![LV= Cup [Anglo-Welsh]](images/LV Cup 2011 SB.jpg)
Follow the action LIVE as it happens with us on:
& 
& 
WALES 16 - 21 ENGLAND
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Friday 06 February 2015
KO: 20:05 HT: 16-8 Att: 73,815
 |
HEAD TO HEAD
|
 |
HIGHLIGHTS
THE broad consensus before this game was that England’s lengthy injury list meant they were unlikely to have the firepower to turn over a strong and settled Wales team at home in Cardiff. With the previous encounter here at the Millennium Stadium a 30-3 victory to the Welsh two years ago, and with Wales having won 5 of the last 6 matches between these teams played in Cardiff, the bookie’s money seemed firmly on Wales for the win. Home fans in the Cardiff pubs seemed cautiously optimistic, predicting a win but in a tight match.
After an irrelevant pre-match light show with an awful soundtrack (why, why, why would you need that when Wales have the best rugby songs in the world?), the national anthems were played by the Band of the Welsh Guards to commemorate their Anniversary milestone, and as always, the Welsh anthem set the hairs going on the back of the neck (or I suppose that could have been the bitter cold). The roof of the Millennium Stadium was left open at England’s behest. Wales defence coach, Shaun Edwards, predicted beforehand that there would be more kicks as a result, and was proved right.
Wales started with a bang, attacking from the kick off and almost immediately winning a penalty from referee Jérôme Garcès. Leigh Halfpenny knocked over the long range kick with ease. The Welsh looked dominant in open play, but England sent them backwards in the first scrum – however, Toby Faletau scrambled the ball away from the back of the scrum, and Wales got the ball out wide to Rhys Webb who crossed the line for the first try of the game. Wales were 10-0 up and full of confidence, whilst England looked as if the Millennium Stadium atmosphere was getting to them.
Yet England hit back almost immediately with some good attacking play culminating in a grubber kick from Mike Brown that Anthony Watson touched down to score on his 6 Nations debut. George Ford’s conversion hit the post, but England were back in the game.
Wales had more of the possession in a frantic first half where play went back and forth, but both defences stayed strong and points came from a penalty apiece from Halfpenny and Ford. Welsh winger George North had to leave the field after half an hour when Dave Attwood’s boot accidentally made contact with his head, but he returned before half time. The half came to a close with a drop goal from Dan Biggar to put Wales 16-8 up.
England kicked off the second half and immediately showed greater intensity and purpose. A period of sustained pressure, with Chris Robshaw, Billy Vunipola and Dave Attwood all making great carries, was rewarded with a try by Jonathan Joseph, converted by Ford.
Wales looked disconcerted, and made a number of errors including two poor lineouts. England were awarded another penalty and although Ford missed the kick, the team in white was very much in the driving seat. Wales were unable to put any real pressure on England and their set piece was well below par. With 20 minutes to go, England thought they had scored another try, but Haskell was stopped by the post. Referee Garcès checked with the TMO, and gave Alex Cuthbert a yellow card for offside earlier in the move. Ford kicked the penalty and took the lead; momentum was with England.
The tension was high, and the crowd tried to lift Wales, and though England thought they had scored again when Attwood burrowed over the line, the TMO ruled out the try due to obstruction from England sub, Nick Easter. Wales tried to run the ball back up field from their own tryline with just a few minutes to go, but Jonathan Joseph tackled Jamie Roberts and England took the initiative again.
But with the clock running down, good work by Billy Twelvetrees for England gave Ford a long range penalty opportunity. He nailed it, and England’s players celebrated a fine victory in Cardiff.
England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said afterwards that this was one of his best wins. He was delighted to see his side score 13 unanswered points in the second half and said that they were always confident that they could cause problems if they stuck to their game plan. Andy Farrell called it a “proper test match win”.
Wales Head Coach, Warren Gatland, felt that Wales were comfortable at half time, and lamented the fact that his team put themselves under pressure in the first 20 minutes of the second half. He dismissed the idea that Wales, with a fully fit squad, should have put England’s injury hit squad away, and said he was impressed with England’s strength in depth. Wales captain Sam Warburton felt England played very well in the second half, and that Wales were unable to get momentum.
But both Lancaster and Gatland were keen (perhaps overly so) to emphasise that the Rugby World Cup is still a long way off, and that this match has no real bearing on the September 26th rematch. We willl see.
15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Jamie Roberts 11 George North 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 1 Gethin Jenkins 2 Richard Hibbard 3 Samson Lee 4 Jake Ball 5 Alun Wyn Jones 6 Dan Lydiate 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 8 Taulupe Faletau BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Aaron Jarvis 19 Luke Charteris 20 Justin Tipuric 21 Mike Phillips 22 Rhys Priestland 23 Liam Williams
SCORERS T: Webb C: Halfpenny P: Halfpenny (2) DG: Biggar 
Cuthbert
15 Mike Brown 14 Anthony Watson 13 Jonathan Joseph 12 Luther Burrell 11 Jonny May 10 George Ford 9 Ben Youngs 1 Joe Marler 2 Dylan Hartley 3 Dan Cole 4 David Attwood 5 George Kruis 6 James Haskell 7 CHRIS ROBSHAW (C) 8 Billy Vunipola BENCH: 16 Tom Youngs 17 Mako Vunipola 18 Kieran Brookes 19 Tom Croft 20 Nick Easter 21 Richard Wigglesworth 22 Danny Cipriani 23 Billy Twelvetrees
SCORERS T: Watson, Joseph C: Ford P: Ford (3)
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR) Asst Referees: Romain Poite, Mathieu Raynal (FFR) TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
ITALY 3 - 26 IRELAND
Stadio Olimpico, Rome - Saturday 07 February 2015
KO: 15:30 HT: 3-9 Att: tbc
 |
HEAD TO HEAD
|
 |
HIGHLIGHTS
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE...
20 minutes til KO in Rome for the 2nd of this weekend's matches. Will it match up to last night's opener?
Of course we'll bring you all the Italy v Ireland action minute by minute, as it unfolds at the Stadio Olimpico...
Italy v Ireland A lot of Irish voices in stands for Ireland's Call! Stadium looks magnificent in sunshine
Italy v Ireland Sean O'Brien drops out after injury in warm up. Tommy O'Donnell in, Robbie Diack on bench
Italy 0-0 Ireland 0mins Anthems done and we have KO in Rome...
Italy 0-0 Ireland 1min Good start for homeside; Italy forge way up to Irish 22 but Ireland saved by forward pass
Italy 0-0 Ireland 3m Ireland defensive scrum; Conor Murray put in & Matias Aguero slips binding; Ireland pen
Italy 0-0 Ireland 5m Another Ireland scrum after George Fabio Biagi knocks on...
Italy 0-0 Ireland 5m Pitch cutting up badly already; all int'l rugby grounds should have Desso pitches
Italy 0-3 Ireland 7m Italy offside in own 22; Ian Keatley tees up for his first 6 Nations match & it's thru
Italy 0-3 Ireland 9m Ireland lineout just outside own 22; Alessandro Zanni pinged & Ireland have attacking lineout
Italy 0-3 Ireland 11m Ireland pinged for collapsing scrum & Kelly Haimona clears for lineout on Ireland 10m
Italy 0-3 Ireland 13m Good work from the Azzurri but Ireland turnover & scrum at own 10m
Italy 0-3 Ireland 15m A big kick to Italy's 22 which Andrea Masi fluffs completely
Italy 0-3 Ireland 16m Ireland attempt to get ahead but Keatley's kick charged down; Italy lineout on own 10m
Italy 0-3 Ireland 17m But Ireland claim ball & attack up to Italy's 22, but Azzurri defence is strong
Italy 0-3 Ireland 18m Another scrum on Italy's 22 has to be reset; penalty Italy & they clear
Italy 0-6 Ireland 21m Masi knocks on, Luke McLean offside & Ireland win penalty which Keatley pumps over
Italy 0-6 Ireland 23m Good restart from Haimona & Sergio Parisse starts the charge towards Ireland's 22...
Italy 0-6 Ireland 23m But Parisse pinged for challenging Tommy Bowe in air & all momentum lost
Italy 0-6 Ireland 25m Italy lineout is good and Edoardo Gori breaks but bundles in to touch
Italy 0-6 Ireland 26m Ireland lineout & heading in right direction but have had little possession in Azzurri 22
Italy 0-6 Ireland 29m Italy force Ireland back up to halfway; time off for attention to Martin Castrogiovanni
Italy 0-6 Ireland 30m Italy scrum just inside halfway but it's Ireland's pen; Keatley sets up lineout inside Italy 22
Italy 0-6 Ireland 31m Italy's defence is very strong in own 22 & force turnover to win pen; danger over with clear
Italy 0-6 Ireland 33m Play back in midfield & Italy have possession; ball cleared but Parisse ahead of kicker
Italy 0-6 Ireland 35m Ireland penalty & Keatley sets up another lineout inside Azzurri 22. Murray breaks toward tryline
Italy 0-6 Ireland 36m Gori drags Murray into touch but advantage Ireland & ref comes back for penalty
Italy 0-9 Ireland 37m Keatley adds 3 more points...
Italy 0-9 Ireland 39m Italy attack well from restart & win penalty & 5m lineout; Jack McGrath pinged for interfering
Italy 3-9 Ireland 40m Can't touch lineout jumper like that so Haimona has penalty & tees up > that's 3 points
Italy 3-9 Ireland HT P: Haimona | P: Keatley (3)
Italy 3-9 Ireland 42m Ireland not making an impressive start to second half...
Italy 3-9 Ireland 44m Italy making life hard for visitors; Ireland not making any ground at all from midfield
Italy 3-9 Ireland 46m Ireland finally edge towards 22 but Michele Campagnaro intercepts pass from Keatley
Italy 3-9 Ireland 48m Campagnaro into touch; Ireland scrum on Italy's 22 after Marco Barbini debuts for Zanni
Italy 3-9 Ireland 50m Ireland get as close to tryline as have done all match but knock on & Haimona runs it back
Italy 3-9 Ireland 51m Italy clear & Ireland lineout on Azzurri 22; Jarrad Payne breaks down touchline but knock on!
Italy 3-9 Ireland 52m Sean Cronin & Martin Moore on for Rory Best & Mike Ross
Italy 3-9 Ireland 54m Italy penalty from scrum while Alberto De Marchi replaces Aguero
Italy 3-12 Ireland 57m Italy pinged for wheeling scrum & Keatley tees up for another penalty which is easy
Italy 3-12 Ireland 61m Ireland making some headway & have advantage after Castrogiovanni pulls down maul
Italy 3-12 Ireland 62m Leonardo Sarto gets hand to ball & knocks it back in; forward pass to Rob Kearney...
Italy 3-12 Ireland 63m But back for earlier penalty & Ireland scrum
Italy 3-12 Ireland 64m Leonardo Ghiraldini harshly shown yellow at scrum, & Ireland take full advantage..
Italy 3-17 Ireland 65m Conor Murray finds the tryline for first try of the game
Italy 3-24 Ireland 67m Keatley converts to leap ahead, & O'Donnell immediately pounces on whitewash again!
Italy 3-26 Ireland 68m Keatley converts again as the rain comes down in Rome heavily
Italy 3-26 Ireland 69m Meanwhile, Tommaso Allan on for Campagnaro, Ian Madigan for Keatley
Italy 3-26 Ireland 70m Henderson, James Cronin, Jones & Boss on for O'Mahony, McGrath, Bowe & Murray
Italy 3-26 Ireland 71m Fuser, Manici & Chistolini on for Barbini, Minto & Castrogiovanni
Italy 3-26 Ireland 73m Italy have scrum just in own half as McLean makes superb break down touchline
Italy 3-26 Ireland 74m But Henshaw drags him into touch while Ghiraldini YC over, but replaced by Minto
Italy 3-26 Ireland 76m Ireland knock on & Italy's scrum inside Ireland 10m; Barbini & Venditti for Biagi & Masi
Italy 3-26 Ireland 78m Italy push Ireland hard & Haimona scores a consolation try for the homeside...
Italy 3-26 Ireland 78m But ref Pascal Gaüzère defers to TMO to check Parisse potential knock on
Italy 3-26 Ireland 79m Sadly for Haimona he hasn't scored 1st int'l try as Parisse fingertips graze ball
Italy 3-26 Ireland 80m Back for Ireland scrum and it's really all over for the Azzurri
Italy 3-26 Ireland FT Well, that was like watching paint dry...
15 Andrea Masi 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Michele Campagnaro 12 Luca Morisi 11 Luke Mclean 10 Kelly Haimona 9 Edoardo Gori 1 Matias Aguero 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini 3 Martin Castrogiovanni 4 Joshua Furno 5 George Fabio Biagi 6 Alessandro Zanni 7 Francesco Minto 8 SERGIO PARISSE (C) BENCH: 16 Andrea Manici 17 Alberto De Marchi 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Marco Fuser 20 Marco Barbini* 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Tommaso Allan 23 Giovambattista Venditti
SCORERS P: Haimona Ghiradhini
15 Rob Kearney 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Jared Payne 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Simon Zebo 10 Ian Keatley 9 Conor Murray 8 Jordi Murphy 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 Peter O'Mahony 5 PAUL O'CONNELL (C) 4 Devin Toner 3 Mike Ross 2 Rory Best 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 James Cronin 18 Martin Moore 19 Iain Henderson 20 Robbie Diack 21 Isaac Boss 22 Ian Madigan 23 Felix Jones
SCORERS T: Murray, O'Donnell C: Keatley, Madigan P: Keatley (4)
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR) Asst Referees: Wayne Barnes (RFU), Stuart Berry (SARU) TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
FRANCE 15 - 8 SCOTLAND 
Stade de France, Paris - Sunday 07 February 2015
KO: 18:00 HT: 9-8 Att: tbc
 |
HEAD TO HEAD
|
 |
HIGHLIGHTS
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE...
