Ireland on Saturday retained their Six Nations title with a hard-fought 17-13 win over Scotland after Warren Gatland offered to quit as Wales boss following a home defeat by Italy that condemned his side to a tournament whitewash.
France finished in second place after edging England 33-31 in a thrilling final match on “Super Saturday.”
Irish hopes of back-to-back Grand Slams had been dashed by last week’s dramatic 23-22 loss to England at Twickenham, but Ireland knew that if they avoided defeat, or secured two bonus points, against a Scotland side fresh from a 31-29 defeat by Italy in Rome, they would keep hold of the title.
Photo: AFP
Scotland were bidding for their first Triple Crown — when one of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales beats each of those other teams in a single championship season — since 1990.
The Scots produced a mammoth defensive effort in Dublin that threatened to frustrate Ireland.
Tries by Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter eventually proved enough for Ireland, although Scotland center Huw Jones crossed late on to set up a tense finish.
“It was a war of attrition,” Ireland coach Andy Farrell said.
“I am delighted for the lads as back-to-back titles is very difficult to achieve,” the former England international added.
Scotland boss Gregor Townsend praised his side despite a 10th successive defeat by Ireland.
“I feel really proud of the players. All 23 — the effort they put in today, in one of the toughest environments to play in,” he said.
Earlier, Wales finished bottom of the Six Nations for the first time since 2003 — when they also lost all five matches — after a 24-21 defeat by Italy in Cardiff.
It was a sad way for center George North, who went off injured late on, to bow out from Test rugby as he joined a list of senior Wales players who have retired from international duty either side of last year’s World Cup in France.
Saturday’s loss led Gatland, in his second spell as Wales boss, to offer his resignation to Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney, even though the 60-year-old New Zealander is contracted until the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
Asked if he wanted to see out his current deal, Gatland, whose first spell as Wales boss yielded four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, and two World Cup semi-finals, said: “Yes, absolutely. I’ve made that commitment. I just said to Abi in the changing room: ‘If you want me to resign, I’m quite happy to do that.’ She said: ‘Like hell, that’s the last thing I want. That’s what I’m really afraid of.’”
“But I can promise you we’ll go away and review this really carefully,” Gatland added.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS