England score 50 in Rome rout

England cantered to a simple 52-11 win over Italy in the Rome sunshine, but fell short of matching Ireland's points difference.

It Seven tries, including a double for Mike Brown, saw England finish this year's championship with four wins from five matches and a points difference of plus 73, but eight short of Ireland with Joe Schmidt's side to play in Paris later on Saturday.

The sense in the build-up had always been that Italy wouldn't be able to live with England's tempo, which had undone the best efforts of Ireland and Wales at Twickenham in recent weeks.

Their standout backs — Danny Care, Owen Farrell, Luther Burrell and Mike Brown — were all instrumental as ever, with Brown setting the try-scoring benchmark for Yoann Huget to match later on after scoring his third and fourth tries of the 2014 Six Nations.

Whatever happens in Paris, England have improved considerably in all facets of their play in this championship and deepened their squad in the process.  Silverware or not, this has been a successful seven weeks for Stuart Lancaster and his team.  It was their biggest win in Rome since 2004.

Early dominance for Italy's scrum came as no surprise, a shot of concern running through the England fans at the sight of David Wilson down receiving treatment within the first five minutes.

Orquera opened the hosts' account after England's front row stood up for the second time.

With Rome basked in perfect sunshine there were no excuses for the number of knock-ons in the first ten minutes.  Too often England looked for the finished product out wide rather than building the phases, but Farrell did add his first three points eventually to level the scores.

Patient would always end in points and Mike Brown (who else) benefited from a fine break and offload from Luther Burrell, fending off the tackle of Luke McLean and having enough speed to finish in the corner.

Leonardo Sarto couldn't match Burrell's speed of thought when presented with a simple three-on-one though, England scampering back in defence following Nowell's knock-on with Farrell providing the key tackle.  It was a wasted chance by the Azzurri.

Their scrum though remained a source of points.  Orquera kicked a second penalty after 20 minutes, cutting the gap to four.

England's ambition to play wide was encouraging but they lacked the direction, a quality that Burrell with his lines and power possesses in abundance.  A burst into the Italian 22 should have ended with more points.

The touchline was certainly Italy's friend, the space out wide too tempting for England to resist when an overlap was squandered through a miss-pass to Dylan Hartley with advantage being played.  It ended eventually in a second try, England biding their time under the Italian posts and pouncing through Farrell latching onto Care's flat pass.

A third try before half-time would give England a real tilt at their points difference target.  From Care's tapped penalty they surged up to ten metres out, only for crossing to undo their good work initially.

They didn't have to wait long.  Shifting the Italian defence around until the holes on the inside grew too vast to ignore, Farrell offloaded to the on-rushing Brown for his second try of the first half and fourth of the tournament to send England into the break up 24-6.

Michele Campagnaro had sparkled for Italy against Wales and threatened to do the same with a burst after the interval, but a lost boot and forward pass brought his effort to an end.

Even the Italian scrum was fading, the stronghold turned against the head by England in the Azzurri 22, but a tapped penalty was mis-executed when it mattered in a messy opening ten minutes to the second period from both sides.

Care's enthusiasm was relentless, Burrell just missing out on a try when the ball was kicked from his hand as the centre stretched for the line.  Marco Bortolami headed to the bin to worsen Italy's growing problems.

A first England try for Jack Nowell left the English players beaming, the 20-year-old from Exeter Chiefs benefiting from first-phase ball at the scrum as Care and Brown drew in the defence to send him over in the corner.

Manu Tuilagi entered the fray for Burrell in his first appearance for England since against Wales in Cardiff as the game loosened up, the annoyance on Burrell's face a positive for England rather than a negative.

It took three tacklers to bring Tuilagi down in England's latest foray into Italian territory as Mako Vunipola scored England's fifth try — delivered on a platter by Billy Twelvetrees as the Lions prop trundled over from two metres out.

Three converted tries away from Ireland's total with 20 minutes to go, England certainly had hope.  Tuilagi ran flat onto a Farrell pass and broke the last tackle to add England's sixth.  45-6 with 12 minutes left.

That was dented by an interception try from Sarto, his second five-pointer of this year, as Joe Launchbury forced a wide pass in possibly his only error of the championship to date.

George Ford came on for his second cap as England restored their former U20 midfield partnership with Farrell shifting to inside centre, but the points difference task appeared beyond England now.

A combination of substitutes and indiscipline hindered England's challenge until a long run from Dave Attwood appeared to put England in position for a seventh try.  The frenetic tempo got the better of Farrell, holding Edoardo Gori around the neck and slamming him to the ground in frustration.

There was enough time for one more try, fittingly from their captain Chris Robshaw, but this was an impressive ending to a fine championship from England, as their attention turned to Paris hoping for a favour from France.

Man of the Match:  The player of the tournament without question, Mike Brown shone and scored two tries.

Moment of the Match:  Oddly enough it was the interception from Leonardo Sarto, which just stopped the English momentum and put the points difference target out of sight.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing overly nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Try:  Sarto
Pens:  Orquera 2
Yellow Card:  Bortolami

For England:
Tries:  Brown 2, Farrell, Nowell, Vunipola, Tuilagi, Robshaw
Cons:  Farrell 7
Pen:  Farrell

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Alberto de Marchi, 19 George Fabio Biagi, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tommaso Allan.  23 Andrea Masi.

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11

Ireland crowned Six Nations champions

Ireland were crowned Six Nations champions on Saturday after beating France 22-20, giving Brian O'Driscoll the perfect send-off from Test rugby.

It It wasn't pretty and France came mighty close to snatching victory at the end but for a forward pass, but Ireland won't care as they claimed their first title since 2009, a second for most of this squad.

O'Driscoll put in a full 80 minute performance against a rampaging Mathieu Bastareaud as two tries from Jonathan Sexton and one from Andrew Trimble ultimately got the better of the French.

Les Bleus will wonder, however, what might have been as Jean-Marc Doussain's missed penalty late on was another blunder on the hosts' part.

It was though to be Ireland's day as they held on for the title under Joe Schmidt, with O'Driscoll alongside Paul O'Connell with the silverware.

France began the game much-improved from last weekend's narrow win over Scotland as the return of Louis Picamoles and Bastareaud's power putting them on the front foot.  The team's hunger and territorial dominance led to Maxime Machenaud kicking two penalties amid the early sparring at the Stade de France.

Those three-pointers — on minutes two and fourteen — put France 0-6 to the good as the game somewhat struggled to excite under Kiwi match referee Steve Walsh.

One reason why the contest was slow in tempo was due to scrum issues as official Walsh threatened to card loosehead prop Thomas Domingo but held off showing him yellow.

Ireland wouldn't have been concerned about the lack of a card though as they were now on top with a quarter played and found their reward following a lovely offload from Chris Henry.  That pass from the Ulster flanker saw Sexton go over for the opener in successive weeks.

However, as became a worry in the first-half, Sexton missed the conversion and then just before the break a relatively simple penalty attempt as he looked uneasy in front of goal.

So les Bleus were still leading 5-6 at that point but five minutes later it would be Ireland hitting the front, with the French ruck defence non-existent.  The score arrived from an initial carry up the middle from O'Driscoll before Conor Murray attacked the fringe and then found Trimble for the try.  This time Sexton was on target to give Ireland a six-point advantage.

Ireland could smell blood and many expected them to go for the jugular as the French looked disorganised.  However, a moment of class from fly-half Remi Tálès saw him kick across to Yoann Huget on the sideline who fed Brice Dulin for the try with a lovely tap-down.

The excellent conversion from Racing Metro number nine Machenaud — making it 12-13 — would later sum up the difference between the teams at the break — place-kicking.

Tálès smartly looked to extend the lead when near the Irish 22 but his drop-goal attempt on 36 minutes was wayward before France's woes at scrum-time would be compounded by the loss to injury of Nicolas Mas.  It appeared the tighthead prop hyper-extended his arm.

France though were heading into half-time leading but arguably shouldn't have been when Domingo was penalised for side entry.  Coach Philippe Saint-Andre's reaction to his prop's indiscretion illustrated his and the crowd's frustration.  Luckily for the hosts, Sexton missed.

Ireland had 40 minutes to save the Championship, which seemed likely when a break-out sparked by Rob Kearney led to Trimble running down the right before handing O'Driscoll a possible crossing.  The centre was hauled down just five metres short however, but the recycled ball saw Sexton hit a fine line off Murray.  The conversion scraped over for 19-13.

