Forwards: Rory Best (Ulster), Tony Buckley (Munster), Tom Court (Ulster), Sean Cronin (Connacht), Leo Cullen (Leinster), Stephen Ferris (Ulster), Declan Fitzpatrick (Ulster), Jerry Flannery (Munster), John Fogarty (Leinster), John Hayes (Munster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Leinster), Chris Henry (Ulster), Marcus Horan (Munster), Shane Jennings (Leinster), Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Munster), Paul O'Connell (Munster), Mick O'Driscoll (Munster), Sean O'Brien (Leinster), Mike Ross (Leinster), Donnacha Ryan (Munster), Dan Tuohy (Ulster), David Wallace (Munster), Brett Wilkinson (Connacht)
Backs: Isaac Boss (Ulster), Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Gordon D'Arcy (Leinster), Ian Dowling (Munster), Keith Earls (Munster), Shane Horgan (Leinster), Denis Hurley (Munster), Robert Kearney (Leinster), Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster), Johne Murphy (Leicester), Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster), Ronan O'Gara (Munster), Tomas O'Leary (Munster), Eoin Reddan (Leinster), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Peter Stringer (Munster), Andrew Trimble (Ulster), Paddy Wallace (Ulster)
Wales:
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Forwards: H Bennett (Ospreys), L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), B Davies (Cardiff Blues), R Gill (Saracens), I Gough (Ospreys), P James (Ospreys), G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), A Jones (Ospreys), AW Jones (Ospreys), D Jones (Cardiff Blues), R Jones (captain), E Lewis-Roberts (Sale) , D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), A Powell (Cardiff Blues), M Rees (Scarlets), J Thomas (Ospreys), S Warburton (Cardiff Blues), G Williams (Cardiff Blues), M Williams (Cardiff Blues).
Backs: D Biggar (Ospreys), A Bishop (Ospreys), L Byrne (Ospreys), G Cooper (Cardiff Blues), J Davies (Scarlets), L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), J Hook (Ospreys), T James (Cardiff Blues), S Jones (Scarlets), K Phillips (Ospreys), T Prydie (Ospreys), R Rees (Cardiff Blues), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), M Roberts (Scarlets), T Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), S Williams (Ospreys).
England:
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Forwards: Steffon Armitage (London Irish), Steve Borthwick (Saracens), Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers), Nick Easter (Harlequins), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Stade Francais), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Lee Mears (Bath Rugby), Lewis Moody (Leicester Tigers), Tim Payne (London Wasps), Simon Shaw (London Wasps) Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks) Steve Thompson (CA Brive), Julian White (Leicester Tigers) David Wilson (Bath Rugby)
Backs: Delon Armitage (London Irish), Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby), Danny Care (Harlequins), Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks), Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), Riki Flutey (CA Brive), Shontayne Hape (Bath Rugby), Dan Hipkiss (Leicester Tigers), Paul Hodgson (London Irish), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Mathew Tait (Sale Sharks), Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon)
Italy:
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Forwards: Matias Aguero (Saracens, England), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Français, France), Marco Bortolami (Gloucester, England), Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester, England), Lorenzo Cittadini (Benetton Treviso), Carlo Antonio Del Fava (Viadana), Simone Favaro (Parma), Quintin Geldenhuys (Viadana), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Benetton Treviso), Francesco Minto (Parma), Fabio Ongaro (Saracens, England), Antonio Pavanello (Benetton Treviso), Salvatore Perugini (Bayonne, France), Josh Sole (Viadana), Manoa Vosawai (Parma), Alessandro Zanni (Benetton Treviso).
Forwards: John Barclay (Glasgow), Johnnie Beattie (Glasgow), Kelly Brown (Glasgow), Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Richie Gray (Glasgow), Dougie Hall (Glasgow), Jim Hamilton (Edinburgh), Nathan Hines (Leinster), Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh), Euan Murray (Northampton), Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester)
Backs: Chris Cusiter (Glasgow), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Max Evans (Glasgow), Thom Evans (Glasgow), Phil Godman (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow), Sean Lamont (Scarlets), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow), Dan Parks (Glasgow), Chris Paterson (Edinburgh), Hugo Southwell (Stade Francais)
France:
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Forwards: T Domingo (Clermont Auvergne), L Ducalcon (Castres), S Marconnet (Stade Francais), N Mas (Perpignan), W Servat (Toulouse), D Szarzewski (Stade Francais), S Chabal (Racing Metro), R Millo-Chluski (Toulouse), L Nallet (Racing Metro), P Pape (Stade Francais), J Bonnaire (Clermont Auvergne), T Dusautoir (Toulouse), I Harinordoquy (Biarritz), A Lapandry (Clermont Auvergne), F Ouedraogo (Montpellier), L Picamoles (Toulouse)
Backs: JB Elissalde (Toulouse), M Parra (Clermont Auvergne), B Boyet (Bourgoin), F Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), M Bastareaud (Stade Francais), F Estebanez (Brive), Y Jauzion (Toulouse), D Marty (Perpignan), V Clerc (Toulouse), B Fall (Bayonnais), J Malzieu (Clermont Auvergne), A Rougerie (Clermont Auvergne), A Palisson (Brive), C Poitrenaud (Toulouse)
