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| Italy vs. Wales |
All right, the third round of the RBS 6 Nations is heating up and looks like England and Wales pummeled through the ranks against the French and the Italians.
First and foremost, the England rugby team really put a massive blow on the FFR at the once-messed-up-by-Top-Gear Twickenham stadium and if it weren't for Manu Tuilagi's try, England wouldn't got a 23-13 lead against France.
PRESS RELEASE:
Tuilagi sinks France as England edge closer to Grand Slam
Manu Tuilagi picked up from where he left off at Twickenham, scoring England's only try in their 23-13 victory over France to maintain his side's pursuit of a first RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam since 2003.
Tuilagi last played on home soil for England when he inspired the Red Rose's historic victory over New Zealand, and he was at it again against France, darting over in the corner for his side's crucial score.
France were much improved from their first two matches with half-back pairing Morgan Parra and Francois Trinh-Duc excelling in a frenetic opening half - lit up by Wesley Fofana's wonderful try.
But with Owen Farrell - and latterly Toby Flood - keeping the scoreboard ticking over, and Tuilagi pouncing after the break, England secured their third straight win of the 2013 RBS 6 Nations and a third straight Championship win over les Bleus.
As they had done in their previous two matches, England took the lead in the opening two minutes - Farrell notching from the tee after Yoann Maestri was penalised for going over the top.
France showed their attacking intent soon after however as Trinh-Duc chipped through the middle of the pitch, Fofana fielded the ball and England were penalised at the breakdown.
Parra, in for Maxime Machenaud, kicked France level on five minutes a the opening exchanges continued at a ferocious pace.
Mathieu Bastareaud and Tuilagi both embarked on bone-crunching runs as both sides carried the fight to one another, and both winning numerous turnovers.
Yoann Huget also caught the eye in the opening quarter which remained 3-3 as both teams jousted without troubling the scoreboard.
On 27 minutes, Tuilagi almost grabbed the first try of the match, ripping through the French defence but as the try-line beckoned, Parra's last ditch tackle stopped the England centre in his tracks.
England recycled and Farrell looked for Chris Ashton on the right with the cross-field kick and while he was wayward, referee Craig Joubert had already awarded the penalty.
On the half hour mark came Fofana's moment of magic.
Bastareaud proved he's more than just a battering ram by attracting England defenders before releasing his centre partner, who evaded Courtney Lawes' tackle before scorching down the left, leaving Ashton and Ben Youngs in his wake.
England were then handed the chance to trim the gap to one when France prop Thomas Domingo didn't roll away from the ruck, and Farrell duly bisected the posts.
Parra had the chance to extend his side's lead at the end of the half but he didn't have the range from the halfway line and just after the break he was wayward again following a huge shove from the French pack.
And the hosts took advantage of that let-off when France were penalised for bringing down a maul on 47 minutes, giving Farrell a simple shot, by his standards, from les Bleus' 22.
The first-half pattern of both side's making headway then conceding possession ensued before Tuilagi's opportunistic try came on 54 minutes.
A towering kick from Alex Goode was fielded by France but England pressure saw the ball fall loose and Tuilagi pounced on the ball and romped into the left-hand corner.
Farrell pushed his conversion wide however, his first miss of the match, and England then needlessly conceded a penalty in their own half for being offside.
Frederic Michalak, on for Trinh-Duc, slotted the kick on 58 minutes to bring France to within four points at 17-13.
A rare error from Fofana then saw Farrell look to extend England's lead from all of 50 metres but he uncharacteristically fluffed his lines and injured himself in the process as Toby Flood entered the fray in his place soon after.
France then strung together numerous phases - a moment of magic from Michalak almost paying off when he chipped ahead - and England were forced to dig deep and keep their defence in tact.
But Flood did made his telling contribution with seven minutes remaining, giving England some crucial breathing space with a penalty after Bastareaud was called up by Joubert.
As France tired and England's replacements outshone their counterparts, Flood racked up a second penalty to ensure the game was safe, condemning les Bleus to a sixth consecutive RBS 6 Nations match without victory.
