England crush Ireland's Slam dream

A cagey, physical confrontation between two title contenders ended with a 13-10 victory for England in an entertaining Test at Twickenham.

It Ireland arrived bursting with confidence but were more or less contained in the opening half, as England failed to capitalise on territory and possession.

Closer to a game of chess, the tension in both team's performances was impossible to ignore.  This was Ireland's first trip away from Dublin in the Joe Schmidt era and they met their match in the contests regarding aggression and skill.

For Ireland the dream of a second Grand Slam in five years is over.  England's title hopes are alive.  The hosts' young warriors — Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Jack Nowell — played beyond their years.

England's start was bright, showing composure and patience beyond the number of their caps as Mike Brown slipped out of Rory Best's tackle to put them on the front foot.

It should have ended in a score, yet didn't.  Jonny May, with Jack Nowell outside, knocked on thanks to a timely tackle from Andrew Trimble to hand Ireland an early reprieve.

England's early aggression was noteworthy but the penalties went Ireland's way, first at the scrum and then at the breakdown to end dominant England phases in the Irish half.

Ireland's attack though was in full flow when Jonathan Sexton wasn't under siege — sending a cross-field kick over into the bread basket of Andrew Trimble before England regathered to snuff out the threat.

Owen Farrell avoided further punishment for a late hit on Conor Murray than a penalty — the game entering the second quarter without any points but proving entertaining nonetheless.

When Courtney Lawes was taken out at the lineout Farrell landed England's first points with a 47-metre penalty.  Far from the finest of strikes, on the basis of the opening 25 minutes England probably deserved their lead.

And though they may have led on the scoreboard the game was poised on a knife-edge.  A second Farrell penalty would have let England breathe a little easier, only for the wind to swirl it onto the left post.

The loss of Billy Vunipola was a further blow to England's chances as Ireland searched for some continuity in their game, but the dominance shown against Wales had deserted them.  Too often fine pieces of play were cut short by minor errors.

A careless offside from Andrew Trimble saw Farrell pop the ball into the corner as England looked to make a statement before half-time.  It wasn't to be as Ireland forced the knock-on from Burrell, Sexton clearing to touch with England narrowly ahead 3-0 at the interval.

Ireland began the second period with the necessary bang.  Rob Kearney screamed through a gaping hole on an inside ball that left even Irish fans in the ground in disbelief, such was its simplicity.  A slip from England and the lead was all Ireland's now.

England momentarily were thrown.  Persistent penalties marched Ireland from their own 22 to deep into English territory, Sexton's astute chip forcing May and Brown into sixes and sevens.

It was a period of pure control reminiscent of the 80 minutes Ireland produced against Wales, and it ended with a score — Sexton's three-pointer stretching the lead to 3-10.

Score again and Ireland might have never looked back, but England now had the impetus.  Danny Care's high-risk philosophy worked for them in Paris and they added a second penalty from Farrell to cut the gap to four.

They then split Ireland open up the middle.  Brown's break on an inside ball from Chris Robshaw saw him fly into open space, having the composure and timing in his pass to release Care for a try made at Harlequins and sending England back ahead.

Equals more or less throughout, England's 13-10 lead heading into the final ten minutes never fully looked secure.

Ireland built phases and tried to twist and turn England's defence in search of an opening, but there simply wasn't one to exploit.  Joe Launchbury's tap tackle was a lifesaver — Jonny May's clearance made the whole of Twickenham erupt.

Naturally Ireland still had a chance, as Brian O'Driscoll limped from the field in his 139th record-equalling Test.  It wasn't to be, the Irish maul for brought to a shuddering halt as England came of age.

Man of the Match:  Care was influential but Mike Brown was truly exceptional for England, a running threat as ever and kicking brilliantly.

Moment of the Match:  England's try was enormous, coming right off the back of Farrell's penalty.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Care
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 2

For Ireland:
Try:  R.Kearney
Con:  Sexton
Pen:  Sexton

For England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 David Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Brad Barritt

For Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Issac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Weir sinks Italy in Rome thriller

A last-minute Duncan Weir drop-goal secured a vital 21-20 Six Nations victory for Scotland over Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

It With the clock creeping towards 80 minutes, Weir stepped up to banish the demons from Round Two's English horror show, and perhaps go some way to answering those who question his character and execution when the chips are down.

A brace of penalties and an opportunistic converted try from ex-Scotland U20 cap Tommaso Allan had given the Italians a commanding 13-3 lead at half-time, before Alex Dunbar crossed to bring Scotland back into the game.  Dunbar bagged his second to turn the match on its head, but Italy hit back immediately through a well-taken Josh Furno try, before Weir's late strike.

Games involving Scotland and Italy are not generally filed under the heading marked "classic", but despite the play often becoming fragmented — punctuated by errors and infringements as players struggled to match their ambition with accuracy — it was appetising fare for the neutral.