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February 2010
Sat 6 Ireland v Italy, Croke Park, Dublin
14:30 GMT, 14:30 local
Sat 6 England v Wales, Twickenham Stadium, London
17:00 GMT, 17:00 local
Sun 7 Scotland v France, Murrayfield, Edinburgh
15:00 GMT, 15:00 local
Sat 13 Wales v Scotland, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
14:00 GMT, 14:00 local
Sat 13 France v Ireland, Stade de France, Paris
16:30 GMT, 17:30 local
Sun 14 Italy v England, Stadio Flaminio, Rome
14:30 GMT, 15:30 local
Fri 26 Wales v France, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
20:00 GMT, 20:00 local
Sat 27 Italy v Scotland, Stadio Flaminio, Rome
13:30 GMT, 14:30 local
Sat 27 England v Ireland, Twickenham Stadium, London
16:00 GMT, 16:00 local
March 2010
Sat 13 Ireland v Wales, Croke Park, Dublin
14:30 GMT, 14:30 local
Sat 13 Scotland v England, Murrayfield, Edinburgh
17:00 GMT, 17:00 local
Sun 14 France v Italy, Stade de France, Paris
14:30 GMT, 15:30 local
Sat 20 Wales v Italy, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
14:30 GMT, 14:30 local
Sat 20 Ireland v Scotland, Croke Park, Dublin
17:00 GMT, 17:00 local
Sat 20 France v England, Stade de France, Paris
19:45 GMT, 20:45 local
Ireland coach Declan Kidney has named a 44-man squad for their Six Nations defence and Ireland 'A' internationals, with one eye already on the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
Nine new caps take their place in the squad, with several familiar faces making a return to international action. Ulster hooker Rory Best, thought to have been out for the season with a neck injury, and Munster prop Marcus Horan both slot in after resuming contact training. Leinster flanker Shane Jennings returns from suspension.
Horan will now compete with Leinster's Cian Healy for loose-head duties, having not played for Munster since their Heineken Cup win over Benetton Treviso in October. Munster No.8 Denis Leamy and Leinster wing Luke Fitzgerald were unavailable due to injury.
Jonny Sexton will again compete with Ronan O'Gara for fly-half duties, with the battle at scrum-half set to be an intense one between Peter Stringer, Isaac Boss, Tomas O'Leary and Eoin Reddan. Brian O'Driscoll will again lead Ireland following an unbeaten 2009.
Ulster's Dan Tuohy, Chris Henry and Declan Fitzpatrick lead the new recruits, with Connacht's Brett Wilkinson, Leinster's Devin Toner, Fergus McFadden, John Fogerty and Kevin Mclaughlin and Leicester's Johne Murphy completing the nine new caps.
The squad will train together in Limerick next week before an 'A' squad is named for a fixture against the England Saxons in Bath on January 31.Ireland kick off their Six Nations campaign against Italy at Croke Park on February 6.
"When naming the squad, we had three main considerations, with the most important being the opening game against Italy, followed by the A games and further down the line with the Rugby World Cup," Kidney said. "Building a squad has always been a priority for us and the work done during the first half of the season means there is a little more experience accumulated in the squad then we had a couple of months ago."
Wales coach Warren Gatland has welcomed back some familiar names but cast one eye to the future with his squad for this year's Six Nations.
Fullback Lee Byrne and tight-head prop Adam Jones are among the established names to return for Wales' latest assault on the northern hemisphere crown but Gatland has also named four new caps including two teenagers in untried Ospreys duo - 17-year-old fullback Tom Prydie and 19-year-old winger Kristian Phillips.
However, Wales have suffered an injury blow ahead of their opening clash against England with scrum-half Dwayne Peel ruled out. The Sale Sharks No.9 was due to undergo a scan on Monday after suffering a groin injury in Saturday's Heineken Cup defeat against Cardiff Blues and has not been named in a 35-man squad. With Peel's fellow British & Irish Lion Mike Phillips also sidelined due to injury, Scarlets' scrum-half Martin Roberts is favourite to start at Twickenham on February 6 with the Blues' Gareth Cooper and his uncapped team-mate Richie Rees set to provide competition. The other uncapped player in the squad is Saracens prop Rhys Gill.
There are also places for experienced Ospreys lock Ian Gough, Blues forwards Gareth Williams and Deiniol Jones, together with Sale prop Eifion Lewis-Roberts. The Ospreys (14) and the Blues (13) make up the bulk of the squad which will again be led by Ryan Jones, with the Scarlets providing four players - Matthew Rees, Jonathan Davies, Stephen Jones and Roberts - the Dragons two - Luke Charteris, Dan Lydiate - with just two players based outside Wales in Gill and Lewis-Roberts.
"We are now at the beginning of our countdown to the World Cup and this slightly larger squad reflects that," said Gatland. "We have brought in some youngsters to put some pressure on some of our senior players and to help increase the depth we have in certain positions.
"Kristian is a good example of an exciting young player, he has just won the Principality player of the month award and scored five tries in one match for Neath, he is skilful and very quick. Elsewhere we are very happy to welcome back the likes of Adam (Jones) and Lee (Byrne) who were both obviously missed in the Autumn, although at full-back in particular a certain James Hook provided more than ample cover.
