Samoa demolish the Azzurri

Samoa made it two wins from two in South Africa after hammering a poor Italy 39-10 in Nelspruit on Saturday.

The Italian scrum was their only source of a joy in a dire performance, with Samoa holding firm in defence and also excelling in open play by racking up several long-range tries.

Central to their efforts was Paul Williams, the Stade Français back scoring the points off the tee and also crossing for the game's first try.

The Islanders only held a slender lead at half-time but were irrepressible in the second half, scoring four tries and sending a message to South Africa ahead of their encounter next weekend.

Samoa impressed with their 27-17 victory over Scotland last weekend in Durban, the threats out wide of Alapati Leiua and Alesana Tuilagi bagging the tries as the Islanders underlined that they can compete with the top sides.

Italy on the other handed started brightly against the Springboks before fading dramatically in the second half, ultimately beaten comfortably 44-10.

A scoreless opening quarter dominated by issues at the scrum was eventually punctured by a try from Williams after the initial break from Tusi Pisi and Leiua put the Islanders in front.

Orquera responded with a penalty, recovering from his earlier miss to put Italy on the board as Jacques Brunel's side looked to use the full width of the pitch to try and stretch the Samoan defence.

Williams added a penalty to keep the Samoans out in front, with referee Craig Joubert repeatedly addressing both sides for indiscipline throughout the first half.

A knock to the face of Sergio Parisse gave Italy cause for concern after the captain was taken out at the ruck, the big boot of Gonzalo Garcia unable to add another three points as his penalty attempt from the other side of halfway trickled under the posts.

Sustained pressure from Samoa inside the Italian 22 then resulted in more points before half-time — Parisse penalised for not rolling away but Williams missed his second penalty attempt to the right of the posts.

A calamitous pass from Jeremy Su'a put Samoa back under pressure in their own half but Gonzalo Canale was unable to control the ball as he hacked on towards the try line.  Pisi recovered to clear and keep Samoa 10-3 ahead at the break.

Samoa though wasted no time after the interval — winning possession and a clever kick in behind from Pisi had the Italians scrambling, Leiua with the pace and the bounce to score in the corner.

Parisse was full of tricks and skill for the Italians but Samoa always looked like they could produce more in attack, stretching Italy defensively and forcing penalties both on the ground and for offside.

A long-range penalty from Williams added to his and Samoa's tally to open up a 15-point lead for the Samoans, before it increased minutes later.

Italy struggled to maintain possession at the breakdown all game and Pisi pounced, spotting the space and releasing London Irish star Ofisa Treviranus who fed Johnny Leota for Samoa's third try.

Samoa then snatched a fourth try as the outstanding Ole Avei dubiously offloaded with his feet near to the touchline to feed Newcastle's Taiasina Tuifua.

Italy's one strength did pay off when their scrum created a penalty try, Leiua sent to the sin-bin moments before for infringing at the breakdown.

The Samoans rightly however had the final say, late call-up Brando Va'aulu speeding away for the fifth try after jinking around the Azzurri defence and sealing a 39-10 victory.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  Williams, Leiua, Leota, Tu'ifua, Va'aulu
Cons:  Williams, Anufe
Pens:  Williams 2

For Italy:
Try:  Penalty
Con:  di Bernardo
Pen:  Orquera

Samoa:15 Brando Vaaulu, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Paul Williams (capt), 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Jeremy Sua, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Daniel Leo, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Wayne Ole Avei, 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Logovii Mulipola, 18 James Johnston, 19 Kane Thompson, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Ki Anufe, 22 Seilala Mapusua, 23 Piula Faasalele.

Italy:15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco , 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Valerio Bernabo, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:16 Andrea Manici, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Tobias Botes , 22 Alberto di Bernardo, 23 Luke Mclean,

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Tiaan Jonker (South Africa)
Television match official:  Gerrie Coetzee (South Africa)
Assessor:  Nigel Williams

All Blacks crush the French

New Zealand sealed a Test series victory over France with a dominant 30-0 win at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday.

The two sides will meet again next weekend in New Plymouth with France unable to overtake New Zealand's unassailable 2-0 lead, which came after a comfortable victory over their fellow 2011 Rugby World Cup finalists.

France showed good accuracy and discipline last weekend in Auckland but their lineout this time out particularly in the first half was shambolic;  coming under pressure from New Zealand but also wildly missing their targets.

Ben Smith's breakaway try at the beginning of the second half summed up France's woes - putting sustained pressure on the New Zealand line but unable to find a breakthrough as they finished without a score in a Test for the first time since 1990.

Philippe Saint-André made several changes to his side following the first Test defeat, with Michalak returning at fly-half and young South African-born flanker Bernard Le Roux making his debut in the number seven jersey.

A late change for New Zealand meanwhile saw Crusaders lock Sam Whitelock come into the side for Chiefs second row Brodie Retallick, in an otherwise unchanged XV from last week's victory in Auckland.

The hosts made the early breakthrough - Ma'a Nonu's grubber finding Julian Savea behind the defence to rack up the game's first try in only the third minute of the match.

France struggled to control possession at the lineout and found themselves stuck inside their own half for much of the opening quarter, although some impressive defence on Nonu in particular prevented any further damage on the scoreboard.

Les Bleus had been on top at the breakdown in the first Test and continued that form early on in Christchurch, disrupting any clean ball for the All Blacks who enjoyed the majority of possession as France persisted to kick the ball away.

Two moments of inaccuracy then struck Frederic Michalak within a few minutes, a drop goal falling wide and then his first penalty attempt ricocheting back off the right-hand post and putting the All Blacks on the attack as Read countered.  Pressure on Maxime Medard fielding a kick near his own line yielded a penalty for Aaron Cruden, putting New Zealand 10-0 up.

The All Blacks kicking game continued to press France back into their 22, but whilst the visitors defence was excellent, Dimitri Szarzewski's problems running the short lineout kept handing New Zealand possession five metres out.  For every lineout error however, the work of Thierry Dusautoir and Louis Picamoles at the breakdown saved the day time and again.

With time ticking away in the first half the All Blacks defence repelled a French driving maul to the leave the visitors scoreless at the interval, New Zealand 10-0 up.

