Wales on Saturday shrugged off the rain, wind and Ireland to win the Rugby Union Six Nations and complete the Grand Slam.
As Storm Gareth battered Cardiff, Gareth Anscombe was swamping Ireland inside the Principality Stadium with six penalties as Wales beat the defending champions 25-7.
The victory earned Wales their first Six Nations title since 2013 and their first Grand Slam since 2012.
Photo: Reuters
Wales produced a try after 69 seconds by Hadleigh Parkes off an expert chip by Anscombe and forced penalties that Anscombe landed from far and wide so that last year’s Grand Slam winners had to settle for third.
Wales harangued Ireland into misfires and forced errors, while the visitors conceded eight penalties in the first half, after which they trailed 16-0 and were too far back to rebound.
Parkes saved Wales when Ireland received a penalty outside their 22m line and Johnny Sexton noticed Wales wing George North was busy receiving treatment on his bandaged left forearm. Sexton crosskicked to Jacob Stockdale, who charged down the touchline, but was caught by Parkes 10m out.
North walked off, Dan Biggar moved to fly-half, Anscombe went to fullback and Liam Williams switched to right wing — and Wales purred on.
ENGLAND VS SCOTLAND
AP, LONDON
From 31-0 behind after 31 minutes to 38-31 ahead in time added on, Scotland just had to repel one more English attack to complete the greatest comeback in the history of international rugby, but could not quite get it done.
In what proved to be the last passage of play in an extraordinary Six Nations match on Saturday, England replacement George Ford darted through a gap in Scotland’s tiring defensive line to dot down between the posts before adding the conversion.
The final score of 38-38 was the highest-scoring draw ever between two tier-one nations.
No team had previously come back from more than 24 points down to win a tier-one game.
Knowing the title was out of reach after events in Cardiff, England seemed intent on having a party. The turnaround for Scotland began with a try that felt at the time like a consolation.
McInally charged down Owen Farrell’s crossfield kick near halfway, collected the ball and managed to sprint all the way to the line — shrugging off May along the way.
After halftime, Scotland scored four tries in 13 minutes, leaving England shell-shocked, but Ford ensured that England avoided that embarrassment.
FRANCE VS ITALY
AP, ROME
Italy’s unwanted record continued as a relieved France came away from Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Saturday with a 25-14 win.
France was ruthless as they carved out rare opportunities, and tries from Antoine Dupont, Yoann Huget and Damian Penaud handed them what was only their second win in this year’s tournament.
“Our Six Nations has been a disappointment,” France coach Jacques Brunel said.
Italy had more bad news as Leonardo Ghiraldini was carted off.
He was in tears as Italy missed a late chance to get their first Six Nations win since 2015.
To add insult to injury, Penaud then scored France’s third and last try in the 79th minute from an offload by Romain Ntamack.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care