"Our first match at Twickenham could set the tone for the Championship for both sides, we will both be desperate to win that first up match. We then come to the Millennium Stadium for two home matches and the support we have there will make a huge difference to us."
Gatland admitted the injury to Peel caused concern and revealed that they would monitor the recovery of Peel and Phillips who is battling an ankle injury. "We are not 100% sure how long Dwayne Peel will be out for," Gatland told the BBC. "We're just going to assess him over the next few weeks. Mike Phillips may return for possibly the third or fourth game. But he needs a few games under his belt as he has just started running. It is a position where we have a couple of key players that are injured. Gareth [Cooper] has been part of the squad but has not been selected as a first-choice for the Blues so it is a little bit of a concern for us. Rees' service is pretty good, he is a threat around the fringes and he is pretty physical. We have been impressed with the way he has developed and his decision-making has improved."
Gatland also urged his side to show the mental strength required to win when it matters after a much-hyped autumn campaign ended with defeats to New Zealand and Australia and unimpressive victories against Samoa and Argentina. "The Welsh love to be underdogs," he added. "We have to develop as a squad off the field and that means coping with expectation. Players have to be able to cope with pressure, a bridge Ireland have crossed. The Irish players look at the Welsh and, while they think our players might be better physically and in terms of skill, they do not think that when it comes to mental strength. That is something we have to hone in on, but it does not happen overnight. It is something we have to look at, and not be afraid to talk about the 'winning' word, which we tend to shy away from."
Nick Mallett has named a squad of 30 players for the Azzuri's Six Nations campaign. The group will gather on the 24th January 2010, to prepare for an intense series that begins with the reigning champions at Croke Park.
The Italians will try to make amends for a poor 2009 campaign, where they lost every match. Their last win in Six Nations competition was on the 15th March 2008, where they defeated Scotland 23-20 in Rome. Their series two years ago was a solid campaign, only narrowly losing to Ireland in Dublin 11-16, and giving England a huge fright losing 19-23 in Rome.
Sergio Parisse is the most notable absentee, recovering from an injury to his right knee.
Scotland coach Andy Robinson has recalled Glasgow fly-half Dan Parks to his squad for their opening Six Nations games against France and Wales.
Parks has not played a Test match since November 2008 but has been in commanding form for the Warriors, who he will leave at the end of the season for Cardiff Blues. Robinson has named two uncapped players in the squad, with Parks' Glasgow team-mates Richie Gray and Ruaridh Jackson given the nod. Gloucester prop Alasdair Dickinson and Edinburgh lock Jim Hamilton return to the squad after missing the November Tests through injury.
Chris Cusiter and Rory Lawson are the scrum-halves, with Edinburgh's Mike Blair invited to join the squad next week as he continues to recover from injury. Ross Rennie, Jim Thompson, who like Lawson is a grandson of the late Bill McLaren, and Glasgow Warriors prop Jon Welsh have also been asked to attend training at St Andrews.
Thom and Max Evans are both included in the squad while Hugo Southwell has been named after some strong form for Stade Francais. Sean Lamont will be joined in the squad by brother Rory should the Toulon fullback pull through a club game against Montpellier on January 27.
Northampton prop Euan Murray is in the squad despite his refusal to face France on February 7, a Sunday, due to his religious beliefs.
"Richie Gray has worked hard to win a place in the squad and has applied himself consistently when playing for Glasgow, and we were also pleased to see Ruaridh back in action there," said Robinson. "Dan has been playing well and it's an asset for us to have someone of his ability in the squad."
France coach Marc Lievremont has recalled controversial centre Mathieu Bastareaud to his squad for the Six Nations. Bastreaud has not featured in the national setup since causing a furore by fabricating an assault story when on tour in New Zealand last summer.
After victory over South Africa and a heavy loss to New Zealand in November Lievremont has shuffled his deck, dropping established back-three options Maxime Medard and Cedric Heymans, as well as overlooking the claims of Toulouse centre Florian Fritz and Stade fly-half Lionel Beauxis.
Clermont Auvergne captain Aurelien Rougerie is recalled, with Toulouse's Clement Poitrenaud given the nod ahead of his younger team-mate Medard. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde returns to the fold after injury and is joined by Bourgoin pivot Benjamin Boyet. There is no place for Frederic Michalak, leaving Elissalde with a run at Francois Trinh-Duc in the No.10 jersey.
Brive utility back Fabrice Estebanez has bagged a first call-up and Castres prop Luc Ducalcon gets another chance for a first cap after being selected in November and forced to withdraw through injury. Biarritz powerhouse Imanol Harinordoquy also returns from injury, but impressive Perpignan hooker Guilhem Guirado is omitted.
Lievremont always makes a few controversial calls. God know's why. I still don't agree with his dropping of Medard and Heymans. Cedric Heyman's is one of the most dangerous backs around.
Ireland was the first Home Union to award Test status for internationals against Italy. The nations have met 17 times since 1988 in major Tests. Ireland head the series by 14 wins (including the last 13 matches) to three. Italy's wins were between 1995 and 1997 in successive friendly internationals outside the Six Nations Championship.
