England flanker Tom Curry is refusing to set a date for his return after undergoing major hip surgery that is expected to rule him out until next season.

Curry’s last match was the bronze final victory over Argentina at last autumn’s World Cup and upon returning home, he learned that he needed a six-hour operation to address arthritic change and tears to the labrum and cartilage.

The 25-year-old back row describes the extent of the damage as “a car crash”, but with the surgery deemed a success he is now progressing through his rehabilitation programme.

“In terms of coming back to play, I still don’t really know. It’s day by day,” Curry told Sale Sharks TV.

“The next month is just taking it day by day. Every week it gets better and better. The tough thing is thinking too far ahead and that’s why I need to take each day as it comes.

“Every day I’ll give it 100 per cent and be really grateful that I can do this and then we’ll see.

“If you take a step and your hip feels bad, your mood goes down. If you do that and your hip feels good, your mood goes up. So it is about trying to get rid of all that stuff and keeping it as simple as possible.”

England are expected to add Manu Tuilagi, Ollie Lawrence, George Martin and Luke Cowan-Dickie to their squad when they gather in south west London for their fallow week training camp.

All four have been prevented from taking part in the opening two rounds of the Guinness Six Nations because of injury but they will come into contention for the Calcutta Cup showdown with Scotland on February 24.

Craig Chalmers has told Scotland they must ensure the sense of injustice at not winning Saturday’s controversial Guinness Six Nations match against France does not derail the remainder of their championship.

The 55-year-old former fly-half was as exasperated as anyone while watching from the Murrayfield stands as referee Nic Berry and TMO Brian MacNeice decided they were unable to award the Scots a match-winning try when the ball appeared to have been grounded on the line by substitute Sam Skinner in the last action of the game.

It meant Les Bleus clung on to win 20-16, ending any hopes of a Scottish Grand Slam and ensuring bitterness and frustration in the home camp over recent days.

“I just don’t understand how the referee didn’t see it,” Chalmers – speaking to promote Prostate Cancer UK’s Big Golf Race – told the PA news agency.

“The big mistake he made was saying on-field ‘no try’. Inside the stadium, it 95 per cent looked like a try to me. He should have got in closer to it and put his hands in and had a better look.”

Chalmers knows from experience how such moments can sting, but he feels the Scots – with one win from two matches – must park their anger and focus on getting back up and running at home to England a week on Saturday.

He also believes they must look inwardly at some things they could have done better, such as kicking for the posts when they were on top instead of playing for tries.

“It’s frustrating because Saturday was a game we should have won but the players and coaches have to get over it now,” said Chalmers.

“There’s nothing they can do about it, it’s done. We’ve all been there before when things have gone against us but you can’t change it.

“Some of these things you never get over, look at the 1991 World Cup. We all still wish Gavin Hastings kicked that (penalty in the 9-6 semi-final defeat by England).

“You probably remember these kind of things more than some of the good things that happen.

“When you get beat like that, you want to get back playing but it’s probably a good thing that they get a break this weekend, and also a chance to look at the decisions they could have made better.

“I think we should have taken our points at times, especially at the end of the first half, just get the three points over the bar and keep the scoreboard ticking.

“Scotland were testing the French all the time but we just didn’t take our chances.

“You’ve got to do that at this level, especially when France are missing their two talisman players at half-back, (Antoine) Dupont and (Romain) Ntamack.

“France were poor and the Scottish coaches and players know that’s one that got away, especially considering we were all talking about potential championships and what we could do this year.”

England have won only one of their last six meetings with Scotland and Chalmers feels the Calcutta Cup match a week on Saturday gives Townsend’s team a good chance to banish their disappointment.

“We’ve just got to try and focus on England and winning that one because we can still win a Triple Crown and the championship,” he said.

“England have become a team we like beating over the last five or six years, and I don’t think this year should be any different.

“I think Scotland know what they’re trying to do, they’ve got a way of playing that they all buy into, whereas I don’t think England have really worked that out yet.

“They’ve got a lot of new guys in and they’re in a bit of a transition but they have won eight of their last nine games so they will have a little bit of confidence on the back of that.”

Craig Chalmers was speaking to promote Prostate Cancer UK’s Big Golf Race, which launches on 28 February.

Jack Conan acknowledges history-chasing Ireland could “fall flat on our face” if they become sidetracked by talk of successive Grand Slam titles.

