Wales clinch Grand Slam

Wales beat France 16-9 in a tight battle at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday to complete the Grand Slam in fine style.

Wing Alex Cuthbert scored the only try of an enthralling battle to help the home side to their third Slam in eight years.

The occasion had an extra poignancy for Welsh rugby following the death of 1976 Grand Slam skipper Mervyn Davies on Thursday a few will deny they deserved victory in Cardiff over a combative but unimaginative French team.

Cuthbert's try helped Wales to a 10-3 lead at half time while Leigh Halfpenny added the conversion and three penalties over the course of the 80 minutes.

All of France's points came from the boot of half-backs Lionel Beauxis and Dimitri Yachvili.  Indeed French fans will be left frustrated by the lack of positive intent or creativity from their side.

But the day was about Wales and their ability to hold their nerve under pressure.  And there was no lack of it as les Bleus came desperately close to forcing their way over in the closing minutes.

While the Welsh attack has been a talking point over the last six week, it was their defence that impressed most with Jonathan Davies and Dan Lydiate leading the charge.

Referee Craig Joubert was taking a strict approach to the breakdown area and ruck infringements gave Yachvili and Rhys Priestland each an early opportunity to kick at goal.

The French scrum-half opened the scoring but Priestland's reply found the post.

Wales were soon in front however when Cuthbert scored a fabulous try from quick turnover ball, showing a neat step in between Julien Bonnaire and William Servat before tearing towards the unguarded tryline.  Halfpenny took over the kicking duties and had no problems with the conversion.

A powerful Welsh scrum was at the origin of further points seven minutes before the break as it gave Davies a head start to put pressure on Beauxis, who spilt his pass in contact and the home side were awarded a penalty when Alexis Palisson was forced to hang on while cleaning up.

Halfpenny should have added another three points on the stroke of half-time but this time it was his turn to strike the woodwork.

Sam Warburton did not return to the field after the break and the French held the momentum early in the second period.

Beauxis narrowed the gap to four points from the kicking tee but squandered an easy chance to get les Bleus within a point when he missed his fourth drop goal attempt of the tournament.

Halfpenny thumped over a penalty from 52 metres out to restore Wales' advantage as France persisted with their kick-orientated game, though replacement Jean-Marcellin Buttin came close to scoring when collecting a cross-field kick from Beauxis.

The visitors piled on the pressure in the closing stages and Imanol Harinordoquy will rue his decision to cut inside when he had Louis Picamoles on his outside and the tryline within range.

Joubert gave the visitors a penalty and their negative attitude was summed up in the decision to take three rather than seek a try to level the game.

The final minutes were inevitably fraught from a Welsh perspective, but Halfpenny held his nerve to add one last penalty and kick off a massive party.

Man of the match:  Wales flank Dan Lydiate put in yet another immense tackling display and must be considered a candidate for Player of the Tournament.

Moment of the match:  There was nothing to choose between the teams in the opening stages before Alex Cuthbert's try put Wales ahead.  From then on France were chasing the game and Wales always seemed in control.

Villain of the match:  No bad guys here.  Let the party commence!

The scorers:

For Wales
Try:  Cuthbert
Con:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 3

For France:
Pens:  Yachvili 2, Beauxis

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Wesley Fofana, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Florian Fritz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yohann Maestri, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 David Attoub, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 François Trinh-Duc, 22 Jean-Marcellin Buttin

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Stuart Terheege (England)
Television match official:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)

Ireland given lesson at Twickenham

England demonstrated a scrumming masterclass against Ireland as they crushed their visitors 30-9 in the Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday.

In difficult weather conditions for running rugby, the English destroyed the Irish set-piece on numerous occasions as Alex Corbiserio, Dylan Hartley and Dan Cole enjoyed immense games.

The trio — with help from their back-five — totally dominated their opposite numbers in what became a feasting ground for the home side.

Victory means England finish the Championship in second place after winning four out of their five games while Ireland end up in third position.

Stuart Lancaster must now wait to see whether chief executive Ian Ritchie believes he is the right man to lead the English on a full-time basis.

On the evidence of the Six Nations, it will be difficult for Ritchie to overlook Lancaster staying with Graham Rowntree while Andy Farrell is unlikely to remain due to club commitments.

The opening half was a rather stagnant affair as both sides based their game largely on defence, with regular handling errors hampering proceedings.  Ultimately, the action at Twickenham failed to excite those watching as three Owen Farrell penalties and two from Jonathan Sexton meant the half-time score was 9-6.

What was a blow to the Irish cause was the loss of starting tighthead Mike Ross, who left the field injured on 36 minutes and left Ulster loosehead Tom Court with what proved to be the toughest 44 minutes of his career.  Cue England's pack twisting the knife at scrum-time.

Corbisiero was dominant while Cole also capitalised as Ireland's pack looked dejected, which created the first try of the game on 65 minutes when England were given a five-metre scrum after Tomas O'Leary carried over his line.  Referee Nigel Owens had little option.

In the 73rd minute another massive scrum effort led to a further penalty for England and Ben Youngs, who came on for an out-of-sorts Lee Dickson, reacted to tap quickly to scoot over.

Farrell could not land the conversion but added another penalty three minutes from time to complete the victory and rubber stamp another positive step forward for the young side.

Man of the match:  Change to Men.  England's pack.

Moment of the match:  It is harsh to pick on one Irish player but the back-tracking Tomas O'Leary was rather lethargic when running back in an attempt to collect a grubber through.  Ultimately he did not have time to clear which meant England had a five-metre scrum that turned into seven points.  The hosts turned the screw at the set-piece and the rest is history.

Villain of the match:  Despite all the hype, it was relatively clean.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Penalty, Youngs
Con:  Farrell
Pen:  Farrell 6

For Ireland:
Pen:  Sexton 3

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Mike Brown.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Mike McCarthy, 19 Peter O'Mahony, 20 Tomas O'Leary, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Fergus McFadden.

Referee:  Nigel Owens
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garces, Neil Paterson
Television match official:  Jim Yuille

Italy hand spoon to Scotland

Italy recorded a 13-6 victory over Scotland in Rome on Saturday in a result that leaves the visitors with the Six Nations Wooden Spoon.

Italy claimed a gritty 13-6 victory over Scotland on Saturday in a result that handed the visitors the Six Nations Championship Wooden Spoon.

It was apparent that this was a Wooden Spoon decider as both teams shut up shop and tried not to lose more than take the game by the scruff of the neck.  Possibly that is doing a disservice to Jacques Brunel's outfit though, as they did enjoy spells of territory in which players ran straight.

But the first-half only managed to produce a grand total of six points as Mirco Bergamasco and Greig Laidlaw traded a penalty apiece in the sunshine.  Italy reemerged in hot form though following the turnaround and enjoyed a purple patch that led to Giovanbattista Venditti going over for five points.

That converted try on 43 minutes proved to be the match-winner as only another shot from Laidlaw and then a late Kris Burton drop-goal troubled the scorers in the remaining 37 minutes in Rome.

Scotland end the 2012 Six Nations with no wins to their name in a campaign that has left the pressure mounting on coach Andy Robinson.

The Englishman was forced to make a late change to his side when prop Allan Jacobsen failed a fitness test before kick-off, with John Welsh starting.  Meanwhile, the Italians were also without a first-choice player after hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini pulled out injured.

But it was the opposing hooker, Ross Ford, who was in the spotlight during the action at the Stadio Olimpico as the Scottish line-out struggled to fire throughout.  That hurt their game.

As mentioned, the first 40 minutes struggled to excite as Bergamasco and Laidlaw kicked one penalty each.  But then after the break Venditti found an opening as he burst through a Stuart Hogg tackle to touch down.  Burton sent over the conversion from under the posts.

Scotland did answer in the 60th minute via another kick from Laidlaw but when Burton sent over a drop-goal three minutes from time, Scotland were beaten for the fifth time in 2012.

Man of the match:  Back from a rib injury, prop Martin Castrogiovanni was superb for Italy while lock Quintin Geldenhuys and number eight David Denton also put in good shifts.

Moment of the match:  No prizes for guessing this one.  Italy wing Giovanbattista Venditti scoring on 43 minutes to send Rome wild.  A key try that proved to be the difference.

