FINALLY A TRY......we deserved it........

SCANAENGLISH?..:D

:D....no.....means Kill the cow......Scannare= to kill

 

Kill the cow - or killer cow??:P

FINALLY A TRY......we deserved it........

SCANAENGLISH?..:D

 

Is there also a player named Stronzavacca??:rolleyes:

KILL THE COW

KILL THE COW

 

What a weird name!! I bet he came in for a lot of stick at school!!:rolleyes:

Is there also a player named Stronzavacca??:rolleyes:

 

Are you an italian linguist;)?you're so expert!!!!!:D

Are you an italian linguist;)?you're so expert!!!!!:D

 

No - I just have pretty good general knowledge, plus I've been around Italians at times (I once even worked with some).;)

No - I just have pretty good general knowledge, plus I've been around Italians at times (I once even worked with some).;)

 

So....they teached you well:D!!!!!

So....they teached you well:D!!!!!

 

I don't really know much Italian, but I do like the language and the people.

I'm visiting Italy (Cervinia) again next month for skiing, and last March I was in Val di Fassa.

I don't really know much Italian, but I do like the language and the people.

I'm visiting Italy (Cervinia) again next month for skiing, and last March I was in Val di Fassa.

 

Never been there........too far:D!!!!!!

 

btw....20 to 7.......good match for us....you have still to work:P

Never been there........too far:D!!!!!!

 

btw....20 to 7.......good match for us....you have still to work:P

 

England were poor and Italy fought well, without threatening too much.

Italy fought well, without threatening too much.

we play quite always in this way,Mark.....we need to score..........let's see the next match v Scotland.....we can win if we'll fight

we play quite always in this way,Mark.....we need to score..........let's see the next match v Scotland.....we can win if we'll fight

 

It'd be great if you did!!:P

England (14) 20

 

 

England (14) 20

Try: Robinson

Pens: Wilkinson (5)

 

Italy (0) 7

Try: Scanavacca

Cons: Scanavacca

 

England made heavy weather of beating Italy to earn an unconvincing second Six Nations win of the season.

 

Until Jason Robinson's try just before half-time, all England had to show for their early pressure was three Jonny Wilkinson penalties.

 

Italy were much the better side after the break, with Andrea Scanavacca claiming a deserved try.

 

England claimed the game's final score through Wilkinson but Italy ended a lacklustre match on the front foot.

 

Two early Wilkinson penalties, the first of which broke the individual scoring record for the Five or Six Nations, were the only highlights of a curiously low-key opening quarter.

 

Neither goal-line was seriously threatened as Nick Easter and Harry Ellis did their best to encourage positivity from England, but Italy seemed happy to sit back and soak it up.

 

Wilkinson made it three after Kane Robertson failed to release the ball when tackled, before the game's faltering momentum was further disrupted when Italy's Denis Dallan was stretchered off with a serious-looking ankle injury.

 

As half-time beckoned without an England try, Mike Tindall was hauled down just short of the line following a good backline move involving Ellis and Wilkinson, and the sustained pressure finally saw Italy's defence crack.

 

With the visitors on the ropes, Marco Bortolami was sin-binned for a professional foul and almost instantly England worked the ball over to the left-hand side for Robinson to dive over in trademark style and score.

 

After the restart Italy were much the stronger team as they stood up to England's forward threat, and the uninspired home side had to rely on Wilkinson's boot to keep the scoreboard busy.

 

Around the hour mark, Scanavacca's knock-on cost Italy their best scoring chance but minutes later he made amends, touching down under the posts after good approach work by Josh Sole.