Andy Farrell’s men are seeking to become the first side in the Guinness Six Nations era to complete consecutive championship clean sweeps.

Bonus-point victories over pre-tournament favourites France and perennial wooden spoon winners Italy have propelled the defending champions into pole position for more glory.

Winless Wales travel to Dublin in round three on February 24 before Ireland face further Triple Crown fixtures against England and Scotland next month.

Leinster back-rower Conan, who claimed the third of six tries in Sunday’s 36-0 demolition of the Azzurri, said: “I don’t think there’s a cautious excitement; there are just expectations within the group of what we do with the moment in front of your face.

“Before this week, there was no chat of Wales, Scotland, England, anything like that; it was Italy, Italy, Italy.

“That was all that mattered to us and that will be the case next week. It will all be about Wales.

“It’s great people outside of the environment (are excited about a potential Grand Slam), they can have that buzz all they want, but if we don’t go out and get the job done against Wales then we kind of fall flat on our face.

“We’re not looking at all past that, we’re not looking past the moment in front of our faces and just being present.

“It doesn’t always happen and there were loads of mistakes (against Italy) but I think it’s a pretty good starting point where we’re at at the moment.”

Head coach Farrell has received regular praise for creating an enjoyable environment in the Ireland camp.

Conan believes a selflessness among the group has been key to recent successes, including the 2022 tour victory in New Zealand and last year’s Grand Slam.

“The needs of the many are greater than the needs of the few so it’s important to fit in and do the role you’ve been asked to do,” said Conan, who has often been a replacement during that period.

“We’re very lucky that there are such good men in the group and good quality that no matter what is asked of people they do it and there’s no complaints.

“It’s an incredibly selfless group and you do what your team-mates and coaching staff ask of you.

“I think it’s one of the reasons why we’ve been so successful over the last few years because everyone wants to add to the value of the group.”

Number eight Conan on Sunday made his first Test start since suffering a foot injury against Italy last August, which limited his World Cup participation.

The 31-year-old British and Irish Lion, who made his international debut in 2015 but has been restricted to 43 caps, partly due to fitness setbacks, is determined to savour the remainder of his career.

“For all the things I’ve ever done, whether it’s Leinster or playing for the Lions, it is the greatest honour to play for your country and it’s definitely something that’s not lost on me,” Conan said.

“I try to relish every moment I’m out there, no matter how blowing you are or how tough it is, it’s something that comes and goes so quickly and I’ve had a lot of gaps in my career where I haven’t played.

“I’ve been in and out of teams. I have, by my own admission, under performed at times and you’ve just got to savour it when you get the opportunity and make the most of it.”

New Ireland star Joe McCarthy has been taking inspiration from American football but has no plans to follow former Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit in chasing an NFL career.

Leinster lock McCarthy has been one of the standout performers of the opening two rounds of the Guinness Six Nations and was named man of the match on his championship debut against France.

The powerful 22-year-old’s eye-catching display in a 38-17 win over Les Bleus came just over a fortnight after 23-year-old Rees-Zammit stunned rugby union by quitting to pursue a dream in the United States.

New York-born McCarthy, who tuned in with international team-mates to watch Sunday’s Super Bowl as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, said: “I love the defensive side of the game, probably like it more than the attack sometimes.

“They say defence wins championships, so it is good.

“I love getting off the line, I love pressuring teams, love getting them ‘man and ball,’ getting in at rucks. I like watching the defensive players in NFL, like seeing the stuff they do.

“At the moment I like Maxx Crosby from the (Las Vegas) Raiders. I liked JJ Watt (former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals defensive end) when he played. He is a beat, or was, he is retired now.

“I don’t think I’ll be changing over to the NFL any time soon. I’ll stick with the rugby.”

McCarthy retained his second-row spot for Sunday afternoon’s 36-0 victory over Italy in Dublin as defending Grand Slam champions Ireland backed up their statement success in Marseille.

Following his first Test cap against Australia in the autumn of 2022, he missed last year’s Six Nations due to injury before becoming the youngest member of Andy Farrell’s World Cup squad.

McCarthy admits his elevation at international level has brought increased scrutiny.

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“There is way more attention in the Six Nations, you can feel it, much more than club games,” he said.

“It is good, you are getting a lot of nice mentions; you’re trying to block it out and just go back to the process.

