France seal first win

France were left holding the wooden spoon despite battling to a 23-16 win over Scotland in the final match of the 2013 Six Nations.

France battled to a 23-16 win over Scotland on a wet night in Paris in the final match of the 2013 Six Nations.

The visitors were impressive in defence during the first half as they repelled multiple phases of French attacks, with two Greig Laidlaw penalties putting them 6-0 ahead going into the break.

But France were rejuvenated in the second half, the introduction of Maxime Machenaud transforming their fortunes as they first took the lead thanks to three penalties from Frederic Michalak and then further with two tries from Wesley Fofana and Maxime Médard.

It concluded a miserable tournament for France who finish bottom of the table for the first time since 1999, but Scotland will take heart from their showing in Paris as they improved on negative pre-tournament expectations given the interim head coaching appointment of Scott Johnson.

France tore up the fragile pitch with a series of impressive scrums in the opening five minutes, but it was Scotland who took the lead thanks to a penalty from scrum-half Laidlaw.

Laidlaw furthered the Scots lead minutes later after good French pressure, the hosts unable to put points on the scoreboard early on.

A series of French scrums near the Scottish try line took up a fair chunk of the first half and frustratingly failed to yield any points, with Scotland escaping thanks to consistent defence as boos rang around the Stade de France.

A clever piece of skill from Vincent Clerc kept a Michalak cross-field kick in play, volleying the ball into the path of Yoann Huget, but the French attack eventually broke down following a knock on from Fofana.

Scotland looked the brighter attacking threat going into half-time, replacement Max Evans chipping through but he was beaten to the ball by Maxime Médard.  No further scores before the interval meant France were without any points by half-time.

France did finally find their way onto the scoreboard five minutes into the second half, Michalak adding a penalty after good pressure at the scrum.

The hosts then drew level with another Michalak penalty a few minutes later, before completing the turnaround with a third Michalak strike on 54 minutes to take a 9-6 lead.

Laidlaw levelled the scores with a third penalty, but then France took control.

Wesley Fofana capitalised on some fine offloading down the right hand side to grab the game's first try, with Michalak converting.

Bastareaud's break then led to a second French score from Médard as France opened up some daylight between themselves and the visitors.  Michalak was forced to retire hurt, receiving warm applause from the crowd after a difficult Six Nations, leaving Machenaud to convert.

Scotland then went from 22 to 22 to score a breakaway try for Tim Visser, giving the Scots hope as time ticked away.  They were unable to seal another victory though as France clung on, easing the pressure on Philippe Saint-André but meaning that they finish the championship at the bottom of the table.

Man of the match:  A real game-changing substitute, the introduction of scrum-half Maxime Machenaud switched the home sides's fortunes as he worked with first Michalak and then François Trinh-Duc.

Moment of the match:  A half-time rollicking from Philippe Saint-André appeared to snap France into life, as they took the lead with three penalties after the break and then ran in two tries.

Villain of the match:  That man Michalak again baffled with his selection, and was forced to leave the field due to injury as a respite after a nasty forearm earlier on.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Fofana, Médard
Cons:  Michalak, Machenaud
Pens:  Michalak 3

For Scotland:
Try:  Visser
Con:  Laidlaw
Pens:  Laidlaw 3

The teams:

France:  15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Antonie Claassen, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Christophe Samson, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 François Trinh-Duc, 23 Florian Fritz or Gael Fickou.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Dougie Hall, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Max Evans.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)

Italy shock Ireland in Rome

Italy defeated Ireland for the first time since 1997 as they edged their visitors 22-15 in Rome on Saturday, claiming their second win of Six Nations 2013.

It was the perfect send-off for Italian prop Andrea Lo Cicero as the Azzurri finish the Championship in fourth, above the struggling Irish and French.

The victory was Italy's first over Ireland in Rome.

For Ireland though the worst could be yet to come as should France beat Scotland by 16 points with a try, then the Wooden Spoon would be theirs.  It is also their worst-ever run in the Championship.

Italy wing Giovambattista Venditti was the game's only try scorer early in the second half while the Irish were left to rue three sin-binnings and three early injuries at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

Ireland had the early momentum though and Paddy Jackson put the first of his 15 points on the board with a sixth-minute penalty after Leonardo Ghiraldini was blown for a tackle on Conor Murray.