After a dull first half, we were treated to three quality tries, excitement and a thrilling finale as the lead changed hands time and again in the final stages.

The Scots completed the basic skills with far more precision than in Rounds One and Two, but typically struggled to perform them well under pressure until late in the game.

Their lineout that misfired chronically against Ireland and England was a different beast in Rome;  Jim Hamilton marking the card of Azzurri hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini early on, and the calls running smoothly with Scott Lawson's throwing.

But though the Scots ruled the skies, the scrummage proved a real worry for the visitors — they conceded a penalty at each of the opening three set-pieces as Moray Low toiled and buckled under the pressure.  The Glasgow Warriors tighthead was withdrawn before half-time.

Allan opened the scoring for the hosts after a rare first half foray into the Scottish 22;  Ryan Wilson straying offside before the move broke down metres from the line.

Skipper Greig Laidlaw levelled things up for the Scots shortly after, before Allan miscued a chance to restore his side's lead when a monstrous Italian scrummage splintered the visiting eight.

Scotland missed a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock as Weir burst clear up the left-hand-side following a turnover, but in a very Scottish display of profligacy, failed to release Sean Lamont, his completion on this occasion letting him down when it mattered.

With the penalty count rising rapidly against the visitors, referee Steve Walsh warned Laidlaw further breakdown offences would result in sterner punishment, and Allan made no mistake with his third attempt to nudge Italy ahead once more on the half hour mark.

And it was the pivot himself who struck a huge blow for the hosts right on half-time.  With Sergio Parisse carrying strongly into the away 22, Allan picked a smart line to scythe through the disorganised Scottish defence and burrow over for a five-pointer.  He added the simple conversion and sent Italy into the changing rooms with a ten-point lead.

The Scots began the second forty in similar fashion to the first — bags of endeavour, little exactitude.  They were rewarded with a Laidlaw penalty five minutes in, and then turned down a second chance for three points after exerting huge pressure on the Italian line.

It looked like the opportunity had been wasted as Laidlaw's quick tap eventually went to ground.  But Scotland won the ball back on the ten-metre line, and swift hands saw Dunbar cut through some haphazard midfield defence and outpace Allan to the corner.  The captain pulled his conversion from out wide.

With the gap cut to two points, Scotland grew in confidence, and mixed up their attack well to breach the home 22.  With twelve minutes to go, they produced the play of the game.  Lamont barrelled over halfway off first-phase ball, and offloaded to replacement Chris Cusiter who brilliantly flicked the ball to the onrushing Dunbar.  With Matt Scott in support, Dunbar took on Luke McLean and scrambled beyond the despairing defence to finish.  With Laidlaw substituted, Weir knocked over the conversion from straight in front.

But Italy were not done.  After poor defence allowed Leonardo Sarto to worm his way through midfield, the Azzurri stormed into the Scottish 22.  Shifting play smartly, they stretched the visitors from side to side, before Parisse exploited space and support to send Furno crashing over to level the scores once again.  Replacement Luciano Orquera's nerve held from out wide, and the Italians reclaimed the lead.

That set up a truly enthralling finish.  Scotland inched their way forward as time ticked away, and after Dave Denton rescued a scrappy scrum ball, Weir let fly a booming effort under Italian pressure to send the Scots wild, and ease the tension on boss Scott Johnson.

Man of the Match:  Alex Dunbar was the pick of the bunch;  a constant threat to the Italian defence, he scored two excellent tries.

Moment of the Match:  Duncan Weir's drop, a moment epitomising why we love sport.

Villain of the Match:  A really tough day at the office for Moray Low, who was turned inside out in the tight for 38 minutes before being unceremoniously "hooked".

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Allan, Furno
Cons:  Allan, Orquera
Pens:  Allan 2

For Scotland:
Tries:  Dunbar 2
Con:  Weir
Pen:  Laidlaw
Drop:  Weir

The teams:

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Moray Low, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Ryan Grant
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Al Dickinson, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Dave Denton, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Max Evans

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Aus)
Assistant referees:  Jerome Garces (Fra), Luke Pearce (Eng)
TMO:  Geoff Warren (Eng)

Wales keep title hopes alive

Wales are still alive in the 2014 Six Nations title race thanks to a 27-6 victory over France at the Millennium Stadium on Friday.

It The defending champions bounced back from a heavy defeat in Dublin with a muscular display, leading from start to finish and outscoring their visitors two tries to none.

Unlike their performance a fortnight ago, the Welsh pack came to the party, dominating the contact zones and shutting down any and all French attacks.

Wales led 20-6 at the interval thanks to an opportunistic try from George North, five penalties from Leigh Halfpenny, some interesting refereeing from Alain Rolland and a few howlers from Jean-Marc Doussain.

It was a dominant opening 40 minutes from the defending champions, who hardly allowed the French into their 22.

The second-half saw just a single score but skipper Sam Warburton's try sealed the win that reignites Wales' hopes of claiming a third consecutive title.

