Crazy win not enough for England

England won 55-35 against France at Twickenham in a crazy game but it wasn't enough to claim the Six Nations title, which is retained by Ireland.

Ben Youngs scored the first try of the game in the opening minute, and from then it was back and forth all game, with England taking advantage of their greater fitness to run in seven tries.

France played their part, scoring five tries of their own, but missed 12 points with the boot and failed to take advantage of a period of first-half dominance before running out of steam.

Youngs and Jack Nowell scored two tries apiece to leave England needing a converted try in the final seconds but after the ball was turned over, Rory Kockott kicked it out to put paid to England's hopes.

Anthony Watson, George Ford and Billy Vunipola scored the other English tries, with Sébastien Tillous-Borde, Noa Nakaitaci, Maxime Mermoz and Vincent Debaty crossing for les Bleus.

England grabbed the first try after just two minutes, taking advantage of a mix-up in midfield by the French.  Jonathan Joseph pounced on a loose ball before finding Mike Brown outside him.

With the French scrambling, Brown fed Ford, and while he couldn't get over he had Youngs on his shoulder for the score.  Ford converted and England were 7-0 up in no time.

It could have been even better for the home side after a powerful scrum earned them a penalty, but Ford was off-target from 45 metres out.

And having made a calamitous start, France finally got a foothold in the match after ten minutes when Thierry Dusautoir got in at a breakdown to earn a penalty, with Jules Plisson slotting the three points.

From that moment France took control, taking advantage of an English mistake to score their first try.  Youngs was scragged in a ruck and the loose ball was scooped up by Tillous-Borde who sprinted 60 metres to score.  Plisson missed the conversion, but France were leading 8-7.

France almost blew another try when Nakaitaci sprinted over, but he tried to go under the posts and was tackled by Youngs.  He was on the verge of going dead in-goal, getting the ball a fraction of a second before his foot went touched the dead-ball area, much to his relief.  Plisson's conversion made it 15-7.

After England's good start, it was all France, and they almost had a third when Nakaitaci again got away down the left, but England just scrambled in time to stop Alexandre Flanquart getting the final pass away with his winger awaiting a return pass.

Les Bleus had also turned things around in the scrum, but Plisson missed an easy shot at goal when Joe Marler was penalised in the English 22.

The game was being played at a ferocious pace, but it came to a shuddering stop when Courtney Lawes put in a huge hit on Plisson.  While the ball had gone, the tackle was deemed legal with Lawes having launched into the tackle before the pass was made.

The game had been stopped and required a scrum to restart, and this time France were penalised, with Ford cutting the deficit to five points.

France came back and should have stretched their lead back to eight but Plisson again was off-target when Dan Cole went off his feet in a ruck.

And on the half-hour England took the lead again, with Watson taking advantage of a great run by Youngs.  The scrum-half had fed Ford, and while he was tackled, Nakaitaci ripped the ball away but it bounced kindly for England and James Haskell put Watson over in the corner.  Ford converted to make it 17-15.

The momentum was with England and they went over again five minutes later with a stunning counter-attack.  After Ford had been charged down, the ball went into touch five metres out.  England took the lineout quickly and Joseph got away.  His kick-through was collected by Bernard le Roux who was immediately under pressure from Burrell.

The centre seemed to go off his feet but the decision went the other way as France were accused of sealing.  The penalty was taken quickly and Youngs slipped out of le Roux's tackle to score.  In front of the posts Ford made it 24-15.

There was still time for more points, with Mermoz obstructing Joseph on a kick-chase, and Ford completing the half with another penalty to make it 27-15 at the break.

Trailing by 12 points after a crazy half, France needed an instant response and they got one after just two minutes.  Some great work off a lineout saw them work their way into the English 22, and after a number of charges Guilhem Guirado produced a delightful offload out of the tackle for Mermoz to go over.  Plisson converted to bring France back to within five points.

The intensity wasn't about to let up though, and England came straight back with a try from Ford.  Youngs spotted a gap as France struggled to get back at a ruck and after he sprinted through Ford was on hand to go under the posts.  His conversion made it 34-22 to England.

France turned to their bench and when Marler couldn't resist and put his hands into a ruck, Rory Kockott added three points with the help of the post to bring the deficit back to nine points.

But it was only temporary respite, with England turning the ball over in the French 22 and le Roux leaving Nowell free to run in a try on the left.  With Ford's conversion England led 41-25 and were ten points away from claiming the title.

Their task got harder though when Haskell tripped Plisson and was sent for ten minutes in the sin-bin.

