Guinness Six Nations 2023 | Recap Round 2

England secures first Six Nations win under new head coach Steve Borthwick with a dominant 31-14 victory over Italy.

It was England’s first win under Steve Borthwick’s leadership in front of a buzzing Twickenham crowd on a lovely Winter afternoon.

England had total dominance at the set piece, with three of their five tries coming directly from the driving maul. The pack, led by Jack Willis and Jamie George, utilized the maul to score three first-half tries.

Highlights

Italy briefly rallied in the second half with a try from Marco Riccioni, but a penalty try for England and a sin-binning for Italy’s Simone Ferrari gave England the upper hand.

Alessandro Fusco scored a brilliant try for Italy, but a late diving try from Henry Arundell secured the win for England. The victory comes after their loss to Scotland last weekend.

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In Round 3 of the Guinness Six Nations, England will face archrivals Wales (25th Feb, 4.45 PM) in Cardiff, while Italy will host unbeaten World #1 Ireland (25th Feb, 2:15 PM).

Line-ups:

England:  Steward Malins, Slade, Lawrence, Hassell-Collins Farrell (capt), Van Poortvliet, Genge, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Chessum, Ludlam, Willis, Dombrandt.

Replacements: Walker, M Vunipola, Cole, Isiekwe, Earl, Mitchell, M Smith, Arundell

Italy: Capuozzo, Padovani, Brex, Morisi, Menoncello, Allan, Varney, Fischetti, Nicotera, Riccioni, N Cannone, Ruzza, Negri, Lamaro, L Cannone

Replacements: Bigi, Zani, Ferrari, Iachizzi, Polledri, Zuliani, Fusco, Bruno

Referee: James Dolemann

Man of the Mach: Ollie Lawrence (ENG)

Scotland earned a record victory over Wales under the leadership of Finn Russell as they continued their spectacular Six Nations start.

Scotland secured their first back-to-back win in the Guinness Six Nations since 1996, defeating Wales 35-7. Kyle Steyn’s double, both set up by Finn Russell, helped Scotland take control of the game after the half-time break, with George Turner’s first-half try getting the ball rolling.

10 – Finn Russell has provided 10 try assists in 9 Test matches for @Scotlandteam since the start of 2022, more than any other player from a Tier 1 nation in that time; he is also the first Scotland player to register a hat-trick of assists in a @SixNationsRugby game. Playmaker. pic.twitter.com/KvQOJ9wiVx

— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) February 11, 2023

Ken Owens responded for Wales to keep the score close, but Russell and Steyn’s partnership proved too much for the visitors. Blair Kinghorn added the bonus point with nine minutes to play, and Matt Fagerson scored one more, thanks to Russell’s assist, as Scotland recorded their biggest-ever win against Wales.

Highlights

The win also secured the Doddie Weir Cup, in Scotland’s first match at BT Murrayfield since the former international’s passing. Russell was named player of the match for his influential performance.

Scotland will be facing France on Sunday (26.02.23, 3 PM) in Rome, while Wales will host England in Cardiff (25.02.23, 4.45 PM).

Line-ups:

Scotland:  Hogg, Steyn, Jones, Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe, Russell, White, Schoeman, Turner, Fagerson, Gray, Gilchrist, Ritchie (capt), Crosbie, Fagerson

Replacements: Brown, Bhatti, WP Nel, J. Gray, Dempsey, Horne, Kinghorn, Harris

Wales: L. Williams; Adams, North, Hawkins, Dyer, Biggar, Williams; Jones, Owens (capt), Lewis, Jenkins, Beard, Tshiunza, Reffell, Morgan

Replacements:  Baldwin, Carre, Brown, Davies, Faletau, Webb, Patchell, Cuthbert

Referee: Andrew Brace

Man of the Mach: Finn Russell

In a highly-anticipated Six Nations match between France and Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, Ireland emerged victorious.

Despite France coming into the game with a 14-game winning streak and having beaten Ireland in their previous three encounters, Ireland’s 25-16 win was well-deserved.

The game was emotionally charged, with Irish players in tears before kickoff and the crowd showing their support throughout.

Although France started strong with an early lead through Ramos’ fifth-minute penalty, Ireland quickly took the lead with tries by Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Andrew Porter in the first half. Damian Penaud’s brilliant counter-attacking try and three Thomas Ramos penalties kept France in touch.

However, Ireland maintained it through the second half, with the intensity of their play and another try by Leinster-Center Garry Ringrose ultimately proving too much for France.

Highlights

With talk of a potential Grand Slam victory and a back-to-back bonus point performance, all eyes will be on Ireland’s next match against Italy on 25th February in Rome. Meanwhile, France faces an unbeaten Scotland team a day later (26th February) back home in Rome.

Line-ups

Ireland: Keenan, Hansen, Ringrose, McCloskey, Lowe; Sexton, Murray; Porter, Herring, Bealham, Beirne, Ryan, O’Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris.

Replacements: Kelleher, Kilcoyne, O’Toole, Henderson, Conan, Casey, Byrne, Aki.

France: Ramos, Penaud, Fickou, Moefana, Dumortier; Ntamack, Dupont; Baille, Marchand, Atonio, Flament, Willemse, Jelonch, Ollivon, Alldritt.

Replacements: Barlot, Wardi, Falatea, Taofifenua, Cros, Macalou, Couilloud, Jalibert.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Man of the Match: Caelan Doris (IRELAND)