No tries - what a surprise.

Danny Care put a fantastic kick through to set Italy up for their one....

There was one point in the game where England were on Italys line and had about six attackers against three Italian defenders and still couldn't score.

If England were renowned for their flair and attacking rugby I would be more inclined to watch them regularly. Instead whenever I do I'm always left wondering why I bothered.

Basically, this weekend is a last hurrah for Welsh rugby before it slides down the waste disposal chute and into the bin.

The regions are haemorraging cash at a level that simply isn't sustainable. Their survival will be at the expense of their best players moving into England or France and them ceasing to be competitive at Heineken Cup or Pro12 level.

Only the national team provides them with a glimmer of hope at the moment. A loss to England, particularly if it happens to be a poor performance, will drive another nail into the coffin of Wales as a rugby power.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... f-comments Now, rugby is not to everybody's taste. It's dull, plodding and the laws are unfathomable, say the cynics, who contrast it unfavourably with the flowing, relatively straightforward game of football. And in some ways those critics are right. But they are missing the point that rugby is sport at its purest because, in reality, all sport is boring. It's a tribal rite, not an aesthetic exercise, and no sport does tribalism better than rugby. if you treat it purely as an aesthetic form, rugby is unwatchable. The ball disappears under a heap of bodies for long periods; the scrums are endlessly set and reset as referees struggle to impose discipline; and no one really understands the rules, which makes the giving of penalties a lottery. A game lasts 80 minutes, and if 5% of that is made up of running rugby you're doing well. The rest will be scrums, mauls, punch-ups and a small man squatting over the ball for minutes on end as he lines up a kick at goal which has resulted from some alleged offence no one can understand in the first place. Still far too complimentary in my view.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... f-comments Now, rugby is not to everybody's taste. It's dull, plodding and the laws are unfathomable, say the cynics, who contrast it unfavourably with the flowing, relatively straightforward game of football. And in some ways those critics are right. But they are missing the point that rugby is sport at its purest because, in reality, all sport is boring. It's a tribal rite, not an aesthetic exercise, and no sport does tribalism better than rugby. if you treat it purely as an aesthetic form, rugby is unwatchable. The ball disappears under a heap of bodies for long periods; the scrums are endlessly set and reset as referees struggle to impose discipline; and no one really understands the rules, which makes the giving of penalties a lottery. A game lasts 80 minutes, and if 5% of that is made up of running rugby you're doing well. The rest will be scrums, mauls, punch-ups and a small man squatting over the ball for minutes on end as he lines up a kick at goal which has resulted from some alleged offence no one can understand in the first place. Still far too complimentary in my view.

The funniest thing is, the author writes for Wisden.

So he's used to sitting in a stadium for five consecutive days watching a game that still might not have a positive result to it.

Scrap that - this 2013 Ireland team are even WORSE. Italy have not exactly progressed since last year, so today's result speaks volumes.

TBF Ireland had 10 of their first 15 out injured today.

England collapse under pressure yet again.....and no tries scored...For 2 games on the bounce and 3 out of 5 games.

1 try for England in the last 4 games... on that basis alone Wales deserved it. So much for the new coaching team bringing positive rugby.