Clinical All Blacks power past Ireland in Auckland

The All Blacks made a statement of intent when they clinched a 42-19 victory against Ireland in their July international at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, New Zealand were deserved winners as they dominated proceedings for long periods and eventually outscored their visitors by six tries to three.

Jordie Barrett contributed 17 points courtesy of a five-pointer and six conversions and the All Blacks’ other tries were scored by Ardie Savea (2), Sevu Reece, Quinn Tupaea and Pita Gus Sowakula.

For Ireland, Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose and Bundee Aki crossed for tries while Joey Carbery added two conversions.

Ireland capitulated following a strong start and lost captain Johnny Sexton to injury as New Zealand delivered a clinical performance.

Earls scored his 35th international try inside six minutes as Andy Farrell’s side flew out of the blocks at a sold-out Eden Park but things swiftly unravelled on a punishing evening.

Influential fly-half Sexton was forced off in the aftermath of Reece’s breakaway try and later failed a head injury assessment to compound a miserable outing.

Ireland, who made the scoreline more respectable thanks to second-half scores from Ringrose and New Zealand-born Aki, paid a heavy price for repeated defensive lapses and face an uphill task to salvage the series.

Victory for the physical hosts avenged November’s 29-20 defeat in Dublin and maintained their impressive 28-year unbeaten run in a stadium which has become a fortress.

Ireland head coach Farrell also saw Carbery and Josh van der Flier each denied certain tries by superb interventions from All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane.

The Englishman must quickly galvanise his dispirited squad ahead of next week’s meeting in Dunedin, for which he is likely to be without Sexton.

New Zealand returned to action having had more than seven months to stew on successive defeats at the end of autumn, including the reverse at the Aviva Stadium.

Their preparation for the opener was severely disrupted by Covid-19 but head coach Ian Foster recovered sufficiently to attend the game, while the virus forced a late change on the Irish bench as a positive test for prop Finlay Bealham gave an opportunity to Tom O’Toole.

Ireland were looking to move on from a midweek mauling at the hands of the Māori All Blacks.

Munster wing Earls was the only player retained from the experimental XV selected in Hamilton and he got the tourists off to a dream start by finishing an outstanding team try after being teed up by Hugo Keenan at the end of patient, sustained pressure.

Ireland’s ferocious beginning exposed a few nerves among the under-pressure hosts, who briefly looked panicky amid a temporarily silenced stadium.

But it was short-lived and the All Blacks hit back with their first attack of the game as full-back Barrett bulldozed over and then landed the first of six successful conversions.

The early pattern of play, with Ireland the greater threat, initially resumed before Farrell’s men were heavily punished for sloppiness in attack to firmly shift the momentum.

As the visitors worked the ball from right to left, a poor pass from Ringrose dropped ahead of James Lowe, allowing the rapid Reece to zoom clear from inside his own 22 and dive over.

Irish frustration at the manner of that try was immediately heightened by Sexton being forced off having slipped and collided with Kiwi captain Sam Cane in the build-up.

All Blacks upped the ante on attack

And New Zealand promptly took the game away from their stunned opponents.

Tupaea raced on to a perfectly-weighted kick from Beauden Barrett to cross, before Aaron Smith’s delightful chip and chase culminated in Savea diving on to the loose ball as the dispersed Irish defence floundered.

The 28-5 half-time scoreline left Ireland with a mountain a climb.

Ringrose atoned for his first-half error by touching down in the left corner four minutes after the restart, with Sexton’s deputy, Carbery, nailing the tricky conversion.

Yet scant hopes of an unlikely comeback were almost certainly extinguished as further defensive dithering allowed Savea in for his second score of the match, before the Irish were twice thwarted by Ioane’s try-saving tackles.

After All Blacks replacement Sowakula capped a memorable maiden outing by diving underneath the posts, Ireland centre and native Kiwi Aki had the final say as Ireland did at least finish on a minor high following a better second-half showing.

However, there is significant room for improvement needed when the Irish resume their quest for a first Test win on New Zealand soil in seven days’ time.

Argentina beat Scotland in Cheika's first match in charge

Argentina marked their first home game in almost three years with a solid 26-18 victory over Scotland on Saturday.

It was also Michael Cheika’s debut match as head coach and his side did him proud, withstanding a Scottish comeback to go 1-0 ahead in the three-Test series.

The Pumas made a fast start, going 18-6 in front at the break thanks to tries from Jeronimo de la Fuente and Santiago Carreras.

Nicolas Sanchez scored two penalties in the first quarter but went off injured, with Emiliano Boffelli taking over kicking duties and converting Carreras’ try.

Scotland’s response prior to the interval came via a pair of Blair Kinghorn three-pointers before they levelled matters in the second period as Mark Bennett and Rory Hutchinson went over.

However, Argentina were back ahead thanks to Gonzalo Bertranou’s try and they sealed the win through the boot of Boffelli.

The hosts required just four minutes to get on the scoreboard when talisman Sanchez kicked a penalty between the posts.

Scotland replied in the 16th minute when Kinghorn kicked a penalty.  But the Pumas went three ahead again two minutes later when Sanchez chipped over his second penalty of the match.

It would be the fly-half’s last involvement in the match, however, as he was forced off in the 21st minute after sustaining an ankle injury.

Boffelli of Edinburgh took over kicking duty from Sanchez and he was unsuccessful with his first attempt of the match when his penalty drifted to the right of the posts in the 24th minute.

Scotland took advantage of this reprieve and levelled a minute later when Kinghorn kicked another penalty.

After a relatively tight opening half hour, Argentina turned the screw in the closing 10 minutes of the first half.

With 31 minutes on the clock, the Pumas scored the first try of the game when, after a period of passing and power in front of the Scottish line, De la Fuente eventually forced the ball down despite the best efforts of Ali Price to hold him up.  Boffelli hooked his conversion attempt wide.

Four minutes later, Argentina stretched their lead when Carreras picked up the loose ball and eased his way over the line after Duhan van der Merwe had hauled down the marauding Santiago Cordero.  This time Boffelli was successful with his kick, ensuring the Pumas went in at the break with an 18-6 advantage.  Scotland, remarkably, had not entered the Argentina 22 in the first half.

Sparked into life

The tourists belatedly sparked into life after the break and hauled themselves back into the game in the 49th minute when Bennett dived over in the left corner after good work by Hutchinson and Kinghorn to set him free.  Kinghorn was off target with the penalty.

The Scots’ tails were up and they got themselves a second try in the 55th minute when Hutchinson, in his first appearance for two years, bounded over the line after a lovely lay-off from Kinghorn.  The fly-half duly kicked the conversion to level the scores at 18-18.

Just as the visitors looked to have turned the momentum of the match in their favour, Argentina went straight up the park and edged themselves back in front when Bertranou forced the ball down on the line.  Boffelli, with his conversion attempt, missed his third kick of the match.

However, with nine minutes remaining, the Edinburgh man stretched the hosts’ advantage to eight points with a penalty, allowing them to see out the match in relatively comfortable fashion.

Five-try France get the better of Japan in Toyota

France proved too strong for Japan in Toyota on Saturday as the visitors claimed a 42-23 victory in the first of two Tests between the sides.

Although Les Bleus outscored their hosts by five tries to two they did not always have things going their way as Japan were competitive for long periods but they fell off the pace as the match progressed.

Melvyn Jaminet led the way for France as he finished with a 17-point haul after succeeding with three penalties and four conversions, while Damian Penaud (2), Matthis Lebel, Yoeram Moefana and Pierre Bougarit crossed the whitewash.

For Japan, Tevita Tatafu and Siosaia Fifita scored tries while Seung Sin Lee slotted three penalties and two conversions.

The visitors made a bright start when Penaud crossed for the opening try after just two minutes but Japan reduced the deficit when Lee kicked his first penalty shortly afterwards.

The Brave Blossoms held the upper hand during the next 10 minutes and were leading 10-7 by the 15th minute after Tatafu crossed for a converted try and Lee succeeded with his second shot off the kicking tee.

The closing stages of the half were evenly contested with Lee and Jaminet trading further penalties and the sides were deadlocked at 13-13 at half-time.

Just like the opening half, France were fastest out of the blocks after the interval and in the 44th minute Matthieu Jalibert made a telling break before offloading to Lebel, who scored under the posts.

Jaminet added the extras and extended the visitors’ lead with another penalty before Lee reduced the deficit with his third penalty, which meant the match was still evenly poised with Les Bleus holding a 23-16 lead after 55 minutes.

It was all France during the next 15 minutes though and they were rewarded with further five-pointers from Penaud, Moefana and Bougarit before Fifita crossed for a consolation try for the Brave Blossoms in the game’s dying moments.

Māori All Blacks' first half blitz clinches victory over Ireland

The Māori All Blacks proved too strong for Ireland as they clinched a 32-17 victory in an entertaining international in Hamilton on Wednesday.

The home side were full value for their win as they made an excellent start to the match and raced into a 32-10 lead at half-time.

Ireland came back strongly after the interval but, although they scored the only points in the second half, the damage was done during the opening period and the Māori All Blacks did enough to clinch their victory.

In the end, they outscored Andy Farrell’s men by four tries to two with Zarn Sullivan, Shaun Stevenson, Brad Weber and Cullen Grace crossing the whitewash, while Josh Ioane finished with a 12-point haul courtesy of three conversions and two penalties.

For Ireland, Bundee Aki and Gavin Coombes scored tries while Ciaran Frawley succeeded with two conversions and a penalty.

The opening exchanges were cagey, with Frawley and Ioane trading penalties which meant the sides were deadlocked at 3-3 after eight minutes.  Ten minutes later, the home side were rewarded with the opening try ― Sullivan rounding off after Ioane and Billy Harmon laid the groundwork with strong carries in the build-up.