“I felt I was ready to go at that stage (in the 2023 Six Nations) but an ankle injury kept me out for a few months. That happens.

“It’s great to get an opportunity now and I am looking forward to it.”

Ireland return to action at home to Wales on February 24 before taking on England and Scotland next month.

Scotland may be smarting from the injustice of their defeat by France but Ben Earl insists England also have a point to prove in their Calcutta Cup clash.

Replays suggested Scotland had scored a legitimate stoppage-time try at Murrayfield on Saturday but as they failed to show clear grounding, protocol dictated it should not stand and Les Bleus escaped with a 20-16 win.

The decision prevented them from entering round three of the Guinness Six Nations with an unbeaten record to match that of Steve Borthwick’s team, who crept past Italy and Wales to stay in Grand Slam contention.

What was previously a comfortable Six Nations fixture for England has since been turned on its head by losing the three most recent meetings – and Earl wants to see that addressed in Edinburgh on February 24.

“Scotland are a very proud rugby nation, they’ve got some great players, some great individuals,” Earl said.

“We’ve never had an easy game against them and last time we played them at Twickenham, the first game of last year, we lost.

“We’ve got to right some wrongs and so we’re really looking forward to going up there.”

England’s underwhelming performances in the opening two rounds have hardly set the tournament alight, but in coming from behind to dispatch Italy and Wales they are continuing to show a knack for digging themselves out of trouble.

After a 31-point lead had been thrown away against Scotland in 2019, Borthwick’s predecessor Eddie Jones compared the team’s response to pressure to “hand grenades in the back of a jeep” that “go off”.

But in the World Cup warm-up game against Wales at Twickenham in August, and at the tournament itself, they have displayed the ability to roll with the punches – and come back firing.

“We feel we’ve got a good game to fall back on when things are tight. We can squeeze games out and find a way to win. We know we can win from almost any position,” Earl said.

“When our backs were against the wall against Wales, we got together and said ‘look, it feels like we’re not getting the rub of the green here from the ref and/or the context of the game, so we need to almost bunker down or come out swinging in a way’.

“Other England teams in previous regimes, we might have gone into our shells and reverted to an individual focus, but we were collected and aligned in our messaging and in our next actions, so we were really pleased.

“The Italy game was a step in the right direction and Wales was another step in the right direction, so who knows where we can take it.”

England’s growing resilience has coincided with Earl’s rise to starting number eight and the marauding Saracen, who broke four tackles to cross against Wales, is revelling in the independence he has been given by attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.

“Richard has been really clear with me in terms of giving me a bit of a free role in terms of where I pop up,” Earl said.

“Against Italy I carried a bit more off nine than I did against Wales. But in terms of where I’m at, I’m loving playing for this team.”

Harry Paterson admitted he could never have imagined starting a Guinness Six Nations match for Scotland just months after wondering how he was going to get a game in Edinburgh’s high-calibre back three.

The 22-year-old began the season competing with established internationals like Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, Duhan van der Merwe and Emiliano Boffelli for a place at club level.

The departure of Kinghorn to Toulouse and injuries to others, however, allowed him to make three starts for Edinburgh in December and he was subsequently named in Gregor Townsend’s squad for the Six Nations.

Incredibly, with just eight senior appearances to his name in total, Paterson was summoned to start Saturday’s showdown with France on the morning of the game after Kyle Steyn’s wife went into labour, further reducing the Scots’ back-three options after injuries to key duo Kinghorn and Graham.

Paterson responded by producing what head coach Townsend described as “one of the the best debuts I’ve ever seen” as Scotland went down to a controversial 20-16 defeat by Les Bleus.

“It certainly was beyond my pre-season expectations,” said Paterson. “Especially with the senior boys in the back three at Edinburgh, it’s unbelievable.

“In November, I was thinking ‘I’m not really getting a look with Edinburgh’, but things can change very quickly and a few guys got injured so I was kind of given an opportunity through that.

“I’ll take a lot of confidence from it. I’ve not played a lot of professional rugby so I need to build up that base of games, stay fit and crack on.”

Paterson was not named in the initial 23-man squad for the France match and only learned at 9am – five hours before kick-off – that he would be starting at full-back.

