Charlie Wood
ENGLAND WIN THRILLER AGAINST FRANCE:
England edged past France 26-25 at the Allianz Stadium with a dramatic last-minute try from Elliot Daly.
Daly’s pivotal try was assisted by Player of the Match Fin Smith, who coolly converted to conclude the nail-biting game.
Only minutes earlier, Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s second try seemed to signal another late collapse from England, an all-too familiar story that had become commonplace during the Autumn Series and their narrow defeat to Ireland.
Not the case in this clash, however, as England won their first match of the Six Nations Campaign, denting French title hopes.
The fixture began as expected, with France dominating both possession and field position.
England remained in a comfortable position despite their lack of ball and territory due to the uncharacteristic handling errors of the French.
Antonie Dupont, as ever, was the catalyst for French brilliance.
He gathered centrally and carried well, creating the space for a grubber kick by Damian Penaud and touched down by Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
This was followed by the first period of sustained English pressure, resulting in a comfortable try for Ollie Lawrence under the posts; an atmosphere changer at Allianz Stadium.
The second half started frantically with fatigue increasing the frequency of unforced errors for both sides.
The French lead rose to 6 following two penalties converted neatly by their full back Thomas Ramos.
Yet, the game still had life; a Fin Smith restart was taken by Northampton Saints teammate Tommy Freeman to set England on a path to their second try of the game.
The pair combined just seconds later to reduce the deficit, with Marcus Smith’s missed conversion kept France ahead by a single point.
Les Bleus extended their lead through Penaud, a simple finish assisted by Bielle-Biarrey.
Although English spirits were dampened by Marcus Smith’s second missed kick of the game, substitute prop Fin Baxter finished off a patient pick and go routine.
A change of kicker reaped great benefits, as Fin Smith dispatched the conversion to give England the edge with 10 minutes to go.
The rollercoaster final few minutes saw the potential victors change hands twice, but ultimately Daly’s match winning try and Fin Smith’s critical conversion from under the posts dictated the final outcome to an enthralling match.
Player of the Match, Fin Smith, on his first test start, said: “I am delighted with the win more than anything, but this is cool for a first start anyway,”.
England Captain Maro Itoje looked ahead to next round’s action.
He said: “We need to be consistent throughout the game. We need to be accurate and when we have opportunities we need to capitalise on them, but what I love about this team is we are going to fight.”
“We want this to be the foundation of us, and thanks so much for the support.”
“Allianz was rocking today!”
ITALY EDGE PAST WALES IN RAINY ROME:
Italy held off a struggling Welsh side to claim a 22-15 victory at the Stadio Olympico, condemning Warren Gatland’s side to a 14th consecutive defeat for Wales, placing increased scrutiny on his future.
In a game dictated by poor weather conditions, Italy dominated the key areas of kicking and the breakdown to maintain control for large parts of the game.
Both teams employed similar strategies: kick and compete, build pressure and exploit penalty areas or chip behind the defence.
Italy executed their game plan effectively, Wales did not.
A match made for rugby purists featured little quality action but a dummy from Paolo Garbisi, before kicking through for Ange Capuozzo to finish in the corner and give the Italians the lead.
Two penalties from Tommaso Allen before halftime placed the Azzurri in a comfortable 16-3 lead.
The second half followed the same script, with Wales being controlled at the breakdown, as well as a lack of discipline and creativity in attack.
Three missed Italian kicks in quick succession gifted Wales the opportunity to reestablish themselves in a game that should have been out of reach.
Wales’ late fightback came too little too late, but a try from substitute Aaron Wainwright off a simple lineout move, followed by a penalty try with Italy reduced to 13 men, briefly gave Wales a sniff of an unlikely and undeserved draw.
A game billed as the Wooden Spoon decider leaves Wales at an all-time low of 12th in world rankings, stooping below Georgia.
Wales have now only won 6 of Gatland’s 26 Six Nations games since retaking the job, a sorrowful display for the 4-time Grand Slam champions.
Former Wales fly-half Dan Biggar said: “I don’t think anything is off the table at the moment, it can’t be. It can’t carry on.”
Questions regarding the future of Gatland will continue to swirl before their next match when they welcome Ireland to the Principality Stadium.
However, credit must go to Italy, who continue to show progression under coach Gonzalo Quesada.
SCOTLAND BEATEN BY RELENTLESS IRELAND:
Ireland ran rampant against Scotland in a statement performance at Murrayfield with a 32-18 victory, to move one step closer to the Six Nations title.
The bonus-point win keeps Ireland as the only team in contention for the Grand Slam.
A ferocious, high intensity start from Ireland was rewarded with an early try, following a spin wide to Calvin Nash.
Duhan Van der Merwe’s yellow card for tackling the Irish try-scorer Nash off the ball was not exploited by the initially bullish Irish outfit.
Scotland managed to secure a ‘mini victory’ during the winger’s time in the bin, withstanding relentless pressure and holding up two potential tries.
An extensive break, due to the treatment for Darcy Graham, did not hamper the Irish storm.
Injury troubles continued to stifle Scottish hopes, as Finn Russell’s enforced substitution enabled Prendergast to control the kicking game.
Irish control of the game was eventually rewarded when Caelan Dorin smashed his way over the line.
Just before the break, Van der Merwe finished brilliantly in the corner, but the 17-5 half-time score flattered the hosts.
The tide looked to have turned at the start of the second half, with a couple of penalties dispatched by Blair Kinghorn.
However, James Lowe’s thunderous try reimposed Irish dominance, an important score that broke 11 unanswered Scottish points.
Ireland’s bonus-point try came from Jack Conan, who powered his way over the line, following an excellent kick by Jamison Gibson-Park in an earlier phase.
A late consolation try from Scottish scrum-half Ben White could not prevent the Irish party in Edinburgh.
Player of the Match Sam Prendergast controlled proceedings through his effective kicking and game management, and a vital 12 points from the boot.
He said: “It was an unbelievable game and a savage atmosphere.”
“I thought we started unbelievably in the game. We put so much pressure on. We did really well in the second half when they got their purple patch to come back.”
“It wasn’t perfect from us but it was better than last week and we’ll keep trying to get better week on week.”
Ireland have now won 11 consecutive meetings with Scotland and still look to have another gear if required in the coming weeks.
ROUND 3 PREVIEW:
In the next matchday, heavy favourites for the title Ireland travel to the Principality Stadium to a face down-trodden Welsh team.
England will host their noisy neighbours Scotland who will be hoping to bounce back from the defeat to Ireland.
While Italy will want to continue their recent form when they welcome France to the Stadio Olympico.
Charlie Wood
Featured image courtesy of @chris_robert via Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @sixnationsrugby via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of @sixnationsrugby via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 3 courtesy of @sixnationsrugby via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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