It did not take long for the visitors to respond and they did it in style in the 20th minute when Coombes gathered the ball from Nick Timoney off the back of a maul just outside the Māori All Blacks’ 22 and set off towards the try-line.  He did well to draw in a couple of defenders before offloading to Aki, who burst through a gap in the home side’s defence before crossing under the posts.

Frawley added the extras but that was as good as it got for Ireland in the opening period as the rest of the half was dominated by the home side.  Ioane added a penalty in the 27th minute before he turned provider by launching a stunning attack from inside his own half before offloading to Stevenson, who outsprinted the cover defence on his way over the try-line.

That score seemed to boost the Māori’s confidence as they continued to attack at every opportunity.  In the 35th minute, they found themselves on the attack deep inside Ireland’s half with Rameka Poihipi stopped just short of the try-line after a strong carry.  From the ensuing ruck, Weber gathered before diving over for a deserved try.

And just before the interval, the hosts launched a counter attack from inside their 22 with Stevenson prominent.  He set off on a mazy run before throwing a poor pass to Harmon, who booted the ball ahead deep inside Ireland’s half before regathering.  The flanker then got a pass out to Grace, who crashed over the whitewash which meant the Māori had their tails up with a comfortable lead at the break.

Ireland were more competitive in the second half and in the 48th minute they thought they had narrowed the gap when Timoney crossed the Māori All Blacks’ try-line but television replays revealed that Isaia Walker-Leawere did well to hold him up and the score was ruled out.

Improvement from Ireland in second half

Despite that setback, the visitors continued to attack but they were kept at bay by a solid defensive effort from the home side, who also had some good moments with ball in hand but poor finishing meant they could not add to their points tally.

Ireland were finally rewarded in the 67th minute when, after an extensive period camped inside the Māori’s 22, they took a tap penalty with Niall Scannell leading the way before Coombes crashed over from close quarters.

The rest of the match was an even affair as both sides looked to finish the match on a high but it wasn’t to be as neither would score further points.

Gregor Townsend happy with ‘A’ team victory over Chile

Gregor Townsend was pleased with Scotland A’s dominant 45-5 victory over Chile in Santiago, claiming “a lot of positives” were taken from the game.

After a strong first half which saw Townsend’s men lead by 28-0, the Chileans showed more fight to score a try of their own.

“Positives”

Townsend commended Chile for their efforts whilst saying he was happy overall with what came of the fairly unique clash.

“We got a really tough workout,” said the head coach.  “We had to fight in that second half to keep Chile out and they did eventually score a try.

“We’ve got some areas of our game we know we’ll have to work on more next week but there were a lot of positives.  The way we played in the first half, the way some young players integrated into the team, and the way we took our opportunities was great to see.  Our strong finish was also pleasing.

“Chile are a very good rugby team.  They are physical and committed with some very good rugby players.  They grew as the game went on so that’s a sign of a team that’s improving and learning what is working from them on the field.”

Wing Damien Hoyland, who returned to the squad for the first time in several years, showed his worth by scoring a hat-trick on the day.

“I thought he played really well,” Townsend said of the hat-trick hero.  “He worked hard.  He got on the ball a few times and he finished really well.  It was a great finish to reach out and score his third try.”

Scotland turns their attention to their three-match Test Series against Argentina starting on July 2.

“It’s very important that we’ve had a game and a few training sessions since we arrived here and now we’ve got a week’s build-up to play our first Test against Argentina,” said Townsend.

“Not everyone who played today will play against Argentina but I’m so pleased for our young players to get that opportunity to come on a Scotland tour and train and play for their country and go back next season with their clubs with things they want to build on or improve on.”

Barbarians: 14-man invitational side demolish disappointing England

The Barbarians picked up an impressive 52-21 victory over England in their clash at Twickenham, despite having 14 men for a large chunk of the game after Will Skelton was red carded.

A penalty try was followed up by crossings from Charles Ollivon, Damian Penaud (2), Baptiste Couilloud, Louis Carbonel, Max Spring and Antoine Hastoy, while Hastoy added two conversions and former England second-row George Kruis knocked over three.

For England this loss will hurt as many players involved did little to improve their chances of making it into Eddie Jones’ squad for the tour to Australia.

The hosts’ only tries came from Joe Cokanasiga, Jonny May and Marcus Smith, with Smith having an off-day from the tee as he landed just two penalties.

Jones had picked the usual mix of youth and experience for the annual uncapped international, but even allowing for the experimental line-up it was a disappointing outing ahead of next month’s three-Test series against Australia.

As a mark of respect for former Wales international Phil Bennett, who died last Sunday, the Barbarians players formed the number 10 before a minute’s applause was heard for a player who represented the invitational club 20 times.

England wings Cokanasiga and May were looking to make big impressions to secure their places to Australia following injury-enforced absences and they experienced mixed fortunes.

Cokanasiga was prominent amid a promising start by the hosts and he brought Twickenham to its feet with a jet-fuelled break out of the 22 only for the defensive cover to collar the supporting Harry Randall.

Smith drew first blood with a penalty but the Barbarians surged ahead through an 18th-minute penalty try awarded against May for a deliberate knock-on as they sought to exploit an overlap on the right.

England, wearing their red kit, launched a purposeful attack but a loose pass by Randall was picked off by Ollivon who was able to complete the foot race to the whitewash.

At 14-3 down inside the first half-hour, it was looking bleak for Jones’ men with a missed penalty by Smith failing to lift spirits and soon after tighthead prop Will Collier was brought off as a tactical replacement.

The game appeared to turn on its head during a three-minute spell during which Skelton was sent off, Smith kicked a penalty and Cokanasiga scored a try created by Smith and Tommy Freeman, but another twist quickly followed.

Looking to break out of the 22, Mark Atkinson’s pass intended for Cokanasiga instead fell to Penaud and the French wing cantered in for a simple finish.

The Barbarians continued to shrug off the absence of Skelton when a defensive lapse allowed Yoan Tanga to surge through the middle and Couilloud arrived to complete the move.

England sprung into life, with Danny Care’s arrival making a difference as Smith began to weave his magic to create a try scored by May, but Penaud added a second with an acrobatic finish that was examined in great detail by the TMO.

Big carries by Tom Curry and May created the space for Smith to dart over but despite showing encouraging flashes in attack, England just could not pull clear.

Nolann Le Garrec chipped over the defence for Carbonel to touch down but there was better to come from the Barbarians as Spring touched down after a sweeping move before Hastoy completed the rout.

France fend off England to seal Grand Slam in Paris

France made it a clean sweep in this year’s Six Nations as they overcame England 25-13 to secure a famous Grand Slam in Paris on Saturday.

Led by player of the match Antoine Dupont, Les Bleus responded to Ireland’s win over Scotland as they saw off a gritty England at the Stade de France.

Tries from Gael Fickou, Francois Cros and Dupont were added to by 10 points off the tee from Melvyn Jaminet as Fabien Galthie’s men were victorious.

The battling nature of the England performance will spare Eddie Jones the harshest criticism, but another failed Six Nations Championship places his position as head coach under renewed scrutiny with the World Cup just 18 months away.

England’s best period came immediately after half-time and produced a try for Freddie Steward, but France showed their mettle to sustain only limited damage during a difficult spell.

Dupont ran in Les Bleus’ third try, adding to the earlier scores by Fickou and Cros, to seize back control and had their execution been sharper they would have been out of sight long ago.

England were turned over time and again to hamper their efforts of registering an upset, but they finished strongly and refused to throw in the towel even as France threatened to cut loose.

Victories by Ireland and Italy earlier on Saturday meant the visitors were certain to finish in third place before a ball was kicked in Paris, any hope of winning the title evaporating with a record home defeat by Andy Farrell’s men in round four.

Their evening began with Jones being loudly booed when his name was read out during the boisterous pre-match entertainment and by its end England fans might have shared the sentiment.

A feature of the opening stages was the over-reliance on Ellis Genge, who was stationed in the backfield to run the ball back, but the ploy produced little return and when the first scrum arrived he was penalised, allowing Jaminet to land three points.

Worse was to come as England’s early play was littered with mistakes and in the 15th minute the hosts accepted an invitation to strike by sweeping the ball from one touchline to the other for Fickou to touch down.

Marcus Smith and Jaminet exchanged penalties but France were in the driving seat as they swarmed over Maro Itoje to end a promising attack and soon after Jack Nowell left the field after falling on his arm when challenging for the ball.

If they could just make their passes stick, Les Bleus would be cantering out of sight but perhaps as a sign of nerves, their handling was often snatched.

There was greater precision just before half-time, however, and they were rewarded when waves of attacks that were given an injection of pace by Gabin Villiere and Romain Ntamack ended with Cros going over.

An 18-6 interval scoreline looked ominous for England and they were met with ferocious defending as they started the second half with renewed intent.

But slowly momentum was building and when Joe Marchant found space an opportunity opened up and clever handling sent Steward over in the right corner.

England then imposed themselves up-front through a thunderous maul but their hearts sank as another dominant spell highlighted by Steward’s kick and catch ended when they conceded a penalty.

Sensing their team needed lifting, the home crowd came alive and roared France on to their third try as a series of pick and goes reached the decisive moment as Gregory Alldritt sent Dupont through a gap and the scrum-half’s strength did the rest.

It proved to be the killer blow as for all England’s effort in the latter stages, they lacked the firepower to make any more dents.

Italy end 36-match losing run with shock win over Wales

Italy ended their 36-match losing streak in the Six Nations courtesy of a deserved 22-21 victory over Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

In an entertaining and drama-filled encounter, the visitors were full value for their win as they had the upper-hand for long periods and were leading 12-7 at half-time.

Wales thought they had won the game after Josh Adams scored a try in the 70th minute but Italy had the last laugh as Edoardo Padovani crossed for the Azzurri’s only five-pointer 10 minutes later and Paolo Garbisi added the extras to seal a memorable win for the visitors.

