France cruise past Scotland

France bounced back from their defeat by England in the opening round of the Six Nations with an emphatic victory against Scotland.

The French were always in control and although they only produced their best in bursts it was enough for them to run in tries through Fabien Pelous, Clement Poitrenaud, Damien Traille and Aurelien Rougerie.

Fly-half Francois Gelez, who missed two penalties that would have given France victory against New Zealand in November, was in much better form as he kicked the rest of France's points.

Scotland tried to keep going for the 80 minutes but they were out-gunned from one to 15 and all they had to show for their efforts was a solitary Chris Paterson penalty, leaving them rock bottom of the Six Nations table.

Gelez and Paterson swapped penalties in the early stages before France put together the first threatening attack of the match.

A flowing move gave 20-year-old full-back Poitrenaud room to move down the Scottish left and his pass saw Vincent Clerc flying for the corner.

It took a great cover tackle from Kenny Logan to prevent the try, but the Scots were then harshly penalised to give the French great field position.

They kicked for the corner and then drove from the lineout, with Pelous burrowing over for the try.

Gelez missed the conversion but he then added two penalties to take the French into a 14-3 lead after half an hour.

Scotland were struggling to put their opponents under pressure, and apart from two excellent breaks by Logan and replacement scrum-half Mike Blair, they rarely cut through the French defence.

Despite over-elaborating at times the French were well in control and Gelez slotted his fourth penalty right on half-time to give them a 17-3 lead.

Within two minutes France were out of sight.

Once again the speedster Clerc sliced down the Scottish left and when he was tackled Poitrenaud was on hand to cross out wide.

Gelez' conversion made it 24-3 but Scotland came to life and two Paterson kicks ahead had the French scrambling to prevent the visitors from scoring.

The Scots mounted a period of sustained pressure but they could not score and France suddenly erupted on to the attack.

Betsen's take and drive from a lineout set them on their way and they finished off in exquisite style, with Traille taking Gelez's chip on the full before diving over under the posts.

Gelez' conversion took the French over the 30-point mark.

Scotland nearly scored their first try in the 2003 Six Nations after Gregor Townsend kicked through, but Kevin Utterson knocked on with the line at his mercy.

It was the hosts who had the last word, with giant wing Rougerie soaring high to claim a Dimitri Yachvili cross-kick in injury time.

Gelez added the conversion as France confirmed that they are in a different league to the struggling Scots.

The scorers:

France 38
Tries:  Pelous, Poitrenaud, Traille, Rougerie
Cons:  Gelez 3
Pens:  Gelez 4

Scotland 3
Pen:  Paterson

France:  Poitrenaud, Rougerie, Garbajosa, Traille, Clerc, Gelez, Galthie, Crenca, Ibanez, Marconnet, Pelous, Brouzet, Betsen, Magne, Harinordoqui.
Replacements:  Rue, Califano, Auradou, Chabal, Yachvili, Merceron, Castaignede.

Scotland:  G. Metcalfe, Paterson, Townsend, Utterson, Logan, Laney, Redpath, T. Smith, Bulloch, Douglas, Murray, Grimes, Leslie, Mower, Taylor.
Replacements:  Scott, G. Kerr, White, Petrie, Blair, G. Ross, Craig.

Referee:  Peter Marshall (Australia)

England ease past battling Welsh

For 40 minutes they looked anything but the best side in the world, but England finally came good in the second half as they cruised to victory in Cardiff.

In the first half a combination of English mediocrity and Welsh fervour meant it was the hosts who left the field more upbeat, despite trailing 9-6.

However, in the second half England stopped relying on the boot of Jonny Wilkinson for their points, got some structure in their game and ran in tries through Will Greenwood and Joe Worsley.

Debutant fly-half Ceri Sweeney kicked nine points for Wales, and although it was never likely to be enough once the English machine eventually clicked into gear, Wales at least saved face after last weekend's humiliation by Italy.

England struggled to get their hands on the ball in the opening stages and Wales took the lead through a 40m penalty from Sweeney.