“I got a call from Gregor when I was having my breakfast and I kind of figured what was happening when I saw who was calling,” he said. “There was about 10 minutes of panic and then I stabilised and cooled down. There was a bit of nerves obviously, but I was really excited.

“Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh and Scotland team-mate) told me beforehand ‘it’s just another game of rugby but it’s also your first cap so make sure you enjoy it’.

“I was alright once I was out there. I got minced off the first ball I caught so that got me into the game. I just kind of went for it.

“I’ve been told I overthink a lot, but when it comes to game time I manage to chill out a bit and not stress as much.”

Paterson had mixed feelings at the end of a debut in which Scotland were controversially denied what would have been a match-winning try when the officials were unable to decide beyond all doubt that Sam Skinner had managed to ground the ball.

“I was a confused boy at the end of the game,” he said. “I didn’t really know how to feel at the end. I was just gutted at the result.”

While Steyn is likely to come back into the mix for the next game at home to England a week on Saturday, it remains to be seen if Graham or Kinghorn – both of whom were initially ruled out of the first two matches of the championship – will be fit enough to return.

Asked if he felt he had played his way into contention for the Calcutta Cup showdown, Paterson said: “I’m not sure. I don’t know who is available. There’s a lot of moving parts so I’m not really sure what will happen there.”

Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley is taking the challenge of filling Johnny Sexton’s shoes in his stride and “could go far”, according to team-mate James Lowe.

Test rookie Crowley marked his maiden Guinness Six Nations appearance in Dublin with the first senior try of his career to set the defending champions on course for a crushing 36-0 win over Italy.

The 24-year-old, who has never touched down in 45 provincial outings for Munster, was elevated to first-choice number 10 after long-serving talisman Sexton retired following the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Leinster wing Lowe also starred on Sunday afternoon – claiming the fifth of Ireland’s six tries before being named man of the match – and has been impressed with Crowley’s early impact.

“He’s got a lot of pressure on him, there have been some world-class 10s come before him,” he said.

“He’s taken it in his stride, bossing it around week to week.

“He hasn’t quite got that Sexton aura about him. He hasn’t got the stare down yet. He’s awesome, he growing into it.

“He slotted into 15 (after full-back Hugo Keenan was injured) as well, fair play to him, he’s a young man with a good head on his shoulders and he could go far.”

Crowley, who has 11 caps, made his full championship debut in Ireland’s statement 38-17 round-one win in France.

For the second successive week, he shrugged off some nervy kicks to produce an assured performance.

Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey – one of six players brought into Andy Farrell’s starting XV following success in Marseille – echoed Lowe’s praise of Crowley.

“He’s good, isn’t he? He’s went really well the last couple of games,” said McCloskey.

“He’s obviously still learning, he’s a young guy but some of his touches, the way he takes the ball to the line, the way he offloads is something slightly different to what Johnny brought – not that Johnny wasn’t incredible, but it’s a slightly different way of playing.

“Obviously he’s had a couple of mistakes in there and bits and pieces to work on, but you’re going to get that with someone who is 24 years old.

“I thought he was very good and very good last week as well.”

Dan Sheehan’s double and further scores from Jack Conan and Calvin Nash ensured Ireland go into a fallow weekend at the top of the table with maximum points.

Farrell’s side host Wales on February 24 before taking on England and Scotland next month.

“We’d a fair few changes this week and boys who came into the group really put their hands up and showed why they are internationals,” added Lowe.

“We are happy with where we are sitting, it’s a pretty good position to be in.”

Singing sensation Stevie Mulrooney was praised by Andy Farrell following his rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call ahead of Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations match with Italy in Dublin.

Eight-year-old Mulrooney went viral thanks to a passionate performance on the pitch in front of almost 52,000 spectators at a sold-out Aviva Stadium.

The schoolboy from Kilkenny sprang to prominence singing the rugby anthem on RTE’s Late Late Toy Show, before being invited to perform at Ireland’s opening home match of the championship by flanker Josh van der Flier.

He had to wait for his moment in the spotlight as Jennifer Dalton performed the Italian anthem and Amhran na bhFiann before stealing the show to catch the eye of Ireland boss Farrell and thousands of television viewers.

“Oh wow. I tell you, I was actually saying before the game, I was just watching him the whole time,” said Farrell, whose side won 36-0.