It took just two minutes for the first points to be scored as Halfpenny found the target from almost 50 metres following a French ruck infringement.

It didn't take much longer for Wales to score the first try either.  It came from a French mistake as Doussain clattered into Brice Dulin, causing the full-back to spill the ball to which he had beaten North in a race back to his line.  The ball bounced free, allowing the Welsh centre to score a soft try.

Surprisingly, Halfpenny missed the conversion but he split the uprights with another long range effort soon afterwards to give the home side an 11-0 lead inside the first ten minutes.

The French scrum would earn the visitors their first points as Doussain landed a simple penalty but referee Rolland thought a slip by Nicolas Mas was worth three points in the other direction at the next set-piece so Wales led 14-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Doussain's poor form off the kicking tee continued as he missed an absolute sitter.  Jules Plisson took over the kicking duties though and slotted the next one to cut the gap at 14-6.

The pattern of a Welsh reply for every French score continued though and North earned an easy three-pointer for Halfpenny with a crash ball in front of the sticks.

The home side would finish the half on a positive note as Halfpenny added his fifth penalty thanks to the Welsh scrum winning the ball back.  (Despite Doussain noting Rolland's leniency for crooked feeds, he decided to roll it under Richard Hibbard's nose).

Phillipe Saint André saw the light and changed his scrum-half at the interval but France continued to leave points by the wayside as Plisson hooked a long-range effort before an offload from Mathieu Bastareaud was greeted by a knock-on within sight of the line.

The scrum-time lottery saw opposing props Gethin Jenkins and Mas hit the jackpot and win a yellow card each but it did little to abate the flow of penalties in both directions.

The nightmare for les Bleus continued as Louis Picamoles saw yellow before Warburton stretched out an arm to score after a powerful run from Jamie Roberts.

Despite their best efforts, the disjointed French attack failed to seriously threaten the outstanding Welsh defence as the home side closed shop until the final whistle.

Man of the match:  Hard to pick out a single man as the entire Welsh pack deserve a pat on the back.  A mention for Jamie Roberts, who was key to getting Wales going forward, and Rhys Webb, who made a lot of good decisions.  But we'll go for Sam Warbuton, not only for his try and strong performance in the tackle area, but for leading a much-improved effort from the men in red.

Moment of the match:  France found themselves chasing the game almost from the first whistle.  George North's try set Wales on their way, and they never looked back.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  North, Warburton
Con:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 5
Yellow card:  Jenkins

For France:
Pens:  Doussain, Plisson
Yellow cards:  Mas, Picamoles

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 George North, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 James Hook.

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Hugo Bonneval, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Wenceslas Lauret, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri 4 Pascal Papé (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:16 Brice Mach, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Vincent Debaty, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Gael Fickou.

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

England thump hapless Scots

Luther Burrell and Mike Brown both scored as England produced a simple 20-0 win over a dreadful Scottish outfit at Murrayfield.

It The pace was not perhaps as frenetic as we have come to expect from Calcutta Cup rugby, but tries from Burrell and the Man of the Match, Brown, were more than enough to secure victory for England in Test rugby's oldest fixture.

England arrived at Murrayfield with a point to prove after their late loss in Paris last week, but the hosts too were seeking a reaction having been blown away in forty minutes by an embattled Ireland side.

Stuart Lancaster's men hadn't lost three successive Tests since 2008;  the same year Scotland last claimed the Calcutta Cup, but this failed to prove an omen as the visitors blitzed their rivals with a combination of speed, precision and aggression.

It was the same maddening problems of old that hindered Scott Johnson's team.

The simple but painful truth is that Scotland cannot hope to play ball with the big boys in the Test rugby playground for as long as they fail to muster any sort of potent attack, consistently win quick ball at the breakdown, eradicate unforced errors, missed tackles and silly penalties, or shore up a set-piece that exerts a crippling influence upon their ability to build phases and threaten their opponents line.

To put things in perspective, they lost almost half of their lineouts versus England's near perfect record, and conceded a total of 16 penalties.

Not for the first time this season, each successful throw-in was greeted with an ironic cheer from the home crowd;  more unsavoury was the audible approval from sixty-thousand Scots as hooker Ross Ford was replaced just after half-time.

The Murrayfield pitch was in arguably its poorest state for decades, with the patches of churned up turf a glaring backdrop to an otherwise fantastic occasion;  on this evidence, the new hybrid surface can't come soon enough.

It was the English pack who made the most of these testing conditions.  They were a step ahead of the Scots at the breakdown as Ireland had been in Dublin, and their line speed was outstanding in the first forty minutes.  The Scots' attack is often static and passive, and its deficiencies were brutally exposed as players found themselves with no time on the ball, and no option but to brace themselves for the oncoming white charge.

The hosts suffered from a lack of accuracy early on as Duncan Weir floated his first kick from hand out on the full under no pressure, and the Scots gathered the ball from an offside position to hand Owen Farrell a simple opportunity for the game's opening points.  The fly-half did take his kick from one of the more pudding-like splotches of mud, but his miss from 25 yards out and straight in front of the posts was glaring nonetheless.