Italy’s other points came via penalties from Garbisi (3) and Padovani also succeeded with a couple of three-pointers off the kicking tee.  For Wales, Owen Watkin and Dewi Lake also scored tries while Dan Biggar added three conversions.

Last season’s champions had hoped to give milestone men Biggar and Alun Wyn Jones a day to remember.

Skipper Biggar became the seventh Welshman to collect 100 caps, while Jones clocked up 150 Wales appearances, making him the first player in international rugby union history to reach that figure.

But the script was torn up by an Italian side that claimed a first Six Nations victory for seven years that ended that run of 36 successive losses in the competition.

It was also their first triumph on Welsh soil and ended a run of 16 successive defeats to last season’s Six Nations champions.

Italy clinched their spectacular triumph a minute from time when full-back Ange Capuozzo attacked from inside his own half, and Padovani claimed the try that Garbisi converted to spark wild scenes of Azzurri celebration.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac made seven changes following a narrow defeat against France last time out, including a first Test start for hooker Lake, while full-back Johnny McNicholl, centre Uilisi Halaholo and prop Dillon Lewis were also among those called up.

Italy made a bright start, with wing Monty Ioane putting early defensive pressure on McNicholl, and it took Wales 10 minutes before they could establish any kind of threatening position inside the Azzurri’s 22.

But that opportunity was wasted after Lake, making his first Test start, overthrew an attacking lineout and Italy launched possession back downfield before Garbisi booted a 48-metre penalty to open the scoring.

Padovani then doubled Italy’s advantage, matching Garbisi’s long-range strike, and there was a look of lethargy about Wales, underlined when wing Louis Rees-Zammit spilled a scoring pass from McNicholl.

Halaholo then followed suit by dropping the ball following a strong Rees-Zammit break, which ended a dismal opening quarter for last season’s Six Nations champions.

Wales finally stirred 12 minutes before half-time, with Watkin applying a high-class finish following impressive approach work by Rees-Zammit and his fellow wing Adams, before Biggar’s conversion made it 7-6.

But the lead was short-lived, as Wales’ poor discipline allowed Italy chances from distance, and Garbisi and Padovani each kicked penalties from distance during a three-minute spell, giving Italy a five-point advantage.

Wales proved to be their own worst enemies, coughing up possession through poor handling and positioning, with Italy not requiring a second invitation to capitalise on such elementary errors.

Ioane put them back on the front foot as half-time approached, breaking clear from just inside his own half, and Italy finished strongly, securing a 12-7 interval lead.

Wales boss Pivac made a half-time change, sending on prop Leon Brown for Lewis, while Nick Tompkins replaced Halaholo within five minutes of the restart, as Ioane was then only denied a try by Adams’ brilliant cover-tackle.

Wales went ahead after 52 minutes, though, when they drove a close-range lineout and Lake touched down for a try that Biggar converted.

But the outstanding Ioane responded by launching a thrilling counter-attack, then Wales infringed inside their own 22 and Garbisi completed his penalty hat-trick to make it 15-14.

Jones played for an hour on his first appearance more than four months after suffering a shoulder injury, being replaced by Will Rowlands, and Callum Sheedy took up fly-half duties as Biggar moved to full-back instead of McNicholl.

Adams sprinkled a bit of magic on proceedings with his clinching score, but it was a forgettable performance by Wales that provided little cause for optimism ahead of a three-Test South Africa tour in July, with Padovani and Garbisi combining to complete their misery.

Ireland do the job against Scotland to win Triple Crown

Ireland ended their Six Nations campaign in fine style to win the Triple Crown after overcoming Scotland 26-5 in Dublin on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough for the title.

Andy Farrell’s men controlled the majority of the match and moved into a 14-0 lead thanks to tries from Dan Sheehan and Cian Healy.

To the visitors’ credit, they remained resilient throughout and hit back via Pierre Schoeman, who reduced the arrears to nine points at the break.

However, after Stuart Hogg butchered a try, Scotland’s chances went as Josh van der Flier and Conor Murray touched down to secure an Irish victory.

Captain Johnny Sexton successfully converted three of the four scores to help Ireland end an 18-year wait to secure silverware on home soil.

Scotland had prevented Ireland winning the Triple Crown at Croke Park back in 2010 ― their last victory in Dublin.

But Gregor Townsend’s visitors never seriously threatened to mastermind an upset and Schoeman’s first-half score was scant consolation as their miserable run in this Six Nations fixture continued on a chastening evening.

Defeat for the Scots ― an 11th from the past 12 meetings between the teams ― was a disappointing end to a largely forgettable campaign which began so positively with the jubilation of retaining the Calcutta Cup.

However, they at least avoid finishing second bottom of the table thanks to Italy’s shock win in Wales.

Scotland’s hopes of springing a surprise were not helped by Finn Russell, Ali Price and captain Stuart Hogg being among six players disciplined for breaching team protocols by visiting a bar following last weekend’s win over Italy.

With influential fly-half Russell dropped the bench, the away side began relatively brightly in a frantic opening quarter before Irish hooker Sheehan burrowed over in the 17th minute to calm home nerves.

Ireland’s misfiring scrum was subject to much scrutiny following victory over 14-man England at Twickenham in round four.

Veteran prop Healy struggled on that occasion but became the second member of the Irish front row to cross, bulldozing through the Scottish defence to claim his 10th Test try as the hosts took control.

Scotland were in danger of being overpowered.  Yet they sufficiently varied their attack to claw a way back into the contest just before the break, aided by a fine break from Darcy Graham.

South Africa-born prop Schoeman was the man to benefit from sustained pressure as he touched down, although Blair Kinghorn ― selected in the number 10 role ahead of talisman Russell ― was well off target with the conversion attempt.

Ireland began the second period with renewed purpose as they attempted to enliven a fairly subdued crowd.  However, it took a stunning last-ditch tackle from Hugo Keenan to deny Hogg a certain score in the right corner.

Referee Wayne Barnes subsequently angered home supporters by ruling Schoeman had not committed an act of foul play in the build up having caught Iain Henderson with a raised arm.

Ireland restored their two-try advantage with an hour played when Van der Flier exploited a gap to capitalise on a spell of dominance and break Scottish resistance.

Ireland pushed hard for the bonus point.

They looked set to be denied but, after Scotland replacement scrum-half Ben White was sin-binned for a deliberate knock on, Murray ― who has been a peripheral figure this campaign ― touched down his country’s 24th try of the competition to the delight of the majority inside the Aviva Stadium.

Sexton missed the resultant kick to ruin his perfect record.  Yet he cared little as he lifted silverware for the first time as skipper.

Ireland shake off 14-man England to keep title dreams alive

Ireland kept their Six Nations title hopes alive after they managed to avoid a shock defeat to a 14-man England, winning 32-15 at Twickenham.

A red card for England second-row Charlie Ewels with just over a minute played handed the hosts a monumental task of overcoming Andy Farrell’s men.

But the Red Rose showed real spirit to stay in touch for the majority of the contest before late scores for Ireland sealed the result and also a bonus-point.

The scrum emerged as England’s greatest weapon, producing six penalties on a traumatising afternoon for the Irish set-piece and enabling Marcus Smith to keep his side in contention from the kicking tee.

Even with wing Jack Nowell packing down in the back row they were utterly dominant and the visitors suffered terribly through their indiscipline across all areas as referee Mathieu Raynal penalised them freely.

The home resistance was led by Maro Itoje and Ellis Genge amid an inspired performance from the pack, but eventually the pressure told as Jack Conan crossed in the 72nd minute before Finlay Bealham gave the scoreline a lop-sided look that was harsh on England.

It means Ireland remain in title contention on the final weekend while England must discover how much they have left in the tank as they head to France with the aim of finishing third.

An action-packed first half unfolded at lightning pace and produced brutal collisions to the extent that neither James Ryan, Tom Curry nor Kyle Sinckler made it to the interval.

But there were also moments of artistry and the first of these arrived in the sixth minute when an undermanned England blindside was expertly exploited by Josh van der Flier and Dan Sheehan, with the pace of James Lowe doing the rest.

A second Ireland try was chalked off because of a knock-on and even as England celebrated winning a scrum penalty close to their line, their joy quickly turned to despair as Curry injured his hamstring while running.

Alex Dombrandt had been limited to one training session all week due to Covid but he now found himself in the back row that was swimming against the tide.

Ireland were pummelled at the scrum once more, however, and this time the penalty was in Smith’s range so the fly-half duly obliged to get his side off the mark.

Until Jamie George knocked on at the back of a dangerously-positioned maul, the home side had defied the odds to seize control with their pack making an impact in all departments.

A thrilling raid by Ireland ended with a third scrum penalty and they just could not escape Raynal’s whistle as Smith found the target once more.

But when given the opportunity to accelerate the tempo they were irrepressible and even in the face of heroic home defence, a second try was added as Jamison Gibson-Park took a quick tap and sent Hugo Keenan over.

The first half finished with Smith splitting the posts and the second began with the rivals trading blows in attack, Sam Simmonds flattening Tadhg Furlong one highlight.

Smith kicked another three points as England continued to win key moments, but the most profitable platform remained the scrum and when Raynal raised his hand for the sixth time Harlequins’ fly-half levelled the score.

Johnny Sexton nudged Ireland back in front, however, and as pressure built again on the home line, Conan was able to stride through a big gap before Bealham secured the bonus point.

Scotland claim bonus-point win over Italy

Scotland bounced back from two recent Six Nations losses as they beat Italy 33-22 in a bonus-point success at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

While the defeat once again leaves the Azzurri with the Wooden Spoon, there were plenty of positives for the hosts as they crossed through Callum Braley and a second-half double from impressive replacement Ange Capuozzo, who was making his Test debut.

