Argentina 28 France 27

Argentina held on for a 28-27 victory over Six Nations champions France in a stunning match in Buenos Aires, French fly-half Gerald Merceron missing an injury-time penalty to give the Pumas their first win over Les Bleus in ten years.

It was a game of huge passion, with no quarter given or asked by the players on either side and finished in nailbiting fashion with France mounting a late comeback.

Indeed, so close was the contest that France almost snatched a victory when they were awarded a penalty kick two minutes into injury time.

Unbelievably, given that Merceron had been successful with all five of his previous kicks at goal, the fly-half could not find his range with the kick, enabling the Pumas to enjoy their moment of glory at Velez Sarsfield stadium.

In any event, such an outcome would have been a cruel blow for an Argentina side who had dominated the game in all departments throughout the match, giving the tourists a torrid time throughout the absorbing spectacle that will go some way to making up for home nation's recent sporting woes in the FIFA World Cup, which saw the soccer team failing to reach the knock-out stages.

While the scores were level at 6-all at half-time, Felipe Contepomi and Merceron both kicking two penalties apiece in a first 40 typified by blockbusting defence and wholehearted commitment, Argentina suddenly snapped into gear in the second half to shock the French.

Applying the pressure in both set-piece and loose play – Pumas No.7 Rolando Martin having a mighty match in this latter area – Argentina racked up 19 unanswered to go from 13-9 down to 28-13 lead.

It was hooker Federico Mendez, wing Diego Albanese and Felipe Contepomi who did the damage, crossing a French defensive line that had been nigh-on impregnable for much of the recent Six Nations.

With French looking down and out, Les Bleus launched a remarkable last-quarter fightback that saw them come close to snatching victory.

First, a turnover in the Pumas' half saw Nicolas Brusque crashing over for a try in the left hand corner after some fine work from centre Tony Marsh.

Marsh was once again in the thick of battle just a few minutes later, running a perfect support angle to cross over for a try of his own.

With Merceron converting both tries, France were just one point away from their hosts but Merceron's last-ditch miss was to cost them the game.

France must pick themselves up from this shattering defeat and prepare themselves for next week's Test against Australia, while the Pumas will be aiming to add another high-profile scalp to their list of conquests when they face England next Saturday.

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Omar Hasan Jalil, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Mauricio Reggiardo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (c), 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Gonzalo Camardon, 15 Ignacio Corletto
Reserves:  Martin Durand, Roberto Grau, Mario Ledesma Arocena, Gonzalo Quesada
Unused:  Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Lucas Ostiglia, Jose Nunez Piossek

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez (c), 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Christian Labit, 9 Pierre Mignoni, 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Nicolas Jeanjean, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Olivier Azam, Sebastien Chabal, Sylvain Marconnet, Christophe Porcu
Unused:  Francois Gelez, Yannick Jauzion, Frederic Michalak

Attendance:  35000
Referee:  Marshall p.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Tries:  Albanese D.L. 1, Contepomi F. 1, Mendez F.E. 1
Conv:  Contepomi F. 2
Pen K.:  Contepomi F. 2
Drop G.:  Quesada G. 1

France
Tries:  Brusque N. 1, Jeanjean N. 1, Marsh T. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 3
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 2

South Africa 19 Wales 8

The Springboks totally overpowered their Welsh counterparts in the final 15 minutes of the second Test at a wet Newlands, in Cape Town, to seal the series with a hard-fought 19-8 victory.

Both teams were still in with a chance after an hour of hard rugby, but two penalties by flyhalf André Pretorius and a charge down try by replacement scrumhalf Craig Davidson was enough to send the Springbok supporters amongst the big crowd of 40,547 into cries of ecstasy.

The Springboks took an 8-3 lead at the break after nippy fullback Brent Russell, in only his second game for the Springboks, sliced open the Welsh defence inside their 22 for his first Test try while Davidson's late five-pointer -- awarded after consultation with the TMO -- was the final nail in the coffin of a tough Welsh side.

Russell's try came after the Boks somehow managed to win back a line-out, AJ Venter carried the ball up the middle and the ball quickly went through the hands of Breyton Paulse and Marius Joubert before flyhalf André Pretorius put the nuggety fullback away.

Davidson got his five-pointer after a rare mistake by Welsh skipper Colin Charvis, whose kick inside his in-goal area, was charged down by the replacement No.9.

The first half was a very tight affair, and as a result a few scuffles broke out between the green and red jerseys.

At the first scrum the two hookers -- South Africa's James Dalton and his Welsh counterpart Robin McBryde -- were at each other's throats, a little later Bok tighthead Willie Meyer was sin-binned for kicking McBryde and even right-wing Stefan Terblanché and Andy Marinos -- the former Western Province centre who led his team onto the pitch -- greeted one another shortly before the break.

The second half started quietly for the home team as the Welsh hit back five minutes after the re-start when Charvis scored a good forwards try.

The visitors won a line-out close to the Bok try-line following a good run by right-wing Rhys Williams.  His namesake Steve Williams won the line-out, the forwards put in a good shove and from the re-cycled possession Charvis bulldozed his way through Johannes Conradie's attempted tackle to level the scores.

The two packs were very evenly-matched, with the visitors probably having a slight ascendancy in the scrums, while the line-outs were 50/50.

Both Gareth Llewellyn and Steve Williams did good work, but the young Michael Owen was superb, both at taking his own ball and contesting the Boks's.  Add to that Charvis playing a real captain's innings, and the Welsh pack can be satisfied with their performance at a cold and wet Newlands.

Behind the pack Dwayne Peel and his replacement Ryan Powell played well, providing flyhalf Stephen Jones -- who got the scoreboard ticking in the 20th minute with a penalty -- with enough good ball which he could either belt downfield or hoist into the air.

The visitors showed their intentions to test the inexperienced Russell at fullback, but the blond speedster came away with his reputation in tact.

While the 22-year-old Russell launched a few good touchfinders, his midfield of De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert flew into the Welsh backline, making a few big hits early on.

Amongst the home team's forwards, Dalton and lock Jannes Labuschagne did awesome work in the loose as well as on defence, while the Lions lock was solid in the line-outs too.

Corné Krige and AJ Venter did the hard work, but unfortunately Bob Skinstad struggled to get his flair going in a tight game.  He did have a solid game, though.

Joubert had another excellent game in the Green and Gold, breaking the Welsh defence on a number of occasions as well as tackling without fear.

The Boks got their first points in the 25th minute when Pretorius slotted a penalty after flank Martyn Williams dived onto Skinstad on the ground.

Russell's and Charvis' tries set up a thrilling second-half, in which no team gave an inch.

But that changed towards the end, and Pretorius put the Boks in the lead with 14 minutes left on the clock when Owen played the ball from an offside position after Rhys Williams knocked on with Joubert storming after his own chip-kick.

Four minutes later Pretorius increased their lead with another penalty, which meant Wales had to score a converted try in the last nine minutes of the game.

But the Boks scored the try -- through Davidson -- to put the result, and the series, in their favour.

Man of the match:  If things go according to plan for the young Brent Russell, he has every chance to become a Springbok great.  Playing in his first big game at fullback, the diminutive Russell didn't put a foot wrong, and he constantly kept the Welsh guessing with probing counter-attacks and long-range touchfinders.

Moment of the match:  After the hooter had gone to signal the end of the first-half, the Springbok backs showed excellent handling skills to put Russell over for a superb try.  Davidson's try, in his first Test appearance for South Africa, was also special.

Villain of the match:  Although there were quite a few scuffles during the match, Willie Meyer's unnecessary use of the boot -- which earned him a yellow card -- was totally uncalled for.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Daan Human, 2 James Dalton, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Quinton Davids, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Corne Krige, 8 Bobby Skinstad (c), 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Brent Russell
Reserves:  Craig Davidson, Faan Rautenbach, Ollie Le Roux, Hottie Louw, Joe Van Niekerk
Unused:  Werner Greeff, Adi Jacobs

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Ben Evans, 4 Gareth Llewellyn, 5 Steve Williams, 6 Michael Owen, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Dwayne Peel, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Andy Marinos, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Rhys Williams, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Ryan Powell, Tom Shanklin, Robert Sidoli, Gavin Thomas, Neil Jenkins
Unused:  Martyn Madden

Attendance:  40547
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Davidson C.D. 1, Russell B. 1
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 3

Wales
Tries:  Charvis C.L. 1
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 1

New Zealand 15 Ireland 6

A spirited Irish team gave an inept New Zealand side a huge scare before going down 15-6 in the first of two Tests between the two countries at Carisbrook in Dunedin.

In the build-up to this Test the talk was that Ireland would be competitive in the first half with the All Blacks, fresh from a 64-10 win over Italy last week, coming into their own in the second stanza.

Well, the first half went according to plan -- with New Zealand leading 10-3 at the break -- but it was all Ireland in the second period, as the Men in (light) Green made the Men in Black fight until the bitter end for their 15th Test win over Ireland in 16 meetings.

Ireland, whose second-half performance was highlighted by aggressive defence, also showed a lot of courage on attack, but they were unable to breach the All Blacks' water-tight defence on a night that did not exactly produce a mistake-free game of rugby.  In fact, the statistics after the match signalled over 20 knock-ons and over 40 turnovers.

Brian O'Driscoll tried every means possible -- using his pace, shimmies and boot -- but he never seemed to have enough support with the half-gap in sight.

Early in the first half O'Driscoll had one good chance when he got through a half-gap, which had been left open by his opposite number Tana Umaga, but the dreadlocked midfielder managed to turn around and catch his opponent before any damage was caused.

At that stage the score was 3-all, with flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens kicking a penalty and O'Driscoll adding a well-taken drop-goal in the first five minutes of the match, but it was New Zealand who scored the first try of the night.

The Irish scrum had pressurised the Kiwis all night, but when they got their first decent shove (in their own half) of the night, No.8 Scott Robertson peeled off the base of the scrum, fed Mehrtens, who hit a gap, before unleashing the speedy Doug Howlett for a fairly simple run-in to the tryline.

