Wales end on a high

Wales punctuated their bonkers Six Nations campaign with a highly sensible 33-10 victory over Italy at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

A bright start from the visitors was stamped out by the boot of Stephen Jones before second-half tries from James Hook (two) and Shane Williams (who else?) sealed the deal.

Despite their dash from the blocks and some heroic defence, the Azzurri were strangely subdued, able only to draw shrill blasts from the whistle of referee Wayne Barnes.  They betrayed their lack of ideas by opting for a shot at goal when 26-0 down.

Setting Italian failings to one side, this was a much improved performance from the Welsh.

But they still didn't mange to shake the sleep from their eyes until half-time.  Once again they failed to score a try in the opening period.

Wales will be allowed to celebrate tonight -- Andy Powell might even be invited -- but there are now far more challenging opponents on the horizon, with world champions South Africa awaiting Wales in early June, followed by two away Tests against New Zealand.

But we digress -- back to the action in Cardiff ...

Italy, despite a late try from lively full-back Luke McLean, were undone in the second period as Wales turned their 12-0 interval advantage into a runaway win.

Wing Mirco Bergamasco slotted a conversion and penalty for the Azzurri, yet they never threatened to record just a second victory in 28 Six Nations away games.

Gatland promised to put his players through pain during the build-up, so angered was he by their tame 27-12 loss against Ireland last weekend, and he saw a response after making five changes.

Wing Tom Prydie's startling promotion to senior duty was the headline selection by Gatland, but he also recalled three fit-again British and Irish Lions in skipper Ryan Jones, scrum-half Mike Phillips and prop Gethin Jenkins.

Prydie, Wales' youngest international player of all-time at 18 years and 25 years, coped well with the pressure, and it was an afternoon when the home side delivered, even though they made subduing a limited Italian outfit hard work at times.

Sam Warburton -- Martyn Williams' understudy at openside flanker -- gained his first Six Nations start, but Italy coach Nick Mallett lost three injured players less than 48 hours before kick-off in centre Andrea Masi, lock Carlo Del Fava and flanker Paul Derbyshire.

The stadium roof remained open at Mallett's request, but early morning rain relented and conditions were dry, seemingly suiting Wales' renowned running game.

And Prydie was rapidly into the action, completing a crunching tackle on Gonzalo Canale that forced the Italy centre off nursing a rib injury, before testing McLean through a well-placed chip and chase.

Jones then opened Wales' account with an angled penalty, but Italy were unlucky not to draw level when Bergamasco's 40-metre opener bounced back off the post.

Wales, who saw Ian Gough replace injured lock Bradley Davies after 15 minutes, began to exert a degree of territorial dominance, yet were frustrated by Italy securing turnover possession twice in quick succession and clearing any danger.

A second Jones penalty doubled the lead just before Italy lost a second injured player -- scrum-half Pablo Canavosio.

Despite the setbacks though, the visitors defended solidly, albeit with some luck.

Wales looked to have finally breached the Azzurri defence 12 minutes before half-time when Shane Williams sent full-back Lee Byrne over, but referee Barnes took play back for a penalty he had already awarded the home side.

Italy began to infringe at regular intervals, and Jones completed his penalty hat-trick for a nine-point advantage as Wales reached for the accelerator.

Hook was denied by an unkind bounce after he kicked beyond Italy's last line of defence, and although Jones landed another three-pointer, Wales trooped off unfulfilled.

Despite leading 12-0, it meant that for the fifth successive Six Nations game this season they had failed to register a first-half try.

Wales continued to toil away in pursuit of an elusive touchdown, and both Williams and Hook went close as cracks began opening in Italy's defence.

It was a case of being patient, and with Phillips rifling substantial amounts of possession out to his fellow backs, there seemed little chance Italy could cling on to just a 12-point deficit.

And so it proved when quick ball found its way to Hook, and he dived over between two Italian defenders for a try that Jones converted.

Wales had gone two hours and 11 minutes of this season's tournament without posting a try, but things looked bleak for Italy as their resilience looked to have run its course.

And when flanker Mauro Bergamasco was sin-binned following a technical offence, Wales made them pay immediately when Hook ghosted through for his second try in three minutes.

