International sports, Six Nations rugby
Twickenham, London (GenevaLunch) – The England rugby team took a giant leap towards a possible Grand Slam in the 2011 Six Nations with a solid 17-9 win over France Saturday 26 February. The first half was even, with each side scoring three penalties but England went ahead with a try from Ben Foden early in the second half. Jonny Wilkinson came on for Toby Flood and immediately scored with a 45-metre penalty that sent him past Dan Carter’s record as the top scorer in international rugby. The match was tense, with handling errors from both sides.
In the other matches Italy lost at home against Wales 16-24 and Scotland were edged out by Ireland 18-21.
Links to other sites: Guardian, RBS6nations
Twickenham, London, England and Cardiff, Wales (GenevaLunch) - England lost to the Wallabies 9-18 despite the return of Jonny Wilkinson and a much improved performance in the line-outs. Wilkinson scored all the England points and put in some crunching defensive tackles but the England team was short of offensive ideas and was dominated in the second half. The star player for the Australians was their young scrum-half Will Genia.
In the other big rugby union match the New Zealand All Blacks extended their undefeated record against Wales, who last beat the New Zealanders in 1953.
