Highlights - Week 2 Six Nations Rugby

Welcome to our review of the second week of the RBS Six Nations

championship. Lewis Moody, fulfilling a lifetime ambition to

appear on Rugby special. We will head off to the Olympic Stadium in

Rome. The new ending coach had told his team to give the Italians are

hiding. Will they get tangled up in blue?

COMMENTATOR: It is the only game in the Six Nations weather supplies.

England have done nothing but beat Italy. We may not be best impressed

by England's ambition. Jack Grenell makes one change. The back row

outstanding. The three quarters with ambition. Campagnaro elusive, Sato

powerful. England have swapped askew shirts. Mako Vunipola, laws and

Young's where one, four and nine. That mag Lawes.

Six forwards on the England bench. Maro Itoje come in for the first

caps. Edoardo Gori. Again, hitting the

short side. Two can -- Canna. England are on the back foot here.

Italy getting through some decent possession. As we have said, it is a

shaky start from England. Canna scored a try, penalty,

conversion, drop goal against France. This against England. A

little bit of curl on it. Italy are in the lead. Italy is 3, England 0.

Billy Vunipola's feet just sit in front of the 22 metre line. Good,

attacking scrum for England. Penalty goes to England.

Owen Farrell, after good work by the England scrummage. He has a little

bit of right-to-left draw, and we all square in Rome.

They hop, skip and tackle by James Haskel. Italy feel that. Advantage

to England. Which they have, through Jonathan Joseph, real chance. Taken

low. Gets back-up. Play on. Vunipola, try to get the little pass

away. It is therefore Ben Youngs. Farrell, back on his feet. Gonzalo

Garcia the tackle. No advantage in the end.

Penalty to England. Interesting, Owen Farrell insisting that he was

not hurt. Jackson sending him off for a head injury assessment.

England take the lead. A simple penalty by George Ford. Italy 3-6

England. Gori. Parisse on the wing. He provided under the passes on

narrower channel. Carlo Canna, just wide with his drop

goal attempt. Italy 6-6 England. Can England go

high? Luke McLean catches. Follow-up tackle. Mike Browne Scott Hend in.

Italy under real pressure in front of their own posts. England have an

advantage. They have a turnover opportunity as well.

Billy Vunipola. Owen Farrell on the switch. George Ford. Glen Jackson

checked with his touch judge. Try awarded. And under by George Ford,

but a much better case by Jonathan Joseph. Straightaway, they put up

pressure on the breakdown, turned the ball over. A fantastic finish by

George Ford. Parisse controls. He charges at Ben

Youngs. Penalty advantage Italy. Biaggi. Robshaw with a strong

tackle. Canna. He goes on his own. George Kruis. He had to turn in the

tackle. Parisse. Steyn drops it. Parisse is just so powerful of the

back of the scrum as we see. He is a talisman for this Italy team, and he

is leading but that sample again today. -- leading by example.

Canna, delicately, puts over the penalty. And the gap narrows. Italy

9-11 England. Italy trying to work the front peel.

It turned into a conventional rot in the end. Away comes Lovotti, the

prop. England have turned the ball over.

Danny Care. How many times have Italy coughed up possession?

Nowell. Canna. Quickly to Bellini. Bellini gets the pass away. It is as

simple gift for Jonathan Joseph. He won't score is an easier try than

that for anybody. But how important is that for England in this game,

this struggle for control? Good plate from Jonathan Joseph here. He

anticipated that pass, getting in a passing thing, and into sedating it.

-- anticipating. The pass was given to Jonathan Joseph. He just said

thank you very much. Owen Farrell at the Tui points. And what was to but

perfect uncomfortably close is not a convincing lead. -- now. England win

the penalty. Andrea Lovotti penalised. David

Giazzon has been on for some time as replacement hooker. We are

approaching the final quarter, the quarter where England would really

like to cut loose. If they want to deliver a hang -- deliver a

hammering, they really need to start now. This is a good place to start.

Kruis takes it. Hartley controls them all. -- controls the maul.

