BRILLIANT LIONS ROAR - WALLABIES ARE EATEN ALIVE !

The third and deciding test of the Lions' series against Australia was so different from the first two as to be almost unrecognizable as part of the same series.

 

In the earlier encounters, the Lions had been unable to exert any real dominance and it was the Wallabies who proved to be the stronger side in both, though still managing to lose the first match most narrowly. Tries were at a premium and these 2 games were closely fought but not full of free-flowing rugby.

 

The third test, on the other hand, was more open and showed the Lions to be a side of much greater ability. The early exchanges saw a try for Corbisiero, almost before the game had started, and a few kicks for Halfpenny which allowed the visitors to build up an impressive 16-3 lead while the Wallabies seemed to be at a loss as to how to deal with a rampaging Lions' scrum. The Lions then stumbled and let the home side back in to the extent that the gap was reduced to 19-16; for a few minutes, things were in the balance.

 

Halfpenny, again, came to the rescue with another penalty kick, and then it was over to the backs. Suddenly, Sexton was over for a try, then North and finally Roberts, and it was 41-16 as the Lions broke free and ran riot. The Wallabies simply had no answer and, although they never gave up, this final match of the series was a revelation; the Lions' victory was not only comprehensive, it was the result of an all-round dominance that was not even thought possible after the first 2 games. Man of the Match, Series and everything else was the irrepressible Leigh Halfpenny, who seemed to be everywhere all of the time and contributed just over half of the Lions' points with his almost faultless kicking while also making Sexton's try for him.

 

Despite controversy over his selection for the match, coach Warren Gatland came up with the goods and the first Lions' series victory since 1997. He's already said that he'd consider leading the next tour, to New Zealand, in 2017; if it was up to me, I'd have him signed up already !

LIONS NARROWLY BEATEN; ALL NOW RESTS ON SYDNEY.

Round 2 of the British & Irish Lions versus the Wallabies produced a dramatic match dominated by the forwards but ultimately won by one moment of freedom for the Australian backs.

 

The Lions were significantly better than in the first match and all that either side could manage in the first half was a few penalties; the Lions led 12-9 at that point and looked to be on course for a historic victory. Unfortunately for the Lions, the second half saw the Wallabies begin to take control and they forced the tourists back into their own half for much of the time. Despite this, it was the Lions who gained the first score of the half with another penalty kicked by Halfpenny, but the Wallabies kept pressing and eventually the pressure told as Adam Ashley-Cooper finally breached the Lions defences for the only try of the match. Lealiifano duly converted to give the home side the narrowest of leads with only 2 or 3 minutes remaining.

 

Last week, it was a missed kick by Beale which deprived the Wallabies of victory and this week the boot was on the other foot. With the hooter already sounded, the Lions gained a final penalty on the halfway line; up stepped Halfpenny but the distance proved a few yards too much even for his mighty ability. The Wallabies celebrated victory by 16-15 and everything now rests on the third and final match next week.

 

This was an improved performance by the Lions in some areas but they hardly managed to involve their backs in the action at all; North, O'Driscoll, Davies and Bowe simply had no service and never got going. At the same time, the forwards mainly out-scrimmaged their opponents though the line-out was a bit wobbly. Putting these things right shouldn't be impossible, as long as injuries to the likes of captain Warburton don't interfere; 2 very tight matches probably mean that the third will be tight also, but there's no reason why the Lions shouldn't be victorious in Sydney. Fingers crossed.

SIX NATIONS' GOES DOWN TO THE WIRE.

The penultimate round of matches in the 2013 Six Nations' Championship produced results which left the ultimate destination of the Championship, Triple Crown, Grand Slam and wooden spoon all in the balance.

 

Match 1 was Scotland v Wales. This turned out to be a horribly messy game, punctuated by a vast number of penalty kicks, apparently a record for any international match. Wales were the better side and deserved winners, mainly courtesy of the one try of the match. Their 28-18 victory was a third win in a row and gave them plenty of reason to believe that they could still win the Championship with a sufficient victory over England at the Millennium Stadium in their final match.

Up next was Ireland v France; this was another untidy game but played in awful weather. In the first half, France looking generally unhappy and were unable to apply much real pressure to their opponents; Ireland had most of the game but didn't often threaten the French line. In the second half, France were a different team although still not on top of their game. Ireland suffered several injuries which must have affected their ultimate performance, and they failed to score any points in the second half. France brought the scores level with a deserved try and that was the final result, 13 all. In the end, the main difference between the sides was that, while Ireland converted their penalties, France missed theirs. Neither could claim to have been at their best.