However the visitors' luck soon ran out in a half which saw several of their players come off injured and iconic centre Brian O'Driscoll, possibly playing his last Ireland international, sent to the sin-bin.

Ireland were robbed several times at their own lineout and it was after Sergio Parisse out-jumped Donnacha Ryan deep in Irish territory that the referee whistled for a penalty which Orquera fired over to level on 13 minutes.

Italy resumed in positive fashion, Edoardo Gori dancing through several green shirts before offloading to Parisse at the halfway line where a lineout was called after he failed to release the ball quickly enough.

When Sean O'Brien failed to get up quickly enough after a tackle, Italy were awarded another penalty but Orquera's effort from 40 metres came off the upright.

It failed to faze the hosts, who went 6-3 up thanks to Orquera's penalty after Cian Healy failed to roll away after tackling Parisse.

Ireland suffered further setback when Keith Earls was brought down and forced off after appearing to injure his shoulder.  Luke Marshall was then forced off holding his arm and O'Driscoll was sin-binned for a needless stamp on the chest of Favaro.

Italy ultimately failed to capitalise and it took a penalty from Gonzalo Garcia just before half-time to bring up their lead to 9-3, only for Ireland to reduce the arrears through another Jackson penalty on the stroke of half-time.

Italy had Ireland on the ropes in the opening few minutes of the second half and were finally rewarded with their only try of the game thanks to Venditti, who squeezed the ball over on the right.  Orquera, from 35 metres out, converted to give Italy a 16-6 lead which had the crowd in raptures.

Ireland, however, came fighting back and cut the deficit through a Jackson penalty after Parisse was sent to the sin-bin for a trip on Madigan.

Jackson was spot-on again from over 40 metres moments later after Italy had failed to release, taking the score to 16-12 just before the hour.

With Parisse still sidelined, Ireland began to push deep into Italian territory and came close to making the breakthrough after a dominant 20-phase spell in which they finally had to settle for a penalty.  Jackson converted for 16-15.

Parisse returned, but moments later it was to say farewell to a tearful Lo Cicero who ended his Italy career in the 64th minute and was replaced by Michele Rizzo.

Another chance to extend the lead was spurned when Garcia's penalty effort was short and wide.  But when Orquera was restored to kicking duties minutes later he sent Italy 19-15 in front with another low effort 10 minutes from the final whistle.

After Parisse was brought down by several green shirts as he charged down the left Murray was sin-binned for a tripping offence.

Italy won yet another lineout and a subsequent penalty, with Orquera sealing victory in the final minute.

Man of the match:  Italy scrum-half Eduardo Gori impressed at the base but for back-to-back strong showings from number fifteen, we go for Andrea Masi, whose chip into his hands before causing opposite number Rob Kearney to cough up the ball into touch was pretty special.

Moment of the match:  It was an emotional occasion when Italy prop Andrea Lo Cicero left the field to a standing ovation in his final Test, but we have to go for the key try scored by Giovambattista Venditti.  That score put Italy ten points up, which turned out to be enough of a cushion.

Villain of the match:  Four yellow cards so take your pick …

The scorers:

For Italy:
Try:  Venditti
Con:  Orquera
Pen:  Orquera 4, Garcia
Yellow:  Parisse (51 mins — trip)

For Ireland:
Pen:  Jackson 5
Yellow:  O'Driscoll (30 mins — stamp), Ryan (68 mins — collapsing maul), Murray (79 mins — trip)

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovambattista Venditti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (c) 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Alberto de Marchi, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Paul Derbyshire, 22 Tobias Botes, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c) 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Iain Henderson, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Wales win Six Nations 2013

Wales claimed the Six Nations title on Saturday as they emphatically shut out rivals England 30-3 at the Millennium Stadium in a humdinger of a match.

Two tries from Alex Cuthbert, who ends with four scores to his name, proved to be the turning point in the game after a first-half that ended try-less.

It was a performance that brought back memories of their 2011 World Cup form and showed the potential this Welsh team has going into 2015.

Put simply, England were outplayed and could not cross the whitewash — now having done so just once in their last four games — as the Six Nations and Grand Slam both disappeared into the night.