A penalty and marvellous drop goal from Wilkinson nudged England into the lead before English indiscipline handed Sweeney the chance to level the match at 6-6 after 24 minutes.

At this point Wales were more than proving a match for the much-vaunted visitors, and although another excellent Wilkinson drop goal nudged England back into the lead, Wales should have been ahead at the break.

Mark Taylor brushed aside Charlie Hodgson's feeble tackle and raced clear with two men outside him, but with a try looking a formality Taylor held on and the chance was lost.

Sweeney then missed a kickable penalty on the half-time whistle which would have levelled the scores after Phil Christophers, only just on as a replacement for Jason Robinson, was sin-binned for an early tackle.

Despite their late frustration Wales would have been far happier than England, who had failed to produce anything like the fluidity they showed in the November internationals.

With Wales buzzing around them like flies England's discipline was poor and they trooped off at half-time to the sound of cheers from a disbelieving Welsh crowd.

The half-time talk must have done the job because England came out playing a much more structured and controlled game.

Will Greenwood powered through a couple of tissue paper tackles for the first try after a multi-phase move, with Wilkinson converting, and England were on their way at 16-6.

Wales then lost Steve Williams to the bin as their defence began to fray around the edges and replacement Joe Worsley powered over under the posts for a converted try.

After the English flurry the scoring tailed off again, with Sweeney and Wilkinson trading penalties as the game went off the boil.

Although England will be happy enough with the victory, Wales ended the match the stronger and will be delighted to have avoided more yet embarrassment.

The scorers:

Wales 9:
Pens:  Sweeney 3

England 26:
Tries:  Greenwood, J Worsley
Cons:  Wilkinson 2
Pens:  Wilkinson 2
Drop goals:  Wilkinson 2

Wales:  K. Morgan, R. Williams, Taylor, Shanklin, G. Thomas, Sweeney, G. Cooper, I. Thomas, Humphreys, Evans, S. Williams, Sidoli, D. Jones, M. Williams, G. Thomas.
Replacements:  G. Williams, Jenkins, Llewellyn, Charvis, Peel, Harris, Watkins.

England:  Robinson, Luger, Greenwood, Hodgson, Cohen, Wilkinson, Bracken, Rowntree, Thompson, Morris, Johnson, Kay, Hill, Back, Dallaglio.
Replacements:  Regan, M. Worsley, Grewcock, J. Worsley, Gomarsall, Christophers, Simpson-Daniel.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

Ireland cruise past Italy

Ireland managed what had proved beyond Wales last week when they secured a comfortable victory over Italy in Rome to keep their Grand Slam bid on target.

The Italians confirmed their progress with some bright moments but Ireland always looked a class above the hosts.

Captain Brian O'Driscoll scooted over for his 18th international try to break Brendan Mullin's long-standing try record as the Irish ran in five tries in total.

Italy's solitary try came from Dennis Dallan, but they showed enough to confirm that the victory over Wales was no fluke.

Italy started in adventurous mood but they lacked penetration and Ireland forced the first real chance after 15 minutes.

They kicked a penalty into the corner and when Victor Costello was held up just short from the line out, Peter Stringer burrowed over from the base of the ruck.

David Humphreys had struggled with his kicking from hand but he slotted the conversion and added a penalty 10 minutes later to take Ireland into a 10-0 lead.

The Irish pack impressed against the Scots last week and they again looked a solid unit as they began to put the squeeze on the hosts.

A rumbling maul set up great field position and the Irish scored their second try of the match when Keith Gleeson sent John Kelly over in the corner.

The Italians hit back almost immediately when Diego Dominguez slotted a simple penalty after O'Driscoll made a rare error.

O'Driscoll nearly atoned with a brilliant run down the touchline, and although the Irish could not get up in support of their captain, a Humphreys penalty gave them an 18-3 lead.

Dominguez missed an easy penalty either side of the half-time whistle and the Italians fell further behind when Humphreys hit the line at pace and raced over untouched from the hosts' 22.

The fly-half could not add the conversion and, after Italy had replaced the out-of-sorts Dominguez with Ramiro Pez, the Italians scored their first try of the game through powerful wing Dallan.