France v Scotland A most rousing & passionate La Marseillaise booms out in Stade de France...
France v Scotland In fact, quite defiant after the tragedy at Charlie Hebdo last month
France v Scotland Even weirder, France are playing in red today - v odd!
France 0-0 Scotland 1m Nigel Owens marshalling as France have 1st lineout very quickly
France 0-0 Scotland 2m Jonny Gray steals lineout but Scotland quickly hand over penalty which Camille Lopez tees up
France 3-0 Scotland 3m Lopez has no trouble in opening the scoring for the homeside
France 3-0 Scotland 5m French crowd getting right behind their team with 'Allez Les Bleus' reverberating
France 3-0 Scotland 6m Another penalty for France, and it's all going the way of Les Bleus...
France 3-0 Scotland 8m But Scotland fight back, & Finn Russell showing his mettle...
France 3-0 Scotland 9m France have defensive scrum on own 10m...& it has to be reset...
France 3-0 Scotland 11m France clear ball away but it comes straight back into Scottish hands...
France 3-0 Scotland 12m Scottish scrum, but first Owens has stern word with front rows
France 3-0 Scotland 13m Scotland come with away penalty & Greig Laidlaw tees up
France 3-3 Scotland 14m Laidlaw equalises, & this match is infinitely more interesting than ITAvIRE!
France 3-3 Scotland 15m From restart France make huge in roads into Scots territory & into 22 with advantage
France 6-3 Scotland 16m Owens calls them back for penalty & Lopez adds 3 more points
France 6-3 Scotland 17m Meanwhile Dougie Fife replaces Tommy Seymour on wing who's not looked good for while
France 6-3 Scotland 19m Ball rolls into touch in Scotland's 22...Scottish ball for defensive lineout
France 6-3 Scotland 20m Good setpiece from Scotland & Laidlaw clears for French lineout on 10m
France 6-3 Scotland 21m Improved lineout for France but Jonny Gray pounces on loose ball; penalty France
France 6-3 Scotland 22m But touch judge deems French player offside so reversed; Russell clears
France 6-3 Scotland 23m Mark Bennett makes good ground but forced into touch; French 22 lineout
France 6-3 Scotland 25m Penalty to Scotland & Stuart Hogg tees up from 55m but it falls short...
France 6-3 Scotland 26m Scotland on the attack & Hogg deep in French 22 > support from Visser but shut down
France 6-3 Scotland 27m Ball recycled & Russell in perfect position to drop a goal - but he fluffs it!
France 6-3 Scotland 29m Big chip ahead chased by Hogg but Teddy Thomas gets to it first in own 22
France 6-3 Scotland 31m Scotland pinged at breakdown & it's France's ball to clear back over halfway
France 6-3 Scotland 32m Crowd unimpressed at alleged late tackle by Alasdair Dickinson, but wasn't
France 6-3 Scotland 34m Scotland eventually win penalty in their own 22 & Russell clears it to halfway
France 6-3 Scotland 35m Scots have possession but France turnover and have advantage crossing over 10m
France 6-3 Scotland 36m Blair Cowan effects excellent turnover but Laidlaw knocks it on...
France 9-3 Scotland 37m It's France's penalty & Lopez adds another 3 points to the scoreboard
France 9-3 Scotland 38m From restart, Hogg again makes the yards & into the 22 before shut down...
France 9-3 Scotland 39m Much recycling on fringes of 22 before Bennett is inches short of tryline...
France 9-8 Scotland 39m Alex Dunbar gets over but held up; Scotland go again & Fife scores in the corner
France 9-8 Scotland 40m Laidlaw tees up to convert almost from touchline but he misses to remain point behind
France 9-8 Scotland HT P: Lopez (3) | T: Fife P: Laidlaw
France 9-8 Scotland HT Les Rouges back out, Scotland turn up, but there's no ref to be seen!
France 9-8 Scotland 40m Finally Owens appears & we can get on with it...
France 9-8 Scotland 44m France turnover ball; Hogg takes high ball > Ross Ford > Scots pinged for not releasing
France 9-8 Scotland 45m Scott Spedding kicks to touch for good lineout but Scotland steal ball. Kicking time...
France 9-8 Scotland 46m Mathieu Bastareaud makes a cool break > Thomas chips ahead but Russell gets there
France 9-8 Scotland 47m Bastareaud barges thru Scots defence but visitors nick loose ball > Scottish scrum
France 9-8 Scotland 48m French scrum not so clever but Russell kicks advantage away
France 9-8 Scotland 49m Fife concedes penalty throwing ball away in frustration & Lopez tees up
France 12-8 Scotland 50m Lopez clocks up his 4th penalty for the French
France 12-8 Scotland 51m Oops! Lopez takes out French physio inadvertently!
France 12-8 Scotland 51m Scottish attacking French territory but Lopez manages to clear
France 12-8 Scotland 53m Cowan spills ball rescued by France; Ref brings play back for penalty
France 12-8 Scotland 55m Meanwhile, Ben Arous, Kayser, Atonio & Parra on for Menini, Guirado, Slimani & Kockott
France 12-8 Scotland 56m Ali Strokosch on for Harley but comes back on for Cowan
France 12-8 Scotland 57m France pushing for that first try hard, but can't quite find tryline...
France 12-8 Scotland 57m Scrum goes down twice before France gets penalty, but Lopez hits post from 34m
France 12-8 Scotland 60m Cowan returns to play after concussion protocol; Scots pinged for not rolling away
France 12-8 Scotland 62m France make serious yards from penalty kick & Johnnie Beattie YC but no PT for France
France 12-8 Scotland 64m Romain Taofifenua on for Papé while France attack again; Russell steals it...
France 12-8 Scotland 65m France have to start again with attack...only 5m out but pinged for holding on
France 12-8 Scotland 66m Reid, Cross & Hamilton on for Dickenson, Murray & Richie Gray
France 12-8 Scotland 68m Scotland having to hold out French with considerable effort...not given up yet
France 12-8 Scotland 69m Dunbar shuts Lopez down but injured; Horne on & Brown for Ford
France 12-8 Scotland 71m Scotland battle French all the way back to halfway & have defended brilliantly
France 12-8 Scotland 72m After scrum, Yoann Huget intercepts magnificently & charges to 22...
France 12-8 Scotland 72m ...but inches short Huget falls to Bennett tackle & spills it!
France 12-8 Scotland 73m Bastareaud replaced by Lamerat while Scotland have possession in own half
France 12-8 Scotland 74m French desperate for a try & wrestle ball back in midfield
France 12-8 Scotland 76m French scrum but both sides knackered; France get away but spill into Russell's hand
France 12-8 Scotland 77m Russell gets away & kicks ball to touch from penalty; attacking lineout on 22
France 12-8 Scotland 78m lineout good but turnover at breakdown & France take play back over halfway
France 15-8 Scotland 79m & then the mistake...Scotland concede kickable penalty & Lopez does just that!
France 15-8 Scotland 80m As Scotland attack in dying minute, La Marseillaise booms round St Denis again
France 15-8 Scotland 80m France hold Scotland off for last minute & from breakdown thump ball into touch for win
15 Scott Spedding 14 Yoann Huget 13 Mathieu Bastareaud 12 Wesley Fofana 11 Teddy Thomas 10 Camille Lopez 9 Rory Kockott 1 Alexandre Menini 2 Guilhem Guirado 3 Rabah Slimani 4 Pascal Papé 5 Yoann Maestri 6 THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C) 7 Bernard Le Roux 8 Damien Chouly 16 Benjamin Kayser 17 Uini Atonio 18 Eddy Ben Arous 19 Romain Taofifenua 20 Loann Goujon 21 Morgan Parra 22 Remi Tales 23 Remi Lamerat
SCORERS P: Lopez (4)
15 Stuart Hogg 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Mark Bennett 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Tim Visser 10 Finn Russell 9 GREIG LAIDLAW (C) 1 Alasdair Dickinson 2 Ross Ford 3 Euan Murray 4 Richie Gray 5 Jonny Gray 6 Rob Harley 7 Blair Cowan 8 Johnnie Beattie BENCH: 16 Fraser Brown 17 Gordon Reid 18 Geoff Cross 19 Jim Hamilton 20 Alasdair Strokosch 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne* 22 Peter Horne 23 Dougie Fife
SCORERS T: Fife P: Laidlaw Beattie
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU) Asst Referees: Glen Jackson, Mike Fraser (NZRU) TMO: George Ayoub (ARU)
ENGLAND 47 - 17 ITALY
Twickenham, London - Saturday 14 February 2015
KO: 14:30 HT: 15-5 Att: 82,061
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE...
England 0-0 Italy And we have KO imminent after the short anthems & very little other useless shenanigans
England 0-0 Italy 1m Italy KO & it doesn't work well for them....
England 0-0 Italy 2m England take the game to Italy & work back up to the H/W line
England 0-5 Italy 4m Excellent setpiece work from the visitors & from H/W lineout Sergio Parisse scores in corner
England 0-5 Italy 6m Kelly Haimona misses the conversion, but the Azzurri have laid down the gauntlet
England 0-5 Italy 7m England on the attack & make it over Italian 10m but pinged at breakdown for not rolling away
England 0-5 Italy 9m Haimona clears but England end up with defensive scrum outside 22...
England 0-5 Italy 10m England hand over penalty on Italy 10m & Italy have the scrum
England 0-5 Italy 12m Billy Vunipola pinged for not rolling away & Haimona sets up lineout on England 22
England 0-5 Italy 12m Italy attack into 22 but Andrea Masi's shoulder takes out Mike Brown it's time off
England 0-5 Italy 13m Truck comes on to carry knocked out Brown off & Twelvetrees is warming up
England 0-5 Italy 13m There is caution & there's overkill - there are 12 chaps attending to Brown on pitch!
England 0-5 Italy 13m 12Trees on for Brown; Anthony Watson moves to FB
England 0-5 Italy 13m & JJ has gone onto wing. All quite bizarre since Cipriani could have come in at FB!
England 0-5 Italy 15m Brown shipped off, England clear Italy back over H/W; Italy defence is quite impressive
England 0-5 Italy 16m George Biagi intercepts & hurls Italy towards England 22 > another intercept other way
England 0-5 Italy 18m Ah - Biagi lost control & Ford kicked on and took play back under control...
England 0-5 Italy 19m Haimona pinged for not rolling away & England have penalty inside Italian 22
England 3-5 Italy 21m Fordy knocks over the penalty very easily & England finally have points on board
England 3-5 Italy 23m Ref John Lacey pings the Azzurri at breakdown just over H/W & Fordy sets up lovely 5m lineout
England 3-5 Italy 24m Billy V flies over in corner with Eduardo Gori under him & Parisse in at side > TMO
England 8-5 Italy 24m It took an age & looked like no try but TMO views show Gori force it down; try awarded
England 8-5 Italy 25m Ford misses the conversion but England are finally ahead.
England 8-5 Italy 26m It is a most bizarre match; Leonardo Sarto comes down badly from high ball... Rugby
England 13-5 Italy 27m Chris Robshaw snatches ball away > Ford > JJ > Runs round & under posts Rugby
England 15-5 Italy 28m Excellent work from JJ & Fordy adds extras; Francesco replaced by Samuela Vunisa Rugby
England 15-5 Italy 30m Finally its game on from both sides; James Haskell offside & Haimona tees up
England 15-5 Italy 32m Haimona misses by a country mile...& England attack deep into Italy's 22
England 15-5 Italy 34m England are a shoe in for a try...but Jonny May doesn't offload & trips!
England 15-5 Italy 36m England regroup & only 5m out but a knock on from Haskell & Italy have defensive 5m scrum
England 15-5 Italy 39m Penalty goes to England & home scrum is not bad at all...
England 15-5 Italy 39m Well...this is tiresome. So far the half has taken 50 minutes!
England 15-5 Italy 40m England lose it, Italy scrum they win it & kick it out. Well.
England 15-5 Italy HT T: Billy Vunipola, Joseph C: Ford P: Ford | P: Parisse
England 15-5 Italy 40m And we're back for an hopefully short second half...
England 15-5 Italy 42m England charge into Italy's half but visitors win penalty...
England 15-5 Italy 44m Azzurri clear them back but England still in Italian half
England 18-5 Italy 46m Penalty to England & Ford knocks over 3 more points...
England 18-5 Italy 48m Not yet quite the Valentine's Day Massacre @ChrisJones51 hoped for tho! ;-)
England 18-5 Italy 49m Mike Brown update - he's up & about & talking in the changing room
England 18-10 Italy 50m Sarto chip ahead> excellent offloads> Morisi evades Attwood, Haskell, Watson to score
England 18-10 Italy 52m No conversion & Nick Easter comes on for Attwood
England 18-10 Italy 53m Cheer goes up for Brown appearing in his long coat on touchline; England 5m scrum
England 23-10 Italy 55m Penalty England, Ben Youngs takes quick tap & scores
England 25-10 Italy 56m Ford pops over the conversion & the score looks a tad healthier for England
England 25-10 Italy 57m Ah bugger - Josh Furno replaced Marco Bortolami 10m ago
England 28-10 Italy 58m Meanwhile, Masi spills ball, Ford adds 3 more, & changes happening...
England 28-10 Italy 58m Tom Youngs for Hartley, Kieran Brooks for Cole
England 28-10 Italy 58m Chistolini, Vunisa, Manici & Aguero for Castro, Bergamasco, Ghiraldini & de Marchi
England 33-10 Italy 60m Meanwhile, Ford > JJ > shockingly good run & try no 2
England 35-10 Italy 62m Fordy knocks over a conversion & Mako V & Cipriani on for Marler & Ford
England 40-10 Italy 64m Second touch from Cips & he's scored! Here comes the massacre...