Still, France were struggling in the lineout, and missed the chance to get back onto the front foot with an overthrown lineout by Kayser.

While they looked out on their feet, France weren't done yet, and Debaty completed a stunning counter-attacking try.  After Mermoz had put Nakaitaci into space, the winger couldn't go all the way, but stayed on his feet long enough to feed Debaty in support to score in the corner.  Kockott couldn't convert however and the deficit remained at 11 points.

It didn't stay that way for long, as England managed their sixth try despite being a man down, with Vunipola crashing over from close range, but every time England looked to be back in with a shout of winning the Championship, they let France back in.

This time it was after a powerful rolling maul, with Kayser the man to emerge from the pile of bodies.  Again the conversion was off-target, bringing the French tally up to 12 points missed with the boot.

England needed 13 points and they set up a grandstand finish with a try off the back of a scrum, going through the backs and sending Nowell over.  With Ford's conversion England needed a converted try with three minutes to go.

They had their chance when they had a lineout five metres out but the French won a penalty and Kockott eventually kicked it out to hand the title to the Irish.

Man of the match:  There were many candidates, but in the end we've got to go with Ben Youngs who scored two tries and was involved in a number of others.  Arguably his finest performance in an England shirt, even if it wasn't quite enough.

Moment of the match:  How do you pick in a game with 12 tries?  We'll go with Ford's try early in the second half.  That try seemed to definitively kill off the French challenge and set England up to chase the title.

Villain of the match:  The trip from Haskell was pretty careless and did deprive England of a man for ten minutes.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  B. Youngs 2, Watson, Ford, Nowell 2, B. Vunipola
Cons:  Ford 6
Pens:  Ford 2
Yellow Card:  Haskell

For France:
Tries:  Tillous-Borde, Nakaitaci, Mermoz, Debaty, Kayser
Cons:  Plisson 2
Pens:  Plisson, Kockott

The teams:

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Geoff Parling, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieron Brookes, 19 Nick Easter, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees

France:  15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Sébastian Tillous-Borde, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Vincent Debaty.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud

Venue:  Twickenham, London
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Ireland edge towards title

Ireland rose to the challenge set by Wales earlier on Saturday, thumping Scotland 40-10 to claim top spot in the Six Nations table.

An incredible second-half blitz from the Welsh in Rome left Joe Schmidt's side chasing a points difference deficit of 20, with England hosting France in the final match of the tournament shortly after full-time at Murrayfield.

Paul O'Connell and Jared Payne touched down in addition to a brace from the monstrous Sean O'Brien as the men in green flourished in the Edinburgh sunshine.

Scotland mustered a solitary score through Finn Russell, and an early penalty from captain Greig Laidlaw.

In need of points, Schmidt's troops enjoyed the perfect start.

From a seemingly innocuous position, a slip in the Scottish midfield suddenly presented Ireland with a huge overlap, Rob Kearney's arcing run and pass to Robbie Henshaw taking the visitors to within five metres of the line.

Scotland defended the subsequent onslaught ably, but the pressure always looked likely to tell, O'Connell crashing over round the fringes of the breakdown.

Jonny Sexton converted, and took Ireland's lead to ten after as many minutes with a penalty, Scotland pulling down a maul on their own 22.

The hosts responded well to the furious Irish opening with a spell of possession in their opponents' half that culminated in Laidlaw's penalty.

The livened atmosphere at Murrayfield soon grew dark again, however, as from a lineout on the Scots' 22, the home forwards parted as though Moses, not O'Brien was carrying the pill, the flanker evading Dougie Fife and powering over for a try converted by Sexton.

There followed a frenetic few minutes, where O'Brien lacerated the Scottish midfield, and Tommy Bowe was denied a try by a superb Russell cover tackle, while the unlikely duo of Jim Hamilton and substitute Geoff Cross made impressive inroads of their own.

With the match fast developing into as expansive and high-octane fare as anything involving either side this tournament, it was Scotland who struck next.

From a Tommy Seymour grubber down the left touchline, a smart, and not entirely subtle, nudge from the chasing Stuart Hogg saw Jared Payne collide with Kearney, the Scotland full-back claiming the ball, and a few phases later, Adam Ashe feeding Russell to canter round under the posts for a first Test try.

Laidlaw converted, but Sexton added his second penalty to restore a two-score, ten-point gap on 34 minutes.

Matt Scott almost sent Russell in again after the centre gathered his teammate's sumptuous chip-kick, but his attempted offload was knocked astray in contact.

Sexton scored first after the interval with a penalty from point-blank range as Ireland began to seize control of the match, and the fly-half delivered a sweet inside ball in the shadow of the Scottish uprights to send Payne diving over the whitewash.

