However, the missed kicks at goal from Charlie Hodgson and Olly Barkley came back to haunt England as they self destructed and Dimitri Yachvili beat England almost single handedly for the second year in a row. Silly penalties were given away and there seemed to be a lack of direction / leadership in the team as England attacked from deep and got turned over despite being ahead on the scoreboard.

As for France, they will be amazed to have come away with the win and will hope that some of their injury victims come back before the next round of fixtures, as they need a shot in the arm if they are to continue their winning ways!

The day before England's defeat, the other two winners from week one were in action. In Rome, Wales destroyed a surprisingly lacklustre Italian side. For the Welsh, it was the first time they have put together two successive victories in the Six Nations for a number of years.

The strength of the performance was a solid front five that enabled Martyn Williams to put together a compelling back row performance. His name must be being pencilled in for the Lions tour to New Zealand. The Welsh backs again looked dangerous with special mention going to the twinkle toed Ospreys winger Shane Williams, who caused all sorts of problems.

The Italians must have been disappointed with their drop in form and are also now suffering from injuries with Mauro Bergamasco and Roland De Marigny joining the list of the walking wounded.

At Murrayfield, a strong Scottish start was blown away by an immense Irish pack performance. Malcolm O'Kelly and Paul O'Connell dominated in the boiler room and kept the Irish half backs moving forward all day. It was a very good win without their two star centres and sets-up an exciting match against an ailing England in Dublin on 27th February.

As for Scotland, they now have little to look forward to apart from a wooden spoon decider against Italy. At least for that, they will hope to make better use of home advantage!

Tony Diprose