Sexton would, fortunately for Ireland, re-find his kicking boots five minutes later when he sent over another three points that gave the visitors much-needed daylight on the night.

But then came a real moment of controversy as hooker Szarzewski grounded against the post, with Walsh seeing it as a certain try.  However, the replay showed the front-row forward dropped the ball in the act.  There was no doubt about Machenaud's conversion though.

France were now back within touching distance as changes were made on both sides, one being Machenaud surprisingly replaced by Doussain at the base.  And unfortunately for Saint-Andre that decision backfired as Doussain missed a penalty won by his side's scrum set-piece before a forward pass from Pascal Pape foiled a late try for Damien Chouly.

Ireland subsequently held on and with it came the spoils.

Man of the match:  The official award went to Brian O'Driscoll on his farewell game and we won't argue with that.  Back-to-back gongs for the veteran centre, who says goodbye in style.

Moment of the match:  France had the title in reach when Jean-Marc Doussain lined up a penalty with time running out.  He missed and thus came the feeling this was Ireland's day.

Villain of the match:  Nothing malicious to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Dulin, Szarzewski
Con:  Machenaud 2
Pen:  Machenaud 2

For Ireland:
Tries:  Sexton 2, Trimble
Con:  Sexton 2
Pen:  Sexton

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Remi Tálès, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Louis Picamoles, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 21 Wenceslas Lauret, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Maxime Mermoz.

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 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)

Hogg off as Wales thump Scotland

Wales rounded off their Six Nations campaign with a 51-3 triumph over Scotland, who had Stuart Hogg sent-off with a quarter of the game played.

It Hogg was shown red after initially being given a yellow card by referee Jérôme Garcès.  Replays duly saw the Frenchman change his mind.

There were no complaints as the full-back took out Dan Biggar after the ball had gone, with the impact seeing the hosts' number ten floored.

From then on it was smooth sailing for Wales, who went from 10-3 in front to a 27-3 scoreline at the break.  That would, of course, increase.

The game began badly for Scotland when captain Kelly Brown was taken off with suspected concussion, replaced by Alasdair Strokosch.

Brown's departure came after Greig Laidlaw had put the visitors into an early lead before Biggar replied with eight minutes played in Cardiff.

Then came the first of seven tries at the Millennium Stadium as Liam Williams got the ball rolling, finishing off an overlap created by a solid burst up the heart of the Scottish defence.  Biggar landed the difficult extras to make it 10-3 ahead of full-back Hogg's moment of madness.

It was always going to be game over from then on as Biggar extended the gap to ten points off the tee on 23 minutes before Laidlaw missed one.

Williams, in for the injured Leigh Halfpenny, was then involved again as he rose highest close to halfway before setting off down the left as Scotland couldn't cope with the Welsh runners.  Williams' offload to Mike Phillips was followed by the try assist from the scrum-half to George North, who stepped David Denton en route to well-taken score.  Biggar was on-target again to make it 20-3 as Scotland's fans who made the journey hung their heads.

The first half wasn't done there though as Jamie Roberts was the next to cross, with a nice interchange with North and Jonathan Davies seeing the inside centre over.  Biggar's conversion made it a 24-point advantage at the break.  Scotland wished it was full-time.

North was over for his second inside a minute of the resumption but Biggar this time missed the extras — at this stage it was all about how many tries they would score.

More duly came as inside centre Roberts finished off another lovely passage from Wales, with Scotland now chasing shadows as the scoreline climbed to 39-3 at a frantic rate.

On 52 minutes it was time for Wales' sixth try of the match as simple numbers once again created space for Faletau, who had an easy run-in on the right wing as the hosts moved into the forties.  Both sides would then throw on replacements as the tempo dropped in Cardiff.

Thus followed a scoreless 22-minute period before Wales clicked once more, this time via the fresh legs of Rhodri Williams, who finished off a kick through from James Hook to score arguably the try of the game.  Hook was then successful with the extras to bring up the 50 and rub further salt into Scottish wounds as Scott Johnson moves upstairs on a poor note.