“I didn’t know whether he was standing with his mother or not but when I realised the other lady (Dalton) was not his mother and was singing the national anthem for the Italians… his confidence was amazing and I actually thought ‘I wish our lads are going to be like that’.

“He’s got his shoulders back, he was ready.

“He was waving to the crowd, stood there on his own. I thought: ‘this kid’s got it all’.

“He was amazing. He nailed it, didn’t he? It was a great start.”

Andy Farrell warned Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations title defence “gets tougher from here” after his side swatted aside Italy.

The reigning champions registered a thumping 36-0 bonus-point win to back up last week’s statement success away to pre-tournament favourites France.

Winless Wales visit Dublin on February 24 before Ireland finish their campaign with March appointments against England and Scotland.

Head coach Farrell feels his team have made a “decent start” to the championship as they seek to make history by claiming back-to-back Grand Slams.

“Obviously delighted with two from two and maximum points, 36-0 is a nice scoreline for us,” he said.

“To put in a performance like that where I thought we were clinical at times, I thought our set piece was excellent, top drawer, and then scoring some nice tries on the back of all that type of pressure was very pleasing to get over the line.

“Two from two. It’s a decent start. It gets tougher from here on in.”

Jack Crowley’s first senior try set Ireland on course for victory before Dan Sheehan’s double and scores from Jack Conan, James Lowe and Calvin Nash completed a routine success.

The one-sided result was the first time Ireland had nilled a team in the championship since a 17-0 triumph over England in the 1987 Five Nations.

Stand-in captain Caelan Doris, who deputised for the injured Peter O’Mahony, said: “Keeping them to zero was definitely very pleasing given the quality of their attack.

“It was something we talked about during the week, they’ve a lot of structure in their attack and they’ve got threats throughout.

“I don’t think it’s a mean feat keeping them to zero and we’re happy with that, definitely.”

Farrell made six personnel changes for Sunday afternoon’s contest, which took place in front of a subdued capacity crowd.

The Englishman expects to have sidelined quartet O’Mahony, Tadhg Furlong, Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose back in training before facing Warren Gatland’s men but is waiting to discover the extent of an injury suffered by full-back Hugo Keenan.

“Hugo’s got a bang on his knee so I don’t know,” said Farrell.

“He seems in good spirits but you saw him and he was limping so we’ll see how he turns up tomorrow morning (Monday) whether he needs someone to have a look at that or not.

“I don’t know at this stage.”

Italy arrived at the Aviva Stadium on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England but rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Azzurri head coach Gonzalo Quesada said: “They didn’t need to do anything special, just run through their system, their attack.

“When they go those 19 points of difference (in front), it’s like the All Blacks some years ago, they just go through their basics and they had 100 per cent of the lineout, 100 per cent of the scrum, 100 per cent of the high balls.

“And then they just work their rucks in attack and defence with extreme efficiency.

“We expected that level of performance. They did what we know they can do.

“The frustration is more that we couldn’t put a bit more pressure on them like we wanted.”

France, England and Ireland were the winners in round two of the Guinness Six Nations, which failed to produce the excitement seen on the opening weekend.

Here the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the weekend’s action.

World Rugby recently released an absorbing documentary titled ‘Whistleblowers’ in the hope it will change the conversation around officials by showing the difficulties they face, both personal and professional, in overseeing one of the most complex sports around. But as criticism descended on Nic Berry and James Doleman following controversial calls at Murrayfield and Twickenham respectively, it is clear the odds are stacked against referees because of the laws. The decision not to award Scotland a last-gap try against France and to allow Wales to run down George Ford’s conversion were legitimate according to the rules of the game, but both felt like the wrong call. Clarification shed light on why the right outcomes had been reached, but by that time the online vilification was already underway.

Rugby’s officialdom was at least able to celebrate one notable victory from round two and that was Hollie Davidson’s slice of history at Twickenham. The 31-year-old Scot became the first female member of an officiating team for a men’s Six Nations match as the glass ceiling for women in the sport continues to be broken. Now rugby’s pre-eminent female referee, Davidson has already overseen a men’s international having taken charge of a clash between Portugal and Italy in 2022. A Test between heavyweight nations must be the next goal for the Scottish Rugby Union’s first full-time official.

