France cruised to a comfortable win against Ireland in the RBS Six Nations. The Irish were only 11-10 down five minutes into the second half but France then produced a devastating 14-point burst to stretch clear. Vincent Clerc, Pascal Pape, Yannick Jauzion and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde scored the hosts’ tries, with Frederic Michalak kicking 15 points. Ireland’s tries came from Anthony Foley and Tyrone Howe, with Ronan O’Gara kicking their other points. When the two sides met in the World Cup France destroyed Ireland’s hopes within the first 20 minutes and the visitors came out determined not to let the same happen again. The fired-up Irish dominated territory for the opening quarter, but all they had to show for their efforts… Continue reading »

The Five Nations Championship, with its predecessor, the Home Championship, was the premier international rugby union tournament in the northern hemisphere. After 12 years of occasional friendly matches between the teams, the inaugural Home Championship, comprising England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales was played in 1883. The addition of the French in 1910 brought the number of nations to five, and it was another 90 years before a sixth team, Italy, joined the competition. Since then it has been known as the Six Nations Championship. The competition is something of an anomaly since the Irish team is comprised of players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Played annually, the format is simple: each team plays every other team once, with… Continue reading »