all Ireland's now.

England momentarily were thrown.  Persistent penalties marched Ireland from their own 22 to deep into English territory, Sexton's astute chip forcing May and Brown into sixes and sevens.

It was a period of pure control reminiscent of the 80 minutes Ireland produced against Wales, and it ended with a score — Sexton's three-pointer stretching the lead to 3-10.

Score again and Ireland might have never looked back, but England now had the impetus.  Danny Care's high-risk philosophy worked for them in Paris and they added a second penalty from Farrell to cut the gap to four.

They then split Ireland open up the middle.  Brown's break on an inside ball from Chris Robshaw saw him fly into open space, having the composure and timing in his pass to release Care for a try made at Harlequins and sending England back ahead.

Equals more or less throughout, England's 13-10 lead heading into the final ten minutes never fully looked secure.

Ireland built phases and tried to twist and turn England's defence in search of an opening, but there simply wasn't one to exploit.  Joe Launchbury's tap tackle was a lifesaver — Jonny May's clearance made the whole of Twickenham erupt.

Naturally Ireland still had a chance, as Brian O'Driscoll limped from the field in his 139th record-equalling Test.  It wasn't to be, the Irish maul for brought to a shuddering halt as England came of age.

Man of the Match:  Care was influential but Mike Brown was truly exceptional for England, a running threat as ever and kicking brilliantly.

Moment of the Match:  England's try was enormous, coming right off the back of Farrell's penalty.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Care
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 2

For Ireland:
Try:  R.Kearney
Con:  Sexton
Pen:  Sexton

For England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 David Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Brad Barritt

For Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Issac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Weir sinks Italy in Rome thriller

A last-minute Duncan Weir drop-goal secured a vital 21-20 Six Nations victory for Scotland over Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

It With the clock creeping towards 80 minutes, Weir stepped up to banish the demons from Round Two's English horror show, and perhaps go some way to answering those who question his character and execution when the chips are down.

A brace of penalties and an opportunistic converted try from ex-Scotland U20 cap Tommaso Allan had given the Italians a commanding 13-3 lead at half-time, before Alex Dunbar crossed to bring Scotland back into the game.  Dunbar bagged his second to turn the match on its head, but Italy hit back immediately through a well-taken Josh Furno try, before Weir's late strike.

Games involving Scotland and Italy are not generally filed under the heading marked "classic", but despite the play often becoming fragmented — punctuated by errors and infringements as players struggled to match their ambition with accuracy — it was appetising fare for the neutral.

After a dull first half, we were treated to three quality tries, excitement and a thrilling finale as the lead changed hands time and again in the final stages.

The Scots completed the basic skills with far more precision than in Rounds One and Two, but typically struggled to perform them well under pressure until late in the game.

Their lineout that misfired chronically against Ireland and England was a different beast in Rome;  Jim Hamilton marking the card of Azzurri hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini early on, and the calls running smoothly with Scott Lawson's throwing.

But though the Scots ruled the skies, the scrummage proved a real worry for the visitors — they conceded a penalty at each of the opening three set-pieces as Moray Low toiled and buckled under the pressure.  The Glasgow Warriors tighthead was withdrawn before half-time.

Allan opened the scoring for the hosts after a rare first half foray into the Scottish 22;  Ryan Wilson straying offside before the move broke down metres from the line.

Skipper Greig Laidlaw levelled things up for the Scots shortly after, before Allan miscued a chance to restore his side's lead when a monstrous Italian scrummage splintered the visiting eight.

Scotland missed a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock as Weir burst clear up the left-hand-side following a turnover, but in a very Scottish display of profligacy, failed to release Sean Lamont, his completion on this occasion letting him down when it mattered.

With the penalty count rising rapidly against the visitors, referee Steve Walsh warned Laidlaw further breakdown offences would result in sterner punishment, and Allan made no mistake with his third attempt to nudge Italy ahead once more on the half hour mark.

