Six Nations: Week 2 Review
The grounds men in Rome did a fantastic job in making sure the game went ahead as the pitch was covered in snow. The first 15 minutes of the game saw Italy look the more threatening of the sides but they were unable to make the necessary inroads towards their opponents. England at the line out were very sloppy and had two turned over during the first half but Italy continued their carelessness with the ball from last week as they kicked the ball away on numerous occasions. With 13 minutes left of the half, England scored the game's first points after Kris Burton fouled David Strettle off the ball. Owen Farrell duly kicked through the posts to make it 3-0 to the visitors.
Farrell doubled England's lead as he kicked through from range however the game turned on its head with minutes left of the half. The Azzurri recovered the ball from the kick off and started to go through the phases bearing down on England's try line. With the ball out wide it was grubber through the defence only to richoet off Ben Foden to fall gratefully to Giovanbattista Venditti who went over in the corner. Then from the kick off, Ben Foden's pass was intercepted by Tommaso Benvenuti who easily ran the rest of the pitch to score his first try under the posts to the delight of the Italian fans. The teams went into the half time break in front 12-6.
The Whites had to hit the ground running to stay in the game but ill discipline cost them as Tom Croft was penalised for an off the ball challenge. Burton put through the penalty to add to Italy's lead. Luck was then on England's side after Andrea Masi's kick was charged down by Hodgson in a carbon copy of his try from last week at Murrayfield to reduce the deficit to a slender two points. Four minutes later the home side were seen to be offside at the ruck which gifted Farrell the opportunity to put England back in the lead for the first time since the first half. Farrell's effort sailed through to make it 16-15. Italy's chances were hampered by the forward line as they collapsed the scrum to the satisfaction of the England pack. Farrell continued a good day at the office adding another three points making it 19-15. Two glorious opportunities for substitute Tobias Botes were spunned as his woeful attempts at goal cost the Azzurri a chance of a first win against England to the relief of Stuart Lancaster.
Italy will be immensely disappointed with the slender defeat but this outlines how far the Azzurri have progressed since their first tournament in 2000. Although England maintained them for the majority of the game, the chances they were presented with they took with both hands. The loss of Martin Castrogiovanni in the first half due to a rib injury was a big loss in their forward pack but one consistent problem is their decision making. Numerous times during the game when they had received the ball from a kick, they would hand possession back. The Azzurri travel to Ireland for their next game.
England will be mightily relieved with the win in Rome after two mistakes almost cost them dearly. The line out was strangely inconsistent as they had two turned over in the first half and the backs didn't really shine as Lancaster has said they would. Owen Farrell's maturity shone through with his pin point kicking and the introduction of Ben Morgan changed things up nicely. The visit of Wales to Twickenham will prove a difficult test for this new outfit.
Italy (12) 15
- Tries: Venditti, Benvenuti
England (6) 19
The game in Paris between France and Ireland was postponed due to the poor weather conditions affecting the pitch.
The match has been rescheduled for the 2nd March.
A very physical game at the Millennium Stadium ended in a win for Wales 27-13. 22 points in 14 minutes for Wales proved the pivotal moment of the game as they disposed of a spirited Scotland.
Wales started the match the better of the two sides but conceded a penalty when Leigh Halfpenny was seen to be offside by the referee after he spilled a high kick. Greig Laidlow, Dan Parks replacement, had the chance to give the Scots an early lead but he dragged his kick wide to the left. Halfway through the half, intensity of the game remained high as both sides put in a number of big hits with the Welsh players seeming to come of worse. Huw Bennett was one to feel the effects as he went off dazed and bleeding to be replaced by Ken Owens, fortunately Bennett returned to the field shortly after. Another to suffer was influential back George North who hobbled off after a number of crunching tackles against him.
Scotland continued to drive at the Wales line and they were rewarded with a penalty in the Wales 22 when Ian Evans handled in the ruck. This time, Laidlow was successful to give Scotland a 3-0 lead. The home sides dominance in territory was being put to waste as sloppy errors in their opponents was costing them however, Alasdair Strokosch gifted them a penalty as he entered the ruck from the side. Halfpenny put the kick through to cancel out Laidlow's earlier effort. The visitors were then on the front foot as Lee Jones broke through the Welsh line. With 21 phases down and Scotland inches from the line, Ross Ford fumbled the ball to ruin a glorious chance to put the Scots in front at the break.
Scotland head coach Andy Robinson would have wanted his side to take their form from the opening 40 minutes into the second half but bad judgement from Chris Cusiter put the visitors on the back foot right from the off. His mis-catch sparked off a nightmare 15 minutes for Scotland as two tries from Halfpenny and one from Alex Cuthbert as well as yellow cards for Rory Lamont and Nick De Luca saw them go from level pegging to 21 points behind. A chance then arose for debutant Stuart Hogg when he thought he had scored his first try only for the referee to wrongly pull him back for a knock on. Luckily though, their hardwork payed off as the visitors found themselves just short of the line and Laidlow buried himself underneath Toby Faletau to give Scotland a glimour of hope. Laidlow added the conversion to the scoreboard to make it 27-13. The game remained scoreless as the level of physicality from both sides was high and the 30 players on the pitch were dead on their feet as the final whistle blew.
Warren Gatland's back line of Cuthbert, North, Roberts is devastating, as they tore up the Scottish defence with some smart running. Dan Lydiate had a brilliant game at blindside flanker and was voted the RBS man of the match for his efforts. The injury to North could be crucial in their next game at Twickenham however there is no doubt that at this early stage, Wales look the team to beat and most likely to come away with the Triple Crown.
15 minutes to forget for Scotland as once again mistakes cost them dearly. Nevertheless, a good effort was put in throughout the side with the forward pack really going for it. The introduction of winger Stuart Hogg made Scotland's attack more potent and showed why Glasgow Warriors have contracted him till 2015. Andy Robinson's record is still very poor with two wins in twelve doesn't look good reading as they welcome France to Murrayfield next.
Wales (3) 27
- Tries: Cuthbert, Halfpenny 2
Scotland (3) 13