Danny Care got up to his old tricks again minutes later to spare his half-back partner's blushes.  With a penalty advantage being played, and England's maul on the home 22 going nowhere, Care struck his second drop-goal in as many weeks;  having achieved the same feat in Paris a week ago.

Greig Laidlaw was wide with his first of two fruitless attempts on ten minutes;  the scrum-half always likely to struggle into the breeze from over 40 metres.

The penalty count was rising against Scotland at the breakdown, and it was from a Jim Hamilton infringement that yielded the first try of the match.  Farrell booted play up to within ten metres of the Scots' line, and after the pack were held up short, centre Burrell picked a smart line off his fly-half to crash over for his second try in as many games.  This time, Farrell made no mistake from the tee.

Laidlaw had a chance to put Scotland on the board straight from the restart with another penalty effort, but he glanced the left-hand upright from right of centre.

Farrell should have punished Scotland again on 20 minutes after yet another infringement, but dragged effort wide from the 10m line.

That misfiring lineout is a constant bane for Johnson, and when Ford threw over the top of Hamilton, England won the ball and shortly after a penalty.  Farrell converted for a commanding 13-0 lead on the half-hour mark.

It was Farrell who cut through the home defence as England threatened again in the dying moments of the first half, finding Burrell with a smart inside ball.  The centre was held up inches from the line, and the Scots were off the hook with the clock red.

The second-half began in similar fashion;  England breaking the home line with simple rugby executed at pace.  Farrell missed with another penalty effort, but England were soon to win a numerical advantage from their dominance.

Jonny May raced clear down the left-hand-side, and was again halted within a metre of a first international try.  Centre Alex Dunbar clung onto him too long after the tackle, and promptly found himself watching the next ten minutes from a plastic chair on the sidelines.  Still, though, England could not press home their advantage, despite hammering the Scottish line with a series of mauls.

That all changed as the hour mark approached.  A smart runaround move off a lineout on halfway saw the visitors outflank the Scottish midfield defence.  It appeared the chance had gone when Stuart Hogg brought Jack Nowell down on the 22, but the ball found its way back to the winger, who showed good feet and timing of his pass to send full-back Brown round under the posts.

With that, the game was over as a contest, the knockout blow had been struck, and Scotland's aim switched from sending the Auld Enemy homewards tae think again to simply avoiding a second loss to nil on home soil this season.

Johnnie Beattie matched number eight Dave Denton's powerful ball-carrying, but he was one of precious few who consistently made yards against the English defence.

Instead, it was the visitors who continued to press;  Lancaster will in truth be irked that his charges did not rack up more points from their territory and possession in the closing stages.

It was telling that the biggest cheer of the evening was reserved for a kilted pitch-invader who evaded a swarm of stewards as the white jerseys continued to bludgeon their way into the home 22;  halted chiefly by their own errors.

And so it was to finish;  a game England never looked like losing, Lancaster's only gripe the win was not a more handsome one.  Much to ponder for Scott Johnson, but these problems are none he has not been faced with before.

Man of the Match:  The chief contenders for this one were unsurprisingly all in white, with Danny Care and Billy Vunipola in particular picking up where they left off in Paris.  The award was rightly handed to Brown, however, whose kicking was secure, running sharp with a whopping 114m gained, and bagged the try that killed the game.

Moment of the Match:  Brown's try was the killer blow;  silencing the last few spirited, optimistic souls in the home crowd, and

France go two from two

France made it back-to-back victories in the Six Nations Championship as a second-half stampede saw them ease past Italy 30-10 in Paris on Sunday.

It A 9-3 half-time score summed up perfectly what was a dismal opening 40 minutes before the floodgates opened after the break for Les Bleus.

Tries came from Louis Picamoles, Wesley Fofana and Hugo Bonneval while Tommaso Iannone replied three minutes from time for the Azzurri.

A red card apiece for Rabah Slimani and Michele Rizzo for trading headbutts soured what was an otherwise clean contest of Six Nations rugby.

Action now takes a week's break before France go to Wales while Italy host Scotland in what already looks like being the Wooden Spoon decider.

On this second-half form, the French will fancy their chances against a Welsh side that had their confidence shattered against Ireland on Saturday.

It did take a while for France to click into gear though as that aforementioned summation of the first period suggests.  Several missed penalty attempts from both sides meant the game was scoreless until the 27th minute when Jean-Marc Doussain finally found his range following a strong run from full-back Brice Dulin.

France weren't ahead for long however as visiting fly-half Tomasso Allan equalised off the tee a minute later as Dulin was penalised for not retreating behind the back foot of tackled player Alberto De Marchi before contesting at the ruck.  Allan made no mistake to level.