Pez converted and at 23-10 it looked as though Italy might come back, but Ireland reasserted their superiority.

O'Driscoll knifed over for a converted try to break Mullins' record and although Pez slotted a penalty for Italy, Ireland had the final word as Humphreys converted Geordan Murphy's sparkling try.

The scorers:

Italy 13
Tries:  Dallan
Pens:  Dominguez, Pez

Ireland 37
Tries:  Stringer, Kelly, Humphreys, O'Driscoll, Murphy
Cons:  Humphreys 3
Pens:  Humphreys 2

Italy:  Vaccari, Ma Bergamasco, Stoica, Raineri, Dallan, Dominguez, Troncon, De Carli, Festuccia, Martinez, Bezzi, Bortolami, De Rossi, Persico, Phillips.
Replacements:  Moretti, Castrogiovanni, Giacheri, Palmer, Queirolo, Pez, Mi Bergamasco.

Ireland:  Murphy, Kelly, O'Driscoll, Maggs, Hickie, Humphreys, Stringer, Corrigan, S. Byrne, Hayes, Longwell, O'Kelly, Costello, Gleeson, Foley.
Replacements:  Sheahan, Horan, Cullen, A. Quinlan, G. Easterby, Burke, Henderson.

Referee:  Tony Spreadbury (England)

Italy defeat woeful Wales

Italy won only their second Six Nations game ever when they defeated a dismal Wales side in the Rome sun on Saturday.

The Italians, led by playmaker Diego Dominguez, destroyed the Welsh pack and starved Steve Hansen's men of any possession.

Tries from Giampiero De Carli, Carlo Festuccia and Matthew Phillips proved too much for a side who always looked second best.

Tom Shanklin, Steve Williams and Dwayne Peel touched over for the visitors.

But it was never going to be enough against an Italian team who last tasted Six Nations success against Scotland in 2000.

With Wales struggling to get their hands on the ball, John Kirwan's side were unlucky not to surge ahead in only the second minute, thanks to a powerful run by Christian Stoica.

A last ditch Rhys Williams tackle instead forced a five metre scrum, but Italy were not denied a second time when De Carli charged over for the game's opening score.

Dominguez's kick pushed his side into an early and deserved 7-0 lead.

Relief came quickly for Wales, however, when good work from Gareth Thomas and Shanklin allowed the Northampton second row to run in for his second international try.

With seven minutes on the clock, both sides had scored a point a minute, before Shanklin and Thomas combined again.

A half break by the Bridgend centre gave the Saracens favourite the opportunity to show his considerable pace - and he did not disappoint with a blistering 50 metre run.

Harris slotted the extras, before the home side hit back immediately through a short-range try from Festuccia, again converted by Dominguez.

Both fly-halves then swapped penalties before the Stade Francais veteran pushed his side into a slender but ominous half-time lead with a well taken drop goal from in front of the posts.

Wales were dealt a double blow in the second-half as Mefin Davies and lock Williams both left the field.

Italy again started brightly and it was no surprise when they grabbed their third try of the match.

Allesandro Troncon made the most of a loose ball from a Welsh scrum and New Zealand-born Phillips strode over to secure a straightforward seven pointer.

At 27-17 up, the Azzurri began to dictate the game and when Dominguez slotted his second drop goal with just minutes remaining, it dealt a hammer blow to Wales's chances.

A late try from Dwayne Peel cut the deficit to just eight points.

But coach Steve Hansen will have to perform a miracle to avoid anything but embarrassment when they line up against favourites England in Cardiff next week.

