News
- 2012February 8
Six Nations makes explosive start
Six Nations makes explosive startWeek one of the Six Nations kicked off over the weekend, with France, England and Wales all coming out on top of their opening matches.
Opening the 2012 tournament was France, who welcomed Italy to the Stade de France to try and put right the upset of last year when the Azzurri pulled off a shock victory against their European neighbours.
There was no such repeat this year, as France comfortably claimed the Garibaldi trophy with a 30 - 12 victory, helping new France coach Philippe Saint-Andre, who watched the match from the stand in his designer menswear, get the best start to his international coaching tenure.
Also competing for a cup were England and Scotland, duking it out for the Calcutta Cup, rugby union's oldest piece of silverware. Scotland went into the match as favourites, lining up against a fresh-faced England facing the prospect of not having won in Murrayfield since 2004.
The years counted for little, however, as Scotland failed to convert opportunities into points, losing 13 - 6 after a Dan Parks kick was charged down by Charlie Hodgson who went off to score.
Sunday saw Ireland host Wales at the Aviva Stadium in what was being billed beforehand as a grudge match following a controversial try in last season's fixture and Ireland's dumping out of the World Cup at the hands of their Celtic cousins.
The match was as fiery and close as imagined, with the lead changing hands five times over the 80 minutes. It was Wales, however, that came out on top, with a Leigh Halfpenny conversion tipping the balance to 23 - 21 with seconds to spare.