For Scotland their scorers were Sam Johnson, Chris Harris (2), Darcy Graham and Stuart Hogg as they got their Six Nations campaign back on track.

Italy went in to the match without a Six Nations victory since winning away to Scotland in 2015 and it looked in the early stages like they might finally be equipped to end their seven-year drought.

The hosts enjoyed the majority of territory and possession in the opening quarter of an hour and were unfortunate not to have more than just a fourth-minute penalty from Paolo Garbisi to show for their efforts.

Gregor Townsend’s side suddenly sparked into life in the 17th minute, however, as they edged themselves in front with a brilliant try.

George Turner started the move on the right before Ali Price, Graham and Finn Russell ― with an outstanding offload ― all played their part in shifting the ball across to the left for Johnson to touch down.  Russell sent his conversion attempt just wide.

Five minutes later, Russell appeared to have put his side in trouble with a loose pass deep inside his own half but Price ― on his 50th appearance ― made a superb interception inside his own 22 and surged forward before tossing it to his left to Kyle Steyn.

The Glasgow wing, who was being closed down by a cluster of Italians, improvised by kicking the ball over the top for Harris who darted through unchecked to slam down behind the posts.  Russell converted.

Italy got themselves back into the game on the half hour when Braley had the easy task of forcing the ball down over the line after Pierre Bruno did superbly to keep the ball in play and flip a pass inside while being tackled by Hogg wide on the right.  Garbisi was successful with the conversion.

Scotland regained command three minutes before the break when Price claimed the ball from the back of the scrum and it was helped on by Russell and Hogg to Harris who waltzed in behind the Italians for his second try of the match.  Russell converted.

The visitors stretched their lead eight minutes into the second half when another lovely pass from Russell paved the way for Graham to ghost in and touch down to secure the bonus point.  Russell again converted.

Scotland captain Hogg helped himself to a straightforward touchdown in the 61st minute after great work by Price to lay it on a plate for him.

Two tries from debutant replacement Capuozzo in the closing 14 minutes made the scoreline more respectable for Italy but the Scots had already done the damage as they set themselves up nicely for their campaign-concluding trip to Ireland next weekend.

France maintain Grand Slam hopes after win over Wales

France kept their Grand Slam dreams alive but it proved to be a huge struggle as they narrowly overcame Wales 13-9 at the Principality Stadium on Friday.

Les Bleus now go into their final game against England with a huge chance of claiming their first Six Nations title and Grand Slam since 2010.

Fabien Galthie’s men were given a massive fright, however, as the Welsh produced a resilient display and almost snatched the win.

The hosts simply lacked the power and quality to breach France’s impressive defence, with the visitors making several key turnovers.

In the end, Anthony Jelonch’s try and eight points from the boot of Melvyn Jaminet sealed the win.

Dan Biggar kept Wales in contention with three penalties but it wasn’t enough and Wayne Pivac’s charges fell to their third defeat of the competition.

Wales boss Pivac made four changes from the side beaten by England last time out, with fit-again Josh Navidi, fellow flanker Seb Davies, prop Gareth Thomas and centre Jonathan Davies called up.

Nick Tompkins missed out due to concussion, and there was no place in the matchday 23 for back-row prospect Taine Basham.  France, meanwhile, showed a solitary switch as wing Gabin Villiere replaced Damian Penaud, who was sidelined after testing positive for Covid-19.

France were quickest out of the traps, with skipper Antoine Dupont immediately testing Wales’ defence before Jaminet kicked a third-minute penalty after Navidi drifted offside.

Wales were level two minutes later, though, as a 40-metre Biggar penalty punished French obstruction.

But France were quickly back in charge when Jelonch rounded off a flowing move to touch down after Les Bleus initially looked like they had blown the chance when Villiere ignored an unmarked Dupont alongside him.

Jaminet converted and Wales also lost scrum-half Tomos Williams, who was removed from the field by medical staff after suffering a head injury.

A second Biggar penalty narrowed the gap, then Wales saw prop Gareth Thomas go off for a head injury assessment, with Wyn Jones joining the action.

Given the level of disruption, Wales regrouped strongly, threatening through number eight Taulupe Faletau and wing Alex Cuthbert to give France plenty to think about.

Thomas rejoined the action and Wales continued pressing, being handed a strong attacking platform after Biggar launched a 60-metre touch-finder.

Wales were on top as the interval approached, and Biggar completed his penalty hat-trick, making it 10-9 at half-time and setting up an engrossing second period.

Jaminet opened the second-half scoring when he landed a short-range penalty, but Wales then drove a close-range line-out after a brilliant Biggar kick, only for hooker Ryan Elias to be held up over the line.

France were unquestionably flustered, and Wales continued to hassle them, moving into the final quarter on top in terms of territory.

At times, it was backs to the wall for Les Bleus, yet the defensive structure given to them by their former Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards survived considerable scrutiny.

Pivac and his France counterpart Galthie rang the changes, but it was the home side who maintained momentum, keeping their opponents under pressure as the clock ticked down.

Wales, despite unremitting efforts, could not find a way through, and French relief was palpable as they kicked the ball out of play to set up next week’s enticing Paris spectacle.

Ireland ease to victory over 13-man Italy

Ireland sealed their second victory of this year’s Six Nations with a 57-6 triumph over Italy, but the game was ruined when the visitors were reduced to 13-men following Hame Faiva’s red card.

After an early injury to Gianmarco Lucchesi, Faiva was brought onto the field, but he was then sent off for a dangerous tackle 10 minutes later.

With no other hooker in the squad, it meant the teams had to go to uncontested scrums and for the Azzurri to lose another man.

In what was an already difficult task for the visitors, it effectively ended their chances of upsetting the odds and the Irish duly eased to a comfortable win.

James Lowe and debutant Michael Lowry scored a brace each, while Joey Carbery, Jamison Gibson-Park, Peter O’Mahony, Ryan Baird and Kieran Treadwell also went over.

Penalties from Edoardo Padovani and Paolo Garbisi were scant consolation for the depleted Italians as they slipped to a 100th Six Nations defeat and 35th in succession.

Ireland fly-half Carbery – making a second-successive start in the number 10 jersey – kicked two conversions, with replacement Johnny Sexton adding a further eight points as Andy Farrell’s men bounced back from their 30-24 defeat in France a fortnight ago.

Les Bleus remain in pole position for championship glory as the only team still with Grand Slam aspirations remaining.

But this routine nine-try victory – secured in unusual circumstances – keeps up the pressure on Fabien Galthie’s table-toppers ahead of Ireland’s Twickenham showdown with fellow title hopefuls England in just under two weeks.

An Irish team showing six personnel changes from the pulsating loss in Paris raced ahead inside four minutes.

Hooker Dan Sheehan, on his first Test start, was heavily involved, teeing up Carbery to crawl over the line for only his second international try on the occasion of his 30th cap.

Following the raucous atmosphere of the Stade de France, a sold-out Aviva Stadium was far more subdued.

Padovani’s long-range penalty put Italy on the scoreboard but the match swiftly deviated from the norm when New Zealand-born Faiva ploughed into the head of Sheehan.

That flashpoint came just 10 minutes after the early exit of the stricken Lucchesi.

Ireland quickly took advantage of the numerical advantage, with Gibson-Park diving over.

Fleet-footed Lowry, who excited the crowd all day, was then mobbed by the entire Irish team after crossing on a dream debut, before skipper O’Mahony marked his first Six Nations start since being sent off against Wales last year by diving over in the left corner to secure the bonus point.

Garbisi’s boot doubled Italy’s tally just before the half-time whistle but Kieran Crowley’s men faced a thankless task.

Ireland’s Lowe, back in action after injury saw him miss the opening two rounds, reinforced the difficulty of the Azzurri mission by dotting down unopposed seven minutes into the second period.

Star man Lowry again brought spectators to their feet with his second, before lock Baird celebrated his maiden Six Nations start by charging down Alessandro Fusco’s attempted clearance to gleefully dive over.

Things went from bad to worse for the beleaguered Italians late on.

They finished the encounter with just 12 men as Braam Steyn was sin-binned five minutes from time for deliberately knocking the ball into touch, before Lowry unselfishly passed up the chance of a hat-trick by providing the assist for Lowe’s second.

England and Scotland will provide far sterner tests for Farrell’s men in the coming weeks but a professional job here was completed by replacement Treadwell crashing over in the final moments on his first Test appearance for more than four years.

Marcus Smith kicks England to victory over Wales

Marcus Smith scored six penalties as England maintained their Six Nations title hopes following a 23-19 triumph over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

Wayne Pivac’s men were poor in the first half, conceding a string of penalties and seeing Liam Williams sin-binned for a cynical infringement, and they were punished by Smith.

The fly-half scored four penalties in the opening period before his Harlequins team-mate Alex Dombrandt extended their buffer to 17 points after the break.

To the visitors’ credit, they responded and reduced the arrears to 17-12 thanks to tries from Josh Adams and Nick Tompkins, but two more Smith three-pointers sealed the win for England, despite Kieran Hardy’s late consolation for Wales.

For a second successive match Smith was named man of the match and apart from his 18-point haul, his repeated attempts to ignite a laboured attack caught the eye.

England revealed their reshuffled backline shortly before kick-off and into the void created by Manu Tuilagi’s hamstring strain stepped Elliot Daly, with Henry Slade moving to inside centre.

But for most of the first half, play bypassed the midfield altogether as Smith’s two early penalties set the tone for the scoring until the interval.

Alex Cuthbert quickly emerged as Wales’ most potent threat as he bulldozed a path through several white shirts but his side were being whistled out of contention by referee Mike Adamson, who had earlier chalked off a Tomos Williams tap-and-go try for not being taken from the right mark.