Villain of the match:  If we have to then it will be the yellow card trio at Stadio Olimpico.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Try:  Venditti
Con:  Burton
Pen:  Bergamasco
Drop:  Burton

For Scotland:
Pen:  Laidlaw 2

Yellow cards:  Nick de Luca — 39 mins; Jim Hamilton — 56 mins; Alessandro Zanni — 66 mins

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Kris Burton, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Joshua Furno, 19 Simone Favaro, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Giulio Toniolatti.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Max Evans, 13 Nick de Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Mike Blair, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford (captain), 1 John Welsh.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Euan Murray, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 Richie Vernon, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Jack Cuthbert.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Pascal Gauzere (France)
TMO:  Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)

England conquer Paris

England made it three away wins in the 2012 Six Nations when they weathered a France storm to run out 24-22 winners in Paris on Sunday.

The visitors outscored their hosts three tries to one in a thrilling encounter that went down to the wire as the French fought in vain to keep their 10-match unbeaten run at Stade de France intact.

It was a passionate performance from the English, who never relinquished their lead after centre Manu Tuilagi crossed for the opening try in the 13th minute of the match.

France's efforts in the first half had been disappointing, and the 14-9 deficit at the break was a good reflection of this, but also the superb work of the visitors.

England came out with the same passion and vigour in the second 40 as they had done in the previous half, bruising in the forwards and creative in the backs.

They were unrelenting up front, while France looked rudderless at times when they had the ball.

Their defence was outstanding and managed to hold France off on a weight of possession, until the French staged a dramatic fightback that was ultimately thwarted by their nemesis team.

England, mathematically at least, will head into the final weekend with a shot at the title — and Stuart Lancaster's bid to become the next full-time coach is building momentum.  Wales, though, are now all but guaranteed the Six Nations title.

England's aggressive defence really rattled and disrupted France early on and the visitors took full advantage with two first-half tries.

Chris Ashton made a big hit on the halfway line and Owen Farrell and Lee Dickson combined to unleash Tuilagi who out-sprinted the cover to touch down in the corner.

Farrell converted with a terrific kick from the touchline and England doubled their lead five minutes later.

Number eight Ben Morgan thundered through the French defence before offloading to his namesake Foden and the England full-back scrambled to the line.  Farrell added the simple conversion.

France kept in the game with three first-half penalties, Lionel Beauxis landing two and Julien Dupuy slotting one.

Farrell landed a penalty early in the second half as England survived a period with Charlie Sharples in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock on.  On his return, though, Beauxis and replacement Morgan Parra cut England's lead.

However, the decisive moment came when Tom Croft was given space to hit full stride before cutting through the French line and rounding the cover.

Farrell's tough conversion was crucial as France rallied once again.

Finally France crossed the tryline to make it a tension-filled last five minutes as Wesley Fofana went over in the corner for his fourth try in as many matches after being fed by Parra, who then converted from the touchline.

The French went roaring back into the English half spearheaded by Aurélien Rougerie but replacement Francois Trinh-Duc's effort at a drop-goal fell short and England held on.

Man of the match:  England's victory truly was a group effort, and a team gong is richly deserved.  However, it's hard not to single out some outstanding performances — namely from Dan Cole, Geoff Parling and Owen Farrell.  But in the end we thought Ben Morgan gave as good as he got with a tough and uncompromising effort at number eight for England.

Moment of the match:  Take your pick!  There were many, but England's third try did it for us as Tom Croft sent Aurélien Rougerie the wrong way and broke one tackle to touch down.  Brilliant.

Villain of the match:  There was a yellow card for Charlie Sharples, but we really don't think there was hardly any malice involved.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Fofana
Con:  Parra
Pens:  Beauxis 3 , Dupuy, Parra

For England:
Tries:  Tuilagi, Foden, Croft
Cons:  Farell 3
Pen:  Farrell 2

France:  15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yohann Maestri, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 William Servat, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 Francois Trinh-Duc, 22 Maxime Mermoz.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Charlie Sharples, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Mike Brown.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Italian job done for Wales

Wales kept their Grand Slam mission on course after seeing off a determined Italy outfit 24-3 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

Now only France stand in the way of the Welsh, who are only 80 minutes away from securing the 2012 Six Nations title.

However, it wasn't always one-way traffic for the hosts.  Wales have averaged almost 40 points a time over their previous Six Nations meetings with the Azzurri in Cardiff and a repeat performance was expected by many this weekend.

But the Italians weren't prepared to roll over so easily and put in a feisty performance in defence that kept their hosts tryless for 50 minutes, until centre Jamie Roberts finally found a chink in the visitors' armour.

Until then, the favourites had to settle for three penalties to one with full-back Leigh Halfpenny and wing Mirco Bergamasco providing all the points in the first half for their respective teams that saw Wales head into the half-time sheds 9-3 on top.

Italy enjoyed some lengthy spells of possession after the break, but they were then hit with a sucker punch as Wales grabbed the opening try.

The visitors had made seven times more tackles than the men in red, but had no answer for a Welsh counter-attack inside their own 22.  With Italy's defence stretched, the ball was spun wide to Roberts who stepped inside Bergamasco for a clear run-in to the line.

Halfpenny added the extras but 10 minutes later found himself in the sin-bin after taking Italy skipper Sergio Parisse out in the air whilst following up his Garryowen.

However, the Azzurri failed to take advantage of playing against 14 Welshmen and failed to add any points in Halfpenny's absence.  Instead, Wales managed to extend their lead through a Rhys Priestland penalty.

With three minutes left on the clock, the hosts sealed the deal with their second try of the match thanks to some brilliant finishing from wing Alex Cuthbert.

Priestland's conversion attempt was wide, but it didn't matter as Wales sent Italy home — still without a win in the competition.  The Azzurri face Scotland next in a battle to avoid the wooden spoon.

Man of the match:  Scrum-half Mike Phillips and centre Jonathan Davies were Wales' stand-out performers, but we'll go for flanker Dan Lydiate who put in his usual strong display.

Moment of the match:  There weren't many!  But Jamie Roberts' try proved to be the breakthrough Wales were looking for.

Villain of the match:  We have a feeling referee George Clancy is going to cop a lot of flak following his performance in the middle …

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Roberts, Cuthbert
Cons:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 3, Priestland

For Italy:
Pens:  Bergamasco

Yellow card:  Halfpenny, 61 mins (Wales, taking player out in the air)

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins (c).
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Rhys Webb, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Luke McLean, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Cornelius Van Zyl, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Fabio Staibano, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Robert Barbieri, 20 Tobias Botes, 21 Tommaso Benvenuti, 22 Giulio Toniolatti.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)

Four-try Ireland a cut above Scotland

Ireland scored four tries at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday in a convincing 32-14 Six Nations victory over Scotland.

Having lost narrowly (and somewhat controversially) to Wales before being held to a draw in Paris, Ireland will head to Twickenham in confident mood next weekend.

Scotland meanwhile are faced with a Wooden Spoon showdown in Rome.

An entertaining first-half saw four tries being scored as Rory Best, Eoin Reddan and Andrew Trimble touched down for the hosts while Richie Gray showed great power, pace and skill to cross for Scotland to leave the hosts leading 22-14 at the break.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for a gritty, error-strewn second half as the hosts struggled to come up with the knockout blow.

In fact, the only knockout of the second period involved Scotland wing Lee Jones's lights going out after a vicious (though entirely unintentional) clash of heads with Trimble.

Replacement centre Fergus McFadden did eventually secure a deserved win for Ireland with a try under the sticks in the dying minutes.

A hamstring injury in the warm-up meant that Nick De Luca was replaced by Max Evans in the Scottish midfield, with uncapped Edinburgh back Matt Scott named on the bench.

Fly-half Greig Laidlaw kicked the visitors into an early 6-0 lead as Scotland held onto all the possession in the opening 10 minutes with the expansive style which has been the hallmark of their approach throughout the championship.

Ireland's positive mindset was evident when they opted to kick for the corner rather than take three points on the quarter-hour mark.

After a simple line-out, the ball was sent down the blindside and Best went straight over Mike Blair to score the first try in the corner.

Jonathan Sexton and Laidlaw exchanged penalties before Ireland struck again as Reddan escaped the clutches of opposite number Blair, Sean Lamont and David Denton to wriggle his way clear and score following a ruck five metres out.  Sexton converted to put the hosts 15-9 ahead.

