By Lucky Maree
Looking at the scoreboard, it seems to indicate that Ireland had a brisk walk in the park, overwhelming Italy by five tries to two and a points margin of 14 points.
But Italian coach Kieran Crowley will be proud of the way his team stuck to the job and stayed in the game although, to be honest, particularly in the second half the men in blue were outplayed.
After scoring two tries and a penalty in the first half, they scored only one penalty in the second half.
Ireland scored four tries in the first half, securing the bonus point try, and then scored another late in the second half.
Ireland are well on their way towards scoring a grand slam in the Six Nations, and they are looking awesome as the World Cup looms ever closer.
Italy (2 tries) 20-34 (5 tries) Ireland.
When Warren Gatland stated during the week that Wales were “in a hole”, it was not news to anybody. That the Welsh coach was prepared to make that statement publicly is quite an indication of his state of mind.
England on the other hand, is not without its problems and coach Steve Borthwick hasn’t exactly had a smooth launch to his Six Nations career.
It takes until the 20th minute for England to score their first try – not a good sign for England. Interestingly, a good sign for Wales as the team prove a point to the Wales Rugby Union.
What does it mean that the halftime score is only 8-3? It means that England have not been able to penetrate the Wales defence and, importantly, it means that Owen Farrell is a problem for England.
What a beautiful sight it is to see Louis Rees-Zammit streak away to score under the posts for Wales. Of course it takes a mere minute before England score.
It’s great that elder statesman, Alun Wyn Jones had an excellent match. Not so great is Owen Farrell’s performance. He really is working hard at playing himself out of the England run-on side.
With five minutes to go, England score a try to give them a 10 point lead and put the game beyond doubt. (Owen Farrell misses the conversion – but then he has missed many kicks throughout the match. England will have to sort out heir kicking problems.)
Wales (1 try) 10-20 (3 tries) England.
Pictured above: England celebrating a try over Wales
Image source: Six Nations