England 42-10 Italy 66m Cips converted his try, Croft's replaced hiccough Haskell & Wigglesworth for B Youngs
England 42-10 Italy 68m Another massive attack from England, but doesn't quite go to plan...
England 47-10 Italy 69m Regroup...heave...the pack does it's job & Nick Easter scores!
England 47-10 Italy 70m No conversion from Cipriani tho...restart...
England 47-10 Italy 72m Italy lineout outside England 22...Guglielmo Palazzani & Tommaso Allan for Gori & Haimona RBS6Nations
England 47-10 Italy 74m Kick gives England a hugely defensive lineout 5m from own tryline; only clear few metres
England 47-10 Italy 75m Italy scrum inside England 22...retain possession but being forced backwards
England 47-10 Italy 76m Italy almost makes it to tryline but massive tackle from JJ on Morisi & Biagi knock on 2m out
England 47-10 Italy 78m However, 2 minutes later & England still struggling to defend in own 22...
England 47-15 Italy 78m Italy attack again...breakdown flick pass back from Masi to Morisi who scores in corner
England 47-17 Italy 79m TMO confirms the try was good & Allan converts
England 47-17 Italy 80m England head to tryline again but time is up & it's game over
15 Mike Brown 14 Anthony Watson 13 Jonathan Joseph 12 Luther Burrell 11 Jonny May 10 George Ford 9 Ben Youngs 1 Joe Marler 2 Dylan Hartley 3 Dan Cole 4 Dave Attwood 5 George Kruis 6 James Haskell 7 Chris Robshaw (C) 8 Billy Vunipola BENCH: 16 Tom Youngs 17 Mako Vunipola 18 Kieran Brookes 19 Tom Croft 20 Nick Easter 21 Richard Wigglesworth 22 Danny Cipriani 23 Billy Twelvetrees
SCORERS T: Billy Vunipola, Joseph (2), Ben Youngs, Cipriani, Easter C: Ford (3), Cipriani P: Ford (3)
15 Luke McLean 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Luca Morisi 12 Andrea Masi 11 Giovambattista Venditti 10 Kelly Haimona 9 Edoardo Gori 1 Alberto De Marchi 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini 3 Martin Castrogiovanni 4 George Fabio Biagi 5 Marco Bortolami 6 Francesco Minto 7 Mauro Bergamasco 8 SERGIO PARISSE (C) BENCH: 16 Andrea Manici 17 Matias Aguero 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Joshua Furno 20 Samuela Vunisa 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Tommaso Allan 23 Giulio Bisegni*
SCORERS T: Parisse, Morisi (2) C: Allan
Referee: John Lacey Asst Referees: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR), Mike Fraser (NZRU) TMO: George Ayoub (ARU)
IRELAND 18 - 11 FRANCE
Aviva Stadium, Dublin - Saturday 14 February 2015
KO: 17:00 HT: 12-6 Att: tbc
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE...
Ireland v France We’re live from a bright Aviva, perfect rugby conditions
Ireland 0-0 France 2mins France both teams finding their feet and testing each other
Ireland 0-0 France 5m First line out of the match to Ireland fumbled, but scrum to Ireland
Ireland 0-0 France 8m Ireland penalised for collapsing the scrum
Ireland 0-0 France 8m Sexton chip out to put the play back into the French half
Ireland 0-0 France 10m French scrum on the half, Ireland get a penalty from it
Ireland 0-0 France 11m Sexton kick to the wing slightly too high for Bowe, missed opportunity for a try
Ireland 3-0 France 11m Sexton gets his chance to put 3 point on the board, perfect kick
Ireland 3-3 France 16m France even the score with a Penalty for Lopez
Ireland 6-3 France 18m Ireland not letting the French settle penalty to Sexton
Ireland 6-3 France 21 Ireland on the attack but penalised and the French kick to safely
Ireland 6-3 France 23m Ireland back on the attack line out on the 22 taken well but the defence is too strong
Ireland 6-3 France 26m Zebo almost put into touch but keeps the play live, France get possession and line out
Ireland 6-3 France 29m Ireland not having to defend with play deep in their half, France lineout, penalty to Ireland
Ireland 9-3 France 31m Sexton steps up for an attempt on goal, a long kick but he makes it
Ireland 9-3 France 34m Slow movement from France but consistent pushing get them a penalty
Ireland 9-6 France 36m Lopez scores
Ireland 9-6 France 37m Lineout for Ireland, play is back in the French half, there’s no way through, but penalty won
Ireland 12-6 France 38m Sexton doesn’t disappoint
Ireland 12-6 France HT P: Sexton (4) | P: Lopez (2)
Ireland 12-6 France 42m Sexton kicks to take play to the 5m but it’s not enough
Ireland 12-6 France 43m Sexton and Bastareaud clash, both are off for assessment
Ireland 12-6 France 44m Madigan and Tales on
Ireland 12-6 France 47m Ireland scrum, second collapse
Ireland 12-6 France 48m Ireland have advantage and get a penalty
Ireland 15- 6 France 50m Madigan take 3 points
Ireland 15-6 France 52m Murray clears the ball, France lineout
Ireland 15-6 France 52m Heaslip down after what looks like getting a knee to the back by Papé
Ireland 15-6 France 53m Papé gets a yellow card for leading with the knee
Ireland 15-6 France 54m Sexton returns to the pitch
Ireland 15-6 France 56m Payne knocks on, scrum to France in front of their posts
Ireland 15-6 France 57m yet another collapse allows France to clear
Ireland 15-6 France 60m France have forward momentum, Best given a yellow card for tripping
Ireland 15-6 France 61m Lopez misses the pen
Ireland 15-6 France 63m France are taking advantage and push to the line, but cleared by Ireland
Ireland 15-6 France 65m Ireland scrum and yet another collapse as both teams are told to buck up
Ireland 15-6 France 66m Ireland are given the penalty and lineout
Ireland 18-6 France 67m Offside for France and Sexton gets 3 points
Ireland 18-11 France 70m France pushing through the defence and Taofifenua easily gets over the line
Ireland 18-11 France 71m Conversion missed
Ireland 18-11 France 74m France scrum, Ireland penalised for not driving straight
Ireland 18-11 France 75m France lineout and they again run with momentum but Ireland get a lineout
Ireland 18-11 France 76m Ireland clear but right into French arms the attack is back on
Ireland 18-11 France 78m France scrum and finally a clean one, France retain possession and put pressure on
Ireland 18-11 France 80m France have one last opportunity if they can retain possession, ball is in touch
15 Rob Kearney 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Jared Payne 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Simon Zebo 10 Johnny Sexton 9 Conor Murray 1 Jack McGrath 2 Rory Best 3 Mike Ross 4 Devin Toner 5 PAUL O'CONNELL (C) 6 Peter O'Mahony 7 Sean O'Brien 8 Jamie Heaslip BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 Cian Healy 18 Martin Moore 19 Iain Henderson 20 Jordi Murphy 21 Isaac Boss 22 Ian Madigan 23 Felix Jones
SCORERS P: Sexton (5), Madigan Best
15 Scott Spedding 14 Yoann Huget 13 Mathieu Bastareaud 12 Wesley Fofana 11 Teddy Thomas 10 Camille Lopez 9 Rory Kockott 1 Eddy Ben Arous 2 Guilhem Guirado 3 Rabah Slimani 4 Pascal Papé 5 Yoann Maestri 6 THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C) 7 Bernard Le Roux 8 Damien Chouly 16 Benjamin Kayser 17 Uini Atonio 18 Vincent Debaty 19 Romain Taofifenua 20 Loann Goujon 21 Morgan Parra 22 Remi Tales 23 Remi Lamerat
SCORERS T: Taofifenua P: Lopez (2) Papé
Referee: Wayne Barnes Asst Referees: Nigel Owens (WRU), Stuart Berry (SARU) TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
SCOTLAND 23 - 26 WALES
Murrayfield, Edinburgh - Sunday 15 February 2015
KO: 15:00 HT: 10-16 Att: tbc
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
A VERY interesting encounter was in prospect at BT Murrayfield, with Scotland full of confidence after playing arguably the better rugby in a narrow loss to France in Paris the previous week. Wales came into this game on the back foot, after their unexpected loss to England in Cardiff and with their set piece play worryingly inconsistent.
On a beautiful Edinburgh afternoon, Wales started well and were ahead on the scoreboard within four minutes courtesy of a Leigh Halfpenny penalty kick. In spite of their line out almost immediately misfiring, Wales had the best of the opening exchanges, with breaks by Liam Williams and Halfpenny giving them good attacking ball, until a loose pass gave Scotland simple try scoring opportunity that allowed Stuart Hogg to race almost the length of the pitch unopposed to score under the posts. The conversion was duly knocked over by Laidlaw and Scotland were leading 7-3 against the run of play.
An exchange of penalties took the score to 10-6, but Wales started putting pressure on again and looked the more likely to score. On the half hour, Finn Russell was rightly shown the yellow card for taking Dan Biggar out in midair. Halfpenny took the resulting penalty with ease, and within two minutes, Wales capitalised on having the extra man by stretching Scotland out wide and sending Rhys Williams over for a try which Halfpenny duly converted.
The game was soon 14 men aside though, as Jonathan Davies was also shown yellow for a similar offence against Sean Lamont and Scotland spent the final few minutes of the half camped on the Welsh line. Halfpenny had to make a try-saving tackle on Greg Laidlaw, and the Welsh defence held on by the skin of their teeth as Scotland were only inches from the tryline – Wales went in 16-10 up at the break.
The second half was an equally engaging contest. There was another exchange of penalties in the first few minutes, but Scotland were enjoying obvious superiority at the scrum. The homeside started to make use of their experienced bench players from 50 minutes, bringing on fresh legs, and good Scottish pressure gave Laidlaw a long range penalty opportunity that he struck perfectly.
Yet Wales responded with a period of intense pressure, attacking from across the field. Liam Williams made a great break down the wing, stopped illegally by the Scots. Wales kicked to touch, and Williams went over for a try in the corner from the lineout, but the replays showed the Welsh locks had clearly obstructed the Scottish defence and the try was disallowed. Yet Scotland missed their touch with the penalty kick and Wales attacked again.
Wales kept the pressure on and eventually the Scottish defence was breached as Jonathan Davies went over for a try under the posts. It seemed as if Wales would press on and take further advantage, but the Scots fought back. A clean break by Mark Bennett almost sent Tim Visser over for a try but he was stopped just a few centimetres short. The Welsh defence was penalised and Laidlaw chose to tap and go twice in a row rather than take the points. Wales again held on with some immense defensive work and eventually won the ball and cleared their lines.
When Scotland missed touch again with a penalty kick, it seemed as if they may have lost their last opportunity to score, but Stuart Hogg made another excellent break and tried to put Hidalgo-Clyne clear. Hidalgo-Clyne was unable to take the pass, but Bennett picked up the spilled ball and went over the try line. However, after consultation, the referee wrongly ruled that the ball had gone forward off Hidalgo-Clyne and the try was disallowed.
At the death, Scotland tapped a penalty and gave it everything to send Jon Welsh over for a try. Tempers flared and precious seconds were wasted as the referee tried to stop the fracas. Finn Russell then took an age to line up the conversion which he kicked successfully. But the referee asked the 4th official for a time check and blew the whistle to end the game as the clock ticked into the red to the relief of Wales, the fury of the Scots and the bemusement of the crowd.
Both teams made poor decisions in this game, not taking kicks at goal at crucial moments. Scotland gave away 14 penalties, and also unforgivably failed to capitalise twice when missing touch with crucial penalty kicks. Wales, though they had a slight edge on possession and territory, conceded 17 penalties, more turnovers, lost more lineouts, rucks and mauls, and missed more tackles than the opposition. Both teams also had a try disallowed in this game but whilst the Wales locks clearly obstructed the Scotland defence when Liam Williams crossed the tryline, Scotland’s was not given for a more than questionable knock on by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne.
The issue of time at the end of the game has happened before in the RBS 6 Nations, and it is imperative that here must be a consistent ruling on this point before the RWC later this year. Scotland can feel aggrieved that the game did not restart; however, sympathy is tempered by the fact that they should not have got involved in the pointless (and time-consuming) fisticuffs post try, and also took far too long over the conversion.
Overall, Wales were the more clinical side and took more points from their scoring opportunities. Whilst both teams went down to 14 men for 10 minutes, Wales made their man advantage count scoring 10 points during the period of Russell’s yellow card.
Wales Man Of The Match, Alun Wyn Jones looked exhausted and relieved when interviewed post match, where he acknowledged that Wales were unconvincing and did not close out the game as they would have liked. Scotland captain Greg Laidlaw said immediately after the game that Rome was not built in a day, and that this Scotland team is on a journey with Vern Cotter.
But Scotland coach Vern Cotter had to bite his lip at the opportunities lost no thanks to the referee:
“There are a lot of things we don’t have control of. I don’t want to lose a lot of energy talking about it because it isn’t going to change the result.”
No doubt World Rugby can expect a full and frank report from Scottish Rugby on the refereeing of this game.
15 Stuart Hogg 14 Sean Lamont 13 Mark Bennett 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Tim Visser 10 Finn Russell 9 GREIG LAIDLAW (C) 1 Alasdair Dickinson 2 Ross Ford 3 Geoff Cross 4 Richie Gray 5 Jonny Gray 6 Rob Harley 7 Blair Cowan 8 Johnnie Beattie BENCH: 16 Fraser Brown 17 Gordon Reid 18 Jon Welsh 19 Jim Hamilton 20 Alasdair Strokosch 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Greig Tonks 23 Matt Scott
SCORER T: Hogg, Welsh C: Laidlaw, Russell P: Laidlaw (3) Russell
15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Liam Williams 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 1 Gethin Jenkins 2 Richard Hibbard 3 Aaron Jarvis 4 Jake Ball 5 Alun Wyn Jones 6 Dan Lydiate 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 8 Taulupe Faletau BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Scott Andrews 19 Luke Charteris 20 Justin Tipuric 21 Mike Phillips 22 Rhys Priestland 23 Scott Williams
SCORERS T: Webb, Davies C: Halfpenny (2) P: Halfpenny (4) Davies
Referee: Glen Jackson Asst Referees: George Clancy, Dudley Phillips (IRFU) TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
SCOTLAND 19 - 22 ITALY
Murrayfield, Edinburgh - Saturday 28 February 2015
KO: 14:30 HT: 16-15 Att: 62,188
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
Scotland v Italy A subdued Italian anthem is followed by a belting Flower of Scotland at Murrayfield...