And it was the pivot himself who struck a huge blow for the hosts right on half-time.  With Sergio Parisse carrying strongly into the away 22, Allan picked a smart line to scythe through the disorganised Scottish defence and burrow over for a five-pointer.  He added the simple conversion and sent Italy into the changing rooms with a ten-point lead.

The Scots began the second forty in similar fashion to the first — bags of endeavour, little exactitude.  They were rewarded with a Laidlaw penalty five minutes in, and then turned down a second chance for three points after exerting huge pressure on the Italian line.

It looked like the opportunity had been wasted as Laidlaw's quick tap eventually went to ground.  But Scotland won the ball back on the ten-metre line, and swift hands saw Dunbar cut through some haphazard midfield defence and outpace Allan to the corner.  The captain pulled his conversion from out wide.

With the gap cut to two points, Scotland grew in confidence, and mixed up their attack well to breach the home 22.  With twelve minutes to go, they produced the play of the game.  Lamont barrelled over halfway off first-phase ball, and offloaded to replacement Chris Cusiter who brilliantly flicked the ball to the onrushing Dunbar.  With Matt Scott in support, Dunbar took on Luke McLean and scrambled beyond the despairing defence to finish.  With Laidlaw substituted, Weir knocked over the conversion from straight in front.

But Italy were not done.  After poor defence allowed Leonardo Sarto to worm his way through midfield, the Azzurri stormed into the Scottish 22.  Shifting play smartly, they stretched the visitors from side to side, before Parisse exploited space and support to send Furno crashing over to level the scores once again.  Replacement Luciano Orquera's nerve held from out wide, and the Italians reclaimed the lead.

That set up a truly enthralling finish.  Scotland inched their way forward as time ticked away, and after Dave Denton rescued a scrappy scrum ball, Weir let fly a booming effort under Italian pressure to send the Scots wild, and ease the tension on boss Scott Johnson.

Man of the Match:  Alex Dunbar was the pick of the bunch;  a constant threat to the Italian defence, he scored two excellent tries.

Moment of the Match:  Duncan Weir's drop, a moment epitomising why we love sport.

Villain of the Match:  A really tough day at the office for Moray Low, who was turned inside out in the tight for 38 minutes before being unceremoniously "hooked".

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Allan, Furno
Cons:  Allan, Orquera
Pens:  Allan 2

For Scotland:
Tries:  Dunbar 2
Con:  Weir
Pen:  Laidlaw
Drop:  Weir

The teams:

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Moray Low, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Ryan Grant
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Al Dickinson, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Dave Denton, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Max Evans

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Aus)
Assistant referees:  Jerome Garces (Fra), Luke Pearce (Eng)
TMO:  Geoff Warren (Eng)

Wales keep title hopes alive

Wales are still alive in the 2014 Six Nations title race thanks to a 27-6 victory over France at the Millennium Stadium on Friday.

It The defending champions bounced back from a heavy defeat in Dublin with a muscular display, leading from start to finish and outscoring their visitors two tries to none.

Unlike their performance a fortnight ago, the Welsh pack came to the party, dominating the contact zones and shutting down any and all French attacks.

Wales led 20-6 at the interval thanks to an opportunistic try from George North, five penalties from Leigh Halfpenny, some interesting refereeing from Alain Rolland and a few howlers from Jean-Marc Doussain.

It was a dominant opening 40 minutes from the defending champions, who hardly allowed the French into their 22.

The second-half saw just a single score but skipper Sam Warburton's try sealed the win that reignites Wales' hopes of claiming a third consecutive title.

It took just two minutes for the first points to be scored as Halfpenny found the target from almost 50 metres following a French ruck infringement.

It didn't take much longer for Wales to score the first try either.  It came from a French mistake as Doussain clattered into Brice Dulin, causing the full-back to spill the ball to which he had beaten North in a race back to his line.  The ball bounced free, allowing the Welsh centre to score a soft try.

Surprisingly, Halfpenny missed the conversion but he split the uprights with another long range effort soon afterwards to give the home side an 11-0 lead inside the first ten minutes.