 

A fifth Wilkinson penalty settled any late nerves, but England's overall performance had done precious little to raise the heart rate.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/english/6344537.stm

excellent try for Ireland! (O'Gara)

HT: Ireland 11-13 France

 

High octane stuff, France will rue their missed kicks!:o

best game of the 6nations so far, but I'm the only one watching it :P

Ireland take the lead 14-13, 20 mins left

Last-gasp France stun Irish

 

 

Ireland (11) 17

Try: O'Gara

Pens: O'Gara (4)

 

France (13) 20

Tries: Ibanez, Clerc

Cons: Skrela, Beauxis

Pens: Skrela 2

 

A late Vincent Clerc try gave France a 20-17 win over Ireland in Sunday's RBS Six Nations match at Croke Park.

 

The French deservedly led 13-11 at half-time thanks to a Raphael Ibanez try and two penalties and a conversion by fly-half David Skrela.

 

Ronan O'Gara scored Ireland's only try and kicked the remainder of the points with four successful penalty attempts.

 

His 77th-minute penalty gave Ireland a 17-13 lead but Clerc crossed the line and Lionel Beauxis converted the try.

 

The French began in lively fashion and were rewarded for their early pressure when Skrela kicked a third-minute penalty after Paul O'Connell was penalised for killing the ball.

 

Six minutes later the fly-half added another three points from in front of the posts when Rory Best was adjudged to have interfered at a ruck.

 

Ireland responded by opening their account with an O'Gara penalty but a 14th-minute try by hooker Ibanez put the visitors in control again.

 

The French captain broke through a weak Geordan Murphy tackle and then ploughed past the challenges of Marcus Horan and John Hayes to cross the Irish line.

 

Skrela added the simple conversion to leave Ireland 13-3 in arrears.

 

The Irish started to enjoy more possesion and reduced their deficit with a 25th-minute O'Gara penalty, awarded after Christophe Dominici was penalised for offside.

 

On 32 minutes Ireland scored their only try of the game when O'Gara completed a fine move involving Denis Hickie, Shane Horgan and David Wallace by scoring in the corner but the record Irish points scorer was wide with his conversion kick.

 

Skrela missed with two penalty attempts before half-time, leaving his side with a two-point advantage at the interval.

 

Soon after the break Geordan Murphy sprinted towards the line after France lost possession but referee Steve Walsh had already blown his whistle for a knock-on without playing any advantage.

 

Ireland enjoyed sustained territorial advantage and took the lead for the first time on 56 minutes when O'Gara slotted over a simple penalty in front of the posts after Imanol Harinordoquy was adjudged to have come into a ruck from the side.

 

A pulsating second half continued at a frenetic pace and replacement Beauxis hit the post with a long-range drop goal attempt which would have put France ahead again.

 

With two minutes remaining O'Gara landed his fourth penalty to give his team a four-point lead but at the other end winger Clerc ran through the home defence two minutes later for a French try and Beauxis converted to make it 20-17.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/6352033.stm

Damn those French.

ALLEZ LES BLEUS

I hope France will win in before the World Cup here!!

Ireland v England (Sat)

 

 

Saturday, 24 February

Croke Park, Dublin

Kick-off: 1730 GMT

Live on BBC One, Five Live, BBC Sport website

 

Ireland will aim to bounce back from their loss to France when they take on England in their historic Six Nations clash at Croke Park on Saturday.

 

It will be an emotionally-charged occasion as it will be the first time an English team has visited the home of the Gaelic Athletics Association.

 

Ireland are lifted by the return of skipper Brian O'Driscoll and scrum-half Peter Stringer back from injury.

 

England have lost winger Jason Robinson while Jonny Wilkinson is a doubt.

 

Ireland saw their Grand Slam hopes disappear two weeks ago when France snatched victory in the closing seconds through a Vincent Clerc try.

 

But the Irish will draw comfort from that fact that they have won the last three Tests against England as well as having O'Driscoll and Stringer back in the line-up.

 

Ireland found themselves 13-3 down after a sluggish start against the French and fly-half Ronan O'Gara, who needs 14 points to become the first Irish player to reach 700 in Test match rugby, says his side must perform with "greater intensity".

 

"I think it would be better for me if we brought more intensity into our game," he said.