Scotland v Italy It's the closest match of the weekend...as pitch clears of paraphernalia, the crowd is ready, and there are a lot of Italians in Edinburgh this afternoon
Scotland 0-0 Italy 0m Scots KO in red today, with George Clancy with the whistle
Scotland 0-0 Italy 1m First ruck of the game & Italy are pinged immediately; captain Greig Laidlaw tees up
Scotland 3-0 Italy 2m Laidlaw opens Scottish a/c while visiting fans chant 'Italia'
Scotland 3-0 Italy 3m Italy venture into Scottish territory but not for long as homeside into opposition 22
Scotland 3-0 Italy 4m Italian L/O goes long & they end up with defensive scrum inside their own 22
Scotland 3-0 Italy 5m Italian Clancy clamping down on the scrum, insisting on perfect engagement...
Scotland 3-0 Italy 5m Free kick to Italy but Sergio Parisse can't get away so back for clear...
Scotland 3-0 Italy 6m Somehow Scotland come away with ball and the aerial kicking game has begun already...
Scotland 3-0 Italy 7m Ball back in Italian hands and they run it out of own half u to Scottish 10m...but...
Scotland 8-0 Italy 8m Kelly Haimona makes poor pass intercepted by Mark Bennett who runs gauntlet to score
Scotland 10-0 Italy 9m From score under posts, Laidlaw has simple conversion to stamp Scotland's mark on game
Scotland 10-5 Italy 10m An excellent restart for Italy; from L/O a huge forwards drive results in a team try
Scotland 10-5 Italy 12m Haimona's conversion doesn't have the accuracy; he will rue that later
Scotland 10-5 Italy 13m Good work at restart, but Josh Furno allows ball to be pinched at B/D from Tim Swinson
Scotland 10-5 Italy 14m Kick sets up L/O deep on Italian side, but visitors come away with it from overthrow
Scotland 10-5 Italy 15m Poor work from Scotland & Haimona clears the lines for Italy...
Scotland 13-5 Italy 16m Scottish L/O way back on H/W & Italy concede vital penalty which Laidlaw knocks over
Scotland 13-5 Italy 17m But Scots hand over penalty immediately, & Haimona tees up outside 10m dead centre...
Scotland 13-8 Italy 18m Haimona hits his mark & Italy are catching up quickly at every score
Scotland 13-8 Italy 19m Peter Horne thoroughly earning his starting call up making serious yards...
Scotland 13-8 Italy 21m Scots hand over penalty & Italian L/O is good...making headway into Scottish territory
Scotland 13-8 Italy 22m A classic Parisse offload is unread by Leonardo Ghiraldini & Scots end up with scrum
Scotland 13-8 Italy 26m Clancy resets scrum has words, repeats...takes an age before settles...
Scotland 16-8 Italy 27m Italy offside after Scots win scrum, & Laidlaw punishes with 3 more points...
Scotland 16-8 Italy 29m Scotland making hard work of gaining ground with Italians battling defensively
Scotland 16-8 Italy 31m Phase upon phase from Scotland before a time out; a few tackles going in armless tho
Scotland 16-8 Italy 32m Scottish attacking scrum, but pinged for early engagement & Haimona clears well
Scotland 16-8 Italy 33m Much improved Italian L/O but the catch & drive doesn't work this time on Scottish 22
Scotland 16-8 Italy 34m But Italy firmly in possession til Blair Cowan wrestles it tho Biagi reciprocates
Scotland 16-8 Italy 36m Another scrum results in opposition penalty & Haimona tees up 35m out wide of centre
Scotland 16-8 Italy 37m The ball curls back in but not over...but blue shirts there en mass under posts...
Scotland 16-8 Italy 37m Venditti collects ball rebounding off post & heaves into post...TMO to check
Scotland 16-15 Italy 37m Many a replay later, its game on with Venditti awarded try, & Haimona converts
Scotland 16-15 Italy 39m Scotland attack from restart but pinged for not releasing so Haimona attempts clear
Scotland 16-15 Italy 40m ...from own half into Scottish 22 but just short & Scotland in possession...
Scotland 16-15 Italy 40+1m Scotland half-heartedly go ahead, Italy come in from side & ball to touch for HT
Scotland 16-15 Italy HT T: Bennett C: Laidlaw P: Laidlaw (3) | T: Furno, Venditti C: Haimona P: Haimona
Scotland 16-15 Italy HT This couldn't really be much closer if they tried! Not an uninteresting match…
Scotland 16-15 Italy 41m Both sides making errors; soon it's Italy pen for Stuart Hogg to kick deep.
Scotland 16-15 Italy 43m Scotland make hard work of it with a loose pass & it's Italy's ball
Scotland 16-15 Italy 45m Tommaso Allan has to replace Haimona who limps off field
Scotland 16-15 Italy 46m Italy forwards discipline to be commended, but it's Scotland's scrum...
Scotland 16-15 Italy 48m Scottish L/O is good but defence is good halting play in midfield
Scotland 16-15 Italy 50m Not much Scottish yardage made before it's Italy's scrum just inside own half...
Scotland 16-15 Italy 51m More errors on both sides & Eduardo Gori comes up with ball
Scotland 16-15 Italy 52m Just outside own 22, Scotland wheel Italy scrum to gift excellent kickable penalty
Scotland 16-15 Italy 53m But Allan's accuracy is historically dubious, and 3 points & the lead go begging
Scotland 16-15 Italy 55m More clever work from Italy as they strip Tommy Seymour of ball...
Scotland 16-15 Italy 56m Italy have defensive scrum just inside on 10m but penalty goes to Scotland
Scotland 16-15 Italy 58m Scotland L/O on Italy's 22 & retain ball but again aren't getting very far before stolen
Scotland 16-15 Italy 59m Hamish Watson debuts for Johnnie Beattie & de Marchi/Cittadini for Aguero/Chistolini
Scotland 16-15 Italy 60m Scotland attack ferociously & Sean Lamont cuts deep into Italy 22...
Scotland 16-15 Italy 61m ...but offload to Hogg is clearly forward as he puts ball down in corner
Scotland 16-15 Italy 62m Italy's front row not quite as strong defensively, but they do come away with ball
Scotland 16-15 Italy 63m Lines cleared but not far; Scots L/O just outside Italy's 22 but injury time off
Scotland 16-15 Italy 64m L/O is held but again, they've not got far at all dancing around the 22m line
Scotland 16-15 Italy 66m Recycle after recycle for Scotland on edge of 22, finally have advantage...
Scotland 19-15 Italy 67m 20 phases in & finally Clancy goes back for penalty; easy pop over posts for Laidlaw
Scotland 19-15 Italy 69m Still just a score in it as Vunisa for Favaro & Grant/Scott on for Bennett/Dickinson
Scotland 19-15 Italy 70m Toolis debuts for Swinson, Brown for Ford| Manici/Fuser for Ghiraldini/Biagi
Scotland 19-15 Italy 72m Italy heap the pressure at Scots 10m & win the penalty for Allan to kick to corner
Scotland 19-15 Italy 74m 5m scrum for Italy after they heave over the whitewash but held up...
Scotland 19-15 Italy 75m Scrum is reset after Parisse controls ball well but only make a metre or so...
Scotland 19-15 Italy 75m But 1st Geoff Cross for Euan Murray, Hidalgo-Clyne for Laidlaw; Bisegni for Venditti
Scotland 19-15 Italy 76m Penalty to Italy from scrum; still just 5m in it; another scrum...
Scotland 19-15 Italy 76m No nonsense from Clancy as he resets again...Italy need 5 for the win...
Scotland 19-15 Italy 77m Penalty whistle goes again but this time for Scotland & it's handbags on touchline
Scotland 19-15 Italy 78m All sorted & play resumes but Scottish clear doesn't find touch & McLean does at 22
Scotland 19-15 Italy 79m Italy L/O is good, debutant Toolis collapses maul & is YC'd; Italy's last chance...
Scotland 19-15 Italy 80m Clancy shouts Scotland off ball 1m for own T/L > Italy go again & they heave over!
Scotland 19-20 Italy 80m Clancy runs to posts to indicate penalty try, Hamish Watson YC'd & phew...Italy try!
Scotland 19-22 Italy 80+1m Allan converts & Italy bag the win again... Well that was furious! Luke McLean MoM
15 Stuart Hogg 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Mark Bennett 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Sean Lamont 10 Peter Horne 9 GREIG LAIDLAW (C) 1 Alasdair Dickinson 2 Ross Ford 3 Euan Murray 4 Tim Swinson 5 Jonny Gray 6 Rob Harley 7 Blair Cowan 8 Johnnie Beattie BENCH: 16 Fraser Brown 17 Ryan Grant 18 Geoff Cross 19 Ben Toolis* 20 Hamish Watson* 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Greig Tonks 23 Matt Scott
SCORERS T: Bennett C: Laidlaw P: Laidlaw (4) Toolis, Watson
15 Luke McLean 14 Michele Visentin* 13 Luca Morisi 12 Enrico Bacchin* 11 Giovambattista Venditti 10 Kelly Haimona 9 Edoardo Gori 1 Matias Aguero 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini 3 Dario Chistolini 4 George Fabio Biagi 5 Joshua Furno 6 Francesco Minto 7 Simone Favaro 8 SERGIO PARISSE (C) BENCH: 16 Andrea Manici 17 Alberto De Marchi 18 Lorenzo Cittadini 19 Marco Fuser 20 Samuela Vunisa 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Tommaso Allan 23 Giulio Bisegni
SCORERS T: Furno. Venditti, PT C: Haimona, Allan P: Haimona
Man of the Match: Luke McLean
Referee: George Clancy (IRFU) Asst Referees: Romain Poite (FFR), Leighton Hodges (WRU) TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
FRANCE 13 - 20 WALES
Stade de France, Paris - Saturday 28 February 2015
KO: 18:00 HT: 3-6 Att: 78,814
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
THIS was a crucial match for both sides from the perspective of their 6 Nations Championship ambitions. With both teams recording one win and one loss before today, a victory in this game would mean they were still in the hunt for the title, whilst defeat made it all but certain that they would be out of this year’s reckoning.
La Marseillaise rang out around the Stade de France before the game, as the French crowd sought to boost the confidence of the home team. But it was Wales who scored first, after initial forays by both sides, when France were penalised for blocking in the midfield. Wales kicked on and played patiently through the phases until awarded a kickable penalty that was duly dispatched by Leigh Halfpenny to give Wales the lead five minutes in. This set the tone for the match, with unnecessary errors costing France at key moments.
With ten minutes played, French fly half Camille Lopez launched the first of a number of high crossfield kicks to winger Yoann Huget. Huget tried to knock the ball back into play for Brice Dulin, but the bounce of the ball meant that Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny had the opportunity to scoop the ball up and run the length of the pitch – however, he knocked on to French relief, and France were then awarded a penalty that Lopez kicked cleanly to draw France level, 3-3.
France’s selection tactics were disrupted when Lamerat had to leave the field injured after 17 minutes, and Bastereaud came on to replace him. France almost immediately put pressure on Wales and forced them to concede a penalty but Lopez missed a relatively straightforward chance.
Wales really found their form at the set piece against the French, with both scrum and line out having been a concern in this season’s previous 6 Nations encounters against England and Scotland. Indeed, both teams provided a great contest in the scrum all evening, in spite of a poor pitch surface that cut up badly. It was a penalty awarded to Wales from a scrum that gave Halfpenny the opportunity to take Wales into the lead again and he did not miss.
Wales maintained their superiority in terms of possession and territory as the half drew to a close, and France continued to kick ball rather than play it through the hands, but Wales conceded a penalty just before half time. Again though, Lopez looked uncomfortable and missed the kick so Wales took a slender 6-3 lead into the dressing room.
France started the second half at a higher tempo, and almost immediately forced a penalty. Parra stepped up to take on the place kicking duty, but he also missed his kick. France piled on the pressure and a great attacking move by centres Sofiane Guitoune and Wesley Fofana sent Bastereaud over the try line. But play was called back and the try disallowed for blocking in the midfield, and the resulting penalty allowed Wales to clear their line. Just a few minutes later though, Wales were penalised again and Lopez finally put the ball through the posts to level the score.
On 50 minutes France took the decision to change their entire front row, as they had against Ireland. They also had to bring on Sebastien Tillous-Borde for the injured Parra at scrum half. Wales took immediate advantage on the scoreboard as Halfpenny slotted another penalty kick. A poor French kick off then did not travel the required 10 metres, and gave possession to Wales via a scrum on the centre line. France looked dispirited and the Paris crowd were quietened. This was reinforced when Rhys Webb broke through for Wales and a great offload by Dan Lydiate put Dan Biggar in for a try in the corner. Halfpenny missed the conversion, but Wales were very much on top and Halfpenny duly added another 3 points a few minutes later taking the score to 6-17.
Suddenly, the French decided to play the ball through the hands and some deft passing and offloading stretched the obdurate Welsh defence both ways across the pitch until Brice Dulin went over for a French try, which Lopez converted. A glimpse of the mercurial France of old – perhaps this was the return to form? Yet, frustratingly, it was too little too late from France. Whilst they kept the pressure on during the last ten minutes, they never looked like breaking through the Welsh defence in the same way. Wales stayed strong and patient, and managed to maintain control of the game.