Mehrtens added the two points to Howlett's 11th Test try, and, at 10-3 after 35 minutes of play, the AB's had their tails up.  Little did they know that it would be their final points in the game until the 77th minute, as O'Gara's first botched penalty attempt of the night signalled half-time.

The second half got off to a good start for the All Blacks with Chris Jack taking a superb catch from the kick-off, but it was the Irish who nearly scored the second try of the night when O'Driscoll chipped a ball to the right-hand corner only for Geordan Murphy to dot the ball down inches into touch.

The Kiwis attacked the Irish line soon afterwards, but they were thwarted by an intercept from Ireland blindsider Keith Gleeson after an audacious Aaron Mauger pass with numbers to burn on the outside.

Gleeson managed to find his support, which allowed Ireland to drive up-field and they were soon rewarded with a very kickable penalty, which O'Gara made no mistake with as he recorded his 200th Test point.

But O'Gara, who missed a shot at goal shortly after half-time, missed another penalty attempt in the 67th minute, which kept New Zealand four points ahead, before a late try gave them enough breathing space.

Jonah Lomu, who came on with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, was the star in the lead-up to that try after he chased a loose Irish pass in their 10-metre area, before picking it up and swatting some would-be defenders away.

Lomu charged ahead before finally being put to ground by Peter Stringer, but he was not held in the tackle and after jumping back to his feet he played the ball again, which gave Mauger enough time to chip the ball ahead to the Irish goalline where Leon MacDonald won the race for his third, and without a doubt the most important, Test try.

Mehrtens missed the conversion, but at 15-6, Ireland had to score more than once, something which they had been unable to do all night long.

In fairness, the All Blacks probably deserve a pat on their backs for keeping the Irish at bay and for using both their try-scoring opportunities, but key players like Chris Jack, Norm Maxwell, Reuben Thorne, Mehrtens, Aaron Mauger and Tana Umaga were not firing on all cylinders, suggesting, perhaps, that a long Super 12 season is finally beginning to take its toll.

For All Black coach John Mitchell a lot of hard work lies ahead, especially with a hungry Irish team waiting at Auckland's Eden Park next week.

Man of the match:  In a forgettable evening for the All Blacks, very few of their players stood out.  Young opensider Richard McCaw kept on trying and fullback Leon MacDonald did some good things on defence.  For Ireland, two men stood out head-and-shoulders above the rest -- hooker Keith Wood and outside centre Brian O'Driscoll.  Wood, for his massive work-rate, and O'Driscoll for his classy performance on attack and defence.  In the end, our vote goes to O'Driscoll, who, besides making ground with every touch of the ball, also showed some amazing touches with his boot.

Moment of the Match:  In the build-up to MacDonald's match-clinching try, Ireland scrumhalf Peter Stringer, the smallest man on the field at just under 70 kilograms, put in a brilliant front-on tackle on Jonah Lomu, who tips the scales at 112 kilograms.  Yes, Lomu and his team-mates did recycle the ball and MacDonald went on to score a try, but Stringer's gutsy tackle -- a David v Goliath confrontation -- epitomised Ireland's never-say-die attitude.  Stringer's act just beats Wood's touch-finder from first-phase ball earlier on in the match.  Wood got the ball inside his own 10-metre area, took aim and landed it in New Zealand's 22 before it rolled into touch.

Villain of the Match:  Perhaps it is a bit harsh, but our award goes to Ireland's flyhalf Ronan O'Gara for his poor goalkicking display.  O'Gara's performance in open play was very encouraging, but he missed three fairly easy penalty kicks at goal.  Those nine points could have made a huge difference in the end.  O'Gara just beats his opposite number Andrew Mehrtens to this award.  Mehrtens threw wild passes and took poor options, which, luckily for him, did not cost his side in the end.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves:  Joe McDonnell, Daryl Gibson, Jonah Lomu
Unused:  Marty Holah, Tom Willis, Byron Kelleher, Taine Randell

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Justin Bishop, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 John Kelly, 14 Geordan Murphy, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  David Humphreys, Malcolm O'Kelly
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Guy Easterby, Paul Wallace, Mel Deane, Alan Quinlan

Attendance:  30200
Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 1, MacDonald L.R. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 1, Umaga J.F. 1
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 1

Ireland
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 1
Drop G.:  O'Driscoll B.G. 1

South Africa 34 Wales 19

Rudolf Straeuli earned his first win as Springbok coach with a hard-fought 34-19 win over a tenacious Wales team at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on a sunny, but windy, afternoon.

The South Africans, with nine new caps in their match-day 22, led 15-11 at half-time, after finding themselves 11-3 down at one stage.

The Boks were expected to win this match against an under-strength Welsh team, but the first quarter of the game was much of the same of the class of 2001 as passes went astray, line-out's amiss and the kicking out-of-hand was wayward.

Wales punished the Boks for their mistakes, with left-wing Craig Morgan getting through some hesitant Bok defence in the seventh minute after coming onto the right-wing from a scrum in South Africa's 22.

Morgan's try came as a result of extended pressure from the Welsh after South African-born inside centre Andy Marinos powered his way into the Springbok 22, after his captain and No.8 Colin Charvis had done the initial damage with a bruising run.

Flyhalf Stephen Jones, who was a star for Llanelli in the 2001/02 Heineken Cup, missed the ensuing conversion, but he was on target soon afterwards when South Africa had a penalty reversed on their goalline when lock Victor Matfield got stuck into Wales's hooker Robin McBryde.

At 8-0 down the Boks would have been a wee-bit concerned, especially with the visitors' loose forwards beating the home team to the point of the breakdown with minimal fuss.  The Welsh had scant respect for South Africa's big men up front with greenhorn blindsider Michael Owen, No.7 Martyn Williams and Charvis keeping their side moving forward.

The Springboks eventually managed to work their way into enemy territory and debutante flyhalf André Pretorius opened his Test tally with a wobbly penalty from just under 30 metres out.

But Jones had other ideas and the Red Dragons' stand-off cancelled Pretorius's penalty less than two minutes later with a well-taken drop-goal.  Jones tried another drop-goal less than five minutes later, but a key moment emerged in the match from the 22 drop-out.

Pretorius's drop-out was sweetly-struck giving his captain Bob Skinstad enough time to hit Jones in the tackle -- after he had taken the re-start -- and create the turnover for South Africa.  Johannes Conradie fired a pass out to André Snyman and Snyman fed Marius Joubert, who scythed through a gap before kicking into fullback Kevin Morgan.

Morgan knocked the ball on in the process, but with a scrum to the Boks on Wales's 22 there was a chance for the home team.  The Boks went left and won the penalty.  Conradie arrived at the scene, took the quick-tap and hit a gap before passing to Joubert who trotted over for the try.

The Boks were back, especially after Pretorius's conversion made it 11-10 to Wales.

Conradie was on hand again in South Africa's next forage into the Welsh 22 when a winding run of his freed Breyton Paulse, who got a very simple pass out to Bob Skinstad on the right-wing for a try.  Pretorius missed the conversion, but the try had done enough.  South Africa were in the lead for the first time as the half-time hooter sounded.  It was a lead they would not relinquish.

Jones drew first blood for Wales in the second half with an early penalty, but the introduction of Pumas flyhalf Brent Russell -- fullback Ricardo Loubscher left the field with André Pretorius moving to the last line of defence -- gave the Boks an extra attacking option from first-phase.

Pretorius seemed to revel in the open space that fullback gave him and his smart run, chip and chase -- when he collected a kick just inside his own half -- gave South Africa an attacking line-out on the Welsh goalline.

James Dalton found his man, the Bok pack rumbled up and lock Victor Matfield bent down and planted the ball for the five points.  Pretorius missed the conversion, but the Boks' lead started getting bigger ...

Their lead got even bigger as the last quarter approached when Paulse was held back when he chased a kick ahead from Conradie, who again caught the Welsh napping with a quick-tap, and referee Kelvin Deaker awarded a penalty try, which Pretorius duly converted.

To their credit, the Welsh did not give, despite being more than one score behind, and right-wing Rhys Williams joined his wing partner on the scoresheet after his forward managed to recycle the ball after finding some holes in South Africa's defence.

But the Boks had the last laugh on the day when Faan Rautenbach, who had a busy 20 minutes when he replaced veteran Willie Meyer, drove over for his team's last try of the day.

The crowd enjoyed it, as did Rautenbach's team-mates, who must surely realise that a lot of hard work remains for them ahead of next week's return Test in Cape Town.

Man of the match:  Wales captain Colin Charvis had a big match at No.8 -- keeping his side moving forward and cutting the South Africans down with some strong defence, while halfbacks Dwayne Peel and Stephen Jones had steady games.  For South Africa, Russell, Conradie, Pretorius and Joubert provided the fireworks, but the hard man of the loose trio, AJ Venter, did a lot of the donkey-work with some powerful runs and big hits.

Moment of the match:  Skinstad's tackle on Jones spurred his side on and it just shades Faan Rautenbach's try.  Rautenbach, who nearly gave up rugby because of a knee injury, hails from the Northern Free State and the locals enjoyed his first try in the Green and Gold of South Africa.

Villain of the match:  There was a lot of pushing and shoving, but nothing serious enough to warrant this award.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Daan Human, 2 James Dalton, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 6 Warren Britz, 7 A.J. Venter, 8 Bobby Skinstad (c), 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 Marius Joubert, 13 Andre Snyman, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Ricardo Loubscher
Reserves:  Adi Jacobs, Faan Rautenbach, Ollie Le Roux, Brent Russell, Joe Van Niekerk
Unused:  ZDA48, Quinton Davids

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Ben Evans, 4 Gareth Llewellyn, 5 Steve Williams, 6 Michael Owen, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Dwayne Peel, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Andy Marinos, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Rhys Williams, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Martyn Madden, Richard Parks, Ryan Powell, Tom Shanklin, Robert Sidoli, Neil Jenkins

Attendance:  34000
Referee:  Deaker k.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Matfield V. 1, Rautenbach S.J. 1, Penalty Try 1, Joubert M.C. 1, Skinstad R.B. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 3
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 1

Wales
Tries:  Morgan C.S. 1, Williams G.R. 1
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 2
Drop G.:  Jones S.M. 1

New Zealand 64 Italy 10

The record will always show that New Zealand recorded another massive victory over Italy when they beat them by 64-10 -- with left-wing Caleb Ralph scoring three tries -- at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday.  What the score doesn't tell you is that the All Blacks struggled against a valiant Azzurri side.