Scotland's reply wasn't long in coming though as giant second row Gray broke through attempted tackles from Reddan and Tommy Bowe before selling Rob Kearney a dummy and sprinting 25m for his first Test try.  Laidlaw missed the conversion.

Ireland would take the momentum into the dressing rooms however, scoring their third try when Trimble made a mockery of the Scottish defence out wide — and Lee Jones in particular — to dashed over in the corner.

Sexton's conversion was wide but the hosts would have felt confident of victory with an eight-point lead at the break.

Bowe came desperately close to claiming Ireland's fourth try early in the second period but was wrestled onto his back by Graeme Morrison and the TMO ruled that he had made an illegal second movement in grounding the ball.

But overall the second forty minutes failed to live up to the standard set in the opening period.  Scotland fought bravely but never realistically looked like having enough to claim victory.

Max Evans was sent to the sin bin for impeding Keith Earls without the ball on 72 minutes and Ireland made the most of their numerical advantage as McFadden burrowed over the line with three minutes left on the clock.

Man of the match:  A few candidates here and a mention must go to Rory Best for leading Ireland to victory.  Stephen Ferris and Donnacha Ryan were also outstanding for the men in green but we'll break with convention and go with someone from the losing side because Richie Gray was phenomenal.  For a lock, his try was simply brilliant.  It's a sign of his class that he often seemed like the Scots' most dangerous runner.

Moment of the match:  Scotland were right in the game in the first half but Andrew Trimble's try just before half time took the wind out of their sails.  While a lot of credit must go to the Ulster wing, Trimble should never have been allowed to score.  It was the kind of defensive glitch that has ruined Scotland's campaign and it put Ireland in a position from which they could control the game.

Villain of the match:  We'll change this one to "Ballerina of the Match".  The dive from Keith Earls after being 'interfered with' on his way to the line by Max Evans would have made Christiano Ronaldo proud.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Best, Reddan, Trimble, McFadden
Cons:  Sexton 3
Pens:  Sexton 2

For Scotland:
Try:  Gray
Pens:  Laidlaw 3

Yellow card:  Evans (Scotland — 73rd min — playing man without the ball)

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Peter O'Mahony, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Mike McCarthy, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Tomas O'Leary, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Fergus McFadden.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Max Evans, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Mike Blair, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross , 2 Ross Ford (c) 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Euan Murray, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 Richie Vernon, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Matthew Scott

Venue:  Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite, Greg Garner (England)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

Ireland hold on for draw in Paris

France recovered from an eleven-point half-time deficit to seal a 17-17 draw with Ireland in Paris on Sunday.

Declan Kidney's side had put themselves in a strong position going into the break after a try brace from Tommy Bowe stunned les Bleus.

But in a much-improved second-half showing the French found a route back into the fixture and in fact missed two late chances to claim the win.

The draw ends the prospect of a Grand Slam decider between Wales and France on March 17, while Ireland's title aspirations are now over.

France were sluggish throughout the first-half, with their midfield in particular showing signs of sloppiness when Bowe pounced on a wayward pass to ghost over in the thirteenth minute.  Jonathan Sexton's easy conversion made it 0-7.

The physical playmaker then added a penalty in reply to France scrum-half Morgan Parra's effort.

Parra, though, quickly made it 6-10 as he kicked a penalty from just inside the Irish half — the ball creeping over the bar and to add insult to injury hitting an unsuspecting Bowe on the head.

Clermont's number nine missed with another opportunity in the 35th minute after Cian Healy became the butt of the French fans frustration when coming back from an offside position he blocked what could have been a try-scoring pass from Aurélien Rougerie.

The Irish then fashioned a try out of nothing.  Breaking out of their 22, Keith Earls offloaded to Bowe and the 28-year-old broke one tackle before chipping and outpacing Poitrenaud to score.  Sexton's extras went in off the post to give the visitors a 17-6 half-time advantage.

That became 17-9 in the 47th minute as Parra made no mistake from wide out and the lead was reduced further three minutes later when Wesley Fofana's individual brilliance saw him snaffle the ball outside the Irish 22 and using his speed beat full-back Rob Kearney to dive over in the corner.  Parra missed the conversion to leave the Irish holding on to a 17-14 lead but he had them all square shortly before the hour mark, landing a long-range penalty.

The Irish ill-fortune continued within seconds as improving scrum-half Conor Murray went to ground clutching his knee and had to be stretchered off to be replaced by Eoin Reddan.

Kidney' side spurned two great chances when Rory Best's throw went askew with the line-out metres from the French line and although they regained possession, centre Gordon D'Arcy knocked on when under no pressure.  Scores were beginning to dry up in Paris.

The French also made a mess of trying to end the stalemate as replacement Lionel Beauxis missed his attempt at a drop-goal, as it barely took off before the Irish cleared.

The hosts came back and punched away at the Irish who held strong and, unlike in the 23-21 last minute loss to Wales, didn't concede a penalty and claimed a share of the spoils.

Man of the match:  France inside centre Wesley Fofana again demonstrated his potential on the Test scene with an effortless and opportunistic try in the second-half.  However, those two tries cannot go unrewarded so we go for Tommy Bowe.  A mention for Rob Kearney.

Moment of the match:  It has to be when Tommy Bowe collected a short ball on the right wing and then proceeded to chip over the last defender, collect and score his second try of the game.  That made it 6-17 with the conversion as things were looking good for Ireland.

Villain of the match:  No malice to speak of.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Fofana
Pen:  Parra 4

For Ireland:
Tries:  Bowe 2
Con:  Sexton 2
Pen:  Sexton

France:  15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 William Servat, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Julien Dupuy, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Maxime Mermoz.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Peter O'Mahony, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Fergus McFadden.

Referee:  Dave Pearson (England)

Five-try victory for Ireland

Ireland warmed up for next weekend's fixture against France by recording a professional 42-10 victory over Italy at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Declan Kidney's side took their time to pull away from the Azzurri but ultimately crossed five times, two of which coming from wing Tommy Bowe.

They next play France in the re-arranged fixture after it was called-off at the last minute a fortnight ago.  Italy remain pointless after three defeats.

Ireland had lost their last three outings at the Aviva Stadium and twice turned down shots at goal in favour of going for the maximum as they looked to make a point against their visitors, who took the lead through a penalty from fly-half Tobias Botes.

Sexton replied soon after and then Ireland crossed for their first try of the day following a well-worked move that saw centre Keith Earls dive in.

Italy could have reduced the arrears had Botes been successful from the tee but did find joy when Sergio Parisse crossed under the uprights, with Botes knocking over the simple extras for what looked like the last score of the half.

But that proved not to be the case as Italy were floored when Bowe went over for his first of the game before Sexton made it 17-10 at the break.  In truth, neither side had earned a lead.

Upon the turnaround, Sexton added another six points as the Irish established a thirteen-point lead before the home side cut loose, denying Italy any points in the second stanza.

Excellent hands from the impressive Sexton sent Bowe over for his brace as holes began to open in Italy's defence, with Tom Court and Andrew Trimble adding final nails to the coffin.

Man of the match:  But for a last-minute miss, Jonathan Sexton was on the money with all of his attempts at goal on Saturday.  He added to solid kicking with an assured performance.

Moment of the match:  A first international try for Tom Court.  The Ulster loosehead prop powered over from all of two metres in Dublin, with his team-mates delighted for him.

Villain of the match:  Nothing to report.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Earls, Bowe 2, Court, Trimble
Con:  Sexton 4
Pen:  Sexton 3

For Italy:
Tries:  Parisse
Con:  Botes
Pen:  Botes

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Peter O'Mahony, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Fergus McFadden.

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Tobias Botes, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Fabio Staibano, 18 Antonio Pavanello, 19 Simone Favaro, 20 Fabio Semenzato, 21 Kris Burton, 22 Gonzalo Canale.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), David Changleng (Scotland)
TMO:  Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)

France outgun brave Scots

France made it two wins out of two in this year's Six Nations after seeing off a gallant Scotland side 23-17 at Murrayfield on Sunday.

It was a third defeat for the Scots, who at times threatened to take control of this game, but the French just seemed to grow stronger as the match progressed.

Both sides crossed the whitewash twice, went into the half-time sheds all square (10-10) and took their shots at goal when presented to them.

However, whilst Murrayfield was given a glimpse of Scotland's potential, the hosts once again just lacked the killer instinct to push on for the win midway through the second half when they held a slender lead.