Even with key players Sam Warburton and Dan Biggar having to leave the pitch with injuries, Wales were able to snuff out the final French attack, and when referee Peyper blew his whistle for a French infringement at the final scrum, Wales had their fourth straight win against the French, whilst the boos and whistles of the crowd followed the French as they trudged off the pitch.
Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland was pleased with his side’s performance, saying “I thought our composure and experience got us over the line.” He also believes Wales are still in the hunt for the 6 Nations title - “We have a massive game against Ireland, and hopefully we will still be in contention at the end” he said.
France Head Coach Philippe Saint-Andre was very disappointed with his team, but acknowledged that they had not played well enough. “Top level rugby is unforgiving, and at the moment we are lacking too much to win those games” he said ruefully.
15 Brice Dulin 14 Yoann Huget 13 Remi Lamerat 12 Wesley Fofana 11 Sofiane Guitoune 10 Camille Lopez 9 Morgan Parra 1 Eddy Ben Arous 2 Guilhem Guirado 3 Rabah Slimani 4 Romain Taofifenua 5 Yoann Maestri 6 THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C) 7 Bernard Le Roux 8 Damien Chouly BENCH: 16 Benjamin Kayser 17 Uini Atonio 18 Vincent Debaty 19 Jocelino Suta 20 Loann Goujon 21 Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22 Remi Tales 23 Mathieu Bastareaud
SCORERS T: Biggar P: Halfpenny (5)
15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 George North 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Liam Williams 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 1 Gethin Jenkins 2 Scott Baldwin 3 Samson Lee 4 Luke Charteris 5 Alun Wyn Jones 6 Dan Lydiate 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 8 Taulupe Faletau BENCH: 16 Richard Hibbard 17 Paul James 18 Aaron Jarvis 19 Bradley Davies 20 Justin Tipuric 21 Mike Phillips 22 Rhys Priestland 23 Scott Williams
SCORERS T: Dulin C: Lopez P: Lopez (2)
Man of the Match: Morgan Parra
Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU) Asst Referees: JP Doyle (RFU), Marius Mitrea (FIR) TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
IRELAND 19 - 9 ENGLAND
Aviva Stadium, Dublin - Sunday 01 March 2015
KO: 15:00 HT: 9-3 Att: 51,200
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
T-60mins We’re live at the Aviva, where the hail has turned to sleet and it’s not looking like it’ll clear for kick off
I take it back; conditions at the Aviva are cold but clear now....20 mins to go!
Ireland 0-0 England 0m and we have kick off, first balls all taken cleanly
Ireland 3-0 England 2m First penalty to Ireland Sexton steps up and score
Ireland 3-0 England 3m First lineout to Ireland and they are on the attack
Ireland 3-0 England 5m Ireland scrum on the 5m
Ireland 3-0 England 5m Huge push from Ireland but England hold them off, another 5m scrum
Ireland 6-0 England 8m Penalty to Ireland easy range for Sexton
Ireland 6-0 England 10m England with their first attacking opportunity in the Ireland half, lineout clean
Ireland 6-3 England 10m Ford with a drop goal, England are on the scoreboard
Ireland 6-3 England 13m Scrum given to Ireland
Ireland 6-3 England 15m Ireland give the scrum away stepping in
Ireland 6-3 England 16m Ireland penalised, Ford steps up for the kick close to the halfway line, wide
Ireland 6-3 England 19m Another scrum to Ireland, on the halfway
Ireland 6-3 England 21m Ford kicks play to the Irish 25m, Ireland deemed to have collapsed a maul
Ireland 6-3 England 25m As O’Brien is replaced by O’Donnell, Sexton kicks play to England half
Ireland 6-3 England 27m England lineout taken well into a strong maul, Ireland given a penalty
Ireland 9-3 England 29m Another simple kick for Sexton
Ireland 9-3 England 31m Irish lineout into a mid field maul Ireland gaining ground
Ireland 9-3 England 34m Penalty to Ireland, Sexton steps up but misses
Ireland 9-3 England 35m Play back on the England 25 with an Irish lineout
Ireland 9-3 England 37m Some very nice Irish passing let down and England take possession and kick to other half
Ireland 9-3 England HT P: Sexton (3) | DG: Ford
Ireland 9-3 England 40m And we’re back on, bit of a kicking match to start with
Ireland 9-3 England 42m Fumble from England gives Ireland chance to kick; fantastic collect by Goode keeping the ball live
Ireland 9-3 England 46m England give away another pen
Ireland 12-3 England 47m Sexton adds another 3 points
Ireland 12-3 England 49m Ireland scrum and are Ireland dominant
Ireland 12-3 England 51m play 10m out from the line, Ireland pushing hard
Ireland 12-3 England 52m TMO called to see if we have the first try for Ireland
Ireland 19-3 England 53m Try for Henshaw and converted by Sexton
Ireland 19-3 England 54m Two replacements, Youngs for Hartley and Madigan for Sexton
Ireland 19-6 England 58m Penalty to England, Ford scores
Ireland 19-6 England 61m lineout for Ireland after England give possession again
Ireland 19-3 England 62m Ireland on the attack but so far kept behind the 25
Ireland 19-6 England 63m Ireland break into the 25 but not for long
Ireland 19-6 England 64m England back in attack following lineout
Ireland 19-6 England 66m Ireland pushing back with strong defence
Ireland 19-9 England 67m penalty to England taken by Ford
Ireland 19-9 England 70m England lineout taken well, they are on the attack
Ireland 19-9 England 71m The crowd get behind the Ireland defence
Ireland 19-9 England 72m Ireland scrum on their 5m
Ireland 19-9 England 73m Knock on from England gives a scrum on the halfway
Ireland 19-9 England 75m England in possession but poor pass to Nowell and they lose it
Ireland 19-9 England 78m England take play to the Ireland 25
Ireland 19-9 England 79m England go for the try, but it was a forward pass
Ireland 19-9 England 80m As the whistle blows the crowd erupts
15 Rob Kearney 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Jared Payne 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Simon Zebo 10 Johnny Sexton 9 Conor Murray 1 Jack McGrath 2 Rory Best 3 Mike Ross 4 Devin Toner 5 PAUL O'CONNELL (C) 6 Peter O'Mahony 7 Sean O'Brien 8 Jordi Murphy BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 Cian Healy 18 Martin Moore 19 Iain Henderson 20 Tommy O'Donnell 21 Eoin Reddan 22 Ian Madigan 23 Felix Jones
SCORERS T: Henshaw C: Sexton P: Sexton (4)
15 Alex Goode 14 Anthony Watson 13 Jonathan Joseph 12 Luther Burrell 11 Jack Nowell 10 George Ford 9 Ben Youngs 1 Joe Marler 2 Dylan Hartley 3 Dan Cole 4 Dave Attwood 5 George Kruis 6 James Haskell 7 CHRIS ROBSHAW (C) 8 Billy Vunipola BENCH: 16 Tom Youngs 17 Mako Vunipola 18 Henry Thomas 19 Nick Easter 20 Tom Croft 21 Richard Wigglesworth 22 Danny Cipriani 23 Billy Twelvetrees
SCORERS P: Ford (2) DG: Ford
Man of the Match: Robbie Henshaw
Referee: Craig Joubert Asst Referees: Jérôme Garcès (FFR), Mathieu Raynal (FFR) TMO: Deon von Blommestein (SARU)
WALES 23 - 16 IRELAND
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Saturday 14 March 2015
KO: 14:30 HT: 15-9 Att: 73,950
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
WHAT a game! This was a classic 6 Nations encounter that encompassed attritional attacking play, heroic defence, yellow cards, a noisy and partisan crowd, the ebb and flow of dominance - and it went right down to the wire.
It felt like win or bust for Ireland, as they went into the match as the only team still with Grand Slam ambitions in this year’s RBS 6 Nations Championship. Wales were desperate to overturn their poor record against Ireland in Cardiff – just two wins since 1983 – and to bounce back into contention as Championship winners.
Ireland made just one change to their starting line up, with Jamie Heaslip returning to the side after injury and Jordi Murphy dropping to the bench place of Tommy O’Donnell. The towering Paul O’Connell captained the side, winning his 100th cap, and with Johnny Sexton winning his 50th these two players ran out onto the pitch ahead of their teammates to enthusiastic applause from the Cardiff crowd.
Wales named an unchanged starting XV from their victory in Paris two weeks ago, and maintained a settled squad with just two injury replacements on the bench; Rob Evans coming in for Paul James and Jake Ball replacing Bradley Davies. Sam Warburton captained his side for a record 34th time, breaking Ryan Jones’s previous record, whilst Gethin Jenkins earned his 114th cap in the front row.
Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland said before this game “Ireland are the form team in Europe and we know it is going to be a huge battle.” He was not wrong.
Ireland have started their matches well during this year’s tournament, but they would have been scratching their heads after fifteen minutes. Wales came out, stadium roof open and all guns blazing, to put Ireland under pressure and were clinical in converting early opportunities into points - so much so that Ireland were 12-0 down and had barely touched the ball courtesy of four penalties from the ever-reliable boot of Wales fullback, Leigh Halfpenny.
A break in play for Welsh prop Samson Lee to be stretchered off with a suspected ruptured Achilles tendon gave Ireland time to regroup, and they almost immediately hit back by winning a penalty. But a strangely off-form Johnny Sexton missed this first attempt at the posts; however, when Scott Baldwin was penalised for a high tackle two minutes later, Sexton finally put points on the board for Ireland and the Irish started edging their way back into the game.
Just before the half hour, Warburton was show a yellow card for offside by referee Wayne Barnes, and Sexton kicked the resulting penalty. Ireland then showed their intent for the remainder of the game, attacking with ball in hand but it went forward and Wales were awarded a penalty from the scrum that followed. Wales then drove at the Irish, setting up Dan Biggar for a successful long range drop goal. Ireland attacked again, and nearly went over in the corner, but secured another penalty in front of the posts for Sexton to knock over. Wales led 15-9 going into the break.
The second half saw Ireland come out determined to score and Wales equally determined that that they would not breach their line. Ireland dominated both possession and territory, but the Welsh defence was outstanding. For large swathes of the second half, Ireland were camped on the Welsh line, and it seemed unbelievable that they could not score. Some incredible passages of play by both teams saw attack and defence at full throttle but it was, in fact, Wales who scored the game’s first try when sub Scott Williams cut a great line to break through the Irish line.
Halfpenny missed the conversion though and Ireland redoubled their efforts, again battering the Welsh line. Eventually they chose to kick a penalty to touch and from the 5m line a classic Irish line out and drive led to Wayne Barnes awarding a justified penalty try which Sexton converted, narrowing the gap to just 4 points, 20-16.
The final ten minutes saw the tension rack up, and the crowd roaring their approval at every Welsh chip or tackle. With six minutes to go, Halfpenny kicked another penalty for Wales to take them 7 points clear. Ireland responded by driving forward again, but a promising attack ended with a knock on. With two minutes remaining, Jonathan Davies was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock on and Ireland kicked to the 5m line once more. Yet Wales disrupted the line out and were given the put in at the resulting scrum. Ireland surged forward but referee Barnes blew his whistle for a penalty and held up his arm on the Welsh side. The crowd bellowed their approval and Wales put the ball out of play to claim the 23-16 victory.
Wales won this match with only 36% possession, and having made an extraordinary 289 tackles during the game compared with Ireland’s 104.
“A lot of our players ran themselves into the ground, we had to dig deep,” said Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland post match.
Sam Warburton said of the defensive efforts of his team that it was “probably one of the most exhausted I’ve ever been.”
Ireland Head coach Joe Schmidt was disappointed with his side’s start and felt the refereeing had been in Wales’s favour, but said, “We were beaten by a good Wales team in a game where we did not help ourselves.”
So we head into the final weekend of the 6 Nations with three teams still able to take the title and the mathematicians poring over every permutation.
15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 George North 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Liam Williams 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 1 Gethin Jenkins 2 Scott Baldwin 3 Samson Lee 4 Luke Charteris 5 Alun Wyn Jones 6 Dan Lydiate 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 8 Taulupe Faletau BENCH: 16 Richard Hibbard 17 Rob Evans 18 Aaron Jarvis 19 Jake Ball 20 Justin Tipuric 21 Mike Phillips 22 Rhys Priestland 23 Scott Williams
SCORERS T: Scott Williams P: Halfpenny (5) DG: Biggar Warburton, Jonathan Davies
15 Rob Kearney 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Jared Payne 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Simon Zebo 10 Johnny Sexton 9 Conor Murray 1 Jack McGrath 2 Rory Best 3 Mike Ross 4 Devin Toner 5 PAUL O'CONNELL (C) 6 Peter O'Mahony 7 Sean O'Brien 8 Jamie Heaslip BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 Cian Healy 18 Martin Moore 19 Iain Henderson 20 Jordi Murphy 21 Eoin Reddan 22 Ian Madigan 23 Felix Jones
SCORERS T: PT C: Sexton P: Sexton (3)
Man of the Match: Sam Warburton
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU) Asst Referees: Jérôme Garcès (FFR), Federico Anselmi (UAR) TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
ENGLAND 25 - 13 SCOTLAND
Twickenham, London - Saturday 14 March 2015
KO: 17:00 HT: 10-13 Att: 82,284
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
England v Scotland Fantastic atmosphere at Twickers today! Teams are out & Flower of Scotland belting out
England 0-0 Scotland 1m Anthems done & what a start from England with Luther Burrell charging like a bull
England 0-0 Scotland 3m Doesn't make it all way; Romain Poite has the whistle & England into the 22 again
England 5-0 Scotland 5m Another charge & this time George Ford > Jonathan Joseph & bounces over tryline to score
England 7-0 Scotland 6m Early intent from England as Ford adds the extras...