In fact, if it weren't for three late tries, the score would have looked decidedly different and would probably have been a better reflection of a rather scrappy game.

The All Blacks scored nine tries, of which six came after the break and three in the final eight minutes or so.

After a brilliant start by the All Blacks, Ralph combined well with Christian Cullen, who looks to be regaining his confidence after a shoddy Super 12, for the first try of the game.

Cullen looked dangerous when he got the ball in broken play or joined the line-out, and the All Blacks would have led by more than 24-3 at the break had all their passes to support players stuck.

The All Blacks looked solid at the line-outs, and after Italian skipper Marco Bortolami stole an early ball from the home team, the home team made sure that this set phase was by far their most productive.

The Azzurri scrummed well, and although they tired towards the end, the provided the All Blacks with enough problems in this department.

But the big difference between the two teams was at the back, where the Italians had to do most of the defending on a rainy night in Hamilton.  When the visitors did get the ball in the attack, they looked dangerous, but that happened too seldom to really trouble the New Zealand defence.

On the other hand, Andrew Mehrtens, Daryl Gibson and Mark Robinson provided Ralph -- who over-ran a number of passes and knocked on a few times -- and Cullen with more than enough good attacking opportunity.  It is therefor no surprise that the All Blacks' back three -- Jonah Lomu replaced Doug Howlett after the break -- scored more than half the home team's tries.

Mehrtens set a new world-record for conversions in Tests when he slotted his 141st two-pointer -- passing Australian flyhalf Michael Lynagh's 140 -- after the All Blacks' third try.

"Far from perfect," was how All Black skipper Reuben Thorne described his team's efforts, but he added that, although the error-rate was sky-high, New Zealand now had something on which they could build for the Tests against Ireland and the Tri-Nations.

Ralph almost followed his third minute try up with another one -- after a good solo-run -- a couple of minutes later, but the Italian cross-defence held him up as he crossed the line.

For the next 20-odd minutes New Zealand struggled to get their momentum going, and when they got within striking distance of the Azzurri line, handling errors and other mistakes crept in, sparing the visitors from a number of tries.

Débutante loosehead Joe McDonnell finally ended the All Blacks' try-scoring drought when he crashed over from a five-metre line-out.  Mehrtens' conversion stretched the home team's lead to 14-0.

Five minutes later Kees Meeuws got his first Test try when he emulated his front-row partner by burrowing over from close-range.  Again Mehrtens made no mistake with the conversion, and it looked as if the All Blacks were starting to pull away from their opponents.

However, the Italians did not lie down and continued to plague New Zealand with their strong pack and gallant defence.

Right at the end of the first-half Mehrtens and Italy's Gert Peens traded penalties to see the teams change sides with the home team leading by 24-3.

The New Zealanders came out storming in the second-half, and Ralph soon scored his second (41st minute) and third (44th minute) tries.

That effectively broke the Italians' backs, but they still didn't give up and continued to tackle the All Blacks as if their lives depended on it.

Kelleher scored -- like McDonnell and Meeuws -- by barging over from close to the try-line, and then Italian skipper Marco Bortolami got his team's only five-pointer when he intercepted an inside pass from Gibson to score next to the posts.

Lomu, Cullen and replacement prop Dave Hewitt scored the last three tries for the home team, and the game ended with the Azzurri over-powered, but not shamed.

Man of the match:  It's difficult to give it to one player, but Christian Cullen signalled his return to the All Blacks -- after making just one appearance last season -- with a good all round performance.  His linking-play was superb, every time he joined the backline the All Blacks looked dangerous and he proved he still had some pace left when he outsprinted the Italians for his late try.  Lock Norm Maxwell and flank Marty Holah were solid up front.

Moment of the Match:  Seeing that the All Blacks made so many mistakes, Marco Bortolami's intercept try was a beauty in an otherwise dullish game.  The young skipper took Gibson's pass in his own half and galloped more than 50 metres, outsprinting all the New Zealand cover-defence, for his side's only try next to the sticks.

Villain of the Match:  The game was very clean, except for one incident, when Italian flyhalf Francesco Mazzariol kicked Daryl Gibson in the face.  Yes, it wasn't hard, but things like that don't belong on a rugby field.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 Joe McDonnell, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Simon Maling, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Marty Holah, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Taine Randell, 9 Byron Kelleher, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Daryl Gibson, 13 Mark Robinson, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  David Hewett, Aaron Mauger, Mark Hammett, Jonah Lomu
Unused:  Chris Jack, Richard McCaw, Justin Marshall

Italy:  1 Gianluca Faliva, 2 Andrea Moretti, 3 Ramiro Martinez-Frugoni, 4 Marco Bortolami (c), 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Andrea De Rossi, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Sergio Parisse, 9 Matteo Mazzantini, 10 Francesco Mazzariol, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Cristian Zanoletti, 13 Giovanni Raineri, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Martin Castrogiovanni, Walter Pozzebon, Matteo Barbini, Mauro Bergamasco, Santiago Dellape, Juan Manuel Queirolo, Stefano Saviozzi

Attendance:  26000
Referee:  Williams n.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Hewett D.N. 1, McDonnell J.M. 1, Cullen C.M. 1, Kelleher B.T. 1, Lomu J.T. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1, Ralph C.S. 3
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 8
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 1

Italy
Tries:  Bortolami M. 1
Conv:  Peens G. 1
Pen K.:  Peens G. 1

Italy 9 England 45

England enjoyed an ultimately fruitful but unsatisfying day in the Roman sun to bring the 2002 Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship to an end, scoring six tries in a 45-9 win over Italy at the Stadio Flaminio.

Harlequins centre Will Greenwood scored one in each half for England, with Ben Cohen, Jason Robinson, Austin Healey and Lawrence Dallaglio also touching down on an afternoon which produced a muted sense of occasion, with Championship ambitions already destroyed by France in Paris 24 hours earlier.

England stuttered as they aimed to find their step, an early surge petering out early in the second half, as they let a largely one-dimensional and indisciplined Italian side back into the game.

Solace can be taken from the fact that the English only allowed the Azzurri to score two penalties during a match which saw the unfamiliar sight of regular captain Martin Johnson on the bench.

What England will have learned from the game could likely be written on the back of a postage stamp, their power and organisation too much for an Italian team devoid of imagination and execution, although the try-scoring return of Lawrence Dallaglio from the bench served as a long-awaited tonic for a match which had an air of inevitability around it before a ball had even been kicked.

The first half got under way with Jonny Wilkinson and Diego Dominguez exchanging penalty kicks, but with England seemingly intent on using their undoubted firepower in the backs, it was only eight minutes in before the first try was scored.

It came from some appalling Italian defensive play, Will Greenwood running through the huge gap created by Denis Dallan's poor positional judgement after good work from Mike Tindall, Wilkinson converting from under the posts after Greenwood's saunter to the line.  Lewis Moody then went close from an Italian lineout in the corner, just knocking on as he dived for the whitewash from the back of the lineout.

A large cheer from the hordes of England fans came on 19 minutes when a nasal injury to Danny Grewcock meant a three-minute bloodbin cameo for Martin Johnson, the captain who had been left out of the starting XV going into the game.

Johnson's initial contribution consisted of giving away a penalty immediately for going through the middle of a ruck and a free-kick for infringing at the lineout, but normality was soon restored on 24 minutes when Ben Cohen scored England's second try.  The Northampton wing went over after Neil Back drove down the middle of the field, the ball then worked right for Cohen to break the tackles of Dallan and Dominguez on his way to the line for a powerful run-in.  Wilkinson converted that score, and as England continued to dominate a game dogged by penalties and free-kicks, it was fullback Jason Robinson who racked up the final try of the half, after an accomplished performance which saw him frequently at acting scrum-half, as well as slotting the odd tactical kick into the corners.

His try was a typically individual finish, coming from a five-metre scrum under the posts, scrum-half Kyran Bracken working the ball right to Robinson on a diagonal at first receiver, the Sale Sharks speedster bursting through the tackle of Giovanni Raineri, Wilkinson again adding the extras from right of the posts for a 24-3 half-time advantage.  Italy finally showed some willingness to run with the ball out wide as the second half got underway, Dallan and Mazzucato combining down the right to burst holes in an English defence which was forced to concede a penalty on their own 22, Dominguez slotting the easy penalty to get the Roman crowd vocal again.

Another Italian penalty for Dominguez followed as Alessandro Troncon marshalled the forward pack in the England 22, steering them on short bursts at the England fringes, and forcing England to again give away penalties.

England summoned on 252 caps worth of talent from the bench with 24 minutes left on the clock, Lawrence Dallaglio, Martin Johnson, Matt Dawson and Jason Leonard entering the fray to massive applause from the Stadio Flaminio terraces.

Three of those former captains had an instant impact on the game, a break from Johnson down the centre freeing Wilkinson from the 22, the ensuing ruck seeing Dawson spin the ball left to Dallaglio, the returning Wasps No.8 having a completely unopposed run-in to the line from five metres, a deserved grin on his face as he touched the ball down after an injury-blighted last year.

With Wilkinson taking a knock in the tackle Dawson added the conversion from just left of the posts, the Northampton scrum-half also instrumental in the next try nine minutes later.  From a penalty ten metres away from the Italian line, he tapped, paused for a second and then hit a deft lob over the flat Italian backline, Greenwood racing onto the ball at pace for a marvellous rehearsed set-piece score, converted by Wilkinson.

With the clock running down, there was still time for one more England try, replacement Austin Healey scampering over in the right corner in his silver boots after Greenwood drew replacement fullback Ramiro Pez and committed him before passing, Wilkinson converting for a 13-point personal haul.

The final whistle went immediately after, bringing down the curtain on another disappointing Six Nations season for the English, one which promised so much, but failed to deliver after their miserable afternoon in Paris five weeks ago.

For Italy, credibility in part from their second half showing, but with coach Brad Johnstone widely expected to be relieved of his duties, and assistant John Kirwan set to take over, plenty of thinking to do for the Azzurri ahead of next season.