It was far too simple a score from Vern Cotter's perspective, given the number of defenders on hand, and the ease with which Blair Cowan was bumped aside by the centre.

With Sexton's conversion, and the score at 30-10, Ireland had equalled Wales' points difference, and should have bettered it when he slammed a routine penalty off the post 53 minutes.

Repeat infringements and maddening indiscipline have long blighted this Scotland squad, and as referee Jérôme Garcès lost patience, Cross was shown yellow – the Scots' fifth of this championship.

Again, however, Sexton was off-target from the tee.

Bowe next came closest to posting crucial points on the board, his tip-toe down the touchline was stalled by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne's tap-tackle, the stumbling winger's momentum was sufficiently halted for him to fall short of the line.

Sexton finally rediscovered his range on 62 minutes, taking the margin on the scoreboard to 23 points with 19 minutes left.

With the requisite points scored, both half-backs, Sexton and his partner Conor Murray, reverted to the disciplined, controlled kicking game that has dominated Ireland's championship and characterised their recent performances under Schmidt.

Pinning Scotland deep in their own 22 with an array of dinks, hoists and probes, they had their reward, and made safe their elevation – as things stand – to first place when O'Brien ignored a massive overlap to battle his way over from five metres.

Ian Madigan, on for Sexton a minute earlier, converted, but as the Fields of Athenry began to ring out, Scotland threatened to throw a huge spanner in the works.

Hogg looked to have collected Rob Harley's looping pass and scored in the corner, but Jamie Heaslip's tackle had forced the ball from his grasp at the last possible instant.  In such moments are championships won and lost.

Ireland preserved their lead, passing up another chance to extend it when Madigan hooked a penalty with the last kick of the game.

All eyes now point towards Twickenham – England tasked with overturning a 26-point deficit – and a phenomenal climax to this, the ever-engrossing Six Nations.

Man of the match:  The Irish back-row were outstanding around the contact area and in the loose – none more so than two-try, all-action Sean O'Brien.

Moment of the match:  Heaslip's tackle.  It could prove title-deciding.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Try:  Russell
Con:  Laidlaw
Pen:  Laidlaw
Yellow Card:  Cross

For Ireland:
Tries:  O'Connell, O'Brien 2, Payne
Cons:  Sexton 3
Pens:  Sexton 4

The teams:

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Dougie Fife, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 David Denton, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Adam Ashe, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.  Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Rob Harley, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Greig Tonks, 23 Tim Visser

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 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 Felix Jones

Venue:  Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Wales blow title race wide open

Wales ran in 47 second-half points as they beat Italy 61-20 on Saturday, giving themselves the best possible chance of winning the Six Nations.

The visitors ran in eight tries on the day but a late Leonardo Sarto score for the Italians gives England and Ireland hope ahead of their respective fixtures.

Wales knew the size of their task and maybe pundits had done a disservice to Italy this week, as they showed plenty of early guts in defeat.

In fact, they led for the majority of the first half as the Welsh struggled to get off on the right foot in the first game of the last day.

They began terribly when straight from the kick-off, obstruction led to a penalty being awarded to the Azzurri.  Kelly Haimona added three.

However the unlucky fly-half would leave the field four minutes later after his tackle on Wales centre Jamie Roberts saw him injure an arm.  On in his place was Luciano Orquera, who like his team defended admirably in the first period whilst demonstrating decent spells in attack.

There was a back and forth in terms of early scoring in Rome as Italy were caught offside after eight minutes, leading to Leigh Halfpenny stepping up for his first points of the afternoon.  But when lock Luke Charteris handled an Italian at the lineout, Orquera made it 3-6.

But then it would be the turn of Italy to make the cardinal error of obstruction at the restart, meaning it was a short-lived lead for them.

With almost 20 minutes gone it seemed Wales were so intent on not rushing matters that at times it seemed lethargic.  Fortunately a grubber kick from Halfpenny down the left side of the field led to Roberts collecting and grounding for 11-6.  Halfpenny crucially missed the extras.

The trend continued though and with Wales defending unlike they did last week, Italy left wing Giovambattista Venditti snuck over from the tail of a maul.  Orquera's successful conversion meant the Azzurri were back in front at 11-13, as Welsh fans started to look at the clock.

Concerned Welsh supporters had feelings of tension heightened when full-back Halfpenny departed after a head collision with Samuela Vunisa's knee.  He did not return from his Head Injury Assessment test as Scott Williams came on and performed well for the remainder of the fixture.

A re-jig to the backline led to Wales upping the pace and despite not getting the required try before the break, Biggar did land a penalty.

Then with the second half came the breakthrough for Wales as Liam Williams moved to fifteen and starred at the back, picking up a try after running a fine line off Rhys Webb on 48 minutes before setting up George North with a score from halfway to make it 28-13.  It was game on.

North crossed again on 55 minutes to make it 35-13 only seconds after Italy centre Andrea Masi was shown yellow for taking a player out and suddenly the Azzurri looked lost and tired while the Welsh were firing on all cylinders, with both benches being used for different reasons.

A hat-trick try from North soon followed before the hour mark as Wales surpassed England to go with Ireland on the points difference column.

Italy received another yellow card on 64 minutes when second-row Quintin Geldenhuys was pinged for dragging down a maul and Wales almost got their sixth but for lock Alun-Wyn Jones being held up over the try-line.  That score did come soon after though as Webb went over for 47-13.

They hit the 50-point mark before 70 minutes too with arguably the pick of their tries when Scott Williams and Justin Tipuric combined to send captain Sam Waburton over from 35 metres.  The wheels of the Italian machine were now well out of sight in the Rome rear-view mirror.

A further try from Scott Williams on 72 minutes looked like setting up a perfect finale for Wales but when Sarto crossed at the death, the Welsh fans wondered how that might impact on their title hopes.  England and Ireland know their task as the Six Nations goes down to the wire.

Man of the match:  Losing one of the best goal-kickers in the world was possibly a blessing in diguise for Wales as Liam Williams' form at the back was outstanding in the second half.  However, for another consistent performance at the coalface, Alun-Wyn Jones gets the nod, ahead of the hugely impressive Sam Warburton.

Moment of the match:  The try from Liam Williams on 47 minutes gave Wales the springboard to get the ball rolling in Rome.  From then on their superior fitness and quality shone through.

Villain of the match:  Harsh on replacement scrum-half Gareth Davies but he will be a nervous man for the next few hours after coughing up a late chance to score.  Italy went down the other end and crossed for a try of their own.  Could it prove costly?

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Venditti, Sarto
Cons:  Orquera 2
Pens:  Haimona, Orquera
Yellow cards:  Masi, Geldenhuys

For Wales:
Tries:  Roberts, L Williams, North 3, Webb, Warburton, S Williams
Cons:  Biggar 6
Pens:  Halfpenny 2, Biggar

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 George Fabio Biagi, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements:  16 Andrea Manici, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Quintin Geldenhuys, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Enrico Bacchin.

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams.

Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  JP Doyle (England), Luke Pearce (England)
Television match official:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Assessor:  Donal Courtney (Ireland)

Revitalised France nil Italy

Yoann Maestri's first international try helped France to a morale-boosting 29-0 victory over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico.

After an uninspiring first half, les Bleus ground their way into the lead before taking control in the second-half.

And when Maestri went over five minutes after the break, France moved 19-0 ahead to ensure a second win over the Championship after successive losses, with Mathieu Bastareaud adding the finishing touches with a last-second try.

On the day that Sergio Parisse became Italy's all-time most capped player, it was a wretched afternoon for the Azzurri, who failed to make the most of their early dominance before being completely overwhelmed from the 20 minutes onwards.

Instead it was Thierry Dusautoir, captaining France for the 50th time, who enjoyed a win in Rome, after consecutive losses in 2011 and 2013.

Italy had all the ball in the opening minutes but the first real danger came from a high ball collected by Noa Nakaitaci.  On debut, the winger sprinted 50 metres but couldn't get past Parisse, with the Italy skipper using the touchline to his advantage.

Still, the visitors were struggling to get any ball, and Italy should have gone in front on eight minutes when Bernard le Roux was penalised at a ruck.  Tommaso Allan, a late replacement for Kelly Haimona, was off-target with a relatively simple shot at goal.

Allan was clearly struggling with a groin injury, and soon had to leave his team-mates, with Luciano Orquera taking his place.  However the Zebre fly-half had no more luck than his predecessor, hitting the post with his first shot at goal as Italy failed to take advantage of their early dominance.

France barely touched the ball in the opening quarter, but earned a first penalty at a scrum, however Scott Spedding was off-target from 45 metres out.

The quality was fairly limited but Italy had their first semblance of a chance when Edoardo Gori dived onto a loose ball in midfield.  However after Samuela Vunisa had arrived in support his pass to Giovanbattista Venditti was forward.  Again Italy threatened, this time Andrea Masi was the guilty party with a knock-on when there was a big overlap.

