Gavin Henson knocks down Shane Horgan

As a neutral, is it just me who thinks that Gavin Henson was lucky to get away with this hit on Shane Horgan? Horgan is a far larger man and yet he was absolutely flattened by Henson, which makes me think (besides the video evidence!) that the shoulder was what supplied the majority of the impact.

Sure, Henson is bigger and stronger than people realise, but the fact that Henson stayed on his feet and Horgan went flying pretty much tells the story.

The referee shouted 'Chest chest', meaning the hit wasn't high, but Henson made absolutely no effort to wrap his arms around Horgan.

It would have been great to see it from another angle, preferably from the side the ref was coming from. Perhaps Henson got the left arm around him, making it look like a legit tackle.

I'm no citing commissioner, and wouldn't want to be, but this has been requested and I figure it will be interesting for all to see.

So what's the verdict - was Henson as innocent as he looks above, or has Wayne Barnes got it wrong? I'm going with the latter.

Afterthought: Congrats to the Welsh for achieving the Triple Crown and beating Ireland at home, capping off a great season so far.

UPDATED with the slow motion close up for those of you who preferred that version.

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Ian Balshaws knee meets Rory Lamonts face

The Calcutta Cup has gone to Scotland after they achieved a historic victory over arch enemies England on the weekend.

It came with a price though, as Scotland winger Rory Lamont will miss his side's final Six Nations match against Italy after sustaining a facial fracture after this unfortunate collision.

Lamont was taken off on a stretcher after colliding with Iain Balshaw in the first half at Murrayfield. The collision was purely accidental after both players slid in for the ball. The impact was such that even Balshaw had a pretty sore knee afterwards.

Lamont was released from hospital on Saturday but team doctor James Robson said the injury may need surgery.

"Rory has made good progress from his concussion but scans revealed he does have a facial fracture," said Robson.

Congrats to Scotland for a hard fought win, but for England, where to now? Perhaps Mr Cipriani's nightclub antics and suspension had an even bigger effect on this game than people realised.

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The Ross Rennie tackle on Brian O'Driscoll

In the Six Nations last weekend we saw Scotland take on Ireland at Croke Park, in a game that produced some splendid tries and examples of incredible skill.

The game also produced this flip tackle by Ross Rennie on Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll. The footage has been highly requested so here it is.

O'Driscoll was literally flipped over substitute Rennie's shoulder, Judo style.

The referee saw nothing wrong with it, which technically is probably incorrect considering O'Driscoll's feet were above his hips and Rennie didn't lower him to the ground, as the law stipulates you should do.

It wasn't however a proper spear tackle as such, so therefore Rennie got away with it. A lot of refs may have seen it differently though, with a penalty, and perhaps even a yellow card being shown.

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Mark Regan handbags, with comedy by Brian Moore

Former England hooker Brian Moore is proving to be quite the entertainer this year, with his outspoken commentary becoming a feature whenever England play. Moore rips into his England team in a way that no commentator before him has done, and it's quite refreshing to say the least. Celebrating and lambasting his players as though he were a coach, Moore is blunt as ever.

As a neutral or even an England supporter, I'm sure it's nice to hear that someone acknowledges when players are doing foolish things on the field. Ian Balshaw, who's not the most popular amongst fans currently, gets literally shouted at by Moore at the beginning of this clip. The 'You're a fullback!!' comment wouldn't normally be heard by professional commentators. But hey, it's funny to hear that type of thing in the middle of a serious test match.

Mark Regan also got told off by Moore for his swinging elbows on a French player who was holding his collar. The ref handled it well though in my view, with no further action needed.

As for Brian Moore, he calls it as he sees it. He's bias and he admits that, which is good to see and makes for some entertaining commentary, something that's been lacking in the past.

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England vs France highlights

England gave their Six Nations campaign a huge boost when they beat France in Paris for the second time in six months.

After a home loss to Wales, and a not too convincing victory over Italy, England bounced back and showed real heart to overcome the French in their own backyard.