England were almost over in the 20th minute but Charlie Ewels fells just short of the line and Liam Williams was sent to the sin-bin for illegally dislodging the ball from the Bath lock’s hands.

Play slowed to a snail’s pace as the home scrum looked for the breakthrough until Kyle Sinckler, who was winning his 50th cap, was eventually penalised.

Luke Cowan-Dickie’s afternoon was over, damaging his right leg and while England were quickly back on the offensive the match continued its scruffy trajectory with Cuthbert’s barnstorming runs the highlight of a lifeless first half.

A third Smith penalty extended the lead but neither side seemed capable of seizing control as Welsh attempts to get their attack firing merely saw them shuffle sideways across the pitch.

Smith desperately tried to inject some pace into the game and after two half-breaks, his team responded with their most incisive attack that ended with their fly-half finding the posts.

England began the second half with the same intent and they were rewarded with their only try, although they needed a helping hand from a terrible line-out throw by Ryan Elias.

The ball sailed high over Wales’ jumpers and fell into the arms of Dombrandt who accelerated towards the line, rode a tackle from Cuthbert and touched down with an outstretched arm.

Stung into action, the champions responded with a sustained period of attack that ended when Williams brilliantly fed Adams who exposed the stranded Slade to score with a turn of pace.

Wales were now in full flow as they broke from deep inside their own half, their backs switching on the afterburners to devastating effect.

Attention turned to their pack as they battered away at the line, led by Taulupe Faletau, and with a lengthy overlap created Tompkins was able to muscle over with Biggar converting.

England’s position looked increasingly precarious but Ben Youngs came on for a record 115th cap and Smith calmed the tension with successive penalties.

Hardy touched down with seconds to spare to set up a grandstand finish before Wales’ search for the match-winning try ended when they were penalised to effectively extinguish their Six Nations hopes.

France show their class as they hammer Scotland

France took another ominous step towards a Six Nations Grand Slam as they eased past Scotland at Murrayfield, winning 36-17 on Saturday.

Les Bleus scored six tries in all against their hosts as they exacted revenge over Scotland for their win in Paris last year, with this another big statement.

Paul Willemse, Yoram Moefana, Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty and Damian Penaud (two) crossed the line while Melvyn Jaminet added three conversions.

For Scotland their tries came via Rory Darge and Duhan van der Merwe in a disappointing showing as they were outclassed by an impressive France side.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, already without Jamie Ritchie, Rory Sutherland, Matt Fagerson and Jonny Gray through injury, lost another key man on the eve of the game after Hamish Watson tested positive for coronavirus.  His place in the XV was taken by Nick Haining, with Andy Christie added to the replacements.

France, backed by a large travelling support on a pleasant late-February afternoon, had Danty back from injury in the only change to the XV that started the victory over Ireland a fortnight previously.

Les Bleus had a great chance to get on the scoreboard in the sixth minute when they won a penalty right in front of the posts, but Jaminet was surprisingly off target with what looked a routine kick.

The breakthrough came for the visitors just two minutes later, however, when Willemse touched down at the end of a scintillating attack down the left flank led by captain Antoine Dupont.  This time Jaminet made no mistake with his kick.

Finn Russell got Scotland off the mark in the 11th minute with a penalty from right in front of the posts after France were penalised for offside.

But within two minutes the French stretched their advantage with another excellent try when Moefana went over the line after an offload by Cyril Baille, who did superbly to keep the attack alive.  Jaminet’s conversion attempt, from a tight angle wide on the right, drifted the wrong side of the posts.

The Scots enjoyed a good spell of pressure and Ali Price thought he had forced the ball down for a try in the 28th minute but the French were deemed to have kept the ball up after a TMO review.

The hosts were not be denied though.  Within seconds of play resuming just in front of the French try-line, Darge darted over after being played in by Price.  Russell was successful with the conversion.

Just as Scotland looked like they were gaining the initiative, Fickou extended the French lead in the last action of the first half with a stunning individual drive over the line, which was converted by Jaminet.

Things got worse for the home side two minutes into the second half when a kick downfield bounced kindly back into the path of Danty and left him with a free run at the line.  Jaminet once again added the extras.

This seemed to knock the stuffing out of Scotland and France added a fifth try just before the hour when Penaud went over on the right.  Jaminet missed his conversion.

Penaud then scored his second try of the match when he ran on to a cross-field kick from Romain Ntamack in the 74th minute, with the conversion attempt again unsuccessful.

Scotland got a late consolation when Van der Merwe went over the line but it was too little, too late on a day when they were emphatically outclassed.

Marcus Smith stars as England bounce back by beating Italy

England’s newest star Marcus Smith played a key role as they bounced back from a loss to Scotland and defeated Italy 33-0 at the Stadio Olimpico.

Smith scored the opener, set up Elliot Daly’s try with a bullet pass and controlled the game nicely for the opening 50 minutes before the Red Rose lost their intensity and allowed the hosts to gain a foothold.

Jamie George also went over twice, while Kyle Sinckler had the final word as the visitors completed a comfortable win.

Italy battled and, like against France, they defended much better in phase play than under Franco Smith but Kieran Crowley’s men failed to breach the English rearguard.

The story, however, was all about Smith.  Unlike at Murrayfield a week earlier when he was replaced in the 63rd minute to widespread puzzlement, there was no sign of George Ford arriving off the bench until late on and this time Joe Marchant made way.

Ben Youngs eventually joined him at half-back to equal Jason Leonard’s record as England’s most capped player on 114 appearances, with the round-three visit of Wales to Twickenham the likely setting for him to surpass the milestone.

But, having replaced the impressive Harry Randall, Youngs entered a team that were in the midst of losing their way as Italy discovered renewed purpose to spend long spells camped in opposition territory, albeit with little end product.

An England side showing six changes in personnel following their Calcutta Cup setback struggled to reimpose themselves, taking some gloss off the victory.

Italy defended manfully for stretches and it took resilience to hold out against a sustained attack on their line in the first half, but they were also wasteful with the chances they created.

They traditionally provide stiff opposition for an hour until eventually being worn down, but it took just nine minutes for England to get off the mark when Max Malins and Smith combined for the fly-half to score.

Smith was looking to run the ball at every opportunity, but Italy also produced flashes of danger and, had their passing been more accurate, in the 17th minute they would have been over.

Jack Nowell was involved in much of England’s best work but he failed an HIA following a tackle and was replaced by Daly.

Big carries from Nick Isiekwe and Maro Itoje shoved Italy’s pack backwards and, as the pressure built, George burrowed over from close range.

To underline the threat of complacency, wing Federico Mori escaped down the right and might have crossed had Smith not made his covering tackle, but England were soon back on top.

The maul had been an effective weapon against Scotland but an attempt to launch it on the half-hour mark proved unsuccessful before Itoje had a try chalked off for offside.

The first half finished with George using his strength to claim his second try but the damage was done by slick handling and a piercing run from Freddie Steward.

It began to look ominous for Italy as Randall weaved a path into space and their scrum conceded a penalty and, when England opted for the set-piece again, Smith flashed his classy long pass for Daly to score.

Wing Monty Ioane caused havoc in the visiting defence, showing real gas until he was well tackled by Steward who, as the last man, needed to get the hit right.

Ioane’s run launched a period of Azzurri dominance that England just could not shake off and even Smith made a mistake as he knocked on in contact, but a breakaway try from Sinckler eventually completed the Six Nations victory.

France march on as Ireland come up short in Paris

France made it two wins out of two in this year’s Six Nations after they overpowered Ireland in Paris, winning 30-24 at the Stade de France.

Off the back of their opening round victory over Italy, Les Bleus flexed their muscles to beat an Ireland side that had demolished Wales one week ago.

Tries from Antoine Dupont and Cyril Baille and the boot of Melvyn Jaminet saw France to the win, while Mack Hansen, Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park crossed for Ireland.  Joey Carbery added nine points off the tee for the visitors in defeat.

Ireland arrived in the French capital having not been beaten since suffering defeat to France on this weekend last year but without the services of injured skipper Johnny Sexton.

Carbery filled in at fly-half to make his first Six Nations start, while lock James Ryan took on the captaincy.

Both sides began the tournament with bonus-point wins and pre-match talk was dominated by this being a potential early title decider.

While no Six Nations championship is won in round two, the game certainly lived up to the hype, launched by a breathless opening 10 minutes in which France flew out of the blocks.

Roared on by a passionate home crowd, live-wire Dupont dived over following a huge carry from Uini Atonio and fine offload from Romain Ntamack, with a conversion and penalty from Jaminet swiftly stretching the scoreboard to 10-0.

But Fabien Galthie’s hosts had no chance to enjoy their early cushion as Ireland immediately hit back.

Australia-born Hansen claimed his maiden Test try in bizarre fashion, racing forward to unexpectedly pluck Carbery’s restart kick out of the air and power over wide on the left in just the sixth minute.

Carbery – filling the sizeable boots of former Racing 92 player Sexton, who received jeers from the stands when he appeared on the big screen – coolly added a tricky conversion, his first of three.

Ireland went 53 minutes without conceding a penalty in brushing aside defending champions Wales last weekend in Dublin.

Faced with the formidable physicality of the French pack, Farrell’s men were being forced into far more mistakes on this occasion.

And their repeated indiscretions were proving expensive, with a further three Jaminet penalties putting the hosts 19-7 ahead at the break.

Full-back Jaminet landed a monster penalty kick from halfway just after the restart but Ireland were not about to roll over.

They responded with two converted tries in six minutes to reduce their deficit to a single point at 22-21.

Van der Flier broke off from a maul to touch down following an Irish lineout, before Gibson-Park – who was at fault during France’s rapid start – ghosted through the middle to cross under the posts.

Sensing a momentum shift, the home crowd raised the noise levels and their side duly responded.

Prop Baille bulldozed over to claim Les Bleus’ second try of the evening, with Jaminet’s only wayward kick of the game meaning the Irish were only six points behind.

