Green Machine: Wales & Lions superstar George North ran into a wall of Irish shirts all game

by Paul Cook –

Ireland and France remain the only unbeaten sides in this year’s Six Nations tournament after comprehensive victories over Wales and Italy respectively in the second weekend of competition. Ireland outgunned and outfought the Welsh in Dublin to win 26-3 in a result that will send shockwaves around the other nations, while France needed a second half flurry to confirm victory over a stubborn Italy in Paris – Les Bleus running out 30-10 winners at the final whistle.

Meanwhile, England got back on track after last week’s disappointment against the French with a 20-0 defeat of an abject Scotland at Murrayfield. With two losses from two starts, 48pts conceded and only 6pts scored, it looks like being a long, hard slog for the Scots in 2014.

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IRELAND 26 (Chris Henry, Paddy Jackson tries; Jonny Sexton con, 4 pens, Paddy Jackson con) bt WALES 3 (Leigh Halfpenny pen) HT 13-0

Ireland set their stall out as serious contenders for this year’s title with a comprehensive mauling of pre-tournament favourites Wales. Billed before kick-off as the ‘BOD vs Gatland’ clash (Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll coming face to face with Welsh boss Warren Gatland – the man who controversially dropped him for the third and decisive Lions test in Sydney last year), the manner of victory would have sent O’Driscoll’s many supporters home happy as their side made a mockery of the Welsh tag of ‘champions’.

A brutal opening was epitomised by a hammer hit on O’Driscoll by Welsh centre Scott Williams that left the 130 test veteran doubled up for a good couple of minutes before he rose gingerly to his feet and to a rousing ovation. lreland struck the first blow with a Jonny Sexton penalty as they took the game to the visitors, the returning Paul O’Connell a dominant presence in both attack and defence and a second penalty in the 16th minute – coupled with the loss of Williams to injury (ironically as a result of the hit on O’Driscoll) – saw momentum firmly with the home side.

lreland’s driving maul promised to be a potent attacking threat when afforded the necessary field position and when Rob Kearney won a 50/50 highball with Leigh Halfpenny in the 31st minute, giving Sexton a chance to force Rhys Priestland into touch from about 7 metres with a pinpoint kick, they had their chance. One accurate Rory Best throw later and lock Devin Toner was able to set up the maul and openside Chris Henry was driven over with scant Welsh resistance.

Sexton converted and lreland had the half-time advantage that their performance warranted but despite Wales’ need to up their game in the second forty, it was the green shirts that came out of the blocks firing once more as their backline swarmed over the Welsh defence with a beguiling mix of running lines, wraparounds and dummy runs – clear evidence of the work coach Joe Schmidt is putting in on the training field.

A Sexton penalty in the 45th minute stretched the lead before the deadeye Halfpenny, given his first shot at the posts 10 minutes later – testament to Ireland’s superb discipline – finally got Wales on the board at 16-3. However, Gethin Jenkins was then guilty of a coach killer when he went off his feet at the ruck from the restart and Sexton didn’t pass up the gift opportunity to restore Ireland’s advantage.

Flyhalf Priestland was struggling to orchestrate anything for Wales in attack although, in fairness, he was working off precious little ball from his forwards who were being out-muscled and out-enthused by lreland’s onslaught. Gatland’s game plan revolves around Wales getting over the gain line and when Ireland consistently prevented that, they simply had no Plan B.

Wales’s day was compounded in the 67th minute when replacement prop Rhodri Jones found the chalk only to be correctly pinged for a double movement. That just left Ireland to add the icing to the cake with 10 minutes to go when they mauled a bedraggled Welsh pack a full 20 metres backwards before scrumhalf Conor Murray put replacement Paddy Jackson over near the posts and the 22-year-old Ulsterman converted his own score.

While Ireland and O’Driscoll celebrate the emphatic win and look ahead to England at Twickenham in a fortnight, Wales have two weeks to lick their wounds and regather themselves before the visit of France. Both games will be pivotal towards deciding the destiny of this year’s championship.

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Lethal Weapon: England centre Luther Burrell dives over for his second try in two tests

ENGLAND 20 (Leroy Burrell, Mike Brown tries; Owen Farrell 2 cons, pen; Danny Care drop-goal) bt SCOTLAND 0 HT 0-13

The main talking point ahead of the 119th Calcutta Cup clash between Scotland and England was the state of the pitch at Murrayfield. Struck down by an infestation of nematode worms which have eaten away the roots of the grass to leave a thin and fragile top soil, the addition of excessive rain in the week leading up to the match and the presence of two marching bands for the pre-match entertainment, certainly did not help matters.

