8 February 2010 / REUTERS, LONDON
England got off to a winning start in the Six Nations championship on Saturday when it beat Wales 30-17 at Twickenham thanks in part to a moment of madness by visiting lock Alun-Wyn Jones.
A tight game was effectively decided by Jones’s decision to trip England hooker Dylan Hartley late in the first half because while the lock was in the sin-bin England scored 17 points, with tries by James Haskell and Danny Care, to open a 20-3 lead. Tries by Adam Jones and James Hook closed the gap to three points but a second score by Haskell, combined with the faultless goalkicking of Jonny Wilkinson (15 points), brought England home. In Dublin, Ireland eased into the defense of its Six Nations title without truly cutting loose during a 29-11 victory over Italy at Croke Park that extended their unbeaten run to 12 test matches. The Irish were whitewashed when they last attempted to defend a championship 24 years ago but early tries from Jamie Heaslip and Tomas O’Leary and a flawless first half of kicking from Ronan O’Gara ensured there would be no repeat.