The All Blacks then delivered the knockout blow.  Outstanding defence metres out from their own line for the first ten minutes of the second half forced Michalak into a drop goal, the inevitable chargedown leading to Savea and Ben Smith sprinting away for a length of the field score.

Losing Louis Picamoles to injury rubbed salt in French wounds as Cruden added a second penalty - New Zealand leading 20-0 with plenty of time left in the second half.

Looking for something to take towards the third Test next weekend, France introduced plenty of substitutes including Mathieu Bastareaud in midfield but fell further behind due to another Cruden penalty after 64 minutes.

Determined not to concede, New Zealand remained physical in defence and then sealed the win with a stunning score.

Attacking from their own try line, Conrad Smith's chip over the top was recovered by Cruden, whose slick offload to Beauden Barrett saw the young replacement canter in under the posts.

France toiled to find some points as time ran out but to no avail - a dominant victory for New Zealand who showed plenty of improvement from last weekend in Auckland and added some memorable tries to boot.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea, B. Smith, Barrett
Cons:  Cruden 3
Pens:  Cruden 3

For France:

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Rene Ranger.

France:  15 Maxime Méard, 14 Adrien Planté 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Brice Dulin, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), James Leckie(Australia)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Lyndon Bray

Japan stun Wales in Tokyo

Japan made up for last weekend's disappointment when they claimed a historic 23-8 victory over Wales in Tokyo on Saturday.

The hosts' win — their first ever triumph over Wales — is sweet revenge after they suffered a narrow 22-18 loss to their opponents in Osaka last Saturday and secures them a 1-1 draw in the series.

Japan full-back Ayumu Goromaru opened the scoring from the kicking tee in the 15th minute after Rhys Gill was penalised for infringing at a ruck.

The visitors struck back with a penalty of their own from Dan Biggar in the 22nd minute and were slowly gaining the upper-hand but could not convert their dominance into points.

In the 26th minute Rhys Patchell came close to scoring the game's opening try after gathering an inside pass from Biggar which saw him slipping past a couple of defenders but he was stopped short of the line by a desperate tackle from Japan's captain Toshiaki Hirose.

Japan held a 6-3 lead at half-time after Goromaru landed a penalty from just inside his half after Lloyd Williams infringed at a ruck.

Wales started the second half brightly and were rewarded with a try in the 45th minute when Tom Prydie scored in the left-hand corner after gathering a long pass from Biggar inside Japan's 22.

Wales' resurgence was a brief one as the hosts struck back with a well-taken try from their inside centre Craig Wing shortly afterwards.  Confronted with a couple of tight forwards close to Wales' try-line Wing burst through a tackle from Gill before squeezing over for his side's first try.

Goromaru added the extras to give the home side a 13-8 lead and 10 minutes later the Brave Blossoms were rewarded with their second try after a period of sustained pressure deep inside the visitors' half.

After taking the ball through several phases inside Wales' 22 with their forwards, scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka, who proved a handful for Wales throughout, whipped out a long pass to Hirose who offloaded to openside flanker Michael Broadhurst who got in for an easy five-pointer.

Goromaru added the conversion to maintain his perfect goal-kicking record and although Wales tried gallantly to fight back for the rest of the game, the home side were well prepared and kept them at bay with resilient defence.

Five minutes before the final whistle, Goromaru added the final nail to Wales' coffin, when he added another penalty to seal a memorable victory for the home side.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Wing, Broadhurst
Cons:Goromaru 2
Pens:Goromaru 3

For Wales:
Try:  Prydie
Pen:  Biggar

Japan:  15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Toshiaki Hirose (capt), 13 Male Sau, 12 Craig Wing, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Takashi Kikutani, 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Shoji Ito, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Masataka Mikami.
Replacements:  16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Yusuke Nagae, 18 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Justin Ives, 21 Atsushi Hiwasa, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Yoshikazu Fujita.

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Owen Williams, 12 Jonathan Spratt, 11 Tom Prydie, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Andries Pretorius, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 James King, 5 Lou Reed, 4 Bradley Davies (c), 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements:  16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Dafydd Howells.

Referee:  Greg Garner (England)

Convincing England see off Pumas

Three first-half tries handed England a 32-3 victory over hosts Argentina in the first of their two-match series in Salta.

Stuart Lancaster's side stormed out of the blocks in the opening 40 minutes to rack up tries through David Strettle, Billy Twelvetress and Ben Morgan — the latter pair particularly impressive throughout on their return to Test rugby.

Argentina were without 21 of their leading stars, all rested for the Rugby Championship, and the rustiness in their set-piece game hounded them throughout as considerably more line-outs were lost rather than won.

England were not so lackadaisical.  The power of Morgan reminded everyone of what England had been missing throughout their Six Nations campaign, the Gloucester number eight rampant from the base of the scrum and in the loose.

Twelvetrees' step and handling also showed that perhaps England's approach of physicality first in midfield should be consigned to the past, his footwork and distribution leaving Argentina ragged.

For all of their first-half excellence however, England struggled to add more points in the second period until Vunipola's late score as Argentina rallied.

The English scrum — a concern in the local press beforehand — proved dominant early on and provided England with their first points of the match after Burns landed two long-range penalties from nearly halfway within three minutes.

A first try shortly followed.  Turning over ball at the line-out, England countered through Christian Wade, setting up the platform for Jonathan Joseph to fix the defence and hand Strettle a finish in the left corner.

Further struggles for the Pumas at the line-out kept them under the cosh, England breaking through Twelvetrees in an attack that culminated eventually with a score for Gloucester centre — England's patience and precision with their offloading game too much for Argentina's defence to handle.

Full of confidence, England's precision evaded them in the build-up to a possible third try that would have put the game to bed, the visitors instead leading 18-0 after half an hour.

Morgan had been England's outstanding performer thus far and he capped it with a try in the right-hand corner, leaving Argentina on the ropes.

The hosts did finish the half with something to hold on to, a Martin Bustos Moyano penalty putting them on the board but a long way behind with the score standing at 25-3.

Bustos Moyano didn't help matters with two missed penalties early on after the interval — Argentina enjoying more possession but failing to convert it into points.