Instead, Scotland coach Andy Robinson — now with two wins from 13 Six Nations fixtures in charge — was left to rue another one that got away when France full-back Maxime Medard went over for the decisive score just before the hour as the visitors went ahead for good.

Replacement back Lionel Beauxis sealed the deal when he put over a drop-goal in the 68th minute and Les Bleus rode it out until full-time.

The Scots dominated the early stages and took the lead when the outstanding Stuart Hogg, on his first start, was put over in the right corner after some quick passing along the back line.

Greig Laidlaw converted and added a penalty to make it 10-0, but the French soon hit back.

Fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc bulldozed over Laidlaw and when he was hauled down the French backs combined to put Wesley Fofana crashing past flailing Scottish arms to score.

Three minutes from half-time Geoff Cross gave the penalty away and Morgan Parra levelled it up, but the scrum-half missed another penalty shot just before the interval.

Parra was on target five minutes after the break to put the French in front for the first time, but Scotland regained the lead with a brilliant try in the 55th minute.

John Barclay's superb tackle set up a turnover deep in the Scots half, and the Nick de Luca charged upfield, passed left to Richie Vernon who drew the defender and put Lee Jones over (17-13).

But the lead lasted just two minutes — Julien Malzieu smashed through Jones' powderpuff tackle, and sent Medard galloping under the posts for a 17-20 lead.

Beauxis added his drop goal to extend the lead to six, and the French — who were nowhere near their best — saw it out comfortably from there as Les Bleus stay on course for a Grand Slam showdown with Wales.

Man of the match:  France centre Wesley Fofana was a constant midfield threat whose first-half try was one for the highlight reels and skipper Thierry Dusautoir was at his typically robust best.  But in the end we going for Scotland flank Ross Rennie — uncompromising and tough-tackling, he relished the full-on battle.

Moment of the match:  It's always a sight to see a young gun score on debut, and when Stuart Hogg dived over in the corner for his first Test try, we could tell that Scotland meant business.

Villain of the match:  No malice to report.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hogg, Jones
Cons:  Laidlaw, Weir
Pens:  Laidlaw

For France:
Tries:  Fofana, Médard
Cons:  Parra 2
Pens:  Parra 2
Drop:  Beauxis

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Rory Lamont, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Mike Blair, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross , 2 Ross Ford (c) 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Ed Kalman, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 Richie Vernon, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Duncan Weir, 22 Nick De Luca.

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 William Servat, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Julien Dupuy, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Maxime Mermoz.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

Triple Crown for Wales at Twickenham

A solo try from Scott Williams in the 76th-minute handed Wales a 19-12 Six Nations victory over England at Twickenham on Saturday and with it the Triple Crown.

The replacement back's breakaway try at the death put Wales into the lead for the first time in an enthralling battle after England had led 9-6 at half-time.

There was tension right up to the final whistle however as England wing David Strettle crossed after the final hooter but television match official Iain Ramage adjudged there to be insufficient evidence that he managed to ground the ball.

While Stuart Lancaster's team will be bitterly disappointed by the narrow defeat, the young side can take encouragement from their best performance of this year's Six Nations.

Wales meanwhile remain on course for the Grand Slam, with home games against Italy and France still to play.

Wales did most of the early playing but England opened the scoring in the 24th minute when Owen Farrell split the uprights.  It took Wales less than two minutes to reply as Leigh Halfpenny landed his second attempt at goal to level the scores.

After a slow start England were growing in confidence and looking dangerous.  A brilliant tackle from Sam Warburton denied Manu Tuilagi a try but Farrell was able to restore the hosts' lead with another penalty around the half-hour mark.

A beautiful strike from long range by Halfpenny drew Wales level once again as the game began to grow in pace and the big hits continued to rain down.

England would head into the changing rooms in front however as Farrell made it three-from-three on the stroke of half time.

The second period started terribly for Wales as Rhys Priestland was charged down and then shown a yellow card as he tried to make amends by preventing an England try by jumping the gun at the breakdown on his own try-line.

Farrell duly added three more but Halfpenny restored the status quo before Priestland's time in the sin-bin had been served.

Farrell missed his fifth attempt at goal before being limping off to be replaced by Toby Flood but Halfpenny was on target with nine minutes left on the clock to leave the scores locked at 12-12.

Williams then turned match-winner, ripping the ball off Courtney Lawes and chasing down his own kick to score, before Strettle was denied at the death.

Man of the match:  There are a number of candidates with Owen Farrell belying his young age with another cool performance.  Manu Tuilagi made an impressive return to the English midfield but Wales skipper Sam Warburton gets the nod after a top show.  A try-saving tackle on Tuilagi in the first half was just one of countless hits.

Moment of the match:  The 81st minute.  David Strettle dives over.  He is rolled over by Jonathan Davies and tries to ground the ball behind his head before it is pushed back over to the wrong side of the line.  Does it graze the surface?  The TMO looks at it from every possible angle.  It could go either way.  Twickenham waits … in vain.

Villain of the match:  N/A

The scorers:

For England:
Pens:  Farrell 4

For Wales:
Try:  S. Williams
Con:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 4

Yellow card:  Priestland (Wales — 45th min — professional foul)

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Mike Brown.

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

Venue:  Twickenham
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Pascal Gauzere (France)
TMO:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)

Wales put Scotland to the sword

Leigh Halfpenny scored 22 points as Wales claimed a 27-13 Six Nations victory over Scotland at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

The scores were locked at 3-3 at half-time but a fifteen-minute spell early in the second period saw Wales score three tries to build an unassailable lead.

The result at the end of an exciting, high-paced clash will leave Wales brimming with confidence as they head to Twickenham in a fortnight looking to claim the Triple Crown.

Scotland, meanwhile, will head home harbouring a number of regrets after a handful of errors spoiled what was otherwise a strong performance.

Both sides made their intentions to play an open game very clear from the first whistle but two well-organised defences ensured that a breathless first quarter ended scoreless.

Scotland finally broke the deadlock when Greig Laidlaw landed a penalty after an impressive 20-phase build up from the visitors.

A well-struck penalty from Halfpenny drew the hosts level at 3-all and the scoreboard remained unchanged until half time, despite a prolonged period of pressure from the Scots.

Wales were dealt a blow just before the break as in-form George North was forced off with a knee injury but his wing partner Alex Cuthbert got the hosts off to the prefect start in the second period by running straight through Laidlaw's attempted tackle to score.

The Scots only had themselves to blame as they had handed Wales a golden opportunity by making a hash of the restart and the visitors were guilty of another crucial mistake when Nick De Luca tackled Jonathan Davies without the ball to earn a yellow card.

Halfpenny split the uprights in a nightmare spell for Scotland, who had coughed up ten points in five minutes.

Laidlaw managed to reduce the deficit with his second three-pointer but Scotland were still trailing 13-6 and a were man down.

And the extra player proved crucial as Wales were able to move the ball from one touchline to the other until they had the overlap and Halfpenny could cruise over, before converting his own try.

Things went from bad to worse for the men in blue as Wales cut loose and Rory Lamont was his given marching orders for making a tackle from an offside position.

The game was essentially over were when Mike Phillips' offload found Halfpenny in acres of space down the blindside, giving the full-back had an easy run-in for his second try.

Any hopes Scotland had of fighting back looked to have been scuffed when referee Romain Poite incorrectly adjudged that Stuart Hogg had knocked on before scoring, but Laidlaw had no such worries when he found a gap on the side of ruck to snatch Scotland's first try in five games.

But it wasn't enough to trouble the home side and few would deny that Wales were deserved winners as they had the better of the closing minutes to secure a convincing win.

Man of the match:  A number of candidates here and Leigh Halfpenny's contribution is difficult to look past.  But the official gong went to flank Dan Lydiate, who had a storming game, carrying well and tackling tirelessly.

Moment of the match:  It was anyone's game at half-time but Scotland's two yellow cards in the space of eight minutes left them with too much work to do against a free-running Welsh side.

Villain of the match:  No rough stuff to report in an excellent game.

The scorers:

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

For Scotland:
Try:  Laidlaw
Con:Laidlaw
Pens:  Laidlaw 2

Yellow cards:  De Luca (Scotland — 45th min — tackle without ball); R. Lamont (Scotland — 53rd min — professional foul); Jenkins (Wales — 77th min —

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Aaron Shingler, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Ryan Jones (c), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Lou Reed, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.

