Questions still remain despite improved display

Alasdair Dickinson should never have started at tight-head. A loose-head by trade he was not surprisingly taken to school by his French opposite and it was surely no coincidence that Scotland’s front-row looked more secure when Moray Low ( a tight-head) replaced him.

However, the gaping flaw in Frank Hadden’s selection was at lock. With no cover in that role on the bench and with only one recognised lock on the pitch in Jim Hamilton, the fear was that France would put in some big hits to weaken the Edinburgh man’s resolve.

Sure enough, a shoulder injury forced Hamilton off and with no lock on the bench, Simon Taylor had to move from number 8 to fill the void.

What Al Kellock sitting on the bench in his role as (delete as appropriate) first reserve destined never to play/kit-hamper carrier/tea-boy was thinking as he looked on was anybody’s guess. Judging from his facial expression, he was less than impressed. The Glasgow skipper should have started alongside Hamilton. At worst he should have been listed as one of the replacements.

The Evans brothers as expected impressed and Thom scored a fine try. Hopefully it will have dawned on Hadden that this pair are our main hope of breaching opposing back-lines.

As for Fulgence Ouedraogo’s try, what is the point of having video technology if some officials do not make full use of it?

Had this one been referred to the video ref, it would surely have been called as a forward pass (which it was). Thus we were denied the opportunity of Scotland being within a shout of winning come the last five minutes. Whether we would have done it is another matter but it would have been nice to have had the opportunity.

Wales against England was like reading a good crime thriller - a plot riddled with twists and turns that you are unsure as to how it will end until the final pages.

I was somewhat bemused at those who were bragging that Wales would win this one by 30 points or more. Granted England were poor against Italy but they have the capability of raising their game in order to atone for a previous foul-up.

Last Autumn saw them thrashed by South Africa with many wondering what the All-Blacks would do to them a week later. What happened was an England side keen to put things right and for the best part of an hour, gave New Zealand a game until the Kiwis went up a couple of gears.

A spirited show in Cardiff proved to many doubters that English rugby is far from being in a state of terminal decay. Delon Armitage and Paul Sackey asked questions of the Welsh defence, while Ricky Flutey, James Haskell and Joe Worsley did well to disrupt Wales from their usual flowing gameplan.

It is testament to Wales that they were able to knuckle down and get their hands dirty in order to front up to the English defence. Although out-scored by two tries to one, their pack had the guile to force a number of errors from England which gave Stephen Jones the chance to kick them to victory. Not pretty but effective.

Finally, for those who are having trouble sleeping, I can recommend watching a re-run of the Italy-Ireland game. Tommy Bowe’s fine try aside, I don’t expect this match to use up much time from a DVD compilation of this year’s tournament.

MY TEAM OF WEEK TWO

15. Rob Kearney (Ireland)
14. Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
13. Tom Shanklin (Wales)
12. Ricky Flutey (England)
11. Thom Evans (Scotland)
10. Stephen Jones (Wales)
9. Paul Griffin (Italy )
1. Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
2. Dimitri Szarzewski (France)
3. Adam Jones (Wales)
4. Ian Gough (Wales)
5. Lionel Nallet (France)
6. Thierry Dusetoir (France)
7. Joe Worsley (England)
8. Ryan Jones (Wales - skipper)