England nearly countered with a breakaway try, the footwork and passing of Morgan, Twelvetrees and Joseph creating an opportunity before the final pass eluded Strettle into touch.

More frustation followed — only a forward pass denied Twelvetrees a second try with the posts at his mercy as England's first-half precision abandoned them.

Argentina had been searching for some precision of their own in the set-piece all match long and their line-out continued to stutter, ironic cheers coming from the crowd when possession was actually retained.

Their scrum was no different, England repelling pressure within their own 22 as the Pumas looked less like scoring as the match wore on.

Tempers had threatened to boil over throughout and as England struggled to add to their tally and were left frustrated, Courtney Lawes being sent to the sin-bin.

With England's defence impregnable and Argentina unable to convert their growing wealth of possession, Vunipola crossed to finish off the closing quarter — English minds looking ahead to the second Test in Buenos Aires and a first ever series victory on Argentinian soil.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Pen:  Bustos Mayano

For England:
Tries:  Strettle, Twelvetrees, Morgan, Vunipola
Cons:  Burns 3
Pens:  Burns 2
Yellow Card:  Lawes

Argentina:  15 Martin Bustos Moyano, 14 Matias Orlando, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Felipe Contepomi (c), 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Tomas Leonardi, 7 Benjamin Macome, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Esteban Lozada, 3 Maximiliano Bustos, 2 Martin Garcia Veiga, 1 Pablo Henn.
Replacements:  16 Mauricio Guidone, 17 Guillermo Roan, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Tomas De la Vega, 21 Nicolas Vergallo, 22 Gabriel Ascarate, 23 Belisario Agulla.

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 David Strettle, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Tom Wood (c), 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 David Paice, 17 Paul Doran Jones, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Kyle Eastmond, 23 Ben Foden.

Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Christie du Preez (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Assessor:  Carlos Molinari (Argentina)

Madigan's boot sees off USA

Fly-half Ian Madigan converted five penalties to lead Ireland to a 15-12 victory over a determined United States on Saturday.

The USA proved to be stubborn opposition in Houston as they kept the scoreline close throughout.

Interim head coach Les Kiss was in charge of Ireland for the first time and had to make do without those players currently touring Australia with the British and Irish Lions.

A narrow Test match ultimately decided by the boot — Madigan outscored Saracens back Chris Wyles by five penalties to four.

Ireland took the lead early when Madigan slotted a penalty in the ninth minute after the USA's scrum collapsed.

The Eagles' Brian Doyle needed some tending to after a ruck in the 13th minute, but Samu Manoa took revenge and got the crowd on its feet when he lined up an Ireland ball-carrier with a big tackle moments later.

The physicality of the Eagles turned into penalty trouble once again in the 18th minute with hands in the ruck, and Madigan took full advantage with another penalty to give Ireland a 6-0 lead.

Although the Eagles couldn't find the try line, sustained pressure on a tiring Irish defence drew a penalty, which Wyles converted to trim the deficit to 6-3.

Madigan's third penalty of the night in the 31st minute again stretched the visitors' lead, and also sprung Manoa into action.

The Northampton Saint used his big frame and speed to get through a few tackles at midfield to get the Eagles into attacking territory and drew another penalty.  Wyles kicked for the posts and the Eagles found themselves again down by three.

Ireland's chances were few, but a kick across the field in the 35th minute stretched the Eagles defense.

Takudzwa Ngwenya stepped up to take away the scoring chance and forced Ireland to knock on.  The Eagles committed one last penalty before the half-time whistle and paid the price, as Madigan kicked his fourth penalty of the half for a 12-6 lead at the break.

Things got worse for the hosts in the second half when captain Todd Clever was judged to have made a high tackle and sent to the sin bin.  Madigan duly stepped up to kick the penalty and extend Ireland's lead to 15-6.

Consecutive penalties from Wyles pulled the USA back to 15-12, but even with Clever back in action they couldn't get any closer.

Despite the disappointment, the United States can be encouraged by the result as they prepare to host Tonga on Saturday in the Pacific Nations Cup in Los Angeles.  On the same day, Ireland will play a Test against Canada in Toronto.

The scorers:

For USA:
Pens:  Wyles 4

For Ireland:
Pens:  Madigan 5

United States:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Luke Hume, 13 Seamus Kelly, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 10 Toby L'Estrange, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Todd Clever (c), 7 Scott LaValla, 6 Samu Manoa, 5 Louis Stanfill, 4 Brian Doyle, 3 Eric Fry, 2 Chris Biller, 1 Shawn Pittman.
Replacements:  16 Zach Fenoglio, 17 Nick Wallace, 18 Phil Thiel, 19 Peter Dahl, 20 John Quill, 21 Robbie Shaw, 22 James Paterson, 23 Adam Siddall.

Ireland:  15 Robbie Henshaw, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Peter O'Mahony (c), 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 David Kilcoyne.
Replacements:  16 Mike Sherry, 17 Jamie Hagan, 18 Tom Court, 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Felix Jones.

Referee:  Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
Assistant referees:  Bryan Arciero (Canada), Chris Assmus (Canada)
Assessor:  Clayton Thomas

Boks canter past Italy

The Springboks got their 2013 international season up and running with a five-try 44-10 victory over Italy at Kings Park on Saturday.

A clinical South Africa got their 2013 international season up and running with a five-try 44-10 victory over Italy at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

Adriaan Strauss, JJ Engelbrecht, Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers and Bjorn Basson were the try scorers for the Springboks, who blooded a few new players for their opener of this four-team series with Scotland, Samoa and the Azzurri.

Willie le Roux was one newbie under the spotlight as his form for the Cheetahs was rewarded by South Africa head coach Heyneke Meyer.  And despite a few early hiccups, his attack-minded approach came to the fore and kept Italy busy.

The hosts started the match strongly as Strauss and Engelbrecht both scored inside the first 23 minutes, but they had to wait a while for more.

The Azzurri's solo try came courtesy of Alberto Sgarbi during a resurgent second-half effort.

The hosts made a lively start and almost scored in the first minute after an error by their opponents at the kick-off, but Basson was bundled into touch.

