England encouraged to play on the edge, fair or foul
ROME -- England's ill discipline was highlighted as one of the factors behind their early demise in last year's Rugby World Cup. Last week they gave away 12 penalties against Scotland, this week in Rome it was 13. But Eddie Jones is not perturbed by this count; instead, giving away the odd penalty at the right time is encouraged.
It is a new approach to the black-and-white take on ill-discipline. "If you look at most teams that win tournaments around the world, they're usually the most heavily penalised teams," Jones said after England's win over Italy. "Giving away penalties is not an indication of a lack of discipline.
"Look at New Zealand's stats -- they're not the most disciplined team. It's about knowing when to give the penalty away. Rugby is played on a knife-edge of what's legal and what's not. You've got to play on the edge. So I'm not concerned by the number of penalties we gave away, more the times at which we give them away." -- Tom Hamilton
Are pre-match injuries becoming an advantage?
CARDIFF -- For the second week running the build-up to Wales' Six Nations assignment was dominated by a late line-up reshuffle. This time it was their opponents, Scotland, who were forced into a change but nevertheless the timing of Sean Maitland's withdrawal does hint at a wider trend.
Rumours surrounding Maitland's fitness had begun to surface on Friday evening, when he was allegedly spotted boarding a train bound for London. By the next morning it was accepted that Sean Lamont would take his place in the team, yet Scotland refused to confirm their line-up until arriving at the Principality Stadium, as Wales had done in Dublin the previous week when Liam Williams replaced Gareth Anscombe 90 minutes before kick-off.
Wales bristled at suggestions of gamesmanship last week, and while there is no evidence to suggest foul play it could be argued that they benefitted from delaying confirmation of the change. Both Scotland and Wales denied their opponents any length of time to adjust to the switch, giving themselves an advantage -- however small.
For the sake of transparency, would it not be better if injuries were confirmed when they occurred? After all, it would halt the pre-match rumour mill and avoid allegations of gamesmanship altogether. -- Martyn Thomas
Man of the Match call raises eyebrows
ROME -- Ben Youngs did little wrong at scrum-half against Italy but there is little doubt that England stepped up a gear when Danny Care came on.
England looking much better since Danny Care came on.
— Tom Hamilton (@tomESPNscrum) February 14, 2016
England's Ben Youngs named Man of the Match...
— Tom Hamilton (@tomESPNscrum) February 14, 2016
To say there were eyebrows raised when Youngs was crowned Man of the Match would be an understatement. The Italian host broadcaster gave him that honour, deeming him more deserving than hat trick man Jonathan Joseph and a remarkable showing from George Kruis. -- TH
Daly talk a media creation, argues Jones
ROME -- There are few subjects that get as passionate response from Eddie Jones as when he gets asked about the players who aren't in the team. Any mention of pre-match pressure on Joseph and the form of Wasps' Elliot Daly is switched back on to the media and the same occurred after England's win on Sunday when Jones was asked about the outside centre spot.
"All the talk was from you guys [the media]," Jones said. "I've never talked about Elliot Daly being a Test 13. I said he was a very good player with potential. Joseph wasn't under pressure. You guys think he's under pressure, not me. He was very good. His defence last week was outstanding. Joseph has a great short kicking game, a good outside break and he has lovely footwork." -- TH
Buoyant Baldwin eyes title charge
CARDIFF -- Scott Baldwin was rightly in a buoyant mood as he digested a Wales win that he believes puts them on course to mount a serious championship challenge. The Welsh hooker had just completed a near perfect evening's work in Cardiff, finding a red shirt with all of his lineout throws and maintaining a 100 percent record at scrum time too.
Baldwin paid tribute to the character within Warren Gatland's squad as they were made to sweat before emerging victorious in a second close encounter against Scotland in as many years. "I think it shows the confidence in the team, in the squad," he said. "Not losing our heads under pressure.
"We've got two massive games coming up, with the week off next week and then France, week off, England and then a big game at home to finish off against Italy.
"So, if we keep going the way we're going and creating the chances, and finishing them off, we should be in a good place come three weeks' time."
Baldwin's afternoon was not without incident, though, as a coming together with Stuart Hogg -- who slid into the hooker after gathering a Gareth Davies up and under -- forced the Scotland fullback off with a sore back. "I think it would have been a red card if it'd have been football," Baldwin joked.
"I find myself in those areas quite a lot so maybe it's something I've got to work on." -- MT
Irish still hopeful of more last day heroics
PARIS -- Ireland still hold hope of becoming the first team to win three successive Six Nations titles despite defeat by France on a bleak afternoon in Paris.
Maxime Medard's late try coupled with Jules Plisson's conversion gave Guy Noves' men a late victory at the Stade de France on Saturday and denied injury-hit Ireland back-to-back wins in the French capital for the first time since 1927.
However, Joe Schmidt's side won the 2014 championship with a victory on the final weekend in Paris before they successfully retained their title on another dramatic closing day last year -- and the players' know this year's edition is far from over.
"It's obviously out of our hands at the moment," Devin Toner said following Ireland's 10-9 loss to France last weekend. "But there's always a chance.
"Last year it came down to the final game. The next game [against England] is a big one -- we've not won at Twickenham for a while now. It'll be a tough test."
Munster back-rower Tommy O'Donnell added: "We'll see how the next two games go. Going on the two previous Six Nations Championships, it's gone down to the last two days so we'll see how the results go. We're very much dependent on results now but we'll give our all in the next three games.
"You never know how the cards are going to fall. Let those tired bodies recover, get back into camp and take it from there." -- Rob Bartlett
'Happiness and good times' for Bonneval and France
PARIS -- One could forgive French fans for falling back in love with rugby again. After their hard-fought victory over Ireland in Paris on Valentine's Day weekend -- making it two wins from two in this year's tournament -- there is cause for celebration amongst Les Bleus.
Almost five months after Philippe Saint-Andre's France tenure came to a derelict end in a heavy Rugby World Cup quarterfinal defeat by New Zealand, Guy Noves' new-look side have struck two wins from two in this year's championship.
It's been far from pretty but back-to-back wins over Italy and Ireland have set up the unlikeliest of grand slam bids with games against Wales, Scotland and England to come.
"Of course, the World Cup was really difficult for France and the players that played in it," France fullback Hugo Bonneval said after Saturday's triumph.
"Right now, we've got new staff, new coaches and new players. We're trying to create our own story. We need to keep working but right now it's just happiness and good times.
"It was really important for us to win. We've lost for the last four years against Ireland. It's really difficult for us to beat them, so we are very happy.
"We need to prepare for a big game against Wales. Right now it is really good for us because we've won two games -- but we need to stay focused. We need to keep working hard." -- RB