Scotland:  15 Rory Lamont, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford (c), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Ed Kalman, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Duncan Weir, 22 Stuart Hogg.

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

England survive Italy storm

It was a case of close but no cigar for Italy as England claimed another unconvincing 19-15 Six Nations victory in Rome on Saturday.

Italy outscored their hosts two tries to one, however it was once again the boot of Owen Farrell that saved the day for England as the young centre contributed 14 points in horrendous conditions.

The Azzurri will be kicking themselves after leading 12-6 at half-time thanks to two quickfire tries before the break, but weren't able to keep up the pressure in the second half as England were forced to dig deep against their stubborn hosts to claim back-to-back away wins.

After a scrappy opening littered with poor kicking out of hand, England were unfortunate not to bag the game's opening try on the half-hour when David Strettle's kick-through was eventually touched down by Phil Dowson.

Referee Jerome Garces had already blown for obstruction on Strettle — and Farrell converted the resulting penalty before adding another soon afterwards.

But two minutes before the break, a pair of grubber kicks caused confusion and wing Giovanbattista Venditti was on-hand to punish Ben Foden's fumble by falling over the line in the corner.

England seemed set to enter the dressing room one point to the good but from the restart, Foden's attempted off-load was intercepted for centre Tommaso Benvenuti to race under the posts from the halfway line and ignite the stadium.

Italy pivot Kris Burton capitalised with a penalty that made it 15-6 early in the second period, but England immediately clawed their way back into it when opposite number Charlie Hodgson charged down Andrea Masi's attempted clearance for a try out of nowhere.

It was the England fly-half's second charge-down try in as many games — and once again proved to be the turning point in the match.

The introductions of Lee Dickson and Ben Morgan cemented the visitors' momentum — providing the opportunity for the flawless Farrell to drive over a 54th minute penalty and secure the narrowest of leads.

With Martin Castrogiovanni injured in the first period, England had more than held their own up front and Farrell stretched the advantage to 19-15 in the 65th minute from a penalty awarded at a scrum.

Tobias Botes replaced Burton for the final half-hour and was handed two shots at goal that would have won the game — but the South African-born scrum-half was woefully off-target with both as England crept home.

Man of the match:  A committed display by a number of Italians ultimately went unrewarded, with skipper Sergio Parisse once again leading from the front.  However, a nerveless and flawless display of kicking from Owen Farrell amid freezing conditions in Rome helped the visitors claim their come-from-behind win.

Moment of the match:  The dramatic double strike from Giovanbattista Venditti and Tommaso Benvenuti had given the Azzurri a clear lead at the half-time interval before England managed to turn the tables through that second-half try from Charlie Hodgson that sparked England into life.

Villain of the match:  The weather!  In freezing conditions, scores were always going to be hard to come by and it was no surprise that both sides struggled to create much.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Venditti, Benvenuti
Con:  Burton
Pen:  Burton

For England:
Try:  Hodgson
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 4

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Marco Bortolami, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Antonio Pavanello, 19 Mauro Bergamasco, 20 Fabio Semenzato, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luca Morisi.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Chris Robshaw (c) 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Jordan Turner-Hall, 22 Mike Brown.

Referee:  Jérôme Garces (France)

Wales pip Ireland at the death

Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny kicked a 79th-minute penalty to break Irish hearts and steal a 23-21 Six Nations win in Dublin on Sunday.

Revenge was on the menu for Ireland following their World Cup exit against the Welsh, but defeat is what they were served at the Aviva Stadium where they have now lost three games on the trot.

At 21-15, it looked like Ireland's game for the taking with five minutes left on the clock and Wales lock Bradley Davies in the bin.  However, the visitors had other ideas and cut the deficit to a one-point ball game through a George North try.

Halfpenny missed the conversion to take the lead, but held his nerve to slot over a last-gasp penalty four minutes later — after Stephen Ferris was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Ian Evans — to deny the Irish and help open his team's Six Nations account with an upset win.

Wales played with an energy that Ireland failed to match for the majority of the first half, and were desperately unlucky not to have a try awarded early on by the TMO who — after several replays — decided it was "inconclusive" after a sea of red jerseys barged over the line.

But the Welsh weren't to be denied again by the TMO following centre Jonathan Davies's well-worked try in the corner that was set up by Rhys Priestland, but which the pivot failed to convert.

Priestland, in doubt for this match before he was declared fit to play on Friday, showed no signs of discomfort from the knee injury that kept him out of action for two weeks with ball in hand.

However, he was off-target with the boot after missing his second shot at goal with a penalty attempt from bang in front that would have extended his team's lead to five points.

Instead, it was Ireland who managed to find some spark produced from a rare attack inside Wales' 22 that started with Tommy Bowe breaking the line and ended with hooker Rory Best crossing the whitewash for a crucial score before half-time.

Sexton added the extras from far out and Ireland went into the half-time sheds 10-5 in front.

Ireland opened up the second half in the same fashion as they did the first courtesy of another three points from Sexton.

Halfpenny, who had taken on the kicking duties, landed a long-range attempt in reply and centre Davies capitalised on North's bulldozing run for a superb second try.

Halfpenny converted but Wales' lead was only brief as Sexton booted a tricky penalty and, when Bradley Davies was sin-binned for tipping Donnacha Ryan on his head, Bowe soon scored in the corner after taking a magnificent pass from his pivot.

Sexton missed the conversion and a penalty — both difficult kicks — and the irrepressible North crashed over only for Halfpenny to miss the conversion before accepting the second invite after Ferris's indiscretion.

Man of the match:  For Ireland, Tommy Bowe created one and scored one, while Jamie Heaslip was the pick of the Irish forwards.  For Wales, Ryan Jones ran hard and offered Wales leadership when Sam Warburton had left the pitch through injury and Jonathan Davies richly deserved his two-try haul.  However, wing George North was undoubtedly Wales' star man.  He bullied Ireland's backline at will, showing superb skill setting up Davies's second try and tremendous strength for his own five-pointer.  Who needs Shane Williams when you got this guy out wide?

Moment of the match:  Take your pick … Davies' second try … Bowe's five-pointer … North's score … Halfpenny's last-gasp penalty.  This game was full of them!

Villain of the match:  There's two of them — Bradley Davies and Stephen Ferris, with the latter's brain implosion ultimately proving very costly indeed.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Best, Bowe
Cons:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 3

For Wales:
Tries:  J Davies 2, North
Cons:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 2

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Fergus McFadden, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell (capt), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Peter O'Mahony, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 David Kearney.

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Andy Powell, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Lloyd Willians, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

France sprint past impressive Italy

Tournament favourites France got their 2012 Six Nations campaign off to an ideal start on Saturday with a 30-12 victory over Italy in Paris.

Philippe Saint-André's team ran four tries past their visitors for a comfortable win although the scoreboard belies the quality of the Italian performance.

Indeed, Italy dominated possession and territory in the first half but France held a 15-6 lead at the break thanks to two well-taken tries from Aurélien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu.

The scoreline was by no means a fair reflection of the first 40 minutes but Les Bleus pounced on their only two opportunities while Italy failed to finish off a number of promising build-ups.

The trend continued early in the second half as Vincent Clerc touched down for France to put victory well out of reach of their rivals from across the Alps.

The French turned the screw in the closing minutes as their performance grew in fluidity and confidence.  Debutant centre Wesley Fofana added a late try to send a message across the Channel — France mean business.

The Azzurri started with plenty of positive intent and impressed with their ball retention.  But France's tackling early on was just as noteworthy.

The French opened the scoring when Dimitri Yachvili slotted a penalty after a 60m break by Malzieu put the Italian defence under pressure.  But the visitors domination of possession in the first quarter was rewarded when fly-half Kris Burton landed a neat drop goal to level matters.

France struck soon afterwards though when Rougerie spotted two font rowers in the Italian defensive line and ghosted between them to score.

Yachvili's extras put the hosts 10-3 in front and helped settle a few nerves after a jittery start, but a Burton penalty on the half-hour mark cut the gap to four points.

France had been struggling at scrum time but bucked the trend to produce a big shove and lay the platform for their second try.  Louis Picamoles broke off the back and burst into space before finding Malzieu on his outside.  The Clermont winger still had plenty to do but beat five defenders to find his way over after a brilliant run to give Les Bleus a comfortable advantage at the break.