Ireland thumped Italy 38-9 in Rome last season as they powered to a Grand Slam.
Ireland hold the record for the most tries, highest score and biggest winning margin of the series. They scored eight tries in the 61-6 win at Thomond Park, Limerick when the sides met in 2003 in a World Cup warm-up match. Ireland also scored eight tries in the 2007 Six Nations match in Rome.
Italy's highest scores are their 37-29 and 37-22 (biggest margin) victories in Dublin and Bologna respectively, both in 1997.
Ronan O'Gara, with 30 points for Ireland in Dublin in 2000, holds the series record for most points scored in a match. Denis Hickie set the record for most tries in a match, scoring four for Ireland when the sides met at Limerick in 2003.
The corresponding match records for Italy belong to Diego Dominguez (27 points in Bologna in 1997) and Paulo Vaccari (two tries in Dublin in 1997).
Hickie heads the list of try scorers for the overall series, crossing eight times in eight appearances between 1997 and 2007. Paulo Vaccari is the leading Italian try scorer in the matches with three in four games.
The other overall records include Ronan O'Gara's tally of 145 points from 10 appearances (compared with 96 for Italy by Diego Dominguez), and Alessandro Troncon's dozen appearances in the series. Three Irishmen have played in 11 of the matches: John Hayes, Malcolm O'Kelly and Peter Stringer.
There have been 118 matches between the nations since February 1881. England led the series until 1907, when Welsh rugby was enjoying its first Golden Era. After that, there were never more than two wins separating the sides until 1925. England then stayed in front until 1970 when Wales were embarking on another Golden Era.
The Welsh led the series from 1971 until 2003, but the countries are now dead level with 53 wins apiece. The last of the dozen draws was at Cardiff in 1983.
There have been 45 matches played at Twickenham since 1910, when Enland won 11-6 thanks to eight points from wing Fred Chapman.
England's 62-5 win at Twickenham in the 2007 World Cup warm-up friendly and Wales's 34-21 Cardiff win in 1967 - Keith Jarrett's famous debut match - are the best scores recorded by the teams in this series. England did win, however, by seven goals, six tries and a dropped goal to nil at Blackheath in 1881, before scoring by points was introduced. The try-count of 13 that day stands as the series record for a match.
The best winning margin (57 points) in the matches was established in England's success at Twickenham in 2007. Wales won 25-0 in 1905 - their best margin - and scored eight tries - their best return for the fixture - in the mud at Cardiff in 1922.
Jonny Wilkinson set the record for the highest individual score in a match contributing 30 points at Twickenham in 2002. The Welsh record for a match is 22 points by Neil Jenkins at Wembley in the last ever Five Nations fixture, in 1999. James Hook equalled that Welsh record when the sides last met at Cardiff two years ago.
Four players have scored four tries in a match. George Burton and Nick Easter - both forwards - respectively performed the feat for England in the Blackheath match of 1881 and the Twickenham friendly in 2007. Wing three-quarter Willie Llewellyn crossed four times for Wales on his Test debut at Swansea in 1899 and Maurice Richards, also a wing, went over for Wales at Cardiff in 1969.
Wilkinson is the leading overall scorer in the matches. He has scored 151 points for England since 1999. Neil Jenkins holds the corresponding record for Wales with 65 in his ten appearances between 1991 and 2001.
Will Greenwood's try for England when the sides met in the 2003 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals in Brisbane made him the leading try-getter in the series with seven. Gerald Davies, Dewi Bebb and Willie Llewellyn each scored six for Wales.
Rory Underwood set the record for most appearances in the series, playing 14 times between 1984 and 1996 (including a World Cup match in 1987). Gareth Thomas also featured in 14 matches for Wales.
Wales-England Six Nations results:
2000 England 46-12 (Twickenham)
2001 England 44-15 (Cardiff)
2002 England 50-10 (Twickenham)
2003 England 26-9 (Cardiff)
2004 England 31-21 (Twickenham)
2005 Wales 11-9 (Cardiff)
2006 England 47-13 (Twickenham)
2007 Wales 27-18 (Cardiff)
2008 Wales 26-19 (Twickenham)
2009 Wales 23-15 (Cardiff)
The overall series record since 1910, when the sides first met, at Inverleth in Edinburgh, reads: played 82; Scotland won 34, France 45 and three games (in 1922, 1966 and 1987 at the inaugural Rugby World Cup) have been drawn. France has won 10 of the last 11 matches, including a record run of seven in a row between 2000 and 2005.
France prevailed last season thanks to a controversial try by flanker Fulgence Ouedraogo in their 22-13 win in Paris.
The records for the highest score and best win are held by France, who won 51-9 in Sydney in a Rugby World Cup pool match in 2003. France also won 51-16 at Murrayfield in 1998.
Scotland's highest score was 36-22 in the 1999 Paris win that clinched the last ever Five Nations title. Their biggest margin of victory stands as the 31-3 win in 1912 when French rugby was in its infancy.
The record individual score for a match in this series was established by Frederic Michalak in the 2003 World Cup pool game when he scored 28 in Sydney. He finished with a full-house of scoring actions: try, four conversions, four penalty goals and a dropped goal. The scoring record for Scotland was set by Michael Dods with 19 points at Murrayfield in 1996.