Strong, aggressive defence and a destructive scrum reminiscent of that which damaged Australia so badly in last year's World Cup quarter-finals, were the key to a victory that will go a long way to maturing a young side that still has many areas to improve on.

Wilkinson and Flood are gelling nicely, and the inclusion of Wigglesworth proved it's worth as his interplay and presence brought huge value. Jamie Noon's massive hit on Cedric Heymans that led to the Sackey try was also vital. Despite replays showing that it came off Noon's hand, it was the kind of hit that not only resulted in a try, but lifted the team in general.

It was also good to see big Lesley Vainikolo finally being used a bit more. The much talked about Lomu replica has been wasted thus far. If you have a guy like that out on the wing, get him involved more and use his strength and speed.

England travel to Murrayfield in 11 days time for a meeting with the Scots that in theory, will see England overpowering the men in blue.

Video Length: 1:41

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Ireland vs Scotland highlights

As the Times Online said yesterday, Ireland are a team who are slowly but surely rediscovering their heart, soul and identity.

Their defeat of Scotland, while not perfect, was a sign that things are starting to fall into place, with the old and young intermingling to create glimpses of the brilliance that we've come to know and expect from names like O'Gara, Murphy, and O'Driscoll.

Ronan O'Gara himself was sublime, with his display of subtle crosskicking and pinpoint distribution that made him look the class flyhalf that we all know he is. Not to mention THAT flick pass which set up an excellent counter attacking try for Tommy Bowe.

Scotland themselves still have a long way to do. While competitive at times, they still lack the edge needed at this level, which shows in that they've only scored two tries in six internationals. Nathan Hines blew a great chance on the line by lashing out with an outrageous punch that didn't connect with anyone, but was penalised nevertheless and ruined that attacking opportunity.

Next up, Ireland meet Wales in a mouthwatering encounter at Croke Park, while the Scots host a rejuvenated England team that will no doubt be looking to continue their good run after beating France in Paris on Saturday.

Video Length: 2:40

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Wales vs Italy full highlights

Wales maintained an unbeaten record in this years Six Nations after their convincing 47-8 rout over Italy in Cardiff on Saturday.

With arguments about the open or closed roof over, Italy were in the game at half time, with a 5 point margin being the only thing that separated the two sides. In fact, if Gonzalo Canale had held onto a simple pass with the try line beckoning, Italy may well have been in front after 40 mins.

The second half was all about Wales though, with man-of-the-match Lee Byrne taking a brace for the day, and flyer Shane Williams once again scoring two excellent tries himself, the second of which showed what a classy finisher he is.

Flyhalf Stephen Jones gave an immaculate display of place kicking with four penalties and three conversions and his replacement James Hook slotted two conversions.

Wales are looking good, and their fourth round meeting with Ireland at Croke Park will be a real test of character for a side that has come on in leaps and bounds this season.

Note: Highlights of the other two Six Nations matches will be up soon

Video Length: 8:48mins

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Incredible hands for the Tommy Bowe try vs Scotland

A classy Irish performance set their season back on track against Scotland at Croke Park, in a game which produced an incredible piece of skill which led to a fantastic Tommy Bowe try.

The on form Ulster winger finished it off, but Leicester fullback and wing Geordan Murphy started it with a great counter attack and flipped pass, which popped up perfectly for flyhalf supremo Ronan O'Gara to pull of a quite superb flick of the ball that was pinpoint accurate and would normally only be reserved for the practice field.

A great result for Ireland at Croke Park, with this being one of the tries of the Six Nations so far, mainly because of that piece of brilliance from O'Gara.

Final Score: 34-13 to Ireland

Note: This video was down for a while, but has now been updated.

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Jamie Noon great hit against Italy

There were a few decent hits on Sunday in the Six Nations game between England and Italy in Rome. Paul Sackey was one of the contenders for hit of the week with his well timed tackle on the Italian (edit) flanker after an Andy Gomersall up and under.