Jonathan Joseph. Try number two! Great work from Danny Care, the

Care, the finish the Jonathan Joseph. What a touch from Danny Care

off the back of that drive. He took the ball to the line, and put at

beautiful little grubber. He will be proud of that, being a football man.

They got another John, and they are showing great intent. Like we said,

Danny Care comes off the back of the line-out. It was a beautiful kick in

for Jonathan Joseph. The simplest of conversions for Owen Farrell. It is

looking healthier for England. 25-9 now. Pressure from the England side

of the scrum. They have won the penalty. It feels like the tide

might have turned. That momentum has certainly shifted in the last five

or ten minutes. England have gone 16 points clear on the scoresheet, and

he has taken the pressure off, and it seems to have given the team a

real lift. Dan Cole keeps the pressure on this nearside. Italy go

down on both sides. Owen Farrell, kick number six.

England up to 28 points, thanks to Owen Farrell. Scoring tries, but

they are taking their penalty points. Italy 9-28 England. Knock-on

by Italy. Advantage over, says the referee.

Dylan Hartley makes way for Jamie George.

That is the entire England bench used up. Overthrow. Sergio Parisse

comes away with it. George instantly involved. Biaggi. Presents for Gori.

Excellent work by Joe Launchbury. Paul Hill comes away with it. Now

the backs have their moment. Joseph. Is it going to be a hat-trick? Three

tries for Jonathan Joseph! Great defence here from England.

They are getting away and putting pressure on Italy. Some slick hands

from England, to get the move on the line. A great hat-trick for Jonathan

Joseph. They have had a pretty quiet first half. In 20 or 25 minutes,

they will be over the moon with that.

Six minutes to go. England on the Italian 22. Billy Vunipola feeds

Danny Care. Much more confident now England. Anthony Watson does not

find a way through. He will definitely find a way through,

sharper. Itoje. It is a penalty advantage to England. They get over

the advantage line. Ford. Jamie George. Beautiful off-load for Owen

Farrell. England cutting loose. This is pretty much what we expected to

see, and it is fantastic to see the team flowing and off-loading again

and getting on the front foot. Great play by the England pack, getting

the boys on the front foot. Lovely little off-load by Jamie George to

his Saracens team-mate, Owen Farrell, to get under the sticks.

Simple conversion for Owen Farrell. England and some winners in Rome.

Finally this -- final score, Italy 9-40 England. We worked hard in the

first half, and we kept a close with the score, but it easy try, and

England definitely put us under pressure, especially in the 25

minutes. They were stronger than us. The result is key. It was very

satisfying. We knew that it would open up in the last 20, and it did.

No doubt, it is always going to be difficult at the start. We let them

back into the game with a few series -- silly errors. We are exactly

where we want to be in the Six Nations. Tee from two. We are ready

for Ireland in a couple of weeks. Jonathan Joseph has a nose for the

try line. How special is the? He is the lucky one to get the

knock-downs! I think that something is important, but the captain, I

don't care, as long as we are scoring. So those are the facts and

figures from Rome. A lot more carries from Italy and England.

Meters made markedly less, and it is not when you have got the ball, it

is what you do with it. 61 possession for Italy. That 61%. What

a caption does not show you is that 52 minutes in, Italy have just

missed a penalty, a very kickable penalty to take -- take the lead,

and the game turns on it head. It was a very tough 50 minutes, and the

Italians were in it, and then the turning point was this one moment of

madness. What the two wingers are thinking... It is a quick throw in.