Italy were on top at scrum time at this point but it was to be France's driving maul that did the damage next, with Italy falling into the trap of collapsing it, thus coughing up a further three.

Doussain was again on target just before the break when Joshua Furno was pinged by referee Jaco Peyper for not rolling away, meaning it was a six-point lead for the French.

Whatever coach Philippe Saint-Andre said at the break clearly worked as Les Bleus came out firing, with Picamoles barging over on 43 minutes after TMO confirmation because of possible obstruction by hooker Dimitri Szarzewski off a driving maul fifteen metres out.

And like London buses, the hosts' second arrived soon after when Fofana spotted space on the blindside of a ruck and quickly set off for the right-hand corner, seeing off Luke McLean en route to the try-line.  Doussain was now striking the ball sweetly to make it 23-3.

On 52 minutes the result was put beyond doubt as France scored the pick of their three tries.  It came from a lovely breakout from his own 22 by Fofana, who freed Yoann Huget on the left before the wing fed Bonneval for a debut try.  Doussain's conversion made it 30-3.

The threat of a demolition was now looming in Paris but instead there was a lull before replacements Slimani and Rizzo saw red for respective headbutts, this only a minute after France lock Sebastien Vahaamahina had been yellow carded for throwing the ball away.

The last word would be Italy's though and credit to them for it as wing Iannone finished well, giving them hope ahead of the biggest game of their 2014 Championship on February 22.

Man of the match:  Few would have scored the try that Wesley Fofana did.  His ability to see space before others was evident when he spotted just that on the blindside of a ruck.  Net result, he picked, went and raced over despite the best efforts of covering full-back McLean.

Moment of the match:  When the French aren't playing well, they can always look to Louis Picamoles to get them going forward.  His try to make it 16-3 with the conversion was key.

Villain(s) of the match:  No place for headbutts in rugby.  Michele Rizzo and Rabah Slimani.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Picamoles, Fofana, Bonneval
Con:  Doussain 3
Pen:  Doussain 3
Yellow:  Vahaamahina (70 mins — kicking ball away)
Red:  Slimani (71 mins — headbutt)

For Italy:
Try:  Iannone
Con:  Orquera
Pen:  Allan
Red:  Rizzo (71 mins — headbutt and punch)

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Hugo Bonneval, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri 4 Pascal Papé (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Gael Fickou.

Italy:15 Luke McLean, 14 Tommaso Iannone, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Alessandro Zanni, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Angelo Esposito.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

Ireland suffocate subdued Wales

Ruthless, clinical and unrelenting, Ireland confirmed their status as title contenders with a convincing 26-3 win over Wales.

It A try from Chris Henry and 14 points from the boot of Jonathan Sexton guided Ireland to victory, a second win in six days and one that was never in doubt.  It looked as though Ireland had enjoyed an extra day's rest between matches, not Wales.

Sexton produced an impressive tactical kicking performance as Ireland controlled territory and the majority of possession throughout.  Joe Schmidt's side were not perfect but they were hugely effective at shutting Wales down across the park.

Ireland's strengths lay in their line-out and aggression at the breakdown, muting Wales into submission as the champions produced an alarming sub-par showing.  Their big players, their leaders — Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones and George North — were silent.

At times Wales just looked suffocated, yet to find their top form in this year's competition and now facing an uphill battle to retain their title for a third time.  On the evidence of this, it will not happen.

So much wrongly was made of Brian O'Driscoll facing Warren Gatland for the first time since the Lions — as opposed to focusing on a matchup between two top sides — but it looked as though he would depart after 12 minutes following a monster hit from Scott Williams.  Not to be denied, even at 34, O'Driscoll of course returned to his feet.

This match though was not about O'Driscoll, industrious as he was.  The effort of Ireland's forwards was phenomenal and Peter O'Mahony richly deserved his Man of the Match award.

The Munster captain was a whirlwind at the ruck area and in defence, popping up with an uncanny persistence whenever Wayne Barnes penalised Wales for the umpteenth time.  He epitomised Ireland's effort;  aggressive and uncompromising.

An early knock to Gethin Jenkins caused Wales concern before they embarked on the opening attack, Ireland though surviving the early test with a win at the breakdown from O'Mahony.

Ireland consequently surged back up the field, Dave Kearney making the key burst to put the hosts behind the defence and Sexton scoring the first points of the match with a penalty after Dan Lydiate was penalised.

Persistent penalties haunted Lydiate in the opening quarter, his indiscrepancies resulting in a second Sexton three-pointer.  Wales effectively were killing themselves through indiscipline, and lost Scott Williams to injury before the first 20 minutes was over.

Ireland's breakdown supremacy continued in a match focused more on physicality than slight of hand, with an emphasis on kicking and caution typical of a Northern Hemisphere game with so much on the line.

Seven penalties conceded by Wales after 25 minutes summed up their plight.  A mis-communication for a key attacking line-out adding another line beneath it.