Man of the match:  The absence of Leigh Halfpenny was expected to be a sizeable blow to Wales but a combination of numerical advantage coupled with Liam Williams' performance cushioned his loss.  We must mention that even before the red card Williams was electric at the back and fully deserves this gong and his early try for that matter.  Williams and Dan Biggar received rapturous applause from the home supporters when they came off.

Moment of the match:  See below.

Villain of the match:  Minute 22 at the Millennium Stadium and the act Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg will regret for a long time.  His shoulder contact with the chin of Dan Biggar cost his side any chance of a result as he received a red card.  The match was ultimately over.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  L Williams, North 2, Roberts 2, Faletau, R Williams
Con:  Biggar 4, Hook
Pen:  Biggar 2

For Scotland:
Pen:  Laidlaw
Red card:

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

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Max Evans, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Al Dickinson, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Al Strokosch, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Jack Cuthbert.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (Fra)
Assistant referees:  Chris Pollock (NZ), Greg Garner (Eng)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (Eng)

England thrill to crush Wales

England put last year's humbling in Cardiff to rest with an assured performance in their 29-18 victory over Wales at Twickenham on Sunday.

It First-half tries from Danny Care and Luther Burrell gave England the early advantage and they never looked back, keeping the lead throughout as Owen Farrell and Leigh Halfpenny fought each other in a world-class kicking duel.

There is no longer any doubt though;  Wales are not the best team in Europe anymore.  Bar their breakdown prowess, which was exceptional, crucial failures at key times in the scrum, line-out and defence brought the two-time champions title defence to an end.

Had it not been for soft penalties conceded by England in the opening 40 then the scoreline would have read even less in Wales' favour.  Against Scotland there is now an opportunity for Warren Gatland to experiment.

For England it was all about progress.  Even had they lost, which they should never have done based on their performance in the first-half, there were enough encouraging moments to keep believing that they are still building towards next year.

The likes of Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes and Owen Farrell have all stepped up a level and in doing so secured England's first Triple Crown since 2003.

England's opening break came from the most unlikely of sources;  David Wilson cantering into space and laying the platform for Care to eventually catch Wales off guard with a trademark tap penalty.

Starting the match at a million miles an hour had Wales napping, but England's ambition then became over-exuberance.  Attempting to play out of their own 22, Wales won a penalty at the breakdown for Halfpenny to slot over from out on the right.

Wales were nervy.  The small parts of their game, tiny knock-ons included, were a hindrance.

Jonathan Davies' pass to George North went just behind him — had it gone to hand then England would have been in trouble.  North still had a chance with a grubber only to watch it roll dead.

It was England's turn now to win a penalty at the scrum, Richard Hibbard popping up to allow Farrell to restore the home side's seven-point advantage.

Jonny May then embarked on one of his cross-field runs.  Even the Gloucester wing admits he doesn't always know where his breaks will take him, but when isolated over on the far side — after some brilliant tracking defence from Jamie Roberts — Wales won the penalty at the breakdown for Halfpenny to kick his second three-pointer.

England's attack however kept Wales working, the likes of Sam Warburton racking up tackles but a discrepancy was never far away.  Farrell added another penalty to restore that seven-point gap — 13-6 to England coming up to the half hour.

There was sparkle from Wales thanks to a burst from Roberts into space, but the breakdown remained their main source of points.  Nowell ran into the same lair that scuppered May moments earlier, Wales too savvy in that area to let a chance slip as another penalty followed from Halfpenny.  He never looked like missing.

Billy Twelvetrees then displayed a similarly perfect touch with the boot.  Farrell's kick had pinned Wales back into a corner and when Warburton failed to reel in the ball at the line-out, England pounced.  The grubber from Twelvetrees bounced up kindly for Burrell to score his third try in four games.

Halfpenny still couldn't miss, adding two more penalties before half-time arrived to leave Wales five points adrift at the break.

England though now controlled the scrum.  Consecutive penalties pushed the hosts from within their 22 to a 30-metre shot at goal for Farrell which put England 23-15 ahead.

Wales were chasing, and not very well.  First, a horrendous kick from Roberts killed an overlap on the outside from which Wales should have scored.  Then they lost Gethin Jenkins to the bin on his 104th cap, something referee Romain Poite looked to have been itching to do for some time.