It is a great line by England. Just kick it. Just play your lines. I

haven't seen him throw a pass before, and he just throws it... A

shocker, an absolute shocker. They go from here. They shoot down the

line. That is brilliant play by Danny Care. Must be good

communication. Again, they lose the ball, Italian error. They were

chasing the game, which is not their style, they don't like it. Then

again, they are all over the shop defensively, and that is a brilliant

finish. He had to score the third one. It was a fantastic finish. He

is a dangerous player on the front foot. But it is very difficult to

judge where they are at the moment. They have won two games, they are

looking forward to Ireland. That is it. I am not sure how much they have

developed, because of that escape. But it is two from two. We cannot

complain. In and have not conceded a try in either match. They are going

to be happy with that. It has been an area that has been a strong focus

for them historically. They will be delighted. Two from two, and it

certainly was not the all singing, all dancing performance. Good to

have you here. Would you make of England's line-out? That is one area

where it is they are a little bit worried. They lost a few in the

first half. You have to look at the back row. With Vunipola playing

well, a great, strong carrier. But Haskel and Robshaw together, they

are pretty much the same type of player. None of them are a line-out

option. You are owned only going to get two jumpers. That is one area

that might be concern. If you look at this line-out, if I was Italy, I

would not worry too much. If you were a lot in the middle, he will

not take you one. They using here for the dummy. He don't worry too

much about him. You are marking Kruis and Courtney Lawes. That is

great contesting by Italy, but there are two jumpers in line-out. That

makes things easy. If you look at the other side, England have only

two jumpers. Vunipola is not a jumping option, Robshaw, not a

jumping option. Italy had 17 line-outs where they won 16. Here,

two of them are not options, certainly take the easy bill. If

they give them the front ball, they are going to stop the drive, and

they are not going to give them space. They give them easy bill.

Italians get over the advantage line. They get better position, and

they get from football. They are in the game. If you talk about options,

the England bench gave them so many more options. Tbilisi much heralded

in advance, the future of English lightweight -- rugby today? We saw a

great array of guys come on and play well. George Wood the load, Danny

Care, with the kick. How he got man of the match, I don't know. There

has been a lot talked about with Maro Itoje, and we will see clips

the other young men and what he can do in the game. This is his first

involvement. It has already highlighted it. It only makes it

very easy. Here, we see Campagnaro, he had a good game, but look at the

body movement. He is so strong and athletic. This is a great angle for

young rugby players. Number 20, in the scrum at. Now, he is a real

nuisance to get rid of. He is so strong. There, it is a good example

of body height for any young players watching. He is just a good strong

ball-carrier. Danny Care lifts it, and they will see a score from this,

and Danny Care has come on, and it is just a strong carry. He is a

tremendous player. He has an aggressive run. I don't think he

passes enough to bring the back free interplay, but when Goode came on,

he added something different. He went in the second five. He passes

it. He is more of a natural foot player. Where does Owen Farrell set

in the pack -- pecking order of centres? There is a wealth there

now. That is a nice position to be in. From the southern hemisphere

perspective, we would talk about how you view the game over here it a

little bit later on, but you saw one thing in England's approach which

you don't think would be acceptable in at New Zealand, South African,

Australian. There was a lot of talk about where the northern hemisphere

teams were in the semifinals. If I look at the game, it is the one area

that they are much more conservative in their final third. If you look at

England, they only have one option. They can only keep that ball in the

nine. If that was the All Blacks, they would have a setup like that.

They have an option to play Kruis on the outside. Then they have Ford in

behind. Then it is fired on two. Then they have big Dan Cole in the

middle. -- five on two. Then it is three on one. That is the first

opportunity to them to attack. If they put those in the first line,

they need space in behind. But the Italians have four guys back there.

They still kick it to him. Yes, they have a good chasing line, they have

a hit beyond the 50 metre line. If you play New Zealand or Australia in

that situation, I have two sides to attack. They had to defend against.

We spoke about the midfield there. That is what Farrell lights. He

spots it, let's go wide rather than stick with the court. And Goode has

to call it. When you have slayed to come back, is he going to play ten

or 12? Two likely is going to come in. They have plenty of options.

Let's move on. That's me back to yesterday. Before we see the

attrition of France, let's go to the exuberance of Cardiff. Wales are

trying to win the ninth consecutive match against the Scots. There was

tension in the air at the Prince panty Stadium, because Scotland are

trying to get out of their worst run for 61 years in this competition.