The legendary Flying Scot, Ian Smith, is the only player who has crossed for four tries in a match. He did so in 1925 in a 25-4 victory during Scotland's first Grand Slam season. That match was the last-ever international staged at Inverleith. The only French try hat-trick was scored by wing Eric Bonneval in Paris in 1987.
Some of the game's household names head the lists of overall records for the series. Philippe Sella appeared 14 times in the series between 1981 and 1995 (Jim Renwick played a dozen times for Scotland), Gavin Hastings scored 116 points in eleven games between 1986 and 1995 (Serge Blanco and Christophe Lamaison share the corresponding French record on 42 points) and the famous Scottish wings in the all-Oxford threequarter line of the 1920s, "Johnnie" Wallace and Ian Smith, each rattled up six tries. Blanco scored five tries for France.
Scotland-France Six Nations results:
2000 France 28-16 (Murrayfield)
2001 France 16-6 (Paris)
2002 France 22-10 (Murrayfield)
2003 France 38-3 (Paris)
2004 France 31-0 (Murrayfield)
2005 France 16-9 (Paris)
2006 Scotland 20-16 (Murrayfield)
2007 France 46-19 (Paris)
2008 France 27-6 (Murrayfield)
2009 France 22-13 (Paris)
Ireland victorius over Italy 29-11 in the first test:
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Ireland kicked-off their defence of the Six Nations Championship crown with a comfortable but far from impressive 29-11 victory over Italy at Croke Park in Dublin.
First-half tries from No.8 Jamie Heaslip and scrum-half Tomas O'Leary put the hosts on course for victory in what was a largely disappointing clash that was plagued by slow ball and a lack of creativity. Fly-half Ronan O'Gara slotted 16 points with a penalty from replacement Paddy Wallace rounding out the scoring. An opportunistic try from wing Kaine Robertson and a penalty from fly-half Craig Gower gave the Italians some hope but three points from winger Mirco Bergamasco was all they could muster in the second half.
O'Gara got the nod for the game after Jonathan Sexton was ruled out with a dead leg suffered earlier in the week and Leinster blindside Kevin McLaughlin was handed his debut with Stephen Ferris also sidelined. Elsewhere, Andrew Trimble completed his comeback from injury and Gordon D'Arcy renewed his centre partnership with captain Brian O'Driscoll. Lock Donncha O'Callaghan was a late casualty with a knee injury with Leo Cullen promoted from the replacements.
Stripped of his captain and talisman Sergio Parisse, Italy coach Nick Mallett installed Alessandro Zanni at the base of the scrum with hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini taking on the leadership of the side. Australian-born Gower retained his spot at fly-half after shaking off concerns surrounding a knee injury.
In a far from flattering start to this year's Championship, slow ball didn't help either side's early incursions. A neat grubber from Gower threatened to open the Irish but the defence was too good while a similar effort from O'Gara carved Italy open but Heaslip was unable to claim the ball cleanly. O'Gara eventually opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a well-struck penalty that took him through the 500 Championship points marker.
The opening score appeared to settle Ireland and they continued to take the attack to Italy with Trimble taking a flat pass before injecting some pace down the touchline. The Ulsterman was hauled down on the 22 but the ball was recycled and worked through the hands to Heaslip who was able to stroll in for the first try of the game. O'Gara's excellent conversion cemented the home side's lead.
Unsurprisingly, Italy opted to keep it tight when they could in the hope their formidable front-row could give them some momentum but it was painfully pedestrian at times and what territory they gained was too often squandered and posed no real threat to the well-regimented Irish defence.
A moment of magic from O'Driscoll on his own 22 created the next Irish opportunity, with the influential centre chipping over the on-rushing defence before collecting the ball but sadly for the home crowd his cross-kick on the run had too much on it and went into touch. The Italian pack finally reaped some reward at scrum-time and Gower thumped over a long-range penalty but pressure from Paul O'Connell at the re-start allowed O'Gara to immediately cancel out the score.
One of a handful of turnovers at the lineout gave Ireland great field position on the half hour and some neat handling from O'Driscoll almost put O'Gara away. But a dangerous spear tackle from Gonazlo Garcia on O'Driscoll brought the play to an end and saw the Italian sin-binned before O'Gara slotted his third penalty.
Another crowd-pleasing surge from the Irish soon followed, with quick ball the key to a length of the field move that was again let down by some poor handling. But there was more joy for Ireland at the resulting lineout with Cullen claiming the ball before driving for the line and O'Leary picked up the pieces before wriggling over the line for his first try in an Ireland shirt. O'Gara's impeccable kicking display continued with the extras.
From absolutely nowhere Italy grabbed a lifeline in the game. An aimless kick from Gower was fielded by Kearney in the Irish 22 but his clearance was charged down by Robertson who pounced on the loose ball to grab an unexpected try. In another surprise, winger Bergamasco lined up the conversion but his effort sailed wide of the posts.
The boot dominated the early exchanges after the break and Bergamasco reduced the arrears with a well-taken penalty when Ireland were penalised at the breakdown. But again the Italians undid their hard work by conceding a penalty of their own at the next scrum that O'Gara slotted to restore his side's advantage.