Ireland's five-metre line-out a minute later fared much better — Toner with the take and Henry refusing to be denied as he burrowed his over with a little help from his friends.  Wales were staring down the barrel, 13-0 down after half an hour.

Sexton's first half had been almost flawless but he did miss a penalty from inside his own half at the break, Ireland though remaining ahead with a comfortable advantage.

The Racing Métro number ten might have been unsettled in Paris, but back in the familiar comforts of Dublin he was thriving, adding his third penalty after the interval.

Wales' task at 16-0 down seemed impossible and their hopes of some first points in the 48th minute were snuffed by O'Mahony, whose form over these opening two matches has been exceptional.

It took Wales 56 minutes just to get some points on the board, Leigh Halfpenny striking a penalty won at the scrum.  Sexton responded instantly, the 16-point margin restored and taunting Wales as the match ticked on.

Mike Phillips sought to provide inspiration with a couple of tapped penalties but when Rhodri Jones was pinged for double movement inches from the line it typified Wales' afternoon.

It was to be their last salvo, Ireland grinding down the clock in their visitors' half as they had done all afternoon.

Paddy Jackson's try was a fitting ending, coming from the power of Ireland's maul.  They are very much in contention, raising the possibility of giving O'Driscoll the perfect goodbye.

Man of the Match:  The accolades should flow Peter O'Mahony's way.  Prominent at the breakdown, in defence and at the line-out — he looks like a future captain.

Moment of the Match:  Ireland had enjoyed plenty of possession but only had six points when Chris Henry flopped over for the first try.  It opened the scoreboard up.

Villain of the Match:  The needless handbags from Mike Phillips after Jackson's try summed up his and Wales' frustration.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Henry, Jackson
Cons:  Sexton, Jackson
Pens:  Sexton 4

For Wales:
Pen:  Halfpenny

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (c), 4 Andrew Coombs, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), JP Doyle (England)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Ireland power past Scots in Dublin

Ireland finished off Round One of the Six Nations with an untroubled 28-6 win over Scotland at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

It The influence of new boss Joe Schmidt was evident in Ireland's play, as straightforward but well-taken tries from Andrew Trimble and stand-in captain Jamie Heaslip saw the hosts build a comfortable lead early in the second-half, before Rob Kearney rounded off proceedings in the final ten minutes.

Two penalties from scrum-half Greig Laidlaw were all Scotland had to show for their efforts, as a solid first-half performance gave way to sloppy defence and a recurrent impotency with ball in hand after the break.

The pre-match build-up was dominated by the news that skipper Paul O'Connell was to miss out thanks to a chest infection, but though Ireland's line-out faltered at times, the Munsterman was scarcely missed.

It was another veteran — Brian O'Driscoll — whose longevity at the forefront of elite rugby was rewarded, as the centre marked his record-breaking Six Nations appearance with a win.

Scotland head coach Scott Johnson had claimed his side would adopt a more expansive game-plan in Dublin, and though they did try and move the ball well, the lack of ruthlessness was clear.  All too often overlaps were created but ignored as the visitors' big ball-carriers looked for contact or offered Duncan Weir a tempting but ineffectual inside ball.  Losing Kiwi convert Sean Maitland to a nasty ankle injury early on did not help, Max Evans replacing him on the wing.

The set-piece was to prove a painfully messy affair.  Ireland dominated the scrummage, with Ross Ford's non-hooking crippling the Scots' attempts to retain possession on their own feed.  Neither side's line-out functioned to the best of its capabilities, with Scotland in particular coughing up ball.  It wasn't a good afternoon for Ford.

The opening exchanges were full of endeavour and physicality, with the breakdown immediately emerging as a terrific contest.  Both sides sought to throw the ball around and attack early on;  Laidlaw hitting the post with a long-range penalty attempt, before the Irish pack mauled their way to within inches of the visitors' line.

The Scottish defence barely held firm, but they found themselves behind minutes later after skipper Kelly Brown was penalised for failing to roll away, Jonny Sexton slotting where Laidlaw had erred.

The scrum-half was soon on target, levelling the scores after a good period of pressure from the Scots;  but Sexton cancelled this out with his second three-pointer.

Scotland continued to dominate both possession and territory, but in typically frustrating style, struggled in vain to breach the whitewash.  Their best opportunity presented itself after a fine piece of spoiling play from the pack handed them a scrum five metres from the Irish line.  It was under heavy pressure, but Dave Denton did well to pick and go before being bundled into touch at the corner by the scrambling Irish back-row and scrum-half Conor Murray.  That was to be the closest the Scots got to a five-pointer all game.

The gritty affair was lit up by a moment of magic from Sexton as half-time approached.  A dummied kick and step inside his own half saw him sear downfield, before releasing Heaslip for a charge to the corner flag with a huge, looping pass.  Evans saved the day with brilliant last-gasp cover tackle to haul Heaslip's feet over the touchline, but the danger was far from over.

