Italy 9 England 45

England enjoyed an ultimately fruitful but unsatisfying day in the Roman sun to bring the 2002 Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship to an end, scoring six tries in a 45-9 win over Italy at the Stadio Flaminio.

Harlequins centre Will Greenwood scored one in each half for England, with Ben Cohen, Jason Robinson, Austin Healey and Lawrence Dallaglio also touching down on an afternoon which produced a muted sense of occasion, with Championship ambitions already destroyed by France in Paris 24 hours earlier.

England stuttered as they aimed to find their step, an early surge petering out early in the second half, as they let a largely one-dimensional and indisciplined Italian side back into the game.

Solace can be taken from the fact that the English only allowed the Azzurri to score two penalties during a match which saw the unfamiliar sight of regular captain Martin Johnson on the bench.

What England will have learned from the game could likely be written on the back of a postage stamp, their power and organisation too much for an Italian team devoid of imagination and execution, although the try-scoring return of Lawrence Dallaglio from the bench served as a long-awaited tonic for a match which had an air of inevitability around it before a ball had even been kicked.

The first half got under way with Jonny Wilkinson and Diego Dominguez exchanging penalty kicks, but with England seemingly intent on using their undoubted firepower in the backs, it was only eight minutes in before the first try was scored.

It came from some appalling Italian defensive play, Will Greenwood running through the huge gap created by Denis Dallan's poor positional judgement after good work from Mike Tindall, Wilkinson converting from under the posts after Greenwood's saunter to the line.  Lewis Moody then went close from an Italian lineout in the corner, just knocking on as he dived for the whitewash from the back of the lineout.

A large cheer from the hordes of England fans came on 19 minutes when a nasal injury to Danny Grewcock meant a three-minute bloodbin cameo for Martin Johnson, the captain who had been left out of the starting XV going into the game.

Johnson's initial contribution consisted of giving away a penalty immediately for going through the middle of a ruck and a free-kick for infringing at the lineout, but normality was soon restored on 24 minutes when Ben Cohen scored England's second try.  The Northampton wing went over after Neil Back drove down the middle of the field, the ball then worked right for Cohen to break the tackles of Dallan and Dominguez on his way to the line for a powerful run-in.  Wilkinson converted that score, and as England continued to dominate a game dogged by penalties and free-kicks, it was fullback Jason Robinson who racked up the final try of the half, after an accomplished performance which saw him frequently at acting scrum-half, as well as slotting the odd tactical kick into the corners.

His try was a typically individual finish, coming from a five-metre scrum under the posts, scrum-half Kyran Bracken working the ball right to Robinson on a diagonal at first receiver, the Sale Sharks speedster bursting through the tackle of Giovanni Raineri, Wilkinson again adding the extras from right of the posts for a 24-3 half-time advantage.  Italy finally showed some willingness to run with the ball out wide as the second half got underway, Dallan and Mazzucato combining down the right to burst holes in an English defence which was forced to concede a penalty on their own 22, Dominguez slotting the easy penalty to get the Roman crowd vocal again.

Another Italian penalty for Dominguez followed as Alessandro Troncon marshalled the forward pack in the England 22, steering them on short bursts at the England fringes, and forcing England to again give away penalties.

England summoned on 252 caps worth of talent from the bench with 24 minutes left on the clock, Lawrence Dallaglio, Martin Johnson, Matt Dawson and Jason Leonard entering the fray to massive applause from the Stadio Flaminio terraces.

Three of those former captains had an instant impact on the game, a break from Johnson down the centre freeing Wilkinson from the 22, the ensuing ruck seeing Dawson spin the ball left to Dallaglio, the returning Wasps No.8 having a completely unopposed run-in to the line from five metres, a deserved grin on his face as he touched the ball down after an injury-blighted last year.

With Wilkinson taking a knock in the tackle Dawson added the conversion from just left of the posts, the Northampton scrum-half also instrumental in the next try nine minutes later.  From a penalty ten metres away from the Italian line, he tapped, paused for a second and then hit a deft lob over the flat Italian backline, Greenwood racing onto the ball at pace for a marvellous rehearsed set-piece score, converted by Wilkinson.

With the clock running down, there was still time for one more England try, replacement Austin Healey scampering over in the right corner in his silver boots after Greenwood drew replacement fullback Ramiro Pez and committed him before passing, Wilkinson converting for a 13-point personal haul.

The final whistle went immediately after, bringing down the curtain on another disappointing Six Nations season for the English, one which promised so much, but failed to deliver after their miserable afternoon in Paris five weeks ago.

For Italy, credibility in part from their second half showing, but with coach Brad Johnstone widely expected to be relieved of his duties, and assistant John Kirwan set to take over, plenty of thinking to do for the Azzurri ahead of next season.