Man of the match:  Jason Robinson
Not too many stand-out candidates from a team performance which at times lacked the killer instinct, but Robinson's solid base at the back and outstanding support play in attack added considerable edge to what could have been a flat tempo.  Jonny Wilkinson controlled the backline well, and both Lewis Moody and Will Greenwood fared well in the loose.  Not too many candidates for the Italians, whose only real spearhead came from Mazzucato's occasional breaks down the wing.

Moment of the match:  England quadruple substitution
16 minutes into the second half, you're 24-9 up in a meaningless game, what do you do?  Bring on 252 caps worth of experience of course.  The fact that England can boast replacements of the calibre of Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson and Jason Leonard, shows how far they have came recently.  The sight of all four running onto the field in clean shirts must have had the Italian pack cursing the rugby Gods.

Villain of the match:  Denis Dallan
No real villains in a relatively well-played-out game, the odd spat marring play, but no cards shown by referee Mark Lawrence.  Italian left wing Dallan gets our vote for some early poor defending, although some of his backline teammates also contributed to the defensive holes which England ran through on occasion.

(Half-time:  Italy 3 England 24)

Sin-bin:  None
Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Joel Dumé (France) and David McHugh (Ireland)

The teams:

Italy:  1 Giampiero De Carli, 2 Alessandro Moscardi (c), 3 Federico Pucciariello, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Matthew Phillips, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 10 Diego Dominguez, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Giovanni Raineri, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Matteo Mazzantini, Andrea Moretti, Cristian Zanoletti, Andrea De Rossi, Santiago Dellape, Carlos Nieto, Ramiro Pez

England:  1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Julian White, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Neil Back (c), 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Richard Hill, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson, Austin Healey, Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard, Dorian West, Charlie Hodgson

Referee:  Lawrence m.

Points Scorers

Italy
Pen K.:  Dominguez D. 3

England
Tries:  Dallaglio L.B.N. 1, Greenwood W.J.H. 2, Healey A.S. 1, Robinson J.T. 1, Cohen B.C. 1
Conv:  Dawson M.J.S. 1, Wilkinson J.P. 5
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

Wales 22 Scotland 27

Two injury-time penalties, one from Scotland fullback Brendan Laney and the other from Duncan Hodge, saw Scotland win the battle of the 2002 Home Unions basement as they sent Wales crashing to a 27-22 defeat.

It was a heartbreaking end to the Six Nations for a Welsh side who have endured more than their fair share of woes this season – both on and off the field – and leaves coach Steve Hansen in no doubt about the challenge facing him in his newly-appointed role as permanent Wales coach until the end of the 2003/2004 season.

Top of his priorities will doubtlessly be addressing the woeful performance of his front five in the set-piece.  Wales stuttered badly throughout the match, starved of possession for long periods by a misfiring lineout and the lack of a solid platform in the scrummage.

Strangely, there was no inkling of these major flaws in the Welsh game in the opening minutes of the match, the Welsh forwards doing a fair imitation of Hansen's beloved Canterbury outfit, superb continuity play nearly resulting in an early try for Rob Howley, the scrum-half seemingly hell-bent on finishing off his international career with a bang.

But after a lightning break that left the Scots trailing in his after-burners, the No.9 opted to off-load to second row Andy Moore, the lock without the pace to turn Howley's opportunism into an early score, giving away a penalty in the process.

Minutes later, a typical storming close-quarter drive from Colin Charvis – revelling in his new role as national captain – resulted in a penalty for the Welsh.  Stephen Jones duly stepped up and, showing no signs of the back spasm which had put his participation in this encounter in doubt, slotted the three points to settle Welsh nerves in the eighth minute.

Two minutes later, the Howley-Charvis axis was again apparent, creating space on the outside for wing Craig Morgan who set up the ruck.  Spotting a hole in the Scottish back three, Welsh flanker Martin Williams chipped ahead after spotting fullback Brendan Laney out of position but the Welsh could not convert pressure into a try-scoring chance.

Stephen Jones kicked his second penalty in the 15th minute, before Wales made another dangerous incursion into Scottish territory, Mark Taylor 40 metres down the left after opposite number Townsend had knocked on.  Taylor kept the ball alive, despite being tackled, and the desperate Scottish defence chose to kill the ball at the ensuing ruck, Jones adding another three points to the Welsh tally.

It seemed that the home side were on their way to victory, but then Scotland began to take a greater hand in proceedings.  The visitors stormed into the Welsh 22 before launching a forward drive towards the Welsh tryline.  With referee Joel Jutge unable to work out what had happened in the pile-up over the line in the left-hand corner, the video ref was consulted and duly awarded a try to Gordon Bulloch.

Laney was unable to slot the difficult touchline conversion, but the score gave the visitors a renewed sense of purpose and minutes later, in a carbon copy of the first try, Bulloch scored again, burrowing over after a textbook forward drive from the Scottish front five.

This time Laney was on target with the conversion to make it 12-9 to Scotland.  Having missed an ambitious penalty goal from the halfway, Laney slotted another three points on the stroke of half-time following some superb continuity play from his team.

It was the front five who Scotland had to thank for their slender half-time lead, particularly second row Scott Murray who had been a constant thorn in the side of the Welsh lineout which stuttered badly throughout.

As they had done in the first half, Wales again started well, the introduction of Iestyn Harris to the midfield having an immediate impact.  The former Wales Rugby League captain has not had an easy ride during his debut season in the Welsh jersey, but his class was apparent early in the second half when he created a try for Rhys Williams, using his pace to ghost through the tackle of John Leslie before off-loading to his grateful team-mate to touch down under the posts.

Jones was not on target with the conversion to make it 16-15 and from here on in the lead was to change hands several times.

Laney kicked a penalty to put the Scots back in front but Jones' penalty edged Wales ahead 19-18 with 17 minutes to go.  The lead changed again six minutes from the end when Laney kicked between the posts from 35 meters and Scotland led 21-19.

But the Welsh struck back with two minutes left on the clock -- Scotland prop Tom Smith penalised for handling in ruck to enable Jones to kick his fifth penalty.

The game was in injury time when a Welshman was adjudged to have handled in a ruck and Laney kicked his fourth penalty.  The fullback was to play no further part in proceedings after leaving the field with a knee injury, but his replacement, Duncan Hodge, kicked another penalty for the last score of the game to secure a Scottish victory.

Man of the match:  Scott Murray
Scotland hooker Gordon Bulloch showed great determination to score both of his side's tries, but it was Scott Murray who had the most influence on proceedings.  The second row's lineout performance was absolutely outstanding throughout, securing plentiful possession for his own side and making life thoroughly miserable for the opposition on their own throw.

Moment of the match:  Rhys Williams' try
Iestyn Harris has had his critics since his switch from Rugby League to the more claustrophobic world of Union, but the Cardiff pivot had an almost immediate impact on proceedings following his half-time introduction, showing his devastating one-on-one rugby skill to shrug off a tackle from John Leslie before supplying a deft, pinpoint pass to a grateful Williams who streaked in under the posts for the touchdown.

Villain of the match: 
There may be little room for sentiment in the professional game, but surely Wales coach Steve Hansen could have allowed Rob Howley to go the distance in his last outing in the Welsh jersey.  Instead, the scrum-half faced an ignominious exit in the 66th minute when the game was still hanging in the balance and his vast experience could have helped the Welsh cause.

Referee:  Joel Jutge (France)
Touch judges:  Alan Lewis (Ireland) and Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Barry Williams, 3 Chris Anthony, 4 Ian Gough, 5 Andrew Moore, 6 Nathan Budgett, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Rob Howley, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Andy Marinos, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Rhys Williams, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Iestyn Harris, Dwayne Peel, Gavin Thomas, Dafydd James, Spencer John, Robin McBryde, Chris Wyatt

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Scott Murray, 5 Jason White, 6 Budge Pountney, 7 Martin Leslie, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Gregor Townsend, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 John Leslie, 13 James McLaren, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Brendan Laney
Reserves:  Richard Metcalfe, Jon Petrie, George Graham, Stuart Grimes, Duncan Hodge, Robbie Russell
Unused:  Graeme Beveridge

Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers

Wales
Tries:  Williams G.R. 1
Conv:  Jones S.M. 1
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 5

Scotland
Tries:  Bulloch G.C. 2
Conv:  Laney B.J. 1
Pen K.:  Laney B.J. 4, Hodge D.W. 1

France 44 Ireland 5

Two tries each from Biarritz pair Serge Betsen and Nicolas Brusque helped a powerful and prolific French side romp to the Grand Slam and Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship title with a record 44-5 demolition of Ireland at the Stade de France.

Bernard Laporte's men claimed their third Grand Slam in six seasons, their mixture of fluent handling and energy-sapping support play starving a lacklustre Irish side of possession and territory.

They scored five tries in total, Aurelien Rougerie adding to Betsen and Brusque's pair on a day where they topped their previous record score against the Irish – a 45-10 win in Paris back in 1996.

In truth, Ireland were never at the races on a sunny afternoon which was always more about the home side than them, hooker Keith Wood registering their only points with a first half try as they lost yards and ground to the convincing and energetic French pack.

The blue ribbons may as well have been wrapped around the trophy as early as two minutes into a half which saw Ireland dragged from pillar to post by a rampant and purposeful French eight, blindside Serge Betsen cantering through on the overlap for the opening try as the stragglers were still finding their seat numbers.

It came from a big rolling maul from the French front eight, Merceron breaking before the French backs took the Irish defence first right, then crucially left, long passes opening the gap for Betsen in the left corner, Merceron converting from out wide.

It was all France, but the Irish managed to get within a sniff of parity – on the scoreboard at least – with an 11th minute try from hooker Keith Wood.

It stemmed from one of the only pieces of first half imagination from the men in green, Munster centre Rob Henderson breaking with the uneffective lateral pattern to dink a deft grubber past the flat French backline on the 22, the ensuing defensive panic leading to a five-metre scrum.

From that central scrumdown, the Irish pack bashed the first phase down the right, Wood coming at pace from the resulting ruck to dive through the tackles of Merceron and Magne for the try, David Humphreys missing the tricky conversion.

