Wales wins another Grand Slam

The Triple Crown was not enough, and that makes two Grand Slams in four years and ten in the whole history of the tournament, so Ryan Jones could lift his second trophy in a week. Another great performance and another test try by Shane Williams who thus becomes Wales' best try scorer; as his father placed a £50 bet some ten years earlier on the event, the try also resulted in a £25,000 win for Shane's farsighted and happy father.

France had to beat Wales by 18 points to gain the victory, but suffered a heavy 12-29 instead, which makes 35 points less than they had to score. A nice satisfaction after being beaten by Fiji and knocked out from the World Cup 2007.

Better late than never

Finally Italy achieved a victory in the Six Nations 2008, though it's not enough to climb up the table as Scotland has a better point difference - only three, but that's enough. Italy reverted the 10-17 of the first period and Andrea Marcato kicked a drop only 30 seconds before the final whistle and moved the score to 23-20 thus closing the match; now, who would ever suppose to see Mallet in tears for his first victory with the italian team? And... about the wooden spoon: somebody says it is awarded to the last team in the table, somebody says it goes to the team who loses every match; I'm with the latter, so it looks like we've avoided it at last.

Meanwhile, Paterson completed his perfect kicking Six Nations at 100% just like in the World Cup.

England won 33-10 over Ireland; youg Cipriani, picking up Wilko's number 10 shirt, played a very good match - even if I still prefer Johnny Wilkinson; another great performance was the one offered by the Man of the Match Jamie Noon. I am not sure whether this match can change Ashton's future, which I see quite doomed.

France not done for yet

Les Bleus defeated Italy 25-13 and they're still in for the victory of the tournament; we are all looking for the clash against Wales, as all the premises for a great and spectacular match are present. The French suffered against the Italian scrum, from which came a wonderful try by Castrogiovanni after an unstoppable maul, but walked over the backs, who probably thought tackling to be an optional. Well here's some piece of news... it is not.

Very nice try in the beginning by Floch, the first signal of the inability of the Italian backs to properly cover the field. Despite a good match by the forwards, the remaining French tries tell the story, and only a great save by Bergamasco saved Italy from a heavier gap.

Wooden spoon here we come...

Back in black

It's not only the Spiderman saga, but also a description of what's happening to the English team which suffered another defeat by a great Scottish team, which committment and strong defense allowed them to triumph again in their own land. In a match with no tries, an infallible Paterson punished the fifteen of the rose, and Wilkinson, despite his new record that moved the Welsh fullback Neil Jenkins in the second place within the top test scorer list, was substituted. The faces of the coaches tell the whole story.

In a bad collision Balshaw literally broke Rory Lamont's face, and the winger will probably require a surgery even if he's recovering quite well from the concussion. Lamont's action was a very courageous one to do, while I think Balshaw knew he would never get that ball anyway, even if I'm sure he intended no harm to the Scot.

Looks like the Scots have avoided the wooden spoon... or have they? what we know for certain is that next week Italy will have to suffer. A lot.

Here comes the Triple Crown

Another great match by the Welsh who outruled Ireland, gaining the Triple Crown. Now only France stands between the Dragons and the Grand Slam. Way to go Wales!


They will have to avoid sin bins as they got two, and if in the first one they managed to hold Ireland's pace during the second one they underwent a six points comeback which brought Ireland just a point short. A pointless violence on Ryan Jones caused the referee to award a penalty with which Hook secured another three points that blew the Irish out of the match.

Shane Williams, who performed another great match, scored another wonderful try, while Shane Horgan missed for just a few inches thanks to a very-last-second/very-last-inch tackle, even if his action was a very good one.

Unluckily Brian O'Driscoll suffered a hamstring tear which will cause him to miss next week's clash against England.

The Empire Strikes Back

Ok I know England is not an empire any more, but the temptation was too big. England defeated France at the Stade de France for the second time in a row, in front of an astonished public. After a very enjoyable and quite balanced match Yachvili brought the score at 13-19, leaving France only six points behind with about five minutes to score a try and possibly win the match. At this point the English scrum, only a few inches from the French goal line, did a terrific job keeping possession of the ball for three endless minutes and threatening to kill the match. The final and deserved try by Wigglesworth fixed the score at 13-24. Brian Ashton declared himself "pretty pleased".