Stephen Jones added the conversion, leaving Italy facing a damage-limitation exercise as the final quarter approached.

The Azzurri bravely stuck to their guns, but they had no answer when Phillips surged up-field and the supporting Shane Williams claimed his 51st try for Wales.

Stephen Jones booted the extras, and Gatland used up all seven of his substitutes with 10 minutes still remaining before McLean's smart consolation score at least gave the vociferous Italian fans something to shout about.

Man of the match:  There was some fine collective defence from the Italians and some bright moments from Alessandro Zanni.  But that pretty much sums up the visitors' day.  Sam Warburton impressed for the locals, as Shane Williams was his usual effervescent self.  But our award goes to Stephen Jones.  The veteran pivot enjoyed his reunion with Mike Phillips, with James Hook being the main beneficiary of the happy marriage of minds.

Moment of the match:  Probably the opening try -- it rang out like an alarm clock around the Millennium Stadium, rousing the Welsh from their slumber.

Villain of the match:  Salvatore Perugini earned a ticking-off for a little bit of gardening, and Mauro Bergamasco was sin-binned for an ugly moment, and the sight of his brother inviting Mike Phillips to hit him was even uglier.  'You want some?' probably sounds beautiful in Italian, but it was rather too soccer for our liking.  Yes, Mirco Bergamasco gets our ghastly gong.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Hook 2, S Williams
Cons:  S Jones 3
Pens:  S Jones 4

For Italy:
Try:  McLean
Con:  Mi Begamasco
Pen:  Mi Bergamasco

Yellow card(s):  Ma Bergamasco (Italy) -- off-side at ruck (55).

The teams:

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 Paul James, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Gareth Delve, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Pablo Canavosio, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Marco Bortolami, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (c) 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Valerio Bernabo, 19 Manoa Vosawai, 20 Tito Tebaldi, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Matteo Pratichetti.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Marinus Jonker (South Africa), Stuart Terheege (England)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

France seal the deal in Paris

They did it!  Despite spirited resistance from England, France sealed their ninth Grand Slam with a tense 12-10 victory over the men in white at Stade de France on Saturday night.

The visitors played the best rugby of their campaign -- if not the past year -- but they got on the wrong side of referee Bryce Lawrence in the earlier stages of the game, and there they remained.

They got just one penalty shot at goal in the entire match.  Most un-English.

It's fitting that this topsy-turvy Six Nations ended with a cultural about-turn:  England got the only try via Ben Foden but France used the soggy conditions to squeeze England out of the game via the set-piece and their half-backs.  It's was the semi-final of RWC 2003 in reverse.

And it is their discipline that will be toast of the Parisian night.  Most un-French.

For all the talk of French flair, the Grand Slam was ultimately secured on the back of a defiant defensive performance and a crushingly dominant scrum.

Indeed, all it took as three penalties from Morgan Parra and a drop-goal from Francois Trinh-Duc -- all in the first half -- to seal victory for Les Bleus.

England were the better team in the second half but only had a Jonny Wilkinson penalty to show for it -- and France held out to seal their first clean sweep since 2004.

England had arrived in Paris with a new captain, a revamped back division and a determination to spoil the French Grand Slam party.  They came mighty close.

Leicester flank Lewis Moody skippered England after Steve Borthwick aggravated a knee injury in last weekend's drab 15-15 draw with Scotland.

Wilkinson was dropped for only the third time in his career as manager Martin Johnson attempted to inject some vibrancy into England's one-dimensional attacking game.

Toby Flood took over at fly-half, Foden was given his first England start at full-back and his Northampton team Chris Ashton made his Test debut on the wing.

France took an early lead with Trinh-Duc's drop-goal but England's new-look back division played with enterprise from the outset.

It took them just six minutes to click and they did so in scintillating fashion with Foden scoring his first Test try to mark an impressive full debut.

Flood whipped the ball to Riki Flutey and Ashton kept his cool under pressure and showed a deft touch to slip the scoring pass out of the tackle and Foden raced over in the corner.

England were playing with tempo and variety.  Tim Payne, Dylan Hartley and even Danny Care made key yards around the fringes, the recalled Mike Tindall crashed into the French defence and the roving Cueto was a danger on both wings.