The scorers:

Italy 30
Tries:  De Carli, Festuccia, Phillips
Conv:  Dominguez 3
Pens:  Dominguez 2
Drops:  Dominguez 1

Wales 22
Tries:  Williams, Shanklin, Peel
Conv:  Harris 2
Pens:  Harris 1

Italy:  P Vaccari (Calvisano), Mauro Bergamasco (Treviso), C Stoica (Castres/Fra), G Ranieri (Calvisano), D Dallan (Treviso), D Dominguez (Stade Francais/Fra), A Troncon (Treviso, capt), G De Carli (Calvisano), C Festuccia (Gran Parma), R Martinez (Treviso), C Bezzi (Viadana), M Bortolami (Padova), A De Rossi (Calvisano), A Persico (Viadana), M Phillips (Viadana).
Reps:  A Moretti (Calvisano), S Perugini (Calvisano), M Giacheri (Rotherham/Eng), S Palmer (Treviso), J Manuel Queirolo (Dax/Fra), R Pez (Rotherham/Eng), Mirco Bergamasco (Padova).

Wales:  R Williams (Cardiff), M Jones (Llanelli), T Shanklin (Saracens), L Davies (Llanelli), G Thomas (Bridgend), I Harris (Cardiff), D Peel (Llanelli), I Thomas (Llanelli), M Davies (Pontypridd), B Evans (Swansea), R Sidoli (Pontypridd), S Williams (Northampton), M Owen (Pontypridd), M Williams (Cardiff), C Charvis (Swansea, capt).
Reps:  G Williams (Bridgend), G Jenkins (Pontypridd), D Jones (Llanelli), G Thomas (Bath), G Cooper (Bath), C Sweeney (Pontypridd), M Watkins (Llanelli).

Ref:  Joel Jutge (France)

Wilkinson makes France pay

England gained revenge for last year's Paris nightmare as they launched their Six Nations campaign with a surprisingly comfortable victory over France at Twickenham.

A sparkling try from the dynamic Jason Robinson and a 20-point haul from the impeccable boot of Jonny Wilkinson fully vindicated their billing as odds-on favourites.

Reigning champions France did outscore their hosts on the try count with flanker Olivier Magne, full-back Clement Poitrenaud and centre Damien Traille all breaching the red rose defence.

But a dominant performance from the England pack laid the foundations for the first step on another probable Grand Slam crusade.

Whether England can go that elusive extra step this year remains to be seen, but they maintained the momentum of autumn victories over the southern hemisphere's big three.

Two French tries in the final quarter sparked a few late nerves, but the home side held out with few alarms.

England started in confident fashion, Robinson taking a line-out to himself in the first minute before dancing past three French tacklers on a mazy run.

Then Dan Luger brought the capacity crowd to its feet when he pierced the French defensive line, only to be penalised for holding on to the ball in the tackle.

France proceeded to dominate possession but it was England who opened the scoring after 13 minutes when Wilkinson punished some French pushing at the line-out with a long-range penalty.

His kick landed on top of the crossbar and dropped apologetically over, but if that was a touch of good fortune, England's luck swiftly turned.

Charlie Hodgson, taking the ball at first receiver, saw his clearing kick charged down by the alert Magne and the flanker beat Wilkinson to the loose ball to dive over.

Gerald Merceron converted to put France 7-3 up, but England were back in front by the 28th minute courtesy of two more superbly-struck penalties from Wilkinson.

Merceron badly miscued a shot at goal that should have regained the lead for the visitors, and England lost centurion prop Jason Leonard to injury in the 33rd minute.

But sparked by the irrepressible Robinson, England laid siege to the French line before the interval.

Hodgson almost redeemed his earlier error with a neat break only to spurn a try-scoring chance when he failed to spot Will Greenwood on his shoulder.

But the pressure finally told when the French defence fell offside in midfield and Wilkinson dispatched his fourth penalty for a 12-7 interval lead.

Lawrence Dallaglio came off the bench just three minutes into the second half to replace Lewis Moody, and hooker Mark Regan appeared as a temporary prop when Graham Rowntree suffered a head cut.

But the changes failed to disrupt England's rhythm and after concerted pressure on the French line, Greenwood's well-timed pass sent Robinson in under the posts after 48 minutes.

Wilkinson's fifth penalty of the afternoon extended the lead to 22-7 just before the hour, and the stand-off nonchantly dropped a goal minutes later to seemingly leave England cruising.

But France finally found their attacking spark 14 minutes from time, profiting from quick ruck ball to send Poitrenaud over in the right corner.