Burton and Yachvili traded penalties early in the second period as Italy continued to do most of playing while France continued to profit from every opportunity offered them.

The wind was taken out of Italy's sails in the 54th minute when Vincent Clerc grabbed a third try for France after François Trinh-Duc had chipped ahead before the fly-half and Rougerie displayed some good football skills to give their wing an easy run-in.

Fofana rubbed salt into the Italian wounds as he finished off for try number four at the end of big overlap to cap France's best period of the game.

Italy will head home well beaten but Jacques Brunel will take plenty of positives from an encouraging performance.

Man of the match:  Louis Picamoles justified the new French staff's confidence in him with impressive display but we agree with the official gong for Julien Malzieu, who looked a dangerous whenever the ball found it's way to his wing.

Moment of the match:  The jury was unanimous here — Julien Malzieu's try just before half-time will go down as a candidate for Try of the Year.  Not only was it a fantastic solo effort from the big wing (and Louis Picamoles's work to create it was equally good) but it gave France an 11-point lead and dented the visitors' morale.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Rougerie, Malzieu, Clerc, Fofana
Cons:  Yachvili 2
Pens:  Yachvili 2

For Italy:
Pens:  Burton 2, Botes
Drop:  Burton

Yellow card:  Geldenhuys (Italy — 70th min — pulling maul down)

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Vincent Debaty.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Yoann Maestri, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Maxime Mermoz.

Italy:15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c) 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Cornelius van Zyl, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Simone Favaro, 20 Fabio Semenzato, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Gonzalo Canale.

Venue:  Stade de France, St. Denis (Paris)
Referee:  Nigel Owens

Scotland gift England Calcutta Cup

England profited from a self-destructing Scotland side to open their Six Nations campaign with a 13-6 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Stuart Lancaster's new-look team claimed England's first win in the Scottish capital since 2004 but the result had less to do with a new-era of creativity that English fans had been hoping for than the hosts' inability to convert their chances into points.

Scotland led 6-3 at the end of a boring, error-strewn first half that saw both sides fail to seriously threaten the opposition tryline.  On the basis of those 40 minutes and the day's earlier game in Paris, neither England nor Scotland will travel to Rome confident of victory this year.

With both sides flooding the breakdown, attacking opportunities from quick ball were few and far between.  And rare chances to spread the ball were generally ruined by poor handling or aimless kicking.

An opportunistic try from England fly-half Charlie Hodgson just seconds after the restart sparked the game into life however.

A far more-exciting second period saw Scotland throw the kitchen sink at a well-disciplined English defence but the home fans were left frustrated as their team conspired to make a hash of a number of scoring opportunities.

A scrappy opening quarter ended the with scores locked at 0-0 as Dan Parks kicked most of Scotland's possession away and a series of handling errors and ruck infringements prevented England from finding any sort of rhythm on attack.

It took just over 22 minutes for the first points to be scored courtesy of the boot of debutant England centre Owen Farrell.  The hosts took less than three minutes to reply however as the visitors failed to stay on their feet and Parks slotted an easy penalty to restore the status quo.

The Scots began to ply the pressure and Parks split the uprights once again just after the half-hour mark to give his side a deserved lead which they held until the half-time whistle.

The game desperately needed a try and it came within seconds of kick-off when Hodgson charged down a lethargic Parks on the Scottish tryline before pouncing on the loose ball.

Farrell's extra's gave England a 10-6 lead, prompting Scotland up the tempo and the men in blue did most the playing in the second half, dominating territory and possession.

The introduction of Glasgow half-backs Greg Laidlaw and Mike Blair added extra impetus to their attack but the hosts continued to be the architects of their own downfall.

Laidlaw came within inches — literally — from grabbing the lead for Scotland after a kick and chase, but the TMO ruled he failed to touch the ball down ahead of Ben Youngs, while Ross Rennie butchered a fantastic chance to put Blair through.

A late penalty from Farrell settled England's nerves and secured a winning start to a new era.

Man of the match:  It's rare that a player from the losing side gets this award but number eight David Denton was a tireless grafter and a standout performer in Scotland's back row.

Moment of the match:  Scotland's match cam be summed up it one moment.  Ross Rennie's wasted opportunity when he failed to find the two runners on his outside and instead decided to hang on was classic example of the hosts' inability land the killer blow.

Villain of the match:  No rough stuff to report.

For England:
Try:  Hodgson
Con:  Farrell
Pen:  Farrell

Scotland:  15 Rory Lamont, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford (capt), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Graeme Morrison.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt) 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Jordan Turner-Hall, 22 Mike Brown.

Venue:  Murrayfield
Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official:  Tony Redmond (Ireland)

Shane's send-off pooped by Wallabies

Despite scoring a late try in his final game for Wales, Shane Williams was handed a losing send-off in Cardiff as Australia prevailed 24-18 on Saturday.

The result made it four wins in a row for Australia over Wales, as they backed up their victory when the teams last met in the RWC bronze final, and extended the hosts' poor record against the Tri-Nations to just one success in sixteen Tests.

But the 34-year-old Williams, to the delight of a crowd of more than 61,000, had the last word when, with his final act in a Wales jersey, he scored a typically jinking try in the corner just before full-time to extend his record to 58 tries.

The clash, played under a closed roof, changed when, with Wales 6-3 up early in the second half, home full-back Leigh Halfpenny was sent to the sin-bin and Australia scored 21 unanswered points while he was off the field.

Wales took a sixth minute lead when Rhys Priestland kicked a 40 metre penalty.

Shane Williams had to wait thirteen minutes to get his first touch but, soon afterwards, he came across from the left wing to the right to help keep an attack alive.  But a promising move ended when centre Scott Williams dropped the ball short of the line.

Australia's James O'Connor, playing his first Test at fly-half, then missed a straightforward penalty chance that would have levelled the game before Australia went close to scoring a try on the half hour.

After a surging run by full-back Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes's clever cross kick was gathered close to Wales's line by Wallaby right wing Lachie Turner.

But Shane Williams, once again showing his defensive worth, just did enough to force Turner into touch before he grounded the ball.  Although it needed several minutes' study by video referee Geoff Warren before Australia were denied a try.

Priestland and O'Connor then exchanged penalties, both awarded for offside, to leave Wales three points in front at half-time.

Australia emerged for the second period without openside flanker David Pocock, replaced by Radike Samo, and soon went close after a fine handling move saw O'Connor launch a counter-attack involving Barnes and Ashley-Cooper.

But after Barnes, involved for a second time, kicked ahead, O'Connor was tackled without the ball in sight of the line by Halfpenny and Jonathan Kaplan sent him to the sin-bin.

It was an expensive error, with Australia scrum-half Will Genia forcing his way over for a close range try which O'Connor converted.  O'Connor then missed a simple penalty, the ball hitting the post, minutes later but it hardly mattered.

It was O'Connor's excellent cut-out pass that sent Turner in for a try at the corner and he then made no mistake with the tricky conversion.

Wales were still a man down when Samo's pass found Barnes for Australia's third try.

The home side did staunch the flow of Australia points with their first try in the 66th minute after Priestland followed up after good work out wide by replacement forward Ryan Jones.

But Priestland's conversion attempt hit the post and Australia were still 24-11 in front before Shane Williams scored the try the crowd wanted.  An ideal way for him to cap his Test career.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Priestland, Williams
Con:  Biggar
Pen:  Priestland 2

For Australia:
Tries:  Genia, Turner, Barnes
Con:  O'Connor
Pen:  O'Connor 3

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Matthew Rees, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Tavis Knoyle, 21 Dan Biggar, 22 Alex Cuthbert.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Anthony Fainga'a, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 James Horwill, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Nathan Sharpe, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Ben Lucas, 21 Ben Tapuai, 22 Nick Phipps.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan
Assistant referees:  Dave Pearson, Jérôme Garces
TMO:  Geoff Warren

Wallabies thrash Baa-Baas at Twickers

Australia registered an emphatic 60-11 win over the Barbarians in their Killik Cup clash at Twickenham on Saturday.

As expected, running rugby was the order of the day but in the end the Wallabies were more clinical in the execution of their moves and were rewarded with eight tries against the men in black and white hoops.

Leading the way for the Australians were wings Digby Ioane and Lachlan Turner as well as replacement lock James Horwill, who each crossed over for a brace of tries.

The Baa-Baas' solitary try came via rugby league sensation Sam Tomkins who crossed over for a consolation score in the dying seconds of the match.