However, great work from Bok flank Francois Louw moments later allowed Morne Steyn, who scored 17 points, to kick his team in front with a penalty right in front of the uprights.

The lead was doubled in the ninth minute when Leonardo Ghiraldini failed to release.

The visitors' early troubles worsened in the 13th minute as veteran lock Marco Bortolami was shown yellow by French referee Pascal Gauzere after entering a ruck from the side.

From the subsequent penalty line-out, Strauss carried the ball over from the back of a maul.

Meyer's men further capitalised on their numerical advantage in the 23rd minute when Habana latched onto a bouncing ball in his own 22-metre area, sliced through a big hole in the Italian defence and passed outside to Engelbrecht to run in his first points for the Boks.

Italy should have at least pulled a try back shortly after when Edoardo Gori knocked on five metres out, while debutant fly-half Alberto Di Bernardo missed a straightforward penalty.

South Africa continued to venture forward in the closing passage of the half, although the Azzurri showed more signs of settling into matters, with the score 20-0 at the interval.

Things began to pick up for Italy in the early stages of the second-half and when Basson was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, they had a numerical advantage for ten minutes.

Sgarbi made the most of that three minutes later, going over off a nice under-leg pass from captain and number eight Sergio Parisse.  Di Bernardo added the extra two points and then a further three which brought the lead down to just ten points with a quarter of the game left.

But the Springboks showed their superior quality in the end as scores from Habana, De Villiers and finally Basson added the gloss on a decent first outing in their 2013 season.

Man of the match:  Always an option and hunting work off the shoulder of players, Bryan Habana was superb once again for South Africa.  Deserving of his try and this accolade.

Moment of the match:  We'll go for Italy captain Sergio Parisse's under-leg pass to Alberto Sgarbi.  He rarely has a bad game and was again solid for the Azzurri.  We must say that Bjorn Basson's assist for Jean de Villiers' try was also out of the top drawer.

Villain of the match:  Nothing too filthy to report.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Strauss, Engelbrecht, Habana, De Villiers, Basson
Con:  Steyn 4, Lambie
Pen:  Steyn 3

For Italy:
Try:  Sgarbi
Con:  Di Bernardo
Pen:  Di Bernardo

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luke Mclean, 10 Alberto Di Bernardo, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Antonio Pavanello, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Joshua Furno, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Hennessy (Wales), Blake Beattie (South Africa)

Wales scrape past Japan

Wales were forced to overturn a half-time deficit as they battled to an unconvincing 22-18 victory over Japan in the first Test in Osaka on Saturday.

The visitors were oustcored two tries to one but a big second half saw them come from behind to snatch victory in the last quarter.

Wales hit the front for the first time on the hour mark having struggled at the breakdown and the set-pieces against a Japanese side seeking their first victory over a top-ten nation.

The hosts led 11-6 at the interval but couldn't match the strength of the Welsh bench as they faded in the latter stages of a hard-fought battle in temperatures in excess of 30 degrees at Hanazono Field.

Wales were without 15 senior players on duty with the British and Irish Lions in Australia, and a number of experienced names left out of the touring party, and it soon became apparent they would miss the presence of a genuine openside flanker.

Wales were on the back foot for much of the opening quarter and trailed 6-0 as Japanese full-back Ayumu Goromaru landed his first two shots at goal while Welsh number eight Rob McCusker was sent to the sin-bin.

Dan Biggar got Wales on the scoreboard as the visitors began to find some rhythm and the fly-half levelled the scores around the half-hour mark.

But it would be Japan who would cross the whitewash first as New Zealand-born flank Michael Broadhurst ghosted over on the stroke of half time after a line-out move.

Goromaru missed the conversion but Japan nevertheless went into the changing rooms with a five-point lead.

Japan still looked the better side after the interval, but Goromaru missed two penalty attempts.

Biggar landed two penalties in the second half to edge Wales ahead before wing Harry Robinson finished off a wonderfully-worked try — including a superb offload from full-back Liam Williams — to give the Six Nations champions some breathing room.  Biggar converted.

But it would be a close finish as Japan came storming back.  A series of drives up the middle eventually created space on the right for wing Yoshikazu Fujita to cross on the right.

Goromaru's conversion made it a one-point ball-game at 19-18 going into the final ten minutes.

But replacement fly-half Rhys Patchell would have the last laugh for Wales, slotting a 79th-minute penalty to secure the win.

The teams face each other again in Tokyo on Saturday, June 15.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Broadhurst, Fujita
Cons:  Goromaru
Pens:  Goromaru 2

For Wales:
Try:  Robinson
Con:  Biggar
Pens:  Biggar 4, Patchell
Yellow card:  McCusker

Japan:  15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Yoshikazu Fujita, 13 Male Sau, 12 Craig Wing, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Takashi Kikutani (c), 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Shoji Ito, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Masataka Mikami.
Replacements:  16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Yusuke Nagae, 18 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 20 Ryuta Yasui, 21 Atsushi Hiwasa, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Hirotoki Onozawa.

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Owen Williams, 12 Jonathan Spratt, 11 Dafydd Howells, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 James King, 6 Andrew Coombs, 5 Lou Reed, 4 Bradley Davies (c), 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements:  16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andries Pretorius, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Tom Prydie.

Venue:  Hanazono Field, Osaka
Referee:  Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Greg Garner (England), tba (Japan)
Assessor:  Lyndon Bray

Samoa claim historic win over Scotland

Samoa showed again that they can no longer be considered as minnows, after claiming a fine 27-17 win over Scotland in Durban on Saturday.

The win was an historic one for Samoa as it is the first time that they have beaten Scotland at Test level.

Samoa held the upper hand in the early exchanges and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions.

Scotland defended resiliently but the dam wall eventually burst in the eighth minute when James So'oialo got the game's first try after Alapati Leiua launched a counter-attack from inside his 22 in the build-up.

So'oialo dusted himself off to add the conversion before Greig Laidlaw claimed Scotland's first points with a penalty shortly afterwards.

Both sides played expansively but Samoa's superior physicality saw them dominating at the contact area.

Shortly after Laidlaw's first penalty, Alesana Tuilagi scored Samoa's second try after Logovii Mulipola and Taiasina Tuifua did well in the build-up to create space for the big wing down the left-hand touchline.

