Best of the Weekend: England beat defiant France to clinch Grand Slam

England secure Grand Slam with helter-skelter win in Paris

With the Championship already secured by England last week, the final round of Six Nations was lacking some of the sheer, balls-out excitement that last year’s Super Saturday possessed. Nonetheless, we were treated to (mostly) great rugby as the tournament drew to a close.

Wales kicked off the weekend by taking out their frustration on Italy, thumping them 67-14. This game didn’t hold much appeal for the neutral as Wales romped through the non-existent Italian defence, scoring nine tries including one that came two minutes into injury time. Dan Biggar, George North, Rhys Webb, Jonathan Davies, Gareth Davies, Liam Williams, Jamie Roberts and Ross Moriarty (2) all got their names on the scoresheet and the victory will ever-so-slightly sweeten the 2016 Six Nations for the men in red.

Scotland came up short in their mission to overtake Ireland in the table, as Joe Schmidt’s men ran out 35-25 winners. Ireland used every last pound of their physical might to punish Scotland who scored the first try of the game with a sublime solo score from Stuart Hogg. Ireland’s reply came from CJ Stander who bundled over from close-range before Keith Earls took advantage of a comedic collision between Hogg and Tommy Seymour to score their second. More prolonged pressure allowed Conor Murray to score a trademark snipe from right on the line, but Scotland were never far behind with Richie Gray cantering through a hole to score and bring the Irish lead to 28-20. Surprisingly, Ireland’s next try was also a short-range effort with Devin Toner flopping under the posts, and with Sexton’s 15 points (three penalties, three conversions) Scotland were too far behind, even with Alex Dunbar’s consolation try.

England shook off a slow start to beat France 31-21 in Paris and thus clinch a long-absent Grand Slam. Owen Farrell and Maxime Machenaud exchanged penalties in the early stages, with Scott Spedding and Virimi Vakatawa tearing England’s defence to shreds at points, before England got their breakthrough. Danny Care produced a wonderfully virtuoso scrum-half try, rounding the ruck and scuttling under the posts. A further Machenaud penalty (prepare to hear that a lot) was countered by another England score, this time from Dan Cole who rolled and rumbled over on the left hand side. More penalties were all the sides could muster until midway through the second half when replacement scrum-half Ben Youngs broke free and chipped smartly for Anthony Watson to score what would be the decisive try. Machenaud continued to gnaw away the lead but Farrell’s two further penalties allowed England to come away with the clean sheet and the Slam.

Six Nations Star Man: George Kruis

Reshuffle at Premiership summit as Leicester topple Saracens

Two huge results determined the look of the table this week. The first was Exeter’s 20-12 victory over Northampton Saints, with the Chiefs coming back from a 3-12 halftime deficit. Lee Dickson and Ken Pisi scored in the first half for the Saints and looked convincingly stern in defence and attack. As so often is the case however, Gareth Steenson had his kicking boots on (I don’t think he owns any other boots) and slotted five penalties to go with Olly Woodburn’s try after the break to give Exeter the points that would give them a chance of going top.

It was Leicester’s victory over Saracens that gave Exeter the glimmer of hope they needed, as the Tigers won 21-13 on the back of a star performance from Freddie Burns. The fly-half provided 16 of Leicester’s points with a try, two penalties, a conversion and a drop goal with Vereniki Goneva the only other scorer for the home side. Saracens struggled without their England players, and Nils Mordt continued his torrid Premiership form by being sin-binned. Alex Goode carried his side as far as he could, scoring all of their points but with nothing to show from the game, Saracens drop to second in the table.

Wasps continue to provide the highest quality rugby of the Premiership, beating Sale 39-12 to go third, while Worcester upset Harlequins 21-15 and London Irish did the same to Gloucester, winning 23-18 at the Madejski. Bath will not be terribly impressed by their 21-19 victory over Newcastle, as they remain in ninth.

Aviva Premiership Star Man: Freddie Burns

Cardiff & Glasgow win rescheduled matches

Two rearranged fixtures were played this weekend, with Glasgow kicking Leinster aside 12-6. Rory Clegg and Isa Nacewa exchanged penalties in this try-less affair, assuring that Connacht still hold a one-point lead at the top of the Pro12. Cardiff and Munster’s matchup was a more interesting offering, with Rhys Patchell and the Blues wedging a spanner firmly in the works of Munster’s playoff machine, winning 37-28. Patchell was one of Cardiff’s four try scorers, along with Matthew Rees, Macauley Cook and Garyn Smith, and the fly-half also kicked fourteen points to lift Cardiff past their opponents. Munster, meanwhile, trailed early on but scored three dogged tries from Mike Sherry, Jack O’Donoghue and Darren Sweetman, but stay fifth in the Pro12, four points behind Ulster.