Just before the half-hour, Vunisa collected a knock-on from Leonardo Ghiraldini, handing Camille Lopez a shot at goal from 40 metres out.  Having endured a really poor start to the game, Lopez made no mistake and gave France an unlikely 3-0 lead.

The conditions were poor, but that still didn't fully explain the number of handling errors and poor passes that made attacking play difficult.

But while it was France who had been heavily penalised in the early stages, that trend was reversed in the lead-up to half-time, with Francesco Minto pinged for coming in at the side at a ruck.  From 40 metres out, Lopez found the target, to give France a 6-0 advantage.

That seemed to liberate the French a little, and after one monumental rolling maul, Lopez almost scored a sensational solo try.  He slalomed through a number of tackles, but with the cover defence in place, his final pass didn't go to hand.

Italy were suffering on the injury front, with Matias Aguero and Luca Morisi joining Allan in coming off before the break.  And the momentum seemed to be turning, with the game now being played almost exclusively in Italian territory, although France were not much more effective with ball in hand.

They did have the edge in the scrum though, with Nicolas Mas impressing on his return to the team.  A penalty on the stroke of half-time gave them the chance to stretch the lead to nine points, with Spedding resuming kicking duties as Lopez needed treatment on his ankle.  The full-back made no mistake and France led 9-0 at the break.

The ankle problem turned out to be too much for Lopez to carry on, and he was replaced by Jules Plisson at the break.  The second half started with France again on the front foot, and Plisson knocked over an early penalty to settle his nerves.

And after 45 minutes France got the first try of the game thanks to some great ambition from Spedding.  The Bayonne full-back chose to run back a loose kick, before finding Loann Goujon inside him.  The support play was good and Guilhem Guirado popped up to keep the move alive.  He seemed to be caught high but the ball was quickly released and Yoann Huget played the overlap well to send Maestri over in the corner.  Plisson slotted the conversion and all of a sudden France led 19-0.

France looked a team transformed with a little confidence, and the introduction of Rabah Slimani and Benjamin Kayser made a difference in the scrum as les Bleus produced a massive effort to march the Italian eight back 15 metres before being penalised.

Just before the hour Italy conceded another penalty, with Plisson continuing his fine afternoon with the boot to stretch the lead even further.

While France had clearly bucked up their ideas, all wasn't clicking, with Kayser missing his jumper a couple of minutes later when France had a great lineout just five metres out.

Still, they were defending well and Italy had no response, with the French finishing the game on the front foot and there was time for Bastareaud to power under the posts with the final act.

It was far from perfect, and the first 20 minutes were desperately poor, however with a little confidence France certainly looked a far more capable team.  Whether they can maintain that next week against England remains to be seen.

Man of the match:  A lot of questions were asked over Loann Goujon's place in the starting line-up, having not made a start at number eight for La Rochelle since October.  The 25-year-old really showed up though, providing a big ball-carrying presence and winning his battle with Sergio Parisse.

Moment of the match:  It has to be Yoann Maestri's try.  A great counter from Scott Spedding with good support from Loann Goujon got them going before Yoann Huget released Maestri for the score.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Maestri, Bastareaud
Cons:  Plisson 2
Pens:  Lopez 2, Spedding, Plisson 2

The teams:

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Samuela Vunisa, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 George Fabio Biagi, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements:  16 Andrea Manici, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Barbini, 20 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Enrico Bacchin.

France:  15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Sébastian Tillous-Borde, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Vincent Debaty, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud

Venue:  Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Referee:  JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

England pick up Calcutta Cup

England kept their hopes of lifting the Six Nations trophy very much alive, despite labouring past Scotland 25-13 in a sloppy showing on Saturday.

Victory leaves the English top of the standings on points difference — four ahead of Ireland and 25 up on third-placed Wales — ahead of hosting France next weekend in a fascinating final round of Championship fixtures.

But they will rue a plethora of missed opportunities in this game as Scotland battled well and stayed in touch until Jack Nowell's late try sealed the result.

Scotland were clinging on by their fingernails as early as the fifth minute as England came out all guns blazing, crossing early after Jonathan Joseph slipped a tackle from close-range.  That came moments after Luther Burrell could have set up Anthony Watson following a simple break.

England were so dominant in the opening 20 minutes that they made a whopping 260 metres as Scotland were falling off tackles, 11 in total.

However, the hosts had nothing further to show for their efforts before Scotland somehow managed to claw their way into the match.  A brief passage in the English half led to an intelligent line-out before the ball was moved out to centre Mark Bennett who crossed in the right-hand corner.