Source: http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/matchcentre/22365.php
Also, seems that the kid from the Six Nations 2013 commercial from BBC Cymru Wales is going to be thrilled by the news for this because Wales bagged another win after defeating the F.I.R. Italia rugby team with the score of 9-26. That's 9 points for the Italians and 26 points for the Welsh. Such tries by Jonathan Davies and Alex Cuthbert would been enough to sink the Italians in the third round of the RBS 6 Nations rugby match.
PRESS RELEASE:
Davies and Cuthbert reignite Wales' title defence
Second-half scores from Jonathan Davies and Alex Cuthbert saw Wales get the defence of their RBS 6 Nations crown firmly back on track with an impressive 26-9 victory over Italy in Rome.
Having ended a run of eight straight defeats against France last time out, Wales chalked up their second win of the competition with Leigh Halfpenny again excelling at full-back, notching 14 points.
Where the Welsh scrum came under pressure in Paris, it was rampant in Rome and that gave Wales the platform to set up the victory - Halfpenny taking advantage whenever the Azzurri were penalised at the set-piece.
Despite Wales' superiority in the first half, Italy were very much still in the game at 9-6 down at the break but Davies and Cuthbert both scored clinical efforts to wrap up victory as the Welsh road show now gears up for a trip to Scotland.
Buoyed by their victory over France a fortnight ago, it was Wales who made the brighter start, setting up camp in the Italian half in the opening stages of the match.
The Italian defensive line rarely looked threatened by Wales did make their territory count on seven minutes, winning the first penalty of the match which Halfpenny duly converted.
The visitors allowed Italy swiftly back into the match however and the Azzurri levelled up the scores with their first foray into the Wales 22 - prop Gethin Jenkins pinged for bringing the scrum down and Kristopher Burton slotting the three points.
Italy briefly threatened - Giovanbattista Venditti bursting down the left - but the greasy ball ensured attacking rugby came at a premium for both sides.
Instead, it was the set-piece which dictated matters and in that regard, Wales were on top. Another brutal scrum on 15 minutes gave Halfpenny his second penalty of the game and just three minutes later it was the same story - the full-back converted from 45 metres.
Dan Biggar was then called up on the halfway line for not releasing but Burton decided to go for the corner, only to misjudge his kick and find Cuthbert.
Cuthbert spilled the ball however and from the resulting scrum, Burton attempted a drop goal, only to drag his effort wide.
On the half hour mark, Italy rediscovered their form at the scrum and secured the penalty, Burton on target to trim to gap to just three before Cuthbert finally found some space on the right.
Biggar fielded a kick and found his winger inside and Cuthbert looked to be clear only for a last ditch tap tackle from Gonzalo Canale to avert the danger for Italy.
Wales' impressive forwards then won another penalty - their pressure on Italy forcing mistakes following a chargedown by Jenkins but this time Halfpenny missed from the tee, ensuring Wales took a 9-6 lead in at the break.
Italy came out of the blocks in the second half and almost grabbed the first try of the match after a kick ahead by Burton wreaked havoc in the Wales defence but Tommaso Benvenuti failed to gather the ball cleanly with the try line beckoning.
Undeterred Italy stepped onto the front foot again but Burton missed his second drop goal effort before Davies struck with the decisive try on 44 minutes.
Mike Phillips chipped over the top and the bounce of the ball evaded both Burton and Italy scrum-half Edoardo Gori - but not Davies, who kicked ahead and dotted down, Halfpenny adding the extras.
Burton brought Italy back to within a score with his third penalty of the match but Halfpenny responded in kind with a superb kick from out on the left.
On 59 minutes, Italy then found themselves down to 14 with captain Martin Castrogiovanni sent to the sin bin after for repeated infringement at the scrum and Wales made it count.
A fine drive from the forwards resulted in Biggar picking out the on-rushing Cuthbert who was not to be denied this time, streaking over in the left-hand corner with Halfpenny again on target with the conversion.
With breathing space on the scoreboard, Wales set out closing the match out but Italy wasted a good chance to hit back - Alessandro Zanni knocking on when on the overlap to sum up the Azzurri's day as the visitors eased to a sixth straight RBS 6 Nations victory over their hosts.
Scoop: http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/matchcentre/22358.php
Now stay tuned for the match between Scotland vs. IRFU later...
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