The French scrum would earn the visitors their first points as Doussain landed a simple penalty but referee Rolland thought a slip by Nicolas Mas was worth three points in the other direction at the next set-piece so Wales led 14-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Doussain's poor form off the kicking tee continued as he missed an absolute sitter.  Jules Plisson took over the kicking duties though and slotted the next one to cut the gap at 14-6.

The pattern of a Welsh reply for every French score continued though and North earned an easy three-pointer for Halfpenny with a crash ball in front of the sticks.

The home side would finish the half on a positive note as Halfpenny added his fifth penalty thanks to the Welsh scrum winning the ball back.  (Despite Doussain noting Rolland's leniency for crooked feeds, he decided to roll it under Richard Hibbard's nose).

Phillipe Saint André saw the light and changed his scrum-half at the interval but France continued to leave points by the wayside as Plisson hooked a long-range effort before an offload from Mathieu Bastareaud was greeted by a knock-on within sight of the line.

The scrum-time lottery saw opposing props Gethin Jenkins and Mas hit the jackpot and win a yellow card each but it did little to abate the flow of penalties in both directions.

The nightmare for les Bleus continued as Louis Picamoles saw yellow before Warburton stretched out an arm to score after a powerful run from Jamie Roberts.

Despite their best efforts, the disjointed French attack failed to seriously threaten the outstanding Welsh defence as the home side closed shop until the final whistle.

Man of the match:  Hard to pick out a single man as the entire Welsh pack deserve a pat on the back.  A mention for Jamie Roberts, who was key to getting Wales going forward, and Rhys Webb, who made a lot of good decisions.  But we'll go for Sam Warbuton, not only for his try and strong performance in the tackle area, but for leading a much-improved effort from the men in red.

Moment of the match:  France found themselves chasing the game almost from the first whistle.  George North's try set Wales on their way, and they never looked back.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  North, Warburton
Con:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 5
Yellow card:  Jenkins

For France:
Pens:  Doussain, Plisson
Yellow cards:  Mas, Picamoles

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 George North, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 James Hook.

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Hugo Bonneval, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Wenceslas Lauret, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri 4 Pascal Papé (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:16 Brice Mach, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Vincent Debaty, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Gael Fickou.

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

England thump hapless Scots

Luther Burrell and Mike Brown both scored as England produced a simple 20-0 win over a dreadful Scottish outfit at Murrayfield.

It The pace was not perhaps as frenetic as we have come to expect from Calcutta Cup rugby, but tries from Burrell and the Man of the Match, Brown, were more than enough to secure victory for England in Test rugby's oldest fixture.

England arrived at Murrayfield with a point to prove after their late loss in Paris last week, but the hosts too were seeking a reaction having been blown away in forty minutes by an embattled Ireland side.

Stuart Lancaster's men hadn't lost three successive Tests since 2008;  the same year Scotland last claimed the Calcutta Cup, but this failed to prove an omen as the visitors blitzed their rivals with a combination of speed, precision and aggression.

It was the same maddening problems of old that hindered Scott Johnson's team.

The simple but painful truth is that Scotland cannot hope to play ball with the big boys in the Test rugby playground for as long as they fail to muster any sort of potent attack, consistently win quick ball at the breakdown, eradicate unforced errors, missed tackles and silly penalties, or shore up a set-piece that exerts a crippling influence upon their ability to build phases and threaten their opponents line.

To put things in perspective, they lost almost half of their lineouts versus England's near perfect record, and conceded a total of 16 penalties.

Not for the first time this season, each successful throw-in was greeted with an ironic cheer from the home crowd;  more unsavoury was the audible approval from sixty-thousand Scots as hooker Ross Ford was replaced just after half-time.

The Murrayfield pitch was in arguably its poorest state for decades, with the patches of churned up turf a glaring backdrop to an otherwise fantastic occasion;  on this evidence, the new hybrid surface can't come soon enough.