 

"That would give me more ball on the front foot, giving us space to run at the opposition. An outside-half's game is hugely determined by what goes on around him.

 

"There are small things that make the difference at the top level and that's why we need to put that intensity that was missing against France into Saturday's match."

 

There has been plenty of hype and controversy surrounding the fixture but full-back Girvan Dempsey says the players are unaffected by the build-up.

 

"It's easy enough to shut yourself off from everything around the game," he said. "Obviously you see stuff on the news but when you're in camp you're cocooned away from it all.

 

"You don't see the atmosphere until you're on the bus on the way to the ground."

 

England named their team over a week ago in the hope of persuading the Premiership clubs to rest their internationals last weekend.

 

Six of England's starting XV ended up playing for their clubs while Ireland's players have rested for two weeks.

 

Robinson was ruled out of the game with a neck injury picked up in training while Wilkinson complained of a tight right hamstring during the week.

 

England have had an upturn in fortunes since the appointment of coach Brian Ashton at the start of the year with victories over Scotland and Italy.

 

But Ashton said: "We got caught in a one-dimensional game against Italy.

 

"We need more dynamism and movement, putting together a game that is going to challenge the Irish defence and putting a defence together that is going to challenge the Irish attack.

 

"But I am confident this will be a much-enhanced performance. The players want to step up two or three gears from the Italy game, and to be honest, we know we have to."

 

Ashton was in charge of Ireland when they suffered their record defeat against England, losing 46-6 at Lansdowne Road in 1997.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/6389727.stm

Scotland v Italy (Sat)

 

 

Saturday, 24 February

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh

Kick-off: 1500 GMT

Live on BBC One, Five Live, Radio Scotland, BBC Sport website

 

Scotland entertain Italy hoping that the visitors do not produce the "something special" of which Frank Hadden believes they are on the verge.

 

The Scotland coach saw his side bounce back from an opening defeat by England with a stubborn win at home to Wales.

 

Italy have lost their opening two games despite a typically dogged display in worrying England a fortnight ago.

 

And they have yet to break their Six Nations duck at Murrayfield, which is again becoming a fortress for Scotland.

 

Scott Murray will equal Gregor Townsend's record of 82 Scotland caps and will therefore be especially determined to prevent Italy spoiling his own historic day with a shock victory.

 

He will be joined in the second row by Nathan Hines, who returns to the side to win his own 40th cap in the only change to the side that defeated Wales a fortnight ago.

 

Hadden will be hoping that Hines' physical presence will help the Scots break through for the tries that eluded them in that 21-9 win.

 

Accurate and in-form as Chris Paterson is, the Scotland coach will not want to have to rely on another 100% kicking record by the winger to pull his side through.

 

And Hadden wants his side to show they can at least match last year's three Six Nations wins.

 

"I don't think the tables really tell anything after two games," he told BBC Sport.

 

"We'll have a better idea after Saturday where we're sitting and whether we're going to have some impact on this competition."

 

With Mauro Bergamasco fit enough to add to an already experienced Italian pack, the Scots face a side who are continuing to improve.

 

And, in Frenchman Pierre Berbizier, they have a coach who knows how to win at Murrayfield as a player.

 

Indeed, Hadden believes that Italy are no longer the easy touches of the Six Nations.

 

"They've got a very experienced squad now and they're ready to do something special in the Six Nations," said Hadden.

 

"They got close last year in the Six Nations - they were either drawing or winning every single game at half-time.

 

"They're on the verge of doing something special and it's up to us to make absolutely certain that doesn't happen."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/scottish/6389855.stm

France v Wales (Sat)

 

 

Saturday, 24 February

Stade de France, Paris

Kick-off: 2000 GMT

*Live on BBC Two, Five Live, Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, BBC Sport website

 

Wales will aim to upset the form book when they face France in the RBS Six Nations at Stade de France on Saturday.

 

But recent results in Paris will give hope of an unlikely victory, Wales having won three of their four visits.