As it was the defending Grand Slam champions that bettered a 108-year-old record to clinch their biggest ever win over England, surpassing the 25-point margin recorded in a 25-0 win in 1905.

The first-half was a rip-roaring affair in Cardiff as both teams went at each other hammer and tongs in an entertaining spectacle that had both fans in the stadium and viewers watching at home on the edge of their seats.

After building a 12-3 lead early in the second-half, through four penalties by full-back Leigh Halfpenny to one from England ten Owen Farrell, Wales surged ahead through Cuthbert.

That Welsh try — like in 2012 for Scott Williams — was one that came from the English losing possession in contact and when the ball found its way to Cuthbert on the right wing, the finisher fended off England back Mike Brown en route to a 35-metre run in.

That put them 17-3 in front and minutes later Farrell missed his second shot out of three.

Dan Biggar added a drop before Cuthbert stormed in for another try after good work from Sam Warburton and then Justin Tipuric, with Biggar completing the rout with a penalty.

This was Wales's second victory in a row over England, with the Welsh the only side to defeat the English in Six Nations action since Stuart Lancaster became coach in 2012.

Man of the match:  So many Welsh players put their hands up as the pack as a whole, Dan Biggar, Jamie Roberts et al all stood tall in Cardiff.  But we go for Justin Tipuric, whose fine showing on the openside flank was capped off by a superb assist for Alex Cuthbert.

Moment of the match:  At 12-3 with over 50 minutes gone, the ball squirting out of a ruck and eventually finding Alex Cuthbert was the last thing England needed.  The Cardiff Blues wing showed great pace to go around Mike Brown for a massive score in the context of the game.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Cuthbert 2
Con:  Biggar
Pen:  Halfpenny 5, Biggar

For England:
Pen:  Farrell

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Scott Williams.

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Tom Wood, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 David Wilson, 18 Mako Vunipola, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 James Haskell, 21 Danny Care, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), John Lacey (Ireland)
Television match official:  Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)

England toil to defeat Italy

England were left frustrated by a resurgent Italian performance as the hosts kept their Grand Slam hopes alive with an 18-11 win.

Six penalties from Toby Flood kept England ahead on the scoreboard as Italy recovered from a 15-3 deficit at the start of the second half to leave Twickenham on edge in a dramatic finish.

The Azzurri resembled the side that were so impressive in their opening game of the championship against France — hounding England in defence and creating ample attacking opportunities in the second half against an opponent who they have never defeated.

Only desperate defence from England going into the final 10 minutes kept the hosts clinging on to the lead, with all thoughts of a first Grand Slam in a decade put firmly on hold.

England signalled their intent early on with a penalty from Toby Flood after just three minutes — the Leicester fly-half coming in for the injured Owen Farrell.

Mike Brown came close to the opening try after Luciano Orquera's kick was charged down, but the ball eluded him as he tried to make the grounding.

The hosts enjoyed all the possession throughout the opening minutes but were unable to find the opening try, Flood settling for another three points to leave England 6-0 up after 15 minutes.

Italy responded on their first visit to England's half with a penalty from Orquera after an effective driving maul, lifting the voices of the visiting fans.  The Azzurri supporters grew even louder minutes later when Alessandro Zanni burst down the left touchline after Sergio Parisse's inside flick — only for the ball to be knocked on.

England's large swathes of possession created another try-scoring opportunity for the hosts, but Flood's attempted score was ruled out.  Italy then lost scrum-half Edoardo Gori to the sin-bin for taking out Flood off the ball.

The hosts' power at the scrum was again capitalised on by Flood, who added a further three more points after a fine break from Brown to leave England 12-3 up going into the interval after a frustrating half for the home fans.

Another Flood penalty at the start of the second half extended the gap and left Italy chasing the scoreboard, Orquera responding with a penalty of his own after England collapsed at the scrum.

Care's sloppy box kick was then taken out of the air by Andrea Masi and Orquera's delicate chip across to the left wing was snapped up by Luke McLean to score in the corner.

Giovambattista Venditti then carried down the right touchline to leave English tacklers on the deck, but Orquera's resultant penalty attempt fell well wide to the right — failing to make the most of a passage of play where England lost control.