At Croke Park the home team overpowered Scotland 34-13. The Scots will likely contend for the unwanted Wooden Spoon with Italy.

We wish all the best to the Englishman James Haskell (nothing to do with the programming language) and the Scot Jim Hamilton who both suffered an ankle injury.

If we say it won’t be closed, then it won’t be closed.

These are the words Mallet said after rain was forecast for the clash between Wales and Italy; they regard the possibility to close the roof of the beautiful Millenium Stadium in Cardiff (even if the Arms Park had a whole different charm which I really loved). Mallet believes (and I do believe) rugby should be a game for all weathers, and that players should adapt to any type of condition. Maybe he also believes he has a pack stronger than the backs, and a muddy field would help their game, as the Welsh backs are far stronger than the Italians.

Well, the roof was not closed. Neither the Italian defense was, but it rained tries and points and the Welsh simply run over us, turning the half time 13-8 into an embarassing 47-8: 34 unanswered points. At least we scored a try, but there were too many careless errors. And this Wales is hungry. A nice debut in the Six Nations for young Andrea Marcato who played a good match.

Now Wales is heading for the Triple Crown and for the Grand Slam, with Ireland and France on the way. Are the Seventies back?

Red light for the green shirts

Despite a remarkable comeback from 26-6 to a narrow gaped 26-21 Ireland lost to France, who is heading toward a Grand Slam. If Wales will let it happen, of course. Ireland just scored one try while France scored four, three of which with Vincent Clerc's signature, showing a great ease of play.

Wales wins again

It seems Wales is determined to run for another Grand Slam; with a clear 30-15 win against Scotland they're marching at full points. Paterson, who did not miss a single penalty in Six Nations 2008, struggled to keep Scotland close to the Welsh, but the Scots' defence was not as good as usual, and Wales pierced it repeatedly; a spectacular try by Shane Williams put an end to the Scottish efforts. I'm pretty sure I would not have awarded that try, but that's what all those cameras are for. I can not imagine what would happen in a soccer match... We hope the Scots will get their confidence back, that they'll stop losing possession and that they'll start scoring some tries.

Almost got them...

Another defeat for Italy, who lost their home match with England with the final score of 19-23. Another good match for the forwards, a long waited for continuity from the backs, where Andrea Masi played almost every ball; unluckily it was not enough. Possession and territory were balanced in the first half, but Italy almost doubled their opponents in the second half, and only a couple of errors really costed Italy the match. Bortolussi improved his kicking, but Wilkinson showed us again a great skill. Maybe we could have him marry a velina (an Italian showgirl) and persuade him to play for Italy?

As a final note of satisfaction, Sergio Parisse, in his second match as a captain, was elected man of the match.

Mallett was satisfied with the Azzurri performance, and so was I :-) let's hope for the next match... we have too many wooden spoons by now! Wales will be a though opponent, but I'm sure we shall fight to the last breath.

What a comeback!

Six Nations 2008 started with a bang: last Saturday an impressive Wales defeated England in their Twickenham temple as it had not happened in 20 years. With only 25 minutes left and 13 points behind, the Dragons never gave up and scored 20 unanswered points that left England absolutely stunned with the final 19-26 score. Maybe the time has come for another golden age for the Welsh?

Italy lost to Ireland 16-11, showing no ideas from the backs but quite a good work from the forwards; the World Cup ghosts still linger around, will they lead Italy to the wooden spoon? Come on Azzurri, let's give it a cut! Ireland was not the squad we saw in the last tournament but we hope things will improve in the next weeks.

Yesterday France run over Scotland in Murrayfield; Paterson, introduced only 20 minutes before the end of the match, gave Scotland some fresh energy but that was not enough: a heavy 6-27 was the final result, reflecting the values shown on the field.