Even if rugby’s protocols dictate otherwise, Scotland’s stoppage-time try against France should have stood. Scottish dismay was understandable, but this controversial moment aside they can only look inwards when they begin the inquest into why they are not two from two having led for most of the match against opponents nursing a World Cup hangover. A poor spectacle was there for the taking but yet again a group of players regarded as one of the most talented ever to emerge from the country has fallen short. That first Six Nations title appears as elusive as ever.

England are one of two unbeaten sides left in the Six Nations and, while they deserve credit for equalling their victory total for the last three tournaments before the first fallow week, they know their underwhelming wins against Italy and Wales were too close for comfort. Far tougher tests await against Scotland, Ireland and France over the coming weeks and Steve Borthwick’s team must improve significantly if they are to remain in title contention deeper in the tournament. So far they have displayed resilience, a greater appetite to attack and defensive steel, but for now they remain a middling nation.

Only Ireland also remain in Grand Slam contention and, as they swatted aside Italy despite making six changes, it was hard to look beyond another clean sweep for Andy Farrell’s men. No side has managed back-to-back Grand Slams in the Six Nations era but such is the depth in Irish rugby and the fluency of their game that it would take a sizeable upset to prevent them writing their name in the history books. Italy, meanwhile, took a step backwards having troubled England in Rome.

Jack Crowley claimed an overdue first senior try as Ireland continued their Guinness Six Nations title defence with a resounding 36-0 bonus-point win over Italy in Dublin.

The fly-half, who is tasked with filling the void left by retired number 10 Johnny Sexton, has gone 45 appearances for Munster without touching down.

He opened his international account inside seven minutes of his 11th Test to help the reigning champions back up a crushing opening weekend demolition of pre-tournament favourites France.

Dan Sheehan registered two of Ireland’s five further tries to take his tournament tally to three, while Jack Conan, man of the match James Lowe and Calvin Nash were also on the scoresheet for a team captained by Caelan Doris.

Ireland’s display could certainly have been more ruthless but it was more than enough to dispatch the championship’s perennial wooden spoon winners and secure a 17th successive home win.

Andy Farrell’s men remain on course to become the first side to win back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams ahead of hosting Wales on February 24 and March appointments with England and Scotland.

Italy arrived at a sold-out Aviva Stadium as overwhelming underdogs and seeking a first championship success on Irish soil on the back of a positive performance in a three-point defeat to England.

Paolo Garbisi shanked an early penalty to give the Azzurri the lead, before Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey released provincial team-mate Crowley to gleefully register a landmark five points.

The seventh-minute score initially did little to settle the hosts amid a subdued Sunday afternoon atmosphere, which faded fast from eight-year-old Stevie Mulrooney performing a rousing rendition of Ireland’s Call.

Farrell’s starting XV, showing six personnel changes from Marseille, initially looked disjointed as the contest descended into a scrappy affair.

Energetic bursts from Hugo Keenan momentarily lifted the crowd and led to a second score in the 24th minute, with Crowley, Stuart McCloskey and Robbie Henshaw ultimately combining to tee up Sheehan.

Blasts of Zombie by the Cranberries – the team’s World Cup anthem – greeted each Ireland try and rang out again three minutes before the break when Conan bulldozed across the line after Joe McCarthy was held up.

Ireland had the bonus point in the bag within five minutes of the restart as hooker Sheehan, who also crossed against Les Bleus, claimed his second try of the afternoon.

Centre Henshaw was perhaps harshly denied a score due to an adjudged double movement before grounding.

But Ireland, who saw full-back Keenan limp off with an apparent leg issue, would not be denied for long.

Impressive Leinster wing Lowe added further gloss to the scoreboard with a powerful 62nd-minute finish, shortly after Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello was sent to the sin bin for illegally stopping him by sticking out a leg.

Following Garbisi’s wayward penalty, outclassed Italy offered little attacking threat and rarely entered the hosts’ 22.

Another fruitless trip to the Irish capital was compounded two minutes from time when Munster wing Nash collected Jamison Gibson-Park’s pass to score for the second week in a row, with replacement 10 Harry Byrne slotting the extras to add to two Crowley conversions.

George Ford insists goalkickers will be compelled to modify their routines after he was the victim of a controversial refereeing decision in England’s Guinness Six Nations victory over Wales on Saturday.

Ford was lining up the conversion of Ben Earl’s 20th-minute try and having taken a small step left as part of his pre-kick ritual, wing Rio Dyer came racing off the line to prevent him from completing it.