Greig Laidlaw slotted a wonderful touchline conversion and suddenly, despite having been under the cosh for so long, the Scots were level.

George Ford and Laidlaw then traded penalties in the 25th and 29th minute, but Scotland would be forgiven for feeling hard done to when referee Romain Poite did not show tighthead prop Dan Cole a yellow for cynically taking out Laidlaw at the base just one metre from England's line.

At 10-10 England continued to look threatening with ball in hand against a poor Scottish defence.  But fortunately for the visitors, Ford's pass 40 metres out that sent Burrell through before Watson finished over the line was called forward by Poite.  Somehow we were still tied.

And incredibly it was Scotland who would head into the break at Twickenham leading when an offside from England saw Laidlaw make it 10-13.

It didn't last as England, like they did in the first, started the second-half with real intent as they went over on 44 minutes, with Ford finding a gaping hole in the Scottish defence to cruise over from ten metres out.  His successful conversion put the English 17-13 in front.

That cushion was pushed out to seven points in the 51st minute when Rob Harley made contact with Courtney Lawes in the air at line-out time, Ford making no mistake as England looked set to turn the screw.  Indeed, Stuart Lancaster went to Tom Youngs and Geoff Parling as fresh legs.

Still the Scots would not be floored though as yet more English ball and opportunities to kill the game with tries were foiled by a mixture of knock-ons, forward passes or strong breakdown work from the visitors, the highlight being James Haskell's skew pass to full-back Brown.

But England would put the game to bed in the 75th minute when Nowell finished well in the left corner for a score that took them top of the standings, with Scotland meanwhile taking heart from a much-improved performance.

Man of the match:  Playing some excellent rugby for a youngster, Anthony Watson was impressive yet again on Saturday, running well and offering the ball well in or before contact.  Mike Brown also played well at full-back while openside flanker Blair Cowan and left wing Tommy Seymour were good for Scotland, but it has to go to metre-making England wing Jack Nowell, who deserved his late try in the corner.

Moment of the match:  While they created try-scoring opportunities, England's video session will look at what went wrong to leave them claiming only a narrow win.  In truth they should have put this to bed in the opening 20 minutes.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Joseph, Ford, Nowell
Con:  Ford 2
Pen:  Ford 2

For Scotland:
Try:  Bennett
Con:  Laidlaw
Pen:  Laidlaw 2

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 David Denton, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Adam Ashe, 22 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 23 Greig Tonks.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Williams try ruins Irish slam hopes

Scott Williams' second-half try was enough for Wales to end Ireland's Grand Slam hopes 23-16 in a titanic tussle in Cardiff.

After racing into a 12-0 lead, Wales spent large periods of the second half camped in their own 22, but showed that for all their tactical nous, Ireland are still struggling a little on the try-scoring front.

A penalty try ten minutes from time did give Ireland hope at the Millennium Stadium, but Leigh Halfpenny responded with a penalty that appeared to have sealed the win, and despite a final effort from the Irish, Wales hung on.

Wales racked up an unbelievable 289 tackles, as Ireland lay siege to their line in the second half, but with the exception of one maul, the Irish couldn't find a way through.

Despite yellow cards for both Sam Warburton and Jonathan Davies, Warren Gatland's side held on for the win, and are now right back in contention for the Six Nations title before next week's trip to Italy.

Wales took the lead within two minutes when Ireland ventured offside in the first passage of play.  Warren Gatland's men were dominant early, and after a long period in the Irish 22, Peter O'Mahony cynically killed the ball in a ruck, conceding a penalty, which Halfpenny converted to make it 6-0.

In the build-up to that second penalty, Leigh Halfpenny had brilliantly claimed a high ball out of the hands of Conor Murray, while Davies had then handed off Johnny Sexton on a powerful charge.

It was all Wales, and on Ireland first extended period of possession, Gethin Jenkins got in well at a ruck to earn a penalty, which Halfpenny converted from halfway to make it 9-0 after just ten minutes.

Ireland seemed rattled, and that was evident when Sexton put the restart out on the full.  From the resulting scrum, Wales were dealt a big blow though, with Samson Lee injured and receiving oxygen before going off.  The game had carried on and after Jack McGrath slowed the ball down in a ruck to allow Halfpenny to make it 12-0.

Finally Ireland got themselves into the game when George North failed to release the tackled player in a ruck, and while Sexton was off-target with his first penalty attempt, he made up for it a minute later when Scott Baldwin caught Tommy Bowe high round the neck.

Ireland were finally getting themselves into the game, and after another long period of possession, it was the Welsh who failed to roll away on a number of occasions, with Dan Biggar the man finally penalised.