England lost Simon Shaw to what appeared to be another shoulder injury after just 15 minutes, immediately after he had conceded a penalty for diving over the top.

Parra missed that effort but made no mistake from in front of the posts after Flutey was penalised for being off his feet.

England's vibrant start began to fade in the heavy rain as France assumed control of the first period on the back of a vastly superior kicking game -- particularly from the wingers Marc Andreu and Alexis Palisson -- and with a dominant scrum.

France had set the platform for Trinh-Duc's drop-goal with a charging run from Imanol Harinordoquy after England had been penalised at the set-piece.

As it was on the first Test of the Lions tour to South Africa, the New Zealand referee was deeply unhappy with the performance of the English tighthead and penalised Dan Cole in three scrums in quick succession, and Parra needed no second invitation to open France a 12-7 half-time lead.

Given the angst on display, the visitors made changes up front during the interval, with Hartley and Cole replaced by Steve Thompson and David Wilson.

With a fresh start, England were able to inject tempo back into their attacking game and Foden almost latched onto a chip kick from Care but the ball skipped on into touch.

England stole the line-out from Harinordoquy inside the French 22 but they were driven backwards and Flood snatched a drop-goal attempt wide of the posts.

After Cueto had run the ball back -- something England did so rarely at Murrayfield -- Ashton attacked down the left but decided to chip ahead and was beaten to the touchdown by Palisson.

Harinordoquy piled forward again and Trinh-Duc was ready to slot the drop-goal when Parra inexplicably sent up a box kick inside England's 22 and with no chasers Foden claimed it comfortably.

England had been the better side in the first 20 minutes of the second half but needed something to show for it against a defiant French defence.

Mathew Tait's half-break was halted and Dimitri Szarzewski nicked possession back for France.  Trinh-Duc cleared but Ashton decided to run the return ball.

Foden was snagged but England won a penalty just in-field from the right touchline and five metres into the French half.

Wilkinson stepped up to strike a monster of a kick and his effort dropped just over the bar and England had closed the gap.

But France closed the game out expertly and Grand Slam glory was theirs.  Deservedly so, too.  They are the best team in Europe by a distance right now.  They possess a rampant pack full of power, a rock-solid set-piece and verve and dynamism out wide.

The same cannot be said for England.  But events in Paris seem to suggest that, finally, the foundation stones are being put in place.

Man of the match:  We've taken a stick to England over the course of this tournament, but they deserve praise for their efforts today.  The back three -- bar the mistake from Chris Ashton -- played out of the skins, and Ben Foden has surely answered the last of his critics.  But our pick of the visitors was Mike Tindall -- how soon we had forgotten what an intelligent footballer he is, and how England have missed him.  It was a low-key performance by France, held together by little Morgan Parra who called all the right moves at the crucial moments.  It was his brains that held the English at bay.

Moment of the match:  It was Ben Foden's try, made significant by France's reaction.  French teams in the past would have gone to pieces but the class of 2010 thought their way out of what looked like a tight corner.

Villain of the match:  Not much niggle from the players and it would be against the spirit of rugby to suggest referee Bryce Lawrence.  Like dogs, good teams should learn what all the bizarre whistling means and react accordingly.  So how about the lady in the crowd who spent the entire match baiting the man sitting behind her?  Martin Johnson looked none too please with the blonde's advances, but she was good enough to applaud Wilkinson's late penalty, so we'll let her off with a warning.  A red-faced Raphaël Ibañez, sitting in the BBC's booth, was later forced to admit that the lady in question was his mother-in-law.  So there you have it:  they are the same the world over.  No award.

The scorers:

For France:
Pens:  Parra 3
Drop:  Trinh-Duc

For England:
Try:  Foden
Con:  Flood
Pen:  Wilkinson

The teams:

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Marc Andreu, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Sebastien Chabal, 19 Alexandre Lapandry, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 David Marty, 22 Julien Malzieu.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (c), 6 Joe Worsley, 5 Louis Deacon, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne .
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 James Haskell, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Mathew Tait.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO:  Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)

Scotland hand crown to France

France were handed the Six Nations crown an hour before even running out in Paris as Scotland upset Ireland 23-20 at Croke Park on Saturday.