But Merceron missed the conversion and a subsequent penalty attempt, and despite Traille crossing in the right corner, England held out in a full 12 minutes of injury time.

The scorers:

England 25
Try:  Robinson
Conv:  Wilkinson 1
Pens:  Wilkinson 5
Drop:  Wilkinson 1

France 17
Try:  Magne, Poitrenaud, Traille
Conv:  Merceron

England:  J Robinson, D Luger, W Greenwood, C Hodgson, B Cohen, J Wilkinson, A Gomarsall, J Leonard, S Thompson, J White, M Johnson (capt), B Kay, L Moody, N Back, R Hill.
Replacements:  M Regan, G Rowntree, D Grewcock, L Dallaglio, N Walshe, P Christophers, J Simpson-Daniel.

France:  C Poitrenaud, A Rougerie, X Garbajosa, D Traille, V Clerc, G Merceron, F Galthie (capt), J-J Crenca, R Ibanez, C Califano, F Pelous, O Roumat, S Betsen, O Magne, I Harinordoquy.
Replacements:  J-B Rue, S Marconnet, D Auradou, S Chabal, D Yachvilli, F Gelez, T Castaignede.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

Ireland rout sorry Scots

Ireland sealed a historic victory against Scotland on Sunday, winning at Murrayfield for the first time since 1985.

The Irish rarely looked troubled by a Scottish side devoid of creativity in their back division, as they raced to their most emphatic win at the home of Scottish rugby.

David Humphreys rattled off 26 points for the visitors but it was Brian O'Driscoll who was the chief tormentor for the Scots.

The Irish captain regularly picked gaps in the opposition defence and, although he failed to get on the score sheet, his telling run produced Denis Hickie's opening try.  Geordan Murphy and Humphreys scored the game's other tries.

Ireland were the more assured throughout the game, except for a nearly disastrous hiccup with the first move of the match.

A Hickie defensive kick was charged down but Andrew Mower knocked the ball forward in the resulting melee over the try line.

After surviving the scare, the Irish found themselves in front after eight minutes against the run of play courtesy of a Humphreys penalty, his first of two in the half.

Despite Ireland's lead, Scotland came closest to crossing the line first but were halted by the faintest of tap tackles by Peter Stringer on Glenn Metcalfe.

The opening try finally came in some style after an intelligent break by O'Driscoll in the 27th minute.

The Irish captain found the pace to outfox the Scots before being brought down just short of the line with his side's first real attacking opportunity.

Stringer was on hand to recycle the ball to Hickie who forced his way over.  Humphreys added the conversion.

A Gordon Ross penalty straight after the restart, cancelled out by a similar Humphreys effort, seemed to give Scotland the wake-up call required.

From looking sluggish, they produced 10 minutes of telling attacks which were continually fended off.  In the end, the Scots had to settle for a second penalty.

With the Scottish risking all in attack, Ireland were biding their time to launch a counter offensive, which came from replacement Murphy in the 65th minute.

Against the run of play, the Leicester wing hacked the ball forward and sprinted 70 yards for the game's second try.

With that the Scots completely capitulated, Hickie producing the overlap to send Humphreys through for his score five minutes later.

By then, the game had long finished as a contest.

The scorers:

Scotland 6
Pens:  Ross 2

Ireland 36
Try:  Hickie, Murphy, Humphreys
Conv:  Humphreys 3
Pens:  Humphreys 5

Scotland:  G. Metcalfe, Logan, Craig, Laney, Paterson, G. Ross, Redpath, T. Smith, Bulloch, Douglas, Murray, Grimes, Leslie, Mower, Taylor.
Replacements:  Scott, G. Kerr, Hines, Beattie, Blair, Townsend, Utterson.

Ireland:  Dempsey, S. Horgan, O'Driscoll, Maggs, Hickie, Humphreys, Stringer, Corrigan, S. Byrne, Hayes, Longwell, O'Kelly, Costello, Gleeson, Foley.
Replacements:  Sheahan, Horan, Cullen, A. Quinlan, G. Easterby, Burke, Murphy.

Referee:  Andrew Cole (Australia)