Now that the 6-Nations competition is well and truly underway, the teams are beginning to sort themselves out.
Week 1 kicked off with a feisty Italy giving Wales a bit of scare in Cardiff. The home side had built a healthy half-time lead before the visitors roared back and the final score of 23-15 was a bit closer than the Welsh would have liked or expected. This was a decent performance from Italy, who showed more mobility and attacking intent than previously, and a rather poor one from Wales. Keeping their title will not be easy if this is going to be their standard of play.
The weekend's second game was in Paris where England, full of expectations, were the visitors. Shock, horror ! Lax play from the start saw France score a try within 30 seconds and add another after little more than a quarter of an hour; a couple of French penalties to one for England saw the home side lead 16-3 and things were looking bad for the visitors. From there on, it was all change. England began to gain some control and a try by Mike Brown reduced the deficit to 8-16 at half time. The second half was all England and the score line eventually reached an almost unassailable 24-19 before Fickou broke the English line in the dying moments of the match and Machenaud gave the home side victory with his conversion. 26-24 to France, but England will rue that first 20 minutes.
The final game was Ireland taking on Scotland in Dublin. The Scots, as always, had talked a good game beforehand but the reality was a little less good. They put in lots of effort but lacked penetration, while Ireland were solid and clinical. Scotland's line out was poor and their handling erratic as Ireland carved holes in their defence, with the imaginative Sexton making causing havoc. The visitors did have some spells of possession and never gave up, but they were simply never able to be a real threat to a better side and the final result of 28-6 to Ireland was no more than the home side deserved.
The second week began where the first had left off, in Dublin where Wales were now the visitors. As reigning 6-Nations champions much had been expected of the Welsh but, as in week 1, they were disappointing and the Irish were excellent. Again, it was Jonny Sexton who was the inspirational figure for the home side and Ireland were never really troubled by a dysfunctional Welsh side. Although their defence was solid, they offered little in attack and rarely threatened the Irish line. Conversely, the Irish pack was immense and caused havoc in the Welsh defence, Chris Henry going over for the first try after a sensational driving maul. Ireland continued to dominate, Sexton kicking 4 penalties, before his replacement, Paddy Jackson, scored a second try under the posts with a couple of minutes to go. Wales' only consolation was a solitary penalty from Halfpenny and the final score of 26-3 served notice on the rest that this Irish side are serious title contenders.
Next up was the Calcutta Cup match, this year at Murrayfield. The Scots had, again, talked a good game in the run-up, but they had little to offer in the match itself. Playing on an appalling pitch and with the rain falling for much of the time, England withstood some early Scottish pressure and gradually took control. As in the previous week, Scotland could not be faulted for effort but their misfiring line out and the enormous penalty count against them left them with no hope. England ground out a comfortable victory with Danny Care at the heart of the action; Mike Brown and Luther Burrell scored tries, as they'd done against France, Billy Vunipola caused all sorts of problems and Dylan Hartley and Courtney Laws ensured a perfect line out record while they were both on. The final result of 20-0 to the English was probably not a true reflection of the visitor's dominance, particularly in the second half, but the real test for them will come at Twickenham in a fortnight when their opponents will be the Irish.
The final match of the weekend was in Paris where France entertained Italy. The opening minutes were all France but other than 2 missed penalties, they had nothing to show for it. Italy defended stoutly and began to come more into the match but it was scoreless until close to the half hour mark; 3 penalties in quick succession and another for France just before the break made it 9-3 to the home side and left the visitors wondering what they'd done to be behind. The second half was a different story. From the off, France stormed into their opponents and a they had a try in each corner within the first 5 minutes. Another try, from an interception, effectively ended the match as a contest as the home side led 30-3 after little more than 50 minutes. Italy continued to defend well and pressed hard in the last 20 minutes, during which the French had a yellow and red card and the Italians a red. Italy almost had a try and did get one with little more than 3 minutes to go, but it was all rather academic. Victory to France by 30-10 left Italy fearing another wooden spoon while France can still dream of a Grand Slam.
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