England’s fly-half looked to James Doleman to intervene in his favour, but the Kiwi referee instead told him that his movement meant Wales were free to charge down the kick.

World Rugby later clarified that the relevant law, updated in 2020, dictates that movement in “any direction” enables the defending side to begin their run.

Ford was left bemused by Doleman’s decision, which could have been decisive in an ebb-and-flow game that England won by only two points.

“It doesn’t make sense to me. I’m trying to use the full shot-clock time as we’ve got men in the (sin) bin,” Ford said, with Ollie Chessum and Ethan Roots both having been off the field at the time.

“You’re at the back of your stance, you have your routine, and if adjusting your feet like that is initiating your run-up then…

“Some of us kickers are going to have to stand like statues at the back of our run-up now.

“As a kicker you want to get a feel and sometimes you don’t quite feel right at the back of your run-up, so you adjust it a bit and think ‘right, I’ve got it now’. You want your chest to be at the ball and all those things.

“What it means for us kickers is that we’ve got to be ultra diligent with our setup and process because if they’re going to go down that route and look for stuff like that, we can’t afford that.”

Wales’ young team may have shown genuine promise for the future two rounds into the Guinness Six Nations but captain Dafydd Jenkins insists there is no sugar coating the results.

England ran out 16-14 winners at Twickenham on Saturday despite trailing 14-5 at half-time after a penalty try and Alex Mann’s touch down had placed Warren Gatland’s team in the driving seat.

The defeat came a week after Wales amassed 26 unanswered points having fallen 27-0 behind Scotland, which left Cardiff wondering how had they allowed one of the Championship’s great collapses.

A clash with champions Ireland in Dublin on February 24 is their next assignment and, while Jenkins is impressed by his side’s fighting spirit, he knows that ultimately they have come up short.

“It’s extremely disappointing, but I’m proud of the boys for sticking in it every time. But it’s international rugby and it’s all about winning. Two losses hurts a lot,” Jenkins said.

“It’s a special game, Wales against England. As you grow up you always want to be a part of it and get the win. Unfortunately we didn’t do that.”

Wales’ great frustration is that, having put themselves in a position to claim their first victory at Twickenham since 2015, they allowed the hosts to take control of the second-half through their kicking game.

Gatland believes a challenge lies in instilling into his overhauled side the belief they can get over the line even if the same players are rarely successful with their regions in the United Rugby Championship and Europe.

“Our focus is getting better from game to game and I think we’ve done that,” Gatland said.

“The boys are desperate to get a win and probably the challenge for us is just knowing how important winning is.

“A number of players are coming from regional teams that haven’t had a lot of success.

“They’ve probably got used to not having that ‘W’ next to their name after performances. So it’s important we start doing that and be positive about doing that.

“One of the great things about playing for Wales is, having spoken to a number of players, when they come into this environment, they come in with confidence believing they’re good enough to win. We’ve just got to keep building on that.”

England number eight Ben Earl was the official man of the match but that accolade could easily have gone to Wales openside Tommy Reffell, whose expertise on the ground is now being matched by growing influence in attack.

“We know how good Tommy is defensively but we want him to be comfortable getting the ball in his hands a little bit more,” Gatland said.

“He has come on as more of an option as a running threat. We saw that last weekend and again against England.

“I’m absolutely delighted for him because he’s starting to get a nice balance to his game and that can take him to the next level.

“He was outstanding against England and he just keeps going for 80 minutes.”

Fraser Dingwall insists England will move deeper into the Guinness Six Nations emboldened by the knowledge they can dig out wins if they they stick to the script.

England stride into the first fallow week after recording victories over Italy and Wales that keep them in title contention, albeit with the toughest assignments of the Championship still to come against Scotland, Ireland and France.

On both occasions they were forced to fight back from half-time deficits and while they prevailed by a combined total of only five points, amid the deficiencies Steve Borthwick’s new-look team have shown resilience and more ambition in attack.

Both wins were too close for comfort and Scotland will justifiably be confident of retaining the Calcutta Cup in a fortnight but Dingwall, who dived over for a crucial try at Twickenham on Saturday, insists belief is growing.

“This results against Wales will give us a massive boost because it shows that if we put on to the pitch what we want, then we can beat teams,” the Northampton centre said.