Playing on the right wing, Tomkins got little opportunities to showcase his talents as the Wallabies had the bulk of the possession for most of the match.

The Tri-Nations champions' experiment of playing James O'Connor at fly-half proved a success and the 21-year-old rewarded the faith shown in him by Wallabies coach Robbie Deans by scoring 20 points via seven conversions, a penalty and a drop-goal.

As the scoreline suggests Australia dominated most facets of play, although poor discipline in the first half saw Adam Ashley Cooper and James Slipper spending time in the sin bin.

Ashley-Cooper received his marching orders for a deliberate knock-on after Robbie Fruean tried to get a pass away to Tomkins early in the half and Slipper was sent off for a late tackle on Danny Cipriani.

The Barbarians failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage and they were made to pay for this.

The Wallabies led 18-3 at half-time, after Ioane and Turner scored tries and turned on the style in the second half against their hapless opponents.

Australia's dominance was emphasised in the 51 st minute when Horwill crossed over for his first try.

The regular Wallabies captain, who started on the replacements bench, combined brilliantly with replacement hooker Stephen Moore from a lineout on the edge of the Baa-baas' 22 metre area and barged over the tryline mere minutes after he came on to the field.

The Barbarians gave a lacklustre performance from the start and several high-profile players in their ranks seemed disinterested for most of the match.

Their veterans Victor Matfield and Stirling Mortlock toiled manfully but without the support of their team-mates they were always going to struggle against a Wallabies side who gave an almost perfect display.

The scorers:

For Barbarians:
Try:  Tomkins
Pens:  Cipriani 2

For Australia:
Tries:  Horwill 2, Turner 2, Ioane 2, Horne, Samo
Cons:  O'Connor 7
Pen:  O'Connor
Drop-goal:  O'Connor

Barbarians:  15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Sam Tomkins, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Stirling Mortlock, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Adam Thomson, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Eusebio Guinazu.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Jason White, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Nemia Kenatale, 21 Richard Kahui, 22 Seru Rabeni.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Ioane Digby, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Dave Dennis, 7 David Pocock (captain), 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 James Horwill, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Matt Hodgson, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Ben Tapuai.

Yellow card:  Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia — 14th minute), James Slipper (Australia — 30th minute)

New Zealand claim the World Cup!

It was not as convincing as many fans expected but the All Blacks held on to claim an 8-7 success over France and with it their second World Cup crown.

Les Bleus were a completely different side to the one that had fallen to the 2011 hosts and also Tonga during the Pool stages.  And they pushed the Kiwis right up until the death in a highly-charged 80 minutes at Eden Park on Sunday.

But New Zealand managed to beat their rivals who had caused them such bother in the past, ultimately banishing their 1999 and 2007 ghosts.

The score has a certain eeriness to it too -- '87?

Auckland was alive with All Blacks supporters all afternoon as the whole population hoped for an end to their 24 years of Webb Ellis hurt.  Tickets were not sold out however as only hours before kick-off, sales were still going:  cheapest for $401 ranging up to £1280 for the most expensive.

France meanwhile had banked on proving that their 6/1 bookmaker price for a game of such magnitude was way off the mark, and they duly racked up the phases inside opposition territory.  This followed les Bleus not backing down from the Kapa O Pango -- in fact they walked into it.

A marker was well-and-truly thrown down by France.

It was always going to be key for France to deprive New Zealand of the same start they enjoyed against the Wallabies and that was exactly what they managed, keeping the All Blacks away from the red zone despite an early penalty miss from fan favourite Piri Weepu.

Their starvation attempt did not last as back came the All Blacks following a solid touch-finder from scrum-half Weepu.  And from that ensuing line-out, superb off-the-top ball back inside to Tony Woodcock saw the prop ghost through unopposed.  Cue a big sigh of relief.

Suddenly the momentum had swung while Morgan Parra continued to struggle, which eventually led to Francois Trinh-Duc replacing him.  France were not going to be alone in losing their fly-half though as six minutes before the break, Aaron Cruden exited injured.

Breakdown supremacy was also always going to be vital and as is their wont in 2011, the All Blacks soon dominated matters, which should have resulted in another three from Weepu.  However, the former Hurricane looked like he was kicking in one with another missed shot.

Despite those eight points from the tee having gone begging, there was little worrying New Zealand heading past the half-hour mark but as this nation had become accustomed to, France aren't to be taken lightly, particularly with only a five-point lead taken into the sheds.

Marc Lievremont was clearly encouraged from what he had seen from his charges and sent the French back out from the break with the greater intent, but this time it was they who counted the cost of a penalty miss.  Dimitri Yachvili sending the ball just wide of the uprights.

It looked like New Zealand had made the visitors pay for that failed attempt when first-half replacement Stephen Donald slotted from bang in front, but as the French have a habit of doing in this tournament, they soon came back to haunt their hosts.  Thierry Dusautoir it was who crossed as the All Blacks fell asleep in defence following Donald's effort.  The visiting captain burrowed his way over close to the post to make it an easy conversion for Trinh-Duc.

Suddenly the nerves of yesteryear were weighing on the hearts and shoulders of the 61,000 supporters at Eden Park as play nervously pitched itself on the halfway line coming up to the hour mark.  That aforementioned 6/1 bookies price tag had become a great amount shorter.

France had the chance to snatch an unlikely World Cup crown on 63 minutes when Trinh-Duc lined up a 45-metre penalty but it proved unsuccessful as New Zealand weathered both the French storm and the pressure they'd put on themselves after almost a quarter-of-a-century without the Webb Ellis trophy.

The game was on a knife edge right until the final moments but the hosts just managed to hold on and end 24 years of waiting for their second RWC, McCaw left holding the prize.

Man of the match:  Yet another towering performance from Imanol Harinordoquy has gone into the locker of the Biarritz stalwart.  The number eight proved once again he is a must in this French line-up as he foiled several home line-outs, ran well in open play and also had a good night in close quarters.  However, along with Thierry Dusautoir, Richie McCaw put in captain's performance on Sunday and was colossal at the breakdown.  Big game effort.

Moment of the match:  It had looked like France were going to upset New Zealand in 1999, 2007 and now 2011 when Francois Trinh-Duc lined up a long-range penalty attempt with only a quarter of the game remaining.  The replacement fly-half did not get hold of his attempt though and that proved the difference between the two when it came down to it.

Villain of the match:  A game played in good spirits.  Nothing to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Dusautoir
Con:  Trinh-Duc

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Woodcock
Pen:  Donald

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Jean-Marc Doussain, 21 François Trinh-Duc, 22 Damien Traille.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Richard Kahui, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Brad Thorn, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Sonny Bill Williams.

Referee:  Craig Joubert

Australia take home the bronze

Australia ended their World Cup campaign in third place after getting the better of Wales 21-18 in Friday's battle for bronze at Eden Park.

Both sides crossed the whitewash twice, with Wales bagging a consolation second try on full-time to end the match -- but not the tournament -- on a high note.

The two teams held nothing back, and went at it hammer and tongs from the kick-off in what was a fast and furious third place play-off encounter that left bodies battered and bruised.

Australia's casualty list was the longer of the two teams -- losing playmakers Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper early on to injuries.

It was a double blow for the Wallabies, who had to change tack somewhat after being forced into a backline reshuffle with Berrick Barnes at pivot, Anthony Faingaa and Robert Horne forming the new midfield partnership and Adam Ashley-Cooper shifted to full-back.

It didn't disrupt Australia's momentum though, with Barnes showing some deft touches and superb vision in Cooper's absence while James O'Connor caused Wales all sorts of trouble out wide with ball in hand as well as from the kicking tee.

Barnes and O'Connor combined to contribute all but five of their side's points -- Barnes picking up a try and a drop-goal, while O'Connor slotted two penalties and a conversion.

The same couldn't be said of the Welsh kickers, whose three missed kicks -- four if you include a drop-goal -- would come back and haunt them -- just as it did against France in last weekend's semi-final.  Like catches win matches in cricket, so do goal-kicks in rugby.

Leading 7-3 at half-time, the Wallabies relinquished their lead only once in the match when Wales wing Shane Williams went over for a sensational solo try eight minutes after the break.  But with the touchline conversion missed, O'Connor put his team back in front with two quick-fire penalties and the Wallabies never looked back.