Man of the match:  Jason Robinson
Not too many stand-out candidates from a team performance which at times lacked the killer instinct, but Robinson's solid base at the back and outstanding support play in attack added considerable edge to what could have been a flat tempo.  Jonny Wilkinson controlled the backline well, and both Lewis Moody and Will Greenwood fared well in the loose.  Not too many candidates for the Italians, whose only real spearhead came from Mazzucato's occasional breaks down the wing.

Moment of the match:  England quadruple substitution
16 minutes into the second half, you're 24-9 up in a meaningless game, what do you do?  Bring on 252 caps worth of experience of course.  The fact that England can boast replacements of the calibre of Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson and Jason Leonard, shows how far they have came recently.  The sight of all four running onto the field in clean shirts must have had the Italian pack cursing the rugby Gods.

Villain of the match:  Denis Dallan
No real villains in a relatively well-played-out game, the odd spat marring play, but no cards shown by referee Mark Lawrence.  Italian left wing Dallan gets our vote for some early poor defending, although some of his backline teammates also contributed to the defensive holes which England ran through on occasion.

(Half-time:  Italy 3 England 24)

Sin-bin:  None
Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Joel Dumé (France) and David McHugh (Ireland)

The teams:

Italy:  1 Giampiero De Carli, 2 Alessandro Moscardi (c), 3 Federico Pucciariello, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Matthew Phillips, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 10 Diego Dominguez, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Giovanni Raineri, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Matteo Mazzantini, Andrea Moretti, Cristian Zanoletti, Andrea De Rossi, Santiago Dellape, Carlos Nieto, Ramiro Pez

England:  1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Julian White, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Neil Back (c), 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Richard Hill, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson, Austin Healey, Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard, Dorian West, Charlie Hodgson

Referee:  Lawrence m.

Points Scorers

Italy
Pen K.:  Dominguez D. 3

England
Tries:  Dallaglio L.B.N. 1, Greenwood W.J.H. 2, Healey A.S. 1, Robinson J.T. 1, Cohen B.C. 1
Conv:  Dawson M.J.S. 1, Wilkinson J.P. 5
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

Wales 22 Scotland 27

Two injury-time penalties, one from Scotland fullback Brendan Laney and the other from Duncan Hodge, saw Scotland win the battle of the 2002 Home Unions basement as they sent Wales crashing to a 27-22 defeat.

It was a heartbreaking end to the Six Nations for a Welsh side who have endured more than their fair share of woes this season – both on and off the field – and leaves coach Steve Hansen in no doubt about the challenge facing him in his newly-appointed role as permanent Wales coach until the end of the 2003/2004 season.

Top of his priorities will doubtlessly be addressing the woeful performance of his front five in the set-piece.  Wales stuttered badly throughout the match, starved of possession for long periods by a misfiring lineout and the lack of a solid platform in the scrummage.

Strangely, there was no inkling of these major flaws in the Welsh game in the opening minutes of the match, the Welsh forwards doing a fair imitation of Hansen's beloved Canterbury outfit, superb continuity play nearly resulting in an early try for Rob Howley, the scrum-half seemingly hell-bent on finishing off his international career with a bang.

But after a lightning break that left the Scots trailing in his after-burners, the No.9 opted to off-load to second row Andy Moore, the lock without the pace to turn Howley's opportunism into an early score, giving away a penalty in the process.

Minutes later, a typical storming close-quarter drive from Colin Charvis – revelling in his new role as national captain – resulted in a penalty for the Welsh.  Stephen Jones duly stepped up and, showing no signs of the back spasm which had put his participation in this encounter in doubt, slotted the three points to settle Welsh nerves in the eighth minute.

Two minutes later, the Howley-Charvis axis was again apparent, creating space on the outside for wing Craig Morgan who set up the ruck.  Spotting a hole in the Scottish back three, Welsh flanker Martin Williams chipped ahead after spotting fullback Brendan Laney out of position but the Welsh could not convert pressure into a try-scoring chance.

Stephen Jones kicked his second penalty in the 15th minute, before Wales made another dangerous incursion into Scottish territory, Mark Taylor 40 metres down the left after opposite number Townsend had knocked on.  Taylor kept the ball alive, despite being tackled, and the desperate Scottish defence chose to kill the ball at the ensuing ruck, Jones adding another three points to the Welsh tally.

It seemed that the home side were on their way to victory, but then Scotland began to take a greater hand in proceedings.  The visitors stormed into the Welsh 22 before launching a forward drive towards the Welsh tryline.  With referee Joel Jutge unable to work out what had happened in the pile-up over the line in the left-hand corner, the video ref was consulted and duly awarded a try to Gordon Bulloch.

