Alun Wyn Jones trips up Wales; Ireland on course

No prizes for guessing who bought the beer in the Wales camp on Saturday night. Alun-Wyn Jones must have paid for it, and then cried into it, as he faced up to the fact his idiotic trip on England hooker Dylan Hartley in the 35th minute cost his side the match. It was 3-3 at the time and a look of collective panic was beginning to spread across the England team as they realsied that for all their huff and puff they'd not come close to breaking down the Welsh defence. The Twickenham crowd were just as tense, desperate to see their side record their first win against Wales in the Six Nations since 2006.

And then the red mist descended on 24-year-old Jones, young in years but old in experience, having toured South Africa last summer with the British and Irish Lions. As Hartley drove forward in centre field, well away from the Welsh try-line, Jones stuck out his right foot and down went the Englishman. Wales coach Warren Gatland called it an "impulsive" act and there was no intent to injure Hartley. On the list of rugby's indiscretions, a trip is way down there below gouging, stamping, punching and butting, but it's a cynical act, and one that merits a yellow card and 10 minutes in the sin bin.

In the 10 minutes that Jones spent in the bin England scored 17 points to put the game beyond Wales' reach. First Jonny Wilkinson kicked the penalty awarded to England for the trip, and just before half-time flanker James Haskell barged his way over the Welsh tryline, exploiting a hole in the Welsh defence that should have been plugged by Jones. A couple of minutes after the interval, as Jones prepared to retake the field, scrum-half Danny Care scored England's second try to make it 20-3 to the home side.

Though Wales came back at England with tries from prop Adam Jones and centre James Hook – who had a fine game in defeat – a late interception try from James Haskell ensured a 30-17 England victory. It wasn't pretty and England were far from world-class, but as former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio told The First Post last week, the Six Nations is all about building confidence and momentum, and in defeating Wales England have laid the foundations.

Italy are next for Martin Johnson's side (in Rome on Sunday), and judging from their lacklustre defeat to Ireland the Italians will need much more than home advantage if they are to beat England for the first time in the Six Nations.

Italy were poor against Ireland in Dublin, shorn of power in the scrum and precision in the backs. That the Irish only scored 29 points was because they were brought down to Italy's level for long periods of the match, particularly the sterile second-half when the home side could manage only two penalties. In fairness to Ireland, however, they knew the game was over when they went into the half-time break 23-8 ahead, and with their trip to Paris on Saturday to face France, they took it easy in the second-half.

The damage had been done in the first half with tries from No8 Jamie Heaslip and scrum-half Tomas O'Leary. The second was a close-range effort after Ireland had stolen an Italian line-out close to the visitors' try-line, but the first was a gem involving the vision of fly-half Ronan O'Gara, the pace of wing Andrew Trimble and the hands of Brian O'Driscoll in the centre. Heaslip finished it off but it was a team try that offered encouragement to the Ireland fans ahead of the French test.

France will welcome Ireland to Paris in confident mood, though their 18-9 win against Scotland in Edinburgh won't cause Ireland coach Declan Kidney too many sleepless nights this week. The French defence was impressive in blunting some initial Scottish thrusts, and Mathieu Bastareaud showed good finishing skills to dot down for two tries, but 18 points was a poor return for a side which dominated possession.

The French pack outscrummaged Scotland yet for all the ball they were given, the backs were distinctly un-Gallic in their ability to create try-scoring chances. Francois Trinh-Duc has neither the talent nor the presence at fly-half to control games, and Clement Poitrenaud at full-back is still maddeningly inconsistent.

If the Ireland forwards can stand up to the French pack in the set piece, the Irish will fancy they have the edge out wide in the backs. Win in Paris and Ireland will take a big step towards a second successive Grand Slam, a feat that has been achieved only four times in the 100 years of Six Nations.