Owen Farrell’s slip as he attempted an early penalty confirmed the problem and the inability of players to find a sure footing, particularly at scrum time, was a constant narrative in a game dominated by the visitors. Danny Care found enough purchase when he popped over a drop goal in the 6th minute to open the scoring but Greig Laidlaw missed an opportunity to level for the hosts with a penalty 3 minutes later.

England took advantage of the let-off to extend their lead with the opening try. A driving maul earned a penalty and field position from which they subsequently mauled again but while Scotland thwarted the second drive, they couldn’t prevent Care putting a rampaging Luther Burrell through a hole for his second try in two starts for his country.

Laidlaw hit the post with a second penalty attempt after the restart and the home side were in danger of being cut adrift on the scoreboard, although it was proving to be a difficult evening for the kickers as Farrell pulled another one wide at the other end.

Scotland were under constant pressure from England’s ball runners and with their line out struggling as it did against lreland the week before, they were unable to control enough possession to make inroads. When they lost another throw on their own ball just inside their 22, England worked it to their advantage to force another penalty, this time summarily despatched by Farrell, and the visitors led 10-0 at the break.

A succession of fractured scrums blighted the start of the 2nd half with players simply unable to hold their footing – surely a serious player welfare concern. England continued to ask questions with ball in hand with winger Jonny May to the fore with a number of darting runs down his left flank and after Farrell missed another penalty in the 50th minute, it was May’s jinking run that put Scotland under sufficient pressure to force Alex Dunbar into illegally slowing down the ball.

The flanker saw yellow but it took eight minutes for England to make their one man advantage tell, Jack Nowell’s strength and determination breaking him free of a tackle down the touchline before he released fullback Mike Brown to the posts.

A scrappy last quarter saw England’s raft of replacements and a failing pitch combine to cruel any further scores but the only complaint from coach Stuart Lancaster can be the failure of his side to turn so much dominance into a bigger winning margin, especially given the likely closeness of the final ladder. With no bonus points awarded in the Six Nations, the absence of another try or two could prove to be vital come the final standings.

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Walk of Shame: Italy’s Michele Rizzo and France’s Rabah Slimani
became the first pair of red cards in the Five/Six Nations since 1992

FRANCE 30 (Louis Picamoles, Wesley Fofana, Hugo Bonneval; Jean-Marc Doussain 3 pens, 3 cons) bt ITALY 10 (Tommaso Iannone try; Luciano Orquera con, Tommaso Allan pen) HT 9-3

Twelve minutes of French brilliance after half-time settled this match as Les Bleus turned a cagey, penalty laden first-half into a runaway victory with three converted tries in quick succession. Italy had been well in the game up to that point, soaking up the majority of pressure their hosts had applied and conceding only 9pts to the boot of Jean-Marc Doussain in the process. Indeed, if the radar of their own kickers, Gonzalo Garcia and Tomasso Allan had been on song, they would have gained parity at best by the break but only one success from four attempts left them 6pts down instead.

When the teams returned, it was the Wesley Fofana show, the Clermont centre stamping his authority on the game, scoring one try and having a significant hand in another as the French – as they are capable of doing when the mind is willing – simply went to another level and blew the Azzurri off the park.

The visitors had edged the battle at scrum time in the opening forty but the French sent out a real statement of intent in the 41st minute, shoving the Italian pack backwards to earn a penalty to the delight of the Parisian crowd. They then used the field position to rumble forward off a line out and create an opening for no.8 Louis Picamoles to burst through and find the line despite the valiant efforts of winger Leonardo Sarto.

Four minutes later, Fofana skirted down the touchline to evade Luke McLean’s tackle and dive over for France’s second five pointer. When he then intercepted a pass on the edge of his own 22 in the 52nd minute to gallop upfield and find Yoann Huget who in turn fed Hugo Bonneval for try no.3, the game was up for Italy.

They huffed and puffed for the remainder of the match and went close in the 66th minute when Tobias Botes stretched over but a resolute French hand underneath the ball prevented the score. Frustrations boiled over when Azzurri prop Michele Rizzo headbutted French counterpart Rabah Slimani as the two grappled at a ruck. Slimani retaliated in kind before Rizzo threw a couple of uppercuts for good measure. The end result was the first double red card in the tournament since 1992.

With France down to 13 – Sebastien Vahaamahina had already been shown a yellow prior to the scuffle for kicking the ball away – the Italians were finally able to find a breakthrough but Tommaso Iannone‘s try was too little, too late to prevent his side’s 17th consecutive away defeat in the competition.

STANDINGS AFTER ROUND TWO

NEXT ROUND:

Saturday 21st February

Wales v France – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff – 7am AET

Sunday 22nd February

Italy v Scotland – Stadio Olimpico, Rome – 12.30am AET

England v Ireland – Twickenham, London – 3am AET