England manager Martin Johnson holds court with the English media at their palacial Surrey base in 2008 © Getty Images

Hugh Farrelly reflects on his Six Nations travels with his latest piece for the Irish Independent.

"Low points have included the decision to try pork scratchings in London on a 'when in Rome' basis (tooth-crackingly hard on the outside, a stomach-heaving mush of fat on the inside, they are the snack of choice for Hitler, Saddam and the boys in the pub of the damned).

"Earning the howled indignation of a Parisien taxi driver when a tired and emotional colleague insisted on sleeping with his head in your lap was another unpleasant, and misconstrued, moment. (Tipping in these circumstances is not easy, particularly when your man bag adds to the confusion.) However, the high point thus far was unquestionably the Twickenham press box last weekend.

"The English rugby media are, individually, some of the best and friendliest in the business. Collectively, it can be hard to avoid the sense -- from certain quarters -- of being regarded as country bumpkins mixing with the aristocracy. Tug your forelock, snaffle a few leftover pies and take your seat ... happy to be here, sir. It makes victory all the sweeter but, completely outnumbered, you cannot overtly express that sense of satisfaction, so you catch the eyes of your fellow bumpkins and use a wink or a clenched fist to get it across."

Chris Cusiter can still recall vividly the emotions and atmosphere around Murrayfield the last time he was part of a Calcutta Cup victory, but by last night his head was throbbing instead with the memories of the Stadio Flaminio and Scotland's defeat to Italy. The Scotsman's David Ferguson reports.

"The Scotland captain had endured a "very honest" debrief with the Scotland squad that had run much longer than planned, as players and coaches ensured no-one was spared in their appraisal of a demoralising 16-12 defeat in Rome on Saturday. The players eventually emerged for a squad session striving to use the painful images to begin the process of planning for England's visit a week on Saturday and the attempt to salvage something from the 2010 Six Nations.

"I would like to say things have improved with time," said Cusiter, a popular captain within the squad, "but, in truth, nothing has improved in the mind after looking at it all again on the video. That was a very tough debrief, but a very necessary one for everyone.

"Everybody was very open and honest, words were spoken shall we say, but it was needed. Things needed to be said. Ultimately, it's about us needing to get better, recognising where we're going wrong and what we need to improve, and how to do that as quickly as we can."

With the championship reaching its climax, the Irish Independent's Hugh Farrelly gives us the good, the bad and the downright awful in this year's Six Nations.

"Three rounds gone, two to go and once again the Six Nations has proven itself to be top-drawer entertainment overflowing with drama, controversy and intrigue.

"The southern hemisphere cynics will question some of the quality on display but when the alternative is the touch-rugby dross of 'Super' tournament, where tries are as plentiful as raindrops and just as tedious, then we'll take the Six Nations fare every time.

"The pick of the matches thus far was Wales versus France in Cardiff last weekend, a thrilling contest once the French took their foot off the pedal and allowed the Welsh back in, and a match that lived up to the pre-match hype and razzmatazz that arrives with a Friday night billing."

Mud and relegation - England's problems? © Getty Images

Robert Kitson believes that England's problems can be traced back in part to the Guinness Premiership relegation battle in The Guardian.

“It has been the same old story for seven consecutive years. How, people keep asking, can a nation with England's enviable resources again be out of the running for a grand slam, if not the title, with two whole Six Nations weekends still remaining?

“Coaches and players come and go but not since 2003 have the erstwhile world champions won three successive games in the championship. To blame the current regime alone is to ignore deep-rooted issues elsewhere.

“Events at Twickenham, for instance, may have less bearing on the England squad's medium-term future than two eye-catching scorelines from the Guinness Premiership at the weekend. Leeds Carnegie's 26-10 win over Wasps, coupled with Gloucester's 47-3 thrashing of Sale, has transformed the Premiership run-in. Suddenly the Sharks, without a win in their last seven games in all competitions, are staring at the unthinkable spectre of automatic relegation. Leeds, conversely, have prised open the theoretically padlocked trap-door. The bitter struggle to avoid the drop to the Championship – with Worcester also involved – will consume all parties for the next two months.”

Tony Ward lauds Ireland's resilience after they bounced back from their Paris nightmare with victory over England at Twickenham in The Irish Independent.

"It is said you learn so much more in defeat than in victory. At Twickenham on Saturday, Declan Kidney and his team bounced back from the Parisien lesson to produce pretty much the perfect performance.

"England's inadequacies should not detract one iota from an Irish win every bit as important in its longer-term ramifications as its shorter-term needs.

"This game, this performance and this result are all pivotal in the march towards New Zealand 2011. The nature of Irish rugby (certainly when compared to Saturday's opposition rich in cash and players) dictates that we can seldom take our eye off the next game, but in terms of full restoration of the confidence dented in France, this victory was critical."

Mick Cleary has so far learned six lessons from this season's Six Nations in The Daily Telegraph.

”Well, it will take an upset of considerable proportions for them not to be the grand champions. Two home games to come, against Italy, who have never beaten them, and England, who used to do so regularly – eight times in succession from 1989-95. It was only 12 months ago that France came to Twickenham and were humiliated, trailing 34-0 after 42 minutes and eventually losing 34-10.

“What has Marc Lièvremont done to turn around an ailing vessel? There has been greater consistency in selection and a change of captain from Lionel Nallet to the stylish, all-engaging flanker Thierry Dusautoir, while they now have a tip-top scrum and a balance between brain and brawn. A ninth Grand Slam, their fifth in 13 years, awaits.”

Brian Moore pinpoints the entire English backline, not just Jonny Wilkinson, as the root of their problems in The Daily Telegraph.

"The Twickenham agnostics (they have lapsed from being faithful into this less slavishly adulatory entity), are metaphorically starting to hum this refrain after Martin Johnson's claim that England's narrow loss to Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday showed "there is still obviously a lot more in us".

"While consistent with similar claims of huge strides being made off the field, the problem is that it is still 'jam tomorrow'. The other difficult fact militating against accepting Johnson's assertion is that it is difficult to see under what circumstances such latent talent will come forth. Having forced Ireland to make four times as many tackles and dominated possession, territory and the set-piece scrums, England are unlikely to be able to have better circumstances from which to challenge the better teams in world rugby.

"Though they had all this ball, all these positions, they were still outscored by three tries to one and their crossing of the line came from good forward play. When they tried to engage their opponents with a more expansive game plan they were taught a lesson in finishing."

Wales fullback Lee Byrne is tired of conceding big leads and sees the irony in their current situation in The Independent.

"What makes it seem stranger is that Wales always used to be a team who would start well and then tail off as the gas ran out. Gas is clearly not a problem now. Yet starting well is. In fact, we're handing it to the opponents. I suppose the game against France on Friday night was a case in point. Those two interception tries were about the only chances they had in the first half. They didn't break us once otherwise. But they went in 20-0 up. Even they must have been thinking that "this is really weird". They hadn't stretched us at all.

"What was said in our dressing room at the break? There were no massive rollockings or anything. We just vowed not to concede another try. We achieved that. We knew we would score points. We just didn't score enough. We had the chances, mind you. I was guilty of kicking a penalty the wrong side of the French corner flag. What can I say? The adrenaline was pumping and the ball caught the outside of my boot. I probably couldn't do it again in 100 attempts. I couldn't help but show my disappointment."

England manager Martin Johnson has plenty of food for thought © Getty Images

The lack of real verve in this England team does them few favours writes Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times.

"Players such as Ugo Monye and Riki Flutey played with a fizz on the Lions tour, but here yesterday they were again subsumed into the morass. England desperately need a bigger profile in the media, they need the players to be out and seeking love and affection, not only for sponsors’ days but in the country at large.

"In my opinion, and I hold it strongly, the very best thing that could happen to this misfiring England team would be for their next game to take place at a big stadium away from south-west London, somewhere the viewing lines, the colour of the seats, the pubs and fixtures and fittings en route to the stadium, would all be different.

"And to further boost that effervescence, I think that England should cancel every training session between now and the Calcutta Cup in Edinburgh in a fortnight. Do not watch a DVD, do not sit in a team room, do not listen to the 50th speech of the season by the team manager or the captain, do not retreat behind the luxury and the walls of Pennyhill Park, their headquarters. Just go to Scotland, go onto the field and play, play with no checks and balances and preconception. Surprise your followers, who are all sitting right back in their seats, not on the edges."

Ireland edged out England in a war of attrition according to Eamonn Sweeney in the Irish Independent.

"Despite the fact that the home team owned the ball for long periods, this game fitted the pattern of several recent encounters between the two countries. It was close, it was edgy, what entertainment there was derived from suspense rather than quality of play and, in the end, Ireland won it.

"Perhaps we shouldn't have. England spent considerably more time in our half than we did in theirs. Yet, for all their bulk and bustle, that old combination of a ponderous pack and lateral three-quarters ensured that once more we came away with the points. Ireland simply had the cutting edge that England don't possess any more, something highlighted by the fact that it was our two wings who bagged the three tries."

As Wales proved on Friday, if you turn the screw on Marc Lièvremont’s talented team they are eminently beatable, so writes Paul Ackford in the Sunday Telegraph.