Andrew Cotter describes it. COMMENTATOR: Baldwin trying to find

his men. Patel clutches it despite the intentions of Denton. Davis

gives it on. Rob Evans. But she goes. How does it

work? Away comes Davies now expect he will go away! Gareth Davies all

the way for the corner! The scrum-half scores! What a trifle

Gareth Davies! It came from nothing, it came from chaos. But, a question

to be asked. Was there a knock-on? They want to check whether there is

a knock-on in the plate previously to this. I think the ball has gone

back. We will have to wait and see. But what a finish from this guy.

This is a chip from B. Dan Biggar. Roberts knotted back.

Can you role that back? We are just having a look at that. He is an

side. You may award the trite! He has given the trite. -- try.

Gareth Davies first to react, and what a finish. It is an amazing

finish. Through goes Laidlaw. He is making a

nuisance of himself. Jonny Gray. Dickinson again. Bondage to Scotland

as well. They are getting closer and closer to Denton. 17 faces for

Scotland. Ray continuity. Richie Gray.

Laidlaw, just flips it to Ross Ford. Heading towards 20 phases. Valid how

is over ball. Jonny Gray. Little chip over the top by Russell. It

will surely be a trite for Scotland! And it is for Tommy Seymour! -- try.

Great patience. What a response for Scotland. Finn Russell looks up. He

knows that Tom James is no -- there, no one in behind. Tom James finishes

off. Scotland attacked white and they attack through the middle. A

lovely chip to finish. That is a result for Scotland, that is.

Seymour is good under the high ball again. Great counter rocking there.

The ball is loose for a minute. Through the middle comes John

Barclay. They are looking for flyers. Wide it goes, and Bennett

into touch. Hogg had come in, and now he flings his arms out wide. But

he did not quite see him. Just watch the support. Two in, two out. He

should've kept the ball in hand. I think Baldwin slid into him, and

he could have injured him. Brave take. Hopefully both are OK. They

are both slowly getting to their feet. They made contact. Hogg does

not look comfortable at all. Scotland's ball, and the full-back

is trying to get back into position. They are attacking with one man

down. Cory there is the take. There was a

pass out to Nell who did very well indeed. Into the final minute.

Defined cries from Wales. It is a penalty to Scotland and a chance to

lead at the break. He is not rolling away. His arm is stuck, so he says,

and that is the penalty. Into the red, last kick. The Scotland captain

gives the visitors the lead at half time.

Scotland will try and get the ball moving and away comes John Hardy,

sneaking down the blindside. Loses the ball. James into the open,

flying down the wing. Still with wheels. The ball is out. It is

anybody's now. Bradley Davies has it. Got to go wide. They are crying

for it. Bigger crossfield kick for George North. North cannot quite get

his hands on it. A chance for a break by James. What a chase and

covering tactic. I thought they would get in the first 20 yards but

he kept the space with the chaser. Hardy loses the ball and he is away.

Keep your eyes on the guy with the white Brits. Duncan Taylor get his

angles right. He focuses on where he is going to catch uses the touch

line as a defender. This is where you have to open your legs, pick up

your knees and make it. Duncan Taylor makes it. Great tackle that.

A five metre scrum to Wales. They have managed to stop wheels going to

try it. You get the ball out and UK could. What a difference 30 seconds

makes. That says it all. No quarter given by the Scottish scrum here.

Wheels have to use it. Davis gives it to Roberts. Jimmy Roberts held

short now. Gareth Davies gives it wide. The Scottish defence

scrambling back. The ball there are again. Metres short. What a tackle.

Nell flinging themselves forward. Penalty, offside Scotland. There

were one or two heroic tackles from Scotland. A good scrum. Jimmy

Robertson was shot down. Jonathan Davies, that man flying of the line

and making a tackle. Statement of intent from Wales. It is a

straightforward three points but they are going for the scrum. Wheels

getting a bit of a nudge. Faletau looking. Use it says the referee.

Clancy having a long look here. Wheels still have it. Faletau with

his hands upon it. Wheels still with a wonderful opportunity. Bradley

Davies drives himself into the arms of Johnny Gray. Crashing through,

we'll is looking to open the gap. To the line. They score and it is Jamie

Roberts you get down. Wheels have a try, wheels have the lead. A quarter

of an hour to go and they are in front in Cardiff. A great hit by the

two Scottish players, but his momentum took him over. Wheels in

front for the first time in a long while. Wheels with the attack again.

