Blanco banishes Wales

Press, 20 February 1989, Page 23

Blanco banishes Wales

NZPA-Reuter Paris The star fullback, Serge Blanco, inspired a rampaging French side to a 31-12 win against Wales on Saturday, setting France firmly on course for a fourth consecutive Five Nations rugby title. Blanco scored two tries and set up a third for the captain, Pierre Berbizier, in a bruising and scrappy encounter in which the French backs launched attack after attack against a plucky but vulnerable Welsh defence.

Fists flew regularly throughout the match, France’s second victory from two games in the 1989 championship. The Welsh pack stood up gamely to the bulldozing French forwards, but appeared to expend all their energy, leaving the French backs time and space to mount their spectacular moves from deep

in defence. All the Welsh points came from the boot of the captain, Paul Thorbum, but Wales rarely ventured into the French lines. The veteran hooker, Philippe Dintrans, making a comeback in the French team after a four-year absence, rubbed salt into Welsh wounds in the 79th minute with a driving try that left the visitors licking their wounds and wondering what had hit them. Wales, co-champions with France last year, has now lost all its three Five Nations games this season. Saturday’s result was its worst against the French.

• In Dublin, England ruined Ireland’s hopes with a 16-3 win in a scrappy Five Nations encounter.

England kept its titles hopes alive with its third successive win over the Irish, which would have

been achieved by a greater margin had the first five-eighths, Rob Andrew, not been inconsistent with his goalkicking.

Andrew could not have had a better start on his twenty-sixth birthday, as he landed a penalty goal after just 100 seconds. But after kicking another in the 32nd minute to give England their 6-0 half-time lead, he lapsed into the nightmare form he suffered against Scotland two weeks ago. Fortunately for him and England, Michael Kiernan, Ireland’s record points holder, also was off form with the boot. He needed three attempts for his first success in a match ruined by constant penalties and the windy conditions, and by then England was 10-0 ahead.

Their first try came when the England

skipper, Will Carling, frustrated by two Andrew failures, opted for a short penalty in the 59th minute.

It paid off when scrumhalf Dewi Morris barged over for England’s first try.

Andrew predictably missed the conversion but after Kiernan’s sixtysecond minute penalty goal, he made amends in the sixty-fifth minute by improving a try by the No. 8, Dean Richards, after neat work by Chris Oti, Dewi Morris and Moore.

That clinched England’s win, although they had some anxious moments late in the game as Ireland encamped in its 25 with the aid of a series of penalties.

Ireland — Kiernan penalty goal.

England — Morris, Richards, tries; Andrew conversion, two penalty goals.