England hammer Scots to seal title
LONDON: England secured a second consecutive Six Nations title in emphatic style yesterday by thrashing a supposedly resurgent Scotland 61-21 with a scintillating display encapsulated by a superb hat-trick by recalled centre Jonathan Joseph.
Joseph was dropped for the Italy game two weeks ago but marked his return with a brilliant display.
Danny Care got two tries, Anthony Watson and Billy Vunipola one each and the peerless Owen Farrell kicked 26 points as England chalked up their highest score and joint-biggest win in 146 years of the oldest fixture in international rugby to retain the title with a game to spare.
England now have an unassailable lead on 18 points. Ireland and France, who gained a bonus point victory over Italy earlier, both have 10 points, then come Wales and Scotland on nine, with Italy last without a point.
England, whose previous highest score against the Scots was their 43-3 win in 2001, will now seek to complete back to back Grand Slams in Dublin this coming Saturday.
The Twickenham victory was also England’s 18th in a row, drawing them level with New Zealand, who set the tier one record from 2015-2016.
France beat Italy 40-18 in Rome but played far from their best rugby to triumph in perfect conditions at Stadio Olimpico, running through the softest defence Italy has mounted so far this season to score four tries and collect a potentially valuable bonus point.
Powerful centres Gael Fickou and Virimi Vakatawa scored a try each for France, with teammates Louis Picamoles and Brice Dulin also crossing the chalk. Flyhalf Camille Lopez was flawless with the boot, amassing 20 points off the tee.
For Italy, captain Sergio Parisse scored in the third minute and Angelo Esposito on the final siren, but their downfall lay in defence and the scrum. Italy missed more than 50 tackles.
Meanwhile, Wales rugby coach Rob Howley hailed his side’s resilience after they rebounded from back-to-back Six Nations defeats to beat Ireland 22-9 on Friday.
The victory ensured Wales would stay in the top eight of the World Rugby rankings and avoid a potential horror draw for the next World Cup in Japan.
They had lost their previous Six Nations clashes against Scotland and England and were in danger of slipping down the rankings but Howley said they had been determined not to make it three defeats in a row.
“We knew there would be a reaction and against one of the best sides in rugby you have to play like that both with and without the ball,” he said.
“I’m delighted for the players, they have taken a lot of stick and we beat Ireland emphatically. I thought it was an outstanding performance. We wanted an 80-minute display and we got it.”
Howley said his side could have tried to hide after the last two defeats but instead stood up to be counted. – Reuters