I cannae believe it: Scotland scored the *first* try against France!

And as I post this, it’s 10-0…

It’s been near impossible to catch any of the 6 Nations here.

Update: It’s noo 13-3. Chicken-counter P is a wee bit upset that France managed to claw back 3 points before half-time. Him and the other pre-hatch numerators are going to jinx us!

Update: We’re sitting in stunned silence. Can’t quite believe our ears. The last ten minutes were too tense!

This is the best start to a Six Nations campaign in at least a decade. Could it finally be the payoff of having three pro Scottish teams? The maturation of what was a young side a couple of years ago? Change in management style? Certainly, the game sounded less negative than it’s looked for the last three 6 Nations. And relieving Chris Paterson of too many responsibilities sounds like it’s improved his kicking accuracy. Then again, it’s like when Gregor Townsend was playing: when Paterson has a good game, Scotland has a good chance of winning. And having a few fast feet pushing the game forward changes the way the rest of the team plays. This doesn’t change the way Scotland seems to tire towards the end; this time, they could at least play 20 good minutes in the 2nd half, where before they’d be too knackered to defend. France gained a lot of ground and scuppered their chances with two missed conversions, which places some doubt on their chances this year.

Count your chickens all you like; this victory is enough for me.

Gethin Jenkins, what fantastic footwork! Great instinct there, to kick it rather than scoop it up. Brill charge down!
John Hayes (No. 3) doesn’t look stereotypically Irish; he looks like he’s a member of the Munster family. (pun completely intentional)
16:16 edit: Wales 16-6 Ireland. It’s tight. O’Gara has made a few mistakes, and tried to make up for them with some good kicking. Wales seem a bit more determined and confident, as evidenced by a 5-man tackle of can’t-remember-who just off their touchline. Ireland are showing the occasional brilliance, but shame about the mutliple mistakes they’re making.
16:48 edit: It may be Morgan’s try, but boy oh boy was Shanklin storming! Great catch, run and pass. Went for the pass for a try rather than the glory. Lovely Welsh teamwork!
17:13 edit:So they’ve hardly touched the ball in the last 10 minutes… At least they finished the game with the ball in their hands… Wales have the Grand Slam!
Hip hip hurray for Wales!
Final score: Wales 32-20 Ireland.

That gives France a 43-point difference (a grand total of 53-points over their 5 games), one more than they required before start of play today to improve their chance of winning the championship should Ireland beat Wales. No thanks to a complete collapse by the Italians in the last 20 min, the 6-nations championship is still wide open between France, Ireland and Wales. Unless, of course, Wales wins. Come on the Welsh! Oggie-oggie-oggie! (Very quietly, so as not to jinx the result: Oi Oi Oi!)
As it stands:

Who cares about the rest? For once, I don’t give a darn what happens in the last game against the Auld Enemy. This is the tightest Six Nations Championship I can remember, and it’s great!
Edit: And here’s the breakdown from the BBC.

Watching the replay ‘cos we went for an invigorating walk this afternoon in an effort to avoid depressing ourselves. The first Welsh try was quite nice work, but the second was yet another mega Scottish blooper. Just what part of don’t do that again did they not understand? (Poor wee souls must be devastated…) Then I lost count of the Welsh tries, but mistakes were made.It was as if the man-marking failed miserably. We have the weakest defence of all the 6 nation sides; even the Italians could do a better job. (Plus, they have a good kicker. Poor ol’ Paterson tries his best, but he’s not one of life’s natural kickers. Not like Andy Merhtens anyway.) Wales definitely walked all over Scotland in the first half. How demoralising. Wales took their feet off the pedal later, and allowed Scotland three rather nice tries. So, Scotland’s defence was pathetic, but at least some tries were scored. That’s some consolation. However pitiful. Come on Scotland. You’ve got to do better against the Auld Enemy.

I was looking forward to a Grand Slam showdown between Ireland and Wales, but a strengthened French side stopped all that. It was decent start for Ireland, with a 9-6 lead, which was soon lost through a pretty good French try. And Ireland never really got a look-in after that. Very nice try by O’Driscoll about 10 mins before full-time. That man is so nimble, jinking here and there; like a rubgy equivalent of Thierry Henry or Diego Maradona in his prime. Shame it was then erased when Ireland were oh-so-careless in their own 22 right at the end, handing the French victory on a plate. Again, Ireland come oh-so-close, only to duff it at the finish.
For once, I’m really hoping that Scotland loses tomorrow to Wales, just so anyone but the glory-two (France/England) wins the 6-nations for once! (Sacré bleu!)