Two penalties from Merceron extended the French lead, and on 26 minutes les Bleus got just reward for their enterprise and ambition, Biarritz fullback Nicolas Brusque slicing a hole in the retreating Irish rearguard.

A lineout on halfway for the French saw Tony Marsh pierce the Irish three-quarter line, hooker Raphael Ibanez instrumental in a quick spread from right to left through the hands to put Brusque in between the tackles of Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan, Merceron narrowly missing the conversion from out wide on the left.

It was only four minutes later before the next running try, Montferrand flyer Aurelien Rougerie streaking away down the right wing from halfway after a typically sniping blindside half-break from scrum-half Fabien Galthie, Merceron converting before adding a penalty for a 28-5 half-time lead.

France continued their assault on the Irish line as the second half got underway, both Betsen and Magne going close before Merceron conservatively kicked a penalty from under the posts when a running option could have killed the game off as a contest, the fly-half opting for the same option again only minutes later to a slow hand clap, bludgeoning the kick wide of the posts.

The French crowd got the fourth try they wanted soon after when Betsen rumbled over in the left corner for his second try, les Bleus gaining huge momentum from a 20-metre rolling maul before Galthie spun the ball down the blindside for Betsen, Merceron failing to add the conversion from out wide.

Denis Hickie went close for Ireland after chasing a massive Ronan O'Gara punt, the bounce of the hacked-on ball working against the Leinster wing on a rare foray into French territory.

Damien Traille went close for the French in the final ten minutes of a half which did not have the same ruthlessness of the first stanza, sloppy handling dogging both sides in crucial areas, and Ireland failing to pressure a French side with victory already in the bag.

There was however time for one more moment of magic for the home fans when replacement back-row Remy Martin set off down the middle from the 22, the ball spun left through the quick hands of Traille and Marsh, who put in Brusque on the overlap for an easy run-in, replacement fly-half Francois Gelez striking the post with the conversion after hitting a penalty minutes earlier.

Referee Paddy O'Brien finally blew the whistle on what will go down as one of the great days in French rugby, as they cemented their place as the Six Nations' premier team, prising the Championship trophy away from the clutches of England, and claiming the feat which has eluded the English for so long, the Grand Slam.

Man of the match:  Serge Betsen
Even his camouflage headguard could not hide the huge contribution of the Biarritz blindside, a personification of the renewed French cohesion and dynamism throughout the Championship.  The usual suspects, Galthie and Magne get notable mentions, not forgetting immense No.8 Imanaol Harinordoquy.  Candidates for Ireland few and far between, although Keith Wood and Denis Hickie never threw in the towel.

Moment of the match:  Nicolas Brusque's first try
A cutting and speedy run from the Biarritz fullback showed excellent support play.  A lineout on halfway and a break from Tony Marsh drew the Irish defence, and some quickly-worked ball from right to left caught the defence on the back foot, Brusque darting through two defenders for a memorable first half score.

Villain of the match:  None
A good-tempered match saw little controversy and a fine general spirit.  The French crowd did themselves no favours with some slow hand clapping and Mexican waves during play, but it would be harsh to label them party-poopers after their exuberant post-match celebrations.

(Half-time:  France 28 Ireland 5)

Sin-bin:  None

The teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traillem, 14 David Bory, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  David Auradou, Olivier Azam, Francois Gelez, Jimmy Marlu, Pierre Mignoni, Remy Martin, Jean-Baptiste Poux

Ireland:  1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 John Hayes, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 David Wallace, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Rob Henderson, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 14 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Paul Wallace, Keith Gleeson, Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Simon Easterby, John Kelly

Attendance:  79978

Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers

France
Tries:  Betsen Tchoua S. 2, Brusque N. 2, Rougerie A. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 2
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 4, Gelez F. 1

Ireland
Tries:  Wood K.G.M. 1

Scotland 10 France 22

France edged closer to their dream of a Grand Slam on Saturday after claiming a 22-10 Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship win over Scotland at Murrayfield, with two tries from Montferrand centre Tony Marsh.

Marsh's scores either side of the break were credit for a performance which will be deemed little more than satisfactory against a misfiring Scotland team with little lead in their pencil.

The French try-scoring was wrapped-up with a fleeting blindside break from scrum-half Fabien Galthie, who showed his leadership talents in abundance both in open field and in his decision making.

For Scotland, not a huge amount to build on from another performance which showed their finishing frailties, a second half try from scrum-half Bryan Redpath coming as reward for a brief spell of telling pressure in the second half – but they never accelerated from there.

Pau's Basque back-row terror Imanol Harinordoquy was once again tearing it up in broken play with some enormous hits and useful yards, and Olivier Magne advanced his case for the player of the Championship award with a tireless afternoon's pillaging at openside.

The Scots actually went into an early lead through a Brendan Laney penalty after seven minutes, but it was a half filled with frustration for the home side as chance after chance went by the wayside due to a combination of poor handling and botched execution.

Touch kicks did not find their target, elementary passes were knocked on, and their defence ultimately fell to the continual French pressure on 16 minutes when Tony Marsh grabbed the only try of the half for the French.

It came after a barnstorming run in midfield from Pau powerhouse Damien Traille in the centres, who took three or four Scottish tacklers with him before bursting between Gregor Townsend and John Leslie.

He passed left to Marsh at pace, and the Scots' cause was not helped by an unfortunate slip as fullback Brendan Laney attempted to change direction on a shocking, cut-up Murrayfield surface.

His loss of footing saw Marsh faced with the easiest of run-ins, wing Glenn Metcalfe the only chaser as he went under the posts, the try converted by Montferrand fly-half Gerald Merceron.

Scotland had their best chance of a try ten minutes later when Saracens lock Stuart Murray fell five metres short of the line, Serge Betsen scragging his collar and stealing the ball to the frustration of a muted and virtually atmosphere-less Murrayfield.

A penalty from Merceron on 31 minutes saw France extend their lead to seven points at the break, and in truth it should have been more after their continued probing of the Scottish defence, Harinordoquy and Magne making some quality yards through the middle as scrum-half Bryan Redpath provided Scotland's only real spark.

France injected some pace into the game with the second half underway, and when silky-running fullback Nicolas Brusque aimed a chip-and-chase over the top of Gregor Townsend, he outpaced the Castres player and set up a dangerous attack in the right corner.

With Rougerie in attendance, the kick was regathered and the ruck in the right corner near the Scottish tryline was quickly worked back, and sent swiftly through the hands from right to left, eventually falling to Tony Marsh on the left flank, diving into the corner under a tackle from Glenn Metcalfe.

It was only five minutes later when the advantage was extended to 19 points, scrum-half and captain Fabien Galthie picking and going down the blindside in typically ruthless and predatory style.

The Stade Francais keystone barged round the side of a ruck past the attentions of hooker Gordon Bulloch, exposing the Scotland side's hopeless defensive inadequacies down the French right wing for a clean run from all of 40 metres, fullback Brendan Laney having nowhere near enough pace to run across from the other side of the pitch and catch Galthie, who went over in the right corner – Merceron converting the extras impressively from way out wide.

It appeared to be the blow Scotland needed to knock some shape and life into their play, and it was a surging run from centre James McLaren which led indirectly to a long-awaited Scottish try.

His left to right diagonal run from the 22 saw him past the flailing arms of Merceron and to within five metres of the line, Rougerie managing to halt his progress with a vice-like grip in the tackle when a certain try beckoned.

The ball was eventually worked right to left, and a zig-zagging run from Laney on the left flank saw the Kiwi weave his way agonisingly close to the score, but from the resulting ruck, Bryan Redpath picked the ball up and placed it over the line without hardly lifting his feet from the ground, putting the ball down right in the middle of the ruck right on the line itself.

It was reward for an enterprising match for the Sale Sharks No.9 who had been one of the only sparks for the Scots during the French pressure which preceded the try, Laney converting from left of the posts.

The match petered to an unsatisfying end after that, continual Scottish mistakes blighting a dis-jointed finale, partly due to the frustratingly increasing numbers of late substitutions used by both sides.

The stop/start nature of the last ten minutes did not seem a fitting climax to TV commentator Bill McLaren's final Murrayfield commentary, but referee Alain Rolland eventually saw fit to call time on the match after a missed Merceron penalty.

So France are only one step from Grand Slam glory, but on this showing, they will have to up the tempo to overcome Eddie O'Sullivan's men in two weeks' time, for what promises to be one of the games of the Championship.

For Scotland, typical mediocrity once again, flashes of creation but a laboured and clumsy approach to execution.  Hopefully a third professional club side next year will inject some life and competition to a side who have disappointed for the last few years.

Man of the match:  Tony Marsh (France)
Two superbly-taken tries and a generally solid performance from the New Zealand-born player.  His centre partnership with Damien Traille is fast becoming one of the most feared and consistently productive in Test rugby.  Fabien Galthie could have had a serious shout for the award after a marvellous try and a solid leadership display.  For Scotland, scrum-half Bryan Redpath was the only serious contender, but Marsh gets our vote in the end for injecting spark into what could have easily been a lifeless game.

Moment of the match:  Tony Marsh's second try
Great counter-attacking rugby saw Biarritz's Nicolas Brusque lob a kick down the wing and over the head of the retreating Scottish defence, outpacing Gregor Townsend.  The ball was eventually gathered up in the right corner, Olivier Magne showing superb athleticism to get to the ruck first with Aurelien Rougerie.  The ball was spun quickly right to left via a plethora of French runners, Marsh eventually evading the tackle of Glenn Metcalfe for the touchdown.  BBC TV commentator Bill McLaren could have cause to win our award also, after emotionally uttering his final words at Murrayfield in a 50-year broadcast career.  Bill may have had a lump in the throat, but he held it together like the thorough pro he is, even if it may not have been the result he wanted on the field itself.

Villain of the match:  The Scottish handling
Continually awful hand/eye co-ordination blighted their play throughout.  The ball may have been a tad slippery, and the pitch cutting-up, but there was no excuse for the consistency and magnitude of the Scottish errors in good positions.