There was little separating the two teams when the match got underway in front of a capacity crowd in Auckland.

Both sides showed their intentions to run the ball at every opportunity that came their way, which paved the way for a free-flowing spectacle -- stopped only for the wounded.

Before Beale and Cooper hobbled off the field, the latter was able to put Barnes over from close range after a delayed pass caught the Welsh off-guard.  O'Connor landed the simple conversion, and Australia led by seven points after twelve minutes played.

The Wallabies came close to bagging try number two, only for Ashley-Cooper to spill the ball forward with the tryline begging.

Prop James Slipper was then penalised in the scrum which allowed James Hook to kick the opening points for his team, but then badly missed a straight-forward penalty attempt five minutes after the restart.

O'Connor should have restored Australia's advantage but his penalty effort rebounded back off the posts.

Wales were then off-target with another three-pointer as Leigh Halfpenny's long-range attempt sailed wide, leaving Australia to head into the interval with a four-point lead.

Wales had a chance to cut the deficit to just a point a few minutes into the second half, but once again Hook missed a regulation penalty attempt.

However, Wales gave their red-clad fans hope when they finally took their chance after a stab kick ahead and regather by Hook saw the ball flung wide to Williams who showed his footballing skills to score.  The initial pass out wide looked forward but Williams hacked on and won the foot-race to the ball.

Australia replied with two O'Connor penalties in the 54th and 57th minutes respectively to open up a five-point lead, however Wales were let off the hook when his next attempt hit the posts.  Barnes, though, gave the Wallabies some breathing space as he slotted over a cheeky drop-goal.

With Hook off and Stephen Jones on, the veteran set up a nail-biting finale with his 70th-minute penalty to take the scores to 11-16 and Wales requiring a converted try to win the match.

Australia should have sealed the deal through Ashley-Cooper with six minutes left on the clock, but a try-saving tackle by Wales wing George North kept his team's chances alive as the ball spilled from the full-back's grasp.

However, the Wallabies launched another raid and weren't to be denied a second time after number eight Ben McCalman made no mistake two minutes later as he took Saia Fainga'a's offload to score in the corner for the match-winner.

O'Connor missed the conversion from far out, but it mattered not as Wales trailed by 10 points with two minutes left.

Wales never gave up though, and were rewarded for their never-say-die attitude after Halfpenny dived over 28 phases later to finish the game on a positive note.

It was Australia's first win at Eden Park since 1986, but not against their Bledisloe Cup rivals New Zealand, who take on France at their fortress in Sunday's final.

This victory meant two-time champions Australia won their first bronze at the World Cup after losing 22-21 to Wales in the play-off for third place at the inaugural 1987 tournament in New Zealand.

Man of the match:  For Wales, number eight Ryan Jones was simply superb, whilst James O'Connor was a threat throughout for the Wallabies.  But Berrick Barnes delivered a masterly performance after moving from inside centre to fly-half and is deservedly our man of the match.

Moment of the match:  It may have been a forward pass that allowed Wales to hit the front, but we're going with that fortuitous try to wing Shane Williams.

Villain of the match:  Hmmm ... Australia hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau can consider himself lucky for escaping any punishment for his late shoulder charge on Shane Williams that saw the Welsh Wizard go flying behind the touchline.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Barnes, McCalman
Con:  O'Connor
Pens:  O'Connor 2
Drop:  Barnes

For Wales:
Tries:  S Williams, Halfpenny
Pens:  Hook, S Jones
Cons:  S Jones

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Toby Faletau, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Paul James, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins (c).
Replacements:  16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Alun Wyn Jones, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Scott Williams.

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill (c), 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Anthony Faingaa, 22 Robert Horne.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

All Blacks march into World Cup Final

New Zealand are just 80 minutes away from possible Rugby World Cup glory after booking their place in the final with a convincing 20-6 victory over Australia at Eden Park on Sunday.

The hosts -- the only unbeaten team left in the tournament -- will face France at the same venue in seven days in a repeat of the 1987 RWC final.

New Zealand led 14-6 at half-time thanks to a try from centre Ma'a Nonu, created by a brilliant run and offload by full-back Israel Dagg.  And further points from Piri Weepu provided the cement.

Conditions were perfect for a fixture many had billed as being fitting of a final.  The anthems and Kapa O Pango were stirring but the biggest cheer before 21:01 arrived at the kick-off when public enemy number one, Quade Cooper, sent his drop-kick out on the full.  Cue happy Kiwis.

What also caused bums off seats was the form of Dagg -- back in the team following injury -- and he immediately caught the eye with his fine running ability.  The full-back was slicing Australia to bits during the first six minutes and when he cut down the right before offloading back inside to Nonu, the hosts were on the board.  Inspirational nine Weepu was unsuccessful with his first kick but nine Wallaby missed tackles was far cry from their effort against the Boks.

Weepu struck the post moments later when openside flanker David Pocock was penalised at the ruck but did discover his range on twelve minutes from a similar position.

Australia needed a foothold at 8-0 down as a fired-up New Zealand looked to work the body of their trans-Tasman rivals.  Digby Ioane almost provided the perfect fillip to their cause from a counter-attack but fell just short of the line following a good fend on the covering defence.  It resulted in three points however via the boot of James O'Connor which helped ease the early loss of prop Sekope Kepu to injury, James Slipper was his replacement.

Their reprieve was shortlived though as back came the hosts with a Cruden drop-goal.  Meanwhile, Cooper was having the game of his nightmares, slicing numerous kicks from hand to go with that initial kick-off, with many a coach probably eyeing up Berrick Barnes.

In fact Barnes did emerge as a blood-bin replacement for Pat McCabe soon after fly-half Cooper had shown character when sitting back in the pocket in response to Cruden's effort.  At 11-6 the game was nicely poised for Australia going into the break but then an unlucky ricochet off lock Dan Vickerman that went forward to Adam Ashley-Cooper promptly put the lead back to eight at 14-6.  New Zealand's public were breathing a lot easier for their side.

It was looking like being the same final as 1987.

History being repeated gained further momentum not three minutes after the resumption too when an Owen Franks tackle led to McCabe holding on in a kickable position, Weepu having the simple task of extending matters to eleven as Australia and Robbie Deans worked out the next score would be vital.  The probability that would be Gold was reducing by the minute however as mistake after mistake, such as obstruction and fumbles, foiled them.

What was also noticeable was the lack of impact Pocock was having on proceedings, with a tighter rule on the breakdown applied by Craig Joubert.  Sunday's official did not however have to be a rocket scientist to spot the side-entry from hooker Stephen Moore but Weepu sent his penalty wide from distance, which was set to be his last act due to the arrival of Andy Ellis for the final fourteen minutes.  Australia had also put on Tatafu Polota-Nau.

The Wallabies' front-row change made little impact to their cause and it was in fact New Zealand's Andrew Hore who enjoyed the better closing stages, first winning a breakdown penalty and then being the middle of All Black dominance at scrum-time.  The game was all but sealed thanks to returning scrum-half Weepu -- on for a bloodied Ellis -- knocking over three points to make it 20-6.  The Kiwis were home and hosed, or so they thought.

Why?  A yellow card for replacement Sonny Bill Williams for a shoulder charge on Cooper made for an anxious final four minutes but the hosts stood firm.  Next, France -- again.

Man of the match:  New Zealand's forwards were dominant from minute one but it was the cutting edge that Israel Dagg brought from full-back that sees him wrestle this award from one of his pack.  Dagg was a calming presence when Australia kicked long, sending fine returns into touch while also combining those with the mesmeric step that has been thrilling Crusaders fans all year.  Mils Muliaina leaves his fifteen jersey in very good hands.

Moment of the match:  The All Blacks came out of the blocks firing and when Ma'a Nonu crossed with just six minutes gone, they were well on their way to a first final in 16 years.

Villain of the match:  You know him, New Zealand loves to dislike him.  Quade Cooper played the villain for those wearing black in the stands.  Not his best night in Gold.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pen:  O'Connor
Drop:  Cooper

For New Zealand:
Try:  Nonu
Pens:  Weepu 4
Drop:  Cruden

Yellow card:  S.B. Williams (New Zealand -- 76th min -- shoulder charge)

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Anthony Faingaa, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Radike Samo, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Dan Vickerman, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Sekope Kepu.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Rob Horne.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Richard Kahui, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Brad Thorn, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Sonny Bill Williams.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)