North:. North: all the way. What a try for George North and wheels

surely it now. This is a simple drop off. Two missed tackles. It unfolds

and unfolds. It is a brilliant finish, but defensively were from

Scotland. Tired figures on both sides trying

to find something. A lovely pass. There is a chance and Duncan Taylor

will score for Scotland. They finish with a flourish and Duncan Taylor

has his first for Scotland. He delays his pass and what a line like

Duncan Taylor stop a good score by Duncan Taylor. Have they the miracle

from one end of the field? An ugly pass. A mistake by the scrum-half.

It goes. The game is over. What a game. Scotland were looking for a

rare first win here but wheels found their place, found their skill and

they have won this match. They put us under pressure. We know if we

could keep the ball we could did. -- do it. A win is a win and fair play

to Scotland. We were getting close. We did so many good things and then

there were a couple of soft moments that cost us. The loss doesn't get

any easier. I do not like losing. Maybe some information to be taken

from that game and that will make is probably a little bit grumpier and

we will use that to push for our win. For us having a six-day

turnaround to come out with that victory, we are happy. They were

tough at the breakdown. We had to dig deep. Very comparable figures

from this match to the Italian game in terms of carries from Scotland,

similar kind of metres made. Look at the number of titles wheels made. It

was a 50% possession game and wheels had a couple of key moments and came

out on top. We will focus on those few moments now. The try in the

first five minutes was the difference between the sides and was

it a try? If we play it on, it is where Dan Biggar kicks. If we posit

there, there is a try scorer. The question asked was is this guy

offside, Jamie Roberts? No, he is not offside. If we run it on, the

next question is, was it a knock-on? No, he touched it back, Duncan

Taylor touches it and the try scorer is still there. He starts in an

offside position, he ends in an offside position, but it was a

brilliant finish. The confusion was, the referee asked about Jamie

Roberts on two occasions. The focus was taken off the try scorer and

they brushed it and the try was given. It was not a try, it was

offside and it shouldn't have been a try. The assistant referee, had he

too chosen, could have said there is something you should have a look at.

Why doesn't the referee so why should I not love this tripe? That

gives BTM no time to look at everything. The try from George

North. If you take this guy up, he will score the try. Here he is,

George North. Run it on here. It is a great scrum. Scotland have Jamie

Roberts down the middle. There is, on the run. Let's get to the tackle

area, try to get to the rock first. Unfortunately, they should be

filling that whole. That is where they should be going. They don't. He

weeps, he beat the bland side, puts on the acceleration and that is a

brilliant, brilliant try. Not great defending by Scotland. It is nice to

see George North back scoring tries. From a Scottish perspective, there

is a fantastic piece by Tom English when he sums up with Scottish rugby

is at the moment after last weekend and after yesterday. He says

Scotland are trapped in a no man's land. Stuck between the pitiful dog

days of old and a proper new dawn. They can see a light, they just

cannot reach it and it is excruciating. There are signs of

recovery, but they cannot get there. There are and the quality of players

they have, it is just the basic errors from --. They keep getting

things wrong time and time again. Scotland are in a great attacking

position, Hardy takes, could give the off-load, loses the ball. You

think, for all intents and purposes, he will get there. The try line

cannot get there fast enough and put a great tackle from Duncan Taylor.