So'oialo added the extras, before Laidlaw added two further penalties, in the 19th and 33rd minutes, to narrow the gap to five points (14-9) at half-time.

Shortly after the restart, Laidlaw made it a two-point ball-game when he added another three-pointer and during the early stages of the second half it was Scotland who had the better of the exchanges.

And the Scots took the lead for the first time in the 50th minute when Sean Lamont scored his side's only try after Samoa's scrum-half Jeremy Sua spilled the ball at a scrum close to his own try-line.

Scotland's backs pounced on the loose ball and after sending the ball through several pairs of hands, Lamont got in for an easy five-pointer in the right-hand corner.

To their credit, the islanders did not panic and soon the scores were tied at 17-all through another penalty from So'oialo before Tuilagi scored his second

Tuilagi showed his power, and pace after running onto a pass from the back of a scrum before smashing through a tackle by Peter Horne to score his second try in the 64th minute.

So'oialo succeeded with the conversion, and gave his side a 10-point buffer when he landed another penalty in the 70th minute to give him a personal haul of 17 points.

Man of the match:  Despite an impressive all-round display from James So'oialo, one can't ignore the impact that Alesana Tuilagi made on this match.  Whenever he received the ball, he proved a menace to the Scottish defence and he was rewarded for his efforts with two well-taken tries.

Moment of the match:  With the match level at 17-17 and Scotland launching a comeback, Tulagi scored a memorable try which put the game out of his opponents' reach.  The burly flyer showed his physical prowess to get in for the five-pointer and from there on, there was no looking back for Samoa.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Try:  Lamont
Pens:  Laidlaw 4

For Samoa:
Tries:Tuilagi 2, So'oialo
Cons:  So'oialo 3
Pens:  So'oialo 2

Scotland:  15 Greig Tonks, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Stevie Lawrie, 17 Moray Low, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Duncan Taylor.

Samoa:  15 James So'oialo, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Paul Williams (c), 12 Jonny Leota, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusiata Pisi, 9 Jeremy Sua, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Daniel Leo, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Wayne Ole Avei, 1 Logovii Mulipola.
Replacements:  16 Maatulimanu Leiataua, 17 Sakaria Taulafo, 18 James Johnston, 19 Faatiga Lemalu, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Brando Vaaulu, 22 Seilala Mapusua, 23 Alafoti Faosiliva.

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)

France push All Blacks close

Once again New Zealand were made to work very hard to get the better of France at Eden Park, winning 23-13 in an entertaining clash on Saturday.

In the first game between these sides since the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final at the same venue, the All Blacks outscored their visitors two tries to one but were pushed all the way by a French side showing a marked improvement on their woeful Six Nations campaign.

New Zealand led 17-10 at the interval thanks to tries from Aaron Smith and Sam Cane after France had taken the early lead via a Wesley Fofana score.

There was very little to choose between the old rivals but a series of scrum penalties against France proved influential as they killed off a number of promising attacking opportunities for Philippe Saint-Andr・s men.

The result sees the All Blacks take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series but with the tourists set to be reinforced by players who took part in the recent Top 14 Final, the next fortnight promises to be intriguing.

France drew first blood when Florian Fritz sliced through in midfield and offloaded to his centre partner Fofana, who raced home.

Maxime Machenaud added the extras and the visitors held a 7-0 advantage until the end of the opening quarter when Aaron Cruden landed his first penalty.

The All Blacks scored their first try on the half-hour mark after Ben Smith burst clear before finding his namesake Aaron up in support.

Cruden's conversion put New Zealand in front but Machenaud replied to level the scores with half time looming large.

Ma'a Nonu ensured that the hosts would head into the tunnel in the lead however as he beat Camille Lopez to set up a try for Cane with skipper Kieran Read proving the link.

Cruden's conversion was the final act of an evenly-contested and entertaining first half.

With Machenaud off injured, Lopez took over the French kicking duties and narrowed the deficit early in the second period.

Referee Wayne Barnes was the centre of controversy before kick-off as the French management and press found it highly irregular that the Englishman was staying at the same hotel as the hosts and Bleus skipper Thierry Dusautoir was fuming when the visitors scrum was penalised while camped on the Kiwi tryline.

Cruden restored the seven-point gap on the hour mark before the All Blacks were given a massive let off when Louis Picamoles knocked-on in front of an open tryline.

The pattern of missed chances - from both sides - continued until the final hooter with Cruden's third penalty securing the win.

Man of the match:  A tough call to make.  Louis Picamoles, Florian Fritz and Adrien Plante all did well for France while Ma'a Nonu made a welcome return to form in the black 12 jersey.  But we'll go for Ben Smith, who not only created New Zealand's first try, but was rock solid at the back as the French looked to get the ball behind the Kiwi pack.

Moment of the match:  The difference between the sides proved to be Sam Cane's try on the stroke of half time after Nonu beat Dusautoir.

Villain of the match:  The scrums were a mess, but no nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  A. Smith, Cane
Cons:  Cruden 2
Pens:  Cruden 3

For France:
Try:  Fofana
Con:  Machenaud
Pens:  Machenaud, Lopez

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ben Afeaki, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Rene Ranger.

France:  15 Yoann Huget, 14 Adrien Plante, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Medard, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Akexandre Flanquart, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Maxime Mermoz.

Venue:  Eden Park, Aukland
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

England cruise in Montevideo

England got their June tour off to a winning start on Sunday with a seven-try, 41-21 win over a South American invitational side at Estadio Charr�a in Montevideo.

The Sudamerica XV - representing the CONSUR nations - scored three tries of their own as England blew hot and cold.

Billy Vunipola led the charge with a six-minute hat-trick - once England had finally got going after a sloppy opening.

The hosts (from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil ) went ahead first thanks to a penalty try at the end of the first quarter after Jonny May deliberately knocked-on with England under huge pressure on their try line.

But it was one-way traffic in the opposite direction until half-time as England ran in five unanswered tries to lead 31-7 at the interval.

Full-back Ben Foden and skipper Tom Wood scored on either side of Vunipola's treble.