"So, only England stand between France and their first Grand Slam since 2004. It is true that France still have to overcome Italy in Paris next match up, but it is inconceivable that they will let that one slip. But England, also at the Stade de France? That could be a different matter altogether.

"Friday night's tumultuous encounter with Wales in Cardiff served up two apparently mutually exclusive truths. One, that France are far and away the most complete side in the championship. And two, as Wales aptly demonstrated when they rattled them for the first 30 minutes of the second half, that they are also eminently beatable."

It was great while it lasted but the honeymoon is well and truly over for coach Andy Robinson according to Iain Morrison in the Scotland on Sunday.

"Was that win over the Wallabies really just three short months ago? Because it feels like ancient history after this performance.

"...With Scotland defending a narrow three-point advantage, and never looking comfortable doing so, Italian substitute scrum-half Paolo Canavosio proved the home hero by popping up with the only try of the match with just 11 minutes left on the clock. He had only been on the field for quarter of an hour. It followed a cracking break by centre Gonzalo Canale, who cut in on the angle and Jim Hamilton may not even have noticed the centre as he flew past his nose. Canale was stopped in his tracks but offloaded to Canavosio, who wrong-footed the defence to dot down under the posts. It was fitting that the only try of the match proved decisive."

Martin Johnson's men were beaten again but the Independent on Sunday's Hugh Godwin insist the signs of progress are there.

"There were seven minutes remaining of a bizarrely unbalanced match, in which England made only 30 tackles, less than a third of their opponents, when Ireland threw to a line-out on the home 22. England were 16-13 ahead, the latest score having been that old reliable, a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal off the right foot. They had, perhaps crucially, just substituted Danny Care, the scrum-half whose switchback match had been on a significant upswing. The line-out was caught by Paul O'Connell and a huge gap opened at the tail. Tomas O'Leary darted a few metres before passing to Bowe, who bulleted past Wilkinson's inside shoulder and fended off James Haskell and Ugo Monye to score. Ronan O'Gara, on for Jonny Sexton as a steady hand on the No 10 tiller, converted. Though England worked a chance at the other end, Ireland were able to defend a powerful driving maul and the pleadings to the referee by Nick Easter and Steve Borthwick for a penalty for a deliberate collapse or the put-in at the scrum amounted to hopeless begging."

Writing in The Observer, Eddie Butler reviews the latest Six Nations action.

"Possession is not a problem for England. They win tons of the wretched thing, from the scrum, the lineout and under the high ball. But the speed with which they advance grows slower and slower the longer they have the ball in their big arms.

"The positional play of Jonny Wilkinson will come under scrutiny again, and it is true that he lay a long way back from his scrum-half. The communication skills of Danny Care inside Wilkinson and Riki Flutey outside him will be questioned, as will the eyes of Delon Armitage, who sees more openings from full-back than any other player. But the opportunities for the England half-backs and their outside three-quarters are determined by the speed at which the ball is delivered to them. Ireland ground the breakdown to a halt and England could do nothing."

Ireland's Ronan O'Gara took the unprecedented step of replying publically to media criticism © Getty Images

A week is a long time in politics, but what about a fortnight in sport? The two-week mid-Six Nations break is seen as crucial for the teams and players to recover. But in this vacuum everyone seems to get a little bit edgy. Former Ireland captain Keith Wood writes in the Daily Telegraph.

"An opinion piece by Kevin Myers, of the Irish Independent, on Ireland's loss to France had the curious reaction of a published retort by Ronan O'Gara. Curious, because sportsmen rarely ever respond in kind. Myers has now countered and we are all waiting with bated breath for the saga to continue. In short, Myers blamed O'Gara for Ireland's defeat in Paris, but the fly-half hit back, saying "I do not accept being castigated by a journalist who I suspect knows nothing about rugby".

"An opinion piece is exactly that, and in his defence of the attack on his credentials, Myers declares correctly "one does not need to be a carpenter to see that the chair keeps falling over". Equally, O'Gara is entitled to his reply, although I can't remember another player taking that right. By doing so it leaves O'Gara open to the question, 'will he now congratulate a writer when a supportive piece is written?'"

England's collective and individual caution have made Jonny Wilkinson an increasingly ineffective presence according to Kevin Mitchell in The Guardian.

"Wilkinson now stands alone in every way, separated from the action by too many yards and from the confidence of those who were once his allies by too many misgivings. The No10 who holds scoring records that will remain unbroken for years to come and who tackles with the demonic strength of 10 men, struggles with increased regularity to convince those to whom he has delivered countless thrills and victories that he is still capable of doing so.

"Yet he has been doing it most of the winter at Toulon, where the pack have been getting enough traction at the breakdown to give him space in attack. And that is the nub of his dilemma with England, whose forwards sometimes move with the urgency of cattle being herded towards an abattoir."

Writing in The Times, Gerald Davies wonders why there are no longer room for flair playes in the international game.

"As the RBS Six Nations Championship enters its third round of matches, I wonder about the absence of two players who are worthy of such a platform but are in limbo. Danny Cipriani, for England, and Gavin Henson, of Wales, are not in their national squads.

“Whereas we can sympathise with the frustrations of each nation’s management, for us admirers of them, the players are missed hugely. In many ways they are two of a kind, even if the absence of one is of his choosing and the other of someone else’s. They exude poise and play instinctively in a way entirely of their own making. There is nothing manufactured or conventional about either.

“But what of the maverick player in this day and age? What of the player of independent means and contrary mind, not exactly the drop-out or the angry young man, rather the player whose innocent idiosyncrasies enjoy an original flourish?”

In his weekly column in The Guardian, Shaun Edwards is hopeful that the presence of With two enlightened referees in Cardiff and Twickenham this weekend could witness a welcome sea change in the way rugby is played.

"Forgive the obsession if that's what it is but, if you had spent much of the past two years coaching players how to deal with high balls or stay within the law, as currently applied, at the tackle area, you'd also be happy at what appears to be a chink of light in the gloom.

“Look at the team-sheets for this weekend's internationals in Cardiff and London and you'll see a couple of South African names – Jonathan Kaplan, who is refereeing our game tonight in Cardiff against France, and Mark Lawrence, who is looking after England versus Ireland at Twickenham tomorrow.

“Both are experienced referees - Kaplan has 55 Tests behind him, including six involving Wales, and Lawrence has 21, five of them with England - but their particular relevance this weekend is the attitude they bring with them. If everything goes well, we might be in at the start one of those sea changes in the way rugby is played - and a change for the better at that."

Delme Parfitt of the Western Mail finds Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips is giving little away ahead of Friday’s crunch 6 Nations clash with France.

"The interview ended with Mike Phillips cracking up laughing. Seconds earlier he’d been asked what he thought of France’s Morgan Parra being dubbed by some as the best scrum-half in the northern hemisphere.

“’It’s people’s opinions, isn’t it?’ Phillips said in response. ‘He’s a good player, and all the best to him.’

“A ringing endorsement, it was not. But then Parra can hardly complain after labelling Ireland ‘intelligent cheats’ ahead of the clash at the Stade de France.

“One more brief question for Phillips and that was it. The Ospreys man, with one eye on the clock and the resumption of afternoon training, broke into a smile and then his trademark mischievous chuckle.

“The implication was clear: I’m saying one thing, but thinking another."

In an interview with Peter Bills in the Irish Independent, Brian Smith discusses his past with Ireland and his future with England.

"Somehow, intriguingly, Brian Smith's links with Ireland continue to infuse his rugby life. And, in the week when an Irish team from a quite different era meets England at Twickenham tomorrow, Smith made a revealing confession about his own days in the Ireland side.

"'Perhaps now, when I look back, I feel that I shouldn't have done it,' says the Australian of his brief spell as an Irish rugby international. 'Hindsight is a wonderful thing and, I have to admit, I wasn't that happy with the way things panned out in the end.'

"But a lot of water has passed under the bridge since those times, both for Ireland and for Brian Smith. He concedes he is enjoying the England job as much as any he's ever known in his coaching career. 'It's probably my biggest challenge, but I know these things don't last forever. So I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to contribute.'"

John Bentley has dismissed England as 'crap' © Getty Images

David Kelly talks to former England and British & Irish Lions wing John Bentley about Rob Andrew, Martin Johnson and why England are 'crap' in The Irish Independent.

"John Bentley likes the sound of his own voice, which is just as well because so many of those who know him love it too, a Yorkshire accent so thick it almost needs subtitles.

"I hate being called an Englishman, really," says the 41-year-old ex-England winger. "Call me a Yorkshireman instead." If he hadn't been a rugby player, he would liked to have been a porn star. His favourite drink is always the next one. You can guess he's no Coldplay fan.

"An ex-copper from Dewsbury, Bentley debuted against Ireland in the inaugural Millennium Trophy match 22 years ago. Gus Aherne, Vinnie Cunningham, John Sexton and Stevie Smith also debuted for an Irish team on familiar losing duty - 21-13."

Stephen Jones dismisses the Lions-Chiefs Super 14 try-fest as a "complete abortion of a sporting encounter" in The Times.

"Hands up, who feels that the 72-65 victory last weekend by the Chiefs over the Lions was a great rugby match? And those who think it was a rugby match at all?