It was an efficient performance from the visitors, who threw the Wooden Spoon over to Italy, thanks to a structured 80 minutes that caged the Irish.

The holders were in contrast very off colour for their stadium farewell before moving back to the old Lansdowne Road, with their lineout one major reason for defeat.  In all, Rory Best threw one not straight while six were stolen or overthrown.

And those errors ultimately led to a lack of ball and momentum for Ireland, who hauled off Jonathan Sexton for Ronan O'Gara on 51 minutes.  It was a tough call on the youngster but the experienced Munsterman almost won it.

That word again is almost as it was to be another day in the sunshine for Dan Parks, who landed two hammer blows to Ireland at the end of each half.  His one in the first was a smartly taken drop-goal, which saw Scotland go in 14-7 to the good, while a last-minute touchline penalty denied the Triple Crown and Championship-chasing Ireland even a share of the spoils.

Glasgow fly-half Parks finished the contest with an 18-point haul and the man-of-the-match award -- his third in four games since returning.

Ireland had started much the brighter and looked to be following the points-chasing script on eleven minutes when Brian O'Driscoll belatedly celebrated his 100th cap of last week with a beautifully taken score following Sexton's clever loop around his centres.

But Scotland responded in clinical fashion just four minutes later.  Graeme Morrison started the score off down the left wing before handing the ball over to Johnnie Beattie, who showed power and pace to cross with two Irish defenders on his back.

Then came the intelligence of Parks following Sexton's fairly simple penalty miss 40 metres out.  It was Paul O'Connell who infringed at ruck-time and the ten stepped to extend the scores to 7-11 with 120 seconds to go until the break.  He then struck again with a vital drop-goal in the last action of the half to leave Dublin stunned and Paris joyful.

Declan Kidney needed to lift his troops and seemed to have done so going from their effort at the turnaround.  And they were soon rewarded when their go-to man Tommy Bowe struck with on 64 minutes to bring the Irish back level at 17-17 with a big finish on the cards.

It was then a scrap for territory as Parks and O'Gara traded three points before South African referee Jonathan Kaplan awarded Scotland a penalty wide on the left that the former slotted, much to the delight of himself, Andy Robinson and Gregor Townsend.

Man of the match:  Johnnie Beattie was superb once again but the form of Dan Parks since being recalled for Phil Godman has been immense.  He kept his cool to land the match-winning penalty from the touchline but his first-half drop was something out of the top draw.

Moment of the match:  Tough to decide over Dan Parks' hammer blows at the end of each half.  However, I have to go for the 79th minute effort from the touchline.  Well done Scotland, you would not have deserved to be holding the Wooden Spoon.

Villain of the match:  So often you can hear a pin drop at Irish provincial and also home internationals when a visiting kicker lines up a kick.  Not today.  That late sucker punch was greeted with plenty of hisses from the Dublin crowd.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  O'Driscoll, Bowe
Con:  Sexton, O'Gara
Pen:  Sexton, O'Gara

For Scotland:
Tries:  Beattie
Pen:  Parks 5
Drop:  Parks

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace , 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Robert Kearney.

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter (capt), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Richie Gray, 19 Alan MacDonald, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Simon Danielli.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

Rampant French one step away

Only eighty minutes and fifteen Englishmen separate France from a Grand Slam, after a thumping 46-20 win over Italy in Paris on Sunday.

Only a fool would bet against them now.  Their next opponents have managed only five tries this tournament, fewer than France managed all game against Italy.  They've shown the ability to win all different types of game:  the bullying power to beat Ireland, the patience to beat Scotland, the clinicality to beat Wales.  When it came to Italy, they displayed all the flair that has been bottled up this tournament, running Italy ragged at every opportunity.  It's a complete team which can, on its day, cover all bases.

It was no flawless performance.  The ball was turned over in open play nine times and they conceded more late soft tries, stats which could ruin a perfectly good Six Nations campaign against an English team as stubborn as it is limited.

