Shaun Goosen looks back at what was a thrilling weekend of rugby action which saw France underline their Six Nations Grand Slam credentials, good URC wins for the Sharks as well as Bulls and more!
France starting to live up to potential
France beat Scotland 36-17 at Murrayfield on Saturday to take one step closer to claiming a coveted Six Nations Grand Slam. Since Fabian Galthie took over at the helm, Les Bleus have always threatened to stage a proper assault on world rugby’s established order but have so far flattered to deceive, finishing second in the last two editions of the tournament. Since their spectacular Autumn internationals series, however, one that included a phenomenal 40-25 win over the All Blacks, this squad has seemingly hit their stride — something which could spell bad news for the likes of the Springboks with just over a year to go until the French host the World Cup.
The first half of Saturday’s match could have gone either way, but it was the visitors who led 19-10 at the break courtesy of tries to Paul Willemse, Yoram Moefana and Gael Fickou. France’s physical dominance began to show in the second stanza, with Jonathan Danty scoring early on before a Damian Penaud double wrapped up another convincing win.
Narrow win for England, Ireland beat 13-man Italy
England beat a highly motivated Wales outfit 23-19 at Twickenham to register their third win of the Six Nations on Saturday. Eddie Jones’ men didn’t have it easy, with Man of the Match Marcus Smith kicking 17-points to guide the hosts after a terrific Welsh fightback late on in the contest. Many English supporters would have expected the victory to have come easier, but the Red Roses nevertheless occupy third place, one point and one place behind Ireland, still in the championship hunt. For Wales, their defeat all but ends their shot at the title.
On Sunday, Ireland overcame Italy 57-6 in a bizarre Test match at the Stadio Olimpico that saw the hosts reduced to 13-men after replacement hooker Hame Faiva was red-carded for a high hit in the 18th-minute. Starting No 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi had gone off injured earlier on and, without another player capable of playing hooker, Italy were forced to bring on another prop and drop a different player to the bench. The result was that the hosts finished the game with eight tries.
Sharks, Bulls claim comfortable wins in URC
The Sharks beat Benetton 29-7 in Treviso while the Bulls claimed a 45-7 win over Zebre in Parma as both sides earned valuable bonus points in the URC on the weekend. The Durbanites are eighth with seven home games in a row coming up, while the men from Pretoria are 11th and will also look forward to the prospect of hosting a number of upcoming matches.
The weekend wasn’t as kind to the Lions and Stormers, the former losing 13-21 to Leinster in Dublin and the latter suffering a heartbreaking 17-19 defeat to Connacht in Galway. The Lions are 14th with just two wins from 10, while the Capetonians sit in ninth, just two points back of the Sharks.