The kick-fest continued to plague the game with neither side able to stamp their authority on the game until Italy fullback Luke McLean was caught in possession inside his own 22 to give Ireland an attacking scrum. O'Gara then opted to kick to the corner following the Italians' latest failure to live up to their billing as a forward threat. The Irish forwards kept it tight off the lineout but were guilty of the slow ball crimes their opponents had been guilty of and coughed up possession allowing Italy to clear.
Ireland attempted to return to a running game as the clash entered the final quarter with Tommy Bowe and Keith Earls giving reason for hope but the move came to another disappointing end. Wallace then injected some much-needed urgency but an offside infringement curtailed the action with the replacement fly-half slotting the easy penalty.
With the Italians clearly tiring, Ireland upped the tempo but were unable to find a score to embellish an otherwise dour encounter. Instead it was Italy who ended the game on the front foot but it was a familiar story as the move floundered in the final third.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney admitted that they showed signs of rustiness during the opening game of their defence of the Six Nations.
Ireland came out on top of a 29-11 scoreline against Italy at Croke Park, but after a decent opening half they failed to create anything in the second against a dogged Italian effort. And while Kidney and captain Brian O'Driscoll were glad to get off to a winning start, both admitted that the Irish need a lot of improvement if they are to test France in Paris next Saturday.
"We won, we managed to get a few points up and I think the squad ethic kicked in as well," Kidney said. "They're the pluses, I thought the scrum went ok, but obviously there's loads of things that we want to get better.
"We were bound to be a little bit rusty, but we'll take the win and move on. We need the passes to stick a bit more, we were close to line breaks a number of times but I think Italy defended very well as they always do.
"We could have won by a little bit more, but last year we scored two intercept tries but this year we didn't get any intercepts because Italy were playing a different way to what they did last year. They're a difficult side to break down. I think sometimes we can be a bit disrespectful in how we talk about them (Italy), but we've a lot of respect for them and it was a tough game."
Kidney opted not to have a training camp with the squad over Christmas, and he believes that decision meant that his side lacked cohesion.
"We decided to give the lads a break at Christmas and take a break because giving the players a break is just as important as any training we do and they had a tough twelve months last year," he added.
O'Driscoll agreed saying, "It's difficult to pick up where you left off in November. By the time we played South Africa we'd been together for a month."
"We've only been together for a fortnight and we didn't go into camp over Christmas so it's about trying to click again, gelling together and getting our combinations right. This will stand to us next week.
"At times we created good opportunities, but we didn't take them. We made a lot of half breaks, but the passes didn't go to hand. It maybe would have flattered us a bit, but it would hae been nice to score a few more tries."
Kidney expects both Paul O'Connell and Ronan O'Gara to recover quickly from the knocks that saw them forced off during the second half, while he says the performances of the replacements pleased him.
"Ronan got a bang on the knee, Paul got a bang on the eye and had blurred vision so it was prudent to get them off, but I'm sure they'll front up again on Monday when we get back and start looking at Paris," he said.
"There were a few lads who were in and around last year who are carrying knocks and that's what we're trying to build a squad for. We want guys to come in seamlessly, and I thought some of the guys that came on brought their own little bit of chemistry to it.
"There the little things we'll need as time goes on, because we're well analysed and are reading us more and we need to have different ways of breaking teams down. We didn't quite do it today, but we're on the way to doing it."
England held their nerve to beat Wales 30-17 at Twickenham, with a brace from flanker James Haskell proving the difference between two sides beginning their Six Nations under pressure.
Jonny Wilkinson kicked 15 points and Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care scored a snappy try just after the break with Welsh lock Alun-Wyn Jones in the sin-bin. Jones' yellow card proved to be the pivotal moment in a scrappy game, with Haskell crossing moments later and Care ramming home the advantage.
Adam Jones and James Hook hit back for a Wales side that failed to deliver any cohesion but Haskell's second ended the game as a contest and provided some much-needed respite for Martin Johnson's men. Both sides suffered dismal autumn campaigns and were rocked by injuries in the build-up. Wales lost scrum-half Dwayne Peel and two thirds of their Lions front-row in Gethin Jenkins and Matthew Rees, while England were counting the cost of a late withdrawal from centre Riki Flutey and continued shoulder problems for Andrew Sheridan. Wales could welcome back Lee Byrne though after the fullback's two week ban for his part in the Ospreys'16th man episode was overturned.
England maintained possession in the opening phases but were forced back by a dogged Welsh line, allowing Wilkinson only a long kick to force a Welsh 22. Jamie Roberts attempted a quick take but cleared the ball to an attacker, putting his side under pressure at the set-piece immediately.
England again worked the phases with no territorial gain, Wales turning possession over and clearing a long penalty to touch. Gareth Williams' first throw was snaffled by England but an offside charge from Wilkinson's clearance handed an opportunity to Hook from the tee. The newly-minted outside-centre had the distance from out wide but the ball faded across the face.