But it was enough of a display to suggest that the French team has spent this tounament going through the gears and is about to hit top speed at the right moment.  We can leave further tributes -- the youth in so many key positions, the accuracy of the handling, the apparent unity among the players and the energy they produce -- until next week and if/when they have actually taken this campaign through to its conclusion, but there's little doubt in anybody's mind that the Grand Slam is now France's to lose.

Italy will head to Cardiff next week with their heads hanging low.  They tried gamely, but were thoroughly outclassed in pretty much all areas, including their much-vaunted scrum.  It's a team that has grown together and is laoded with experience but either needs a new leader or some new talent.

The entry of two teams to the Magners League could well be the missing link to the process, as long as the teams themselves ensure they keep it Italian and don't dilute their indigenous talents.  Players like the unfortunate Tito Tebaldi, who was sacrificed after just half an hour -- could be much better than they are now with a couple of years of regular first-class rugby behind them.  Nick Mallett must have spent the week jumping for joy this week, even if Sunday's display was a bit of a party-pooper.

Centre David Marty, preferred in the starting line-up to Mathieu Bastareaud, justified Lievremont's selection by scoring two tries in eight minutes, both while Italy were down to 14 men with Gonzalo Garcia in the sin bin.

Winger Marc Andreu and flanker Alexandre Lapandry both scored their first tries for their country, the former on his home debut.

And, with other tries coming from Imanol Harinordoquy and Yannick Jauzion, and Morgan Parra kicking seven goals from nine attempts, the French were heading for a landslide victory as they led 46-6 after 65 minutes.

But the Azzurri produced a spirited rally which brought them late tries through replacements Carlo Del Fava and Pablo Canavosio and Mirco Bergamasco added both conversions to two early penalties to give the score a touch of respectability which looked unthinkable for an hour when France were simply irresistible.

The French pack quickly asserted their authority to give half-backs Francois Trinh-Duc and Parra, making a seventh consecutive start together, the platform to unleash their dangerous three-quarters, while Clement Poitrenaud added an extra cutting edge from full-back.

It was Parra who created the game's first try, jinking his way through the Italian defence to get Harinordoquy over and he kicked the first of two penalties to make it 10-0.

The Italians' cause was made all the more difficult on 17 minutes when centre Garcia, fresh from a spell in blood bin, was sent to the sin bin for an obstruction of Andreu, who has been released on an exciting touchline dash by Poitrenaud.

France immediately made the extra man count as Marty coasted through a gap in the stretched Azzurri defence to score his side's second try, with Parra extending their lead to 17-0 with the conversion.

Poitrenaud demonstrated his attacking flair again on 27 minutes to help get Harinordoquy into space and he sent Marty over for his second try while the Italians were still down to 14 men.

The visitors could do little right and when they managed to breach the French defence second rower Marco Bortolami was recalled for a forward pass by Garcia.

Coach Nick Mallett responded to the mounting crisis by withdrawing scrum-half Tito Tebaldi in favour of the more experienced Canavosio and Italy finally got points on the board just before the break when Mirco Bergamasco landed a 40-metre penalty.

Parra lost his 100 per cent record when he failed to convert Marty's second try but he made amends with a long-range penalty two minutes into the second half.

Marty then thought he was on for a hat-trick after racing onto Parra's kick but he was ruled offside and instead Bergamasco pulled three points back with the resulting penalty.

That briefly encouraged the visitors and a neat pass out of the tackle by number eight Alessandro Zanni released Canavosio into space but Julien Bonnaire got back to preserve the French tryline.

If the Azzurri lacked a cutting edge, France were razor sharp and they quickly added to their try tally.

Andreu came in off his wing to produce a scything run that took him all the way to the line, and then produced the break that got Jauzion romping over.

Parra was off target for the second time with a long-range penalty but he was back in the groove on 65 minutes to convert a try by Lapandry, who produced a strong finish to a break from fellow replacement Julien Malzieu.

The Italians looked a dispirited lot as they gathered under the posts waiting for the conversion but they produced a spirited two-try rally to take some of the gloss off the French triumph.

Man of the match:  A close call between Clement Poitrenaud -- who got the match organisers' call -- and Marc Andreu.  We'll go for the winger on his full debut, for a work-rate far beyond that of a normal winger's and for proving, at 5'5 inches tall, that rugby can still be a game for all sizes.