Halfpenny countered Farrell's fourth penalty with his seventh, but Wales were again penalised for Farrell to keep the champions at arm's length at 29-18.

It took Wales until the 61st minute to replace struggling Rhys Priestland.  His game management paled sorely in comparison to that of Farrell, who continually appeared to thread kicks into the corners.

With the likes of Mike Phillips, Dan Biggar and Paul James now on Wales had a jolt of intensity, a reminder for England that the job was not yet done.

A break from turnover ball deep in England's half nearly ended in a second try for Burrell, Halfpenny doing enough to keep him out with a try-saving tackle that saw him depart with an injury.

There was no time though for Wales to respond.  Instead an ecstatic Twickenham crowd savoured the closing minutes, with the side now heading to Rome hoping for a favour off France and with their title hopes still alive.  For Wales, there are more questions than answers.

Man of the Match:  With a barn-storming afternoon filled with huge tackles and some impressive carries, Courtney Lawes stood taller than anyone else.  This though was a team effort.

Moment of the Match:  The fastest start.  England flew out of the blocks and with Wales bewildered, Danny Care made them pay to give them the lead.

Villian of the Match:  Refereeing interpretations at the scrum are always up for debate but after Gethin Jenkins had already been warned, he should either have been brought off or adjusted.  From the moment he went to the bin the result was settled.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Care, Burrell
Cons:  Farrell 2
Pens:  Farrell 5

For Wales:
Pens:  Halfpenny 6
Yellow Card:  Jenkins

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Morgan, 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 Tom Johnson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Alex Goode

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jon Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 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 Liam Williams

Referee:  Romain Poite (Fra)
Assistant referees:  Steve Walsh (Aus), Lourens van der Merwe (RSA)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ire)

France edge out Scotland

Jean-Marc Doussain kicked a 78th minute penalty to see France claim a 19-17 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

It The Scots had led through tries from Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour to three Maxime Machenaud penalties, before Yoann Huget's interception brought France roaring back into the lead.

A long-range Duncan Weir three-pointer renewed the hosts' belief, but it was Doussain's effort inside the 22 that dealt Scott Johnson's men a gut-wrenching finale.

Kiwi referee Chris Pollock is traditionally strict on the defensive team at the breakdown, and the words "no clear release" crackled over his microphone time and again as players piled into rucks.  The New Zealander may require a police presence at his city-centre hotel this evening, however, after he penalised Scotland's Tim Swinson — predictably for the same offence — for Doussain's decisive kick.

Scotland's line-out woes are painfully well-documented, but it was the French who lost their way in the aerial duel.  Third-choice hooker Brice Mach missed his man on seven from ten occasions before being substituted early in the second half.

Up front, the scrums were a mess.  Pollock dished out instructions aplenty, but time-consuming resets were the norm on the scrappy Murrayfield turf.  The signs were ominous for the Scots as their first set-piece crashed to ground ninety seconds into the match, allowing Maxime Machenaud the chance to open to the scores with a well-taken penalty.

The hosts were let off the hook minutes later too;  a Scott Lawson knock-on sparked a sweeping sixty-metre counter-attack from les Bleus, with Maxime Mermoz scragged metres short of the line.  A try eluded the visitors, but the pressure yielded a second penalty for the scrum-half.

Despite the early scoreline, the Scots were enjoying the bulk of possession, building phases well inside the French half.  And after Jim Hamilton charged down Machenaud on the visitors' 22, Hogg hoisted a speculative hanging kick deep into the gaping Murrayfield in-goal area.  Under pressure from Sean Lamont, the ball was fumbled by Huget, allowing the full-back to pounce and ground somewhat dubiously for one the more bizarre tries the famous old ground has seen in recent years.  Greig Laidlaw knocked over the extras, and suddenly the hosts were in the lead.

Straight from the kick-off, however, Dave Denton lost the ball in contact on his own 22;  the French gathered and pounded the line.  The way the Scots repelled the advances of the visitors was admirable, but Hamilton was eventually penalised in the shadow of his own posts.  Machenaud kicked France ahead again, while the stretcher was driven on and carted off again carrying Johnnie Beattie — who had taken a knock during the move — with it.  Ryan Wilson replaced the blindside flanker.