Wales won the kick-off and ripped into the opposition, Martyn Williams carving through the line and chipping ahead. Wilkinson tidied up but was picked up and hurled into touch five metres out. Williams found his man on this occasion but pedestrian play from Gareth Cooper at the base of the ensuing ruck allowed a simple turnover. Williams' next throw was again picked off and Care flew clear, Wales being penalised for an early tackle and conceding massive territory to Wilkinson's boot.
Williams gave away a penalty in front of the posts after going off his feet and Wilkinson did not need a second invitation to slot the opening points. Wales were forced back from the restart and an uncharacteristic spill of the ball from Byrne gave England more position on halfway.
An aimless kick from Toby Flood as the Welsh defence was outnumbered allowed Byrne to clear long and the England pack again secured clean lineout ball. They powered on and after Andy Powell had infringed Wilkinson fired a beautiful kick into the corner. Wales set themselves for the drive and just managed to hold the ball up, winning a penalty against David Wilson at the ensuing scrum.
Hook smacked his next penalty attempt well wide after some ferocious tacking by Powell and Jones. A blindside break from openside Williams threatened to produce the first try of the game after strong play by Jones, but an ill-judged kick from Cooper yielded an easy mark for Mark Cueto and the end of Wales' chance.
Cooper snaffled English ball at the scrum to give himself a chance to atone but missed out as the ball drifted to Tait from another poor kick. The centre hacked back, allowing Wales to counter. England, though, bit back but were penalised for holding on and Jones hammered over Wales' first points.
The pendulum swung England's way when Jones saw yellow for a blatant trip on an onrushing Dylan Hartley. Wales were immediately under pressure after Care shrugged off a tackle by Cooper, with Williams only just getting to grips with Ugo Monye as they Harlequins wing sped towards the line. Wales just stopped their charge as Steve Borthwick went close and as Cueto called for the ball out wide, referee Alain Rolland signalled a scrum. From a free kick, Care went close before the ball was again held up. Another wave of forwards poured towards the line and Haskell finally found the telling gap to score, which Wilkinson predictably converted.
A sloppy knock-on from Wales heralded the restart, with a penalty to England arriving at the scrum. The ball was shipped wide and Nick Easter barged through the line, his Harlequins team-mate Care on hand to accelerate clear and ensure a 14-point swing during Jones' sin-binning.
Some sloppy handling from England at the restart allowed Tom James to break clear, with the ball quickly moved wide for the skipper Jones to power on. As Cooper looked to recycle Borthwick grabbed him, leading to harsh penalty. Wales called for the scrum and as the ball came back from a powerful Jamie Roberts surge, tight-head Jones barrelled across the line after frantically looking for support.
Jones saw a penalty fall short before Williams' lineout woes returned with a skewed throw. England gave away a free-kick at the scrum, which became a penalty when Simon Shaw went off his feet. Wales went to the corner and after a sniping outside break by Hook, James looked certain to score but knocked on with the try-line at his mercy. Replays showed that the ball had in fact come off the wing's chest, with a possible score chalked off.
Wales looked to dominate possession but laboured play and atrocious distribution from Cooper hampered their efforts as time ticked away. One looping pass heralded the end of Cooper's afternoon, with his Blues team-mate Richie Rees introduced for a Test debut. Rees' presence immediately brought renewed vigour to Wales and off his front-foot ball Hook scythed past Tim Payne, handed off the covering Care and scored a marvellous try under the posts.
Jones converted but immediately their dreams turned to nightmares. A pass from the fly-half was picked off by Armitage, who freed Flood to race away. The centre was caught but had Haskell inside for his second after some excellent support play. Wilkinson converted for the victory, and Twickenham breathed an almighty sigh of relief when his penalty added an extra sheen to the scoreline.
France produced a performance of power and precision to defeat Scotland 18-9 at Murrayfield and signal their intent for the Six Nations.
Mathieu Bastareaud scored France's tries on his return to the side, the giant Stade Francais centre powering over twice in the first-half to underline a dominant forward effort and some superb backs play. Scrum-half Morgan Parra kicked the remainder of France's points and dominated the tactical battle, while Imanol Harinordoquy returned at No.8 and picked up the Man of the Match award.
Scotland struggled in the tight without Euan Murray, who ruled himself out due to his religious beliefs, and only had three penalties from fullback Chris Paterson, winning his 99th cap, to show for a dogged performance.
The game exploded into life with a barnstorming hit on Kelly Brown by the burly Aurelien Rougerie, who lasted a matter of minutes after a second shuddering collision, this time with the heavyweight Scotland No.8 Johnnie Beattie.
Scotland were forced back by two powerful scrums early on, the power of Murray conspicuously absent. With early dominance at the scrum France looked to move the ball wide at every opportunity, Parra looked lively at the base and Bastareaud was a willing combatant in midfield.
Despite France dominating the early possession, it was Scotland that snatched the first points after Max Evans latched on to a looping pass in midfield and scythed clear of the defence. Support arrived in the form of skipper Chris Cusiter, with the scrum-half finding Graeme Morrison in midfield. The centre surged for the line and Harinordoquy could not resist handling in the ruck. Paterson clipped over the penalty to open the scoring but the home side were immediately on the back foot.