Laney was unable to slot the difficult touchline conversion, but the score gave the visitors a renewed sense of purpose and minutes later, in a carbon copy of the first try, Bulloch scored again, burrowing over after a textbook forward drive from the Scottish front five.

This time Laney was on target with the conversion to make it 12-9 to Scotland.  Having missed an ambitious penalty goal from the halfway, Laney slotted another three points on the stroke of half-time following some superb continuity play from his team.

It was the front five who Scotland had to thank for their slender half-time lead, particularly second row Scott Murray who had been a constant thorn in the side of the Welsh lineout which stuttered badly throughout.

As they had done in the first half, Wales again started well, the introduction of Iestyn Harris to the midfield having an immediate impact.  The former Wales Rugby League captain has not had an easy ride during his debut season in the Welsh jersey, but his class was apparent early in the second half when he created a try for Rhys Williams, using his pace to ghost through the tackle of John Leslie before off-loading to his grateful team-mate to touch down under the posts.

Jones was not on target with the conversion to make it 16-15 and from here on in the lead was to change hands several times.

Laney kicked a penalty to put the Scots back in front but Jones' penalty edged Wales ahead 19-18 with 17 minutes to go.  The lead changed again six minutes from the end when Laney kicked between the posts from 35 meters and Scotland led 21-19.

But the Welsh struck back with two minutes left on the clock -- Scotland prop Tom Smith penalised for handling in ruck to enable Jones to kick his fifth penalty.

The game was in injury time when a Welshman was adjudged to have handled in a ruck and Laney kicked his fourth penalty.  The fullback was to play no further part in proceedings after leaving the field with a knee injury, but his replacement, Duncan Hodge, kicked another penalty for the last score of the game to secure a Scottish victory.

Man of the match:  Scott Murray
Scotland hooker Gordon Bulloch showed great determination to score both of his side's tries, but it was Scott Murray who had the most influence on proceedings.  The second row's lineout performance was absolutely outstanding throughout, securing plentiful possession for his own side and making life thoroughly miserable for the opposition on their own throw.

Moment of the match:  Rhys Williams' try
Iestyn Harris has had his critics since his switch from Rugby League to the more claustrophobic world of Union, but the Cardiff pivot had an almost immediate impact on proceedings following his half-time introduction, showing his devastating one-on-one rugby skill to shrug off a tackle from John Leslie before supplying a deft, pinpoint pass to a grateful Williams who streaked in under the posts for the touchdown.

Villain of the match: 
There may be little room for sentiment in the professional game, but surely Wales coach Steve Hansen could have allowed Rob Howley to go the distance in his last outing in the Welsh jersey.  Instead, the scrum-half faced an ignominious exit in the 66th minute when the game was still hanging in the balance and his vast experience could have helped the Welsh cause.

Referee:  Joel Jutge (France)
Touch judges:  Alan Lewis (Ireland) and Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Barry Williams, 3 Chris Anthony, 4 Ian Gough, 5 Andrew Moore, 6 Nathan Budgett, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Rob Howley, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Andy Marinos, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Rhys Williams, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Iestyn Harris, Dwayne Peel, Gavin Thomas, Dafydd James, Spencer John, Robin McBryde, Chris Wyatt

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Scott Murray, 5 Jason White, 6 Budge Pountney, 7 Martin Leslie, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Gregor Townsend, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 John Leslie, 13 James McLaren, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Brendan Laney
Reserves:  Richard Metcalfe, Jon Petrie, George Graham, Stuart Grimes, Duncan Hodge, Robbie Russell
Unused:  Graeme Beveridge

Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers

Wales
Tries:  Williams G.R. 1
Conv:  Jones S.M. 1
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 5

Scotland
Tries:  Bulloch G.C. 2
Conv:  Laney B.J. 1
Pen K.:  Laney B.J. 4, Hodge D.W. 1

France 44 Ireland 5

Two tries each from Biarritz pair Serge Betsen and Nicolas Brusque helped a powerful and prolific French side romp to the Grand Slam and Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship title with a record 44-5 demolition of Ireland at the Stade de France.

Bernard Laporte's men claimed their third Grand Slam in six seasons, their mixture of fluent handling and energy-sapping support play starving a lacklustre Irish side of possession and territory.

They scored five tries in total, Aurelien Rougerie adding to Betsen and Brusque's pair on a day where they topped their previous record score against the Irish – a 45-10 win in Paris back in 1996.

In truth, Ireland were never at the races on a sunny afternoon which was always more about the home side than them, hooker Keith Wood registering their only points with a first half try as they lost yards and ground to the convincing and energetic French pack.