England 7-0 Scotland 7m Lanny said he wouldn't let England watch WALvIRE for the score...wonder if they know
England 7-0 Scotland 8m Defensive scrum for England outside own 22 & shove Scots way back...
England 7-0 Scotland 9m From lineout, Ben Youngs kicks it to Scots 22; comes back but Youngs runs it
England 7-0 Scotland 11m Scots clear from defensive lineout - aerial work occurs but England not letting them thru
England 7-0 Scotland 12m Midfield jostling & JJ makes a break, but England forced back
England 7-0 Scotland 13m Youngs > Mike Brown who breaks but Stuart Hogg pulls him down 5m short
England 7-0 Scotland 13m England regroups; Finn Russell attempts to clear but Courtney Lawes takes him out
England 7-0 Scotland 15m England scrum but Joe Marler pinged…
England 7-0 Scotland 17m England have had that many opportunities but don't close anything out...
England 7-0 Scotland 18m Balls dropped, feet slipping; England coaches must be beside themselves with frustration
England 7-0 Scotland 19m 70-odd% possession for England but only 7 points to show for it - not thru good defence
England 7-0 Scotland 20m Neat little chip ahead from Scots with support but Brown calls the mark in own 22
England 7-5 Scotland 22m Scots lineout & Cowan > Seymour > Harley > Laidlaw spins it wide & Mark Bennett deservedly scores
England 7-7 Scotland 23m Captain Laidlaw pings thru conversion to equalise
England 7-7 Scotland 25m England reply by attacking into Scots' 22 & have advantage coming; penalty called...
England 10-7 Scotland 26m Ford pops it thru just wide of centre to take the lead again
England 10-7 Scotland 27m England kick it back from restart but Scotland opt for running it...make it to 22
England 10-7 Scotland 29m 10 phases in & Scotland looking sharper; inches short from whitewash...
England 10-10 Scotland 30m Dan Cole lucky not get YC for deliberate infringement; Laidlaw equalises
England 10-10 Scotland 32m Ford > Burrell > Watson to score damn fast...except for the forward pass from Ford!
England 10-10 Scotland 33m And then Marler pinged again for same infringement in front row; Scots back in 22
England 10-10 Scotland 35m Shocking play from England today- @Will Greenwood was right...all brawn & no brains
England 10-10 Scotland 36m Chip ahead down left channel for Scots but Ford dots it down as channel blocked
England 10-10 Scotland 37m Hamilton replaced by Swinson; presumed injury; Seymour breaks but Brown downs him
England 10-13 Scotland 39m England pinged for offside & Laidlaw punishes them with 3 points and the lead
England 10-13 Scotland 40m Twickenham is silent in shock as the homeside are gifting the match away
England 10-13 Scotland HT T: Joseph C: Ford P: Ford | T: Bennett C: Laidlaw P: Laidlaw (2)
England 10-13 Scotland 40mins Greig Tonks on for Matt Scott, & we will see if Faz Snr kicked the proverbial
England 10-13 Scotland 42mins Scotland defensive scrum goes well & clear; England run it back...
England 10-13 Scotland 43mins Superb hands from JJ & England into the 22 & have advantage...
England 15-13 Scotland 43mins Youngs > Robshaw > Ford > under posts > score...finally
England 17-13 Scotland 45mins Ford pings over the conversion, & England have the early intent of 1st half...
England 17-13 Scotland 47mins Hamilton returns to field of play & England are on the attack & into 22
England 17-13 Scotland 48mins A knock on comes from England & its time out; Swinson back on for Hamilton
England 17-13 Scotland 49mins Scots defensive scrum on own 22 & Swing Low is off again; Eng lineout outside 22
England 20-13 Scotland 50mins Scots pinged at lineout for interfering with Lawes & Ford pings over a penalty
England 20-13 Scotland 51mins Geoff Parling for Dave Attwood & Tom Youngs for Dylan Hartley
England 20-13 Scotland 53mins Tom Y starts with a lineout & all goes well til a pass goes to Scotland on their 22
England 20-13 Scotland 54mins England deep in Scotland's 22 but a forward pass blows another opportunity
England 20-13 Scotland 55mins Geoff Cross & Adam Ashe on for Murray & Denton...
England 20-13 Scotland 56mins No word of a lie - Ben Youngs needs to be taken off & Wigglesworth to do his thing
England 20-13 Scotland 58mins Superb break from Watson again...but a crazy kick inches from tryline to Hogg!
England 20-13 Scotland 60mins Scotland manage to force England back over halfway for attacking lineout on 10m
England 20-13 Scotland 61mins Vunipola for Marler | Grant & Brown for Dickson & Ford
England 20-13 Scotland 62mins Brown makes a super break to score-off a Haskell forward pass. TMO agrees-no try
England 20-13 Scotland 65mins Scottish scrum, reset & they clear over halfway while FINALLY Wood & Wiggy warm up
England 20-13 Scotland 67mins Time off; Wood, Wiggy & Brookes on for Haskell, B Youngs & Cole | Beattie for Harley
England 20-13 Scotland 71mins Play returns to midfield; England appear refreshed with good tackle from Nowell
England 20-13 Scotland 75mins Apologies...refreshment break! wink to see Ford bounce 3pts off post!
England 25-13 Scotland 77mins However, Nowell redemption as he flies over in corner...but Ford misses conv
England 25-13 Scotland 78mins Danny Cipriani on for Brownie at FB, & bizarrely Ben Youngs gets Man of Match
England 25-13 Scotland 80mins Ball to touch after poor effort from England but are 37 pts clear on difference
15 Mike Brown 14 Anthony Watson 13 Jonathan Joseph 12 Luther Burrell 11 Jack Nowell 10 George Ford 9 Ben Youngs 1 Joe Marler 2 Dylan Hartley 3 Dan Cole 4 Dave Attwood 5 Courtney Lawes 6 James Haskell 7 CHRIS ROBSHAW (C) 8 Billy Vunipola BENCH: 16 Tom Youngs 17 Mako Vunipola 18 Kieran Brookes 19 Geoff Parling 20 Tom Wood 21 Richard Wigglesworth 22 Danny Cipriani 23 Billy Twelvetrees
SCORERS T: Joseph, Ford, Nowell C: Ford (2) P: Ford (2)
15 Stuart Hogg 14 Dougie Fife 13 Mark Bennett 12 Matt Scott 11 Tommy Seymour 10 Finn Russell 9 GREIG LAIDLAW (C) 1 Alasdair Dickinson 2 Ross Ford 3 Euan Murray 4 Jim Hamilton 5 Jonny Gray 6 Rob Harley 7 Blair Cowan 8 David Denton BENCH: 16 Fraser Brown 17 Ryan Grant 18 Geoff Cross 19 Tim Swinson 20 Johnnie Beattie 21 Adam Ashe 22 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 23 Greig Tonks
SCORERS T: Bennett C: Laidlaw P: Laidlaw (2)
Man of the Match: Ben Youngs
Referee: Romain Poite (FFR) Asst Referees: George Clancy (IRFU), Marius Mitrea (FIR) TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)
ITALY 0 - 29 FRANCE
Stadio Olimpico, Rome - Sunday 15 March 2015
KO: 16:00 HT: 0-9 Att: 67,127
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
Italy v France Rome. Anthems done. Tributes paid to fallen French athletes in Argentina. It's KO.
Italy 0-0 France 1min Both teams playing for pride having both lost 2 games each so far...
Italy 0-0 France 1min Both teams playing for pride having lost 2 games each so far. Tommaso Allan kicks off
Italy 0-0 France 2m Aerial game has already begun with Camille Lopez clearing from 22 & Italy kick it back
Italy 0-0 France 4m In horridly wet conditions, Italy win 1st lineout & disrupt France's follow up but in own half
Italy 0-0 France 7m Azzurri clear France back, win another lineout & Alexandre Flanquart gift 2n penalty quickly
Italy 0-0 France 8m 3 pens in 3 minutes from France - this one for off feet at breakdown & Allan tees up for the kick
Italy 0-0 France 8m But 3 points go begging as Allan misses & gingerly potters round pitch with pain in leg
Italy 0-0 France 10m More high balls before Giovanbattista Venditti chips thru forcing Maxime Mermoz to kick into touch
Italy 0-0 France 12m Good hands from the Azzurri taking ball out wide & Leonardo Sarto kicks down wing but into touch
Italy 0-0 France 13m Allan finally replaced after tweaking leg in warm up; Luciano Orquera comes on
Italy 0-0 France 15m Mermoz pinged for disrupting Sergio Parisse under high ball; Orquera tees up...
Italy 0-0 France 15m But damn the ball pings off post & France secure the rebound
Italy 0-0 France 17m Italy lineout fails & France more successful with follow up; Gael Fickou breaks but Andrea Masi tackles
Italy 0-0 France 18m Fickou is off again; good offload but Azzurri turn it over at the breakdown
Italy 0-0 France 19m Italy have lineout on halfway but scrum belongs to France; Les Bleus win penalty...
Italy 0-0 France 21m Scott Spedding tees up from 45m out wide; it has the distance but not the accuracy.
Italy 0-0 France 22m So far a rather subdued affair; no comparison to yesterday's frantic action in Cardiff & Twickenham
Italy 0-0 France 24m Samuela Vunisa finds some space to attack but Parisse pass to Venditti is forward
Italy 0-0 France 26m Time off for Matias Aguero before French defensive scrum outside the 22
Italy 0-0 France 26m Scrum goes down but Sebastien Tillous-Borde's kick charged down...error strewn play from both sides
Italy 0-0 France 27m France scrum again & Italy pinged for going early; Camille Lopez clears to Luke McLean who runs it
Italy 0-3 France 28m But Azzurri hand over a kickable penalty & Lopez takes 3 points
Italy 0-3 France 30m Noa Nakaitaci gets under high ball but knocks it on; Italy take advantage...
Italy 0-3 France 32m But it doesn't go to plan & play back on halfway, both sides making silly errors; Italy lineout
Italy 0-3 France 33m Azzurri lose lineout after di Marchi on for Aguero; Tillous-Borde knock on but Minto offside
Italy 0-6 France 35m France take penalty & Lopez adds 3 more points as La Marseillaise is heard loud & proud
Italy 0-6 France 36m France create some momentum & Lopez makes a good break but he's down & spills it
Italy 0-6 France 37m Azzurri gift yet another penalty & Spedding kicks to touch for attacking lineout
Italy 0-6 France 38m But a time off for Luca Morisi who is not well; throwing up on pitch
Italy 0-6 France 38m Enrico Bacchin replaces Morisi who's off for head injury assessment
Italy 0-6 France 39m French lineout inside Italy's 22 which homeside turns over...but more errors & French scrum
Italy 0-6 France 40m Another penalty to France & they are going for the points; Lopez limping so Spedding tees up
Italy 0-9 France 40m The kick is good & thankfully the monotony of this game so far takes a HT break
Italy 0-9 France HT - | P: Lopez (2), Spedding
Italy 0-9 France HT Teams returning & Jules Plisson has replaced Camille Lopez
Italy 0-9 France 41m From KO, Parisse pinged immediately for not releasing & Plisson tees up already
Italy 0-12 France 43m French points early on. Italy have 22 attacking lineout but moments later France on attack
Italy 0-12 France 44m France just outside Italian 22 but Italy turn it for aerial ping pong to begin...
Italy 0-19 France 46m Finally some rugby! Spedding breaks magnificently > Furno > Huget > Maestri > try!
Italy 0-19 France 48m Plisson converted that one; Italy have attacking scrum but Gori fluffs it in break...
Italy 0-19 France 50m France also make errors & offside at breakdown so it's Italy 22 lineout...which they lose
Italy 0-19 France 51m Lorenzo Cittadini & Quintin Geldenhuys replace Ghiraldini & Biagi; Slimani for Mas
Italy 0-19 France 53m Not Ghiraldini but Chistolini off; Kayser for Guirado & errors continue. France scrum
Italy 0-19 France 53m French scrum has come into its own & the visitors are looking better
Italy 0-19 France 55m But then the scrum goes to Italy tho defensive; can only kick to clear & France win pen
Italy 0-19 France 57m From outside the Italian 10m, Plisson is teeing up...racking up the points
Italy 0-22 France 58m Good boot from Plisson who's missed nothing, taking France 3 converted tries clear
Italy 0-22 France 59m Still a quarter of game to go...bloody hell this is hard work & oh so boring
Italy 0-22 France 60m Italy lineout is stolen but France knock it on; Azzurri can't find a way forward tho
Italy 0-22 France 62m France turnover; Minto shoulder charges Vincent Debaty (on for Ben Arous) & France 22 lineout
Italy 0-22 France 63m Italy steal the lineout & Orquera clears France way back o halfway from own 22
Italy 0-22 France 65m But more mistakes from Italy & France are fast back deep in Azzurri 22...til Italy turnover
Italy 0-22 France 66m Defensively Italy are playing it right, but handling errors are just shocking
Italy 0-22 France 68m Italy kick to corner & set up 5m lineout; long throw in is good & they win penalty
Italy 0-22 France 69m Play is seriously a mess - so scrappy. France turn over the ball & Plisson clears
Italy 0-22 France Manici for Ghiraldini; Bastareaud, Taofifenua & Kockott for Fickou, Maestri & Tillous-Borde
Italy 0-22 France 72m Palazzani on for Gori & France have lineout deep in Italy's 22
Italy 0-22 France 73m Goujon on for Chouly; France steal Italy's scrum ball & are well placed to score...
Italy 0-22 France 75m But Vunisa disrupts France's momentum & Italy defensive scrum in own 22
Italy 0-22 France 77 Italy force Les Bleus back into own half; defensively they've not let them get too close
Italy 0-22 France 77m Quick time off for Cittadini but he's fine & back in front row of defensive scrum
Italy 0-22 France 78m 37 handling errors! 18 & 19 apiece. That is appalling. France penalty on Italy 22
Italy 0-22 France 79m Barbini on for Parisse; France go for scrum; penalty to Les Bleus in final minute
Italy 0-22 France 80m Scrum again which needs a reset...& so it drags on...
