Ireland unbeaten, France upset by England and Italy dominates Wales in round 2

Ireland’s Sam Prendergast in action during the Six Nations match between Scotland and Ireland at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Sunday

Grand Slam is on for Ireland after riveting second round of Six Nations rugby.

Only Ireland remains unbeaten after it swatted aside Scotland 32-18 at Murrayfield yesterday [Macau time].

England came into title contention by shocking France 26-25 at Twickenham on Saturday night.

The wooden spoon was probably decided in rainy Rome when Italy defeated Wales in successive matches for the first time.

Here’s the AP’s takeaways from the second round.

Another year, another Scotland defeat

Annual talk of this being the best Scotland side in years made Ireland regard their match at Murrayfield as a potential banana skin. Flyhalf Sam Prendergast, playing away from Dublin for the first time, spoke about how emotional the anthems were and how keyed up the packed Murrayfield crowd was. That was snuffed out swiftly. Within 30 minutes, Ireland charged into a 17-0 lead with two converted tries. Two more were denied by being held up over the line. The Scots were smashed and two of their best backs, Finn Russell and Darcy Graham, collided heads and had to leave the field. The Irish played like they were going for their first win over Scotland, not their 11th in succession. Their ruthless efficiency was apparent in the stats. Scotland had more ball, carried 200 more meters, forced 80 more tackles and broke more tackles but it made no difference. The final score flattered Scotland and took the air out of another 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 (three times), 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 said, “is cool for a first start.”

Forza Italia

During the 2022 Six Nations, tournament organizers sent out a statement rejecting rumors of perennial struggler Italy being replaced by world champion South Africa. Just a month later, Italy famously beat Wales in Cardiff with a last-gasp converted try that ended a seven-year, 36-test losing streak in the tournament. Since then, an Italy team turned around by Kieran Crowley and blossoming under Gonzalo Quesada has become a respected, competitive threat. The Azzurri gave their most mature performance yet in beating Wales for the third time in four years. No last-minute heroics were needed in Rome. Italy led from the 20th minute. Given the uncommon tag of favorite, faced with unrelenting rain that limited attacking opportunities and a Wales lineup desperate amid a 13-test losing streak, Italy handled the pressure and outsmarted Wales. Among standout efforts by Giacomo Nicotera, Sebastian Negri, Martin Page-Relo, Paolo Garbisi and Tommaso Allan, the brightest was No. 8 Lorenzo Cannone, who led everyone on the field in carries, meters carried, tackles, dominant tackles and defenders beaten. Two of his turnovers became penalties kicked between the posts by Allan. Cannone said, “The final result speaks for us.”

Lions watch

In the only matchup of Lions countries, the Irish pack hammered the Scots so skillfully that rookie flyhalf Sam Prendergast seemed to have plenty of time to make a lot of good choices. He was voted player of the match. Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe also enjoyed a ride 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 nine valuable carries and two turnovers in his 51 minutes. Also, loosehead prop Andrew Porter, picked for the 2021 Lions but injured before the tour, shaded opposite and 2021 Lion Zander Fagerson, and even added a chargedown. Scotland co-captain Rory Darge had 17 tackles but he also was subsumed by Ireland’s supremacy. At Twickenham, Tom Curry was a workhorse again on both sides of the ball, and with Ben Earl on his shoulder. FOSTER NIUMATA, LONDON, MDT/AP