England keep their title hopes alive as they bounce back against Italy, winning 41-18 at Twickenham.
Eddie Jones’ side appeared to have saved up all their points for this week scoring six tries, after blanking against Scotland in last week’s Calcutta cup defeat.
However, a Monty Ioane try inside three minutes gave England an early scare until they quickly rediscovered their attacking prowess with Jonny Hill earning his first International try.
Shortly after, man-of-the-match Anthony Watson injected a short burst of pace as he broke the line of the Italian defence to extend England’s lead.
Just before half-time, Jonny May spectacularly leapt over Luca Sperandio’s tackle as the winger had to use all his athleticism to place the ball over the line and further his side’s lead.
After the break, Watson added to his tally as he intercepted a loose pass from Paolo Garbisi and travelled over half the pitch to secure a bonus point.
Back row Jack Willis muscled his way to a try on his Six Nations debut but his delight was short-lived as he sustained a knee injury after.
Tommaso Allan added a second try for Italy but a quick response from Elliot Daly led to the away side slumping to a 28th consecutive loss to the hosts.
Elsewhere, Wales narrowly won 25-24 over 14-man Scotland in a classic at Murrayfield.
Despite being 17-8 down at half-time, Wales fought back to keep their Grand Slam dreams alive.
Gregor Townsend’s side built on their momentum from last week’s victory over England as a magnificent chip over Wales’ defence by Ali Price was gathered by Darcy Graham to give Scotland the lead.
The home side came again as captain Stuart Hogg, inspired by Price’s early play, chipped the ball over the opposition defence again but this time into the path of Leigh Halfpenny. However, the full-back uncharacteristically lost grip of the ball and Hogg quickly pounced to score.
Louis Rees-Zammit replied for the Welsh just before the interval.
Scotland came out firing again but had a try disallowed, due to a Scott Cummings obstruction in the build-up, in what was the beginning of a catastrophic seven minutes.
Wales stormed down the other end to score through Liam Williams and bring the game to 17-15 after Callum Sheedy converted.
Then came the turning point; Zander Fagerson saw red after hitting Alun Wyn Jones with an elbow at a breakdown, ensuring Wales gained a man advantage for the second time in two weeks.
Another powerful maul from Wayne Pivac’s side saw Wyn Jones go over to hand Wales the lead.
Despite going down a man, Scotland responded terrifically through a Hogg try to regain the advantage.
But their lead was soon lost as a moment of individual brilliance from Rees-Zammit saw him chip the ball over Scotland’s defence and score.
Wales held out for the final 10 minutes to continue their unbeaten start to the tournament.
France leapfrogged Wales to go top as they beat Ireland in a hard-fought 15-13 win in Dublin.
Fabien Galthie’s side lacked their usual attacking flair but two moments of brilliance ensured they go two wins out of two.
Ireland, on the other hand, are winless and another poor display will worry Andy Farrell.
The first half was a dull affair with Charles Ollivon scoring the only try of the half.
Although Ireland had plenty of the ball, they lacked invention and a 55th-minute try by Damian Penaud gave the hosts too much to do in the remaining time.
Farrell’s side did fight back through a Ronan Kelleher try but France held their nerve as they secured their first victory in Dublin since 2011.
As another brilliant weekend of rugby ends, fans won’t be looking forward to the break from the Six Nations’ next weekend but it is sure to return with a bang on February 27.