Italy 0-22 France 80+1m Thierry Dusautoir is Man of Match; Italy illegally steal it & another penalty to France
Italy 0-27 France 80+2m Bastareaud makes his 2nd metre by scoring bouncing off post...
Italy 0-29 France 80+3m Plisson adds the extras to close out the tedium of this game; huge relief for PSA
15 Luke McLean 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Luca Morisi 12 Andrea Masi 11 Giovambattista Venditti 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Edoardo Gori 1 Matias Aguero 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini 3 Dario Chistolini 4 George Fabio Biagi 5 Joshua Furno 6 Francesco Minto 7 Samuela Vunisa 8 SERGIO PARISSE (C) BENCH: 16 Andrea Manici 17 Alberto de Marchi 18 Lorenzo Cittadini 19 Quintin Geldenhuys 20 Marco Barbini 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Luciano Orquera 23 Enrico Bacchin
15 Scott Spedding 14 Yoann Huget 13 Gaël Fickou 12 Maxime Mermoz 11 Noa Nakaitaci 10 Camille Lopez 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde 1 Eddy Ben Arous 2 Guilhem Guirado 3 Nicolas Mas 4 Alexandre Flanquart 5 Yoann Maestri 6 THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C) 7 Bernard Le Roux 8 Loann Goujon BENCH: 16 Benjamin Kayser 17 Rabah Slimani 18 Vincent Debaty 19 Romain Taofifenua 20 Damien Chouly 21 Rory Kockott 22 Jules Plisson 23 Mathieu Bastareaud
SCORERS T: Maestri, Bastareaud C: Plisson (2) P: Lopez (2), Spedding, Plisson (2)
Man of the Match: Thierry Dusautoir
Referee: JP Doyle (RFU) Asst Referees: Nigel Owens (WRU), Luke Pearce (RFU) TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
ITALY 20 - 61 WALES
Stadio Olimpico, Rome - Saturday 21 March 2015
KO: 13:30 HT: 13-14 Att: 65,827
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
WALES were still in contention as RBS 6 Nations championship winners going into this game. However, they knew they not only had to win the match but to make a big score to have any chance of overhauling the superior points differences of England and Ireland. As Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland said,
“The challenge for us is to go to Italy and win, and try to win by a significant margin, but we know that’s an extremely tough ask and the first job will be simply to get the result.”
Italy were determined not to make things easy for them and, having already beaten Wales twice in Rome, knew that a shock result was within their capability.
Italy made several changes to the team well beaten by France last week. They lost their talisman and captain Sergio Parisse with a foot injury – he was replaced in the starting XV by Mauro Bergamasco, with Samuela Vunisa moving to No8. Kelly Haimona returned at fly half in place of Tommaso Allen and in the front row Michele Rizzo replaced Matias Aguero while Martin Castrogiovanni returned after his dog-given injuries, with Dario Chistolini dropping to the bench.
Wales made two injury-enforced front row changes, with Rob Evans and Aaron Jarvis coming into the starting XV to replace Gethin Jenkins (hamstring) and Samson Lee (Achilles). On the bench Ken Owens returned to the squad, and Saracens prop Rhys Gill was also named on the bench alongside Scott Andrews as front row cover. Gareth Davies replaced Mike Phillips in the matchday squad.
Italy started well and their fly half, Kelly Haimona kicked a penalty in the first minute to take them 3-0 ahead. Sadly, this was Haimona’s only significant contribution to the game as he injured his arm and had to go off just five minutes into the game. He was replaced by the experienced but less accurate Luciano Orquera.
Wales’ Leigh Halfpenny levelled the score at 3-3 with a straightforward penalty kick, and the opening exchanges continued to be cagey and penalty-strewn. Italy had the crowd behind them and attacked well while forcing Wales into uncharacteristic errors. Another exchange of penalties meant that the score was 6-6 when Jamie Roberts finished a good Welsh attacking move with a try. Halfpenny missed a relatively straightforward conversion to leave Wales 11-6 ahead.
Within five minutes Italy hit back with a try of their own courtesy of winger Giovanbattista Venditti, which was converted by Orquera to take them into a 13-11 lead.
By the half hour, Italy had the momentum and Wales were looking uncomfortable. Wales were then further thrown into disarray when Halfpenny launched one of his trademark last-ditch tackles at Italy’s No8 Samuela Vunisa who had made a great break through the middle. Halfpenny got his head on the wrong side and was led off the pitch, clearly concussed, to be replaced by Scott Williams. Liam Williams moved to fullback for Wales whilst Scott Williams took his place on the wing.
A fiercely contested half of rugby was brought to a close when referee Chris Pollock awarded a penalty to Wales that Dan Biggar kicked successfully to take Wales into the break with a slender 14-13 lead.
The Stadio Olimpico pitch was bathed in sunshine as the teams restarted, and for the first five minutes of the half the teams resumed a tense battle. But on 47 minutes, Liam Williams scored a lovely try for Wales, converted by Biggar to widen the margin to 21-13. This seemed to lift the pressure off Wales and, conversely, send the Italians into a tailspin. The remainder of the half was almost exclusively one way traffic by the Welsh, as they ran in another six tries to demolish the Italians and rack up an impressive score.
George North was the next over the tryline for Wales, taking the pass after a good break from Scott Williams. Biggar duly converted to take Wales 28-13 ahead. Italy compounded the pressure when Andrea Masi was shown a yellow card and left his 14 team mates desperately defending against the tide of red.
North had not scored in his last four games and must have been feeling the pressure. His answer was to score twice more in the space of four minutes whilst Masi was off the pitch. Biggar converted both, and Wales were suddenly 42 points to the good. Almost as soon as Masi returned from the sin bin, Italian lock George Fabio Biagi was shown yellow, and Wales scored three more tries during this second sin bin period. Rhys Webb went over himself after being told by referee Pollock to use the ball at the ruck; a great Welsh break culminated in a sprint to the line by Sam Warburton and, finally, Scott Williams finished off another fluent attacking move. Biggar converted two of the three and Wales led 61-13 with 5 minutes to go.
Welsh replacement scrum half, Gareth Davies almost intercepted Italian ball near their own line for a try, but knocked on, which would have put up the win margin to 55 points, making life all the more difficult for Ireland and England later in the day.
Wales had defended stoutly throughout and were desperate not to concede any more points, but they subsequently knocked on at a scrum almost at the death and gave the ball back to the Italians. Sarto went on a great run and scored a try out wide for Italy, which Orquera converted superbly from the touchline to make the final score 61-20 to Wales.
The Italians put up a great fight in the first half but capitulated in the second, with a lack of discipline costing them dear – they gave away 18 penalties in this match. Warren Gatland said of Wales’ second half performance,
“It wasn’t bad except for the last couple of minutes.”
Wales did everything they could in the second half to stretch the points difference in their favour, but it was not enough to come within touching distance of the Championship.
15 Luke McLean 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Luca Morisi 12 Andrea Masi 11 Giovambattista Venditti 10 Kelly Haimona 9 Edoardo Gori 1 Michele Rizzo 2 LEONARDO GHIRALDINI (C) 3 Martin Castrogiovanni 4 George Biagi 5 Joshua Furno 6 Francesco Minto 7 Mauro Bergamasco 8 Samuela Vunisa BENCH: 16 Andrea Manici 17 Alberto de Marchi 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Quintin Geldenhuys 20 Robert Barbieri 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Luciano Orquera 23 Enrico Bacchin
SCORERS T: Venditti, Sarto C: Orquera (2) P: Haimona, Orquera Masi, Biagi
15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 George North 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Liam Williams 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 1 Rob Evans 2 Scott Baldwin 3 Aaron Jarvis 4 Luke Charteris 5 Alun Wyn Jones 6 Dan Lydiate 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 8 Taulupe Faletau BENCH: 16 Ken Owens 17 Rhys Gill 18 Scott Andrews 19 Jake Ball 20 Justin Tipuric 21 Gareth Davies 22 Rhys Priestland 23 Scott Williams
SCORERS T: Roberts, Liam Williams, North (3), Webb, Warburton, Scott Williams C: Biggar (6) P: Halfpenny (2)
Man of the Match: Alun-Wyn Jones
Referee: Chris Pollock (NZRU) Asst Referees: JP Doyle (RFU), Luke Pearce (RFU) TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)
SCOTLAND 10 - 40 IRELAND
Murrayfield, Edinburgh - Saturday 21 March 2015
KO: 14:30 HT: 10-20 Att: 67,225
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
Scotland v Ireland Ireland's Call belting out around Murray field
Scotland v Ireland and now Flower of Scotland which always sounds fantastic
Scotland v Ireland 0m Ref Jérôme Garcès blows his whistle and we are off
Scotland v Ireland 1m Scotland on the attack but Ireland get the turnover
Scotland v Ireland 1m lineout taken safely at the front by Adam Ashe
Scotland v Ireland 2m fumble by Scotland gives Ireland the first scrum of the game
Scotland v Ireland 2m Messy scrum but Ireland are away with a good break by Henshaw
Scotland v Ireland 3m Ireland are 2m out and testing the Scottish defence here
Scotland 0-5 Ireland 4m Early try to Ireland by Paul O'Connell
Scotland v Ireland 4m Take that back, Garces is taking another look at this. Possible obstruction
Scotland 0-5 Ireland 4m Garcès awards the try
Scotland 0-7 Ireland 5m Sexton gets the conv despite a bit of a groan from the crowd as it hits the post
Scotland 0-7 Ireland 6m Scotland in possession, taking the ball through the hands before a Laidlaw kick up field
Scotland 0-7 Ireland 7m Hogg takes a lovely catch but a penalty awarded to Ireland for obstruction by Laidlaw
Scotland 0-7 Ireland 8m Best takes the lineout
Scotland 0-7 Ireland 8m Sexton sent the ball high but Hogg takes it in the try zone & we go back for a pen
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 8m Sexton takes the penalty and sends it soaring straight through the middle
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 10m Euan Murray is down injured whilst Ireland turn the ball over again
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 8m penalty to Scotland. Clock stopped to treat Murray
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 11m Fife replaced by cross for a blood replacement
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 12m another penalty awarded to Scotland and they go for the lineout
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 8m Denton takes the ball cleanly and Scotland try and drive for the line
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 13m Hogg sends a pass wide to Visser, the crowd stir but he is bundled into touch
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 14m lineout taken by O'Connell but it is spilled forward. Scrum to Scotland
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 14m Correction... Cross on for Murray permanently as Murray has a broken nose
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 15m Strong scrum by Scotland, but Ireland have turned it over again
Scotland 0-10 Ireland 16m Scotland back with possession, and are awarded a pen, Ireland not rolling away
Scotland 3-10 Ireland 17m Laidlaw gets the kick and Scotland have their first 3 points
Scotland 3-10 Ireland 18m Payne could be in trouble here...
Scotland 3-10 Ireland 18m Just a penalty to Scotland for a challenge in the air by Payne
Scotland 3-10 Ireland 19m Russell almost gets through the Irish defence, Scots still on the attack
Scotland 3-10 Ireland 20m penalty to Ireland, Scotland not releasing. Kicked to touch
Scotland 3-10 Ireland 21m Blood replacement reversed, Fife back on the field as Scotland steal the lineout
Scotland 3-10 Ireland 22m Ireland quickly on the attack; Henshaw bundled into touch
Scotland 3-10 Ireland 23m Laidlaw kicks the ball away following lineout but it is a short one
Scotland 3-15 Ireland 24m O'Brien bursts through the Scottish defence & goes over for the try
Scotland 3-17 Ireland 25m Sexton takes the penalty and Ireland are now 14 points ahead in Edinburgh
Scotland 3-17 Ireland 26m Sexton slices a kick sideways but it comes good, Ireland still in possession
Scotland 3-17 Ireland 27m ball spilt, Cowan takes possession
Scotland 3-17 Ireland 27m Hamilton dummied & looked to be away but Ireland turnover
Scotland 3-17 Ireland 28m a little bit of possession tennis there, neither team could hold onto the ball
Scotland 3-17 Ireland 28m ball eventually went to touch, lineout to Ireland on the halfway
Scotland 3-17 Ireland 28m Small break in play whilst Grant receives some treatment
Scotland 3-17 Ireland 26m Poor lineout by Ireland, free kick to Scotland
Scotland 8-17 Ireland 26m Seymour breaks away & Russell goes over for the try
Scotland 10-17 Ireland 31m Laidlaw makes the conversion
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 33m penalty to Ireland, taken well by Sexton. 10 points in it
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 34m Scotland back on the attack, nice bit of handy work from Denton
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 35m ball turned over, scrum to Ireland
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 37m Matt Scott breaks through, ball goes loose & Hogg taps it down but is denied
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 38m Long kick following a scrum to Ireland, Hogg watches as it stays in play
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 39m Russell chips the ball to Scott but he couldn't quite get the offload away
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 39m Scrum to Ireland but free kick given for driving before put in
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 40m the Irish free kick finishes the first half
Scotland 10-20 Ireland HT T: Russell C: Laidlaw P: Laidlaw | T: O'Connell, O'Brien C: Sexton (2) P Sexton (2)
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 40mTeams returning to the field, 2nd half coming up
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 40m Sides remain unchanged as the 2nd half gets underway
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 40m Sexton trying to steer possession but Fife calls the mark
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 41mKick doesn't go quite to plan, Ireland back with possession
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 41m Bennett turns the ball over & Hogg clears downfield
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 42m Denton pinged for not releasing. Ireland kick to touch
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 43m Ireland looking for a quick try here, attacking right on the line
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 44m ball lost but penalty awarded to Ireland, Sexton goes for the posts
Scotland 10-23 Ireland 45mFirst blood of the 2nd half goes to Ireland as Sexton's kick goes straight over
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 46m Bennett makes a break but is sent to touch by Healy
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 45m martin Moore on for Mike Ross whilst Murray receives some treatment
Scotland 10-20 Ireland 46m Murray sends ball high & Seymour takes it well. Grey then spills it, Irish Scrum.
Scotland 10-23 Ireland 47m penalty Ireland, Scotland collapsing the scrum Sexton goes for territory
Scotland 10-23 Ireland 48m Looks like I have been taking points from Ireland, sorry about that
Scotland 10-28 Ireland 49mPayne crashes through and goes over the line directly under the posts
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 50m Sexton makes the conversion
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 51m O'Mahony making a run for it, Scotland manage to defend well
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 52m penalty to Ireland, hands in the ruck, Sexton going for the posts
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 52m Swinson & Brown on for Scotland, Hamilton & Ford off
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 53m Sexton's penalty hits the post & bounces for Scotland
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 53m Healy has been replaced by McGrath
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 54m Tommy Bowe chips the ball ahead but Russell gets there first.
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 55m Loose pass by Ireland but taken back for a penalty advantage
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 55m Cross given a yellow card
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 56m Laidlaw replaced by Hidalgo-Clyne whilst Adam Ashe is replaced by Rob Harley
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 57m Sexton misses the pen
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 57m Ireland make a charge for the line but it is lost & Scotland take possession
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 58m Scrum to Ireland, bit of a break in play while the set
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 59m scrum is uncontested. Cross is in the bin & Grant has a broken nose
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 60m Ireland gets another pen...
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 55m Sexton makes it. That sends Ireland to the top of the table, for now.
Scotland 10-30 Ireland 61m penalty to Scotland, Russell goes for touch
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 63m Meanwhile Cronin is on for Best
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 64m Denton loses ball forward, scrum to Ireland just on the 5m
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 65m Fife makes a good run but is tackled by Payne
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 65m Scotland still on the attack, but a chip by Hogg is lost to Ireland
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 66m Cross back on the field for the lineout resulting from Hogg's missed chip
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 66m Ireland are maintaining territory well
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 67m Seymour makes a break following a good pass by Hidalgo-Clyne
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 68m Scrum to Ireland, very solid and they are back on the attack
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 68m lineout to Scotland right in the corner. Scott is replaced by Tonks for Scotland
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 69m Ireland maintain possession, Sexton sends it high
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 70m Sexton sends it high again and chases but Tonks beats him to it
Scotland 10-33 Ireland 71m Another phase of attack for Ireland results in a try for O'Brien
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 72m The conversion is good, Ireland 30 points ahead
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 73m Madigan has come on for Sexton
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 75m Stuart Hogg goes over for Scotland... but the TMO is consulted
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 75m Visser has come on for Bennett during all this action
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 75m Heaslip made the tackle forcing a knock on so no try, scrum 5
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 76m Murray sends the ball high and into touch
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 77m Scotland are throwing everything at this game to try and take something away
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 78m Ireland awarded the pen, Madigan sends it to touch
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 78m Sean O'Brien is awarded MOTM for his efforts today
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 79m Ball goes to touch, ref was playing advantage so they go back for the pen
Scotland 10-40 Ireland 80m As the clock goes red Madigan misses the penalty & the ref ends the game
15 Stuart Hogg 14 Dougie Fife 13 Mark Bennett 12 Matt Scott 11 Tommy Seymour 10 Finn Russell 9 GREIG LAIDLAW (C) 1 Ryan Grant 2 Ross Ford 3 Euan Murray 4 Jim Hamilton 5 Jonny Gray 6 Adam Ashe 7 Blair Cowan 8 David Denton BENCH: 16 Fraser Brown 17 Alasdair Dickinson 18 Geoff Cross 19 Tim Swinson 20 Rob Harley 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Greig Tonks 23 Tim Visser
SCORERS T: Russell C: Laidlaw P: Laidlaw Cross
15 Rob Kearney 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Jared Payne 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Luke Fitzgerald 10 Johnny Sexton 9 Conor Murray 1 Cian Healy 2 Rory Best 3 Mike Ross 4 Devin Toner 5 PAUL O'CONNELL (C) 6 Peter O'Mahony 7 Sean O'Brien 8 Jamie Heaslip BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 Jack McGrath 18 Martin Moore 19 Iain Henderson 20 Jordi Murphy 21 Eoin Reddan 22 Ian Madigan 23 Felix Jones
SCORERS T: O'Connell, O'Brien (2) Payne C: Sexton (3) Madigan P: Sexton (4)
Man of the Match: Sean O'Brien
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR) Asst Referees: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR), Federico Anselmi (UAR) TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)
ENGLAND 55 - 35 FRANCE
Twickenham, London - Saturday 21 March 2015
KO: 17:00 HT: 27-15 Att: 82,319
|
HEAD TO HEAD
|
|
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
Aiming to bring you live coverage from Twickenham. However, currently @EnglandRugby have no Wi-Fi at all!
England v France Had to resort to phone tethering at Twickenham stadium to get internet! Preposterous!
England 5-0 France 90secs Plisson pass to Fickou goes awry > JJ collects > Brown > Ford > Youngs > try!
England 7-0 France 3m George Ford knocks over the conversion & England are away...
England 7-0 France 5m Swing Low deafening as England prepare for first scrum...they win for France wheeling
England 7-0 France 6m Points are what is needed & Ford is teeing up from halfway - pushes it wide
England 7-0 France 8m France in possession & England's half - just. Plisson fluffs it but Luther Burrell knock on
England 7-0 France 9m France scrum on halfway is good & they make some yards; almost up to 22 but England turnover...
England 7-0 France 10m Play moves to outside French 22; France defensive scrum > clear to Mike Brown in 22...
England 7-3 France 11m Ford pinged for holding on & Plisson knocks over 3 easy points
England 7-3 France 13m France try to fight out of own half from restart, but Joe Marler charges down Plisson
England 7-8 France 15m Youngs goes wrong way, Lawes messes up & Tillous-Borde charges to whitewash to score
England 7-8 France 16m But Plisson misses the conversion
England 7-8 France 17m England make mess tho moving ahead; but Haskell gives it away at breakdown & France are off
England 7-8 France 18m Noa Nakaitaci charges with Youngs on his heels all the way to tryline & over...but...
England 7-8 France 18m ...goes to TMO coz over deadball line puts ball down
England 7-13 France 18m After numerous replays TMO gives it as foot in touch & touchdown are simultaneous
England 7-15 France 19m Conversion is good, and it's slipping away from England fast....
England 7-15 France 20m And France almost make it again! Deep in 22 when it goes awry...
England 7-15 France 22m Marler pinged in defensive scrum but Plisson misses the penalty...
England 7-15 France 23m Finally England find way back into French half & set up lineout on the French 22...
England 7-15 France 24m lineout secured and into 22 but a knock on gives possession back to France for scrum
England 7-15 France 26m Ref doesn't stop play quickly enough after Lawes takes out Plisson as he offloaded
England 7-15 France 26m Eventually play stopped & Lawes cleared of wrongdoing but replays for fisticuffs
England 7-15 France 26m Finally some rugby is allowed & England have scrum on France 10m; penalty to England
England 10-15 France 27m Ford finds his mark this time splicing the uprights to crawl closer; England need 31
England 10-15 France 29m Dan Cole gives away another penalty - off his feet; Plisson tees up but misses again
England 10-15 France 30m England respond with excellent break from Youngs > Ford > Anthony Watson > corner try
England 15-15 France 30m Goes to TMO to check possible knock on's - takes a bloody age but given
England 17-15 France 31m Ford converts & get England ahead again... 24 points required...
England 17-15 France 33m From restart, France putting the pressure just inside England half, but Guirado down
England 17-15 France 34m Guirado's back up & play on halfway; touch of aerial ball & England have it in own half
England 17-15 France 34m Ford kick charged down by Flanquart; Fickou charges but touch & Eng take quick throw
England 22-15 France 34m Ball flies to JJ in own 22 who runs good 60m before Youngs runs under posts to score
England 24-15 France 37m Ford eventually converts after Owens has word with captains re Brown/Guirado fracas
England 24-15 France 39m Bit of midfield back & forth before Owens gives a knock on for England scrum...
England 24-15 France 40m ...but misses Maxime Mermoz interfering with JJ completely - TMO sees it tho
England 27-15 France 40+1m Owens awards penalty to Ford & he kicks it over reducing win requirement to 14
England 27-15 France HT T: Ben Youngs (2), Watson C: Ford (3) P: Ford (2) | T: Tillous-Borde, Nakaitaci C: Plisson P: Plisson
England 27-15 France HT Phew! Exhausting stuff here at HQ. France have turned up…sans a fly half!
England 27-15 France HT 40 minutes and 14pts are all that stop England from claiming the new 6Ns trophy
England 27-15 France HT The heartbeats are beating for the 2nd half with all back on the field
England 27-15 France 41m Ford has a bad kick & France have attacking lineout on the 10m
England 27-15 France 42m Hard to concentrate with the glare of Nigel Owens luminous boots!
England 27-20 France 43m Meanwhile, good lineout & Mermoz carries it over for a most excellent try
England 27-22 France 44m Plisson failed to miss conversion from in front of posts(!)
England 27-22 France 44m France have their ducks in a row & look quite relaxed...England possession over halfway
England 27-22 France 46m England makes some yards with a kick but follow it up with a knock on from Watson
England 32-22 France 47m French defence slips which Youngs spies early & puts Ford thru for the try
England 34-22 France 47m Ford converts; Kayser, Slimani & Kockott on for Guirado, Mas & Tillous-Borde
England 34-22 France 49m England attack but throw it at the breakdown & it's France's ball...again
England 34-22 France 51m France are just outside England's 22 & win a penalty; Kockott pings it off upright
England 39-22 France 53m From breakdown, Youngs hurls quick ball > Ford > Jack Nowell to score in excellent fashion
England 39-22 France 54m Ford adds the extras and need just 10 points now...
England 39-22 France 56m Brown makes a break but doesn't offload & ball lost at breakdown
England 41-22 France 57 England into France's 22 but typical Haskell blows it earning YC for tripping Plisson
England 41-22 France 59m Meanwhile, Tom Youngs has replaced Dylan Hartley
England 41-30 France 60m France take full advantage of extra man Nakaitaci charges & Debaty flies over in corner
England 41-30 France 60m Kockott misses the conversion, & I've missed a French penalty at 52mins! Apologies
England 41-30 France 63m Atonio & Chouly for Debaty & Goujon; Cipriani for Watson but to FB & Brown to wing
England 41-30 France 64 Brookes & Mako Vunipola for Marler & Cole while Billy Vunipola's scores magnificently
England 48-30 France 65m Ford converts & England have just 3 points to go. Can they hold out still with 14?
England 48-35 France 65m Maybe not -Benjamin Kayser flies over for French try no. 5 - tho Kockott misses conv
England 48-35 France 68m Haskell is dispensed with & Tom Wood replaces him while Nick Easter's on for Parling
England 48-35 France 70m England are back on the attack and have only 10 minutes to earn 13 points to win
England 48-35 France 72m Ben Youngs & Burrell off; SixTwigs & Wigglesworth on for England so that's the bench
England 48-35 France 73m Taofifenua, Bastareaud & Tales for Maestri, Tales & Mermoz
England 53-35 France 74m Meanwhile, Jack Nowell flies over for 1 of the required 2 converted tries...
England 55-35 France 75m Ford converts...getting closer!
England 55-35 France 77m France attack towards England 22 from restart - but penalty to England...
England 55-35 France 78m England lineout outside French 22 is good...but Owens calls England knock on before French
England 55-35 France 79m France scrum...and of course they are taking their time...and you can't blame them
England 55-35 France 79m England penalty & they kick to corner for lineout
England 55-35 France 80m England drive but penalty to France off 12Trees!
England 55-35 France 80m France faff about along tryline b4 Kockott kicks to touch for FT. England fail by 6pts
Ireland take the RBS Six Nations title for the second year...congratulations.
England 55-35 France. That has got to be the craziest game of rugby I've ever seen! What a rollercoaster ~Ed
15 Mike Brown 14 Anthony Watson 13 Jonathan Joseph 12 Luther Burrell 11 Jack Nowell 10 George Ford 9 Ben Youngs 1 Joe Marler 2 Dylan Hartley 3 Dan Cole 4 Geoff Parling 5 Courtney Lawes 6 James Haskell 7 CHRIS ROBSHAW (C) 8 Billy Vunipola BENCH: 16 Tom Youngs 17 Mako Vunipola 18 Kieran Brookes 19 Nick Easter 20 Tom Wood 21 Richard Wigglesworth 22 Danny Cipriani 23 Billy Twelvetrees
SCORERS T: Ben Youngs (2), Watson, Ford, Nowell (2), Billy Vunipola C: Ford (7) P: Ford (2) Haskell
15 Scott Spedding 14 Yoann Huget 13 Gaël Fickou 12 Maxime Mermoz 11 Noa Nakaitaci 10 Jules Plisson 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde 1 Vincent Debaty 2 Guilhem Guirado 3 Nicolas Mas 4 Alexandre Flanquart 5 Yoann Maestri 6 THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C) 7 Benjamin Kayser 8 Loann Goujon BENCH: 16 Benjamin Kayser 17 Rabah Slimani 18 Uini Atonio 19 Romain Taofifenua 20 Damien Chouly 21 Rory Kockott 22 Remi Tales 23 Mathieu Bastareaud
SCORERS T: Tillous-Borde, Nakaitaci, Mermoz, Debaty, Kayser C: Plisson (2) P: Plisson, Kockott
Man of the Match: Ben Youngs
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU) Asst Referees: John Lacey (IRFU), Leighton Hodges (WRU) TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)