"One website, which may have seen its best days, lauded this complete abortion of a sporting encounter and so did Robbie Deans, the coach of Australia. Deans has clearly forgotten that worshipping the utterly false god of tries has cost New Zealand two World Cups. Perhaps now that Kiwi Deans is with Australia, it is in his interests not to remind New Zealanders thus.

"The thinly-disguised contempt on the faces of the Sky presenters as they showed highlights of a succession of semi-opposed movements leading to a ghastly total of 18 tries against non-defending, was very telling and journalistically sound. Let us not pretend that the followers of the Chiefs, or anyone else for that matter, will not feel sick if such tripe is served up for much longer in the Super 15."

Ireland's John Hayes makes a rare appearance in front of the media earlier this week © Getty Images

The Irish Times' Johnny Watterson watched as Ireland's John Hayes took centre stage, much to the amusement of some of his team-mates.

"John Hayes has become the stately Grand Piano in the corner of the room. The owners shine it, mend it and while they can’t prevent the other kids from banging the lid or knocking it about, it remains a solid, venerable fixture that seems to mature more than age.

"A century of caps when he lines out against England on Saturday, off pitch bashfully reticent, Hayes (36) has become rugby’s unlikely professional front runner. But his longevity and prize position within coach Declan Kidney’s thinking reflects an essential gene that ensures the longer he goes on the less inclined they are to retire him.

"He started campaigning at around the same time as Brian O’Driscoll 10 years ago but short of an act of God before the weekend he will beat the Irish captain by one cap to the 100 mark, having begun his international career five years the current captain’s senior. Hayes’ first Irish frontrow line-up then was himself, Keith Wood at hooker and Peter Clohessy. Quite the legendary lot."

If England are to build on their success in the Six Nations Championship so far, there are three areas they must improve at Twickenham on Saturday - according to The Times David Hands.

"The breakdown - Yes, everyone thought that area had undergone significant improvement from the first half of this season and so it had. But against Italy in Rome, England were too passive and if they do not contest the ball on the floor better, Ireland’s back division will make them pay.

"This is often easier to say than do, given the vagaries of referees when the ball is loose. Players going off their feet at the ruck — it can be difficult to stay standing — are invariably penalised. But England must find legitimate ways of creating genuine competition, in the knowledge that turnover ball offers the best attacking options, as they proved against Wales on the opening day."

Scotland captain Chris Cusiter has accepted that he was wrong to decide to keep the ball alive for the final play of the game against Wales. Stuart bathgate reports in The Scotsman.

"Cusiter told Mike Blair to restart the match by sending the ball downfield, when a kick straight to touch would have ended the contest with the score tied at 24-24. Wales gathered Blair's kick, keeping the ball alive, and scored a converted try to win 31-24.

"The incident, which occurred when Scotland were two men down after Scott Lawson and Phil Godman had been sinbinned, was not the focus of as much post-match attention as it would have been in other circumstances. The condition of Thom Evans and Chris Paterson, both of whom had been hospitalised by injuries, was of far greater concern.

"Now, the best part of a fortnight later, and with the squad having undergone a debriefing on the game in Cardiff, Cusiter has acknowledged it would have been better to send the ball out of play and settle for a draw."

Ronan O'Gara - still the man? © Getty Images

David Kelly goes through the selection problems facing Ireland coach Declan Kidney ahead of his side's Six Nations meeting with England at Twickenham in The Irish Independent.

"When Rory Best yesterday referred to the "shock to the system" which rippled through the Irish squad in the aftermath of their first defeat in 15 months, he was probably only skating the surface of the trauma now affecting the Irish selectors ahead of today's team announcement.

"Already thieved of experienced players like Denis Leamy, Luke Fitzgerald, Jerry Flannery and Rob Kearney and hungry players such as Sean O'Brien and Donnacha Ryan, serious form issues now surround others, including Ronan O'Gara, Paul O'Connell, David Wallace, John Hayes and Tomas O'Leary.

"How Declan Kidney reacts to a variety of dilemmas will shine a revealing light on how the coach deals with the biggest test of his international career. Should he force his hand or maintain faith in his players after merely one, albeit headline-grabbing, setback? That the problems run from back to front indicate the extent of head-scratching that will have accompanied those dwindling candles burning long into the night at the squad's Killiney HQ."

Chris Hewett is surprised at the inclusion on Mike Phillips on the Wales bench to face France, and blames Dwayne Peel's stay at Sale for the development in The Independent.

"Mike Phillips may or may not be the best scrum-half in European rugby – those subscribing to this view, who include Phillips himself, can bring as evidence three wonderful Test performances for the British and Irish Lions against the Springboks last summer – but this much is certain: the Wales coach Warren Gatland considers him a better bet than Dwayne Peel, his immediate predecessor with the Lions. A day after recalling Peel to his squad, Gatland named Phillips ahead of him for Friday night's Six Nations meeting with France in Cardiff.

"In a major reshuffle of the cards at No 9, the Cardiff Blues half-back Richie Rees will replace his club colleague Gareth Cooper in the starting line-up. With Cooper dropping out of the match-day squad altogether, there was a spare seat on the bench.

"Most observers assumed Peel, who plays his club rugby in England with Sale and is not in particularly good odour with Gatland because of it, would be selected there, on the grounds that while he had been injured, he had not been nearly as injured as Phillips. What was more, he had played for Wales during the autumn."

Robert Kitson previews a make-or-break Six Nations weekend for England and Ireland in The Guardian.

"The tipping point of the Six Nations championship is upon us. Ireland and England can still win the title but both can also feel the tug of gravity as they contemplate their prospects for Twickenham this weekend.

"Ahead of today's announcement of his England starting XV, Martin Johnson could certainly have done without the slight injury doubt surrounding his leading marksman Jonny Wilkinson as England seek to maintain their 100% start. Three from three, by whatever means, would represent the first Six Nations hat-trick of red rose wins since 2003. Squeeze past Scotland at Murrayfield and the seemingly impossible would suddenly be 80 minutes away. Never mind the quality, just imagine the scope of the dramatic narrative.

"The alternative, for the losers, will be a campaign marinated in regret. When Jason Robinson, Johnson's former team-mate, called at the weekend for Northampton's twinkle-toed full-back Ben Foden to be given a chance he was merely articulating the nationwide frustration at England's laboured effort against the Azzurri. The "F word", as Johnson calls it, is also prevalent among coaches and players. The managerial preference, however, is to use the foundations laid in Rome as a base for patient development."

Jonathan Sexton was in fine form for Leinster as they defeated the Scarlets © Getty Images

Jonathan Sexton's performance as Leinster defeated the Scarlets was a timely reminder to Ireland coach Declan Kidney according to The Irish Independent's Hugh Farrelly.

"On the night Lady Gaga was wowing the O2, the piped music across town at the RDS was suitably contemporary and upbeat, but 'London Calling' would have been the most appropriate tune given next weekend's Twickenham tilt.

"Leinster copper-fastened their top-four status in the Magners League table (with a game in hand) following Saturday night's rusty, if comprehensive, win over the Scarlets. But, while that fact will justifiably afford coach Michael Cheika a fair degree of satisfaction (tempered by the fractured leg suffered by Sean O'Brien), the imperatives of getting the Irish rugby team back on track against England next weekend meant the primary interest was in the individual auditions as a clutch of Leinstermen bid to turn blue to green.

"Chief among them was out-half Jonathan Sexton, whose man-of-the-match, 22-point display was a powerful statement ahead of tomorrow's Ireland team announcement."

Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio is now a familiar face on the sidelines © Getty Images

Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio insists it is high time current skipper Steve Borthwick had a reality check. Read his thoughts in the Sunday Times.

"I got to know Steve Borthwick at the 2007 World Cup because neither of us was in Brian Ashton’s starting team and we found ourselves thrown together quite a bit. He is a good bloke, intelligent and a natural team player. But knowing Borthwick didn’t stop me being confused by his reaction to last weekend’s game. While I could accept England’s poor performance because that happens, I couldn’t accept the delusional reaction to it.

"In the post-game interview Borthwick said: “We played some fantastic stuff, created a lot of chances but ultimately we didn’t take them. But some of the rugby we played was outstanding . . . In some aspects, I thought we did some very good stuff. Delon Armitage, Mark Cueto and Ugo Monye in those wide channels made some fantastic breaks, Matt Mullen came on and did really well. I think there was a lot of positives.”

"I heard this and thought: “Steve, please, don’t insult our intelligence.” Borthwick’s summary bore no resemblance to the game I watched and I yearned for him to be more honest. This matters because rugby, when played correctly, is all about honesty. You don’t feign injury on the pitch and afterwards you don’t pretend you’ve performed when you haven’t."

The internet age has changed rugby's social scene for ever, writes Paul Rees in the Irish Independent.

"There were a few Golfs but not many buggies around the Wales squad's headquarters in the Vale of Glamorgan when they held their media session last week.

"The electric golf cart allegedly commandeered by the flanker Andy Powell hours after last weekend's victory over Scotland and driven to a nearby M4 service station was parked in a pound in Cardiff, a symbol of how Wales have stalled this season.