Now Scotland, their back is against the wall, they have to defend. This

is it, this is the key. The with pressure. A great ball to grow. He

is expecting a catching drive. People whose lives the top, all of a

sudden, you are on your own. After all that great work, you just

coughed up easily and wheels scored from that. The with the pressure on

the line. When you are on a losing run, as Scotland are, of such

calamitous proportions, how much of it is the hands and the feed and how

much is the mind? It is confidence. You have to ask yourself, to turn

this thing around, they have got to get one or two players to stand up,

make the big play and win a game for them. If you do get England, or if

you look at George North, that is what they need. They are playing

well, they just need the top players to stand up in the game and make a

magic play and turn it around. They don't have enough guys playing in

high-pressure games where you can develop. The programme is not

delivering the pressure and quality they need. Wheels are trying to play

this expansive game now. Unfortunately, it didn't work

because they are not engaging defenders. They are not executing it

properly. If Scotland had a good kicking game, wheels would not have

scored from distance. Wheels reverted to the tried and trusted

scheme, God over the try line, got into good position and scored two

tries. At half time I thought if Scotland do not make mistakes,

wheels could be in big trouble. It is also the second weekend of the

women's championship. Harris slipped through two tackles five minutes

before half time and gives a pass to Hannah Jones who went over to score

in the corner and that was a try that made it 18-10 to wheels and all

the women's matches replicated the men's results. The Italian side put

up a much improved performance. France beat Ireland by 18-6. The

table looks similar to the men. Talking about France, that show you

one final piece of action from the match in Paris. It was a great day

and it was a match that has replicated the weather. Eddie Butler

was there once more. Knocked on by the French forwards. A

chance for Ireland. Jared Payne drops the ball, so we

got back to the penalty. The contact on Jonathan Sexton that, well, let's

have a look. That is a completely cheap shot. It was right in front of

the referee. Straight like sexting. The team in green leads by 3-0.

Ireland come away with it and John O'Brien, enough to sidestep.

Jonathan Sexton after his little mistake puts boot to ball. Nice

bounce for Ireland. Not much ground made there. Sean O'Brien looks like

he is heard there. Did he hurt himself with the side step? Assad

sight for Ireland. Just back from one injury and hobbling off with

another. Oh my word. They absolutely clattered him. Rob Kearney, his

brother keeps the move going. He is currently back on the feet. Here he

is. Toner tackled by Antonio, the prop. Sexting is coming Dave

Carney's way. He has been stripped. He has lost it forward. It is an

advantage of being played. Then shot. -- Henshaw. France penalised.

That is excellent defence from France. Ireland need to go through

the phases, wood onto the ball and French indiscipline will give them

penalties like we have seen there. Very safely through the middle.

France zero, Ireland six. Antonio, used in the middle of the

park. Just a little experiment once they have the penalty advantage.

Five on three there, they didn't even make it count. They were going

nowhere. A soft penalty and something they will be disappointed

about. The song, he wasn't given kicking duties last week, starts

this week and puts France on the board. Ireland get the better of the

scrimmage. After a period of defence, will Jonathan Sexton say

let's get more points on the board. Completely. Just before half-time as

well. Low, tumbling, stripped. France

three, Ireland nine. France have a cross within that five metre tunnel.

Rory Best, big tackle. They come in through the centre. France still

driving. With, but they are that close to the ground. There is a man

on his own with 20 metres to spare for France on the right wing. The

Sun sees it, he is screaming for it. They are going to go upstairs and we

will have a look at this. There is no obvious grounding of the

ball. I cannot see people being grounded. I don't want to be too

cynical about this but if I were Ireland I would drop it before it

moves backward. This is the scrimmage. Don't get those

immediately. They took your advice. And thereby avoid a penalty try.

France with their best opportunity. It comes out quickly. He scores. The

food bag has scored. The conversion is easy and France will take the

lead. Look at the quick ball there. I do not understand why it more

sides do not do this. Look at this. Stripped out. Almost impossible to

Prevent. Tommy O'Donnell was expecting a big surge forward. That

makes it such a hard run to defend. Time is up. Off the field goes the

ball. A second narrow victory for France. The important thing is they

are two victories. France have beaten Ireland by 10-9. We don't

control our title. Our title opportunity is in the hands of other

people. Realistically, it is only a mathematical chance, but we have to

stay one game focused. It is how we have worked our way through the last

championships and we will try to put our best foot forward in two weeks'