 

Finally, England entertained Italy on Sunday at a very cold Twickenham. Early pressure brought a penalty and quick lead for England who were totally dominant for first 15 minutes; they nearly had a try for Brown after a charge down. However, after this initial period, England found it impossible to make any real progress against a determined Italian defence, until a second penalty kicked by Flood.

Italy hit back with a penalty of their own, though England still dominated and came close to a try after 25 minutes when Flood was held up on the line. Italy lost a man to the bin after 30 minutes but England failed to capitalise; 2 more penalties were all they achieved to reach half-time at 12-3.

 

Italy started 2nd half brightly but England soon had another penalty converted by Flood. Italy quickly cancelled this out and followed it up with the only try of the match after a horrible miskick by Care; this made it 15-11 and 'game on'. Italy now dominated possession and caused England great problems. Orquera missed both his conversion attempt and a further penalty, otherwise Italy would have had the lead within the hour. Assorted substitutions were followed by English pressure which brought another penalty kicked by Flood. Italy continued to give as good as they got; sustained pressure almost brought another try but ended with a knock on, adjudged by the referee but disputed by the linesman. England ended defiantly rather than anything else with an 18-11 victory that was barely deserved.

The weekend's matches ended with the previously dominant England very much on the back foot while the Welsh had their tails very much up. Scotland and Ireland appeared to be going backwards, though the French appeared to be on an upward path, at least in the second half of their match. The real winners of the weekend were, though, the Italians, whose performance at Twickenham deserved more than another defeat. The last round of matches could yet throw up some real surprises; England can still seal a first 'Grand Slam' for 10 years, though Wales may be a tough nut to crack and can still win the Championship. Any of Ireland, France and Italy can still pick up the wooden spoon and, with Italy entertaining the Irish in Rome and France probably desperate for a win over Scotland in Paris, that particular 'prize' may well go down to the last kick of the last match at arround 21:45 on Saturday.

ENGLAND, WALES AND SCOTLAND TAKE THE RUGBY SPOILS

The third round of the Six Nations' rugby championship began with Wales being too strong for Italy in the foul weather of Rome. Italy, without the suspended Parisse, had no answer to the power and speed of their revitalised visitors and the Welsh eventually won fairly easily by 26-9. Italy, as always, tried hard but  they simply aren't quite as good as their Six Nations' rivals yet, notwithstanding their surprise victory over France on the opening weekend. Wales, after a bad start, are now emerging as the most likely challengers to England for the championship.

England then took on France at Twickenham and found themselves up against a team with much more spirit and menace than they'd shown in their first 2 disappointing games. Following their defeats at the hands of Italy and Wales, the French brought back a few older players and, for the first half at least, gave England a real scare. Despite an early penalty scored by Owen Farrell, it was France who looked more dangerous for most of the half and they took a deserved lead into the break at 10-9.

The second half was a different story. England were more composed and a series of inexplicable replacements by France saw the home side gradually take control. A try for Manu Tuilagi and more penalties from Farrell and his replacement, Flood, took England to a fairly comfortable win by 23-13, and set up the prospect of a Triple Crown and Grand Slam decider at the Millennium Stadium in 3 weeks time. England probably weren't at their best today and their tackling was particularly poor in the first half, but they were still the better team overall and are becoming a real force.

The weekend's final match, Scotland versus Ireland at Murrayfield was a bruising encounter in which the Scots defended for almost the entire first half. Ireland threw everything at the Scottish line but lapses meant that points were hard to come by. By half-time, Ireland led by only 3-0, having missed two penalties and failed to score anything when Scotland had a man -sin-binned'; their line-out was something of a mess which didn't help either. A try came early in the second half, though the conversion was missed, as the game carried on in the same vein. Scotland finally gained a penalty under the Irish posts to get themselves back in the game after 52 minutes and added a second 8 minutes later to close the gap to just 6-8. Five minutes later and the Scots, profiting from greater possession, had another penalty and took a most improbable lead. Yet another penalty for Scotland with just 6 minutes left was just reward for their second half revival although Ireland really should have been out of sight by half-time; instead, they found themselves 8-12 behind and in desperate need of a try to save the day. The last few minutes saw a furious assault from Ireland but the ball was lost with only 90 seconds to go and that was effectively the end of their effort. Against all the odds, Ireland lost a match they should have had sewn up by half-time and Scotland came away with the points. Scotland are still in with a sniff of winning the championship, while Ireland must go back to the drawing board.

 

We now have to wait 2 weeks to find out whether it's Wales or Scotland who will provide the final competition to England, and whether France will be able to get themselves off of the bottom of the table with a win in Dublin. As for England, surely a win over Italy at Twickenham is all but certain.