Guinness Pro 12 Star Man: Rhys Patchell

Montpellier on the warpath

Just when you think you’ve got a handle on the Top 14 something like this happens! Montpellier recorded their fourth consecutive win with a 60-7 destruction of Racing 92, running nine tries past the formerly first placed side. Scorers for Montpellier were Jacques Du Plessis, Bismarck Du Plessis, Timoci Nagusa (2), Benjamin Fall, Jesse Mogg, Frans Steyn, Mickael Ivaldi and a penalty try. This monster victory puts Montpellier into fourth and knocks Racing 92 from top spot.

A second half red card for Talelelei Gray cost Toulouse dear as they lost 32-23 to Clermont Auvergne, with Les Jaunards moving into first with the win. Clermont also seem to have unearthed a gem in Fijian winger Alifereti Raka who scored two tries, but it was Morgan Parra’s boot that made the difference, with 22 points. Toulouse also got a brace of tries, from Gillian Galan, but even with David Mele’s 13 points, Gray’s sending-off was too much.

Grenoble snuck past Brive by 26-22 while fellow mid-table sides Castres and La Rochelle both lost, 21-16 to Pau and 33-20 against Stade Francais respectively. At the bottom of the table, Oyonnax came out on top of Agen 30-28.

Top 14 Star Man: Alifereti Raka

Highlanders hold off Tahs comeback

There was a remarkable match played out the Allianz Stadium between the Waratahs and the Highlanders that ended 30-26 to the New Zealanders. However, halfway through the second half the Highlanders had four tries under their belt and boasted a 30-0 lead after Lima Sopoaga’s drop goal. The five-pointers came from Ryan Tongia, Liam Squires, and Elliot Dixon (2) and Sopoaga contributed two conversions and a penalty before knocking over a drop kick to make it 30-0. It was at that point that half-time replacement Jed Holloway perked up, scoring a 24 minute hat-trick and clawing the ‘Tahs back into the game. Prop Tom Robertson also burrowed over, but the home side were unable to haul themselves over the finish line.

There were two draws (TWO DRAWS?!) in Super Rugby Round 4 and they were both incredible finishes. First the Bulls and Sharks drew 16-16 in Pretoria, as Joe Pietersen missed a point-blank kick from right in front of the posts to win the game. Willie Le Roux and Warrick Gelant scored a try apiece for the sides with Francois Brummer and Tian Schoeman kicking the points for the Blues, and the unfortunate Pietersen providing the extras for the Sharks. Having exchanged late penalties to bring up a 16-16 deadlock, Pietersen fluffed the very, very kickable winning penalty.

The second was between the Reds and Blues in a game that saw both sides score three tries, convert two of them, and kick two penalties to end the match a 25-25 stalemate. Neither team was able to build a sizeable lead with the Reds looking most likely to win at the end. They had tries from Chris Feauai-Sautia, Samu Kerevi and Luke Mcintyre while the Blues saw Ihaia West, Bryn Hall and Matt McGahan cross the line. It was McGahan’s try that brought the Blues to within three before Ihaia West calmly converted a penalty with time up to bring up a 25-25 draw.

Elsewhere, the unpleasant start to Super Rugby continues for Sunwolves who were tonked 35-9 by Melbourne Rebels, the Crusaders made short work of Southern Kings 57-24, and the Lions beat the Cheetahs 39-22. There were also wins for the Stormers, 31-11 over the Brumbies, and the surging Hurricanes 41-6 over Western Force.

Super Rugby Star Man: Jed Holloway

Try of the Week: It only seems right to choose a Six Nations try and the award goes to Stuart Hogg for his knifing effort through the heart of the Ireland defence. Watch the Wales highlights for lots of good tries, and an honourable mention for both of Raka’s tries for Clermont.

TRY! A moment of magic from Stuart Hogg – brought to you by @PeugeotUK #PeugeotRugby #IREvSCO
https://t.co/w8xoy71y2A

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) March 19, 2016

Hero of the Week: Not that I want to put the cat among the pigeons, but Hero of the Week is Eddie Jones. The last England coach to win a Five/Six Nations Grand Slam in their first tournament was Jack Rowell in 1995 and Jones has already changed the complexion of this England team. Grumblings about the quality of the tournament will fall on deaf ears should Jones continue the side’s improvements.

Villain of the Week: Two winners this weekend, and they can share the ‘trophy’. First is touch-judge Simon McConnell who, during the Harlequins/Worcester match, put his flag up and then down when Harry Cheeseman was not in touch, confusing Quins and allowing Worcester to capitalise. The Quins players should have played to the whistle, but McConnell did not cover himself in glory. The other villain is Jonny Sexton who seems to have developed quite the theatrical calibre in recent weeks. Sexton’s appeal to the referee before clutching his head was shameful and the Ireland fly-half would do well to ignore the press about players ‘targeting’ him and just play the game.

By Fraser Kay (@fraserkay)

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images