The introduction of Ben Youngs steadied Flood and England crept back to a seven-point advantage thanks to another penalty from the Leicester number 10.

Italy however continued to produce some of their best rugby in this year's championship, finding space down the left-hand side through McLean.

It meant that England were clinging on desperately to their lead as time ticked away, until a knock-on five metres from their own try line led to a collective sigh of relief from the 82,000 crowd.

Twickenham expected a thrashing — the humbled crowd left booing and counting their blessings.

Man of the Match:  A whole host of Italian candidates to choose from in defeat, with Alessandro Zanni getting the nod ahead of his captain Parisse, Masi and winger McLean.

Moment of the Match:  Courtney Lawes' crucial line-out steal with two minutes remaining that helped England ease the Italian pressure.

Villain of the Match:  Starting his first Test for some time, Toby Flood may have kicked well off the tee but struggled to get England's backs firing.

The scorers:

For England:
Pens:  Flood 6

For Italy:
Try:  McLean
Pens:  Orquera 2
Yellow Card:  Gori

The teams:

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Mike Brown, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Tom Wood, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 David Wilson, 18 Joe Marler, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovambattista Venditti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (c) 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Simone Favaro, 22 Tobias Botes, 23Tommaso Benvenuti.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Mathieu Raynal (France)
Television match official:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Tied result at Aviva Stadium

A try from powerful France number eight Louis Picamoles salvaged a 13-13 result against Ireland as they left the Aviva Stadium with a point.

The Toulouse man's try six minutes from time, converted by Frederic Michalak, ensured the French ended their run of three straight defeats.

It had looked like Ireland would hold on to pick up a priceless Six Nations win but a series of injury concerns over Brian O'Driscoll and Luke Marshall left the hosts scrambling for fit players before Picamoles crashed over in the 73rd minute.

It was the second successive draw between the two sides but extended France's winless streak over the past two Six Nations to seven, their worst run since 1926-27, and leaves them needing to beat Scotland at home next Saturday to have any chance of avoiding the wooden spoon.

The Irish made the early running in terrible weather conditions and were rewarded after a superb tactical kick deep into the French 22 by O'Driscoll set up a lineout.

Peter O'Mahony won the ball and from the resulting driving maul Heaslip squeezed over the line to score his eighth international try — Jackson belied concerns over his place-kicking, after a disastrous performance against Scotland, by landing a superb conversion.

France were presented with a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit in the 16th minute but Michalak, whose selection had raised eyebrows after three poor performances, missed his penalty from close range.

Ireland were very much in control but Jackson missed a chance to make it 10-0 in the 23rd minute as his penalty from long range drifted wide.

Michalak made no mistake with his second chance in the 27th minute as he slotted over a penalty to make it 7-3.

However, the Irish scrum were forcing the French into infringement after infringement and Jackson, assuming responsibility when the Irish could have kicked for the corner, opted for a kick at goal from long range in the 30th minute and converted it to restore the seven point advantage.

The 21-year-old, playing in only his second test, was showing little fear and he punished the French again three minutes later as he stroked a penalty over from about 45 metres for 13-3 which even had injured first choice fly-half Jonathan Sexton grinning and applauding from the stands.

Michalak's woeful first-half finished on a suitably low note as given the chance to give France a filip on the stroke of half-time he sent another kickable penalty wide to leave the Irish sitting comfortably enough at the break.

Jackson had an early chance in the second-half to extend the lead but his effort fell just short.

The Irish were still controlling the game but prop Mike Ross conceded a penalty in the 54th minute and Morgan Parra stepped up, replacing the misfiring Michalak, and converted it for 13-6.

Parra, though, proved he too was fallible, missing a tough penalty attempt just before the hour mark as the French started to pressure the hosts into a series of errors.

The visitors pressed forward desperate to redress the balance but saw a chance go begging as with extra men wide out to the right they failed to push home the advantage and the Irish defence held firm.