The visitors turned down the three points, but Rory Best's lineout was stolen by Warburton, who was then taken out in the air by Devin Toner as the chance went begging.

Wales earned another penalty a minute later when the Irish collapsed a promising maul, but they saw a chance of their own disappear when they knocked on a lineout on the visiting 22, with Aaron Jarvis struggling in the next scrum and conceding a penalty.

Just before the half-hour Wales lost Warburton to a yellow card.  The Welsh skipper tried to contest a ball at the breakdown but referee Wayne Barnes deemed that he hadn't released the tackler.  It was probably the right call, although it seemed a little harsh, with the visitors having been heavily penalised in the opening quarter without conceding a card.

Sexton made no mistake with the resulting penalty, as Ireland looked to be in the ascendancy, but Wales responded and set up Biggar in position to knock over a drop goal and push the lead back to nine points.

It didn't last long though, with Ireland again looking dangerous, Paul O'Connell — on his 100th Ireland appearance — made a half-break and a couple of phases later was tackled without the ball, allowing Sexton to add three more points.

In the end the ten minutes at 14 cost Wales just three points, and Warburton returned just before half-time as Warren Gatland's side went in 15-9 ahead.

The second half was even more frenetic with the first, beginning with an endless period of Irish pressure.  Time and again they looked certain to score, but the Welsh defence held strong, thumping back the visiting forwards.

After more than 30 phases, Wales were penalised, but having kicked to the corner, Ireland eventually lost the ball after another spell on the Welsh line.

Having spent a good ten minutes defending, Wales came back, and looked set to score the first try of the game when Davies went clean through but the support wasn't there.  Still Wales kept the ball and twice seemed to have overlaps but eventually the chance went begging when Biggar overthrew Halfpenny out wide.

Gatland chose to introduce Scott Williams at that moment and after the home side had stolen yet another lineout, the Scarlets centre spotted a gap in midfield and sprinted over for the first try.  Halfpenny was off-target with the conversion but Wales led 20-9, and it was a long way back for the visitors.

Ireland weren't about to give up though, and they set up camp again on the Welsh line and should have scored.  With a massive overlap, they kept going through the forwards, with Cian Healy eventually knocking on.

By that point Wales had already racked up more than 200 tackles, and it was beginning to show.  When Dan Lydiate was penalised in a ruck, Ireland kicked to the corner.

Sean Cronin had more success than Best in the lineout, and after a well-structured maul, Ireland got a penalty try, with the Welsh dropping it just short of the line.  Sexton converted and it was back to 20-16 with ten minutes remaining.

Wales came back, and earned a penalty that Halfpenny converted, but Ireland refused to bow down.

They got back into Welsh territory, and with three minutes remaining Davies was sin-binned for an intentional knock-on.  Ian Madigan kicked for the corner, but after a first lineout had been stolen, Wales then slowed a final rolling maul, with Luke Charteris fighting through to the ball to cap a splendid afternoon for the giant lock.

Wales remain outsiders to win the title, they have 21 points to make up on Ireland on the final weekend, unless the Scots can do them a favour.  Still, they'll take it after the disappointment of that opening defeat to England.

As for Ireland, O'Connell special day was spoilt, while their run of ten straight wins comes to an end.  They dominated possession and territory, but will need to find a little more penetration against the best defensive sides.  Their much-lauded half-back partnership was also off-colour.

Man of the match:  Sam Warburton was given the official nod, and certainly had an outstanding game.  We're going to go with Luke Charteris though, as he finished with 37 tackles, as well constantly breaking up the Irish maul.

Moment of the match:  It has to be the endless period of Irish possession early in the second half.  It seemed like a try was inevitable but Wales somehow held out before going up the pitch and scoring themselves.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  S Williams
Pens:  Halfpenny 5
Drop Goal:  Biggar
Yellow Cards:  Warburton, Davies

For Ireland:
Try:  Penalty
Con:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 3

The teams:

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Felix Jones.

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gaüzère (France), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes

Sexton shines as Ireland beat England

Another commanding performance from Johnny Sexton sent Ireland on their way to a 19-9 victory over England in a physical battle in Dublin.

Ireland were smarter, better disciplined and more clinical throughout than their opponents.  Even the scrum, touted as their area of weakness, surpassed expectations as England took too long to get going.

This wasn't the humbling of Cardiff two years ago for England but it certainly was an education for the likes of George Ford and Anthony Watson, talented youngsters who will go far but learnt the hard way this time out with Ireland giving them no time or space.

