6 Nations Weekend 3

Better late than never, here goes my Week 3 review.

I've been travelling a fair bit again recently, and time has been short so I didn't get a chance to preview the matches. I would have been vastly wrong on one, spot on on one and not far off on the other.... but which was which?

Ireland vs Italy should have been a home banker. Italy's away performances are a far cry from their home persona, where they have recently beaten France and given England and Ireland the fright of their lives. Ireland made heavy weather of things early on though, leading 17-10 at half-time thanks to two brave decisions by O'connell to kick to the corner, which led to tries by Earls and Bowe, these being the bread around a Parisse try for Italy.

It was only after the withdrawal of the hugely disappointing Murray that ireland kicked into gear, and Reddan provided pace, urgency and tactical nous, which saw a second try for Bowe, one for Court and one for Trimble. Italy were run ragged in the last half hour, and seriously need to find a kicker and some backs. Ireland know that, if they can beat France, Scotland and England, and Wales slip up against the French (Auckland anyone?) the title could still be theirs.

England and Wales was the tie of the round, if not the tournament. England's inexperienced young guns against the slightly over-hyped, but still good Welsh. The Welsh said they would hammer us, but that was never going to be the case at Twickenham. A hammering is 62-28 Welsh fans... remember that?

This was a proper game of rugby. Both sides at times tearing into the opposition and asking the sternest questions of two defences that creaked but ultimately did sterling work. England nudged 6 points clear early in the second half with 4 Farrell penalties to 2 of Halfpenny's. Priestland was sent to the bin but Wales re-grouped and allowed the clock to tick down, masterfully it has to be said. This laid the platform for them to return to 12-12 with 10 minutes to go.

England replacement Courtney Lawes was then stripped of the ball by Scott Williams, but under the pressure of two other Welsh tacklers, and Williams kicked ahead, won the race, gathered and scored a try which Halfpenny would convert. 19-12, England needing a converted score to dodge the bullet.

Credit where it's due, Flood put them in the right place and the line-out was won. Wales cynically collapsed an advancing England maul. Penalty advantage as the clock ticked. Flood swung it wide, Brown and Strettle had a seemingly open line, but Brown's pass was slightly mis-timed, Strettle still got over and touched down (for me) but Steve (Look at me, I'm great) Walsh went to the TMO. Little worry for me, if it's a try we take it, if not we go back the minute or so for the penalty from which we haven't gained advantage. 4 tortuous minutes a Welsh voice (yes, work that one out) announced the evidence was inconclusive and OJ Simpson was released (sorry, my mistake) no try was given. "Walsh went back for the penalty then" I hear you say. Oh no. Game over, Wales won a Triple Crown and England far from being losers had won back the support of their fans, who were rightly cheered by an ebullient, promising performance from the least experienced side ever to represent any country in the 6 Nations.

Scotland hosted Wales on Sunday and whether it was French indolence, Scottish joie de vivre or a combination of Scotland clicking and France suffering their club sides malaise (not travelling well across the Channel) it was hard to tell, but Stuart Hogg, who looks a fine prospect, opened the score with that rarest of things, a Scottish try. France hung in and Fofana, who is another fine young prospect, picked the perfect line, took an awkward pass and rocketed over. Lee Jones scored a second try for Scotland (they're like buses seemingly) to nudge them 17-13 ahead before Medard sauntered over for France's second try and Beauxis added a drop goal which saw the French home by a mere 6 points.

Positives for all the sides really this weekend, with the exception of Italy who took a massive step backwards. I had Ireland to win comfortably and England to keep it close against Wales, but the real surprise for me was the Scots getting so close to a somewhat underwhelming France.

Team of the Week

As ever, a Team of the week from me:

1. Jean-Baptiste Poux (FRA) - showed the Scots how to scrummage
2. Dimitri Szarzewski (FRA) - best game in blue for quite a while
3. Dan Cole (ENG) - a couple of penalties aside, he was magnificent
4. Mauritz Botha (ENG) - a real powerhouse in England's second row
5. Paul O'Connell (IRE) - a great all-round performance
6. Stephen Ferris (IRE) - matched his captain for effort, skill and determination
7. Sam Warburton (WAL) - back to his World Cup best
8. Toby Faletau (WAL) - while no number 8 truly shone this weekend, he was a real danger runner for Wales
9. Eoan Reddan (IRE) - while only a substitute, he turned the game for Ireland
10. Owen Farrell (ENG) - first game at 10. "He can't get a back line moving" sad many. How wrong they were.
11. George North (WAL) - danger personified.
12. Wesley Fofana (FRA) - fast running out of superlatives for this pocket rocket
13. Manu Tuilagi (ENG) - along with Barritt outshone their Welsh rivals
14. Tommy Bowe (IRE) - swooped twice to finish moves efficiently
15. Rob Kearney (IRE) - A Lions shoe-in at the moment, though in a year's time, Stuart Hogg (SCO) may be sniffing for his place after a great performance of his own.

5 Irish, 4 English, 3 Welsh and 3 French this week. Hogg and Rennie the unlucky Scots, no Italian anywhere near the side I'm afraid.

Right, I can hear the Tapas calling. Hasta la vista. Billy Bonus 6 Nations weekend next weekend as France meet Ireland (ice permitting). Catch you then.