Rougerie's replacement, Toulouse's Vincent Clerc, broke clear along the blindside but was stopped first by a superb ankle-tap from Brown and then a gravity-defying tackle by Thom Evans to hold the ball up over the line. From the ensuing scrum though, France were back to their dominant best. After several resets and warnings, Harinordoquy picked up and powered into midfield, drawing the Scottish backs and ensuring an easy trot over in the corner for Bastareaud after a brilliant pass from Francois Trinh-Duc.
To their credit, Scotland bit back immediately as Phil Godman's clever inside ball to Beattie unlocked the French blitz defence. The Glasgow No.8 powered through two tackles but his offload to Cusiter went to ground, the captain hacking the ball away in frustration. Scotland continued to live a charmed life in defence, with Godman seeing an ill-judged kick charged down by Trinh-Duc, who kicked towards the line. The bounce was unkind for the Montpellier playmaker and Sean Lamont produced the game's second great try-saving tackle to prevent France landing a debilitating blow.
Parra found his range from the kicking tee to deservedly extend the French lead but Scotland again saw a break, this time from Lamont, yield a penalty to Paterson as the visitors infringed at the breakdown.
Bastareaud was not finished for the half though, taking his second try with consummate ease before the break. With acres of space created by Trinh-Duc slotting in at outside-centre to pull the strings off a deep pass, Bastareaud accepted an offload form Harinordoquy and stood up both Godman and Evans with a subtle dummy before crashing over in the corner.
After Parra's conversion France immediately went back on the offensive following a charge down off Paterson. The Scots dug in though and through Brown had a turnover to hold off the flood of dark blue on their line, bringing half-time and sighs of relief.
Godman's second-half kick-off sailed out on the full and only a knock-on from Bastareaud prevented further damage being inflicted on the scoresheet. Parra gleefully accepted another penalty opportunity to open up a 12-point cushion after pedestrian Scottish play at the ruck and events almost took a further turn for the worse as Clerc and Bastareaud combined along the blindside.
Godman was then withdrawn and replaced by Hugo Southwell, with Paterson at fly-half, while Benjamin Fall had a length-of-the field interception chalked off by an earlier infringement from the French forwards. Paterson's third penalty immediately followed and raised the volume inside Murrayfield, only for his next touch to be a horrible slice out on the full.
Trinh-Duc pinned the Scots back into their 22 with a raking kick and they again set up camp in enemy territory as the ground's large French contingent launched a rousing rendition of Le Marseillaise. Parra barked his pack forward and collected the ball for yet another penalty as the life was slowly strangled out of the home side.
The scrum-half's kick faded wide but the French effort was not halted. Some magical handling by Harinordoquy threatened to open the defence for Clerc, but Bastareaud lost the ball in contact to again let Scotland off the hook. With two French players down following a surge from Beattie, Scotland probed at the depleted defence through 10 phases but lost the ball as Brown was isolated after a short snipe around a ruck.
Parra showed his kicking game in open play by hooking the ball in behind Scotland, who conceded possession with a lazy lineout tap from Al Kellock, which was touched down behind the line by Richie Gray. France set to at the scrum and Thomas Domingo continued to punish Moray Low but again Scotland stood firm as Harinordoquy was stripped of the ball in the tackle.
Lamont finally ignited the Scottish attack with a brilliant break, well supported by Scott Lawson, but there was to be no fairytale for the man that sunk France in 2006 as Les Bleus swarmed all over Scotland and ended the attack as well as any hope of a comeback. Next up for France is a potentially vital home meeting with Ireland, while Scotland face a wounded Wales at the Millennium Stadium.
Be afraid. Be very afraid. France laid down an impressive marker with a powerful demolition of Scotland in their Six Nations opener at Murrayfield.
The warning sides were there for the Scots when France coach Marc Lievremont named his side and if Andy Robinson's charges were in need of a further pointer they didn't have to wait long. France's Aurelien Rougerie flattened Scotland's Kelly Brown with barely a minute on the clock to set the tone for the game. A pumped-up Rougerie threw himself into another head-on tackle moments later but his eagerness got the better of him and his game was over as soon as it had begun through injury. But there was no respite for the Scots with Rougerie's team-mates more than happy to take up the cause and they did so in style.
Before the game we were treated to shots of Scotland's players throwing weights around like jelly tots but it was they who were devoured like pick and mix by a dominant French side who delivered a lesson in power play. And they were roared on by a huge French contingent amongst the crowd who had perhaps travelled in the knowledge they were about to witness the start of something special. At times you could have been forgiven for thinking it was the Stade de France the singing was so loud and clear. Robinson has spoken about 'inspiring a nation' but it was the French fans given most reason to cheer and their vocal dominance should be a point of embarrassment for Scottish Rugby.
France's No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy was the tormentor-in-chief although centre Mathieu Bastareaud can rightly feel a little aggrieved at not claiming the man of the match honour. Bastareaud's burgeoning career took a nose dive last year when he falsely claimed he had been assaulted during Les Bleus' tour of New Zealand that subsequently caused a diplomatic row. He escaped heavy sanction but his reputation didn't. His scoring efforts here, on his return to the French side, will aid his re-integration and be warmly welcomed by France's fans. But talk of redemption is wide of the mark - he has some way to go to restore his credibility.
Six Nations squads
Six Nations squads and fixtures
