LONDON — The Grand Slam is on for Eire after riveting second spherical of Six Nations rugby.
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Solely Eire stays unbeaten after it swatted apart Scotland 32-18 at Murrayfield on Sunday.
England got here into title competition by surprising France 26-25 at Twickenham on Saturday night time.
The picket spoon was in all probability determined in wet Rome when Italy defeated Wales in successive matches for the primary time.
Here is the ‘s takeaways from the second spherical. One other 12 months, one other Scotland defeat
Annual discuss of this being the perfect Scotland aspect in years made Eire regard their match at Murrayfield as a possible banana pores and skin. Flyhalf Sam Prendergast, taking part in away from Dublin for the primary time, spoke about how emotional the anthems had been and the way keyed up the packed Murrayfield crowd was. That was snuffed out swiftly. Inside half-hour, Eire charged right into a 17-0 lead with two transformed tries. Two extra had been denied by being held up over the road. The Scots had been smashed and two of their greatest backs, Finn Russell and Darcy Graham, collided heads and needed to go away the sector. The Irish performed like they had been going for his or her first win over Scotland, not their eleventh in succession. Their ruthless effectivity was obvious within the stats. Scotland had extra ball, carried 200 extra meters, compelled 80 extra tackles and broke extra tackles but it surely made no distinction. The ultimate rating flattered Scotland and took the air out of one other hyped Six Nations title bid. “There is a feeling of satisfaction after that one,” Ireland captain Caelan Doris said. The defending two-time champion Irish travel to Wales in two weeks, and two weeks after that France visits Dublin in the probable title decider. England overcomes its demons
The roar at Twickenham that greeted England’s stunning upset of France was also the release of 11 months of frustration. England had lost seven straight to traditional foes and blown leads against New Zealand , France and Australia. So, to English rugby fans, when France scored to lead 25-19 with less than five minutes remaining, in the words of baseball immortal Yogi Berra, it was deja vu all over again. But England didn’t fall apart this time. It rallied the old-fashioned way. Ben Earl jackaled Thomas Ramos and was followed by a penalty, a lineout, a maul and a slick backline move. Center Ollie Lawrence was the first receiver, flyhalf Fin Smith took the backdoor pass, and Elliot Daly, on the field for four minutes, swung off his wing into a big midfield hole just 10 meters from the try-line. While France threw away its advantage, England had demons to overcome to still go and take the game. It was a breakthrough night for England’s closing-time confidence, its much maligned bench, and starting a more conventional flyhalf. Smith and Smith
Marcus Smith was a Lion after his second England cap. He apprenticed for three years behind Owen Farrell and George Ford and the England 10 jersey was finally his on the June 2024 tour of Japan and New Zealand. But after eight tests, seven of them losses, he may be second choice again after Fin Smith’s winning performance against France in his first test start. Fin paid his dues. He made his Premiership debut at age 17 and lost his first 10 matches. The next year, Worcester folded and Northampton hired the Under-20 Six Nations Grand Slam winner. Fin helped the Saints win the Premiership last year. Picking Fin to start for England ahead of Marcus, who was moved to fullback, was a big call. But Fin is more of a traditional 10 than Marcus, taking the ball to the line and getting the centers more involved. He made early errors but nothing that cost England and he grew more comfortable. Fin showed good judgement, assisted in two tries and kicked his two conversions including the match-winner. “This,” he stated, “is cool for a first start.” Forza Italia
Through the 2022 Six Nations, event organizers despatched out an announcement rejecting rumors of perennial struggler Italy being changed by world champion South Africa. Only a month later, Italy famously beat Wales in Cardiff with a last-gasp transformed attempt that ended a seven-year, 36-test shedding streak within the event. Since then, an Italy staff circled by Kieran Crowley and blossoming underneath Gonzalo Quesada has turn out to be a revered, aggressive risk. The Azzurri gave their most mature efficiency but in beating Wales for the third time in 4 years. No last-minute heroics had been wanted in Rome. Italy led from the twentieth minute. Given the unusual tag of favourite, confronted with unrelenting rain that restricted attacking alternatives and a Wales lineup determined amid a 13-test shedding streak, Italy dealt with the stress and outsmarted Wales. Amongst standout efforts by Giacomo Nicotera, Sebastian Negri, Martin Web page-Relo, Paolo Garbisi and Tommaso Allan, the brightest was No. 8 Lorenzo Cannone, who led everybody on the sector in carries, meters carried, tackles, dominant tackles and defenders overwhelmed. Two of his turnovers turned penalties kicked between the posts by Allan. Cannone stated, “The final result speaks for us.” Lions watch
In the one matchup of Lions international locations, the Irish pack hammered the Scots so skillfully that rookie flyhalf Sam Prendergast appeared to have loads of time to make a variety of good selections. He was voted participant of the match. Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe additionally loved a trip from the graft given by the likes of Caelan Doris, who put in a captain’s shift of a team-leading 10 carries and 80 meters plus 17 tackles. Even the supposedly fading Peter O’Mahony made a second-best 9 worthwhile carries and two turnovers in his 51 minutes. Additionally, loosehead prop Andrew Porter, picked for the 2021 Lions however injured earlier than the tour, shaded reverse and 2021 Lion Zander Fagerson, and even added a chargedown. Scotland co-captain Rory Darge had 17 tackles however he additionally was subsumed by Eire’s supremacy. At Twickenham, Tom Curry was a workhorse once more on either side of the ball, and with Ben Earl on his shoulder.
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