time. It was quite physical. Some of the tackles were bordering on

illegal at times. Was that a deliberate tackle -- tactic by

France. It is always going to be a physical game. Especially when two

sides like this come together. It was either we be physical or we get

outmuscled. I felt that referees need to be strong. We were told that

would be the case. The same players were involved in two sets of foul

play. Jonathan Sexton? Yes. We know he will be targeted over here. I

think it is one of those things that Johnny will not step back from. We

will work past that and continue to try to play as well as we can and if

that becomes part of the game and it is not dealt with strongly, we just

have to get past it. Joe Schmidt is under pressure now. He has barely

have a team with so many injuries. They get all of those carries. Look

at the meters. Look at the tackles. 191. Jonathan Sexton is always the

linchpin of the Irish side and he was clearly targeted by the French

yesterday and there were one or two cheap shots. What do we make up the

way the French tried to nickel and intimidate Ireland. They have always

done it. This is a very cheap shot. He is so late, it is ridiculous.

That is a yellow card. As simple as that. Be tackle afterwards is

ferocious. I think that is just within the limit. The first contact

is the shoulder. Here we are. First contact. Is that OK? That is an

aggressive head. He has gone off because of the shoulder injury.

Rugby is a contact sport. It is a good head. The list hit on sexting

is more concerning. If you pass the ball and you relax a little bit. He

was that late, you just have to yellow card him. Should we be

worried about France? They should be. They were close on both counts.

They will take confidence into the game. The French are a very

passionate side and they will start believing in themselves. I believe

it will be a tough game. For Ireland, they had opportunities in

the first 20 minutes to establish a cushion and didn't take it. It is

small margins at this level. This is Ireland deciding not to take the

points when weather conditions were terrible. Those three points were

crucial. They have done that because they had a set piece lined up. Sean

O'Brien will come round the front. They did a great job. He draws in.

As we play it on, he transfers to one hand. Given that pass and it is

a finish worthy winner. He has done what he needed to do. Give the pass,

into the corner. Now Ireland have to retain the ball. Another opportunity

here just outside the 22. McGrath, overcame, get inside the 15. Easy

penalty. It is just a let off. We have to be clinical and Ireland in

the first 20 just or not. This is another good opportunity for

Ireland. O'Brien, so strong, good game for the 20 minutes they lasted.

What a great piece of play, he goes through, takes a khanate, just buys

enough time to get over the ball, supported by the French hooker. They

manage that turnover. There is the gap. That time has bought enough for

them to get in and make the turnover. A wonderful play by France

to defend the goal line and keep Ireland at bay. In the list of

players who are not playing for Ireland is the incompetent poll

O'Brien who has announced his retirement. How good was he? He was

a fantastic player. Probably the best player I have played against in

my career. He really studied the game. Every town I went up against

him I knew I had to put in a letter from work, and Alison, analyse what

we were doing because he will be prepared when we go into that game.

With Ireland, in the World Cup, when he got injured, they were not the

same team. They just missed the leadership he gave them. The detail

he put in place, just to leadership and other things. He is a critical

eye off the field as well. A great gentleman and I love spending time

with hymns. You are playing for a Northampton Saints. You have been

here for a month, not the best time of year to play rugby. What is your

take on rugby in this country covered to Super Rugby in the south

of France? You have to look at conditions. It is difficult to play.

It is raining, it is wet, it is soft underfoot. You go through games

where it feels difficult. Super Rugby means being in place to defend

other guys. You need to get with on the attack, you tried to play the

other guys. Here it is a set piece battle. It is the little margins,

the breakdown and stop a little different, but it will get drier and

we will see more attacking rugby as well. There were plenty of points in

the Premiership today. Here we are. This is what the table looks like.

If it is going to be a Grand Slam it will beat England or France and the

last match in the Six Nations this year is France against England. You

can see that on BBC One. Before that, the French Grand Slam

ambitions may well, to an end at the principality Stadium on Friday the

26th of February. We are back on Friday week for that. As per as the

paper is concerned. Bournemouth versus Everton on Saturday. On

Sunday we have Chelsea against Manchester city. What an

unbelievable day in the Premier League today. We have got to watch

that. Thanks to the guys on the day when

we may have seen the future of English rugby but in a week when we

saw one of the Giants of Ireland's pass leaving. Thank you.

I'm raising my game and I WILL come out on top.