"Gatland's playing career ended as the lights were going out on amateurism, a time when players and supporters, not to forget reporters, mingled after matches. No matter how much beer loosened tongues and relaxed inhibitions, any indiscretions remained private. The internet era has changed that and Gatland this month asked a lawyer who specialises in defamation, privacy and reputation management to address the players on the perils of posting messages on social networking websites."

Writing in The Scotsman, Tom English offers an insight into his new book, The Grudge: Scotland vs. England, 1990.

"Scotland planned to walk out.

David Sole: "There's a gradual slope at the entrance to the pitch, so if you start jogging at the top you'll nearly be sprinting by the time you get to the bottom. You wanted to sprint. Everything in your body and the noise of the crowd was telling you to sprint. But we couldn't. We were walking.

"We emerged and a big roar went up and then a weird thing happened. It just subsided for a second or two. It was almost as if you could hear the thought process of more than 50,000 people. 'Hey, they're walking.' Then the roar came back and it sent a shiver through me."

Scotland lock Chris Gray: "I looked over at the English and they were going, 'Bloody Nora!'"

Moore: "No we weren't. People said we were quaking in our boots. Urban myth."

Carling: "I was talking to the guys, so we didn't see their famous walk. I heard the reaction to it, though. Jesus, did I hear it."

Ian McGeechan: "Myself and Jim missed it. We were walking under the stand – and the whole edifice shook. It was like a train passing overhead."

The Independent's Hugh Godwin grills Ugo Monye and former captain Martin Corry about an unconvincing England.

"A touch-and-go win over Wales and unconvincing victory in Italy have left England in second place in the Six Nations' Championship but besieged by unhappy critics and calls in some quarters for fly-half Jonny Wilkinson to be dropped. The England wing Ugo Monye and former captain Martin Corry answer 10 questions hanging over Martin Johnson's team as they prepare to meet Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday.

"Should Wilkinson go, Jonny go? "A settled side is the number one factor in England becoming successful," said Corry. "I'd go further than saying Jonny and Riki Flutey are the 10 and 12 for this year. Martin Johnson should say they and the bulk of the current side are going to be the core of the 2011 World Cup team. Chopping and changing is not going to work." Monye attended the same school as Wilkinson and stuck up for his boyhood hero. "His composure in vital moments is crucial and he kicked a drop goal against Italy at a perfect time. His intensity, his professionalism, his cool head on the pitch are exceptional. This England team really needs Jonny Wilkinson."

England fly-half Jonny WIlkinson came in for undue flak after the Six Nations match in Italy, but he has always been a cautious player according to Eddie Butler in The Observer.

"Last week Martin Johnson, the current manager, the former captain and the mightiest player ever to wear the shirt of England, went to the defence of Jonny Wilkinson, the No10 of England and the world's highest scorer of points. Johnno and Jonny: beefeater and crown jewel.

"Johnson was unhappy that because Wilkinson had missed a couple of kicks in Rome the critics were on his back. Well, on the matter of the two penalties and the conversion that went astray, they came almost as welcome relief, an imprecision on one front that might allow Wilkinson to prosper on another.

"But England barely blossomed anywhere against Italy and the sight of Wilkinson dropping further and further back to a position somewhere to the north of full-back hardly bolstered the view that they were prepared to go out and win this game, rather than not lose it."

Given the the destabilising effects of their hammering in Paris, having England at Twickenham next up is not the worst scenario for Ireland and their coach Declan Kidney. Hugh Farrelly writes in the Irish Independent.

"Yes, if it had been a home game against Italy or Scotland, there would have been an instant opportunity for a confidence-restoration exercise, but, given how far this team has progressed over the last 15 months, taking on a bullish England team in front of their home supporters is probably the best way for the Grand Slam champions to get Paris out of their system.

"Win in Twickenham and there is the chance, in the final two home games against Wales and Scotland, to further this squad's development in preparation for the World Cup -- not to mention the significant challenges in New Zealand and Australia on the summer tour. However, defeating the English is never a straightforward matter."

With so many games swinging on the showing of yellow cards teams must devise strategies for playing with, or against, 14 men. according to Shaun Edwards in The Guardian.

"Back in 2003 England beat the All Blacks in Wellington to register a first win in New Zealand for 30 years and did it with only 13 men at times. In the second half, with the All Blacks trying to claw their way back into the game, the Australian referee Stuart Dickinson lost patience and sent Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio to the sin bin. It looked like curtains for England, but somehow Martin Johnson and the other five remaining forwards didn't budge.

Sir Clive Woodward, ever the one to point out that it was attention to the smallest of details that turned matches, explained that it was a situation for which England had practised, while others suggested it was the point when England knew they could go on to win the World Cup. Certainly they were confident enough to beat the Wallabies in Melbourne the following week – the first win on Aussie soil – and from those two victories in June 2003 they went on to lift the Webb Ellis Cup in the autumn.

Come forward seven seasons to this year's Six Nations and there have already been three examples of games where similar yellow-card situations have been handled less cleverly."

After Jerry Flannery became the latest casualty of Ireland’s now abortive Grand Slam defence, opportunity knocks for a host of unheralded players over the coming weekend of league action, David Kelly writes in the Irish Independent.

"The Chinese celebrated their New Year last weekend -- this is the year of the Tiger, as it happens, and perhaps the eponymous Mr Woods just may have been absorbing a little Oriental philosophy before he emerges from all his controversy.

"Apparently, the Chinese deploy the same word for crisis and opportunity. Hence the maxim which declares that just as a mishandled opportunity becomes a crisis, so a well-managed crisis becomes an opportunity. Tiger's will surely come.

"Irish rugby's crisis is less rapt by such dramatic tension, but as the Six Nations campaign takes a breather this weekend, there are opportunities abounding to abate any hysterical talk of an emergency ahead of the Twickenham tie with England in just nine days' time.

"And it is clear there are numerous chances for players to make their presence felt in this season's championship and, perhaps, to lay down a marker for the summer tour and beyond, towards 2011 and the World Cup."

Ireland's Jerry Flannery can’t have too many complaints after receiving a six-week ban that will keep him out of Ireland’s remaining three matches, writes John O'Sullivan in the Irish Times.

"There is no doubt that the fact that the French wing was forced to hobble from the pitch less than 10 minutes later would have counted against the Irishman. Slow motion replays confirm that Palisson had control of the ball in his arms when Flannery lunged awkwardly with the boot. The Ireland hooker was guilty of clumsiness rather than malice but the manner in which he made contact was always going to invite further censure than the penalty awarded at the time.

"...Flannery had produced a brilliant performance in Paris – the Palisson folly notwithstanding – for the 61 minutes he was on the pitch before being replaced by Rory Best. The suspension though represents the latest setback in a season dogged by frustration."

Is Jonny Wilkinson's time up? © Getty Images

Robert Kitson analyses England's win over Italy and joins the voices questioning Jonny Wilkinson's inclusion in The Guardian.

“Everything is relative. Thank goodness we can all sit around debating how awful England were, rather than await a chilling medical bulletin from a Cardiff hospital. Let us be eternally grateful that the Scotland wing Thom Evans did not, after all, suffer a more serious injury at the Millennium Stadium. Were he still lying motionless in bed with no feeling in his arms and legs, England's shortcomings in Rome would be less than irrelevant.

“Happily the medics say Evans should make a full recovery. Unhappily for Martin Johnson, the Six Nations Championship table may imply a blooming red rose but anyone who watched the 80-minute bore-athon in the Stadio Flaminio knows better. Subtract Welsh generosity and Italian mediocrity from the equation and England could easily still be searching for their first win.

“Maybe it would have done them good to lose to the Azzurri on Sunday, if only to inject more realism into the post-match platitudes. Maybe, behind closed doors this week, tough words will be spoken and even tougher decisions taken. As things stand, though, England risk the steepest of descents. Even if they do emerge from their weekend torpor to see off Ireland and Scotland, they face a total wipeout at the hands of a resurgent France in Paris unless there is a radical change of tactics. Should England finish second in the championship playing like zombies, it will confirm every southern hemisphere doubt about the tournament's overall quality.”

Hugh Farrelly has some key points for consideration in the wake of Ireland's defeat to France in The Irish Independent

“For a small sporting country, we're not slow to get the knives out. Saturday's 33-10 defeat has provoked an intense, knee-jerk reaction but while it's far from push-the-panic-button time, there are suddenly issue to address and new territory for Declan Kidney to traverse.

“It is not the defeat per se - the unbeaten run could not go on forever - it was the manner of it. Ireland were lined up and summarily executed, something that Kidney has not encountered in his professional career.

“While Kidney's men made a strong start and had scoring opportunities which could have altered the trend of the game, there were passages of play where France appeared to be operating in a different sphere.”

Battered and Bruised, Ireland need to 'get back on the horse' © Getty Images

Tony Ward believes that the halfback duo of Eoin Reddan and Jonathan Sexton are banging on the door of Ireland boss Decland Kidney in The Irish Independent.

"If there was one of Eddie O'Sullivan's frequently quoted expressions I used to loathe, it was the one following defeat - which, to be fair, wasn't that often - about getting back up on the horse.