Moment of the match:  France's third try.  Length of the field French classy brilliance.

Villian of the match:  Far too much running for players to waste their time on villainy.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Harinordoquy, Marty 2, Andreu, Jauzion, Lapandry
Cons:  Parra 5
Pens:  Parra 2

For Italy:
Tries:  Del Fava, Canavosio
Cons:  Mirco Bergamasco 2
Pens:  Mirco Bergamasco 2

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Marc Andreu, 13 David Marty, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt), 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Sebastien Chabal, 19 Alexandre Lapandry, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 Mathieu Bastareaud, 22 Julien Malzieu.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Masi, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (captain), 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Kaine Roberston.

Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official:  Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

Misery shared at Murrayfield

The Calcutta Cup will remain south of the border after England and Scotland ground out a turgid 15-15 draw at Murrayfield on Saturday.

This was the 18th time in the fixture's history that honours have been shared, but the 127th edition of international sport's most ancient derby will not go down in the annals as anything more than a footnote.

No tries, zero tempo, little ambition and errors galore, what the game lacked in finesse it made up for in the faint drama of the lead changing hands at regular intervals as the kickers traded shots at goal.

With a series of injuries allowing the introduction of some new blood during the later stages of the game, it seemed for a fleeting moment that the laborious foreplay would lead to an explosive climax.  Alas, it was not to be.

Both sides will say they should have won the game.  Scotland's claim probably carrying more weight.

Nothing summons up Scottish spirits like a visit from the Sassenachs and the locals deserved more from a gutsy performance.  Same old story, in other words.

Dan Parks, celebrating his 50th cap, punctuated a cagey start from both sides by opening the score via his boot after Dan Cole failed to roll away from a tackle.

England's response coughed and sputtered for a good ten minutes before Jim Hamilton came to their aid by flopping over the ball, and Jonny Wilkinson drew his side level with the resulting penalty.

Scotland's riposte was immediate and brutal, with Graeme Morrison knocking a hole in midfield.  Parks then found Max Evans out on the left with a fine crossfield kick.  The ensuing siege forced two penalties out of England, the second of which Parks slotted between the uprights.

Scottish tails were now well and truly up and they began to stitch width to their increasingly regular attacks.

But it was England who got the next points, with Wilkinson slotting a penalty after the locals strayed offside in defence -- three points that saw the England legend becoming the leading points-scorer in the Championship's history, knocking Ronan O'Gara from his lofty perch.

The setback didn't cause Scottish heads to drop and they carried on attacking with endeavour if not success.  With England looking comfortable in defence, Parks opted for a change of tack and drew the curtain down on a forgettable half of rugby by dropping a goal.

Two unchanged sides came out for the second half, and England won a penalty directly from the restart after Hamilton took a wild swing at the ball lying at Danny Care's feet at the base of a ruck.  Again, Wilkinson drew his side level off the tee.

It was to be Wilkinson's last contribution to proceedings.  Toby Flood joined the fray after England's number ten was forced to leave the field after taking a heavy knock in an attempted tackle on Evans.

And thus Martin Johnson's critics had the chance to test out their theory about the Leicester pivot.

So, did he manage to oil the wheels of England's wonky chariot?

Well, on this evidence, the jury remains out -- but his arrival did herald a few passages of inventive attack.

The pressure took its toll on the Scots and they soon conceded a penalty in defence, and the new arrival duly pocketed the points to put England ahead for the first time of the match.

But England's revival was short-lived.  Parks levelled the scores after James Haskell failed to release man and ball in the tackle.

Another error from England gave the half-tonner a chance to win back the lead, but his shot at goal rebounded off the post.

The Scots managed to regain possession and had England defending their line when a sickening clash of heads killed the raid and removed both Kelly Brown and Ugo Monye from proceedings.

The game restarted after a lengthy break with England debutant Ben Youngs one of the new faces on the field.

It was either the change of personnel or the fear of the large man waiting in the changing room or a combination of both, but England began to up the gears as the game moved into the last quarter.

Flood missed a shot at goal before sending a second effort into the corner for an attacking line-out.  The daring option might not seem like much, but in a match devoid of highlights, it felt as if Indiana Jones has swung in off the roof.

