France, Ireland start with victories
Source: Agencies |
February 7, 2011, Monday
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FRANCE and Ireland each overcame spirited opponents to get their Six Nations campaigns off to winning starts on Saturday.
Maxime Medard, Imanol Harinordoquy and Damien Traille touched down to take defending champion France to a 34-21 win over visiting Scotland, while Ronan O'Gara struck a late drop goal to give Ireland a 13-11 win at Italy.
Italy was on the verge of its first ever tournament victory over Ireland when Luke McLean scored in the corner with five minutes left. But Mirco Bergamasco missed the conversion, Italy turned over possession from the restart and O'Gara kicked from 25 meters out.
The wins put last season's top two level on two points with England, which opened on Friday with a 26-19 win at Wales.
But France has the early edge after a performance that earned an ovation from fans at the same Stade de France venue in which it had been humbled 16-59 by Australia just 10 weeks ago.
France scored four tries, including a penalty try from a pushover attempt, while Scotland replied with three converted tries.
"There were some good things and others we could have improved on, but we're happy with the win," France flanker and captain Thierry Dusautoir said.
Just two minutes in, Aurelien Rougerie, in his second straight match in the unfamiliar center role, burst through midfield kicked ahead for winger Medard to touch down in the left corner.
Morgan Parra converted and flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc dropped a goal to make it 10-0 after 10 minutes.
Scotland got back into the match midway through the first half when lock Alastair Kellock drove over but lost momentum as its front row persistently retreated under pressure. France was awarded its penalty try after half an hour following a collapsed scrum, Parra converting for 17-7 at the interval.
France found some breathing space when Trinh-Duc snatched a loose ball in midfield and played a clever pass through his legs to release Imanol Harinordoquy 40 meters out. The No. 8 sprinted to the line to touch down under the posts for another converted score.
The home crowd's rendition of "La Marseillaise" was briefly silenced when Kelly Brown shook off Chabal to roll over the line for a try that made it 24-14 with 20 minutes remaining. But Traille and Scotland center Sean Lamont traded tries before Dimitri Yachvili's late penalty completed the scoring and a 13-point advantage. Scotland coach Andy Robinson praised his players' attitude but was frustrated that they had not done even better.
"I was delighted with the attitude we showed today," Robinson said. "But we're here to win test matches and we've got to have a ruthless edge.
"For France to score four tries from our turnovers isn't good enough and we have to have that little bit more composure."
Robinson's frustration paled alongside that of Italy coach Nick Mallett, who watched his team throw away a famous victory over a poor Ireland side.
"In the last three minutes Ireland's players managed things better than the Italian ones," Mallett said. "Ireland has a lot of players like O'Gara, with bags of experience, who know how to handle those type of three minutes."
Italy led 6-3 at halftime despite losing lead scrumhalf Edoardo Gori early to a shoulder injury. Even after conceding a converted try to Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll, Italy came back strongly for an 11-10 edge.
Italy added to Bergamasco's two first-half penalties after pounding the Irish line. Replacement scrumhalf Pablo Canavosio sent the ball wide, where fellow sub Gonzalo Garcia slipped it to McLean on the overlap to slide in.
But Italy's joy lasted for only three minutes as O'Gara ruined the occasion for the hosts.
Maxime Medard, Imanol Harinordoquy and Damien Traille touched down to take defending champion France to a 34-21 win over visiting Scotland, while Ronan O'Gara struck a late drop goal to give Ireland a 13-11 win at Italy.
Italy was on the verge of its first ever tournament victory over Ireland when Luke McLean scored in the corner with five minutes left. But Mirco Bergamasco missed the conversion, Italy turned over possession from the restart and O'Gara kicked from 25 meters out.
The wins put last season's top two level on two points with England, which opened on Friday with a 26-19 win at Wales.
But France has the early edge after a performance that earned an ovation from fans at the same Stade de France venue in which it had been humbled 16-59 by Australia just 10 weeks ago.
France scored four tries, including a penalty try from a pushover attempt, while Scotland replied with three converted tries.
"There were some good things and others we could have improved on, but we're happy with the win," France flanker and captain Thierry Dusautoir said.
Just two minutes in, Aurelien Rougerie, in his second straight match in the unfamiliar center role, burst through midfield kicked ahead for winger Medard to touch down in the left corner.
Morgan Parra converted and flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc dropped a goal to make it 10-0 after 10 minutes.
Scotland got back into the match midway through the first half when lock Alastair Kellock drove over but lost momentum as its front row persistently retreated under pressure. France was awarded its penalty try after half an hour following a collapsed scrum, Parra converting for 17-7 at the interval.
France found some breathing space when Trinh-Duc snatched a loose ball in midfield and played a clever pass through his legs to release Imanol Harinordoquy 40 meters out. The No. 8 sprinted to the line to touch down under the posts for another converted score.
The home crowd's rendition of "La Marseillaise" was briefly silenced when Kelly Brown shook off Chabal to roll over the line for a try that made it 24-14 with 20 minutes remaining. But Traille and Scotland center Sean Lamont traded tries before Dimitri Yachvili's late penalty completed the scoring and a 13-point advantage. Scotland coach Andy Robinson praised his players' attitude but was frustrated that they had not done even better.
"I was delighted with the attitude we showed today," Robinson said. "But we're here to win test matches and we've got to have a ruthless edge.
"For France to score four tries from our turnovers isn't good enough and we have to have that little bit more composure."
Robinson's frustration paled alongside that of Italy coach Nick Mallett, who watched his team throw away a famous victory over a poor Ireland side.
"In the last three minutes Ireland's players managed things better than the Italian ones," Mallett said. "Ireland has a lot of players like O'Gara, with bags of experience, who know how to handle those type of three minutes."
Italy led 6-3 at halftime despite losing lead scrumhalf Edoardo Gori early to a shoulder injury. Even after conceding a converted try to Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll, Italy came back strongly for an 11-10 edge.
Italy added to Bergamasco's two first-half penalties after pounding the Irish line. Replacement scrumhalf Pablo Canavosio sent the ball wide, where fellow sub Gonzalo Garcia slipped it to McLean on the overlap to slide in.
But Italy's joy lasted for only three minutes as O'Gara ruined the occasion for the hosts.
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