"The head coach would say it in flash interviews post-match. And then his players and back-up staff would repeat it ad nauseam.Well, if the performance in Paris took us back to dim times past, then I must take a leaf out of O'Sullivan's book and state that it is, indeed, time to get back on the horse.

"There is no other option. A good team did not become bad on the back of one under-par performance, but, nonetheless, a winning team has had its confidence severely dented by Saturday's French fall."

Peter Bills salutes a French performance of pace, power and invention against Ireland in The Independent.

"Be afraid, be very afraid. French rugby is stirring and a giant awakes. It was all very well for France's reinvigorated rugby team to hammer and humiliate the reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland, in Paris on Saturday. But to receive laudatory comments from that notoriously dissatisfied body of opinion known as the French media was another thing altogether.

"Thus, we can imagine that French coach Marc Lièvremont (below) probably needed to sit down in a darkened room once he had digested the words of France's great newspapers following his team's 33-10 victory at Stade de France.

"Combat Kings" L'Equipe hailed them. The magisterial Le Monde opined that: "France replied in masterly fashion to the question of what level they are at." And the rugby bible, Midi Olympique, added: "It was their aggression and breakdown work which were the most impressive aspects of the French performance."

Mick Cleary, writing in The Daily Telegraph, has little praise for England or Italy following their Six Nations meeting in Rome.

"They made five line breaks, all prompted from the rear, and managed to trouble what has been an unyielding Italy defence. 'But why didn't they do that more often?' was the plaintive question on the lips of many at Fiumicino airport yesterday. If England are to prosper, and the game itself is to have casual spectators reaching for the replay, rather than the off, button, then they have to be bold. Mark Cueto, Delon Armitage, Mathew Tait and Riki Flutey all had their moments. But moments they turned out to be: the pulse rate soared only to return quickly to idle.

"Compare that to events at the Millennium Stadium, where there was adventure in the air and a belief that ball-in-hand was not the sign of a death wish. It is possible to retain possession through phases. It is not the mark of a madman to run with the ball. Trust your skills. Back your judgment. Have a crack.

"Admittedly Italy are not easy to play against. They are betraying the sport with their wilful disregard for doing anything but hoofing the ball to the skies. There are plans to increase capacity at the Stadio Flaminio to 44,000, making room for 10,000 more spectators. Masochists this way please. Yet the team spoke yesterday of their pride in getting so close to England. Well, they may be worthy, but they are dull."

Eddie Butler believes that England skipper Steve Borthwick should pipe down following games in The Guardian.

"I can't say I know Sir John Chilcot well enough to know whether he likes his rugby union or not, but I can see him of a Sunday afternoon putting his aside his mountains of testimony from the Iraq Inquiry and taking in a bit of Italy-England by way of light relief. Light, of course, being a relative term.

"There he is, possibly drifting off in the second half, only to be jerked out of his power nap by the sound of Steve Borthwick's post-match interview. Such denial, such a limpet. "Sounds familiar," says Sir John with a sigh, returning to his reams.

"Borthwick is playing well, but he has reached the state as a captain where somebody should leave a revolver on his lap-top of lineout analysis. Given the apparent thickness of his skin, it would take an entire box of slugs to draw blood."

Tom English believes that Scotland can come back brighter following their heartbreaking defeat to Wales in The Scotsman.

"Byrne had chipped over Godman, who was the last man in Scotland's defence. He was racing on to a loose ball with a yard or two advantage over his nearest pursuers. Would he want to take a dive in those circumstances when he would have been convinced that a match-winning score was likely?

"It's a moot point, frankly. What is clear, though, is that Scotland will have to dig deep to recover from this. Perhaps every team that was ever worth a damn had to go through a day like Saturday in order to develop the mental toughness to survive. Maybe that's part of the process. You experience bitter and self-inflicted loss – Chris Cusiter and Mike Blair, class acts both, will be going through torture right now – and you grow from it. It was that prize-fighter and sage, Floyd Patterson, who said that it's in defeat that a man reveals himself. Well, if that's true, the events of the next few weeks are going to be gripping. How Scotland deal with what happened to them in Wales is going to define their championship, their year, and perhaps even the Robinson era.

"The errors at the end are all the harder to take because of the excellence of earlier. Before the deluge of Welsh points, we saw things that ought to get us excited. At last, we had a vision of a new Scotland, a Scotland that dictated the play, that was clever and clinical in possession and organised and defiant without the ball. The huff and puff of multiple, and fruitless, phases that we saw too often in the recent past, was gone and instead there came a directness and an intelligence that had the Welsh rocking for more than 70 minutes. Warren Gatland said the Scots didn't create much. With respect to the Kiwi, he was talking garbage."

Richard Williams joins the Jonny Wilkinson debate following England's victory over Italy in The Guardian.

"Six out of six against Wales a fortnight ago, three out of six against Italy today. The goal-kicking statistics from a narrow victory over Italy will not please the relentless perfectionist inside Jonny Wilkinson. Far more worrying for England, however, is his contribution in open play.

"Like it or not, and Martin Johnson probably does not, an outside-half defines the way his attack functions. Today Wilkinson conformed to the stereotype by sitting deep and making a great deal of use of his boot, a playmaker only in the most negative sense.

"The uninspiring result had the Roman crowd greeting England's win with jeers. Better had been expected from a side with their experience and reputation. Instead Nick Mallett's limited but wholehearted players left the field as the moral victors, having delighted the home fans in the 33,000 crowd with their efforts to play a brand of rugby that might be recognised as entertainment."

Brian Moore is getting tired of England's brand of management speak in The Daily Telegraph.

"After a bright and purposeful start England gradually became drawn into a static game which kept Italy in touch and had it not been for indiscipline the Italians could well have manufactured a win. If we are to have any more transparent management-speak rubbish post-match then we should do away with the interviews and press conferences altogether because they only produce incredulity, if not downright hostility from the watching public.

"Yes, a win is a win and England remain on course for the unlikeliest of Grand Slams, but, with Ireland at home and France and Scotland away, yesterday's game should have been the one in which England showed the latent ability to cut teams open that we have been assured repeatedly exists – if the conditions are right.

"Irrespective of whether this is factually correct, the claims will never come to fruition without players looking for opportunities and, when in possession, manufacturing them when necessary. Riki Flutey's two incisive runs came from the few times England utilised strike moves or ran from mis-kicked ball."

Simon Barnes, whisper it, questions the continued inclusion of Jonny Wilkinson as England's fly-half in The Times.

"There was a time during this match — really quite a long time — in which it was possible to think the unthinkable. England would be beaten by Italy and Jonny Wilkinson would be to blame. Drop Wilkinson! Is it possible to type these words without causing a malfunction of the laptop or stopping the stars in their courses?

"England made almost absurdly heavy weather of this closely fought match. Near the end they were fending off an enthralling Italian attack with a safety margin of only two points. The whiff of upset was in the air, and so was the triumphal march from Aïda. The shag-haired, bearded, big-bodied Italy forwards were inspiring the crowd and charging forward with a sudden belief that the eternal underdog of the Six Nations Championship was about to bite the snootiest dog of all.

"England finally outlasted Italy to win 17-12. They are unbeaten in the championship, just like France, except not really all that much like France. Wilkinson’s contribution was a nightmare of uncertainty in a team who are plagued with the stuff. Jonny uncertain! You’ll be telling me next that he’s got the yips."

Eddie Butler evaluates a worrying trend as another trip causes strife in the Six Nations, in The Observer.

"It's strange how one trip has led to another. Alun Wyn Jones started the trend at Twickenham when he almost daintily felled Dylan Hartley. That led to howls of indignation against a sin almost as bad as eye-gouging, but the outrage did not deter Jerry Flannery from taking the crime to a new level, his version of a trip escalating to a hack at the legs of Alexis Palisson.

"Amazingly, Ireland's hooker was merely reprimanded for the offence. He was fortunate not to be shown a straight red, with yellow bypassed. It was not a pretty sight. It came at a time when Ireland had almost settled into their task. They were picking off the French lineout and were working their way through the difficult ten-minute period when Cian Healy was in the bin for taking out Morgan Parra before the scrum-half received the ball.

"That was a yellow-card offence if ever there was one, a professional, technical foul leading to the perpetrator cooling off on the sidelines. With the crime came three points on the board, but apart from the double inconvenience, Ireland had reason to be pleased with their management of the opening quarter."

John O'Brien reviews Ireland's Paris slump in The Irish Independent.

"So you claim a coveted Grand Slam. You go 15 months unvanquished against the best sides in the world, hold your own when the big guns from the southern hemisphere roll into town and still you find there is more do to. Another peak to scale. Brave new worlds to conquer. Yesterday brought Ireland to the sub-zero temperatures of a Parisian springtime and the cruel hand of history can never have felt colder.

"Ireland have felt more stinging defeats in this city than anywhere else and the first instinct was to believe this was up there with the worst of them. Occasionally during the game the camera would flash to Marc Lievremont and the French coach's lips would betray the faintest impression of a smirk. No elation or sense of triumph, though. Just satisfaction at a job neatly done, nothing more than they expected of themselves.