It was a breakdown and tactical kicking clinic from Ireland, espeically with the way they disrupted England's ball at the ruck.  Sexton's all-round play, not just his work off the boot, was really of the highest order.  His loss to an apparent hamstring injury after 50 minutes will cause some concern ahead of visiting Wales.

England's relative inexperience hadn't been a factor before Dublin but it showed here, particularly up against the studied approach that Ireland brought to the table.  The hosts were by far and away the better side with their visitors showing too many nerves, but Ireland only led by six at the break.  There was to be no comeback.

Ireland will now have their thoughts on a Grand Slam although the road will not be an easy one, travelling first to Wales, confident again after winning in Paris, before rounding up in Italy.

Dublin had provided all those heading to the Aviva Stadium with an apocalyptic weather warning, yet by kickoff the rain, sleet and snow was thankfully gone.

England's start was awful, while Ireland were perfectly precise with their tactical kicking as expected.  An early nudge from Sexton and his super kick into the corner left Jack Nowell and Alex Goode cleaning up a real mess.

Two scrums five metres out were field position that Ireland had to captalise on, but despite the huge carries from Sean O'Brien and Rory Best they settled for a second penalty and a 6-0 lead after as many minutes.

All the possesion was with Ireland, 95 percent of it to be exact after the first ten minutes.  When England eventually got their hands on the ball they did threaten.  Jack Nowell's touchline chip set up good field position and after multiple phases Ford slotted a drop goal with a fine strike to put England on the board.

The Bath fly-half couldn't land a penalty from the halfway line after Jordi Murphy failed to roll away, the ball drifting left past the post, as Ireland persisted with putting the boot to ball.

Ireland won the first big gamble of the match when Devin Toner poached an English lineout five metres from the line, Chris Robshaw turning down three points England arguably weren't in a position to miss out on.

The hosts saw the best of O'Brien with his thundering carry but it was sadly to be his last act, stumbling punch-drunk around the field afterwards before being taken off with concussion.

Vunipola's breakdown penalty saved England's bacon but Sexton was excellent shortly afterwards at isolating Luther Burrell, the Racing Métro number ten adding his third penalty of the half to put Ireland up by six.

Sexton's thumping tackle on Ford marked another point to the Irishman but worse for England was Anthony Watson playing the ball from an offside position, presenting Sexton with his fourth penalty opportunity which he surprisingly couldn't convert.  That felt like the tale of the end of the first half, Ireland clearly on top but not punishing England any further as the score stood at 9-3 at half-time.

Only greater discipline and accuracy would get England back into the contest but it was Goode's brilliant escape work that avoided any further damage on the scoreboard, running the ball out from behind his own posts with a real touch of class.

Ireland capitalised on their visitors' indiscipline yet again with Sexton refinding his range, turning away in satisfaction long before the ball had passed through the posts.  In such a close contest, nine points felt like too big a gap for England to close.

Unsurprisingly Ireland's try came from a chip kick by Murray, Robbie Henshaw working hard to rise above Goode and doing well to ground the ball so close to the touchline.  No way back for England from 19-3 down, surely.

Ford added a second penalty as England's scrum started to motor but they would need more than that, Vunipola trying his best to inspire with a long charge upfield unfortunately without any support.

Cian Healy's introduction was warmly received and he instantly did a job at the breakdown along with birthday boy Marty Moore to snuff out James Haskell's carry, limiting England's possession and territory.

Ford's tough afternoon could have been a lot worse had his loose pass been intercepted but some rare multiple phases in Ireland's half ended with another three points for the visitors.

Enjoying more of the ball and with the freshness of their replacements England looked a different threat, in an almost copycat performance to the one produced by France two weeks ago.

Ireland's bodies suddenly looked weary but a big free-kick at the scrum five metres from their line provided some required relief as the clock wound down.  The forward pass to Nowell after he thought he had scored a consolation try summed up England's afternoon, with no call made for the TMO or any replays supplied to confirm the call.

Ireland's first 50 minutes with Sexton at the helm proved to be enough for a hard-earned victory.  With two rounds to go now, the champions are right in there with a chance to make it back-to-back titles.

Man of the Match:  Sexton may have been the difference but Robbie Henshaw was tirelessly effective for Ireland throughout, also scoring his first Test try.

Moment of the Match:  The fourth penalty from Sexton to make it 12-3 felt crucial as Ireland moved out of reach.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Henshaw
Con:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 4

For England:
Pens:  Ford 2
Drop Goal:  Ford

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Felix Jones

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 George Kruis, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Nick Easter, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Billy Twelvetrees.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO:  Deon von Blommestein