Scotland 15-22 Ireland. 14 March 2009

The first half was a good contest with both teams defence dominating. O'Gara and Paterson traded penalties throughout the half. The moment of the match came at the end of the half when Scottish winger Thom Evans chipped over his opposite number, collected the ball and sprinted towards the line. It looked to be one of the tries of the tournament but Tommy Bowe covered across from the opposite wing to bring Evans down, and BOD was on hand tracking back to tackle Evans into touch 1 yard short of the try line. A great passage of play and coming just before half-time it denied the home side the lead. 12-9 Half time.
Second half Ireland stepped up a gear and Scotland never really coped. Peter Stringer made a telling break from a line out setting up Heaslip for the try. Ireland closed out the game for a good away win.

My man of the match: Stringer

Italy 15-20 Wales. 14 March 2009

Gatland made nine changes to the team that played France, seven in the pack and two in the backline. The tactic almost backfired as Wales produced arguably their worst performance since the 2007 World Cup. It was a big day for Alun Wyn-Jones as he captained the side. Italy in contrast had their best game of the tournament so far. Their pack totally dominated Wales in the first half and their backline kicked alot to turn Wales' rush defence. The game plan in the first half went well for the homeside and they went into half time with a 9-7 lead. The one highlight of the first fourty minutes for Wales, and it really was the only highlight, was the try by Shane Williams. This came from Wales' only passage of continued possession and phase play. They eventually created the over lap for Shane to dart over the line.
Italy extended Wales' misery by going 12-7 ahead early in the second half. Wales were not firing as a team and key players were making poor decisions and unforced errors. The main culprit was Andy Powell. He had a shocking game, knock-ons, missed tackles, running sideways and losing ground. Gatland will have to seriously consider the no.8 position for the Ireland game. Despite Italy's improved performance and game management they never really troubled the Welsh line and it was left for Tom Shanklin to score to the crucial try.
For Wales to play this badly and win is something but for most Welsh fans it was a very disappointing result. With the Championship still to play for Wales needed a big win to help their points difference. This result puts Ireland in the box seat now.

My man of the match: Parisse

Ireland 14-13 England. 28 Feb. 2009

I watched this game in the Big Ben Pub (207 Av Charles de Gaulle), supping expensive Kilkenny beer at 6.80 Euros, equivalent to about six pound a pint. Since my last visit to the pub in 2007 nothing much had changed, though they weren't selling crisps anymore. An English themed pub without crisps, not quite right.
The game was a tense, close affair and only had a fraction of the excitement of the France v Wales game the day before. Ireland played quite safely and when BOD scored a drop kick in the second half Croke Park come alive. Shortly afterward BOD sealed a good performance by scoring a try, crashing over near the line after some intense phases of play. The game got a bit more exciting in the final ten minutes as England tried to come back. They managed to score a try that made the final result look closer than it really was.
The highlight of the game for me though was when the tv cameras showed Martin Johnson going mad in the stands. He was punching his chair in frustration, very amusing. Poor England.

My man of the match: BOD.

Ospreys 22-10 Connacht. 22 Feb. 2009

The Ospreys minus their International players made heavy weather of beating Ireland's weakest region. Fair play to Connacht they produced probably the best rugby of the game, playing a fast tempo style that troubled the home side on many occasions. Richard Hibbard left the field injured but it was the return of Jonathan Thomas that was the real talking point. After a few months out with injury he had a solid game with one notable break that nearly led to a try.
While Connacht looked to play attractive rugby, the Ospreys were lack lustre and quite boring to watch and missed out on the bonus point with only three tries.

My man of the match: Muldoon. Connacht back rower.

France 21-16 Wales. 27th Feb. 2009.

The first ever Friday night 6 nations game. I travelled out to watch the match, my third visit to Paris since 2005. The pre-match pilgrimage involved a visit to the Maryland pub in St Denis near the stadium. This was a pub we found in 2005 that served cheap beer and wine. For the 2007 game we arrived just before match kick-off and did not have enough time to visit this good pub. Alot of people come to the stadium via the Metro and then head towards the stadium complex. There are a few beer tents around the stadium but the prices are expensive and the beer quality is poor. To find the Maryland pub and a street with a few others, head towards the Centre Ville exit as you come out of the Metro. This will take you onto a few streets with pubs, takeaways etc.
After some drinks at the Maryland we headed to the match. It was another 9 pm kick-off. The French TV broadcasters do like these late starts. Getting into the stadium was a bit of shambles. The entry to our gate didn't open until 20 minutes before kick-off, we were in a queue for about 15 minutes. Once inside we found our way to the top tier. Excellent seats and a good view. The Stade de France is a superb stadium once inside.

The game started and after the first ten minutes it was clear to see the home side were really up for the fight. Their forwards were putting in some big hits at the rucks. Wales were living off scraps and their big ball carriers weren't gaining enough ground. Against the general run of play Wales did craft a good opening try for Lee Bryne as the fullback found a way through. This marked the high point of the game for Wales and at one stage they were 13-3 up. Mid-way through the first half Mike Phillips kick a high ball and managed to hit the over head camera. In the last ten minutes France found even more fluency and some heavy pressure saw Dusautoir score to bring the points to 13-13 at half. In fairness France were much the better team in the first half but it was a shame Wales couldn't have taken a lead going into the break.

The second half was miserable viewing for Welsh fans. At the part of the stadium I was in people above us started throwing paper aeroplanes. It also took until the second half for the first mexican wave of the night to occur. It lasted about 2 and half full circuits of the stadium.
France were in total control of the game and denied Wales any ball to play with for large parts of the second half. Their pack was especially fearsome on the night and debut centre Bastareaud was having a fine game. Heymans scored France's second try and because of some missed French kicks Wales found themselves 21-16 down with 10 minutes to go. They rallied well in the last minutes of the game and came very close to scoring the crucial try. It would have been a dramatic finish, albeit an undeserved victory if the the conversion was kicked. The final whistle went and France won. The home side were excellent throughout.

It was a good game to watch live, though the second half was very one-sided. The atmosphere on the night was not as good as the 2005 and 2007 games. Perhaps that was because it was a Friday game, there were less Welsh supporters, and for alot of the French fans it had been a workday. Grand Slam dreams dashed. Time for Wales to bounce back in the next game.

My man of the match: Bastareaud. An accomplished debut.

Italy 9-38 Ireland. 15 Feb. 2009

Italy battled away in the first half to deny Ireland any pattern to the game. The tone was set with a dangerous high tackle on Kearny early in the game. Tommy Bowe got Ireland's first try as he latched onto loose passing by the Italian backs. He showed enough pace to sprint in under the posts. At the end of the first half Ireland put together a long passage of play that saw Luke Fitzgerald score under the posts. At that stage it looked like Ireland would run away with the game in the second half. The game got a bit boring in the second half with the result never in doubt. Credit to Italy for holding out for long periods and it was only in the last ten minutes when Ireland scored two more tries.

My man of the match: Luke Fitzgerald