A Carbery penalty then left proceedings finely poised going into the final seven minutes, with the tension on the terraces almost palpable.

But Irish resistance was fatally broken with three minutes to go, with the impressive Jaminet again at the heart of the action.

The Perpignan player was denied a try after replays showed he had not grounded properly under pressure from Dan Sheehan but recovered to slot another penalty.

Cheers of joy – mixed with some relief – greeted the final whistle as France ensured they are the sole team still in Grand Slam contention going into round three.

Wales bounce back with gritty win over Scotland

Wales bounced back from last weekend’s heavy defeat to Ireland after they beat Scotland 20-17 in their Six Nations clash in Cardiff on Saturday.

In a fixture that did not live up to its billing, entertaining moments were lacking as Wales ground out a victory that derails Scotland’s Grand Slam hopes.

Wales’ points came via a try from prop Tomas Francis while fly-half Dan Biggar celebrated his 100th cap with a 15-point haul that included a drop-goal.

For Scotland, Darcy Graham crossed early and the remainder of their points were added by Finn Russell off the tee as their Six Nations hopes were dented.

Scotland do still remain in the title hunt ahead of hosting France in two weeks – when Wales tackle England at Twickenham – yet there will be a huge sense of frustration that Gregor Townsend’s team could not get the job done.

There will be an anxious wait for Wales, though, surrounding flanker Taine Basham, who escaped sanction for a shoulder-led challenge on Scotland’s Sam Skinner, but could yet attract the citing commissioner’s attention.

Wales showed four changes from their Dublin defeat, including a Test debut for Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan and wing Alex Cuthbert making his first Six Nations appearance since 2017.

Scotland had five switches of personnel, with Exeter’s Skinner replacing an injured Jamie Ritchie at blindside flanker, while Townsend also fielded a new front-row and lock Grant Gilchrist won his 50th cap.

The visitors made a bright start, with number eight Matt Fagerson and hooker Stuart McInally prominent, but Wales counter-attacked from their own 22 through a thrilling Owen Watkin break, then Biggar kicked a fifth-minute penalty from 40 metres.

Biggar doubled Wales’ advantage three minutes later, booting a second penalty following more impressive Wales phase-play, and Scotland were rocked back on their heels.

But they responded impressively, helped by a strong Duhan van der Merwe run, then Russell floated a pinpoint long pass to Graham, who finished in the corner for an outstanding try.

Russell missed the conversion before landing a short-range penalty, and it looked as if Scotland had weathered an early storm as they moved 8-6 ahead.

Another successful Russell penalty gave Wales further food for thought as rain fell steadily, only for Biggar to complete his penalty hat-trick and put his team back to two points adrift.

Russell followed suit through his own penalty treble, yet Scotland then experienced a testing few minutes as number eight Fagerson went off injured then Wales hit them with a try.

Biggar opted to kick a penalty to the corner rather than for goal and Wales drove the resulting lineout to impressive effect, allowing Francis a simple touchdown that levelled things up at 14-14.

Townsend sent on a trio of front-row replacements just five minutes into the second period, and Russell’s fourth penalty put Scotland back in front with 30 minutes left.

Biggar and impressive full-back Liam Williams gave Wales injury scares, but they both continued after treatment and Cuthbert went close to scoring a try before another Biggar penalty levelled the game again.

Scotland suffered a second injury blow midway through the half when substitute prop Rory Sutherland departed, then Russell was sin-binned after Cuthbert was inches away from a corner touchdown.

Before the Scots could regroup, Biggar rewarded a spell of pressure with a drop-goal, before he was joined on the pitch by substitute Jonathan Davies, who also clocked up a century of Wales and Lions Tests.

Scotland threw everything at Wales during the closing minutes, but the hosts were not to be denied.

Gabin Villiere hat-trick helps France to victory over Italy

Championship favourites France got their Six Nations campaign off to a winning start as they sealed a 37-10 victory over a stubborn Italy side.

It was not the most auspicious of performances from Les Bleus, especially in the opening half-hour, but they eventually pulled away.

The Azzurri gave it a real go and stunned the Stade de France early on when 19-year-old Tommaso Menoncello touched down, but the hosts hit back and eventually emerged with a comfortable win.

Anthony Jelonch benefited from an Italian mistake to move the French in front before Gabin Villiere gave Fabien Galthie’s men an 18-10 advantage at the break.

In difficult conditions, mistakes continued to pervade their play in the second period but brilliantly worked tries for Villiere, who completed his hat-trick, and Damian Penaud secured the triumph.

France got on the board first through Melvyn Jaminet’s early penalty, but Italy were making the most of some ill-discipline from the hosts.

Their reward came in the 17th minute when Paolo Garbisi kicked towards the corner and debutant Menoncello grabbed the ball to cross.

That quietened the Paris crowd momentarily but France hit back eight minutes later as Jelonch intercepted a pass from Gloucester scrum-half Stephen Varney and raced 20 metres for the try.

After the two sides traded penalties and the lead, France struck again on the brink of half-time – swift passing through the middle left Jaminet and Villiere two on one, and Jaminet set up his team-mate before kicking the conversion to give the hosts an 18-10 lead at the break.

With breathing space, France looked slightly more assured when the teams re-emerged.

Jonathan Danty was stopped just short of the line two minutes into the second half, but it was only a temporary reprieve for Italy.

Five minutes later Gregory Alldritt fed Villiere who raced into the corner to give the hosts a 23-10 lead.

The bonus-point was confirmed as the game moved into the final 10 minutes, with Penaud exchanging passes with Antoine Dupont before touching down, with Jaminet adding the extras.

And there was just time for Villiere to complete his treble at the death, taking a short pass from Yoram Moefana to slide in and complete France’s first Six Nations hat-trick since Vincent Clerc in 2008.

Scotland edge past England in Murrayfield thriller

Scotland produced a superb defensive display to start their Six Nations campaign in outstanding fashion following a narrow 20-17 victory over England.

Gregor Townsend’s men were on the back foot for much of the first half but still went into the break 10-6 ahead thanks to Ben White’s try and Finn Russell’s penalty.

Marcus Smith kicked a pair of three-pointers for the visitors and then added another early in the second period to reduce the arrears to 10-9.

Smith then scored a try to take the Red Rose in front before he kicked a fourth penalty to put the visitors in control.

That was until a moment of madness from Luke Cowan-Dickie, who intentionally knocked the ball into touch, which led to a penalty try and yellow card.

With their opponents down to 14 men, the home side took advantage and Russell’s three-pointer proved to be decisive as they retained the Calcutta Cup.

There was a familiar look to the Scotland side, with 13 of the starting XV from the 2021 Six Nations victory in France last March selected by Gregor Townsend to face the Auld Enemy.

England, without key trio Owen Farrell, Courtney Lawes and Manu Tuilagi through injury, sent out a relatively inexperienced side, captained for the first time by 23-year-old Sale back-rower Tom Curry.

It had been a wet and blustery day in Edinburgh, but conditions subsided slightly by the time kick-off arrived.

England enjoyed a strong start, forcing Scotland on to the back foot for much of the opening 10 minutes, but they were unable to get any points on the board to show for it.

The Scots suffered what appeared to be a blow in the 12th minute when Ali Price had to go off for a head injury assessment, paving the way for London Irish scrum-half Ben White to enter the fray for his debut.

England eventually got the breakthrough their early dominance deserved in the 17th minute when Smith kicked a penalty from a central position after Jonny Gray was penalised for pulling in.

However, Scotland, who had barely been in the game as an attacking force, responded just a minute later by taking a quick lineout on the right, allowing Darcy Graham to jink his way forward before laying it on a plate for debutant White to dart clear and edge the hosts in front.  Russell made no mistake with the conversion.

After a remarkable cameo, the try-scorer left the field in the 24th minute to make way for the return of Price to the action following his Head Injury Assessment.

Despite holding the initiative on the scoreboard, Scotland continued to spend much of the first half absorbing pressure and making tackles.

On the half hour, the hosts were fortunate to see a cross-field pass from Smith sail just over the head of Slade, who would have had a free run to the line wide on the right.  Two minutes later, the Scots pulled off some defiant defensive work to hold England up over the line.

Smith reduced the deficit to one point with a penalty in the 34th minute after Scotland’s Jamie Ritchie was penalised for using his hands in a ruck.

But in the last action of the half, Russell kicked another penalty to ensure the Scots, who had been outplayed in all departments, somehow went in at the interval with a four-point advantage.

England made a strong start to the second period and got within a point again when Smith kicked another penalty in the 48th minute.

Smith continued his one-man mission to turn the game in England’s favour when he ran on to an offload from Ben Youngs and touched down to put his side in front in the 53rd minute.  The Harlequins fly-half blotted his copybook slightly when he missed the conversion.

In the 63rd minute, Smith kicked his fourth penalty of the match to put England seven points in front and seemingly on course for victory.

But, incredibly, the hosts drew level with a 64th-minute penalty try after Cowan-Dickie was deemed to have knocked on Russell’s crossfield pass as he batted the ball out of play volleyball style.

The Englishman was duly sin-binned and Scotland capitalised on their extra-man advantage as Russell won the game with a 72nd-minute penalty.

Four-try Ireland blow Wales away in Dublin

Ireland got their Six Nations campaign off to an outstanding start as they thrashed a disappointing Wales 29-7 in Dublin on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair with Ireland dominating for long periods and they eventually outscored their opponents by four tries to none with Andrew Conway leading the way with two five-pointers.  Their other points came through tries from Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose while captain Johnny Sexton succeeded with three conversions and a penalty.

For Wales, Taine Basham scored a try and Callum Sheedy added a conversion.

Having gone through a transitional phase under head coach Andy Farrell, 2018 Grand Slam champions Ireland are beginning to look the real deal again after an outstanding autumn, which included glory against New Zealand.