The blue ribbons may as well have been wrapped around the trophy as early as two minutes into a half which saw Ireland dragged from pillar to post by a rampant and purposeful French eight, blindside Serge Betsen cantering through on the overlap for the opening try as the stragglers were still finding their seat numbers.

It came from a big rolling maul from the French front eight, Merceron breaking before the French backs took the Irish defence first right, then crucially left, long passes opening the gap for Betsen in the left corner, Merceron converting from out wide.

It was all France, but the Irish managed to get within a sniff of parity – on the scoreboard at least – with an 11th minute try from hooker Keith Wood.

It stemmed from one of the only pieces of first half imagination from the men in green, Munster centre Rob Henderson breaking with the uneffective lateral pattern to dink a deft grubber past the flat French backline on the 22, the ensuing defensive panic leading to a five-metre scrum.

From that central scrumdown, the Irish pack bashed the first phase down the right, Wood coming at pace from the resulting ruck to dive through the tackles of Merceron and Magne for the try, David Humphreys missing the tricky conversion.

Two penalties from Merceron extended the French lead, and on 26 minutes les Bleus got just reward for their enterprise and ambition, Biarritz fullback Nicolas Brusque slicing a hole in the retreating Irish rearguard.

A lineout on halfway for the French saw Tony Marsh pierce the Irish three-quarter line, hooker Raphael Ibanez instrumental in a quick spread from right to left through the hands to put Brusque in between the tackles of Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan, Merceron narrowly missing the conversion from out wide on the left.

It was only four minutes later before the next running try, Montferrand flyer Aurelien Rougerie streaking away down the right wing from halfway after a typically sniping blindside half-break from scrum-half Fabien Galthie, Merceron converting before adding a penalty for a 28-5 half-time lead.

France continued their assault on the Irish line as the second half got underway, both Betsen and Magne going close before Merceron conservatively kicked a penalty from under the posts when a running option could have killed the game off as a contest, the fly-half opting for the same option again only minutes later to a slow hand clap, bludgeoning the kick wide of the posts.

The French crowd got the fourth try they wanted soon after when Betsen rumbled over in the left corner for his second try, les Bleus gaining huge momentum from a 20-metre rolling maul before Galthie spun the ball down the blindside for Betsen, Merceron failing to add the conversion from out wide.

Denis Hickie went close for Ireland after chasing a massive Ronan O'Gara punt, the bounce of the hacked-on ball working against the Leinster wing on a rare foray into French territory.

Damien Traille went close for the French in the final ten minutes of a half which did not have the same ruthlessness of the first stanza, sloppy handling dogging both sides in crucial areas, and Ireland failing to pressure a French side with victory already in the bag.

There was however time for one more moment of magic for the home fans when replacement back-row Remy Martin set off down the middle from the 22, the ball spun left through the quick hands of Traille and Marsh, who put in Brusque on the overlap for an easy run-in, replacement fly-half Francois Gelez striking the post with the conversion after hitting a penalty minutes earlier.

Referee Paddy O'Brien finally blew the whistle on what will go down as one of the great days in French rugby, as they cemented their place as the Six Nations' premier team, prising the Championship trophy away from the clutches of England, and claiming the feat which has eluded the English for so long, the Grand Slam.

Man of the match:  Serge Betsen
Even his camouflage headguard could not hide the huge contribution of the Biarritz blindside, a personification of the renewed French cohesion and dynamism throughout the Championship.  The usual suspects, Galthie and Magne get notable mentions, not forgetting immense No.8 Imanaol Harinordoquy.  Candidates for Ireland few and far between, although Keith Wood and Denis Hickie never threw in the towel.

Moment of the match:  Nicolas Brusque's first try
A cutting and speedy run from the Biarritz fullback showed excellent support play.  A lineout on halfway and a break from Tony Marsh drew the Irish defence, and some quickly-worked ball from right to left caught the defence on the back foot, Brusque darting through two defenders for a memorable first half score.

Villain of the match:  None
A good-tempered match saw little controversy and a fine general spirit.  The French crowd did themselves no favours with some slow hand clapping and Mexican waves during play, but it would be harsh to label them party-poopers after their exuberant post-match celebrations.

(Half-time:  France 28 Ireland 5)

Sin-bin:  None

The teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traillem, 14 David Bory, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  David Auradou, Olivier Azam, Francois Gelez, Jimmy Marlu, Pierre Mignoni, Remy Martin, Jean-Baptiste Poux

Ireland:  1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 John Hayes, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 David Wallace, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Rob Henderson, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 14 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Paul Wallace, Keith Gleeson, Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Simon Easterby, John Kelly

Attendance:  79978

Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers

France
Tries:  Betsen Tchoua S. 2, Brusque N. 2, Rougerie A. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 2
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 4, Gelez F. 1

Ireland
Tries:  Wood K.G.M. 1