"It harked back to a past we thought was long since buried. In his engaging newspaper column yesterday morning, former Munster and Ireland winger John Kelly spoke about France's 39-point rout in this stadium in 2002. At dinner that night it struck Kelly that the mood among the French players was eerily subdued. They had won a Grand Slam but didn't seem to regard it as any great shakes. Ireland had beaten them in Paris twice in 50 years. It felt like little more than routine business."

Ieuan Evans salutes a game of rare drama following Wales' victory over Scotland in The Sunday Telegraph.

"The confidence returned in abundance and though we must not forget that Scotland were down to 13 men for those final few moments, I believe victory in this game could be the turning point for Gatland and his side. Well, it will be if we start picking players in form and rewarding those who have shown their mettle for their regions in the first half of the season.

"Still, having said all of that, how many times do we have to put up with the rubbish we witnessed in the first half.

"Time after time, we turned over ball and gifted Scotland an opportunity to lay their own platform on a day when a first win in Cardiff for eight years was well within their capability.
Why is it, though? Why have our Lions of last summer become so careless and inaccurate. Why do not we force the issue? Why do we not show a little greater patience once positions of strength have been established?"

Stuart Barnes believes that Wales' problems lie with Gareth Cooper and Ryan Jones in The Sunday Times.

"This was a match of magical moments. Shane Williams shimmied here and there in the last 10 minutes like a devilish Puck, creating a try for Lee Byrne to give Wales hope before darting over in the final play of the game to deliver heavenly bread to a stadium watching events turn upside down in a state between shock and delirium.

"This was a triumph for individual style over the structure and substance of a Scotland team left as devastated as the crowd was delirious. Where Wales played a game full of frills and thrills, Scotland approached it with intelligence and industry until injuries and yellow cards undid them.

"This compelling game proved the launch pad for this season’s Six Nations. Whether it is the platform from which Wales can rebuild their fortunes is something else. When the dust settles and the hangovers lift, Welsh rugby will not only wonder how they won this match but where they go from here."

England skipper Steve Borthwick rallies the troops ahead of their clash with Wales at Twickenham © Getty Images

It has been an unusual week in English rugby because people have been nice about Steve Borthwick. John Westerby writes in The Times.

"The understated captain of an unloved team, he has been subjected to plenty of criticism in recent months. Partly this has been due to his undemonstrative style of leadership — “I don’t mean to sound boring,” he said last week — but it is also because there were serious doubts over whether he should keep his place in the England side.

"Providing he recovers from a stomach bug, there will be no such qualms for the game against Italy in Rome on Sunday, after his outstanding performance at Twickenham last Saturday, when he was seen turning Wales ball over in the ruck and rising majestically to make a mess of their lineout."

Writing in the Irish Independent, Hugh Farrelly believes the Irish squad could do a lot worse than take some time out with team manager Paul McNaughton ahead of their clash with France - a fixture where Ireland have tasted victory just once in 38 years.

"McNaughton is a low-key, quietly efficient and significant cog in this Irish wheel -- an excellent sounding board for coach Declan Kidney with whom he enjoys a close personal and working relationship. But, while Kidney's playing experience does not stretch beyond Munster club rugby, McNaughton has access to a memory bank that includes 15 caps between 1978 and 1981 -- and two defeats in Paris, both by a solitary point.

"The first was a 10-9 reverse in '78, three Tony Ward penalties not enough to overcome Jerome Gallion's try and two kicks by Jean-Michel Aguirre while two years later it was 19-18 to the French, in spite of 14 points from Ollie Campbell and a Freddie McLennan try.

"Different era, different game . . . no arguments there, but the same psychological tests and same result as experienced by many of tomorrow's squad over the past 10 years which means when McNaughton speaks about Ireland's lack of success in the French capital, he deserves to be heard."

Scotland prop and devout Christian Euan Murray has questioned why Six Nations games are played on Sundays. He talks to Alasdair Reid in the Daily Telegraph.

"It was just another Sunday for Euan Murray. Church in the morning, an afternoon with the family, then back to church for the evening service. No different to how thousands of other devout Christians might have spent their day. No different, that is, if you overlook the fact that thousands of devout Scottish rugby supporters would rather he had spent his day with them.

"While Murray missed Scotland's opening match of the Six Nations championship against France on the basis that playing on a Sunday would go against his religious principles, the packed stands of Murrayfield witnessed a performance in which the home side's set-piece difficulties contributed heavily to their 18-9 loss to the French.

"Now, though, Murray is back in the side, ready to pit his particularly forceful brand of muscular Christianity against the Welsh pack in the Millennium Stadium tomorrow. His broad shoulders carry the weight of a nation's expectations – or at least the hope that Scotland can win in Cardiff for the first time since 2002."

Scotland's rampaging prop Euan Murray returns to the fray this weekend with a fearsome message for Gatland's Wales. Chris Hewett writes in The Independent.

"He is of fundamental importance to the Scots, especially now their strongest scrummaging lock, Nathan Hines, is injured. The Welsh will start once again without Gethin Jenkins and Matthew Rees, though Jenkins is fit enough to sit on the bench, and there is every likelihood of him going eyeball to eyeball with Murray at some point during the contest.

"Was there not just a small part of Murray that struggled to reconcile born-again belief with the various forms of rugby bastardy that generally form a part of the tight-head's modus operandi? "I don't go out and hit people with hatred," he said, reassuringly. "That would be wrong. But I do go out and try to smash people as hard as I can, all over the field." It was an honest answer. Quite what those attending this week's General Synod would make of it is anyone's guess."

Once second-row forwards were called 'powerhouses'. Now even the backs are the size of nuclear reactors according to Harry Pearon in The Guardian.

"Nothing in sport, not even Tiger Woods's ego, has expanded as rapidly in volume over the past two decades as the average rugby player. Once there was room on the field of play for the svelte and the tubby, but nowadays it is filled with towering, muscular beasts whose heads disappear directly into their shoulders without the intervention of anything so namby-pamby as a neck. On stumbling across a Six Nations match anyone unfamiliar with rugby union would conclude that they were watching a Stonehenge lookalike contest. The late Bill McClaren routinely described large second-row forwards as "powerhouses". Nowadays even the backs are the size of nuclear reactors.

"Where did Mathew Tait get them thighs from?" a bloke said to me on Saturday night. He sounded like somebody asking about a stylish jacket that had caught his eye. But then, the idea that somewhere in Twickenham there is a big room with racks of giant pectorals, biceps, abs and quads and a group of skilled technicians busily bolting them on to the squad like ground crews arming an F1-11 hardly seems beyond the realms of possibility. By the time a player has been in the England squad for a couple of months he's more or less bound to look like he's been inflated with a foot pump. The day of the first armour-plated prop with integral turbo-booster is surely not far away."

Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll is chaired from the field after his hat-trick inspired an historic victory over France in 2000 © Getty Images

Keith Earls is hoping to draw on Ireland's historic victory over France 10 years ago when Ireland return to Paris this weekend. David Kelly writes in the Irish Independent.

"It is March 20, 2000. A wide-eyed schoolkid is sitting towards the back of his class. He can hear an echo from a few feet away as a geography teacher describes how best to distinguish the Barrow, the Nore and the Suir on a map of Ireland.

"But the kid is dreamily doodling. A green giant is looming large from a blank page where the topography of Munster is supposed to be. It is Brian O'Driscoll. Surrounding him are three smaller figures in blue. They are crying. They are French.

"This is Keith Earls. Aged 11 years and five months. Hoping to become a daydream believer. Ten years on, he will tread the same turf as his boyhood hero."

In the rush for control, discipline, organisation and structure, the French have jettisoned the great quality that always set them apart from more plodding rivals; namely, unpredictability, according to Peter Bills in the Irish Independent.

"In 1998, I watched mesmerised as a French team cut Wales to shreds in a scintillating 51-0 win at Wembley. It was rugby to make the gods dance in delight and it warmed your soul, like a hot toddy on a cold winter's night.

"Yet within a mere handful of years, the French had sacrificed this lethal philosophy forged on an attacking mindset for a dull, altogether more predictable approach.

"Of course, it is necessary in the modern game to add a healthy touch of pragmatism to your philosophy. Rugby defences no longer leak like sieves, are no longer as disorganised as a kids' play-group at break time. Yet even so, it seems to me curious that the French should have so willingly forsaken their roots, the great tradition that was their hallmark."

Brian O'Driscoll's hat-trick in Paris 10 years ago kick started a golden era for Ireland, Brendan Gallagher looks back in the Daily Telegraph.

"On a bright Sunday afternoon in March Ireland, without a victory in Paris in 28 years, conjured rugby from the gods. Brian O'Driscoll scored three tries in 80 minutes, which equalled Ireland's total in Paris for the previous 20 years, and David Humphreys, who had missed a kick to win the corresponding game at Lansdowne Road the previous year, nervelessly smacked over the winning penalty three minutes from time.

"Paris in Spring, sizzling pace, great hands and everything done at speed with panache. Everything you would expect in fact, except it was all coming from Ireland. It was a win that defied sober analysis, not that anybody was contemplating sobriety for a while."

Martin Johnson's side must be patient yet ready to pounce when opportunities arrive against the Italians, as they surely will, according to Pual Rees in The Guardian.