(Half-time:  Scotland 3 France 10)

Sin-bin:  None

The teams:

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Scott Murray, 5 Jason White, 6 Budge Pountney, 7 Martin Leslie, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Gregor Townsend, 11 Glenn Metcalfe, 12 John Leslie, 13 James McLaren, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Brendan Laney
Reserves:  Jon Petrie, George Graham, Stuart Grimes, Kenny Logan, Robbie Russell
Unused:  Graeme Beveridge, Duncan Hodge

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 David Bory, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Thibault Privat, Sylvain Marconnet, Jimmy Marlu, Remy Martin
Unused:  Olivier Azam, Francois Gelez, Pierre Mignoni

Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers

Scotland
Tries:  Redpath B.W. 1
Conv:  Laney B.J. 1
Pen K.:  Laney B.J. 1

France
Tries:  Galthie F. 1, Marsh T. 2
Conv:  Merceron G. 2
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 1

England 50 Wales 10

England won their first Triple Crown since 1998 as two tries from Dan Luger, and 30 points from stand-off Jonny Wilkinson, helped them to a record 50-10 win over Wales in the Six Nations at Twickenham.

Scoring five tries, England surpassed their 34-point winning margin of 1998 and 2000 against a Wales side, who aside from the first three minutes of the game, were never really at the races.

Whilst this game put England in a no-win situation with such expectation of a big victory over a struggling Welsh side, it will go a small way to making up for the defeat to France three weeks earlier, and more importantly kept England's chances of a Six Nations title alive.

England certainly had a battle on their hands early on, intense Welsh pressure was only kept at bay by equally intense English defence as the visitors laid siege to the home try-line in the opening minutes.

However, it was England who opened the scoring as Jonny Wilkinson coolly slotted a drop-goal to give the home side a lead they would not relinquish.

After that England began to assert themselves, Austin Healey testing the Welsh defence with some Robinson-esque footwork and after a good period of possession England soon had the opening they needed.

A deft chip from Wilkinson was collected by centre Will Greenwood who rolled over the line, referee Andrew Cole adjudging the Quins centre touched the ball down without consulting the video ref.

Despite a fair share of possession and territory, England only had a second Wilkinson penalty to show for their efforts as they led 13-0 mid-way through the first-half.

Iestyn Harris pulled a penalty back for Wales just before the half-hour mark but Wilkinson notched two further penalties, taking him over 500 Test points for England, as they had to be content with a 19-3 lead at half-time.

If Wales thought they may have weathered the worst of the England storm, right from the kick-off, the home side surged up to the Welsh line after good work from Neil Back and Ben Kay.

With Wales penalised, England underlined their second-half game-plan and opted for the line-out which created an opening for Wilkinson to dance through untouched for try.  No doubt about this one and he added the extras as England stretched their lead to 26-3.

Wilkinson hit his fourth penalty before Wales began to exert their Wales first real bit of pressure since the opening minutes, Andy Marinos spurning an overlap on two separate occasions in quick succession as England held firm.

England made Wales pay for their profligacy, Harris failing to control the pass inside his 22 and Dan Luger eventually stepping inside for his 18th Test try and Wilkinson impeccable with the conversion.

With England in full flow, and Wales flagging, Luger got his 19th just three minutes later as Will Greenwood's burst opened saw his club colleague stroll over untouched, Wilkinson again adding the extras.

For Welsh fans there was the smallest ray of sunshine as Harris, on whose shoulders so much hope and unfair expectation was placed towards the end of the Henry era, found an opening to score a consolation try.

And yet any Welsh hopes that score would prevent a half-century of points for England, and a record margin of victory, were dashed when substitute Tim Stimpson crashed over for the home side's fifth try, Wilkinson notching his ninth successful kick of the day.

Man of the match:
This game was a classic team performance from England.  The pack, led by skipper Neil Back, was an impressively dominant unit both at the set-piece and in the loose -- whilst the three-quarters, marshalled by Wilkinson and the lively Healey, were enjoying their day in the sun.  On balance, Will Greenwood takes the award, scoring a try and setting up two others.

Moment of the match:
After good early pressure from their side, Wales fans will point to Will Greenwood's opening try after just ten minutes as a crucial moment in the game.  The referee awarded it without going to the video ref, and after that England never looked back.

Villain of the match:
In a good-tempered match there were no real villains, although Wales centre Andy Marinos gets our nomination for his reluctance on several occasions to share what rare quality ball the Welsh backs received.

The teams:

England:  1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Julian White, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Neil Back (c), 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Richard Hill, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Austin Healey
Reserves:  Martin Corry, Matt Dawson, Tim Stimpson, Dorian West, Joe Worsley,
Unused:  Jason Leonard, Iain Balshaw

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Chris Anthony, 4 Andrew Moore, 5 Chris Wyatt, 6 Nathan Budgett, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Scott Quinnell (c), 9 Rob Howley, 10 Iestyn Harris, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Andy Marinos, 13 Gareth Thomas, 14 Dafydd James, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Dwayne Peel, Rhys Williams, Colin Charvis, Gareth Llewellyn, Barry Williams
Unused:  Nicky Robinson, Spencer John

Referee:  Cole a.

Points Scorers

England
Tries:  Greenwood W.J.H. 1, Luger D.D. 2, Stimpson T.R.G. 1, Wilkinson J.P. 1
Conv:  Wilkinson J.P. 5
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 4
Drop G.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

Wales
Tries:  Harris I. 1
Conv:  Harris I. 1
Pen K.:  Harris I. 1

Ireland 32 Italy 17

Munster winger John Kelly stole the headlines as he scored two tries on his debut as Ireland beat Italy by 32-17 in front of a packed Lansdowne Road in Dublin, although with England's big win in Twickenham, the margin of victory was almost certainly not enough to keep their 2002 Six Nations title hopes alive.

The home team totally shut the Azzurri out in the first 40 minutes, leading 19-0 at half-time, with Italy only getting their first scoring opportunity after seven minutes in extra time just before the break but the Irish will now need a win of gargantuan proportions over title favourites France in Paris to have any chance of securing the title.

The visitors showed a willingness to run with the ball from the outset of the game, but unfortunately Brad Johnstone's men made a lot of handling errors, which the Irish gladly pounced on.

In fact, the game was marred by bad handling errors by both teams, and some poor discipline by the visitors.

While most of the 30 pairs of hands on the pitch made a mess of things, the Irish backs made amends with some pin-point tactical kicking.  They forced Italy back many yards on a few occasions, from where new Irish skipper David Humphreys punished the visitors for their mistakes.

The Irish flyhalf, who spent some time in the bloodbin with a deep gash to the head, slotted three easy penalties in the opening quarter to put the home team in the lead by 9-0.

It was a very scrappy game with lots of niggles off the ball, most of them coming from the Italians.  Both the visiting props were sent to the bin in the first half – tighthead Salvatore Perugini for a head-butt on Peter Stringer in 24th minute and loosehead Giampiero De Carli in the 40th minute.

It was just before De Carli got his marching orders that Irish debutant wing John Kelly scored his first try.  He got the ball wide on the left-hand side of the field and left Denis Dallan in his wake with a great hand-off.

The conversion by blood sub Ronan O'Gara and a further penalty by the replacement flyhalf saw the teams turn with Ireland leading 19-0.

Italy finally got on the score board shortly after the break when their South African-born fullback Gert Peens slotted a massive drop-goal.

But their joy was not to last long as Kelly got his second try four minutes later when he sliced open the Italian defence in the 22.

Mauro Bergamasco scored Italy's first try in the 53rd minute and with Diego Dominguez's conversion, the visitors trailed by 24-10 with enough time left on the clock.

Dennis Hickie scored Ireland's third, and final try from a set move from an attacking line-out.  It was a classic midfield run-around move that opened the gap for the speedster to crash over, and put the result beyond any doubt.

The Italians strung together a number of good phases in the second half, but sadly for them, the Irish defence held out until it was too late.

The Italians never really looked like breaking the home team's line, but De Carli scored a late consolation try for the visitors, which Diego Dominguez converted, on the stroke of full-time.

Alessandro Troncon and Bergamasco were the best players for the Azzurri on the day.

The Irish midfield of Shane Horgan and Brian O'Driscoll, who was well marked by the Italians, played their hearts out, as did Malcolm O'Kelly.  But it was John Kelly's day – a brace of tries on debut doesn't come often.

Man of the Match:  No contest here, John Kelly, with his calm head, solid defence and two tries gets our vote.

Moment of the match:  Dennis Hickie's try from first phase from five metres out of the Italian try-line was a real gem.  Classic backline run-around move by the home team and the game was theirs.

Villain of the match:  Lot of niggles.  Peter Clohessy got a stern talking to from the referee and Giampiero De Carli got yellowed on the stroke of half-time, but Salvatore Perugini gets the award for his head-butt, and subsequent sin binning, on Peter Stringer in 24th minute.

(Half-time:  Ireland 19 Italy 0)

Sin-bin:  (Salvatore Perugini 24-34, Giampiero De Carli 40-50)

Ireland:  1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Shane Byrne, 3 John Hayes, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 David Wallace, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys (c), 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Tyrone Howe, Eric Miller, Paul Wallace, Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara, UnusedGuy Easterby, Frankie Sheahan

Italy:  1 Giampiero De Carli, 2 Alessandro Moscardi (c), 3 Salvatore Perugini, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Matthew Phillips, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 10 Diego Dominguez, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Giovanni Raineri, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Andrea De Rossi, Santiago Dellape, Federico Pucciariello, UnusedMatteo Mazzantini, Andrea Moretti, Cristian Zanoletti, Ramiro Pez

Referee:  Dickson r.

Points Scorers

Ireland
Tries:  Hickie D.A. 1, Kelly J. 2
Conv:  O'Gara R.J.R. 1
Pen K.:  Humphreys D.G. 4, O'Gara R.J.R. 1

Italy
Tries:  Bergamasco M. 1, De Carli G.P. 1
Conv:  Dominguez D. 2
Drop G.:  Peens G. 1

Ireland 43 Scotland 22

An impressive hat-trick from star centre Brian O'Driscoll kept Ireland in the hunt for the 2002 Six Nations title as they bounced back from their Twickenham nightmare to post a 43-22 win over Scotland at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.