Not for the first time, Scotland's line-out faltered under pressure, and from the resultant penalty, the Irish opted for the corner rather than the posts.  This is the sort of decision that has to bear fruit in elite rugby, and though visitors repelled the initial drive well, the ball was spread wide, and Trimble had a simple run-in down the right-hand-side.  Sexton was wide with the conversion, but Ireland held an eight-point lead going into the break.

Scotland enjoyed a similarly energetic start to the second-half, with a Laidlaw penalty cutting the gap to five points.

But the hosts responded in emphatic fashion after making mincemeat of the Scottish scrum once again.  For the second time, Heaslip turned down points in favour of a line-out five metres out, and it was the skipper himself who profited as the Irish pack swiftly rumbled its way over the line.  It was an embarrassingly easy score, and this time, Sexton made no mistake from the tee.

With a 12-point lead now amassed, Ireland looked to choke the final breaths from the Scots.  A further penalty from Sexton took the gap to 15, and Cian Healy backed up his powerful display in the scrum with a bullocking midfield break.

Scotland did their best to build more phases in attack, but failed to produce any sort of danger or penetration.  In contrast, Ireland swept their way forward with eight minutes to play, and full-back Kearney brushed aside a trio of flimsy tackles from away forwards to stretch and score on his 50th cap.  Sexton's final act was to add the extras — Paddy Jackson replacing him — and record-breaker O'Driscoll received a standing ovation as he traipsed off satisfied.

The final moments were unremarkable, dominated by errors and penalties, before Dave Kearney was denied five points with the clock red;  his spectacular dive to ground Jackson's chip ruled out by the TMO.

That late disappointment will swiftly be forgotten in the wake of a comprehensive Irish win, however.  A fine start to Schmidt's Six Nations reign with his side topping the table after Round One;  but a maddeningly familiar story for a Scotland side who never threatened to spring an upset.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Trimble, Heaslip, Kearney
Con:  Sexton 2
Pens:  Sexton 3

For Scotland:
Pens:  Laidlaw 2

The teams:

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Moray Low, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Al Dickinson, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Matt Scott, 23 Max Evans.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (SA)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (SA), Mike Fraser (NZ)
TMO:  Carlo Damasco (Ita)

France claim incredible Crunch

A 78th-minute try saw France recover to claim a 26-24 victory over England in a breathless Six Nations clash at the Stade de France on Saturday.

It What a game!

France led 16-8 at the interval thanks to two early tries from Yoann Huget before Mike Brown scored just before the break to keep England in the contest.

An incredible comeback from England saw a 16-3 advantage for France at the end of the first quarter turn into 16-21 in England's favour going into the final 20 minutes, as Luther Burrell touched down and Danny Care slotted a drop goal.

France produced the best half-hour of the Philippe Saint-André era to start the game but progressively ran out of steam against an England side that went from strength to strength.

It was the home team that would have the last laugh though as a Gael Fickou try at the death sealed a memorable win.

France dominated at scrum time but England will harbour a number of regrets having seen their pack take the game by the scruff of the neck and dominating most of the second half.

It's worth repeating — what a game!

France got off to the perfect start when Huget latched onto a grubber from debutant fly-half Jules Plisson, stepped past the wrong-footed Mike Brown and raced home after just 32 seconds.

Jean-Marc Doussain missed the conversion, Owen Farrell pulled a penalty back for England before Doussain hit the target with his second kick at goal to leave France 8-3 ahead at the end of a frantic opening ten minutes.

The pace didn't slow though as Huget bagged his second try of the first quarter.  The French wing beat a poor tackle from Alex Goode before passing inside to Brice Dulin, whose chip ahead bounced favourably for his flying team-mate.

Again Doussain missed the conversion but found the mark shortly afterwards as France's superiority at scrum time earned a penalty that gave the hosts a 16-3 lead.

England finished the half strongly however, and Brown's try just before the break kept his team alive.  Care took the bold decision to run a very kickable penalty but he linked with Billy Vunipola and Brown beat three defenders, stretching an arm out over the whitewash in the corner.

Farrell missed the conversion but England came out of the dressing room after the interval breathing fire.

Care was denied a try when he was held inches short of the line but Farrell reduced the gap to five points with penalty.

England drew level after Vunipola bust through the French defence for the umpteenth time, offloading to Burrell, who could cruise in under the sticks.

Farrell's conversion gave England the lead for the first time as France's fast start seemed like a distant memory.

A cheeky drop-goal from Care ensured England got something in return for their sustained pressure as the hosts' composure disintegrated.

Maxime Machenaud and Goode traded penalties but although England clearly held the upper hand, they were unable to land the killer blow as Tom Youngs failed to find his jumpers at a five-metre lineout, letting a golden opportunity slip by.

With the game hanging in the balance, Dimitri Szarzewski bolted into space, held his line before finding Fickou, who dummied past Goode to score behind the posts and leave Machenaud with an easy conversion.

