2008 Six Nations Results March 8/9
Latest Round Sees Victories For Scotland,Wales and Ireland
Scotland, Wales and France win in the latest round of Six Nations matches played on Saturday March 8th and Sunday March 9th.
Scotland - 15 Pens: Paterson (4) / Parks
England - 9 Pens: Wilkinson (3)
In front of a sell out crowd at Murrayfield Stadium, Scotland beat England to gain their first win of the Six Nations Championship.
A wet and windy day made conditions difficult for the teams, and the game proved a war of attrition between the forwards with all points coming from penalty kicks.
Scotland took the lead through the boot of Chris Paterson in the 9th minute. This was Paterson’s 27th successful kick in a row.
Jonny Wilkinson replied with a penalty in the 27th minute to tie the scores but Scotland, continuing to use the difficult conditions well, led at half-time 9-3 through two further Paterson penalties. When Wilkinson put the ball between the posts he went ahead of Neil Jenkins to top the list of all time scorers with 1099 points to his name.
The poor standard of the match continued and little attempt was made by either side to play a more expansive game. Understandable perhaps in the driving rain and fierce wind but frustrating for those wishing to see a little more ball in hand.
Within ten minutes of the re-start, Scotland had added two more penalties to lead 15-3. One from Paterson, the other through Dan Parks, substitute for the concussed Rory Lamont.
Wilkinson stuck two further penalties to cut Scotland’s lead to six points but England did little to threaten the Scot’s line and the hosts held on comfortably to secure a well deserved win.
Ireland - 12 Penalties: O’Gara (4)
Wales – 16 Tries: S Williams / Cons: S Jones / Pens: S Jones 2, Hook
Wales took the Triple Crown and kept hopes of a Grand Slam very much alive with a 16-12 victory over Ireland at Croke Park.
The build up to the game had revolved around the frosty relationships between the respective coaches, Warren Gatland of Wales and Eddie O’Sullivan of Ireland, but this was forgotten when the action began.
A couple of Ronan O’Gara penalties gave Ireland a 6-0 lead but they couldn’t take a significant advantage, despite playing with a strong breeze at their backs.
Stephen Jones reduced the Irish lead with a penalty of his own to bring the sides in at half-time with Ireland leading 6-3.
Jones brought the sides level shortly after the break with a further penalty, and Wales began to grow in confidence.
Shane Williams then scored an excellent try, bursting through an attempted tackle by Irish centre Andrew Trimble to touch down in the corner. Stephen Jones added a superb conversion to take Wales to a 13-6 advantage.
Ireland responded in typically robust style and two Ronan O’Gara penalties brought them to within one point of Wales. However Wales were not to be denied and replacement James Hook made the victory secure with a further penalty to leave to leave Wales jubilant victors at the final whistle.
France - 25 Tries: Floch, Jauzion, Rougerie / Cons: Yachvili (2) / Pens: Yachvili (2)
Italy - 13 Tries: Castrogiavanni / Cons: Marcato / Pens: Marcato
Following their 12 point victory over Italy at the Stade de France, France will need to beat Wales by at least 20 points to take the Six Nations title when they meet at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday March 15th.
They took the lead in the 13th minute with a try by full-back Anthony Floch. Dimitri Yachvilli converted but Italy responded with a penalty from Andrea Marcato.
Two Yachvili penalties and a further reply from Marcato left France leading 13-6 at the interval.
Shortly into the second half, Yannick Yauzion scored after a through chip by Yachvili, who failed with the conversion. Italy responded almost immediately with a try by prop Castrogiovanni and conversion by Marcato to bring them within five points of France.
France eased the nerves of the home crowd with a try by Rougerie and conversion by Yachvilli to set up next weeks championship decider against Wales.
Remaining Fixtures
Saturday March 15th
Italy v Scotland 13.00 (GMT)
England v Ireland 15.00 (GMT)
Wales v France 17.00 (GMT)
Six Nations Table
1. Wales – Played 4 – Points 8
2. France - Played 4 – Points 6
3. Ireland – Played 4 – Points 4
4. England – Played 4 – Points 4
5. Scotland – Played 4 – Points 2
6. Italy – Played 4 – Points 0