"If past matches in Rome offer a guide, England will have opportunities to counterattack on Sunday. The final try against Wales was worthy of deciding a match: Toby Flood had only one thing on his mind when he received the ball from Armitage. Given the pressure England had come under after the autumn, it would have been tempting for him to hoof the ball towards the Wales line but he saw what was on and went for it.

A characteristic of New Zealand over the years has been their predilection for the counterattack. They kick the ball as much as anyone, but they are not shy, apart from last year when the breakdown directive had an inhibiting effect on them, to attack a disorganised defence.

When England announced their team to face Wales, the reaction was largely favourable because the back division brimmed with attacking intent. If Wales came to Twickenham loaded with idealism, it was England's pragmatism that prevailed: Mathew Tait touched the ball only seven times, but he played a part in the three tries."

Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara is relishing this weekend's trip to Paris to tackle France. John O'Sullivan writes in the Irish Times.

"It's questionable just how cathartic it can be on a personal level to offer the public a glimpse into a private process. Most athletes wouldn’t risk opening a passageway that might allow others to judge them. Ronan O’Gara though rarely subscribes to convention and that’s precisely what makes him such an engaging interviewee.

"He doesn’t hide behind generalisations. Invited to bare his feelings, he responds with typical candour. The 32-year-old, who’ll occupy the pivotal outhalf position in Paris on Saturday, isn’t afraid to deal in the specifics of disappointment and how they impacted on him as a person and a player."

Andy Robinson's desire to uncover a new attacking game remains on track despite a switch back to Dan Parks at stand-off, according to Scotland's head coach. David Ferguson writes in The Scotsman.

"Parks was so far out of Robinson's plans in August that he failed to make his first 44-man training squad, but his improvement this season with Glasgow in tandem with the loss of form experienced by Phil Godman, and a distinct lack of options in the position, has brought the stand-off back into the XV this week for a 48th cap around 16 months after he last started a Test match.

"...Robinson insisted, however, that bringing Parks back – his last Test match was in November, 2008, and last start in Argentina five months earlier – should not equate to a serious shift in style, but improve the Scots' ability to play more rugby in the opponents' half of the field. Indeed, there were whispers that Robinson and his assistant coaches Gregor Townsend and Graham Steadman were considering Parks for this game irrespective of what happened at Murrayfield."

Scotland trudge from the field against France © Getty Images

Stauart Bathgate talks to Scotland legend Tony Stanger about the current dearth of attacking quality in The Scotsman.

“There is no easy solution to the try drought which Scotland are experiencing, according to the country's joint leading all-time scorer of touchdowns, Tony Stanger, who along with Ian Smith tops the list with 24, believes that even if Andy Robinson's team score several tries in Wales on Saturday the problem will not have gone away.

“Now Talent Manager with the Sportscotland Institute of Sport, Stanger has an optimistic outlook, and is convinced that certain members of the Scottish team, who have now failed to score a try in three successive home Tests, do have the talent to make a difference. He believes, however, that the difference between merely creating chances and finishing them off is an extremely difficult gap to bridge.

"We can't ignore the improvements in physicality and in defence that have been made since rugby went professional," said Stanger, whose try in the 1990 Grand Slam game against England is the most celebrated individual score in the history of Scottish rugby. "It's chalk and cheese compared to my day. Organising a group of players to defend, or to work in the gym, is easier than trying to do the right thing under pressure. "We've got players who can make line breaks, like Johnnie Beattie and Sean Lamont did on Sunday. But if you don't score from the break, how do you organise from there? We have got creative players – the question is what happens next."

Mick Cleary previews a vital weekend for the England management as their squad prepare to take on Italy at the Stadio Flaminio in The Daily Telegraph.

"On such small margins might Martin Johnson be musing as his England squad shake off their post-victory celebrations to get themselves in the right frame of mind to protect their unblemished record over the Azzurri.

"Johnson's job was never really in jeopardy. Only a calamitous run of results, on the scale of a wipeout in the tournament, could have triggered such a turn of events. There has never been any desire at Twickenham for regime change, no whispers of discontent the like of which precipitated the demise of Ashton and Andy Robinson before him.

"Yet Johnson's reputation as a manager of substance has yet to be forged. Concerns persist and questions are raised. Johnson himself accepts that state of affairs. There is little doubt, though, that Saturday's win was a significant step. Anxiety has been quelled, time has been bought. England cannot afford to slip up at the Stadio Flaminio, and certainly need more vibrancy and polish."

Richard Williams evaluates the link in rugby and other sports between player power and success in The Guardian.

"Every now and then we need to be reminded that sport is about the people who play it, not those who design the way it is played. This may not be the most appropriate thought in the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl, the pinnacle of a sport that introduced us to coaches with earpieces absorbing information from spotters seated high up in the stands, but it was reassuring to hear that a degree of player power was apparently exercised in the run-up to England's victory over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

"It may have been not much more than a healthy and perfectly natural exchange of opinions, slightly exaggerated in the retelling. But it was interesting that, in the days leading up to the match, several England players put their heads above the parapet to observe that something had to change about the way Martin Johnson's team were performing. And although the team's aura of stolidity was not dispelled overnight, at least there was a bit more of a sense that the players were being allowed to express themselves.

"Whatever it was that took place, it seems to work for England. Back in 2003, after a series of turgid victories had taken Clive Woodward's side to the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup, the senior players – Johnson among them – quietly exerted a greater degree of control as they faced the closing stages of the tournament. Not surprisingly, perhaps, "player power" appears nowhere in the index to the book Woodward subsequently wrote to explain his techniques for getting players to do as they are told."

David Kelly revisits Ireland's thrilling victory over France in 2000 in The Irish Independent.

"On the morning of March 19, 2000, France presumed there was only one star in Irish rugby. According to the match programme, at least, Keith Wood was he. How wrong. Several hours later, a new star would be born.

"Paris in the spring had never wrought so much romance for the Irish.Fast forward a bit later, to the self-same Wood - standing astride the green sward where, for the first time in 28 years, Irish blood, sweat and tears were at last spilled for due reward - regaling the Irish hordes who are, disbelievingly, singing 'The Fields' in true celebration.

"Très content!" roars Wood into a French TV microphone. "Très fatigué! Up Ireland!"

James Haskell excelled for England © Getty Images

Richard Williams talks Top 14 with James Haskell in the wake of his star turn for England in The Guardian.

"James Haskell is hardly the first young man to go to Paris to find himself, but the city's magic seems to be working as well for him as it has for generations of artists and writers. With a brace of tries that shunted England towards a pressure-relieving victory over Wales, the 24-year-old flanker vindicated his much criticised decision to leave London Wasps and cross the Channel to join Stade Français last summer.

"Needing this win perhaps as much as any in their history, England had their opponents to thank for the errors that will allow Martin Johnson and his squad to spend the next week working in an atmosphere of relative tranquillity. Had Alun Wyn Jones not tripped Dylan Hartley five minutes before the interval or Stephen Jones not thrown an intercepted pass five minutes before full time, the criticisms of recent months would have intensified.

"Haskell's first try, on the stroke of half-time, came with a plunge for the line at the end of several minutes of English siege. The second found the flanker ready to make the final thrust as England swarmed through the tattered Welsh cover. These moments were, he claimed, prime examples of the squad's new spirit."

Brian Moore finds things to applaud and lament in England's opening Six Nations victory in The Daily Telegraph.

"Whether it is a reflection of the general trend towards the immediate or a lack of understanding of the game, the Twickenham crowd is becoming increasingly simplistic, with the mundane cheered as heartily as the good; perhaps it was simply relief that they had something to cheer about in England's victory over Wales at Twickenham.

"Their mood was heartened by the sight of their team running out in something resembling rugby shirts and not something favoured by the ASBO-clans that haunt the nation's shopping malls at the weekends. They also had the promise of pace and creativity in the back line, although the late withdrawal of Riki Flutey put a dent in the manager Martin Johnson's quest to find a settled centre partnership.

"For all the promise of the first 10 minutes, they must have begun resigning themselves to another betrayal of optimism as the game tightened perceptibly with only six points being shared between the sides. In fact, this was a typical Six Nations opening; nervy, imprecise and mistake-ridden and produced a lull in the atmosphere that felt almost preternatural and eerie. There was no lack of effort, but when neither side could make ground the inevitable kick-tennis threatened to take hold and several must have considered reaching for their brandy bottles and revolvers."

Owen Slot gauges the value of an intercept in the wake of England's victory over Wales in The Times.

"The period when England nearly threw away their season may be the one that saves them. In the wake of their 30-17 victory over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, ambitious Englishmen are thus entitled to ponder the value of a single intercepted pass.

"England head for their second game of the Six Nations Championship, against Italy on Sunday, with confidence and spirits raised. And Rome is a splendid place to be a visitor at any time, let alone when it is a rugby weekend and that is the state of your rugby soul.

"But they travel thus uplifted in large part because of the 75th minute and the game-changing, though otherwise disappointing, Delon Armitage. The England full back’s reading of a pass by Stephen Jones, the Wales No 10, was the moment that saved England. It set in motion a move in which the ball passed through a number of hands and was finally delivered to James Haskell, who completed the score."