Man of the match:  Huget scored two tries and both Yannick Nyanga and Danny Care deserve mentions but we'll go for Billy Vunipola, who went forward every time he got the ball, irrespective of how many defenders were on hand to stop him.

Moment of the match:  Only one option here, Dimitri Szarzewski's break and pass to Gael Fickou to break English hearts and set up wild celebrations in the French capital.

Villain of the match:  No real nasty stuff worth mentioning.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Huget 2, Fickou
Cons:  Machenaud
Pens:  Doussain 2, Machenaud

For England:
Tries:  Brown, Burrell
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 2, Goode
Drop:  Care

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Pascal Papé (c), 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Yoann Maestri, 20 Antoine Burban, 21 Damien Chouly, 22 Maxime Machenaud, 23 Gael Fickou

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Brad Barritt, 23 Alex Goode

Venue:  Stade de France, Paris
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Italy push Wales close in opener

Reigning champions Wales saw off a promising Italian side 23-15 thanks to tries from Alex Cuthbert and Scott Williams.

It Italy showed huge improvement from their substandard outings last November, exciting centre Michele Campagnaro grabbing a brace with two opportunistic tries.

History beckons for Wales;  the objective of becoming the first side to complete a hat-trick of consecutive titles has been drilled into their squad over the last few weeks.

This, though, was an unconvincing performance.  Wales worked harder in defence than attack and struggled to sustain phases going forward, although they did control the breakdown.

This is a special group of players without doubt, perhaps whose true destiny will be the Rugby World Cup next year, but they were worryingly flat in the second half.

Italy fielded their most experienced pack in Test history but had three 20-year-olds in the backline, still trying to find that balance between set-piece excellence and exciting back play.  Judging by this game they appear to be leaning towards the latter.

Such was their decline at the back end of 2013 it was easy to forget they defeated both Ireland and France in last year's competition.  Going against tradition, the Italian scrum struggled, but the backs were dangerous and exciting.  Campagnaro at outside centre sparkled.

Two crucial lapses at either end of the first half though were Italy's undoing, highlighting the need for composure as well as plenty of enthusiasm.  Wales are too good to cough those chances up.  The Italian scrum disintegrated, Wales winning the penalties in that area and at the breakdown as the match wore on to secure victory.

Angelo Esposito endured every debutant's nightmare early on, rushing across to cover Rhys Priestland's grubber kick and missing it completely to allow Alex Cuthbert to scoop up and dive over in the corner with only three minutes on the clock.

Italy got on the board thanks to Tommaso Allan's simple penalty in an even opening quarter, Wales' supremacy at the breakdown just handing them the territorial advantage.

Halfpenny's 28th-minute strike opened up a 10-3 lead for the champions but Italy were dogged for large swathes of the first half, keeping the door shut on Wales and working hard to chase their kicks and put the hosts under pressure.

Sergio Parisse couldn't gather Edoardo Gori's clever cross-field kick for what would have been a impressive try as the Azzurri maintained their tenacious start.

It faltered just before the break — Scott Williams releasing Jamie Roberts to bust through Alberto Sgarbi's tackle before receiving the inside ball to go over, handing Wales a comfortable 17-3 cushion.  Italy's energy and enthusiasm had worked against them as Sgarbi leapt out of the defensive line too soon.

Campagnaro bagged an excellent try for his first, his pass to Leonardo Sarto coming under scrutiny from the TMO but he raced after the winger's kick to bring Italy within nine points of the lead.

Italian rugby currently weighs on the shoulders of the 20-year-old Allan and his missed conversion and penalty were vital, particularly when Italy were enjoying the majority of possession.

Wales were left to soak up attacking waves and bide their time, Priestland nearly pouncing with a winding run to the corner only for his pass to find a man in blue rather than red.

Sam Warburton received a rousing reception following his introduction off the bench, political differences put to one side, as the Wales scrum continued to dominate in the eyes of the referee.  It generated a second penalty for Halfpenny, helping Wales breath easier at 20-8.

Halfpenny's breathing was considerably less easy a few minutes later when Campagnaro pounced with an interception try, narrowing the deficit to five.

The Wales full-back though added another penalty — again won by great work from the hosts at the breakdown — to keep the Italians at arm's length.  It was far from a masterclass from Wales, but a job done.

Man of the Match:  With two tries and causing plenty of danger for the Welsh defence, Michele Campagnaro gets the nod for a very impressive performance in midfield.

Moment of the Match:  A pick for Campagnaro again, with his interception of Halfpenny's pass seeing him streak away for a long-range try to narrow the scoreboard late on and leave Wales sweating.

Villain of the match:  No real nasty stuff worth mentioning.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Cuthbert, Williams
Cons:  Halfpenny 2
Pens:  Halfpenny 3

For Italy:
Tries:  Campagnaro 2
Con:  Allan
Pen:  Allan

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (c), 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Joshua Furno, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
TMO:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)
Assessor:  Clayton Thomas (Wales)