Stephen Myler converted three of his five conversion attempts - two from wide on the touchline - to give England a 20-point lead.

Again the South Americans made the better start as scrum-half Tomas Cubelli raced under the posts to open the scoring in the second period but England replied via Foden's second try of the afternoon after Kearnan Myall was hauled down inches short.

After a slight lull in proceeding - perhaps after Stuart Lancaster made a host of substitutions - replacement prop Paul Doran Jones scored England's seventh try around the hour mark, taking advantage of more forward dominance to rumble over from close range after another positive catch and drive.

CONSUR came back into the game in the final 10 minutes - with replacement prop Alex Corbisiero sent to the sin bin after back-to-back scrum penalties - and were rewarded with the try their persistent attacking deserved, replacement lock Diego Magno powering over from close range to complete the scoring.

The scorers:

For CONSUR XV:
Tries:  Penalty try, Sansot, Magno
Cons:  Madero 3
Yellow card:  Dur�n

For England:
Tries:  Foden 2, Vunipola 3, Wood, Doran Jones
Cons:  Myler 3
Yellow cards:  May, Corbisiero

Consur XV:  15 Tom�s Carri� (Argentina), 14 Belisario Agulla (Argentina), 13 Francisco Sansot (Argentina), 12 Juan Socino (Argentina), 11 Leandro Leivas (Uruguay), 10 Benjam�n Madero (Argentina), 9 Tom�s Cubelli (capt, Argentina), 8 Antonio Ahualli (Argentina), 7 Javier Ortega Desio (Argentina), 6 Tom�s de la Vega (Argentina), 5 Pablo Huete (Chile), 4 Cesar Fruttero (Argentina), 3 Mario Sagario (Uruguay), 2 Arturo �valo (Uruguay), 1 Bruno Postiglioni (Argentina).
Replacements:  16 Alejo Corral (Uruguay), 17 �scar Dur�n (Uruguay), 18 Nicol�s Klapenbach (Uruguay), 19 Diego Magno (Uruguay), 20 Juan Gaminara (Uruguay), 21 Agust�n Ormaechea(Uruguay), 22 Mosi�s Duque (Brasil), 23 Santiago Gbernau (Uruguay).

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Jonny May, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 David Strettle, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Johnson, 6 Tom Wood (capt) 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 David Paice, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Jonathan Joseph.

Venue:  Estadio Charr�a, Montevideo
Referee:  Joaqu�n Montes (Uruguay)
Assistant referees:  Federico Anselmi (Argentina), Carlos Poggi (Argentina)

Lions sweat to heavy victory

The British and Irish Lions began their 2013 tour with a 59-8 victory over the Barbarians in an intensely humid affair in Hong Kong.

Eight tries from the Lions including doubles from Mike Phillips and Alex Cuthbert set them on the road to success as encouraging moments were mixed with multiple handling errors — the Lions coming into their own to produce an excellent second half.

The humidity, at one point reaching 94 percent, turned both sets of shirts into waterslides — with the state of Paul O'Connell's kit after the opening quarter telling the story.

Overall, greater cohesion in the set-piece and fitness from the Lions were enough to create a comfortable victory.

Flashes of brilliance from young stars such as Richie Gray, Stuart Hogg and Jonathan Davies all showed that they will be challenging for Test places, but the assuredness of Lions veterans Phillips and O'Connell — the first two try-scorers — truly guided the Lions ship through their opening fixture with eventual ease.

A heavy tackle from Casey Laulala on Hogg offered a reminder that this occasion would be far removed from the exhibition the Barbarians served up at Twickenham — but it was Farrell who racked up the game's first points with a penalty.

Farrell's early composure then sorely let him down.  Punched by his Saracens team-mate Schalk Brits after holding him at the ruck, Farrell angrily reacted but the penalty against him was then reversed — with Brits instead sent for ten minutes in the sin-bin.

Sean Maitland came close to a debut Lions try, but the distance and bounce of a clever kick through by Davies proved too much.  Farrell's second shot at goal, after a busy few minutes, then flew wide to the left of the posts.

Wasps youngster Elliot Daly added a long-range penalty to put the Barbarians on the board but it was the Lions who showed the greater promise early on.

Trying to juggle a ball as slippery as an ice cube turned handling into a nightmare — but the scrum though was an area of greater certainty, early Lions dominance resulting in another penalty for Farrell who this time comfortably converted.

Slippery the ball might have been, but the Lions put together a persistent five minutes of possession to bring them right up to the Barbarians try line.  Phillips went close but was held up by a brilliant Martin Castrogiovanni tackle — but O'Connell was not to be denied, the first try-scorer of the 2013 tour burrowing over.

A second try was not far behind.  The communication between Phillips and Farrell appeared to be under construction, but the Welsh scrum-half's individual carrying was strong and a break through the defence saw him this time reach the line.

Continued struggles for the Barbarians at the scrum compounded any territory or continuity they were able to build up.  The Lions won another penalty before half-time for Farrell to convert — leading 23-3 at half-time.

Phillips had been difficult to contain in the first half and he didn't let up, scampering over after the interval for his second try of the match.  Gliding through a gap at the back of the lineout after Sam Jones slipped for the Barbarians, there was no stopping him from close-range.

Mako Vunipola's offload then released Justin Tipuric under the posts but excellent defence from Joe Rokocoko denied the Osprey from close-range.

It was nearly followed up a mesmeric team try, starting at the back with Hogg and Alex Cuthbert and ending after good work from Maitland and Justin Tipuric with Farrell's pass being cut off by Dimitri Yachvili.  End to end, more fitting of a real Barbarians fixture, with the Lions looking confident.

The Barbarians though can play.  Rokocoko's defensive work had been his best work so far until he left Toby Faletau for dead with an inside step, feeding Kahn Fotuali'i to score.

Davies' try for the Lions was less pretty, Jamie Roberts and his Welsh centre partner fumbling their way to touching the ball down for the tourists after confirmation from the TMO.

Alex Cuthbert got in on the act with a sprint down the right touchline after more good work from Roberts and he was at it again minutes later — Conor Murray coming off the bench and like a replica of Phillips slicing through a gap and finding the winger on his outside.

