England 13 - Scotland 6

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Scotland gift England Calcutta Cup

Prop Alex Corbisiero of England is tackled by Allan Jacobsen of Scotland during the RBS Six Nations match between Scotland and England at Murrayfield Stadium on February 4, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

( February 3, 2012 - Photos by David Rogers/Getty Images Europe)

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England profited from a self-destructing Scotland side to open their Six Nations campaign with a 13-6 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Stuart Lancaster's new-look team claimed England's first win in the Scottish capital since 2004 but the result had less to do with a new-era of creativity that English fans had been hoping for than the hosts' inability to convert their chances into points.

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Prop Alex Corbisiero of England is tackled by Allan Jacobsen of Scotland

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Man of the match: It's rare that a player from the losing side gets this award but number eight David Denton was a tireless grafter and a standout performer in Scotland's back row.
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Moment of the match: Scotland's match cam be summed up it one moment. Ross Rennie's wasted opportunity when he failed to find the two runners on his outside and instead decided to hang on was classic example of the hosts' inability land the killer blow.
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_7484132,00.html
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http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/matchcentre/20101.php
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France 30 - Italy 12

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France sprint past impressive Italy

Scenes from the opening match of the 6 Nations 2012 rugby tournament featuring France vs Italy. The tournament, which was held at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, saw France playing in white and Italy in blue.

( February 5, 2012 - Photo by PacificCoastNews.com)

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Tournament favourites France got their 2012 Six Nations campaign off to an ideal start on Saturday with a 30-12 victory over Italy in Paris.

Philippe Saint-André's team ran four tries past their visitors for a comfortable win although the scoreboard belies the quality of the Italian performance.
Indeed, Italy dominated possession and territory in the first half but France held a 15-6 lead at the break thanks to two well-taken tries from Aurélien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu.
The scoreline was by no means a fair reflection of the first 40 minutes but Les Bleus pounced on their only two opportunities while Italy failed to finish off a number of promising build-ups.

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Man of the match: Louis Picamoles justified the new French staff's confidence in him with impressive display but we agree with the official gong for Julien Malzieu, who looked a dangerous whenever the ball found it's way to his wing.
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Moment of the match: The jury was unanimous here - Julien Malzieu's try just before half-time will go down as a candidate for Try of the Year. Not only was it a fantastic solo effort from the big wing (and Louis Picamoles's work to create it was equally good) but it gave France an 11-point lead and dented the visitors' morale.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_7483784,00.html 
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http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/matchcentre/20098.php
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Wales 23 - Ireland 21

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Wales over Ireland

Donnacha Ryan of Ireland wins the ball from a line out during the RBS Six Nations match between Ireland and Wales at the Aviva Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Dublin, Ireland.

( February 4, 2012 - Photos by Alex Livesey/Getty Images Europe)

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Leigh Halfpenny kicked a last-minute penalty to earn Wales a 23-21 victory over Ireland in a dramatic and incident-packed RBS 6 Nations match at the Aviva Stadium

 

http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/matchcentre/20118.php

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Rory Best of Ireland is tackled by Ian Evans of Wales

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Revenge was on the menu for Ireland following their World Cup exit against the Welsh, but defeat is what they were served at the Aviva Stadium where they have now lost three games on the trot.

At 21-15, it looked like Ireland's game for the taking with five minutes left on the clock and Wales lock Bradley Davies in the bin. However, the visitors had other ideas and cut the deficit to a one-point ball game through a George North try.

Halfpenny missed the conversion to take the lead, but held his nerve to slot over a last-gasp penalty four minutes later - after Stephen Ferris was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Ian Evans - to deny the Irish and help open his team's Six Nations account with an upset win.

Man of the match: For Ireland, Tommy Bowe created one and scored one, while Jamie Heaslip was the pick of the Irish forwards. For Wales, Ryan Jones ran hard and offered Wales leadership when Sam Warburton had left the pitch through injury and Jonathan Davies richly deserved his two-try haul. However, wing George North was undoubtedly Wales' star man. He bullied Ireland's backline at will, showing superb skill setting up Davies's second try and tremendous strength for his own five-pointer. Who needs Shane Williams when you got this guy out wide?

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_7489821,00.html

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