Ireland skipper Brian O'Driscoll reflects on his side's disappointing performance against the Azzurri © Getty Images

Ireland got their defence of the Grand Slam and Championship off to a sluggish but successful start in perfect conditions at Croke Park yesterday. Peter O'Reilly writes in the Sunday Times.

"This had all the ingredients for a yawnathon — Ireland, perennial slow starters to the Six Nations, facing opponents whose one virtue is their ability to make life awkward, and a pompous, fussy, interfering referee. And how we yawned, especially during a second half that must rate as one of the worst periods of 40 minutes in championship history.

"Nearly 80,000 spectators sat patiently as Ireland, having built up a 20-point lead inside 35 minutes with a reasonably effective dismantling of the azzurri, then sat back and waited for the Italians to roll over — which, of course, they never do. Once Ireland let standards slip, it couldn’t end quickly enough — zero suspense, zero quality."

Relief, not rapture, greeted England's win against Wales at Twickenham, writes Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times.

"James Haskell was the signature of their victory, with two tries and once again he put to shame the fools who believe he is a playboy. Haskell’s second try with only five minutes remaining was desperately needed to calm English nerves after Wales had come back to within three points with eight minutes remaining.

"The Haskell lieutenants were the Harlequins duo of Danny Care and Nick Easter, who injected what pace there was in the England game. England’s scrum was battered but held on, their lineout was excellent, they had composure even when they dipped alarmingly in terms of performance in the final quarter, and they had enough. They also had the ideal opposition against whom to start a revival. Wales were disastrous in the first half, so bad in so many areas that they betrayed their own strengths."

It is exactly 100 years since France first played in the championship when the old Four Home Unions tournament expanded into the Five Nations Championship and Scotland will be out to kibosh any centenary celebrations today's visitors might have planned. Iain Morrison writes in the Scotsman on Sunday.

"A more recent anniversary concerns Andy Robinson because it was four years ago that he last coached a team in the Six Nations when England finished off the season with a dismal run of three consecutive defeats including that 18-12 reversal at Murrayfield, a 31-6 spanking from the French in Paris and, his last match in charge, a narrow loss against Ireland at Twickenham.

"Suffice it to say he was undergoing the sort of anguish usually reserved for those confined to the inner circles of Dante's Inferno. The television cameras betrayed their sadistic streak, panning in on the English coach who could barely contain his frustration and certainly couldn't prevent it being writ large across his ever expressive face."

Wales' errors gave Martin Johnson's men chance to hit the ground running. Hugh Godwin writes for the Independent on Sunday.

"This match marked Twickenham's centenary. Though the old cabbage patch attracted no kings there were two princes as Harry and William, respectively vice patrons of the English and Welsh unions, engaged in royal sibling rivalry in the East Stand. England wore an old-style off-white kit and some of their forwards – notably the gut-busting flanker Lewis Moody and line-out master Steve Borthwick – were cream-crackered by the end. The result soothed the muscles and the anxiety left over from an awkward autumn."

Sincere cheering breaks out at Twickenham as a fightback by Wales is extinguished. Eddie Butler reports from Twickenham for The Observer.

"This was not a carefree performance by England, but it was less mournful than their autumn series. The boos that had rung around Twickenham in November gave way to sincere cheers. This was a good win well-received, not a complete performance by any means, but a decent foundation stone. It was not without it twists and turns, and even had a full scare, going on long enough to allow Wales to rally in the ­second half.

"...In a game between two very evenly matched teams at the start of a campaign, it was always more likely that an error was going to determine the outcome than any stroke of genius. And so it was that a trip became the sin what won it."

Peter Bills talks to Italy's fullback Luke McLean about shedding their 'easy beat' tag in The Irish Independent.

"It's a seldom publicised desire but a potent fact, nevertheless. Italy's rugby men begin their second decade in the Six Nations Championship this afternoon at Croke Park, determined to bury their image of the tournament's pushovers.

"Australian-born full-back Luke McLean says there is a growing urge to end what he calls their "easy beats" reputation. "We are faced by a big job," says the Benetton Treviso player. "But we are still enjoying it. The fact that we have had the same group of players together for a year or more now is a definite advantage, a real step forward. Everyone is getting used to how we all play and therefore we are playing more as a team rather than just individuals.

"We are trying not to be the easy beats now, we don't want that reputation any more. We are going to try and change that this year and put out some good performances."

Stuart Barnes previews the massive Six Nations showdown between England and Wales in The Times.

"This is rugby tribalism at its very best and very worst. The sheer desire for the one country to put it over the other has always been an aspect of the Welsh attitude to this game, even when they were a class apart in the 1970s.

"For England, it is slightly different. Older minds will remember the ritual humiliations in Cardiff but the domination of Europe under Geoff Cooke and then the world under Clive Woodward changed the focus. Under Woodward in particular, Wales were downgraded as New Zealand, Australia and South Africa became the yardsticks.

"But all that has changed with England’s steady slide back into the ranks of world mediocrity. Suddenly the derby game matters massively after the prospect of winning titles disappeared. England have not won the title since 2003 - that was the Grand Slam winning World Cup team. During that era Wales couldn't get anywhere near the then world champions but over the past five years they have managed two Grand Slams, a dream beyond England’s imagination in recent times."

The Six Nations is guaranteed to provide some colour but will the rugby live up to the occasion? © Getty Images

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Peter Bills puts the boot into the Six Nations.

"Up in the Northern Hemisphere, they're packing their tin helmets and topping up their hip flasks. It's that time of the year again; the time when the European powers indulge in the international rugby fest they regard as the best in the world.

"Whisper, at your peril, that their coveted, prestigious Six Nations Championship is in reality the second division tournament of world rugby. At Croke Park and Twickenham this weekend, the latest instalments in this vibrant, pulsating, unpredictable, extraordinary and quite often thoroughly ordinary tournament will begin."

The Irish Times' John O’Sullivan finds that Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery is not perturbed by his lack of game time ahead of tomorrow’s Test.

"Jerry Flannery doesn’t quite bristle when the word injury is introduced from the outset of a conversation but there is a world-weary look in his eyes. It’s an understandable reaction in a season that has seen him start just a single match for Munster, the Heineken Cup pool opener against the Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens.

"Indeed the longest sequence of matches he’s put together is three, with Ireland in the November Test series. Chronicling his misfortune, or at least the most recent chapter, begins when he suffered an elbow injury while training with the Lions, days before they were due to depart for South Africa during the summer."

Chris Paterson can look back on 10 years of Six Nations rugby, which is some achievement for a player who had to ride his luck to the limit to get through his first 10 minutes in the tournament. Alasdair Reid writes in the Daily Telegraph.

"Paterson was just 21 when he made his championship debut against France in 2000. It was no secret that he was one of the brightest prospects in the game at the time – he had won his first Scotland cap against Spain in the World Cup a few months earlier – but the French were always going to test the rookie full-back's abilities with a spot of aerial bombardment.

"And so the first kick came his way, high and horrible, in the opening moments of the match. Paterson was under no particular pressure from the French runners as he tracked back to make the catch, but as he focused on the ball he failed to notice that he was heading straight for his own posts.

"Everyone in the crowd had seen the danger, though, sensing that something rather painful was about to happen to the young player."

As the Six Nations Championship opens, players must abandon the ‘aerial ping pong’ that irritates fans, according to Gerald Davies in The Times.

"We all know the main concern, for there has been long debate over a couple of years about what has become a matter of acute anxiety: it is the tedious kicking that frustrates and annoys. After all the inevitable changes and adaptations in tactics that follow the physical conditioning that has made rugby a more dynamic sport, the game is fast becoming repetitive and predictable.

"Not the delicately placed aim to the defending team’s corner, so expertly and consistently highlighted by Ronan O’Gara, for instance, the execution of which is so artfully done that it raises a gasp of admiration at the accuracy and audacity. No. Rather it is those kicks that have derisorily come to be referred to as “aerial ping-pong”, the constant high kicking back and forth.

"If this tactic came to our attention during the most recent World Cup in France in 2007, put to resounding tactical use by Argentina when they reached third position, it has manifestly and yawningly become the most irksome tactic at present employed at the elite end of rugby."

Chris Cusiter will lead Scotland into the Six Nations Championship for the first time on Sunday preparing to stop France's new "wrecking ball" Mathieu Bastareaud, but welcoming the fact that the hosts are clear underdogs against a French team being tipped to win their fifth title and a possible Grand Slam. He talks to David Ferguson in The Scotsman.

"The Glasgow scrum-half took over the skipper's role with Andy Robinson's first Test match as the Scotland coach, following a notable line of No 9 leaders including Gary Armstrong, Bryan Redpath and Mike Blair, and it ended in victory over Fiji. The scrum-half remained in charge in the win over Australia and defeat to Argentina in November.

"He suffered concussion in that historic victory over the Wallabies, Scotland's first in 27 years, but insisted that he remembers it vividly and believes that that battling 9-8 win has laid strong foundations for an improvement on three championships under the previous coaching regime that yielded just three victories.

"He also has a better knowledge than most of what makes French players tick and what weaknesses Sunday's team may possess, having spent two years in France with league champions Perpignan, but acknowledges that the recall of Stade Francais centre Bastareaud to the Test arena this week has not made Scotland's task any easier."