With news of England's defeat in Paris trickling through the Lansdowne Road just before kick-off, both sides' hopes of a Six Nations title received a massive boost but both would have known that defeat in this game would mean an end to those sort of lofty aspirations.

In the end, despite the efforts of a seriously misfiring and 'Keith Wood-less' lineout, Ireland had enough in the tank, and some to spare, to see off the challenge of Scotland, who must now take stock to prevent another Six Nations Championship sliding towards the basement, their landing thankfully likely to be cushioned, once again, by Italy.

Irish stand-off David Humphreys, who had a torrid time against England a fortnight ago, gave the home side a good start as he opened the scoring in the first minute as Scotland strayed offside, Ireland moving to a 3-0 lead.

The men in green certainly started brightly, finding plenty of the gaps in the Scotland ranks, but Scotland evened things up just before the ten minute mark as captain Mick Galwey was penalised for killing the ball, Brendan Laney coolly hitting the three points.

That seemed to galvanise Scotland as they began to dominate possession and the game, Laney adding two penalties to put the visitors 9-3 up midway through the first-half.

However, Ireland struck back and, after their first real spell of possession, centre Brian O'Driscoll found acres of space just inside the Scots' 22 to ghost through for the game's first try.

Although Humphreys missed the conversion, to keep Scotland in the lead by the narrowest of margins, Ireland had the momentum and a turnover just outside the Scotland 22 gave the home side men over out wide, O'Driscoll working the ball wide well to Shane Horgan who galloped untouched into the corner.

This time Humphreys made no mistake with the extras to put Ireland back in the lead and when referee Nigel Whitehouse reversed a Scottish penalty after Budge Pountney retaliated, the Scots must have known it was not to be their day.

Then on the stroke of half-time, Scotland were caught by a sucker punch as they camped inside the Ireland 22.  The ball was sent down the line but was spilled in the mid-field and O'Driscoll reacted the quickest to snap up the loose ball and race away a full 85 metres, with Chris Paterson in hot pursuit, to extend Ireland's lead.

Although Laney pulled a penalty back in the last act of the first half as some reward for their efforts, a clinical Ireland had a 22-12 lead.

The second half started much as the first had finished, Scotland unable to turn possession in to points although Laney hit his fifth penalty of the day to cut the deficit to just seven points on 46 minutes.

Humphreys restored Ireland's ten-point lead a few minutes later with a monster penalty, the kick making him Ireland's all-time points scorer in international rugby, and he added another a few minutes later as the game began to ebb away from Scotland.

Pountney then transgressed one too many times and earned himself a spell in the sin-bin, and with Humphreys boot in fine fettle he made no mistake from the resulting penalty as Ireland were clear 31-15 midway through the second-half.

Scotland were forced on to the back-foot and the final nail in their coffin came as James McLaren spilled a tricky pass inside his 22, Shane Horgan scooping it up and quick hands from Humphreys saw Simon Easterby, on for the injured Eric Miller, scoring his side's fourth try of the day.

Although substitute Martin Leslie got Scotland's only try of the day ten minutes from the end, O'Driscoll cut through for his hat-trick on the stroke of normal time as Ireland move in to the 2002 Six Nations home straight eyeing an April date in Paris on the last weekend.

Man of the Match
They may not have had the lion's share of possession, but when you have the likes of Brian O'Driscoll in your side that probably does not matter too much.  The Leinster man scored three tries and set-up another to deservedly take the plaudits.

Moment of the Match
Brian O'Driscoll's second try was the killer blow for Scotland.  Leading up to it, Scotland had enjoyed a good spell of pressure and just a converted try away from taking the lead but in a flash saw themselves 13 points down and facing a moutain to climb from then on.

Villain of the Match
Generally a good natured match but if Budge Pountney has hopes of regaining the Scotland captaincy then he won't want this game on his CV.  Despite his good work around the edge of the scrum, his retaliation on Peter Stringer cost his side a probable three points at 9-15 down and during his spell in the bin Ireland posted eight unanswered points.

Sin-bin:  Budge Pountney 58-68

The teams:

Ireland:  1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Frankie Sheahan, 3 John Hayes, 4 Mick Galwey (c), 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Eric Miller, 7 David Wallace, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Shane Byrne, Simon Easterby, Guy Easterby, Gary Longwell, Paul Wallace, Ronan O'Gara
Unused:  John Kelly

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Stuart Grimes, 5 Scott Murray, 6 Budge Pountney, 7 Jason White, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Gregor Townsend, 11 Glenn Metcalfe, 12 Andrew Henderson, 13 James McLaren, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Brendan Laney
Reserves:  George Graham, Martin Leslie, Kenny Logan
Unused:  Jon Petrie, Graeme Beveridge, Duncan Hodge, Robbie Russell

Referee:  Whitehouse n.

Points Scorers

Ireland
Tries:  Easterby S.H. 1, Horgan S.P. 1, O'Driscoll B.G. 3
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 2, O'Gara R.J.R. 1
Pen K.:  Humphreys D.G. 4

Scotland
Tries:  Leslie M.D. 1
Conv:  Laney B.J. 1
Pen K.:  Laney B.J. 5

France 20 England 15

A brilliant first half, that saw tries from Gerald Merceron and Imanol Harinordoquy, helped give France a deserved 20-15 win over England in Paris.

So, again the 'England Grand Slam' merchandise will have to wait for at least another year as France shocked the side who had come into this match as favourites, following the handsome victories over Scotland and Ireland which had propelled them to No.1 in the Zurich World Rankings.

It was Merceron who was undoubtedly the hero of the hour, contributing 15 points to his side's effort and spearheading an excellent defensive display from 'Les Bleus' to dash English hopes and knock their status as potential world beaters.

Time and time again, England tried to drive through the middle and find the gaps in the French line, only to find themselves rocked backwards over the gainline by the strength of the French tackling, more often than not also also committing the cardinal error of turning over ball in the tackle.

The vast spaces that had opened up all around the field in England's last encounter, against Ireland, were nowhere to be seen as England's strike runners were swamped by a tide of blue virtually every time they laid a hand on the ball.

England's halfbacks Kyran Bracken and Jonny Wilkinson were given a torrid time by the marauding French back row and the superb French skipper Fabien Galthie, who again proved his worth to his side as a leader and master tactician.

Indeed, the writing was on the wall for the men in white from the very first second of this pulsating match, Martin Johnson -- normally the epitome of consistency -- committing an elementary error from the kick off to give France their first chance of points.

Merceron was off target on that occasion, but this early hiccup from Johnson was an illustration of how out of sorts England were at Stade de France, wilting under the pressure of French tactics.

In the 11th minute, France had Galthie to thank for their first try, the scrum-half showing great vision to draw the English defence before handing a delightful pass to No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy , who came onto the ball at pace, creating havoc in English ranks before finding Merceron.

The fly-half skipped past Healey for a try under the posts.  Quite why referee Andre Watson called for the video ref to sanction the score is anyone's guess as there couldn't have been a man, woman or child in the stadium who wouldn't have awarded it immediately.

With Merceron converting his own try, things looked ominous for England as France continued to enjoy the lion's share of possession and a few minutes later Harinordoquy was to the fore once more -- latching onto a superb pass from Tony Marsh to crash over in the corner.  Merceron slotted a superb touchline conversion to make it 14-0 as the match reached the end of a torrid first quarter for England.

The ease with which France were able to breach the English defences nearly resulted in another try in the 25th minute, prop Peter de Villiers setting off on a 20 metre run towards the line after Jason Robinson had been dispossessed in midfield.  Only a moment of French overeagerness gave respite to England as a blue jersey went over the top as de Villiers went to ground with the white line within spitting distance.

In the 33rd minute, Wilkinson put a drop goal attempt wide of the posts while two minutes later Merceron also missed with a long range drop.

But Merceron added another three points after England's Phil Vickery was penalised for tackling a Frenchman without the ball.

Seconds later, the English effort was further disrupted by an injury to centre Mike Tindall, former League star Henry Paul came on for debut.  Not exactly the most gentle of introductions to international rugby union and Paul did look somewhat exposed on the rare occasions he took the ball into contact, invariably giving away either a penalty or the turnover to the streetwise French.

But, coincidentally, as Paul did not actually touch the ball during that last few minutes of the first half, the arrival of the League man coincided with England's fightback as a period of sustained pressure saw England come back into the match.

After magnificent French defence had repelled the English on a series of five metre scrums, the ball went wide to Robinson with three cover tacklers heading for the diminutive player at high speed.

Some mesmerising footwork from the Sale star left Merceron, Serge Betsen and David Bory clutching at thin air as Robinson sprinted over for a crucial try to temporarily lift English spirits.

Wilkinson added the conversion to make it 17-7 as the whistle for half-time went.

England began in a more positive frame of mind after the break and two minutes later, Wilkinson was able to steady English nerves with a penalty from 40 metres.

A fine break from Healey was squandered after Paul was dispossessed by the defence and set off on a dangerous counterattack -- only a magnificent tackle from Johnson on Betsen in midfield snuffing out the move.

Another chance went begging following a break by Greenwood.  The Harlequins centre sliced through the midfield but delayed his pass to Healey just a fraction too long with the result that his team-mate was scragged as he caught the ball, forcing a knock-on.

Then Worsley, who had earlier been penalised for a late tackle on Merceron, conceded another penalty, coming around the side of a ruck to give Merceron the opportunity to stretch France's lead to 20-10.  That was to be Worsley's last act, the No.8 replaced by Martin Corry after a forgettable game.

But Worsley's ineffectual performance was mirrored throughout the England pack with players who had looked world-class against Ireland, coming off distinctly second best to their French counterparts throughout the afternoon.

The lack of a solid platform left the much-vaunted English backline reduced to the role of bystanders, only Will Greenwood consistently cracking the French midfield so impressively organised by monsieurs Merceron, Marsh and Traille.

To their credit, England, despite being out-thought and out-muscled, never gave up and continued to attempt to snatch a result deep into injury time, half-chance wilting under the bravery of the French defence.