It was the English pack who made the most of these testing conditions.  They were a step ahead of the Scots at the breakdown as Ireland had been in Dublin, and their line speed was outstanding in the first forty minutes.  The Scots' attack is often static and passive, and its deficiencies were brutally exposed as players found themselves with no time on the ball, and no option but to brace themselves for the oncoming white charge.

The hosts suffered from a lack of accuracy early on as Duncan Weir floated his first kick from hand out on the full under no pressure, and the Scots gathered the ball from an offside position to hand Owen Farrell a simple opportunity for the game's opening points.  The fly-half did take his kick from one of the more pudding-like splotches of mud, but his miss from 25 yards out and straight in front of the posts was glaring nonetheless.

Danny Care got up to his old tricks again minutes later to spare his half-back partner's blushes.  With a penalty advantage being played, and England's maul on the home 22 going nowhere, Care struck his second drop-goal in as many weeks;  having achieved the same feat in Paris a week ago.

Greig Laidlaw was wide with his first of two fruitless attempts on ten minutes;  the scrum-half always likely to struggle into the breeze from over 40 metres.

The penalty count was rising against Scotland at the breakdown, and it was from a Jim Hamilton infringement that yielded the first try of the match.  Farrell booted play up to within ten metres of the Scots' line, and after the pack were held up short, centre Burrell picked a smart line off his fly-half to crash over for his second try in as many games.  This time, Farrell made no mistake from the tee.

Laidlaw had a chance to put Scotland on the board straight from the restart with another penalty effort, but he glanced the left-hand upright from right of centre.

Farrell should have punished Scotland again on 20 minutes after yet another infringement, but dragged effort wide from the 10m line.

That misfiring lineout is a constant bane for Johnson, and when Ford threw over the top of Hamilton, England won the ball and shortly after a penalty.  Farrell converted for a commanding 13-0 lead on the half-hour mark.

It was Farrell who cut through the home defence as England threatened again in the dying moments of the first half, finding Burrell with a smart inside ball.  The centre was held up inches from the line, and the Scots were off the hook with the clock red.

The second-half began in similar fashion;  England breaking the home line with simple rugby executed at pace.  Farrell missed with another penalty effort, but England were soon to win a numerical advantage from their dominance.

Jonny May raced clear down the left-hand-side, and was again halted within a metre of a first international try.  Centre Alex Dunbar clung onto him too long after the tackle, and promptly found himself watching the next ten minutes from a plastic chair on the sidelines.  Still, though, England could not press home their advantage, despite hammering the Scottish line with a series of mauls.

That all changed as the hour mark approached.  A smart runaround move off a lineout on halfway saw the visitors outflank the Scottish midfield defence.  It appeared the chance had gone when Stuart Hogg brought Jack Nowell down on the 22, but the ball found its way back to the winger, who showed good feet and timing of his pass to send full-back Brown round under the posts.

With that, the game was over as a contest, the knockout blow had been struck, and Scotland's aim switched from sending the Auld Enemy homewards tae think again to simply avoiding a second loss to nil on home soil this season.

Johnnie Beattie matched number eight Dave Denton's powerful ball-carrying, but he was one of precious few who consistently made yards against the English defence.

Instead, it was the visitors who continued to press;  Lancaster will in truth be irked that his charges did not rack up more points from their territory and possession in the closing stages.

It was telling that the biggest cheer of the evening was reserved for a kilted pitch-invader who evaded a swarm of stewards as the white jerseys continued to bludgeon their way into the home 22;  halted chiefly by their own errors.

And so it was to finish;  a game England never looked like losing, Lancaster's only gripe the win was not a more handsome one.  Much to ponder for Scott Johnson, but these problems are none he has not been faced with before.

Man of the Match:  The chief contenders for this one were unsurprisingly all in white, with Danny Care and Billy Vunipola in particular picking up where they left off in Paris.  The award was rightly handed to Brown, however, whose kicking was secure, running sharp with a whopping 114m gained, and bagged the try that killed the game.

Moment of the Match:  Brown's try was the killer blow;  silencing the last few spirited, optimistic souls in the home crowd, and