That didn't faze Scotland, as they drove their way into the French 22 once more, and produced an uncharacteristically astute piece of backline play to cross the line again.  With a flash of zip more associated with their opponents, Matt Scott caught out the drifting blindside defence with a delightful inside ball to the onrushing Seymour.  The winger scythed through the gap and dived over in the corner;  Laidlaw slotted a fine conversion, and Johnson's charges began to believe.

The visitors continued to look dangerous when presented with turnover ball or loose touchfinders, though;  Hogg's attempted drop goal almost leading to a Serge Blanco-esque counter from Brice Dulin under his own posts.

Hamilton was — perhaps harshly — pinged for his over-exuberant infiltration of a collapsed French maul on half-time, but Machenaud was wide with his fourth penalty attempt, leaving the Scots five points to the good at the break.

What they did next was typical of this side's maddening tendency to shoot themselves in the foot.  In truth, it was terribly Scottish.  The hosts had disrupted a French maul on the five-metre line so effectively as to steal back possession;  the ball was swept left, the overlap was there, the supporters were already cheering try number three.

But Duncan Weir, with any number of options outside him, floated his pass to the one place it would not find a white jersey.  Huget, gambling to nothing, picked it off and sprinted eighty metres to score untouched.  Machenaud knocked over the simple conversion.

The Scots should have been shellshocked;  the game should have turned in a flash.  But Johnson's men showed a resolve and indeed accuracy they have seldom displayed in this Championship.  Play opened up and became more fragmented;  a development that should have favoured the French, but appeared to suit the Scots' desire to give the ball some air when they could.

Trailing by two points, Laidlaw's near-fifty-metre penalty attempt fell agonisingly under the crossbar, but when the French infringed again in the same area, it was Weir who had a chance to make amends for his earlier interception.  The Glasgow Warriors pivot showed great character to step up and drill his kick over.

As the French error count grew, so did the confidence of the home crowd, the mood in the stands very audibly shifting from disbelief to bullishness as a series of French scrums thirty-five metres out yielded nothing but a Scottish put-in, and Mermoz spurned a fine attacking opportunity on the Scottish 22 by spilling the ball.

Another scrum penalty just shy of halfway offered Weir the chance to take the gap beyond the crucial three point margin with five minutes remaining, but the fly-half could not repeat his goal-kicking heroics, pushing his effort just wide of the uprights.

It would be terribly cruel to lay blame for the loss at the door of the 22-year-old, but his interception pass combined with that difficult miss left the gap at two points as the clocked ticked by.  With a minute left, the Scottish dream turned nightmarish as Pollock blew up metres from the home line.  Doussain did not wilt under the defeaning racket of 60,000 enraged Scots, and so shattered their team's chances of a first win over France since 2006.

Man of the Match:  Plenty of candidates, but Hogg gets the nod for his vision in attack, and booming boot that frequently kept the Scots out of their own half.

Moment of the Match:  Huget's try should have been seminal, but it was Doussain's penalty that was the ultimate difference.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing sinister to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Huget
Con:  Machenaud
Pens:  Machenaud 3, Doussain

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hogg, Seymour
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pen:  Weir

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

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements:  18 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Antoine Claassen, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Remi Tálès, 23 Gaël Fickou

Referee:  Chris Pollock (NZ)

Ireland brush Italy aside

Ireland have built a healthy lead at the top of the Six Nations standings thanks to a 46-7 victory over Italy at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

It In Brian O'Driscoll's final Test on home soil, the men in green outscored their visitors seven tries to one to further bolster their points difference ahead on next weekend's trip to Paris.

A brace from Jonny Sexton, combined with tries from Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Fergus McFadden and Jack McGrath saw a focused Ireland overcome a robust Italian side on an emotional day for Irish rugby.

The visitors had given Ireland an early scare with an excellent try by wing Leonardo Sarto, converted by Luciano Orquera, but were unable to spoil the Irish party.

O'Driscoll was phenomenal in his final home game, and gave Irish fans a reminder of the sublime skill they'll miss next season.  But his team-mates deserve immense credit for giving the icon the Dublin send off he deserves.

Ireland made the livelier start, holding onto the ball through several phases.  The host showed an admirable intent to move the ball early on.