England were unable to add the cherry of a try to the top of their adventurous gambit, but Flood did managed to win back the lead after Scotland killed the raid illegal.

Again, England's reign didn't last too long.

Another shot at goal from Parks came off the post.  This time his mates decided to give chase and they almost got across the line after collecting the loose ball.  England managed to regroup, but not without conceding another penalty that Parks turned into the points that sealed the final score.

To their credit, both sides upped the tempo in the remaining minutes, but more in the manner of headless chickens than professional sportsmen.

Flood was handed a chance to win it at the death after Scotland replacement Scott Lawson was deemed to have held an Englishman back, but the fly-half's central, 48-yard shot at the sticks didn't have the legs.  A fitting epitaph for a game that limped along for the entire duration of its short and painful life.

Man of the match:  The athletic enthusiasm of Scotland's three buzzing Bs -- Beattie, Barclay, Brown -- rubbed off on those around them, with the collective spirit probably eclipsing any individual contributions.  Having said that, Hugo Southwell had one of his best games in a Scotland jersey and Max Evans and Chris Cusiter were constant thorns in England's side.  But it was straight-running, hard-tackling Graeme Morrison that caused the visitors the most problems.

Moment of the match:  It was a dismal spectacle, with the highlight probably being the sight of referee Marius Jonker conducting a scrummaging clinic after a full five minutes of collapsing set-pieces.  Nothing here will live long in the memory, so we'll nominate the moment when the Nimrod flew low over the stadium just before kick off.  It really was that bad.

Villain of the match:  The red mist descended all over Dylan Hartley after he got into shirt-pulling contest with Ross Ford.  Both can count themselves lucky that his haymaker didn't connect.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Drop:  Parks

For England:
Pens:  Wilkinson 3, Flood 2

The teams:

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Al Kellock, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Nathan Hines, 19 Alan MacDonald, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Simon Danielli.

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Joe Worsley, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Lewis Moody, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Ben Foden.

Referee:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)
Assessor:  Patrick Robin (France)

Ireland keep heat on France

Ireland did what was required of them on Saturday as they kept one hand on their Six Nations crown thanks to a 27-12 win over Wales at Croke Park.

While the struggling Welsh remain at the wrong end of the standings following three defeats, Declan Kidney and his charges can still have that hope that either Italy or latterly England do them a nice favour in Paris next weekend.

There was little for the visitors to take away from Croke Park as they found themselves outplayed for most of the contest.  Keith Earls and Tomas O'Leary were the standouts while David Wallace also put in an fine shift at number seven.

Fly-half Jonathan Sexton kicked three penalties and a late drop-goal, while opposite number Stephen Jones booted four penalties, but Wales once again paid a huge price for poor discipline.

The home side repeated England's feat last month by scoring two tries while Wales had a player in the sin-bin, the first to Earls while O'Leary followed that up with a fine solo effort.

At Twickenham it was Alun-Wyn Jones who cost his team dear, and this time Lee Byrne's technical infringement opened the door for an Irish side that needed no second invitation.

Wales now find themselves in the wooden spoon mix alongside Scotland and Italy heading into next week's final round after their poor start, piling the pressure on Warren Gatland.

Ireland though, will clinch the Triple Crown if they beat Scotland next Saturday, and that would have been Brian O'Driscoll's objective, not the adulation reserved for his 100th cap.

Man of the match:  Tomas O'Leary was a very useful cog for Ireland but the finishing and speed coming from left wing Keith Earls proved just why Declan Kidney is giving his old Munster student an extended run in the XV.  Top class with two tries his reward.

Moment of the match:  The Welsh will be regretting not taking the points on offer in the 49th minute as they were robbed at scrum-time with the scores at 16-6.  The momentum was with them before that but quickly changed hands as Ireland extended their lead soon after.

Villain of the match:  I suppose if we have to then Lee Byrne for his first-half yellow card, which led to Keith Earls picking up the first of his two.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Earls 2, O'Leary
Pen:  Sexton 3
Drop:  Sexton

For Wales:
Pen:  Jones 4

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace , 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Robert Kearney.

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Martyn Williams (c), 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Sam Warburton, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)