Wales 30 – 15 Scotland
Wales remain unbeaten after their victory over the Scots, although the scoreline suggests it was more comfortable than it actually was. Shane Williams was awarded a try despite his foot being in touch, and this gave the Home side an unassailable lead.
If it hadn’t been given by the television match official, Scotland may have had a chance, but now they remain rooted to the bottom of the table with two defeats from two.
France 26 – 21 Ireland
Three quick tries from Vincent Clerc gave the French a commanding lead, and at half time Ireland seemed shell-shocked and bereft of ideas. After the break though, a penalty try sparked them into action and they almost produced one of the finest combacks in the history of the competition.
The forwards drove relentlessly for the line and the required try looked possible in the last 5 minutes, but the French held on and the Irish wasted the final play of the game. Ultimately, it’s fair to say that the result was typically Irish – a narrow, but heroically brave defeat to France.
Italy 19 – 23 England
There was a hint of deja vu at the Stadio Flaminio as England completely dominated the game in the first half, but then (nearly) threw it away in the second. Jonny Wilkinson responded to his critics by setting up a majestically crafted first try, but then the second half was once again a shambles.
Towards the end, when another try was given away through a charged down kick, there were some worrying minutes, but Brian Ashton’s men clung on for their lives. They now sit in the middle of the table, which seems to be a fair reflection of their performances – average, middle of the road, nothing special.
What did you think of this weekend’s games?
Fair enough rugbyrwgbi – all I was saying was that I couldn’t see why you took issue with the initial account of the game on this blog, which I felt was not nearly as critical of Wales as you were making it out to be. As I said in my initial comment, I felt Wales would win throughout, but when there’s only a point in any game there’s never any certainty (or in England’s case anything less than a 20-point lead!).
Personally I would never be so fickle as to let my objective, considered opinion be swayed by the consumption of a few beers. Well, OK maybe just a little bit!
We like the Josh Lewsey English too. Unfortunately our coach doesn’t and prefers the Iain Balshaw English. I expect you do too, for a very different reason!
And Harry, I get his point, just didn’t see what was so off the mark about the original post on here, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to say England were anything other than crap yesterday (again).