Time remained for Dan Lydiate to add a score of his own, pouncing from the back of a rolling maul to bring up the 50-point mark for Warren Gatland's side.

There was time left for another try, carrying on the trend of the night coming another Welshman, this time by Alun-Wyn Jones who cantered over after a fine pass from Sexton.

It sealed a strong win, as much a battle against the conditions as it was a battle against the Barbarians, with links forged and tries aplenty to send the Lions on their way to Australia.

The scorers:

For Barbarians:
Try:  Fotuali'i
Pen:  Daly
Yellow Card:  Brits

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  O'Connell, Phillips 2, Davies, Cuthbert 2, Lydiate, AW Jones
Cons:  Farrell 3, Sexton 2
Pens:  Farrell 3

Barbarians:  15 Jared Payne, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Casey Laulala, 11 Taku Ngwenya, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Sam Jones, 6 Samu Manoa, 5 Dean Mumm, 4 Marco Wentzel, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Jim Hamilton, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Andrea Lo Cicero, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 James Hook, 23 Mike Tindall.

British and Irish Lions:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Jamie Heaslip, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Johnny Sexton, 23 George North.

Date:  Saturday June 1
Venue:  Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Kick-off:  19.30 (11.30 GMT)
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Angus Gardner (Australia)
Television match official:  Matt Goddard (Australia)

France seal first win

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

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

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

The teams:

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

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

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

Italy shock Ireland in Rome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

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

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

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

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

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

Wales win Six Nations 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

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

For England:
Pen:  Farrell

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

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

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

England toil to defeat Italy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

For England:
Pens:  Flood 6

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

The teams:

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

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

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

Tied result at Aviva Stadium

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

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

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

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

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

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

Halfpenny boots Wales to victory

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Laidlaw 6

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

The teams:

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

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

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

Scotland stay in the hunt

Scotland kept their Six Nations title hopes alive thanks to a hard fought 12-8 victory over Ireland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

It's the first time since 2001 that the Scots have won back-to-back Six Nations matches.

After trailing 8-0 early in the second half, the hosts put 12 unanswered points past their Celtic rivals thanks to the boot of scrum-half Greig Laidlaw that helped his team to an unlikely win and that effectively ends Ireland's Six Nations challenge.

It certainly wasn't the most memorable Championship clash ever witnessed, as the two teams served up a borefest in the first half with Ireland — who dominated possession throughout — heading into the break with a slender three-point lead.

However, Scotland's fightback in the second half breathed some life into a tight contest.

Ireland started the game with a roar and a hiss, with centre Luke Marshall breaking the Scots' defence with ease in his Test debut.  But Ireland failed to convert pressure into points — even against 14 men after Scotland prop Ryan Grant was sin-binned — and only had a 35th-minute Paddy Jackson penalty to show for their dominance.

Ireland finally found the breakthrough they deserved when wing Craig Gilroy crossed early in the second half out wide.  The tricky conversion from Jackson, who missed three times from the tee, was unsuccessful.

That try only seemed to give Scotland the wake-up needed to mount a comeback and it didn't take long for Laidlaw to put his team on the scoreboard with his first penalty kick of the match on 53 minutes.

Jackson pulled another penalty wide two minutes later, but Laidlaw showed the Irish rookie how it was done with his second three-pointer of the afternoon that cut the deficit to just two points and suddenly the crowd came alive.

Laidlaw continued to find his target and made no mistake with two more accurate kicks to give the Scots a four-point cushion entering the final five minutes of what was turning into a gripping finale.

But Ireland weren't prepared to roll over yet, and threatened to steal the match from their hosts when they awarded two attacking scrums 10m out from Scotland's tryline.

However, Scotland dug deep in defence and there was no way through for the Irish whose knock-on sent Murrayfield into raptures.

Man of the match:  Scotland lock Jim Hamilton won the official gong, and his hard work at the set-piece was a real standout for the hosts.  But we've opted for hero of the day Greig Laidlaw, who's four perfect kicks at goal handed Scotland victory.

Moment of the match:  There weren't many.  But those last few minutes that so nearly ended in heartbreak for the hosts was a real nail-biter.

Villain of the match:  Ryan Grant's sin-binning didn't prove as costly as Paddy Jackson's three missed kicks at goal which ultimately cost his side dearly.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Laidlaw 4
Yellow card:Grant (15th min)

For Ireland:
Try:  Gilroy
Pen:  Jackson

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Dougie Hall, 17 Moray Low, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Alastair Kellock, 20 David Denton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Max Evans.
Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Iain Henderson, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ronan O'Gara, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

England conquer the French

England sidestepped their latest challenge on their way to a Grand Slam with a punishing 23-13 victory over France at Twickenham.

France were transformed from the sluggish side that were abysmal against Wales a fortnight ago — aggressive at the breakdown and benefiting from moving Wesley Fofana back into the centre after his ill-fated stint on the wing.

England were more clinical in the second-half and gained the lead thanks to a fortuitous try from Tuilagi, who enjoyed an excellent afternoon against his French counterpart Mathieu Bastareaud.

A brutally physical clash worth of its affectionate title, saw frequent crunching tackles whilst the scrum was a contest initially dominated by France, before England gained parity as the match progressed.

It was far from the greatest performance under Stuart Lancaster, but a crucial result that leaves England with Italy and Wales in their path on the way to a first Grand Slam since 2003.

Farrell opened the scoring for England after just two minutes following an infringement from Thierry Dusautoir at the breakdown.

France were unable to exploit a three-man overlap on the outside when Bastareaud knocked on, but with advantage being played Morgan Parra opened his account with a penalty from 39 metres out.

The visitors grabbed the initiative in the scrum to force England into conceding two consecutive penalties, with France benefiting from a smoother surface than the pot-holed Stade de France from a fortnight ago against Wales.

Both sides struggled to convert large periods of possession in attack — conceding penalties when faced by a physical backlash from the opposition at the breakdown.

An attacking line-out created the base for a promising English attack after Manu Tuilagi burst through the midfield, only for Farrell's chip across for Chris Ashton to go too deep.  Farrell converted England's penalty advantage however to make the score 6-3 after 27 minutes.

