The first round of games are done and dusted. The players can move to their next stadium whilst the media are left to continue the hype of the first games - so here goes:
Wales 22 - 30 Ireland - It was a game of two halves; first half was all Ireland, romping to a 23 - 3 half time lead. Then when they scored an early second half try, it looked like the match would continue where it left off before the break. However, Wales and Justin Tipuric had something to say about that. They battled away smashing against a resolute line of Irish defense, before pulling back 2 tries to close the gap to two scores. Their hard work and effort was all in vain however as the Irish stood strong, holding out for an 8 point win. The Irish will be pleased with the result but the Welsh should take something out of their spirited second half performance.
England 38 - 18 Scotland - This was an open game which England dominated. The result was never in doubt but the scoreline could have been 10 points closer or more dominant. England were smashing away, creating chance after chance and the only time Scotland ever looked like scoring was when England made a mistake or Stuart Hogg received the ball. Tries from Ashton, debutant Twelvetrees, Care and Parling saw England to an easy win.
Italy 23 - 18 France - This was the shock of the week and perhaps the whole tournament as underdogs Italy claimed a rare win against world cup finalists, France. They were inspired by the home crowd and after the score ebbed from one side to the other a decisive try from Castrogiovanni gave Italy a memorable win. This was after a superb try from Fall.
So there we have it, who would have thought Italy would win, or Ireland would beat reigning champs Wales? But they did and so onto the next round of this year's tournament!
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