 

Shane Williams and Lee Byrne are back after injury as coach Gareth Jenkins makes seven changes to the side beaten by Scotland, including a new front-row.

 

France will be without injured number eight Sebastien Chabal in one of five changes to the pack that beat Ireland.

 

Elvis Vermeulen replaces Chabal, while Julien Bonnaire plays at open-side flanker instead of Imanol Harinordoquy.

 

Jerome Thion comes in for Pascal Pape at lock, with Olivier Milloud and Nicolas Mas replacing Sylvain Marconnet and Peter de Villiers in the front row.

 

"It's nice of course to approach the game knowing that we have two wins under our belt and that Wales have lost twice but what we did yesterday doesn't matter," said France coach Bernard Laporte.

 

"It will only count at the end of the championship. To grow up as a team, we must look forward taking into account what we did well and correcting our errors.

 

"Above all, we must keep the spirit we showed at Croke Park [against Ireland] and stay vigilant and concentrated until the final whistle.

 

"The Welsh did not play well against Scotland but we must not forget they beat us two years ago at the Stade de France."

 

Jenkins has responded to a woeful set-piece performance in the 21-9 defeat to Scotland by re-calling props Chris Horsman and Gethin Jenkins, and giving Matthew Rees his first start of the campaign at hooker.

 

Ian Gough is preferred at lock to Robert Sidoli, who drops out of the 22 as fit-again Brent Cockbain earns a place on the bench.

 

The return of Williams to the wing should give Wales some much-needed pace and flair in the back-line, with the centre partnership of Tom Shanklin and James Hook looking strong.

 

Despite the loss of full-back Kevin Morgan to injury, replaced by Lee Byrne, Jenkins says the back-line will be the strongest combination he has been able to field so far in the campaign.

 

"The only frustration is that they haven't got any game time behind them," said Jenkins, who has back captain and fly-half Stephen Jones after severe press criticism.

 

"Ideally we'd like to be starting the Six Nations will this kind of selection, but that's not the case.

 

"But it's important they are back. They are hugely experienced players and are comfortable in places like the Stade de France.

 

"They have a certain degree of confidence about themselves and they'll bring that into the team.

 

"This back division has a balance about for the first time I'm comfortable with."

 

The four previous encounters between the two nations at the Stade de France have been enthralling affairs, with Wales producing some of their finest displays in recent memory in their three victories.

 

But with two tryless defeats hanging over them, Wales will need to find a dramatic turnaround to match those highs against a supreme confident France side.

 

"France are building through the Six Nations towards their eventual World Cup challenge but they are quite formidable and it is a big challenge," added Jenkins.

 

"Their style is very different to what we have seen. They are hugely physical in the forwards and their defence is as good as New Zealand's.

 

"We need to break the physical dominance they put on a game. Having three away games is not ideal and France is always a tough place to go.

 

"They have proved they are the best team in this championship in the first two rounds, but we are at a stage where we need to get back out there on the pitch and show what we have to offer as well."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/6386389.stm

England ask for Croke Park lesson

 

 

England have asked former Ireland star Conor O'Shea to explain the political significance of Croke Park ahead of Saturday's Six Nations visit to Dublin.

O'Shea, whose father Jerome won three All-Ireland final medals with Kerry (1953, 1955, 1959), will address the England squad on Monday.

 

The stadium is the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association which only lifted its ban on non-Gaelic sports in 2005.

 

In 1920, British soldiers killed 14 people inside the stadium.

 

The Hogan Stand is named after one of the players killed on what became known as "Bloody Sunday".

 

Up until 1971, any member caught playing, or even watching, "foreign games" such as soccer or rugby, could be banned or suspended.

 

Ireland's usual rugby stadium, Lansdowne Road, is being redeveloped.

 

"We would like to add our thanks to those of the Irish Rugby Football Union in appreciation to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) for allowing rugby union to be played at one of the best sporting venues in Europe," said an RFU spokesman.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/english/6369357.stm