Fofana then broke through several English tackles down the left flank to score the game's opening try, Ashton's tap tackle unable to bring the Clermont centre down as he crossed in the left-hand corner, with Parra converting.

Farrell hit back with a penalty to cut the deficit to one point with five minutes left before half-time, before Parra attempted to respond with a penalty of his own at the end of the half from long-range which fell wide to the left.

France showed no let-up in the scrum at the beginning of the second half, forcing the penalty, but Parra was unable to convert.

A punishing maul from England then handed Farrell the chance to regain the lead, with the Saracen again successful to move England 12-10 ahead.

England then furthered their lead thanks to Tuilagi, the Leicester centre snatching up a loose ball at the back of the French ruck to canter into the corner.

France struck back with a penalty immediately from the restart, substitute Frederic Michalak coming on to convert and leave the score at 17-13.  More strict officiating at the breakdown from referee Craig Joubert handed England an opportunity to add more points, Farrell lining up a 48 metre attempt which fell low to the left.

A burst up the left from Picamoles had England scrambling, before Michalak failed to take a low pass having begun the passage of play with a perfect chip over the top of the English defence.

Another brilliant surge from Tuilagi left Bastareaud flat on his back in midfield, setting up a grubber kick for Toby Flood behind the French defence which was well fielded by Vincent Clerc.

England though were in the ascendency at the breakdown, with Michalak penalised to allow Toby Flood the easiest of opportunities to stretch the home side's lead.  He made no mistake — sending England into a 20-13 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Another error at the breakdown handed Flood a further three points to give England a solid cushion heading into the closing minutes.

The home side's defence held despite a late French surge, confirming their victory on a bitterly cold night at Twickenham and condemning France to one of their worst starts to a Six Nations ever.

Man of the Match:  Despite the presence of Tuilagi, Tom Wood was outstanding for England from the base of the scrum.

Moment of the Match:  With a lucky break needed, Manu Tuilagi could scarcely believe his luck as he picked up a loose ball and scored England's first try.

Villain of the Match:  Not the greatest of substitute appearances for Frederic Michalak, whose little errors gave up key points in the second half.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Tuilagi
Pens:  Farrell 4, Flood 2
Yellow Card:  Cole

For France:
Tries:  Fofana
Cons:  Parra
Pens:  Parra, Michalak

The teams:

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

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

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Victory for Wales in Rome

Second-half tries from Jonathan Davies and Alex Cuthbert helped Wales to a 26-9 victory over Italy in the Six Nations in Rome.

A severe downpour before kick-off hindered the handling ability of both sides through the first half, with Leigh Halfpenny adding three penalties for the visitors and Kristopher Burton responding with two for the hosts.

Wales though stepped up the intensity in the second half and were worthy winners as Italy struggled to find a breakthrough past the advancing Welsh defence, Burton twice settling for drop goal attempts that both sailed wide.

The result will further lift Welsh spirits with their second victory on the road in this year's championship, leaving them in contention for the title should other results go their way over the coming weeks.

Wales opened the scoring through a penalty from Leigh Halfpenny following a series of drives in the Italian 22, as both sides gradually adjusted to the difficult conditions.

The Italians won the first battle at the scrum, Martin Castrogiovanni getting on top of Gethin Jenkins to create a kicking opportunity for new fly-half Burton to level the scores at 3-3 after ten minutes.

Wales hit back however on the next engage to hand Halfpenny another opportunity for points, with the full-back regaining the lead with a penalty.

Further dominance at the scrum handed Wales another penalty chance after 18 minutes, with Halfpenny duly converting for a 9-3 lead.

A penalty to Italy on the half-way line saw Burton opt for the corner rather than attempting the long-range shot at goal, but his execution was poor and fortunately for the Italians a handling error from Alex Cuthbert handed Italy an attacking scrum five metres from the Welsh line.

Fast defence from Wales limited the Italian's progression metres out from the try line, with Burton opting for a drop-goal attempt which missed narrowly to the left.

Another surge of pummelling rain created more handling errors from both sides — before Italy chipped back at the Welsh lead through a penalty from the scrum.

A charged down box kick on Edoardo Gori by Jenkins put the Italians under pressure in their own 22, with Wales winning a consequent penalty at the breakdown to go 12-6 in front as half-time approached.

The hosts had the better opening period in the second half, keeping possession in the Welsh half, with Burton sending another drop goal attempt wide of the posts.

Italy then floundered trying to regather a chip over the top into their 22 and Jonathan Davies pounced for Wales to snatch the game's opening try.

A probing kick from Andrea Masi put Wales under pressure with a lineout metres from the try line as Italy searched for a foothold in the second half with the score at 16-6.

Burton then clocked three more points after a penalty to bring the Azzurri within seven.

Halfpenny responded after another dominant scrum inside the Italian half, extending the gap once more to ten points with half an hour remaining.

More disruption from the Italian scrum led to referee Romain Poite sending captain Castrogiovanni to the sin-bin, and Wales wasted no time to extend the gap on the scoreboard.

A well-taken line by Alex Cuthbert cut through a gap in the Italian's defence, with the Cardiff Blues winger going over in the left corner for the second Welsh try of the afternoon to make the score 26-9.

Another penalty opportunity for Wales presented itself with Italy down to 14 men — with Ryan Jones opting to go for the corner rather than the extra points, but Wales were unable to capitalise.

Neither side were able though to add to the scoreboard as Wales kept their hopes of a possible title alive dependent on England's result against France, whilst Italy's stunning victory over France now feels more and more like a one-off success.

Man of the Match:  16 tackles summed up the hard-work and commitment of Wales captain Ryan Jones, whose rich vein of form continues.

Moment of the Match:  A comical mix-up between the Italian half-backs allowed Jonathan Davies to simply pounce on the loose ball for the game's opening try.

Villain of the Match:  The woes of the Italian scrum were summed up by Castrogiovanni's sin-binning on a poor afternoon for Italy's stand-in captain.

The scorers:

Italy:
Pens:  Burton 2

Wales:
Tries:  Davies, Cuthbert
Cons:  Halfpenny 2
Pens:  Halfpenny 4

The teams:

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

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

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)