“In the first half we didn’t get the outcomes but we stuck at it, so we can go into each game with that intent to stick at what we want to do and knowing that if we do that, we’ll be OK.”

England made an impressive start to the round two match against Warren Gatland’s men but their entries into the 22 failed to produce any points and their prospects then deteriorated when Ollie Chessum and Ethan Roots were sent to the sin bin.

Wales seized control through a penalty try and a brilliantly constructed touchdown for Alex Mann – but with Ben Earl powering over from a scrum and then Dingwall crossing, the stage was set for George Ford to kick the match-winning penalty.

“We actually did a lot right in the first 10 minutes and then momentum swung against us and we didn’t really get anything,” Dingwall said.

“We put on the pitch what we wanted, we just didn’t get the outcomes and that’s what frustrated us.

“We stuck at how we wanted to play and then the rewards started to come our way and we were able to turn that into points.”

England’s kicking game directed by Ford was key to their comeback, as was Dingwall slipping over in the left corner in the 63rd minute for his first try in two outings in a Red Rose jersey.

“Essentially the forwards were battering the door down and created space, so we as backs just had to pick it off,” he said.

“I just managed to put myself on the edge. I kept Elliot Daly inside me knowing the ball would end up with me and I could hopefully get the score.

“It’s all bit of a blur but the emotions that ran through me after were crazy, everything came out of me.

“It’s unbelievable. These whole couple of weeks have been unbelievable. To get the win as a group and to score as well has been a whirlwind.”

England hope hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, centre Manu Tuilagi and second-row George Martin will be in contention to face Scotland at Murrayfield on February 24.

Finn Russell admitted Scotland should not have got themselves into a position for the officials to effectively decide the outcome of their dramatic Guinness Six Nations match against France.

Ben White’s try gave Scotland a seventh-minute lead and they felt they should have been more than 16-10 in front by the time the French – who had prop Uini Atonio sin-binned just before half-time – turned Saturday’s game in their favour in the closing 10 minutes.

Les Bleus – whose tries came from Gael Fickou and Louis Bielle-Biarrey – held on for a 20-16 victory but only after an astonishing finale in which Scotland were convinced substitute Sam Skinner had scored a match-winning try in the game’s last action.

Referee Nic Berry’s initial call was “no try” and after several minutes of deliberating with TMO Brian MacNeice amid incredible tension, it looked like they were about to award the score before eventually deciding the images were inconclusive.

The Scots were livid but co-captain Russell conceded the game should never have boiled down to that last-gasp flashpoint.

“Personally I believe it was a try at the end, but it’s up to the referee to decide that,” said the stand-off.

“We can’t let the referee decide what happens in a game, it’s up to us to play better and make these matches a victory.”

Although disappointed, Russell believes it was a sign of Scotland’s resilience that they almost dug out victory despite relinquishing their long-held lead in the closing stages.

“It was a bit of magic from France (for Bielle-Biarrey’s 70th-minute try), but I think the way we got back into the game and the way I believe that we scored, it shows the character we’ve got,” he said.

“We didn’t lose belief when we fell four points down with three minutes left. I’m proud of the boys for the performance but we need to take our learnings from it going into the England game.”

The Scots host their old rivals a week on Saturday knowing they will need a Calcutta Cup victory to hoist themselves back into championship contention.

“We’ll take it easy next week,” said Russell. “Some of the boys have got to train, some haven’t. We just need some time away from rugby. It’s an intense competition.

“We’ll take some time away and then come back to get ready for that England game. A massive challenge awaits us and we’ll need to be ready.”

One man who may have played his way into contention for the England showdown is 22-year-old Edinburgh back Harry Paterson, who produced an impressive debut after being summoned to start at full-back on the morning of the match when Kyle Steyn’s wife went into labour.

“It’s one of the best debuts I’ve ever seen,” said head coach Gregor Townsend. “Going up against that French backline on a wet day at Murrayfield, he was excellent.

“I gave him a heads-up that he could be playing about 9am then confirmed it at 10am.

“To play like that was fantastic and gives us a lot of encouragement about where Harry can go over these next few years.

“He knew he’d have a lot of kicks to field due to the way France play and with the weather being wet, but he just got stronger and stronger as the game went on.

“But Kyle Rowe deserves a mention as well. That was only his second Test start and, like Harry, I thought he was excellent.

“We are building depth in the back three.”