Supporters returned for a Six Nations fixture for the first time in 699 days following the easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Ahead of kick-off, the 51,700 in attendance fell silent in memory of former Ireland and Lions captain Tom Kiernan, who died on Thursday at the age of 83.

Diminished Wales had a decent share of the crowd but had travelled across the Irish Sea with a lengthy absentee list, which included the most-recent Lions skipper Alun Wyn Jones.

The loss of almost 700 caps of experience was apparent from the outset.

Debutant Mack Hansen – the sole newcomer in a fairly-settled Ireland starting XV – made an instant impact to instigate the third-minute opener.

After accelerating clear to start the initial move, the United Rugby Championship’s leading try scorer teed up Connacht team-mate Aki to dive over unchallenged in the left corner.

Wayne Pivac’s visitors upset the odds to win a 28th championship in 2021 but struggled to gain a foothold in the game.

Only some wayward kicking from fly-half Sexton, who converted Aki’s score before missing a couple of penalties in the testing conditions, prevented them falling further behind against commanding opposition.

Wales – captained by Dan Biggar for the first time – were 10-0 behind by the time they finally gained some meaningful territory after Ireland skipper Sexton made it third time lucky.

Yet they were unable to force a penalty during an opening period of relentlessly physical rugby and would have been grateful to still be in touching distance at the break.

The one-way traffic continued after the restart as Wales’ task rapidly became more difficult.

Quick ball deep inside the visitors’ 22 culminated in Sexton spraying a pass out to winger Conway, who held off a last-ditch tackle from stand-in Wales centre Josh Adams to scramble the ball over the line.

Sexton, who nailed the tricky conversion from the right flank, received on-field treatment minutes later following a hefty collision, which resulted in a yellow card for Adams.

Ireland swiftly made the most of their numerical advantage as Conway strolled in for his second to put the result beyond doubt, with Sexton maintaining his perfect conversion record.

Wales were in damage limitation mode but powerless to resist a home side in full flow.

Ringrose stretched the lead in the 60th minute with arguably the try of the game, weaving beyond a series of red jerseys to gleefully dot down.

Wales eased their embarrassment slightly with around five minutes to go as Dragons flanker Basham pounced on a loose ball to charge under the posts, with Callum Sheedy adding the simple conversion.

But the day undoubtedly belonged to Ireland as their emphatic victory avenged defeat in Cardiff in last year’s opener.

The impressive progress of Farrell’s men will be severely tested during next weekend’s trip to pre-tournament favourites France, while the Welsh will look for a response at home to Scotland.

Ireland rack up record victory over Argentina

Seven tries from Ireland’s forward pack helped them to an impressive 53-7 win over Argentina in their Autumn Nations Series clash in Dublin.

Back-row Josh van der Flier scored twice as the Irish wrapped up a fruitful end-of-year campaign in style at the Aviva Stadium.

Fellow forwards Andrew Porter, Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, Cian Healy and Tadhg Beirne also claimed tries to help Andy Farrell’s men stretch their unbeaten run to eight games.

Meanwhile, the exceptional Joey Carbery ― filling in for injured skipper Johnny Sexton ― backed up his match-winning cameo in last weekend’s stunning success over New Zealand by kicking 18 points.

Los Pumas have history of upsetting Ireland following three shock wins at World Cups but faded fast from a promising start as their record of never having won at the Aviva Stadium continued.

Mateo Carreras’ early try was all Mario Ledesma’s men had to show from a difficult afternoon, while lock Tomas Lavanini was dismissed 20 minutes from time for a dangerous challenge on Irish replacement Ryan Baird.

The visitors’ hopes of avoiding a 14th defeat of a difficult calendar year were not helped by a bizarre spell of first-half profligacy during which Emiliano Boffelli somehow squandered two simple penalties and Carreras was denied a second score by an unexpected fumble.

England seal epic victory over the Springboks

England’s resurgence under Eddie Jones continued after they edged out South Africa 27-26 in a tightly contested Autumn Nations Series Test at Twickenham on Saturday.

Marcus Smith knocked over the crucial points with 90 seconds remaining to prevent the Springboks from completing a comeback win on an afternoon of high drama.

Jones’ charges overcame the early loss of centre Manu Tuilagi, who was injured while claiming the first try, to build a 17-6 lead with Freddie Steward also going over.

South Africa showed resilience in the face of the storm, doggedly defending their line and relying on Handre Pollard’s boot knowing they had won their last three games despite trailing at half-time.

At times England looked willing victims as they gave away penalty after penalty and with their lead eroded by Pollard, they seemed increasingly powerless to stop the momentum shift.

For much of the second half they were entrenched inside their 22, fighting hard for every yard and Pollard eventually kicked the Springboks ahead in the 64th minute.

Defences had reigned but in the space of four minutes they were momentarily shredded as Raffi Quirke and Makazole Mapimpi exchanged slick tries to usher in a nerve shredding final 10 minutes.

Francois Steyn booted a penalty but South Africa saw captain Siya Kolisi sent to the sin-bin for the last five minutes and England pounced through 22-year-old fly-half Smith when the Springboks were penalised for going off their feet.

For all the pre-match focus on the threat coming from the world champions’ set-piece they came off worse at two scrums and then a line-out, providing an early platform for England to attack.

Smith and Henry Slade, who pushed Steward hard for the man of the match award, created the space for Tuilagi to charge into the corner but it was a bitter-sweet moment as the Sale centre was injured and he hobbled off, his afternoon over.

Jonny May invited pressure on to his team by making two glaring mistakes close to his line, but once the danger has been dealt with England used a scrum to launch a fresh attack with Slade floating the ball long to Max Malins.

Using his speed, Malins almost reached the line and once May had carried, Ben Youngs sent Steward over from short range with two tacklers unable to stop his powerful surge.

Three penalties from Pollard kept South Africa in the hunt and they were encouraged by England’s lapses in discipline as the lead deteriorated to just 17-12 as the half-hour mark passed.

But only the hosts posed a threat with the ball in hand as they threatened in the 22 time and again with Slade and Malins influential.

Repeated interventions from referee Andrew Brace sent them scuttling backwards, however, and when Smith shanked a drop-goal another attack had amounted to nothing.

Four minutes into the second half the Bomb Squad came on and for the first time South Africa ignited as Kolisi marauded down the touchline.

The tables were being turned as Pollard missed the posts twice and England conceded scrum penalties, but the Springboks now had the wind between their sails.

Pollard successfully readjusted his sights to slash the deficit to two points and only desperate defending over the line prevented South Africa’s increasingly influential maul from breaching the whitewash.

The Springboks took the lead for the first time through Pollard but England’s midfield conjured a moment of magic when Slade put Joe Marchant through a gap and Quirke was on hand to take the scoring pass.

Will Stuart was sin-binned for going in at the side and South Africa constructed an impressive try finished by Mapimpi.

Steyn was on target to put the tourists back in front but with Kolisi off, England rallied heroically with Smith landing the killer blow.

France end 14-game losing run against All Blacks in style

New Zealand suffered back-to-back defeats in the Autumn Nations Series as they were beaten 40-25 by a superb France side in Paris on Saturday.

The All Blacks, who were seeking an immediate response to last week’s 29-20 defeat to Ireland, trailed 24-6 at half-time as a clinical French side took complete control at the Stade de France.

However, three tries in 12 minutes after the interval – from Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane and Ardie Savea – saw New Zealand close to within two points of their hosts at 27-25, as well as becoming the first team in Test match history to score 100 tries in a single season.

At that point French hopes of a first win over the three-time Rugby World Cup winners since 2009 looked to be fading fast, but an incident in the 63rd minute saw the pendulum swing back their way.

Savea was sin-binned to reduce New Zealand to 14 men and France took full advantage with Melvyn Jaminet slotting over the resulting penalty before Damian Penaud broke away for an interception try.

At 37-25 down, there was no way back for New Zealand and France, who had seen Peato Mauvaka score twice either side of Romain Ntamack’s try in a dominant first-half display, wrapped up a memorable win with Jaminet’s late penalty.

Wales leave it late to edge the Wallabies

Rhys Priestland slotted a penalty after the siren had sounded as Wales snatched a dramatic 29-28 victory over Australia in a thrilling Test in Cardiff on Saturday.

Substitute Priestland’s penalty with the final kick of a frantic game thwarted the Wallabies and sent a 68,000 Principality Stadium crowd wild.

Australia number eight Rob Valetini was sent off after just 15 minutes for a dangerous tackle on Wales lock Adam Beard.

Beard played no further part in the game as a result, but Wales were pushed to the wire and outscored three-two on tries by a resilient Wallabies outfit.

Hooker Ryan Elias and centre Nick Tompkins scored tries for Wales, yet it was fly-half Dan Biggar’s goalkicking that proved the difference, as he amassed 16 points through four penalties and two conversions, until Priestland struck.

Australia, desperate for a win following losses to Scotland and England, made Wales fight every inch of the way despite the numerical disadvantage, as wings Andrew Kellaway and Filipo Daugunu touched down, with scrum-half Nic White also scoring.

James O’Connor booted two penalties and two conversions, yet his conversion attempt of Daugunu’s late score hit the post, and Wales could breathe a huge sigh of relief, despite Kurtley Beale’s 78th-minute penalty.

Wales centre Uilisi Halaholo featured for a first start of the autumn campaign, while wing Josh Adams, prop Tomas Francis and number eight Aaron Wainwright all recovered from injuries.

But the Wallabies were without 118 times-capped skipper Michael Hooper because of a foot injury, so prop James Slipper led the side.

Australia made a dream start, going ahead after just three minutes as they scored a try from their first attack.