England coach Clive Woodward's last roll of the dice was to launch a number of late replacements into the mix, but Cohen's last ditch try -- which went unconverted by Paul in the absence of Wilkinson – was not enough to keep England's Grand Slam bandwagon on the road.

France, however, after a magnificent performance have now taken over England's mantle as favourites for European rugby's greatest prize.

Moment of the Match
Not a flowing back move or a long-range try, but a moment that neatly encapsulates the entire match.  During a rare of period of sustained English attack in the second half, prop Graham Rowntree picked up the ball at the rear of ruck, pinned his ears back and drove forward at full pace, trying to inject some momentum into his side's stuttering efforts.  But waiting for him square-on was French second row Fabien Pelous who put in one of the biggest hits you're every likely to see on the rugby field to stop the 17-stone frontrower dead in his tracks and then shove him back from whence he came.

Man of the Match
There were many French heroes on show at Stade de France, including No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy and skipper Fabien Galthie, but it was Gerald Merceron who drove Les Bleus to their magnificent victory, the fly-half grabbing a try, two penalties and two conversions during a fine afternoon's work.

Villain of the Match
England's stuttering forward effort didn't do No.8 Joe Worsley any favours, but the Wasps forward had a poor game by his own high standards, failing to make signficant yardage from the base of the scrum and giving away a number of crucial penalties to hamstring his side's chances of victory -- including a late tackle on Merceron.

The teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 David Auradou, 5 Olivier Brouzet, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 David Bory, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Olivier Azam, Fabien Pelous, Olivier Milloud, Pierre Mignoni, Remy Martin
Unused:  Francois Gelez, Jimmy Marlu

England:  1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Austin Healey, 12 Will Greenwood, 12 Mike Tindall, 13 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Martin Corry, Danny Grewcock, Jason Leonard, Dan Luger, Dorian West, Henry Paul
Unused:  Nick Duncombe

Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers

France
Tries:  Merceron G. 1, Harinordoquy I. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 2
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 2

England
Tries:  Robinson J.T. 1, Cohen B.C. 1
Conv:  Wilkinson J.P. 1
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

Wales 44 Italy 20

Wales finally got a taste of victory in the 2002 Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship, after a confident and competent 44-20 win over Italy at the Millennium Stadium.

Wales scored five tries on the day after two spells of pressure at the start of both halves, Craig Morgan, Dafydd James, Rhys Williams, Scott Quinnell and Andy Marinos all scoring on a day when the Welsh finally cut loose and showed their undoubted potential, against an admittedly flat and comparatively lifeless Italian XV.

The free-flowing form of the Welsh backs will no doubt have been a weight off the mind of caretaker coach Steve Hansen, as Tom Shanklin early on, then Rhys Williams in the second half, showed that fly-half Stephen Jones has potent weapons outside of him.

Craig Morgan was one of the major plusses for the Welsh, who struggled in the lineout early on against an Italian team without their talisman Diego Dominguez, Ramiro Pez making a good fist of filling in at fly-half in the absence of the Stade Francais dynamo.

Italy's try-scoring was restricted to two, Carlo Checchinato rumbling over in the right corner for a first half touch down, before Francesco Mazzariol managed a second late in the game, by which time the result was a mere formality.

Wales looked a shadow of Graham Henry's old tense side of four weeks ago, and there were no signs of stage fright as Craig Morgan touched down a spectacular try in the very first minute, lifting the volume in a Millennium Stadium which was far from full, and unusually quiet before kick-off.

Morgan's try came as a result of an enterprising and well-timed break from Andy Marinos, the Newport centre surging through the Italian midfield around halfway, before running straight to the 22 and floating a looped pass left to Morgan, who played a deftly-weighted grubber into the try area, diving down on the ball in the left corner.

Jones converted from way out wide, but Italy got back into the game with a Ramiro Pez penalty four minutes later, the Rotherham fly-half filling the boots of Dominguez with occasional silky touches, finding good line kicks throughout, and trying to exploit the talents of Cristian Stoica outside of him.

Wales continued their early tempo though, and it was only 11 minutes into the game when Bridgend's Dafydd James went over in the same left corner where Morgan had earlier scored.

The try came from a blindside burst on halfway from Nathan Budgett down the left, the Bridgend back-row exposing last man Pez before popping up in the tackle to the grateful James for an easy run-in, Jones again converting from out wide.

James again thought he had scored only minutes later when he touched down in the right corner as Wales piled on the pressure, but a keen eye from the touch judge revealed that a foot had been placed ever so slightly in touch just before James dived over the line under an Italian tackle.

Jones struck over another penalty for the rampant Welsh, but they were in for a shock as Italy counter-attacked with good effect on 20 minutes, Carlo Checchinato bundling himself over the line under a heap of bodies for a try.

The score came after a good break from livewire scrum-half Alessandro Troncon as he scurried from a quick tap penalty, before South African fullback Gert Peens fell just short of the line in the right corner after running through the Welsh tacklers from short range.

Pez convetred Checchinato's try via the right post, before Jones struck over another penalty.  Peens hit back for the Azzurri with an enormous 50 metre plus penalty, but Jones again retaliated with another Welsh penalty for a 23 -- 13 half-time score, Andy Marinos going close to a try in the right corner after chasing a cunning diagonal grubber before the whistle, but just failing to get the score.

After finishing the first half without the same urgency as they had started it, Wales got the second half underway in suitably lightning fashion, replacement Rhys Williams cutting the Italian defence to shreds with a superb running score within the first few minutes of the restart.

It was fine counter-attack running from Craig Morgan within his own half which set up the score, Williams eventually taking a positive diagonal course from left to right past the Italian defence at pace, evading the tackle of Mauro Bergamasco for the score, Jones again converting after he had missed a long-range penalty by the narrowest of margins.

With Italy now well and truly on the rack, and struggling for possession, Scott Quinnell barged over in his own unique style for Wales'fourth try of the afternoon, taking second phase ball from a scrum near the Italian line down the left wing, Dafydd James taking the initial contact before Quinnell's run from deep at first receiver was spotted by scrum-half Howley

Jones added the extras, and it was only three minutes until the next Welsh try, Marinos touching down after a solid and workmanlike performance in midfield, latching onto Dafydd James' right wing run and earning the reward for good support play with a short pass and a ten-metre run-in for the try, converted once again by the deadly Stephen Jones for a 44-13 advantage.

Coach Steve Hansen took the opportunity to introduce, among others, Iestyn Harris and Dwayne Peel to the match, Harris coming on for Swansea's Kevin Morgan at fullback to good effect, showing a glimpse of his trademark sidestep, and Llanelli's Peel taking over and doing a solid job for the effervescent Rob Howley at scrum-half.

With Italy now jaded and dejected, the departure of right wing Pedrazzi on 68 minutes saw openside Mauro Bergamasco forced to play on the wing, although the Treviso man has played club rugby in the centres recently, so the backs was not new territory for the energetic flanker.

Indeed it was Bergamasco's presence on the right side which spawned their second try of the match with six minutes to go, a botched pass from Francesco Mazzariol confusing the Welsh drift defence, but Bergamasco hacking on for Mazzariol to touch down in the corner, Peens converting impressively from the touchline.

Referee Chris White blew the whistle soon after, on a game which lost a bit of life towards the end, but one which showed that there is still life left in the Welsh national team -- even if the cynics might say:  “But it was only against Italy.”

Man of the match:  Scott Quinnell
The skipper was once again the driving force between much of the good work of the Welsh pack, scoring a try of his own early in the second half from a short-range, before being replaced by Brett Sinkinson midway through the second half.  The fact there were no sole standouts typified the renewed Welsh team ethic, although Craig Morgan and Rob Howley in particular had productive afternoons.  For Italy, Mauro Bergamasco and Gert Peens stood out from a fairly limp team performance, but after conceding five tries, none of them were serious contenders to beat Quinnell to our vote.

Moment of the match:  Rhys Williams' try
The Cardiff fullback entered the fray midway through the second half for injured centre Tom Shanklin, and gave the Welsh a timely boost in the first few minutes of the second half with a scorching counter-attack try.  A long Italian punt was fielded by Craig Morgan who cut infield near halfway.  From a resulting ruck, Stephen Jones popped short to Williams 40 metres out, who took a left to right diagonal course past openside Mauro Bergamasco to dive over.  That moment narrowly won our vote over the time when recently-resigned Wales coach Graham Henry was shown on the stadium's big screen in the crowd.  Most of the fans strangely cheered for the man who had been public enemy No.1 in Wales for the last few months, although a subdued chorus of ‘boos' could be heard from some sections.  A very strange moment indeed.

Villain of the match:  Carlo Checchinato
No real villains in a fairly calm match, but the Italian try-scorer got away with a stamping incident late in the match which should have earned him ten minutes in the sin-bin.  Alessandro Troncon's nuisance value reared its head again, but there were no fisticuffs in a well-spirited encounter.

(Half-time:  Wales 23 Italy 13)

Sin-bin:  Persico (Italy, 50 mins)

The teams:

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Chris Anthony, 4 Ian Gough, 5 Andrew Moore, 6 Nathan Budgett, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Scott Quinnell (c), 9 Rob Howley, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Tom Shanklin, 13 Andy Marinos, 14 Dafydd James, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Iestyn Harris, Dwayne Peel, Rhys Williams, Spencer John, Brett Sinkinson, Barry Williams, Chris Wyatt

Italy:  1 Giampiero De Carli, 2 Alessandro Moscardi (c), 3 Salvatore Perugini, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Carlo Checchinato, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 10 Ramiro Pez, 11 Roberto Pedrazzi, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Andrea Benatti, Andrea Lo Cicero, Matthew Phillips, Francesco Mazzariol, Federico Pucciariello, Giovanni Raineri
Unused:  Matteo Mazzantini

Referee:  White c.

Points Scorers

Wales
Tries:  Morgan C.S. 1, Williams G.R. 1, James D.R. 1, Marinos A.W.N. 1, Quinnell L.S. 1
Conv:  Jones S.M. 5
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 3

Italy
Tries:  Checchinato C. 1, Mazzariol F. 1
Conv:  Peens G. 1, Pez R. 1
Pen K.:  Peens G. 1, Pez R. 1