The hosts dominated possession in the opening five minutes, but the Azzurri defence was pretty resolute.  The man of the moment ignited proceedings on six minutes when a lovely wrap around from O'Driscoll to Sexton carved open the Italian defence for the Irish fly-half to touch down.  Sexton converted to make it 7-0.

The visitors responded well, though, with Orquera orchestrating some good handling in midfield.  The men in blue were finding some holes in Ireland's much vaunted defence.  Tito Tebaldi was also finding some space for his outside backs from the scrum-half channel.

The hosts regrouped, however, and gained some continuity in their opponents' half, but were undone by basic errors.  Ireland's cause was also not helped when Conor Murray was forced to exit the field on 16 minutes.

There was a feeling that Ireland were the superior side, but they just couldn't break down the tenacious visitors.  And the Azzurri got a thoroughly deserved reward on 24 minutes when Sarto scored a well-taken try having evaded Rob Kearney's desperate covering tackle.  Oquera converted to equalise the score at 7-7.

But Sexton restored Ireland's lead on 31 minutes to settle his side's nerves.  It was the least the hosts deserved following a period of concerted pressure.  But again Luke McLean was finding unexpected holes in Ireland's defensive line.

It was their great centre that initiated Ireland's breakthrough on 36 minutes when a superb pass put Trimble away in the corner.  Sexton duly added the extras to make it 17-7 to the Emerald Isle.

Although the game had become quite unstructured at times, by half time Ireland were starting to achieve some ascendancy over their stubborn opponents.

The second half began with Ireland clearly determined to break the shackles.  A fracas on 47 minutes involving captains Paul O'Connell and Marco Bortolami demonstrated the way in which the physicality on display from both sides was always threatening to spill over.  In the first five minutes of the half, the hosts were essentially camped in the Italian half.

And prop Healy deservedly got over the whitewash for the men in green on 52 minutes when Eoin Reddan tapped and went from a five-metre penalty.  Once the ball went to ground, Healy picked up, and crashed over the line.  It was to be the loosehead's final act of the match.  Sexton missed the conversion, however.

The game began to loosen up thereafter, with Ireland's backs finding some welcome space.  The brilliant O'Driscoll was undoubtedly at the centre of everything his team did well, and it was his pass that fed Rob Kearney, who in turn put Sexton over for his second try on 59 minutes.  The Irish ten missed another conversion to leave it 27-7.

The ovation was completely deafening when O'Driscoll left the field on 62 minutes, his job having been superbly done.  Substitute hooker Sean Cronin added to the home tally on 68 minutes when he barged over in the left hand corner.  Replacement Paddy Jackson converted to make it 34-7.

Italy tried to regain a foothold in the game, but lacked the incision to threaten the Irish defence.

Fergus McFadden got in on the act on 77 minutes, when he sliced through the Azzurri midfield to score with adding the extras.

And an evocative occasion was rounded off appropriately, when replacement prop Jack McGrath crashed off for his first try for his country to complete the rout.

Following a resonant day for Irish sport, Ireland and O'Driscoll head to Paris for a tilt at the championship.  On this form, anything is possible.

Man of the Match:  Who else?  His former Leinster teammate Sexton pushed him close, but Brian O'Driscoll was simply outstanding on his final Irish outing at the Aviva Stadium.  His passing was sublime, while the centre's work-rate was the equal of anyone else on the pitch.  Brilliant performance.

Moment of the Match:  O'Driscoll's lovely switch with Sexton to set up the fly-half's opening try exemplifies everything that defines the great centre's brilliance.  It could have been a score from ten years ago, as O'Driscoll's creativity and intelligence unlocked a Six Nations defence.

Villain of the Match:  No villains as both sides gave their all in a compelling contest.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:Sexton 2, Trimble, Healy, Cronin, McFadden, McGrath
Cons:  Sexton 2, Jackson 2
Pen:  Sexton,

For Italy:
Try:  Sarto
Con:  Orquera

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 Iain Henderson, 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 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Paul Derbyshire, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami (c), 4 Quentin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto de Marchi.
Replacements:  16 David Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Andrea Masi.

Venue:  Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Greg Garner (England)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor:  Andrew Cole (Australia)