Powerful prop Taniela Tupou charged into space and put Wales on the back foot, before centre Hunter Paisami’s cleverly-placed kick allowed wing Kellaway a simple finish, and O’Connor converted.

Biggar opened Wales’ account through a fifth-minute penalty, yet Tupou continued to make his presence felt by having an instant dominant impact in the scrums.

The Wallabies then suffered a huge blow when Valetini was sent off.

His head-on-head high challenge floored Beard, who went off, and referee Mike Adamson had no option but to brandish a red card.

Ben Carter went on for Beard, and Australia were left to play more than a hour with 14 men, although the Wallabies led 10-6 after Biggar and O’Connor exchanged penalties.

It was the sixth time in 12 Tests this year that Wales had seen a player sent off against them.

Australia’s woes continued when Beale received a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, giving Wales a temporary two-man advantage.

And they immediately punished Australia when scrum-half Tomos Williams broke from a lineout and sent Elias over for a try that Biggar converted.

O’Connor put Australia level through his second penalty, but Wales held the upper hand as half-time approached and Biggar completed a penalty hat-trick that made it 16-13 at the break.

Wales extended their lead eight minutes into the second half as Tompkins interrupted an Australian move when the ball bounced off him, and he gathered possession to sprint away unopposed.

Biggar kicked the conversion, yet Wales were then forced into a change when wing Louis Rees-Zammit limped off and was replaced by Johnny McNicholl.

Australia continued to push hard in the game, but Wales appeared to hold all the aces midway through the third quarter, despite seeing substitute Gareth Thomas sin-binned for a reckless challenge.

It was poor discipline by the Ospreys forward, and offered Australia a glimmer of hope at a time in the game when Wales should have been looking to press the accelerator.

And the Wallabies struck on the hour-mark when White finished off a sweeping move, and O’Connor’s conversion cut the deficit to just three points.

Biggar, though, restored a degree of order by booting a 64th-minute penalty, and Wales led 26-20 before late drama unfolded, Australia briefly led, then Priestland grabbed the glory.

Try record for Stuart Hogg as Scotland hold off Japan

Stuart Hogg became Scotland’s record try scorer as he helped lead his side to a 29-20 win over Japan in their Autumn Nations Series clash at Murrayfield.

The full-back had moved level with Ian Smith and Tony Stanger on 24 tries for Scotland when he scored a brace against South Africa last weekend, and his first-half crossing against the Brave Blossoms took him out on his own on a day when he also became the Scots’ fourth most capped player.

The win means Gregor Townsend’s outfit have won three out of four Tests in their Autumn Nations Series and ended a largely progressive 2021 on a high note.

The Scots made a positive start when Duhan van der Merwe collected the ball following a rolling maul and pushed his way over in the left corner, with Finn Russell’s conversion attempt coming back off the post.

Japan notched their first points of the match in the 11th minute as Rikiya Matsuda kicked a close-range penalty after Scotland were penalised for using hands illegally in a ruck.

The hosts gave away too many penalties throughout, and they had a let-off in the 15th minute when Matsuda sent his kick agonisingly wide of the posts from a tight angle after Chris Harris did not roll away after a tackle.

The Scots were not so fortunate in the 26th minute when they once again failed to roll away, and Matsuda made no mistake in launching his penalty between the sticks from a central position, edging the Brave Blossoms in front.

A minute later, however, Hogg took a pass from Russell and darted over the line, punching the air in delight before touching down for his record-breaking try.  Russell did the honours with the conversion.

In the last action of the first half, the Scots were on the scoreboard again when Darcy Graham received a pass from Russell wide on the right and stepped inside two Japanese defenders before dotting down over the line.  Russell duly converted to give the hosts a commanding 19-6 lead at the break.

The second half got off to a bad start for Scotland as Jamie Bhatti, making his first start in more than two years, was sent to the sin-bin in the 42nd minute for not rolling away.  Matsuda successfully kicked his penalty from in front of the posts.

Japan reduced their arrears further in the 46th minute when Matsuda booted his fourth penalty of the afternoon after Scotland were called for offside.

Scotland reasserted themselves in the 54th minute when Stuart McInally, who had just entered the pitch as a replacement for George Turner, forced his way over from a lineout on the left.  Russell kicked the conversion.

Japan were not finished, however, and Tevita Tatafu brought them back into contention with their first try of the match in the 64th minute after the Scots failed to deal with a lineout.  Matsuda, from a great position just to the right of the sticks, sliced his conversion attempt wide.

Matsuda was given another penalty opportunity from an almost identical position eight minutes later and this time he made no mistake, bringing Japan within a converted try of victory.

Any Scottish nerves were eased in the 79th minute, however, when Russell despatched a penalty to effectively seal victory against a Japan side who had ended their World Cup dream a little over two years previously.

Italy scrape past spirited Uruguay

Italy got the job done but were made to work very hard for their 17-10 victory over Uruguay in their Autumn Nations Series Test in Parma on Saturday.

In a scrappy and error-ridden encounter, the home side held a slight edge throughout and in the end they outscored Uruguay by two tries to one with Pierre Bruno and Hame Faiva dotting down and their other points came courtesy of two conversions and a penalty from Paolo Garbisi.

For Uruguay, Santiago Civetta scored a try which Agustin Ormaechea converted and Federico Favaro succeeded with a penalty.

The opening exchanges were disjointed with both sides committing numerous handling errors which meant there was a stop-start nature to the game.

The Azzurri soon gained the upper hand and in the 13th minute they launched an attack deep inside Los Teros’ 22 and Garbisi did well to find Bruno with a long pass before he stepped past a defender on his way over the whitewash.

Uruguay struck back courtesy of a penalty from Favaro in the 20th minute but the rest of the half was a dour affair characterised by a plethora of unforced errors from the teams.

Italy had a bulk of the possession and territory during that period but despite upping the ante on attack, they could not breach the South Americans’ defence.

In the 35th minute, the visitors were reduced to 14 men when Tomas Inciarte was sent to the sin bin for entering a ruck illegally close to his try-line.

Despite having a numerical advantage, the Azzurri would not cross Uruguay’s try-line again before half-time but Garbisi did add another penalty which gave his side a 10-3 lead at the interval.

There was more of the same in the second half with both teams making little headway on attack and in the 46th minute Italy had a try disallowed when Luca Bigi was blown up for crawling over the try-line off the back of a maul.

Shortly afterwards, Bigi was replaced by Test debutant Faiva, who was immediately in the thick of the action when he barged over for a try after a lineout drive close to Los Teros’ try-line.  It did not take long for Uruguay to respond as five minutes later Ormaechea also went over from close quarters.

The final quarter was an arm wrestle with Uruguay spending long periods in Italy’s 22 but although the hosts finished the match with 14 players – after Danilo Fischetti was yellow carded in the closing stages for foul play – they held on for the win and in doing so ended a 16-Test losing streak.

Nervy Wales edge past 14-man Fiji

Fiji will be kicking themselves after they were potentially denied a famous victory over Wales following a needless red card for Eroni Sau.

The Pacific Islanders started the match superbly and took a 13-7 lead through Waisea Nayacalevu’s try and two Ben Volavola penalties ― Ryan Elias responding for the hosts.

However, Sau was sent off for a cheap shot on Johnny Williams and that ultimately proved costly in the end.

Wayne Pivac’s men struggled throughout but the pressure eventually told, despite a valiant effort from the visitors as Kieran Hardy, Alex Cuthbert, Elias and Louis Rees-Zammit secured a 38-23 victory.

Wales prop WillGriff John was handed a first Test start, with the Scarlets forward replacing Tomas Francis, who suffered concussion during training on Friday.

Wasps flanker Thomas Young made his first Wales appearance for more than two years, and wing Cuthbert returned following a four-year international absence, but centre Josh Adams was a late withdrawal and Saracens’ Nick Tompkins started.

Fiji stunned Wales with a try after just four minutes as they struck from their first attack.

The ball was moved at a rapid rate of knots, number eight Viliame Mata delivered a superb pass to skipper Nayacalevu and the centre sprinted over, with Volavola converting.

Wales’ troubles did not end there either, as John was forced off injured ― he was replaced by Dillon Lewis ― and Volavola kicked a penalty to move Fiji 10-0 ahead.

But the home side then opened their account through an 11th-minute touchdown for Elias as Fiji’s forwards were driven backwards from a lineout before Biggar’s conversion made it 10-7.

John failed a head injury assessment, meaning Lewis became a permanent replacement, but Fiji soon encountered major problems as Sau was sent off by referee Nic Berry following a swinging arm hit to Wales centre Johnny Williams’ head.

Berry had a lengthy discussion with television match official Stuart Terheege, having initially looked at issuing a yellow card, but a red was unquestionably the correct decision.

Wales exerted relentless pressure as the interval approached and Fiji were reduced to 13 players when flanker Albert Tuisue was sin-binned for a technical infringement.

And the home side pounced from close range, with Hardy darting over for a try that Biggar converted.

Wales thought they had added a third try on the stroke of half-time after Rees-Zammit caught Biggar’s kick and sprinted clear, but the ball had drifted over the touchline during build-up play and the score was disallowed, meaning Wales had a 14-13 lead at the break.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, though, Fiji regained the lead three minutes into the second period when Volavola kicked a 45-metre penalty.

Wales coach Wayne Pivac began to make changes, sending on Ospreys prop Gareth Thomas and Cardiff scrum-half Tomos Williams, before Volavola should have extended Fiji’s lead, but he drifted a penalty attempt wide.

But the visitors did not have to wait much longer for a second try as a brilliant move from deep inside their own half was finished by Nayacalevu and Volavola’s successful touchline conversion made it 23-14.

Wales, though, staged a grandstand finish with tries for Elias, Cuthbert, Rees-Zammit and Williams during a devastating 17-minute spell, and Fiji’s outstanding effort ultimately proved fruitless during an outstanding contest.