In my opinion though the biggest hit was this Jamie Noon cruncher. Italian New Zealander Kane Robinson felt the brunt of it and got rocked backwards after receiving a pass that wasn't too kind.

Noon lined him up and waited, then hit him hard. Great technique and perfectly legal.
Excuse the commentator thinking it was Wilkinson though. Easy mistake to make I guess.

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Nathan Hines swinging arm on Lee Byrne

In yesterdays Six Nations clash between Wales & Scotland at the ever impressive Millennium Stadium, big second rower Nathan Hines got himself into a little bit of trouble with referee Bryce Lawrence.

Hines, Australian born and now playing for Perpignon in France, took a disliking to Welsh fullback Lee Byrne holding him back slightly and lashed out with a swinging arm that would have knocked most players into next week.

Hines duly got his marching orders and isn't the first playing we've seen throwing a wild swinging arm in recent times, even if the 'holding back' was questionable.

Note: The Pick of the Week with all the best tries will be featured in the upcoming days so keep popping back. For the inside scoop on what's happening at RD, register at the forum to get to know the team and the regulars and lets us know your feelings on the world of rugby at the moment.

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Six Nations Pick of the Week Round 1

The first round of the RBS Six Nations 2008 was highly anticipated, but in some ways a bit disappointing for many. For whatever reason, the sides looked rusty and unadventurous.

We had some competitive rugby though and one major upset.

Having said all that, we did get to see some great tries in some of the matches, which we've highlighted here.

The Pick of the Week features the best tries which were scored by Girvan Dempsey, Toby Flood, Lee Byrne, Mike Phillips, and Vincent Clerc.

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Jonny Wilkinson hit knocks out Jonathan Thomas

Just twelve minutes into England's clash with Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, Welsh flanker Jonathan Thomas felt the full brunt of Jonny Wilkinsons notoriously brutish defense.

It's not vintage Wilkinson when compared with his cracking tackles on the likes of Justin Bishop or Emilie Ntamack, but highly effective and painful, as I'm sure Jonathan Thomas will testify. Falling to the floor and hitting his head hard, with players' legs bashing him also didn't help of course.

There was no malice involved in the tackle. It was simply a good, solid, hit and it was unfortunate to see Thomas go down like that. Some may say it was a bit of a swinging arm, but I can't see much fault in it.

Once again though, Wilkinson proves that he must be the hardest tackling flyhalf in the game today.

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Interviews after Wales turn England over in their own patch

Perhaps not as spectacular as past Welsh/English encounters in terms of plentiful tries and bruising defense, this weekend's match between these two fierce rivals was dramatic nonetheless.

A game of two halves, if there ever was one. England 10 ahead at the break before letting Wales rush back in second forty with two quick fire tries. Despite holding out for the win, Warren Gaitlands men still have plenty to work on before next weekend's clash with the Scots. England too will need to sort themselves out if they wish to avoid embarrassment against Italy in their next match in Rome. A string of injuries will surely set them back though unfortunately.

A historic victory for the Welsh, as 1988 was the last time they'd won at Twickenham.
Refreshing attitudes shown by both captain Ryan Jones and Man of the Match James Hook. Both staying focussed and grounded. After all, the Six Nations isn't won in February.

Stay tuned for the Pick of the Week which will feature all the tries from the weekends action.

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Mauro Bergamasco smashes the Irish players

Physicality was not something that was missing in Italy's performance against Ireland in the opening match the Six Nations. The tackles came on thick and fast from the Italian back-row from the likes Bergamasco and Parisse especially.

Even Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll begins to feel the intensity and needs a breather after getting drilled by open-side Bergamasco. Geordan Murphy also gets a taste of the action when he and a rampaging Bergamasco collide in the second half.

Despite the physicality though, both sides lacked a little bit of direction and the game struggled to find its rhythm. Dempsey and Castrogiovanni were the only try scorers, with Ronan O'Gara being the eventual difference between the sides.

Stay tuned for weekly highlight packages and for all the rest of the nitty-gritty from the 2008 RBS Six Nations.

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