However, eventually the French breached the line as Picamoles took advantage of Ireland dithering after a penalty was awarded and tapping it quickly he touched it down for his fifth try for his country — Michalak stepped up to the task and converted for 13-13.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Heaslip
Con:  Jackson
Pen:  Jackson 2

For France:
Try:  Picamoles
Con:  Michalak
Pen:  Michalak, Parra

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c) 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Donnacha O'Callaghan, 20 Iain Henderson, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

France:  15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Medard, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Antonie Claassen, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Greg Garner (England)
Television match official:  Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)

Halfpenny boots Wales to victory

Wales downed Scotland with a 28-18 victory in a penalty-ridden goalkicker's dream at Murrayfield in the Six Nations.

A match dominated more by the whistle and boot than any real memorable moments of attacking flair, Scotland and Wales racked up a total of 28 penalties between them as both sides continued to displease referee Craig Joubert.

Leigh Halfpenny ended his afternoon with seven penalties to his name and missed three earlier in the first half, while Scotland scrum-half Greig Laidlaw also reaped the rewards from persistent indiscipline with six penalties of his own.

Neither side was able to generate any sustained tempo due to an imposing performance from the Welsh scrum and countless idiotic penalties from Scotland, in a replica of their discipline against Ireland two weeks ago.

A promising start from Wales at the scrum lead to a simple penalty opportunity for Halfpenny, handing the visitors a 3-0 lead after four minutes.

Greig Laidlaw responded with a long-range penalty that snuck over the crossbar minutes later, before Scotland took the lead when Wales were caught offside outside their own 22.

Scotland's penalty count continued to rise but Halfpenny wasted two penalty chances to let the hosts off the hook.  The full-back's fourth attempt ricocheted off the post.

George North's break down the right-hand side gave Wales excellent field position, and they capitalised with a try from Richard Hibbard, regaining the lead with Halfpenny converting.

Rare field position for Scotland yielded a penalty at the scrum to the hosts, Laidlaw going for goal from the limit of his range and sending it through the posts.

Sale lock Richie Gray was stretchered from the field after a lengthy stoppage in play, causing concern for is club side Sale and also the selectors of the British and Irish Lions.

Laidlaw continued to maintain his accuracy going for goal, putting Scotland ahead just before half-time with another 40 metre effort to put the hosts into the lead.

Wales though were handed an attacking scrum in Scotland's 22 after a knock-on from Sean Lamont at the restart, winning a penalty after Jim Hamilton infringed for Halfpenny to restore the Welsh lead in Edinburgh — 12-13 to the visitors at the interval.

Laidlaw fell short of the posts with his fifth penalty attempt at the start of the second half, his first miss of the afternoon as he struggled kicking into the wind from 46 metres out.

Halfpenny had no such problem from a much shorter distance after a Welsh attack, stretching the gap to four points before Laidlaw responded in the latest chapter of the Murrayfield kicking exhibition.

Wales were presented with a chance to produce some attacking rugby from a five metre lineout, but inevitably the ball was lost forward.  Another penalty to the visitors from the scrum saw Ross Ford cautioned, with Halfpenny converting.

The full-back struck again with yet another penalty to stretch the Welsh lead to 22-15 nearing the 60 minute mark.  The kicking pendulum inevitably swung back Scotland's way as Laidlaw then added three more points of his own.

Halfpenny added his fifth and sixth penalties of the afternoon to open up an 18-25 gap for Wales going into the final 10 minutes as their scrum continued to ruthlessly dominate the Scottish pack.  Another penalty chance, another three points for Halfpenny.

Scotland threw everything at Wales late on as they attempted to claw their way back into the match, but there was to be no breakthrough against a revitalised Welsh defence.  The title decider between Wales and England next weekend is very much on.

Man of the Match:  Hounded by his critics in recent weeks, Sam Warburton's work ethic was exceptional throughout with 13 tackles to his name.

Moment of the Match:  After missing three consecutive kicks, Leigh Halfpenny nailed a difficult touchline conversion after Richard Hibbard's try and never looked back.

Villain of the Match:  Frustrating for supporters, the high penalty count ruined the game as a spectacle.  Eyes on you Mr Joubert.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Laidlaw 6

For Wales:
Try:  Hibbard
Con:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 7
Yellow Card:  James

The teams:

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Dougie Hall, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Max Evans.

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Ryan Jones (capt), 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Scott Andrews, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Scott Williams.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)